They make quite a pair

The Departed

Leo + Matt

The weakest thing in “The Departed’’ (2006) is that business of Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon sharing the same girlfriend (Vera Farmiga). Not only is the love triangle a cheap plot device, it gets in the way of the fact that Leo and Matt are the real romantic couple in the movie! So what if they only briefly meet - and with such a sanguinary outcome. They’re the ones who set off sparks. And it’s not necessarily a gay thing (though it’s certainly homoerotic). They’re more like Butch and Sundance or Rick and Capt. Renault. This could be the start of a beautiful screen friendship. - MARK FEENEY

The English Patient

Ralph + Kristin (and Juliette + Naveen)

Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas are the stars of “The English Patient’’ (1996). It’s their soaring, illicit pairing that drives the story and what people remember. When she climbs into that sunken bathtub, watch out! But the heart of the movie - its sweet, enchanted heart - is the love between Juliette Binoche’s nurse, Hana, and Naveen Andrews’s demolition expert, Kip. Perhaps the greatest mystery of the countless mysteries surrounding “Lost’’ is how Andrews ended up stuck on that island instead of becoming a male romantic lead of the first rank. - M.F.

Knocked Up

Seth + Paul

Call it bromance, if you must. But what you feel Seth Rogen feeling for Paul Rudd in “Knocked Up’’ (2007) is slightly more than platonic. Until the spell warps, they have the movie’s only lovingly romantic chemistry, and for long stretches - especially during that suspenseful trip to Vegas - there’s really every reason to believe that once their long true heart-to-heart is over, Katherine Heigl won’t be the only character with child. - WESLEY MORRIS

Mahogany

Diana + Billy Dee

On the one hand, “Mahogany’’ (1975) is the tale of a schoolteacher who becomes the world’s preeminent fashion model/designer. On the other, it’s a love story between - White House alert - a Chicago community organizer and the clotheshorse he adores. On either, it’s all perfectly ludicrous in a “Way We Were’’ way. But Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams have something real together. Their love could have launched a thousand Essence magazine covers, then burned them all up. - W.M.

Out of Sight

J.Lo. + George

Part of the wonder of “Out of Sight’’ (1998) is the perfect balance between its two very sexy costars. Back then, both Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney must have thought they were on the verge of big, big careers. Well, now we know she wasn’t - and he sure was. But that’s beside the point, romantically. It’s the absolute equipoise of their shared moment in celluloid time that matters. With some help from Elmore Leonard (on whose novel the film is based), and Steven Soderbergh (who directed it), the audience receives a rare lesson in screen chemistry, one in which even the tiniest molecule generates heat. - M.F.

The Princess Bride

Westley + Buttercup

“This is true love - you think this happens every day?’’ Well, no, but Westley (Cary Elwes) and Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright, below with Elwes) of “The Princess Bride’’ (1987) are memorable not just because they’re predestined but because they’re so adorably dim. The movie spoofs fairy-tale romance while serving it up delectably straight. - TY BURR

WALL-E

WALL-E + Eve

He’s yesterday’s tech and she’s the soul of the New Machine - by all rights, theirs should be the love that dare not speak its programming code. Yet one of the primal joys of “WALL-E’’ (2008) is watching the sleek white Eve come around to the rusty, clanky charms of the title sentinel. They’re the Tracy and Hepburn of sci-fi family apocalypse. - T.B.