Forbidden Love Movies

Right, its coming up to Valentine's Day and I am really sick of looking around the Internet for some seriously interesting romantic movies with a bit of depth. When searching I am constantly subjected to the same old tripe over and over again, for example: Titanic, Ghost, Dirty Dancing yadayadayada... well I say bollocks to that crap, here's some movies with a bit of integrity.

Okay, so I have a bit of a mix of period, Gothic, fantasy and modern thrown in here but anyways, here's what I recommend (these are in no particular order):

1. Memoirs of a Geisha - We've got an absolutely stunning setting, fabulous costumes, lots of history and intrigue and also some of the most beautiful Japanese women I have ever seen. Its a very classy movie, no gratuitous shagging here people, just a long and wonderful tale of forbidden romance. If you like a visual feast then this is just what you're looking for, its also not too soppy and has elements to keep the man happy.

2. Moulin Rouge - Yes I am a sucker for my musicals and yes this one is cheesy but that's how its supposed to be, through all the brightness and jolly behaviour during the films its dark undertones, the forbidden love and the final curtain, it is a harrowing tale and Ewan's McGregors tears and acting at the very end is so harrowing it breaks my heart to hear it every time. However, if you can't stand people breaking out into song every two minutes then steer clear.

3. Phantom of The Opera - Another lavish instalment here and by far my personal favourite, it cannot be explained in words just how intoxicating this film is but please just watch it once, if you are a true romantic you will understand why. I still rue to the day she ended up with Raoul....or does she (Love Never Dies is the musical sequel, if you loved this then move on to the second part but just keep a box of Kleenex handy as the ending gets me in buckets every time).

4. The Saint - I stumbled across this movie quite accidentally and I really did overplay it, I cannot get enough of Val Kilmer in this movie. Anyways, it centres around Simon Templar, a thief, he's paid to do a job and steal some notes from a woman and to do so he romances her but then falls in love with her. Some of the most sensual and anticipating scenes I have seen in quite a while - leg quivering business.

5. Entrapment - Same genre (crime/romance) as the previous film, about two thieves that pair up together this time, but who is playing whom? Sean Connery is incredibly sexy in this movie (even though he's grey but who cares it all about the romance), the way he looks at Cathering Zeta Jones will make you melt and the ending is fantastic, I can't recommend this highly enough.

6. Thomas Crown Affair - following on from crime and criminals, exactly the same as previous but some incredibly steamy stuff in here especially the scene in the club *psst no underwear*, the ending to this movie is outstanding just like Entrapment and I did well up quite a bit during this.

7. Stealing Heaven - Apart from its absolutely outstanding soundtrack this movie is a real winner and heavily underrated. Its the story of a forbidden romance between a renaissance teacher and the niece of the nobleman at the home he is residing at. You could cut the atmosphere and sexuality in the air with a knife between these two. Also, its based on a true story and the remains of Abelard and Heloise are buried together in Paris to this day.

8. Dangerous Beauty - A woman becomes a courtesan after she cannot be with the man she loves, he ends up chasing her in the end. I have always had an affinity for movies surrounding courtesans and women of the night and I really like the way our heroine managed to turn this on its heads to her advantage. This is a period set romance and its deliciously sexy!

That's my lot for the moment, I will follow up with more movies when I get a look at my collection.