For us computer aficionados and robot enthusiasts, the holiday season is a time of rest and relaxation. We spend much of our time throughout the year pushing our brain to the max and training our mind to tackle and conquer new technologies, so this holidays should be a time to kick back by the fire after a hearty meal and watch a few movies. With that in mind, here are a few robot movies that are appropriate for this special time as they deal with love, romance and all that mushy stuff. So grab your mate and some hot popcorn, and curl up with any one of these flicks, and you’re sure to have a cute ol’ time.

Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
Too long, too emotionless, and too big for its own britches, Artificial Intelligence: AI could be written off as a Spielberg-by-way-of-Stanley-Kubrick disaster if it weren’t for one thing; the fact that the movie actually manages to stick with you afterwards. Haunting, bizarre, and subversively affecting, AI feels stiff when you watch it, but presents so many unique ideas that some of them manage to stick with you after the fact. Haley Joel Osment’s Davis is a robot who just wants to be loved, and his relationship with equally lonely robot Gigolo Joe (Jude Law) is strangely touching. A long strange trip, but one that is worth taking.

Bicentennial Man (1999)
A futuristic family buys a robot maid (Robin Williams) who, after a fall from window, shows signs of real human emotion. Dopey, sappy and full of fluff, this flick is not necessarily good, but is a family film about a robot who finds love. So if you have the kids and grandparents over, this one might just do the trick (though YOU will likely need to drink a few beers and watch Good Morning, Vietnam to gain your love for Robin Williams back).

Making Mr. Right (1987)
Yes, even the great John Malkovich has made a crappy robot-in-love movie. Ann Magnuson plays Frankie Stone, a high class advertising gal who has to figure out a successful advertising campaign for a new project, an android named Ullyseus (Malkovich), designed by mad scientist also played Malkovich. To the doctor’s dismay, her quality time with the ‘bot starts to make the android more human, and he soon is showing genuine affection towards Stone. Yikes. Needless to say, the sparks fly, and love and circuitry are in the air.

Robocop (1987)
This is hardly a movie to watch with your love interest…. unless your lover likes blowin’ sh*t up! That being said, this is a film about a robot in love. Peter Weller plays Officer Alex J. Murphy, who is gunned down in the line of duty, only to be revived Steve Austin-style by becoming a half-robot super cop. His human side creeps through though and he starts to fantasize about his wife and family, longing to be human again and share their love. Instead, he simply goes on a vigilante killing spree to payback the ones that murdered him in the first place. Ahhhh, true love!

Electric Dreams (1984)
This quirky romance flick finds nerdy Miles Harding in love with his neighbor, played by lovely Virginia Madsen. Miles spends so much time talking with his interactive computer Edger (voiced by Bud Cort of Harold & Maude fame) that Edger soon falls in love with the object of his affection too. In no time, the two are competing for her affections, with Edger pulling some pretty mean pranks on Miles to thwart his efforts and embarrass him. Does human emotion prevail or computer-generated faux-emotion? Tune in and find out.

Heartbeeps (1981)
Andy Kaufman and Bernadette Peters play Val and Aqua, two runaway servant robots in love. They just want to live the rest of their lives together in peace but they are being hunted down by the tank-like Crimebuster ‘bot, who will stop at nothing to destroy them. Only hooking up with a wacky comic-relief ‘bot played by Randy Quaid can ease the tension of their plight. An odd choice for edgy comic Kaufman, and a pretty so-so movie, but worth seeing just to watch the deceased Taxi star act like a robot for 90 minutes.

Saturn 3 (1980)
Another dark tale of robot love in space, Saturn 3 stars Kirk Douglas and Farrah Fawcett as two lovers in charge of a space mission. Harvey Keitel plays a deranged scientist with a thing for Farrah (Hey, it was the ‘70s, who didn’t have a thing for the feather-haired wife of the Six Million Dollar Man!), who has built a very menacing robot. The robot soon kills Keitel and goes after Farrah in a fit of ‘bot lust. What he would do with her once he got his hands on her, we don’t know, but the implications are not pretty.

Silent Running (1972)
This slow-paced but interesting early-‘70s entry finds Bruce Dern aboard a greenhouse spaceship. He’s a creepy loner hippie who alienates himself from his crew before murdering them all in a fit of rage when they announce the cancellation of his horticulture program. Soon Dern is all alone on his spaceship, accompanied only by a small crew of helper robots, who he soon forms a special bond of friendship with. The murder is dealt with lightly here (no blood), but the bond between man and ‘bot is priceless… and disturbing.