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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 Foundation first

  1. Dune 2021

    Film

    Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence - a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential - only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

    The sides of Dune

    • A noble son on a desert planet
    • Giant worms under the sand
    • Empires fighting over spice

    Good for you if

    • you want huge ships, huge worms and a huge sound.
    • you like a world with its own politics, religions and ecology.
    • you like a story that sets things up patiently.

    Bad for you if

    • two and a half hours for the first half of a story is too much.
    • you lose track of names. Great houses, guilds and the Bene Gesserit pile up in the first hour.

    About: power · destiny · colonisation

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  2. Follow the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, Paul endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.

    The sides of Dune: Part Two

    • Paul among the desert people
    • Riding a giant worm
    • A messiah he fears becoming

    Good for you if

    • you want to see it big, with sandworms ridden across the desert.
    • you like a desert culture with its own faith.
    • you like a hero whose victory feels like a warning.

    Bad for you if

    • nearly three hours is too much for one evening.
    • you can't stand politics and prophecy. Paul's war is fought over faith and the throne.

    About: power · faith · destiny

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  3. The Expanse 2015

    Series

    A thriller set two hundred years in the future following the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective and a rogue ship's captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.

    The sides of The Expanse

    • A missing young woman and a detective on Ceres
    • The crew of the Rocinante
    • Earth, Mars and the Belt on the brink of war

    Good for you if

    • you like sci-fi where ships obey real physics and gravity matters.
    • you like a solar system colonised all the way out to the asteroid belt.
    • you like the politics between Earth, Mars and the Belters.

    Bad for you if

    • you lose track of storylines spread across planets and ships.
    • six seasons is too much for you.

    About: colonialism · loyalty · humanity

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  4. Interstellar 2014

    Film

    On a dying Earth, a former NASA pilot leaves his two children behind to travel through a wormhole and look for a planet humans can live on.

    The sides of Interstellar

    • The father and the daughter
    • The science you can believe
    • The organ and the silence
    • The loneliness out there

    Good for you if

    • goodbyes hit you harder than explosions.
    • you like wormholes, black holes and a planet where one hour costs years.
    • you want to feel very small in your seat.

    Bad for you if

    • you'd rather not think about relativity and time stretching to follow a plot.
    • big speeches about love make you roll your eyes.
    • nearly three hours is too much for one evening.

    About: time · sacrifice · home · the people left behind

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  5. Andor 2022

    Series

    In an era filled with danger, deception and intrigue, Cassian Andor will discover the difference he can make in the struggle against the tyrannical Galactic Empire. He embarks on a path that is destined to turn him into a rebel hero.

    The sides of Andor

    • A thief who becomes a rebel
    • A prison where inmates build parts for the Empire
    • A secret network financing the rebellion

    Good for you if

    • you like the start of a rebellion told through spies, money and politics.
    • you like a slow build told in three-episode arcs, each ending in a big payoff.
    • you like long speeches about sacrifice, like Luthen's.

    Bad for you if

    • you want a light Star Wars adventure with Jedi and fun.
    • you need some hope, and here freedom costs nearly everyone something.

    About: rebellion · sacrifice · tyranny

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  6. Shōgun 2024

    Series

    In Japan in the year 1600, at the dawn of a century-defining civil war, Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village.

    The sides of Shōgun

    • An English sailor shipwrecked in Japan in 1600
    • A lord outplayed by his regents
    • A noblewoman translating between two worlds

    Good for you if

    • you like feudal Japan seen through a stranded English pilot.
    • you like Toranaga quietly playing a council that wants him dead.
    • you like a patient story where one look says more than a battle.

    Bad for you if

    • you can't watch beheadings and ritual suicide on screen.

    About: honor · duty · culture clash · ambition

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  7. When the sinister Sith unveil a thousand-year-old plot to rule the galaxy, the Republic crumbles and from its ashes rises the evil Galactic Empire. Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker must choose a side.

    The sides of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

    • A Jedi turning to the dark side
    • A republic becoming an empire
    • A duel on a volcano

    Good for you if

    • you like a tragedy you know the end of and watch anyway.
    • you like long lightsaber duels, against a general with four blades and in the Senate chamber.
    • you want a huge space battle in the first minutes.

    Bad for you if

    • you can't stand a love story at the centre. Anakin's nightmares about Padmé drive what he does.
    • you can't stand graphic injuries. Lightsabers cut off hands and limbs in more than one fight.

