14 Days To Love - Kisses No. 3

"Look for the girl with the broken smile, ask her if she wants to say awhile, and she will be loved..."



Now here's a kiss with a dash of real life romance!

I have not seen the movie "The Notebook". But I've seen this kiss a few times already and I'm pretty sure it's just as hot as the kisses that Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams shared in the big screen. I love the background music, I love Ryan's little "come hear" gesture. I love how he gently clutched Rachel's hair while they were kissing. I love that they showed Lindsay Lohan's reaction hahaha. I love how Rachel leaned a little closer to Ryan after they kissed and with him still holding her. Even Paul Walker shouting at Ryan ("C'mon say something!") was quite hot. Yep, still shallow.

14 Days To Love - Kisses No. 2

"Saranghae."



From my favorite Korean drama! I want to say that this is another great FIRST kiss, but technically, it's not their first (they had 2 accidental kisses before!). This was their first kiss as a couple, though, and it's sweet and passionate and swoon-worthy. The guy, Gong Chan, is your typical responsible, very serious guy who fell hopelessly in love with his pretend-cousin, the street-smart and bubbly Yoo Rin. Their kiss was both playful and romantic, and for me, showed Gong Chan's growth as a person. The first kiss on Yoo Rin's forehead was sweet, but like Yoo Rin, I was a bit disappointed. And then he pulled her close and really kissed her! The best part was that pause, with their noses touching a bit, long enough for him to whisper "saranghae" (I love you), and kissed her again. *swoons* I'm a pile of goo after watching that and even after rewatching that scene, I'm still kilig.

14 Days To Love - Kisses No. 1

Julia : Not porno tongue. Church tongue.
Robbie: [laughing] Church tongue. I like that.



My first kiss is from my favorite romantic comedy film and it's their first kiss! It shouldn't be romantic, at least as far as the leads are concerned, but it is, because it was at that moment when they began to feel that what they have is much more than just friendship.

I like this, because it's the leads' first kiss and it's sweet, and Julia got more than the "church kiss" she had envisioned. The awkward start, and the strains of the background music (oh so familiar because it's Robbie's proposal song to Julia later in the movie) made the moment a memorable scene.

14 Days to Love - It's In The Kiss

Does he love me?
I wanna know!
How can I tell if he loves me so?


(Is it in his eyes?)
Oh no! You need to see!
(Is it in his size?)
Oh no! You make believe!
If you wanna know if he loves you so
It's in his kiss!
That's where it is!

- In His Kiss


Yes, it's that time of the year again.

I blame Mak for reminding me to do this project again. I had no intention of doing it again this year, because it was OMG pressure and I was running out of ideas. But when Mak mentioned it (well, more like tweet me and Jen about it), I couldn't get it out of my head and I tried to think of a clever, shoot, workable idea for this year. And then I heard the song and... that's it! I'll be posting about the most romantic kisses I've seen.

So, THE kiss. What's in a kiss? Can a kiss, like Aretha said, tell you if a person loves you? Well, don't look at me for answers - it's been ages ago since I had my last romantic kiss (Gawd, how lame was that?). Anyway (and I'm going to contradict myself a bit here), movies and TV don't necessarily depict kiss as it is in real life. More of the idealized kiss, what with the few dramatic seconds before the leads' lips meet, or with the swelling background music. BUT, face it, kisses are still romantic. And sexy. And swoon-worthy.

I hope you'll like what I picked this year. And may you have a happy Valentine's Day, with or without a significant other! :D

14 Days To Love - Day 14

Julia: The right one, ah... I always envisioned the right one being someone I could see myself growing old with.

THE WEDDING SINGER (1998)






Notes:

What better way to end this project than by quoting my favorite romantic comedy film? :)

There's nothing complicated or angsty or flashy about this line, but it summed up what I always believed in about love - that the right one is someone you can see yourself growing old with, the one who's with you even after the flash and pomp and fireworks have gone, to be replaced by the ordinary and the mundane, and yet still make you feel excited and grateful for each day that you are together.

