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 Blade first
John Wick: Chapter 2 2017
Film
John Wick is forced out of retirement by a former associate looking to seize control of a shadowy international assassins’ guild. Bound by a blood oath to aid him, Wick travels to Rome and does battle against some of the world’s most dangerous killers.
The sides of John Wick: Chapter 2
- A debt that pulls him back
- A gun shop that works like a tailor
- A hall of mirrors
Good for you if
- you like long fights choreographed like dance.
- you like Rome at night and a museum of mirrors.
- you like the secret rules of the assassins' world.
Bad for you if
- endless headshots ruin a film for you.
- you want a story told in words.
About: debt · rules · exile
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
Doctor Strange, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary.
The sides of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- A jump across universes
- A girl who can travel between them
- A witch who wants her children
Good for you if
- you like strange universes, including one made of paint.
- you like trippy, horror-tinged images.
- you like a superhero film with horror-movie scares.
Bad for you if
- you can't stand gore. This superhero film turns into a horror film, with bloody deaths.
- you need the logic to hold up. Here magic rewrites the rules from one universe to the next.
About: grief · motherhood · choices
The Suicide Squad 2021
Film
Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and a collection of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese.
The sides of The Suicide Squad
- Villains sent on a suicide mission
- A shark who just wants friends
- A giant starfish
Good for you if
- you like gleefully twisted humour.
- you like a gang of oddballs.
- you like wild, gory action.
Bad for you if
- over-the-top gore ruins it for you.
- a giant alien starfish stomping through a city is too strange for you.
About: redemption · friendship · chaos
Suicide Squad 2016
Film
From DC Comics comes the Suicide Squad, an antihero team of incarcerated supervillains who act as deniable assets for the United States government, undertaking high-risk black ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences.
The sides of Suicide Squad
- Villains forced to work together
- Harley Quinn
- A soundtrack of hits
Good for you if
- you like spending time with bad guys sent to do good.
- you like a film packed with famous songs.
- you like a gang shooting its way through a ruined city.
Bad for you if
- you want a quiet character drama. This is a gang of villains on a loud night mission.
- you lose track easily. The film opens by introducing a whole squad of villains.
About: loyalty · redemption · chaos
Kick-Ass 2010
Film
Dave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan who one day decides to become a super-hero, even though he has no powers, training or meaningful reason to do so.
The sides of Kick-Ass
- A teen who decides to be a superhero
- An eleven-year-old killer in purple
- Real violence for a fake hero
Good for you if
- you like superhero parody that gets bloody.
- you like a little girl taking down a room of gangsters.
- you like a hero with no powers and no clue.
Bad for you if
- a child doing graphic violence is too much for you.
- you need it to stay realistic. It starts with a boy in a wetsuit and turns into a war with the mob.
About: identity · heroism · family
Constantine 2005
Film
John Constantine has literally been to Hell and back. When he teams up with a policewoman to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles.
The sides of Constantine
- A chain-smoking exorcist
- Angels and demons in Los Angeles
- A trip to hell
Good for you if
- you like dark religious fantasy.
- you like an investigation into a twin's death that leads through angels and demons.
- you like a hell that looks like a burning city.
Bad for you if
- demons and possession scenes are too much for you.
- you can't take suicide on screen. The story starts with one and comes back to it.
About: redemption · faith · sacrifice
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
The Dark Knight Rises 2012
Film
Following the death of District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman assumes responsibility for Dent's crimes to protect the late attorney's reputation and is subsequently hunted by the Gotham City Police Department. Eight years later, Batman encounters the mysterious Selina Kyle and the villainous Bane, a new terrorist leader who overwhelms Gotham's finest. The Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.
The sides of The Dark Knight Rises
- A hero coming out of retirement
- A city taken hostage
- A villain behind a mask
Good for you if
- you like set pieces on a huge scale, like a plane torn apart mid-air.
- you like a hero who gets back up, with a big sincere finish.
- you like brutal, close-up fights.
Bad for you if
- nearly three hours is too much for one evening.
- you lose track easily. Bane, Selina Kyle, a young cop named Blake and a fight over Wayne's company all run side by side.
About: pain · rising again · legacy
Man of Steel 2013
Film
A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.
The sides of Man of Steel
- A baby sent from a dying planet
- A farm boy hiding his strength
- A city levelled by a fight
Good for you if
- you like flying and fighting at full force.
- you like a Superman raised by two fathers, Jor-El and Jonathan Kent.
- you like Hans Zimmer's rising score as Clark learns to fly.
Bad for you if
- you want a sunny Superman. This Clark spends years hiding who he is, afraid of how the world will react.
- you can't stand endless destruction. Smallville and Metropolis are levelled in the last hour.
About: identity · hope · fathers
Arrow 2012
Series
Spoiled billionaire playboy Oliver Queen is missing and presumed dead when his yacht is lost at sea. He returns five years later a changed man, determined to clean up the city as a hooded vigilante armed with a bow.
The sides of Arrow
- A billionaire back from five years on an island
- A hooded vigilante with a bow
- Flashbacks to how he survived
Good for you if
- you like rooftop fights and trick arrows every week.
- you like a hero who starts out crossing names off a list.
Bad for you if
- eight seasons and crossovers with other DC shows is too much for you.
