What do you want to watch tonight?
Each title says who it's good for, and who it isn't. Tap what you want tonight, or say no to one and why.
Closest to 13th first
BlacKkKlansman 2018
Film
Colorado Springs, late 1970s. Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer, and Flip Zimmerman, his Jewish colleague, run an undercover operation to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan.
The sides of BlacKkKlansman
- A Black cop infiltrating the KKK
- A Jewish partner playing his body
- Phone calls with the Grand Wizard
Good for you if
- you like absurd true stories told with humour.
- you like stories that really happened.
- you like undercover scenes that could go wrong.
Bad for you if
- real racist violence shown at the end is too much tonight.
- you'd rather keep politics out of your evening. It ends on Charlottesville in 2017.
About: racism · identity · resistance
The Wire 2002
Series
Told from the points of view of both the Baltimore homicide and narcotics detectives and their targets, the series captures a universe in which the national war on drugs has become a permanent, self-sustaining bureaucracy, and distinctions between good and evil are routinely obliterated.
The sides of The Wire
- Baltimore cops wiretapping a drug crew
- The docks, the schools, City Hall and the newspaper
- Dealers and detectives seen from both sides
Good for you if
- you like seeing how police, politics and schools keep a city stuck.
- you like a case built patiently over a whole season.
- you want people like Omar, Stringer Bell and McNulty to stay with you.
Bad for you if
- you lose track with dozens of characters on both sides.
- you need some hope. Baltimore rarely changes here.
About: institutions · the drug war · loyalty
Bowling for Columbine 2002
Documentary
This is not a film about gun control. It is a film about the fearful heart and soul of the United States, and the 280 million Americans lucky enough to have the right to a constitutionally protected Uzi. From a look at the Columbine High School security camera tapes to the home of Oscar-winning NRA President Charlton Heston, from a young man who makes homemade napalm with The Anarchist's Cookbook to the murder of a six-year-old girl by another six-year-old. Bowling for Columbine is a journey through the US, through our past, hoping to discover why our pursuit of happiness is so riddled with violence.
The sides of Bowling for Columbine
- A bank that hands out a rifle when you open an account
- Columbine security camera footage
- An interview with Charlton Heston at his home
Good for you if
- you want a road trip through America asking why it has so many shootings.
- you can laugh at a cartoon history of America while the subject is gun deaths.
- you like a sardonic narrator who questions everyone from Marilyn Manson to Charlton Heston.
Bad for you if
- a school shooting and a six-year-old girl's death are too much for you.
- you can't watch real footage from inside a school during a shooting.
About: guns · fear · violence
12 Years a Slave 2013
Film
In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.
The sides of 12 Years a Slave
- A free man kidnapped into slavery
- Twelve years on plantations
- A hope he never lets go of
Good for you if
- you like performances that are hard to watch and impossible to forget.
- you want history shown without looking away.
- you like a true story taken from Solomon Northup's own memoir.
Bad for you if
- the cruelty of slavery shown in full is too much tonight.
- whippings shown at length are too hard for you.
About: slavery · survival · dignity
Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes 2019
Documentary
A unique look inside the mind of an infamous serial killer with this cinematic self-portrait crafted from statements made by Ted Bundy, including present-day interviews, archival footage and audio recordings from death row.
The sides of Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
- Ted Bundy's own taped interviews from death row
- Archive footage of 1970s trials
- Detectives and journalists who followed the case
Good for you if
- you want to hear a real case from the recordings themselves.
- you like 1970s archive footage of a case that marked America.
Bad for you if
- you can't listen to a man describe crimes against real young women.
- you need some hope, and this offers none.
About: evil · justice · the media
Chernobyl 2019
Series
The true story of one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history: the catastrophic nuclear accident at Chernobyl. A tale of the brave men and women who sacrificed to save Europe from unimaginable disaster.
The sides of Chernobyl
- The night a reactor exploded
- Scientists against the lies of a state
- Men sent onto the roof
Good for you if
- you like dread that never lets go.
- you want to understand a real disaster.
- you can take a grim, unflinching story.
Bad for you if
- radiation sickness shown in detail is too hard for you.
- you can't watch animals being shot. Soldiers clear the zone of the pets left behind.
About: truth · sacrifice · lies
Waltz with Bashir 2008
Documentary
A film director from Israel interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.