14 Days To Love - Day 13

Domyouji: Makino have you ever eaten a fig?

Makino: Huh?

Domyouji: What do fig tastes like?

Makino: Aren't they sweet and sour...

Domyouji: When you cut a fig in half, it looks like a heart, so some say its bitterness is like love... But to me, the flavor of love... tastes like the lousy cookie you made.

Jela: *flails madly*

HANA YORI DANGO, Season 2 (2007)







Notes:

My previous post was from Season 1, okay, so technically this is a different jdrama. And no, the last part you will not find in the drama (unless you'd react the same way I did then change the name to your name).

Again, the dialogue, while quite funny, can't convey enough how awesome the exchange was. After Domyouji said the last line, he gave Makino this look, part-sneering, part-puppy-eyed-please-love-me-again look. And it's just so wonderful! Love confession, ALMIGHTY Domyouji style! I'll tell you I love by criticizing the cookie you gave me, the cookie I preserved and kept near my bed for one year before taking a bite of! (what he really wanted to say: Love me! Love me! Choose me! Let me make you happy!)

Anyway, after that beautiful ending in season 1, season 2 presented various roadblocks to the Domyouji/Makino romance, much of which is due to Domyouji's stubborness (I invariably want to stab him and hug him and tell him everything will turn out right). So of course, an arrogant declaration of love would solve their problems. Yeah right.

It's still romantic, though.

14 Days To Love - Day 12

Domyouji: I know you’re happy.

Makino: No way…

Domyouji: You liar. You’re in love with me.

Makino: I AM in love with you. You’re stupid, selfish and self-centered. I’ve fallen in love with…


HANA YORI DANGO, Season 1 (2005)








Notes:

The best, the BEST part about that exchange needs to be seen with your own eyes. Makino couldn’t finish her sentence because Domyouji, after hearing her say that she love him, suddenly hugged her. HE hugged her. He HUGGED her. He hugged HER. Excuse me, I need to stop myself first from squeeing.

Okay. Squeeing not quite over, how awesome was that scene from Hana Yori Dango? Domyouji, who love Makino unconditionally but had to endure her rejections, suddenly found Makino running after their private plane after she learned that he’s leaving for New York. Makino was crying while angrily berating Domyouji for being stupid, for going away without saying goodbye to her, and Domyouji FINALLY got a clue – Makino might just be in love with him. So while she was fuming and weepy, Domyouji had this little smile on his face. When he said “You’re in love with me”, he uttered it as a statement, but you can still see the uncertainty in his face. So when Makino AT LONG LAST admitted that she does love him, he hugged her and that hug said a million things more than the actual conversation. His face was OMG killing me – it’s a mixture of happiness, relief, gratitude and some sadness because he has to leave after. A very satisfying, fitting parting scene. Eeeee!

Don’t get me started on their kiss after that embrace. Eeeeee!

14 Days To Love - Day 11

Shan Cai: Dao Ming Si, we had a deal about the time. If we can still not be together then we will give up. And you will accept what your family has arranged for you… Ok?

Dao Ming Si: Why are you giving up?... If I can give up the first time we broke up, I would have given up already. I don’t even want to think that. We will be together.

Shan Cai: … I got it. We will be together.

Dao Ming Si: I miss you so much.


METEOR GARDEN, Season 1 (2001)





Notes:

OMG this scene! Conversing behind closed doors! Say what you want about Jerry Yan’s acting skills (or lack thereof), but here is one scene where his acting was understated and surprisingly good.

After he was locked in his own room by his mother and after F4 failed to rescue him, Shan Cai went to see Dao Ming Si. His mother only let her talk to him outside his room. Shan Cai was worried for Dao Ming Si, which is why she asked him to give up so we he wouldn't have to suffer. But Dao DOESN’T WANT TO. Aww.

