Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and whether you’re cuffed, alone, or counter–celebrating with Galentine’s Day, Street has compiled a list of movies showing on the 14th, pertaining to your specific V–Day needs.
If you need a safe but fun date movie: I, Tonya
Showing at: Ritz at the Bourse
I, Tonya, the fourth wall–breaking biopic about controversial figure skater Tonya Harding, is the ideal movie to go see if you’re in third–to–fifth date—or FWB—territory with someone. It ticks all the boxes—it’s funny, it stars Margot Robbie (who doesn’t love Margot Robbie?), and…yeah, those are all the boxes. And you won’t have to worry about crying, ruining your makeup in front of your semi–beloved, and leaving the cinema bawling.
If you want to leave the cinema bawling: Call Me By Your Name
Showing at: Ritz Five
Still pining after your summer fling? Want a traumatic reminder of your first love? Recovering from post–study abroad blues? This is the movie for you. It’s a long and visually luscious romantic drama about a 17–year–old boy named Elio, who falls in love with graduate student Oliver during a 1980s summer in the Italian countryside. The final scene of the movie was probably the reason Timothée Chalamet nabbed an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, and definitely the reason why you will be ugly crying as the credits roll.
If you want to spice things up in the bedroom: The Shape of Water
Showing at: Ritz Five, Rave Cinemas University City
Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy drama, about a lonely janitor who falls in love with an gilled fish man who lives in a tank, is a wonderful movie, and will most definitely meet the expectations you bring to the theater after reading that synopsis. It might seem a little bit of an unconventional pick for Valentine’s Day, but it’s a story about love, and it has a happy ending. Watch it with your boo, or whoever you’re scheming, and see how they react to the movie’s amphibious sex scene. Street is not qualified to tell you what their reactions might mean—figure it out for yourself.
If you’re renouncing the overhyped expectations of Valentine’s Day: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Showing at: Ritz at the Bourse, Rave Cinemas University City
Valentine’s Day can be kind of irritating—a holiday for smug social media couples and sickly sweet consumer culture (let’s be honest, all those heart-shaped chocolates and candy are going to go on sale the moment the clock turns to midnight on the 15th). If that’s the case, grab some friends, or your mom, or both, and go watch Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Martin McDonagh’s brilliant film about a woman (Frances McDormand) who takes matters into her own hands after local police fail to properly investigate the rape and murder of her daughter. The premise sounds grim, but it’s an astounding movie and one of the best screenplays of the year—the screenplay has been nominated for an Oscar and won Best Screenplay at the Golden Globes. It’s also been the subject of considerable criticism for its portrayal of police violence and racial politics—like many Hollywood movies, it hits the mark on creating a strong, conflicted (and white) female lead, but misses it when it comes to issues of race. That being said, Three Billboards will surely give you enough to think and debate about to forget the stresses of Valentine’s Day.
