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 The Shape of Water first
Edward Scissorhands 1990
Film
A small suburban town receives a visit from a castaway unfinished science experiment named Edward.
The sides of Edward Scissorhands
- A boy with scissors for hands
- A pastel suburb
- Snow made of ice sculptures
Good for you if
- you like a sad fairy tale about an outsider.
- you like odd, gothic characters with big hearts.
- you like a castle above a candy-coloured town.
Bad for you if
- you need the logic to hold up. An inventor builds a boy with scissors for hands.
- you want things to happen fast. Most of the film is hedges, haircuts and neighbours.
About: difference · love · belonging
Pan's Labyrinth 2006
Film
In post–civil war Spain, 10-year-old Ofelia moves with her pregnant mother to live under the control of her cruel stepfather. Drawn into a mysterious labyrinth, she meets a faun who reveals that she may be a lost princess from an underground kingdom. To return to her true father, she must complete a series of surreal and perilous tasks that blur the line between reality and fantasy.
The sides of Pan's Labyrinth
- A girl escaping into a fairy tale
- A cruel captain in 1944 Spain
- A faun with three tasks
Good for you if
- you like a dark fairy tale with creatures you won't forget.
- you like a story where the real monsters are human.
- you like a world that's beautiful and frightening.
Bad for you if
- brutal, close-up violence is too much for you.
- you won't read subtitles. It's in Spanish (a dub exists).
About: innocence · cruelty · imagination
Outlander 2014
Series
The story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire's heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.
The sides of Outlander
- A 1945 nurse thrown back to 1743
- A marriage to the Highlander Jamie Fraser
- Scotland before the Jacobite rising
Good for you if
- you like Claire and Jamie's love story across two centuries.
- you like the Highlands, the clans and the Jacobite rising.
- you like Scottish hills, lochs and stone castles.
Bad for you if
- you can't watch scenes of rape and torture.
- you find frequent sex scenes awkward, or you watch with others.
- eight seasons is too much for you.
About: love · time · loyalty · home
Beauty and the Beast 1991
Film
Follow the adventures of Belle, a bright young woman who finds herself in the castle of a prince who's been turned into a mysterious beast. With the help of the castle's enchanted staff, Belle soon learns the most important lesson of all -- that true beauty comes from within.
The sides of Beauty and the Beast
- A bookish girl and a cursed prince
- A ballroom dance
- Be our guest
Good for you if
- you like a love story that grows over a library and a snowball fight.
- you like singing along to Be Our Guest and Tale as Old as Time.
- you like a castle where the candlestick, the clock and the teapot talk.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch animated films.
- you roll your eyes at moral lessons. The film tells you outright that true beauty is within.
About: love · appearance · kindness
Beauty and the Beast 2017
Film
A live-action adaptation of Disney's version of the classic tale of a cursed prince and a beautiful young woman who helps him break the spell.
The sides of Beauty and the Beast
- A bookish girl in a cursed castle
- A beast who must learn to love
- Singing teapots and candlesticks
Good for you if
- you like the songs from the cartoon sung by the new cast, plus a few new ones.
- you like a fairy-tale love story.
- you want something familiar and lovely to watch with family.
Bad for you if
- two hours and ten minutes is a long sit for young children.
- you don't like period films. It's an 18th-century French village, all corsets, carriages and ballgowns.
About: love · appearance · kindness
True Blood 2008
Series
Thanks to a Japanese scientist's invention of synthetic blood, vampires have progressed overnight from legendary monsters to fellow citizens. And while humans have been safely removed from the menu, many remain apprehensive about these creatures "coming out of the coffin." Religious leaders, government officials, and vampire fundamentalists around the world have chosen their sides. But in the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps, the jury is still out.
The sides of True Blood
- Vampires living openly thanks to synthetic blood
- A waitress who can read minds
- A small town in Louisiana
Good for you if
- you like Sookie torn between the vampires Bill and Eric.
- you like a town where shifters, fairies and witches keep showing up.
- you like Southern gothic with a twisted sense of humor.
Bad for you if
- you'd rather avoid the frequent, graphic sex scenes.
- you can't take the bloody, gory deaths.
About: desire · prejudice · belonging
Twilight 2008
Film
When Bella Swan moves to a small town in the Pacific Northwest, she falls in love with Edward Cullen, a mysterious classmate who reveals himself to be a 108-year-old vampire. Despite Edward's repeated cautions, Bella can't stay away from him, a fatal move that endangers her own life.
