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 Banshee first
Sons of Anarchy 2008
Series
The Sons of Anarchy (SOA) are an outlaw motorcycle club with many charters in the United States and overseas. The show focused on the original and founding charter, Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original, often referred to by the acronym SAMCRO, Sam Crow, or simply Redwood Charter. The charter operates both legal and illegal businesses in the small town of Charming, California. They combine gun-running and a garage, and involvement in porn film industry. Clay, the charter president, likes it old school and violent; while Jax, his stepson and the club's VP, has thoughts about changing the way things are done. Their conflict has effects on both the club and their personal relationship, especially when Jax goes on a personal quest to cleanse the SAMCRO name and image.
The sides of Sons of Anarchy
- An outlaw motorcycle club in a California town
- A young vice president questioning his stepfather
- Guns, a garage and a family business
Good for you if
- you like Jax Teller trying to clean up the club while doing worse to protect it.
- you like Gemma holding the club together like a mother and a queen.
- you like a club where loyalty can turn into betrayal at any moment.
Bad for you if
- you can't stand brutal beatings and executions.
- seven seasons is too much for you.
About: loyalty · fathers and sons · brotherhood
The Dark Knight 2008
Film
Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.
The sides of The Dark Knight
- A villain who only wants chaos
- A city forced to choose
- A hero paying the price
Good for you if
- you like a villain you can't take your eyes off.
- you like scenes where every choice could cost a life.
- you like tension that comes from people talking, like the interrogation room.
Bad for you if
- you need things to end on a high. This one leaves a weight.
- two and a half hours is too long for your evening.
About: chaos · order · sacrifice · corruption
The Boys 2019
Series
A group of vigilantes known informally as “The Boys” set out to take down corrupt superheroes with no more than blue-collar grit and a willingness to fight dirty.
The sides of The Boys
- Superheroes who are celebrities and monsters
- Ordinary people fighting back
- A corporation behind it all
Good for you if
- you like satire of superheroes, fame and brands.
- you like heroes who are the worst people on screen.
- you like a hero who could kill anyone, any time.
Bad for you if
- extreme gore is too much for you.
- very crude sex scenes aren't for you.
About: power · celebrity · corruption
Prisoners 2013
Film
When his young daughter and her friend disappear on Thanksgiving, a father takes the law into his own hands while a detective works the case.
The sides of Prisoners
- A detective who won't let go
- How far a father will go
- A case built like a maze
- Rain, cold, and grey light
Good for you if
- you like being tense for two and a half hours straight.
- you like collecting clues and trying to get ahead of the detective.
- you like watching an actor go somewhere raw. Hugh Jackman does.
Bad for you if
- a child in danger is too much for you.
- two and a half hours is too long for your evening.
About: faith · revenge · guilt · fatherhood
Scarface 1983
Film
After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall.
The sides of Scarface
- A refugee who wants the world
- Cocaine and Miami in the 80s
- Say hello to my little friend
Good for you if
- you like a performance that's over the top on purpose.
- you like following a ruthless Cuban refugee building a cocaine empire in Miami.
- you like an ending with no mercy.
Bad for you if
- chainsaws and shootouts ruin it for you.
- nearly three hours is too much for one evening.
- films from 1983 feel dated to you.
About: greed · power · excess
Taxi Driver 1976
Film
Suffering from insomnia, disturbed loner Travis Bickle takes a job as a New York City cabbie, haunting the streets nightly, growing increasingly detached from reality as he dreams of cleaning up the filthy city.
The sides of Taxi Driver
- A lonely veteran driving nights in New York
- You talkin' to me?
- A girl he wants to save
Good for you if
- you like a performance that gets under your skin.
- you like a dark, dirty city and a darker mind.
- you like a character study of a man coming apart.
Bad for you if
- a sudden, bloody climax ruins it for you.
- you can't watch a child forced into prostitution. Jodie Foster plays Iris, twelve years old and on the street.
About: loneliness · violence · the city
Marvel's The Punisher 2017
Series
A former Marine out to punish the criminals responsible for his family's murder finds himself ensnared in a military conspiracy.
The sides of Marvel's The Punisher
- A former Marine hunting his family's killers
- A military conspiracy reaching back to Afghanistan
- A hacker hiding from the world
Good for you if
- you like close-quarters fights and gunfights that hurt.
