Most of us love to watch romantic movies. There are some reel romances that captivates us and leaves a permanent impression in our minds.

I have chosen the 10 MUST-WATCH romantic movies of modern times from the 90s onwards. These are the best ones to watch with popcorn and hot chocolates!

PRETTY WOMAN (1990) 

This is a Cinderella-like fairytale that never bores you off even after watching it for the umpteenth time!

The improbable story of a super-rich Business tycoon Edward (Richard Gere) and a street hooker Vivian (Julia Roberts) will take you to fantasy land. Can love truly blossom between two people from different walks of life? As Vivian’s close friend Kit says, ” Maybe you guys could like…….you know, get a house and buy some diamonds and a horse. It could work. It happens.” 

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING (1995) 

The romantic comedy centers around Lucy (Sandra Bullock), a token collector at a railway station who has a crush on a commuter named Peter (Peter Gallagher) and incidentally saves his life.

Peter is hospitalized and he goes to coma. In a misunderstanding Peter’s family assumes Lucy to be his fiancee. Lucy is invited to spend Christmas with Peter’s family. There’s also Peter’s elder brother Jack ( Bill Pullman) who is at first suspicious about Lucy but later they become good friends.

Is Lucy really in love with Peter or would she fall for Jack? How would Lucy confront Peter when he wakes up from the coma? Do watch this sweet yet sentimental romantic movie to know all the answers.

TITANIC (1997)

This is an epic romance that almost all of us have watched. It’s a well-knitted movie combining fiction and drama with historical context.

The love story between Rose (Kate Winslet) and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) themes around the ship called Titanic. This movie is about love, sacrifice, disaster, and loss. My favorite line is when Jack says to Rose “Promise me you’ll survive. That you won’t give up, no matter what happens. No matter how hopeless.” This is a tragic love story yet it instills elements of positivity and hope.

YOU’VE GOT MAIL (1998)

Kathleen (Meg Ryan) and Joe (Tom Hanks) become online friends with a mutual agreement to not share any specific personal or career details, even they do not share their real names!

Over time they become good friends although without realizing that they are rivals in the same business. This is an online romance with the tagline – “Someone you pass on the street may already be the love of your life.”

THE NOTEBOOK (2004)

This movie has a sweet concoction centering around the lead characters, Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams) who are not the usual lovers depicted in most romantic movies. They have their faults yet they are strongly in love with one another. Misunderstandings and conspiracies temporarily separate them. But love is so powerful that the old lovers are re-united against all odds and even parental disapproval. Can love heal and save people? Can love defeat the dreadful Alzheimer’s even? This movie portrays the majestic side of love.

THE HOLIDAY (2006)

A beautiful rom-com about two women, Iris (Kate Winslet) and Amanda (Cameron Diaz) who wants to get a break from their troubled love lives and decide to swap homes for a holiday.

Iris gets a fresh change in Amanda’s luxurious home in California while Amanda feels miserable in the quiet old-fashioned cottage of Iris in a remote British countryside. But the two weeks of vacation changes the lives of both of these women.

Iris becomes friends with a kind-hearted man named Miles (Jack Black) and Amanda becomes attracted to Graham (Jude Law) who is the brother of Iris. Would these women find true love at the end of their holiday? This is a refreshing movie to watch.

THE PROPOSAL (#2009) 

Margaret (Sandra Bullock), an ambitious executive in the U.S. learns that she would be deported back to Canada as her U.S. work visa has expired.

A very controlling woman, she is determined to keep her job and commands her assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) to act as her fiance temporarily. Andrew also wants to take advantage of this situation and pressurize Margaret to agree to some of his demands.

Among all such manipulations and egoistical desires would love blossom between the boss and her assistant? This movie has a happy, feel-good factor that is enticing for the audience making it a must-watch.

LEAP YEAR (2010) 

This movie has an interesting plot. A young woman named Anna (Amy Adams) becomes frustrated when her cardiologist boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott) does not propose her even after a relationship of four years.

When her boyfriend goes to a convention in Ireland before a leap day, she gathers information about an Irish tradition. According to the tradition, if a man is proposed on a leap day in Ireland, he will have to accept the proposal.

So Anna takes a flight from Boston to Dublin to meet her boyfriend and propose him on the leap day. But Anna’s plane is caught in a storm and diverted to Wales. The harshness of the weather could not dampen her spirit.

She pays a surly innkeeper named Declan (Matthew Goode) in a small village called Dingle to reach to her beloved. The two of them face challenges and get loads of experiences on their way to Dublin. Will Anna be able to insist on her boyfriend to marry her? Watch this movie to fall in love with love!

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK (2012)

Can two people overcome their mental issues and start a new life again? Is it possible to recreate life when you have past dramas and committed major mistakes?

The movie says “yes” to both of these questions. Patrizio (Bradley Cooper) is still obsessed with his ex-wife and Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) is still brooding over her dead husband. Both have mental illnesses but still, they develop a friendship.

In their attempt to help each other they save themselves and rediscover the meaning of life and love. This is a movie for all ages and it inspires us to fall in love with life again.

ME BEFORE YOU (2016)

This is an unconventional love story between two people in completely opposite life situations.

Will Traynor (Sam Claflin), a wealthy but depressed man, who has been permanently paralyzed in an accident and Louisa Clark (Emilia Clarke), a happy, cheerful working-class woman form an unconditional deep bonding.

This movie on one side is heartwarming and on the other side is heartbreaking. Me before you is an emotional journey of two people from strangers to good friends to soulmates. This is one of the best romantic movies I have watched in recent times.