Dao Ming Si might be physically strong, but his greatest strength is his utter conviction in his love for Shan Cai. So much so that it hurts so bad each time Shan Cai rejects him or waffles in her feelings between him and Lei...

...which brings me back to this scene. After Dao Ming Si said he’s still not giving up on her, Shan Cai finally understood Dao’s conviction and for the first time, stood up to fight for him. It was a quiet but effective moment; they weren’t being dramatic about their plight, Dao wasn’t even screaming, each was trying to be strong for one another. At the end when Dao said “I miss you so much”, he teared up a bit and you feel how much he means those words.

14 Days To Love - Day 10

Takemoto Yuta: There were so many four-leaf clovers inside, though I could only find one of them after searching an entire day... During spring two years ago, we met in a place which seemed like a miracle... I was happy just being with her... But, even though she was right in front of me, the way I couldn't reach my hand out was always irritating... The person that I was, telling myself I would never obtain it, and staying quiet while doing nothing, always made me angry... The thing that made me realize this was Hagu-chan's kindness. The thing which pushed the cowardly person that I was Hagu-chan's strength... Until now, I always wondered if there was a point to a relationship which failed. I wondered if something which disappears and something that never happened were the same thing... But, now I understand that there was a meaning to it. Because I met Hagu-chan, the person I am today is here now. The day that everything will turn into memories will eventually come... However, I probably will remember the priceless time we spent together.



HONEY AND CLOVER, episode 11 (2008)







Notes:

Oh gosh. I couldn't watch this jdrama in one marathon session - every episode made me cry so much. But I love, love this drama! It's not quite as popular as it should be, others were bored by it, but I like its quiet appeal and the cinematography and the theme song and of course, Toma!

By now, you should have realized that I don't watch much happily-ever-after movies or dramas. The quote above was from the last episode of the drama and it never fails to tear me up whenever I watch it. Takemoto started out as this loser with an unrequited love for Hagu-chan (who in turn has romantic feelings for his friend Morita). Anyone who has ever had an unrequited love can fully sympathize with Takemoto - how it hurts to be so near that person and yet not find the courage to say what you feel. It's mostly a story of varying degrees of unrequited love among friends, but it's Takemoto's story that was the focus of the drama. Despite him becoming a better person after his personal journey, he still couldn't let go of his feelings for Hagu-chan. Maybe Takemoto will call that cowardice, but to walk away from those feelings, that takes a certain strength of character.

14 Days To Love - Day 9

Qiluo: I'm sorry. I asked you to model. In the end, it's forcing you to hurt yourself. I don't want you to model for me any more. I don't want to keep hurting you.

Ling: It's okay. It's you. I don't mind at all. I'm a little afraid, but I still want to see how I'd look in your painting. Before, I always thought there was nothing to be afraid of in this world. But ever since I met you, I've got a lot of things to be afraid of. Now what I'm afraid of most, is when you sit on the backseat of my motorcycle. I absolutely can't make mistake; I can't lose you like that.

Qiluo: You won't lose me.



MARS, Episode 4 (2004)







Notes:

Mars is a Taiwanese drama that I HIGHLY recommend to those who are fans of Vic Zhou (to those who are not, this is a good place to start). He is so hot, hot, HOT in this drama. That alone would have sold me on this, but he and Barbie Xu rocked their respective roles. I wouldn't recommend this, though, to those who like their dramas happy and fluffy, because this is one angsty drama that will tear at your soul.

But despite this drama being riddled with emo moments, I love that the leads were actually right for one another. It's not a star-crossed lover story - it made sense for them to be together because they brought out the best in one another. Ling (Vic Zhou) inspired a timid Qiluo (Barbie Xu) to be stronger and to rise above her horrible past and Qiluo provided the daredevil Ling a fresh purpose in life.

14 Days To Love - Day 8

Joey: How would you know what I need?

