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 Interstellar first
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
2001: A Space Odyssey 1968
Film
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
Avatar: The Way of Water 2022
Film
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, learn the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.
The sides of Avatar: The Way of Water
- A family fleeing to the ocean
- Whales that remember
- Hours underwater
Good for you if
- you want underwater scenes on a huge scale, made for the biggest screen you can find.
- you like reefs, whales and a world in balance.
- you like the reef clans of Pandora, with their own customs and sea creatures.
Bad for you if
- over three hours is too much for one evening.
- you want a story told through sharp conversations. This one tells it in images, with long stretches underwater and few words.
About: family · nature · belonging
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 2017
Film
The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill's true parentage.
The sides of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- A son meeting his father
- Baby Groot dancing
- A family of misfits arguing
Good for you if
- you want an adventure that keeps the jokes coming.
- you like another mixtape of old hits.
- you like a silly film that turns out to be about fathers.
Bad for you if
- you're in the mood for something dark and serious.
- living planets and a talking raccoon are too silly for you.
About: fathers · family · belonging
Avatar 2009
Film
In the 22nd century, a paraplegic Marine is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, but becomes torn between following orders and protecting an alien civilization.
The sides of Avatar
- A whole alien world to explore
- A soldier who changes sides
- Nature against machines
Good for you if
- you want to be swallowed by the screen, especially in 3D.
- you love getting lost in a world with its own plants, animals and rules.
- you like forests that glow and mountains that float.
Bad for you if
- you want sharp dialogue more than images.
- nearly three hours is too much for one evening.
About: colonisation · nature · belonging
Project Hail Mary 2026
Film
Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction.
The sides of Project Hail Mary
- A teacher who wakes up alone on a spaceship
- No memory of why he's there
- An unexpected friend out in space
Good for you if
- you like science that's solved on screen, step by step.
- you like a nerdy hero who jokes to stay calm.
- you like a friendship across species.
Bad for you if
- over two and a half hours is too long for you.
- you need action. Every danger here is solved with experiments, not fights.
About: friendship · sacrifice · science
Inception 2010
Film
Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.
The sides of Inception
- Dreams inside dreams
- The heist crew
- A man who can't let go
- Folding cities and that music
Good for you if
- you like a plot you have to hold in your head, layer by layer.
- you want images you've never seen, like a city folding over itself.
- you like catching on the second watch what you missed on the first.
Bad for you if
- you need every question answered before the credits.
- nearly two and a half hours is too much for your evening.
About: dreams · grief · guilt · ideas
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
Star Trek: Discovery 2017
Series
Follow the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new life forms, and one Starfleet officer who must learn that to truly understand all things alien, you must first understand yourself.
The sides of Star Trek: Discovery
- A human officer raised by Vulcans
- A starship that jumps on a spore network
- A crew flung far into the future
Good for you if
- you like Starfleet ships, aliens and new worlds.
- you like a crew discovering what lies beyond the known map.
- you like following Michael Burnham's arc more than the mission of the week.
Bad for you if
- you roll your eyes at big emotional speeches on the bridge.
- five seasons is too much for you.
About: identity · exploration · loyalty
Lost in Space 2018
Series
After crash-landing on an alien planet, the Robinson family fights against all odds to survive and escape. But they're surrounded by hidden dangers.
The sides of Lost in Space
- A family stranded on an alien planet
- A robot that bonds with a boy
- A con woman hiding among the colonists
Good for you if
- you like a family that fights hard to stay together.
- you like a crash landing where every day is a new danger.
- you want a space adventure you can watch with your kids.
Bad for you if
- you need the science of a space colony to hold up.
- you roll your eyes at big family speeches about sticking together.
About: family · survival · trust
Into the Wild 2007
Film
After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity, and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness.
The sides of Into the Wild
- A graduate who gives everything away
- A road trip across America
- An abandoned bus in Alaska
Good for you if
- you like wide landscapes and life in the wild.
- you like a young man searching for meaning.
- you like the true story of a graduate who gave away his savings and hitchhiked to Alaska.
Bad for you if
- two and a half hours is too long for your evening.
- you can't watch parents suffering. His family waits two years with no word from him.
About: freedom · family · nature
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
Foundation 2021
Series
Follow a band of exiles on their monumental journey to save humanity and rebuild civilization amid the fall of the Galactic Empire.
The sides of Foundation
- A mathematician who predicts the fall of an empire
- Three clones of one emperor ruling in turn
- Exiles sent to the edge of the galaxy
Good for you if
- you like huge ships, space elevators and planets on a vast scale.
- you like cloned emperors clinging to an empire that is ending.
- you like a story spread across centuries and planets.
Bad for you if
- you lose track across centuries, planets and timelines.
- you need a plot that moves faster than a thousand-year plan.
