25 films · The Lovvy team
25 movies for when you don’t know what to watch
Crowd-pleasers across every genre for the nights when nothing seems right. Pick a mood, then pick a film.
When you do not know what to watch, the problem is rarely a lack of options. It is too many. These twenty-five are films that almost everyone enjoys, grouped by mood so you can decide how you feel first and let the list do the rest.
Light and funny
- 1
The Intouchables (2011)
Directed by Olivier Nakache & Éric Toledano
A wealthy Parisian who cannot move from the neck down hires the least likely carer imaginable. Funny and big-hearted.
- 2
Chef (2014)
Directed by Jon Favreau
A chef quits his restaurant and takes a food truck across the country with his son. Do not watch it hungry.
Also in: Movies for a first date at home, Movies to watch cuddled up: 20 picks for a quiet night
- 3
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Directed by Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris
A family that barely gets along drives a broken yellow van across the country to a children’s beauty pageant.
- 4
School of Rock (2003)
Directed by Richard Linklater
A broke musician pretends to be a substitute teacher and turns a class of ten-year-olds into a rock band. Pure fun.
Also in: Movies for a first date at home
- 5
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Directed by David Frankel
A young journalist lands a job as assistant to the most feared editor in fashion. Meryl Streep at her most quotable.
- 6
Mamma Mia! (2008)
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd
A bride on a Greek island invites the three men who could be her father to her wedding. ABBA songs, sunshine and zero seriousness.
On the edge of your seat
- 7
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Directed by Doug Liman
A soldier with no combat experience relives the same battle every time he dies. An action film with the humour of a time-loop comedy.
Also in: Movies for a first date at home, The best movies for a couple’s movie night
- 8
The Martian (2015)
Directed by Ridley Scott
An astronaut left behind on Mars has to science his way to staying alive. Tense, clever and surprisingly funny.
- 9
Get Out (2017)
Directed by Jordan Peele
A young man goes to meet his girlfriend’s parents for the weekend, and something about the house is wrong. Smart horror that is also very funny.
- 10
Parasite (2019)
Directed by Bong Joon Ho
A struggling family finds its way, one by one, into the household of a wealthy one. Go in knowing as little as possible.
- 11
Gone Girl (2014)
Directed by David Fincher
A woman disappears on her wedding anniversary and her husband becomes the main suspect. The darkest date night on this list, for couples who love a twist.
- 12
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
Directed by Doug Liman
A bored married couple discover they are both secret assassins, hired to kill each other. Marriage counselling with explosions.
- 13
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
Directed by Rian Johnson
Detective Benoit Blanc joins a tech billionaire’s murder-mystery weekend on a private Greek island. A Netflix film, so it stays on Netflix.
Animated, for grown-ups too
- 14
Inside Out (2015)
Directed by Pete Docter
The emotions inside an eleven-year-old’s head try to steer her through a move to a new city. Clever, funny and a little too relatable.
- 15
Ratatouille (2007)
Directed by Brad Bird
A rat with a gift for cooking teams up with a clumsy kitchen boy in a Paris restaurant. Anyone can cook.
Also in: Movies to watch cuddled up: 20 picks for a quiet night
- 16
WALL-E (2008)
Directed by Andrew Stanton
A small robot left alone to tidy up an abandoned Earth falls for a sleek probe from space. A love story told almost without words.
- 17
Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
A young hatter is cursed into an old woman and finds shelter in the walking castle of a vain, charming wizard.
Also in: Movies for a rainy night in, as a couple, Movies to watch cuddled up: 20 picks for a quiet night
- 18
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Two sisters move to the countryside and meet the gentle spirits of the forest. Ninety minutes of calm.
Also in: Movies for a rainy night in, as a couple, Movies to watch cuddled up: 20 picks for a quiet night
Big stories
- 19
Interstellar (2014)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Astronauts travel through a wormhole to find humanity a new home. Huge in scale, and at its heart a story about a father and a daughter.
- 20
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
Directed by Ben Stiller
A daydreaming LIFE magazine employee goes on a real adventure across Greenland and Iceland to find a missing negative. It will make you want to travel.
- 21
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Directed by Frank Darabont
A banker serving a life sentence and the friendship that keeps him going. The film most people rank as their favourite for a reason.
- 22
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Directed by Peter Jackson
A hobbit sets out to destroy a ring of terrible power, with eight companions. The start of the best rainy-weekend plan there is.
Classics worth the hype
- 23
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Directed by Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly
Hollywood silent-film stars scramble to survive the arrival of sound. The happiest musical ever made.
- 24
Cinema Paradiso (1988)
Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
A film director remembers growing up in a Sicilian village and his friendship with the projectionist of the local cinema. A love letter to watching films.
- 25
Little Women (2019)
Directed by Greta Gerwig
The four March sisters growing up in nineteenth-century Massachusetts, told back and forth in time. Warm, lively and very well acted.
Also in: Movies to watch cuddled up: 20 picks for a quiet night
Still stuck between two? Each of you says yes or no to the same films privately, and only the ones you both chose count. More ways to settle it.