Pacey: You're probably right. I'm sure I don't have any idea what you're going through. How hard it is to let someone go. How painful it must be to know that as right as you two are for each other, it doesn't mean you're right for each other right now. I wouldn't know a thing about that. About how it makes you want to scream, or hit someone... or cry.

DAWSON'S CREEK, Season 3 (1999)

14 Days To Love - Day 7

Rose: When the ship docks, I’m getting off with you.

Jack: This is crazy!

Rose: I know! It doesn't make any sense. That's why I trust it.

TITANIC (1997)

14 Days To Love - Day 6

Sebastian: You spend all your time preaching about waiting for love. Well here it is. Right in front of you, and you're going to turn your back on it. So I guess we're just f***ed. I'll move on. But you are going to have to live the rest of your life knowing that you've turned your back on love. And that makes you a hypocrite. Have a nice life.

CRUEL INTENTIONS (1999)

14 Days to Love - Day 5

Iris: I understand feeling as small and as insignificant as humanly possible. And how it can actually ache in places you didn't know you had inside you. And it doesn't matter how many new haircuts you get, or gyms you join, or how many glasses of chardonnay you drink with your girlfriends... you still go to bed every night going over every detail and wonder what you did wrong or how you could have misunderstood. And how in the hell for that brief moment you could think that you were that happy. And sometimes you can even convince yourself that he'll see the light and show up at your door.

THE HOLIDAY (2006)

14 Days to Love - Day 4

Rob: It made sense to pool our collective loathing for the opposite sex, and while we were at it, you get to share a bed with somebody at the same time. We were frightened of being left alone for the rest of our lives. Only people of a certain disposition are frightened of being alone for the rest of their lives at the age of 26, and we were of that disposition.


HIGH FIDELITY (2000)

14 Days to Love - Day 3

Vada: Weeping willow with your tears running down, why do you always weep and frown? Is it because he left you one day? is it because he could not stay? On your branches he would swing, do you long for the happiness that day would bring? He found shelter in your shade. You thought his laughter would never fade. Weeping willow, stop your tears. There is something to calm you fears. You think death has ripped you forever apart. But I know he'll always be in your heart.


MY GIRL (1991)

14 Days to Love - Day 2

Dan: I fell in love with her, Alice.

Alice: Oh, as if you had no choice? There's a moment, there's always a moment, "I can do this, I can give into this, or I can resist it", and I don't know when your moment was, but I bet you there was one.

CLOSER (2004)

14 Days To Love - Day 1

Geoffrey Chaucer: There she is, William. The embodiment of love. Your Venus.

William Thatcher: And how I hate her.

A KNIGHT'S TALE (2001)






Notes:

I did not promise romantic, okay? But hey, this IS romantic. Funny, too.

At first I wanted to quote William's "My dearest Jocelyn" letter, but after rewatching this movie, I decided the dialogue above is more awesome.

William Thatcher (Heath Ledger) is a con-knight and Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon) is his strong-willed damsel. He tried to impress her by vowing to win the jousting tournament for her. She challenged him to LOSE the tournament, instead, to prove his love.

To the surprise and horror of his loyal band, he voluntarily lose his first match. Jocelyn then requested that if he really loves her, he will NOT LOSE any more matches. Hence, the lines above!

For me, the way William said "And how I hate her" is romantic precisely because he doesn't really hate HATE her. It's merely frustration that he got caught in her spell and that she knew it and knew how to use it to her advantage. And face it - women can be hard to understand sometimes, and men in love are only too willing to go with what will make their ladies happy.

14 Days To Love - Prelude

Today is the end of January, which means Bash The Singles Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. *cue retching from too much reds and hearts*

I decided to do again a 14 Days To Lurve project that I did last year (like it was such a success). This time, instead of quotes from books, I choose quotes from movies and TV shows. Unlike last time, though, my posts will include notes/thoughts on the quotes I chose. In books, the emotions/feelings behind the quote are described by the author for the reader. This time, it’s merely dialogue, and unless you’ve watched the movie/TV show quoted, the meaning of the words might not be so clear.