About: the fall of empires · fate · legacy
WALL·E 2008
Film
After hundreds of years doing what he was built for, WALL•E— a robot designed to clean up the earth—discovers a new purpose in life when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL•E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report to the humans. Meanwhile, WALL•E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most imaginative adventures ever brought to the big screen.
The sides of WALL·E
- A little robot alone on Earth
- A love story with almost no words
- Humans who forgot how to walk
Good for you if
- you like being moved by a robot holding hands.
- you like silence, stars and a lonely planet.
- you like a film that tells everything with images.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch animated films.
- you need dialogue. The first part has almost none.
About: loneliness · love · waste
The Lion King 1994
Film
Young lion prince Simba, eager to one day become king of the Pride Lands, grows up under the watchful eye of his father Mufasa; all the while his villainous uncle Scar conspires to take the throne for himself. Amid betrayal and tragedy, Simba must confront his past and find his rightful place in the Circle of Life.
The sides of The Lion King
- A lion cub who runs away
- A wicked uncle
- Hakuna matata
Good for you if
- you don't mind crying at a family film. Simba's story has real tragedy in it.
- you like Elton John's songs and a Hans Zimmer score.
- you want a classic you can share with kids.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch animated films.
- you roll your eyes at solemn talk of destiny and the circle of life.
About: guilt · responsibility · home
The Day After Tomorrow 2004
Film
After paleoclimatologist Jack Hall is largely ignored by UN officials when presenting his environmental concerns about the beginning of a new Ice Age, his research proves true when a superstorm develops, setting off catastrophic natural disasters throughout the world. Trying to get to his son, Sam, who is trapped in New York City with his friend Laura and others, Jack and his crew must travel to get to Sam before it's too late.
The sides of The Day After Tomorrow
- A new ice age in days
- A father walking to New York
- Wolves in a library
Good for you if
- you like a frozen New York and giant tornadoes.
- you like a father walking through the snow to reach his son in New York.
Bad for you if
- you need the climate science to be accurate.
- you roll your eyes at message movies. The climate warning is said out loud, in speeches.
About: nature · survival · family
Oblivion 2013
Film
Jack Harper is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack’s mission is nearly complete. His existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.
The sides of Oblivion
- A technician on an empty Earth
- A sleek white tower in the sky
- Memories he shouldn't have
Good for you if
- you like clean, beautiful images of a ruined world.
- you like questions about what really happened to Earth.
- you like a reveal that changes everything.
Bad for you if
- you want lots of talk. Jack mostly flies and repairs drones in silence over an empty Earth.
- you'd rather not piece a story together. Dreams, drones and a crashed ship only fit together late on.
About: memory · identity · truth
Armageddon 1998
Film
When an asteroid threatens to collide with Earth, NASA honcho Dan Truman determines the only way to stop it is to drill into its surface and detonate a nuclear bomb. This leads him to renowned driller Harry Stamper, who agrees to helm the dangerous space mission provided he can bring along his own hotshot crew. Among them is the cocksure A.J. who Harry thinks isn't good enough for his daughter, until the mission proves otherwise.
The sides of Armageddon
- Oil drillers sent to blow up an asteroid
- A father and his daughter
- Animal crackers
Good for you if
- you want a big, loud end-of-the-world film.
- you like a gruff father who can't say how much his daughter means to him.
- you like a crew of rowdy drillers who'd follow Harry anywhere.
Bad for you if
- you need the science to hold up. Here oil drillers are trained as astronauts in a matter of days.
- two and a half hours is too long for you.
About: sacrifice · family · heroism
TRON: Legacy 2010
Film
Sam Flynn, the tech-savvy and daring son of Kevin Flynn, investigates his father's disappearance and is pulled into The Grid. With the help of a mysterious program named Quorra, Sam quests to stop evil dictator Clu from crossing into the real world.
The sides of TRON: Legacy
- A son pulled into his father's digital world
- Light-cycle races
- A Daft Punk score
Good for you if
- you like a world of neon lines on black.
- you like an electronic score that carries everything.
- you like a computer world with its own rules.
Bad for you if
- you want a story driven by its characters. Here the Grid and its light cycles come first.
- you need the technology to make sense. A laser beams Sam into a computer.
About: fathers · perfection · creation
Blade Runner 2049 2017
Film
Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard, a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.
The sides of Blade Runner 2049
- What makes someone human
- Slow, vast, overwhelming
- A love that might not be real
- A decaying, lived-in future
Good for you if
- you want every shot to look like a painting of the future.
- you like long, silent scenes that let you look.
- you like a score that rumbles in your chest.
Bad for you if
- nearly three hours at this pace is too much for you.
- you want a fast science-fiction action film.
About: humanity · memory · loneliness