- you want to follow Frank Castle even when his justice goes too far.
- you're drawn to veterans who come home but never leave the war behind.
Bad for you if
- you can't stand graphic violence, torture included.
- you can't sit through grief and war trauma.
About: revenge · grief · justice · veterans
Breaking Bad 2008
Series
A high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with lung cancer starts making meth with a former student to pay for his family's future.
The sides of Breaking Bad
- An ordinary man's slow corruption
- Crime as a business
- One bad choice that spirals
- Desert, tension, long silences
Good for you if
- you like rooting for someone you know you shouldn't.
- you like tension that builds for a whole episode before it breaks.
- you watch for how people change more than for what happens.
Bad for you if
- graphic violence ruins a show for you. Some scenes are hard to unsee.
- TV is how you unwind. This one keeps you tense.
- five seasons is more than you want to start.
About: pride · family · power · consequences
Dexter: New Blood 2021
Series
10 years after Dexter went missing in the eye of Hurricane Laura, we find him living under an assumed name in the small town of Iron Lake, New York. Dexter may be embracing his new life, but in the wake of unexpected events in this close-knit community, his Dark Passenger beckons.
The sides of Dexter: New Blood
- Dexter hiding under a new name
- A snowy town in upstate New York
- A son who finds his father again
Good for you if
- you like rooting for a killer who only kills killers.
- you like a small-town police chief getting closer to the truth.
- you like Dexter trying to be a father to the teenage son he left behind.
Bad for you if
- you can't stand watching kills on screen.
- you need some hope at the end of a dark story.
About: fathers and sons · guilt · identity
Drive 2011
Film
Driver is a skilled Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver for criminals. Though he projects an icy exterior, lately he's been warming up to a pretty neighbor named Irene and her young son, Benicio. When Irene's husband gets out of jail, he enlists Driver's help in a million-dollar heist. The job goes horribly wrong, and Driver must risk his life to protect Irene and Benicio from the vengeful masterminds behind the robbery.
The sides of Drive
- A silent professional with a code
- The city at night, neon and synths
- Tenderness, then sudden violence
Good for you if
- you like neon Los Angeles nights.
- you like a synth soundtrack you'll play on repeat.
- you like long silences and a hero who barely speaks.
Bad for you if
- sudden, very brutal violence ruins a film for you.
- you want characters who talk.
About: loneliness · protection · violence
Peaky Blinders 2013
Series
A gangster family epic set in 1919 Birmingham, England and centered on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy Shelby, who means to move up in the world.
The sides of Peaky Blinders
- A gang family in 1920s Birmingham
- Razor blades in caps
- A war hero who wants power
Good for you if
- you like a cold, brilliant gang leader.
- you like smoke, coats and slow walks.
- you like modern rock over period scenes.
Bad for you if
- brutal gang violence ruins a show for you.
- six seasons is more than you want to start.
About: ambition · family · trauma
The Sopranos 1999
Series
The story of New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads. Those difficulties are often highlighted through his ongoing professional relationship with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi. The show features Tony's family members and Mafia associates in prominent roles and story arcs, most notably his wife Carmela and his cousin and protégé Christopher Moltisanti.
The sides of The Sopranos
- A New Jersey mob boss in therapy
- A wife who knows more than she says
- A crew of wiseguys and a nephew who wants more
Good for you if
- you like rooting for Tony Soprano while knowing exactly what he is.
- you like the hours Tony spends on Dr. Melfi's couch as much as the hits.
- you laugh at mobsters arguing about ducks, food and respect.
Bad for you if
- you can't stand sudden, brutal killings between family dinners.
- you need clear answers. The show leaves much of Tony for you to figure out.
About: family · guilt · the American dream · therapy
Your Honor 2020
Series
New Orleans judge Michael Desiato is forced to confront his own deepest convictions when his son is involved in a hit and run that embroils an organized crime family.
The sides of Your Honor
- A judge whose son kills a boy in a hit and run
- A New Orleans crime family looking for a name
- A father burning everything to protect his son
Good for you if
- you like watching one lie force the next one.
- you want Bryan Cranston as a decent man coming apart slowly.
- you like following a judge who breaks every rule he enforces.
Bad for you if
- you need some hope. Here every choice makes things worse.