    About: fear · power · betrayal

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  8. Cloud Atlas 2012

    Film

    A set of six nested stories spanning time between the 19th century and a distant post-apocalyptic future. Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. Based on the award winning novel by David Mitchell. Directed by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis.

    The sides of Cloud Atlas

    • Six stories across five centuries
    • The same actors in every era
    • A comet-shaped birthmark

    Good for you if

    • you like connecting stories across time.
    • you like actors playing many roles.
    • you like a film that jumps from the 1800s to the far future.

    Bad for you if

    • nearly three hours is too much for one evening.
    • you roll your eyes at big speeches about kindness echoing across the centuries.

    About: connection · freedom · rebirth

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  9. Game of Thrones 2011

    Series

    Seven noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros. Friction between the houses leads to full-scale war. All while a very ancient evil awakens in the farthest north. Amidst the war, a neglected military order of misfits, the Night's Watch, is all that stands between the realms of men and icy horrors beyond.

    The sides of Game of Thrones

    • Power games and scheming
    • Nobody is safe
    • Dragons, battles and a huge world
    • Families at war
    • Characters you change your mind about

    Good for you if

    • you like following a dozen families and their schemes at once.
    • you like a show where loyalties shift and no one is ever safe.
    • you like schemers fighting over the Iron Throne, where a whisper can matter more than an army.

    Bad for you if

    • brutal deaths and battle wounds ruin a show for you.
    • you'd rather skip sex scenes, or you're watching with others.
    • eight seasons is more than you want to start.

    About: power · loyalty · family · war

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  10. A group of scientists in San Francisco struggle to stay alive in the aftermath of a plague that is wiping out humanity, while Caesar tries to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes.

    The sides of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

    • An ape society in the forest
    • Humans who need a dam
    • A peace that won't hold

    Good for you if

    • you like apes whose faces say everything.
    • you like two sides trying not to start a war.
    • you like Caesar, a leader trying to hold his colony together.

    Bad for you if

    • war scenes with animals are hard for you.

    About: trust · war · leadership

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  11. The Targaryen dynasty is at the absolute apex of its power, with more than 15 dragons under their yoke. Most empires crumble from such heights. In the case of the Targaryens, their slow fall begins when King Viserys breaks with a century of tradition by naming his daughter Rhaenyra heir to the Iron Throne. But when Viserys later fathers a son, the court is shocked when Rhaenyra retains her status as his heir, and seeds of division sow friction across the realm.

    The sides of House of the Dragon

    • A king who names his daughter heir
    • Two former friends on opposite sides of a civil war
    • Dragons ridden into battle

    Good for you if

    • you like court politics where every marriage and heir is a move.
    • you like a family tearing itself apart over one throne.
    • you want dragons fighting in the sky over Westeros.

    Bad for you if

    • you can't stand brutal births, beheadings and burned armies.
    • you need momentum, and the first season spends years on whispers at court.
    • you lose track of a family where half the names sound alike.

    About: succession · rivalry · family · power

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  12. Beginning in a time of relative peace, we follow an ensemble cast of characters as they confront the re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.

    The sides of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

    • Galadriel hunting Sauron
    • The island kingdom of Númenor
    • A stranger fallen from the sky

    Good for you if

    • you want more Middle-earth, thousands of years before the Fellowship.
    • you like vast landscapes and battles on a big-screen scale.
    • you like Númenor, Lindon and Khazad-dûm built down to the last detail.

    Bad for you if

    • you need a story that moves fast from one scene to the next.
    • you lose track of elves, dwarves, men and Harfoots spread across separate stories.

    About: good and evil · power · legacy

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  13. When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.

    The sides of Battlestar Galactica

    • The last humans fleeing in an old warship
    • Machines that look like people
    • A search for a planet called Earth

    Good for you if

    • you can take a story where humanity almost loses everything.
    • you like never knowing who on board is a Cylon.
    • you like a president and an admiral fighting over how to save the last humans.

    Bad for you if

    • you want a finale that explains everything plainly.
    • you can't take suicide bombings, occupation and grief on screen.

    About: survival · faith · what makes us human

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  14. Arrival 2016

    Film

    Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.

    The sides of Arrival

    • The grief underneath the sci-fi
    • Aliens that are truly alien
    • Understanding as the plot
    • Time that doesn't run straight

    Good for you if

    • you like a film that quietly breaks you at the end.
    • you like patient scenes where people try to understand each other.
    • you like aliens treated as a real problem of language and science.

    Bad for you if

    • you want an alien invasion with battles. There are none.
    • you'd rather not work to follow a story. Louise's memories only fall into place in the last act.