The sides of Waltz with Bashir
- An Israeli director who can't remember his war
- Interviews with fellow veterans of Lebanon, 1982
- Animated memories that end on real footage
Good for you if
- you want to know what a war does to the memory of those who fought it.
- you like a director investigating his own past.
- you like dreamlike animated images, like soldiers rising from the sea at night.
Bad for you if
- you'd rather not see a war documentary in animation.
- you won't read subtitles. It's in Hebrew.
- you can't take a film about guilt and the dead of a war, seen through a soldier's nightmares.
About: memory · guilt · war
Inside Job 2010
Documentary
A film that exposes the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. The global financial meltdown, at a cost of over $20 trillion, resulted in millions of people losing their homes and jobs. Through extensive research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and journalists, Inside Job traces the rise of a rogue industry and unveils the corrosive relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation and academia.
The sides of Inside Job
- The 2008 financial crisis, from Iceland to Wall Street
- Bankers, regulators and economists in front of the camera
- Professors who can't answer a simple question
Good for you if
- you want to know who made money from the crash and who paid.
- you like a case built with real figures, real names and real interviews.
- you like interviews where the person in the chair starts to squirm.
Bad for you if
- you don't want to follow derivatives and credit default swaps for an evening.
- you want a reassuring ending. Here almost nobody goes to jail.
About: greed · corruption · the economy
Making a Murderer 2015
Documentary
Filmed over 10 years, this real-life thriller follows a DNA exoneree who, while exposing police corruption, becomes a suspect in a grisly new crime.
The sides of Making a Murderer
- A man freed by DNA after 18 years in prison
- A new murder charge two years later
- A nephew's confession and the trials that follow
Good for you if
- you want to weigh the evidence in the Steven Avery case yourself.
- you like seeing how a county police force and a court work up close.
- you like a case followed over ten years, hearing by hearing.
Bad for you if
- a real young woman's murder and a teenager's interrogation are too much for you.
- you need some hope, and a family's ten-year fight through prison visits and appeals wears you down.
About: justice · doubt · family
MINDHUNTER 2017
Series
In the late 1970s, two FBI agents start interviewing imprisoned serial killers to understand how they think, and use what they learn on open cases.
The sides of MINDHUNTER
- Interviews with real killers
- The birth of criminal profiling
- What the work does to the people doing it
Good for you if
- you like tension that comes from people talking across a table.
- you like stories built on real cases and real killers.
- you like a slow, quiet build more than action.
Bad for you if
- you can't stand a story left unfinished, and the series stopped after two seasons with the BTK thread still open.
- you don't want to hear crimes against women and children described in detail.
About: evil · method · the 1970s · obsession
American History X 1998
Film
Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two African-American men. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.
The sides of American History X
- A neo-Nazi coming out of prison
- A younger brother following his path
- Black and white memories
Good for you if
- you like a lead performance that's terrifying and then human.
- you can take a story with no easy comfort.
- you like watching someone try to unlearn hate.
Bad for you if
- one infamous scene of violence is too much for you.
- racism and hate crimes on screen are too heavy for you tonight.
About: hate · family · redemption
Blackfish 2013
Documentary
Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.
The sides of Blackfish
- Tilikum, a captive killer whale
- Former SeaWorld trainers telling what they saw
- The death of a trainer during a show
Good for you if
- you like former trainers admitting what they didn't want to see.
- you care about how intelligent animals live.
- you like seeing a company's story taken apart piece by piece.
Bad for you if
- you can't watch real attacks and a real death described in detail.
- you want a light animal film. This one leaves you angry.
About: captivity · guilt · profit
The Platform 2019
Film
A slab of food descends down a vertical facility. The residents above eat heartily, leaving those below starving and desperate. A rebellion is imminent.
The sides of The Platform
- A tower prison with one platform of food
- Levels from top to bottom
- Who eats and who doesn't
Good for you if
- you like strange, allegorical stories.
- you like a cruel, unflinching idea.
- you like not knowing which level you'll wake up on.
Bad for you if
- gore and cannibalism ruin it for you.
- you won't read subtitles. It's in Spanish (a dub exists).