- you can't watch a story that opens on a dead teenager.
About: guilt · fatherhood · justice
Watchmen 2009
Film
In a gritty and alternate 1985, the glory days of costumed vigilantes have been brought to a close by a government crackdown. But after one of the masked veterans is brutally murdered, an investigation into the killer is initiated. The reunited heroes set out to prevent their own destruction, but in doing so they uncover a sinister plot that puts all of humanity in grave danger.
The sides of Watchmen
- Retired heroes in an alternate 1985
- A masked detective investigating a murder
- A blue man who sees all time at once
Good for you if
- you like comic panels brought to life frame by frame.
- you like a dark take on what heroes really are.
- you like an ending that asks a moral question.
Bad for you if
- graphic violence ruins it for you.
- nearly three hours is too much for one evening.
- sex scenes and nudity aren't for you.
About: power · morality · history
Locked Up 2015
Series
Set up to take the blame for corporate fraud, young Macarena Ferreiro is locked up in a high-security women's prison surrounded by tough, ruthless criminals in this tense, provocative Spanish thriller.
The sides of Locked Up
- A young woman jailed for her boss's fraud
- A women's prison run by its inmates
- A cold, fearless inmate named Zulema
Good for you if
- you like a newcomer learning the rules of a prison where one mistake costs her.
- you like a story where everyone, guards included, is breaking the law.
- you can't look away from Zulema, the inmate you shouldn't root for.
Bad for you if
- you can't take brutal fights and killings between inmates.
- you won't watch a Spanish series with subtitles.
About: survival · corruption · power behind bars
The Equalizer 2014
Film
McCall believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when he meets Teri, a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can’t stand idly by – he has to help her. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.
The sides of The Equalizer
- A quiet man in a hardware store
- A young girl he decides to protect
- Counting seconds before a fight
Good for you if
- you like a calm hero who ends fights in seconds.
- you like slow build-ups before violence.
Bad for you if
- graphic killings with tools ruin it for you.
- a teenage girl beaten by her pimps is too hard for you to watch.
About: justice · protection · redemption
Oldboy 2003
Film
With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate man seeks revenge on his captors.
The sides of Oldboy
- A man locked up for fifteen years with no reason
- A corridor fight with a hammer
- A live octopus
Good for you if
- you like an ending that floors you.
- you like a one-take hallway fight.
- you like revenge with no clean way out.
Bad for you if
- brutal violence ruins it for you.
- you won't read subtitles. It's in Korean (a dub exists).
- you can't take despair on screen. A man locked up for fifteen years comes out close to breaking.
About: revenge · guilt · imprisonment
The Godfather 1972
Film
Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.
The sides of The Godfather
- A family business that is a mafia
- A son who said he'd stay out
- A wedding, a horse, an offer
Good for you if
- you like a story that takes its time and lands like a verdict.
- you like quiet actors saying a lot with one look.
- you like watching a decent man become someone else.
Bad for you if
- nearly three hours is too much for one evening.
- films from the 1970s feel slow and dated to you.
- sudden, cold killings ruin a film for you.
About: family · power · loyalty · America
Léon: The Professional 1994
Film
Léon, the top hit man in New York, has earned a rep as an effective "cleaner". But when his next-door neighbors are wiped out by a loose-cannon DEA agent, he becomes the unwilling custodian of 12-year-old Mathilda. Before long, Mathilda's thoughts turn to revenge, and she considers following in Léon's footsteps.
The sides of Léon: The Professional
- A lonely hitman and a girl next door
- A plant he waters every day
- A corrupt cop on drugs
Good for you if
- you like an unlikely bond between a killer and a child.
- you like tight, stylish shootouts.
- you like an ending that leaves a lump in your throat.
Bad for you if
- shootouts and a family's murder are too much for you.
- a twelve-year-old playing Russian roulette is too much for you.
About: innocence · loneliness · revenge
The Godfather Part II 1974
Film
In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.
The sides of The Godfather Part II
- A son ruling the family business
- A young father building it in old New York
- A brother's betrayal
Good for you if
- you like a long, patient tragedy.
- you like two great performances in two eras.
- you like a dark family saga that offers no comfort.
Bad for you if
- over three hours is too long for one evening.
About: family · power · loneliness