    About: language · grief · time · choice

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  15. Oppenheimer 2023

    Film

    The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.

    The sides of Oppenheimer

    • The man who built the bomb
    • A secret town in the desert
    • A hearing that decides his fate

    Good for you if

    • you like a lead performance carried by the eyes.
    • you like rooms full of brilliant people arguing.
    • you want to feel the first test in your chest.

    Bad for you if

    • three hours of talking is too much for one evening.
    • you want action. It's mostly meetings and hearings.
    • you want a story told in order. It jumps between periods.

    About: guilt · power · science

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  16. Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.

    The sides of 2001: A Space Odyssey

    • Apes discovering tools
    • A computer that won't open the doors
    • A journey beyond the infinite

    Good for you if

    • you like spaceships waltzing to the Blue Danube in perfectly composed frames.
    • you like a film that moves like a symphony.
    • you want to feel small before the universe.

    Bad for you if

    • you need characters to warm to. Dave and Frank stay cool and calm, and the computer HAL shows the most feeling.
    • you want something to happen. Long stretches are silent.
    • you want a clear explanation of the ending.

    About: evolution · technology · the unknown

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  17. The lives of five young villagers change forever when a strange and powerful woman arrives, claiming one of them is the child of an ancient prophecy with the power to tip the balance between Light and Dark forever. They must choose whether to trust this stranger – and each other – with the fate of the world before the Dark One breaks out of His prison, and the Last Battle begins.

    The sides of The Wheel of Time

    • Five young villagers from the Two Rivers
    • A powerful woman of a magic order called the Aes Sedai
    • A prophecy about the Dragon Reborn

    Good for you if

    • you like a huge fantasy world with its own magic, orders and history.
    • you like a quest that starts in a small village and grows to the fate of the world.
    • you want big battles and magic you can feel on screen.

    Bad for you if

    • you lose track of many characters, kingdoms and factions.
    • you can't take bloody battles and monsters tearing people apart.

    About: destiny · good and evil · power

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  18. Young hobbit Frodo Baggins, after inheriting a mysterious ring from his uncle Bilbo, must leave his home in order to keep it from falling into the hands of its evil creator. Along the way, a fellowship is formed to protect the ringbearer and make sure that the ring arrives at its final destination: Mt. Doom, the only place where it can be destroyed.

    The sides of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

    • A small hero with a huge task
    • A world with its own history and languages
    • A fellowship that may not hold

    Good for you if

    • you love a world so detailed it feels like it existed before the film.
    • you want landscapes that make you want to walk for days.
    • you like battles with armies and monsters.

    Bad for you if

    • three hours is too much, and it's only the first part.
    • you need it to move. There is a lot of walking.

    About: temptation · friendship · courage · power

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  19. Anakin Skywalker, a young slave strong with the Force, is discovered on Tatooine. Meanwhile, the evil Sith have returned, enacting their plot for revenge against the Jedi.

    The sides of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

    • A slave boy who can fly anything
    • A pod race in the desert
    • A duel with a double-bladed lightsaber

    Good for you if

    • you want a pod race and a three-way lightsaber duel.
    • you like underwater cities and a planet that is one big city.
    • you like John Williams' score, with a full choir on Duel of the Fates.

    Bad for you if

    • you'd rather skip politics. A trade blockade and a Senate vote drive the plot.
    • you lose track when a film cuts between four fights at once, in space, on a plain, in a palace and in a power plant.

    About: destiny · politics · childhood

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  20. As armies mass for a final battle that will decide the fate of the world--and powerful, ancient forces of Light and Dark compete to determine the outcome--one member of the Fellowship of the Ring is revealed as the noble heir to the throne of the Kings of Men. Yet, the sole hope for triumph over evil lies with a brave hobbit, Frodo, who, accompanied by his loyal friend Sam and the hideous, wretched Gollum, ventures deep into the very dark heart of Mordor on his seemingly impossible quest to destroy the Ring of Power.​

    The sides of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

    • The biggest battles of the trilogy
    • Two hobbits climbing a mountain
    • Saying goodbye

    Good for you if

    • you want the siege of Minas Tirith and the charge of the Rohirrim on a big screen.
    • you like an ending that takes its time to say goodbye.
    • you've loved this world and want to see it through.

    Bad for you if

    • over three hours, with several endings, is too much for you.
    • you roll your eyes at big, sincere speeches. Aragorn rallies an army at the Black Gate.

    About: friendship · sacrifice · home

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