About: inequality · solidarity · greed
Fahrenheit 9/11 2004
Documentary
Michael Moore's view on how the Bush administration allegedly used the tragic events on 9/11 to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The sides of Fahrenheit 9/11
- The 2000 election and September 11
- A president in a classroom after the attacks
- A mother from Flint who lost her son in Iraq
Good for you if
- you want news footage and interviews from the Bush years in one film.
- you like following money and oil between Washington and Saudi Arabia.
- you like Michael Moore's mocking edits and pop songs over politicians.
Bad for you if
- a mother reading her dead son's last letter is too much for you.
- you can't watch real footage of wounded civilians and soldiers in Iraq.
About: war · grief · politics
Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich 2020
Documentary
Stories from survivors fuel this docuseries examining how convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein used his wealth and power to carry out his abuses.
The sides of Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich
- Survivors telling their own stories
- A billionaire's homes in Palm Beach and New York
- A 2008 plea deal and its consequences
Good for you if
- you want to hear the survivors in their own words.
- you want to understand how money and connections protected one man for years.
Bad for you if
- you can't hear accounts of the sexual abuse of teenage girls.
- you need some hope, and justice here comes late and incomplete.
About: abuse of power · justice · survivors
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief 2015
Documentary
The film profiles eight former members of the Church of Scientology, shining a light on how they attract true believers and the things they do in the name of religion.
The sides of Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
- Eight former members of the Church of Scientology
- How a science fiction writer founded a religion
- Testimony about abuse inside the church
Good for you if
- you like hearing people explain how they came to believe, and how they left.
- you want to know how an organisation keeps control of its members.
- you like long testimonies where people choose every word.
Bad for you if
- you can't listen to accounts of psychological abuse and broken families.
- you lose track when names pile up. Eight former members, two church leaders and a few film stars come and go.
About: belief · control · leaving
Sicko 2007
Documentary
A documentary about the corrupt health care system in The United States whose main goal is to make profit even if it means losing people’s lives. "The more people you deny health insurance, the more money we make" is the business model for health care providers in America.
The sides of Sicko
- Americans refused care by their insurers
- Hospitals in Canada, Britain, France and Cuba
- Michael Moore sailing to Guantanamo with 9/11 rescue workers
Good for you if
- you want to know how an insurer makes money by saying no.
- you like ordinary people telling what their illness cost them.
- you let yourself be moved by 9/11 rescue workers finally treated in a Havana hospital.
Bad for you if
- you can't take grief on screen. Families tell how a loved one died after an insurer said no.
- you roll your eyes at emotional appeals and swelling music.
About: health · money · dignity
DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story 2022
Series
This series examines the gruesome and horrific true crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer and the systemic failures that enabled one of America’s most notorious serial killers to continue his murderous spree in plain sight for over a decade.
The sides of DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
- A serial killer in Milwaukee
- Victims' families ignored by the police
- A neighbour who kept calling for help
Good for you if
- you want to understand how police and institutions failed his victims for over a decade.
- you want a performance that stays with you, Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer.
Bad for you if
- you can't watch real murders and the grief of real families.
- you need a little light, and this Milwaukee stays grey and hopeless from start to finish.
About: racism · police failure · grief
Citizenfour 2014
Documentary
In June 2013, Laura Poitras and reporter Glenn Greenwald flew to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden. She brought her camera with her.
The sides of Citizenfour
- Edward Snowden in a Hong Kong hotel room
- Journalists deciding what to publish
- A fire alarm that makes everyone freeze
Good for you if
- you like the days before a leak, filmed as they happen in one hotel room.
- you want to watch Snowden explain, in his own words, why he did it.
- you like seeing how governments watch their own citizens.
Bad for you if
- you need momentum, and most of it is people talking at a desk.
- you want scale and sound, not a laptop and a hotel bed.
About: surveillance · privacy · courage
Before the Flood 2016
Documentary
A look at how climate change affects our environment and what society can do to prevent the demise of endangered species, ecosystems, and native communities across the planet.
The sides of Before the Flood
- Leonardo DiCaprio travelling as a UN climate messenger
- Melting Arctic ice, burning forests, flooded islands
- Meetings with scientists and world leaders
Good for you if
- you like seeing the effects of climate change on the ground, country by country.
- you care about forests, ice and endangered species.
- you want to know who blocks climate action and why.
Bad for you if
- a film star's sincere voice-over about saving the planet makes you roll your eyes.
- you want something reassuring. This is a warning.
About: climate · responsibility · the future