- you roll your eyes at speeches about saving the city.
About: redemption · family · guilt · justice
Titans 2018
Series
A team of young superheroes led by Nightwing (formerly Batman's first Robin) form to combat evil and other perils.
The sides of Titans
- Batman's first Robin out on his own
- A girl with a darkness inside her
- Young heroes becoming a team
Good for you if
- you like superhero fights that hit hard.
- you want your superheroes dark and damaged.
- you like misfits like Raven, Starfire and Beast Boy becoming a family.
Bad for you if
- you can't stand bloody superhero fights.
- you lose track when a team keeps growing, from Hawk and Dove to Donna Troy and Superboy.
About: found family · identity · trauma
Resident Evil: Vendetta 2017
Anime
When a fearless enemy out for revenge unleashes a brutal and deadly new virus, BSAA captain Chris Redfield enlists the help of Agent Leon S. Kennedy and Professor Rebecca Chambers to bring down the death merchant and save New York City.
The sides of Resident Evil: Vendetta
- A new virus released as revenge
- Chris Redfield, Leon Kennedy and Rebecca Chambers
- A zombie outbreak threatening New York
Good for you if
- you want gunfights and hand-to-hand fights throughout.
- you like zombies coming at you out of the dark.
- you like computer-animated set pieces built like a game cutscene.
Bad for you if
- you can't stand gore and bodies coming apart in close-up.
- you don't watch animated films.
About: revenge · survival · science
Batman Begins 2005
Film
Driven by tragedy, billionaire Bruce Wayne dedicates his life to uncovering and defeating the corruption that plagues his home, Gotham City. Unable to work within the system, he instead creates a new identity, a symbol of fear for the criminal underworld - The Batman.
The sides of Batman Begins
- Learning fear in the mountains
- A city rotting from inside
- Building Batman piece by piece
Good for you if
- you like an origin story that takes the hero's grief seriously.
- you like grounded fights and a tank on rooftops.
- you like a villain who uses your fears against you.
Bad for you if
- you want a light, funny superhero film.
- you roll your eyes at big, sincere speeches. Alfred asking Bruce why we fall is the heart of it.
About: fear · grief · justice
Harley Quinn joins forces with a singer, an assassin and a police detective to help a young girl who had a hit placed on her after she stole a rare diamond from a crime lord.
The sides of Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
- Harley after the breakup
- A gang of women thrown together
- A fight in a funhouse
Good for you if
- you like a chaotic, funny narrator.
- you like colourful, inventive fights.
- you like glitter and confetti everywhere.
Bad for you if
- bone-breaking fights ruin it for you.
- you lose track easily. Harley tells five women's stories out of order.
About: independence · friendship · chaos
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
Deadpool & Wolverine 2024
Film
A listless Wade Wilson toils away in civilian life with his days as the morally flexible mercenary, Deadpool, behind him. But when his homeworld faces an existential threat, Wade must reluctantly suit-up again with an even more reluctant Wolverine.
The sides of Deadpool & Wolverine
- Deadpool recruits the worst Wolverine
- A wasteland of forgotten heroes
- Jokes about every Marvel film
Good for you if
- you like nonstop jokes and cameos.
- you like two unkillable men fighting each other.
- you like gory humour.
Bad for you if
- blood and gore ruin it for you.
- you can't root for a hero who kills, swears and jokes about it.
About: friendship · legacy · purpose
Shang-Chi must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.
The sides of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- A son running from his father
- A bus fight in San Francisco
- A hidden village with dragons
Good for you if
- you like martial arts fights choreographed like dance.
- you like a story about a father and his children.
- you like Awkwafina cracking jokes while she drives a bus through a fight in San Francisco.
Bad for you if
- a final act full of creatures and dragons isn't your thing.
- you need the logic to hold up. Ten magic rings fly around like living weapons.
About: family · legacy · grief
Wanted 2008
Film
Doormat Wesley Gibson is an office worker whose life is going nowhere. He meets an attractive woman named Fox and discovers that his recently murdered father - whom Wesley never knew - belonged to the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins which takes its orders from Fate itself. Fox and Sloan, the Fraternity's leader, teach Wesley, through intense training, to tap into dormant powers and hone his innate killing skills. Though he enjoys his newfound abilities, he begins to suspect that there is more to the Fraternity than meets the eye.
The sides of Wanted
- An office worker recruited by assassins
- Bullets that curve
- A loom of fate
Good for you if
- you like stylish, absurd gun fights.
- you like slow-motion bullets that bend.
Bad for you if
- bloody killings ruin it for you.
- you need physics to matter.
About: fate · freedom
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 2003
Film
An assassin is shot by her ruthless employer, Bill, and other members of their assassination circle – but she lives to plot her vengeance.
The sides of Kill Bill: Vol. 1
- A bride out for revenge
- A sword fight against eighty-eight men
- Anime, westerns and kung fu mixed together
Good for you if
- you like long, choreographed sword fights.
- you like a film that changes style every chapter, even into anime.
- you like a soundtrack that makes every scene feel bigger.
Bad for you if
- blood spraying everywhere ruins it for you, even stylised.
- you need things to stay believable. One woman cuts her way through the Crazy 88.
About: revenge · motherhood · honour