The sides of Twilight
- A new girl in a rainy town
- A boy who doesn't age
- Love that could kill
Good for you if
- you like an intense first love with a forbidden edge.
- you like sincere teenage feelings without irony.
- you like a moody soundtrack, from Muse to Bella's Lullaby.
Bad for you if
- you've outgrown high school romance and first-love drama.
- you need momentum. Much of the film is glances, school corridors and walks in the forest.
About: first love · danger · belonging
Your Name. 2016
Anime
High schoolers Mitsuha and Taki are complete strangers living separate lives. But one night, they suddenly switch places. Mitsuha wakes up in Taki’s body, and he in hers. This bizarre occurrence continues to happen randomly, and the two must adjust their lives around each other.
The sides of Your Name.
- A boy and a girl who swap bodies in their sleep
- Tokyo and a mountain town
- A comet in the sky
Good for you if
- you like a film carried by RADWIMPS songs.
- you like two people searching for someone they've never met.
- you like skies and light painted with breathtaking detail.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch animated films.
- you won't read subtitles. It's in Japanese (a dub exists).
About: connection · memory · fate
Tangled 2010
Film
Feisty teenager Rapunzel, who has long and magical hair, wants to go and see sky lanterns on her eighteenth birthday, but she's bound to a tower by her overprotective mother. She strikes a deal with Flynn Rider, a charming wanted thief, and the duo set off on an action-packed escapade.
The sides of Tangled
- A girl locked in a tower
- A thief who climbs in
- Lanterns in the sky
Good for you if
- you like a chameleon and a horse who steal the show.
- you like songs like "I See the Light" that you end up humming.
- you want a bright, funny fairy tale.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch animated films.
- you'd rather skip love stories. Rapunzel and Flynn fall for each other under the lanterns.
About: freedom · growing up · love
Amélie 2001
Film
At a tiny Parisian café, the adorable yet painfully shy Amélie accidentally discovers a gift for helping others. Soon Amelie is spending her days as a matchmaker, guardian angel, and all-around do-gooder. But when she bumps into a handsome stranger, will she find the courage to become the star of her very own love story?
The sides of Amélie
- A shy young woman fixing strangers' lives
- Montmartre in warm greens and reds
- A photo album of strangers
Good for you if
- you want a film that makes you feel lighter.
- you like a Paris painted in saturated colours.
- you like quirky little details and odd characters.
Bad for you if
- you won't read subtitles. It's in French, though a dubbed version exists.
- you want fights and chases. The big adventure here is a lost photo album.
About: shyness · kindness · love
Weathering with You 2019
Anime
The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if taking its cue from his life. After many days of solitude, he finally finds work as a freelance writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then, one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky.
The sides of Weathering with You
- A runaway boy in rainy Tokyo
- A girl who can clear the sky
- A city slowly going under water
Good for you if
- you like a first love between two kids on their own in Tokyo.
- you want rain and sunlight drawn so they almost shine.
- you like a prayer that opens a patch of blue sky.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch anime.
- you roll your eyes at big teenage declarations in the rain.
About: first love · sacrifice · the weather
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 2008
Film
Born under unusual circumstances, Benjamin Button springs into being as an elderly man in a New Orleans nursing home and ages in reverse. Twelve years after his birth, he meets Daisy, a child who flits in and out of his life as she grows up to be a dancer. Though he has all sorts of unusual adventures over the course of his life, it is his relationship with Daisy, and the hope that they will come together at the right time, that drives Benjamin forward.
The sides of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- A man born old who grows young
- A love that meets in the middle
- A century of America
Good for you if
- you like a long, melancholy love story.
- you like two people who keep missing each other.
- you like a life that crosses the 20th century, from New Orleans in 1918 to the Second World War.
Bad for you if
- nearly three hours is too much for one evening.
- you want something to happen. It's slow and gentle.
About: time · love · mortality
Howl's Moving Castle 2004
Anime
Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.
The sides of Howl's Moving Castle
- A young woman cursed into an old body
- A walking castle
- A vain wizard against a war
Good for you if
- you like a world of magic doors and fire demons.
- you like Miyazaki's hand-drawn images, a castle walking on bird legs and a field of flowers by a lake.
- you like a gentle love story with a curse to break.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch animated films.
