What men want

IN: Pitt, Law, Farrell. OUT: Gibson, Di Caprio

True romance: Cutting it with the boys

So what do the guys think of love on the big screen - is it just mush and slush lapped up by weepy chicks, or do they have their all-time favourite moments too?

Chick flicks don't interest 16-year-old John McCarthy, who goes to school in St Brendan's, Bray, Co Wicklow, but he did admit to enjoying the rosier moments of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the new Chinese release with subtitles. "I wouldn't go to see a romantic film because I don't like them. I'm not saying that to be all macho, I just think they're crap. But I really liked Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I thought that was quite romantic, but in a different way to most of the Hollywood movies. It's a martial arts film, but it dealt with the topic of love quite seriously and I think it got the mix right," he said.

Fifteen-year-old Jonah King, from The High School in Rathgar, agrees. "I love real romance in film, but not this dumbed-down stereotype of it. I hate films like Titanic and Notting Hill. It's not that I think kissing a girl is gross, I don't, but I think most of these teen romance movies are just slushy."

And to prove this, Jonah can rattle off a list of his favourite romantic films: The English Patient tops the list, followed by the modern version of Romeo + Juliet. Forrest Gump is on John's list, along with Philadelphia and Edward Scissorshands.

"You can only feel real love and romance when the movie has really developed the characters, otherwise it's just insincere. That's where films like The English Patient succeed," Jonah says. "Personally, I think the media really cheapens love and has killed off romance by using sex to sell everything. Teenagers come to expect sex instead of romance."