You won’t see the usual quotes here, like the lines from Jerry Maguire or The Notebook, because I… haven’t seen those movies. I haven’t watched a lot of romantic flicks, so don’t expect fancy words that will make you swoon. I did not pick these quotes for the words itself, but more on how those words were said by the characters and how it relates to the whole picture. So please be kind and don’t harass me with comments like “But that’s not romantic enough!”.

Jen and Mak are also planning something similar, so don’t forget to check those out.

Comments will be nice, but chocolates on Valentine’s Day are just as good. (What?)

14 Days To Lurve - Day 14

Finally, the last entry for this series. I decided to come full circle so I will end this with another quote from Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity (actually the third quote fron the book). Well, not so much as a quote but almost an entire chapter! I hope you can see the romance behind the sort-of sarcastic exchange of dialogue. I just thought that this was the most romantic way to propose. Happy Valentines!


“Are you going to talk to me, or shall I get my paper out?”
“I’m going to talk to you.”
“Right.”
I swish the beer around so it’ll get really lime-y.
“What are you going to talk to me about?”
“I’m going to talk to you about whether you want to get married or not. To me.”
She laughs a lot. “Ha ha ha. Hoo hoo hoo.”
“I mean it.”
“I know.”
“Oh, well thanks a fucking bunch.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. But two days ago you were in love with that woman who interviewed you for the local paper, weren’t you?”
“Not in love exactly, but…”
“Well, forgive me if I don’t feel that you’re the world’s safest bet.”
“Would you marry if I was?”
“No, I shouldn’t think so.”
“Right. Ok, then. Shall we go home?”
“Don’t sulk. What’s brought all this on?”
“I don’t know.”
“Very persuasive.”
“Are you persuadable?”
“No. I don’t think so. I’m just curious about how one goes from making tapes for one person to marriage proposals to another in two days. Fair enough?”
“Fair enough.”
“So?”
“I’m just sick of thinking about it all the time.”
“All what?”
“This stuff. Love and marriage. I want to think about something else.”
“I’ve changed my mind. That’s the most romantic thing I’ve heard. I do. I will.”
“Shut up. I’m only trying to explain.”
“Sorry. Carry on.”
“See, I’ve always been afraid of marriage because of, you know, ball and chain, and I want my freedom, all that. But when I was thinking of this stupid girl I suddenly saw it was the opposite: that if you got married to someone you know you love, and you sort yourself out, it frees you up for other things. I know you don’t know how you feel about me, but I do know how I feel about you. I know I want to stay with you and I keep pretending otherwise, to myself and to you, and we just limp on and on. It’s like we sign a new contract every few weeks or so, and I don’t want that anymore. And I know that if we got married I’d take it seriously, and I wouldn’t want to mess around.”
“And you can make a decision about it just like that, can you? In cold blood, bang bang, if I do that, then this will happen? I’m not sure that it works like that.”
“But it does, you see. Just because it’s a relationship, and it’s based on soppy stuff, it doesn’t mean you can’t make intellectual decisions about it. Sometimes you just have to, otherwise you’ll never get anywhere. That’s where I’ve been going wrong. I’ve been letting the weather and my stomach muscles and a great chord change in a Pretenders single make up my mind for me, and I want to do it for myself.”
“Maybe.”
“What d’you mean, maybe?”
“I mean, maybe you’re right. But that doesn’t help me, does it? You’re always like this. You work something out and everyone else has to fall in line. Were you really expecting me to say yes?”
“Dunno. Didn’t really think about it, really. It was the asking that was the important thing.”
“Well, you’ve asked.” But she says it sweetly, as if she knows that what I’ve asked is a nice thing, that is has some sort of meaning, even though she’s not interested. “Thank you.”