- you want a plot where everything is explained.
About: self-worth · war · love
Big Fish 2003
Film
Throughout his life Edward Bloom has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, he remains a huge mystery to his son, William. Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing adventures.
The sides of Big Fish
- A dying father who only tells tall tales
- A son who wants the truth
- A giant, a witch and a circus
Good for you if
- you like a son trying to know his father through his tall tales.
- you like stories that are bigger than life.
- you like Tim Burton's storybook images, with a circus, a witch and a perfect little town.
Bad for you if
- you can't watch a parent seriously ill. Edward is bedridden with cancer through all the present-day scenes.
- you roll your eyes at grand gestures. Edward fills a field with daffodils to win Sandra.
About: fathers · storytelling · death
Brokeback Mountain 2005
Film
In 1960s Wyoming, two men develop a strong emotional and sexual relationship that endures as a lifelong connection complicating their lives as they get married and start families of their own.
The sides of Brokeback Mountain
- Two cowboys on a mountain one summer
- A love they hide for twenty years
- Two shirts in a closet
Good for you if
- you like a love story that breaks you.
- you like a forbidden, lifelong love.
- you like quiet landscapes and few words.
Bad for you if
- sex scenes aren't for you, or you're watching with family.
- you want things to happen. It's slow and quiet.
About: love · shame · time
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya 2013
Anime
Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthrals all who encounter her. But, ultimately, she must confront her fate.
The sides of The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
- A tiny girl found inside a bamboo stalk
- Suitors sent on impossible tasks
- Drawings that look like charcoal and watercolor
Good for you if
- you like images that look sketched by hand, lines left visible.
- you like being moved by a girl who just wants her childhood back.
- you like a folk tale told at its own pace.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch anime.
- over two hours of an old folk tale is too much for you.
About: freedom · family · fate
Aladdin 2019
Film
A kindhearted street urchin named Aladdin embarks on a magical adventure after finding a lamp that releases a wisecracking genie while a power-hungry Grand Vizier vies for the same lamp that has the power to make their deepest wishes come true.
The sides of Aladdin
- The classic remade in live action
- A genie played by Will Smith
- A princess who sings for herself
Good for you if
- you like the classic songs and a new one.
- you want a colourful family musical.
- you like a funny genie.
Bad for you if
- two hours is a long sit for small children.
- you'd rather skip the love story. Aladdin courts Jasmine as a fake prince.
About: freedom · honesty · love
The Queen's Gambit 2020
Series
In a 1950s orphanage, a young girl reveals an astonishing talent for chess and begins an unlikely journey to stardom while grappling with addiction.
The sides of The Queen's Gambit
- An orphan who learns chess in a basement
- A young woman against the world's top players
- Pills, alcohol and the 1960s
Good for you if
- you like watching Anya Taylor-Joy say everything with a stare.
- you like chess games played like duels, even if you don't play.
- you like following Beth from a Kentucky orphanage to tournaments against grown men.
Bad for you if
- you need fights and chases, and the only battles here are played in silence across a board.
- you can't stand addiction on screen.
About: genius · addiction · loneliness · ambition
Titanic 1997
Film
101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson and Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic's departure through to its death—on its first and last voyage—on April 15, 1912.
The sides of Titanic
- A love story across classes
- A ship going down in real time
- An old woman remembering
Good for you if
- you like a love story that ends with you in pieces.
- you like 1912 rebuilt in detail, from first-class dining rooms to dances in steerage.
- you like big, sincere romance with no irony.
Bad for you if
- over three hours is too much for one evening.
- you need a happy ending.
About: love · class · memory · loss
Midsommar 2019
Film
Several friends travel to Sweden to study as anthropologists a summer festival that is held every ninety years in the remote hometown of one of them. What begins as a dream vacation in a place where the sun never sets, gradually turns into a dark nightmare as the mysterious inhabitants invite them to participate in their disturbing festive activities.
The sides of Midsommar
- A grieving woman at a Swedish festival
- Sunlight that never sets
- A relationship falling apart
Good for you if
- you like horror in broad daylight and flowers.
- you like a cult that gets stranger every day.
- you like slow, creeping dread.
Bad for you if
- graphic deaths ruin it for you.
- grief, a toxic relationship and a cult's rituals are too much for you.
- two and a half hours of slow dread is too much.
About: grief · belonging · breakups