We’ve all been there, wanting to watch a movie but spending our night scrolling through seemingly endless rows and rows of movies. Given how oversaturated the film industry has become, it can be hard to find the right movie for what you’re feeling, but this list has got you covered! Obviously, all of these recommendations can only be based on what I’ve personally watched, and there’s no way for me to categorize every single movie ever produced. If you’re looking for a simple watchlist of a variety of genres spanning across decades, this guide will save you the indecisiveness.
- Comedy
-
While all of these films have a comedic aspect, they come from various decades and subgenres, some can be classified as rom-coms and some as action thrillers. And if you’ve already seen the movies listed here, many of the other genres in this guide also fit into the comedy genre.
- “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” (2010)
- “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986)
- “The Goonies” (1985)
- “The Wedding Singer” (1998)
- “Notting Hill” (1999)
- “The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001)
- “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013)
- Fantastical Worlds and adventures
-
Given the sequel upon sequel nature of book-based fantasy/sci-fi film, a lot of the items on this list are part of a larger trilogy or continued series, such as Harry Potter with eight films or Star Wars with 12. But even if you just watch one part of one of these massive series, you’ll be instantly transported to a new world with stunning imagery, adventurous battles and compelling stories.
- “Dune” (2021) & “Dune: Part Two” (2024)
- “Divergent” (2014)
- The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy (2001-2003)
- The entire Harry Potter film franchise (2001-2011)
- “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (2003)
- The original Star Wars trilogy (1977-1993)
- “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” (2005)
- Action movies with crime, mystery or both
-
You’ve likely heard of most of these films, or at least “The Godfather,” but how could I make a list of mystery and crime thrillers without including some of the very first and most prolific of the genre! A few of the films, “Spotlight,” “All the President’s Men” and “Zodiac” revolve around journalism, which I personally find to be quite a compelling aspect of a detective story. These films will have you glued to your screen, waiting to see what happens next.
- “Pulp Fiction” (1994)
- “The Godfather” (1972)
- “Spotlight” (2015)
- “All the President’s Men” (1976)
- “Knives Out” (2019)
- “Zodiac” (2007)
- “Enola Holmes” (2020)
- heartwarming and heartbreaking
-
There are movies designed to break your heart and movies to put it back together, but the best of both worlds are the stories that combine aspects of both to bring out the most emotion in each genre. These films range from 2d and 3d-animation to live action, and across genres such as romance, comedy and adventure. I found that after watching each of these films my perspective on life shifted, and I carried the stories of them with me for a long time after.
- “Soul” (2020)
- “The Good Dinosaur” (2015)
- “Wolf Children” (2012)
- “Good Will Hunting” (1997)
- “Bridge to Terabithia” (2007)
- “Beautiful Boy” (2018)
- “The Notebook” (2004)
- For the holiday season
-
Is it April? Sure, but who am I to judge if you want to get into the Christmas spirit eight months early? This is a comprehensive guide, after all. I’d actually argue that some of these films lean more into the heartwarming aspect of the holiday season than the aesthetics of it, such as “The Holdovers,” which I’ll watch anytime of the year.
- “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (1989)
- “The Holdovers” (2023)
- “The Polar Express” (2004)
- “Home Alone” (1990)
- “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965)
- “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”
- “Love Actually” (2003)
- classic disney nostalgia
-
Though I might upset some with the lack of Disney princess movies on this list, I always felt that the movies that centered more around the lives of animals and not the saving of a princess by a prince, better captured the childhood nostalgia essence. Even if you watched these films as a child, don’t be too quick to turn up your nose at a rewatch, I always seem to forget what happens and catch new things as I get older.
- “Fantasia” (1940
- “Dumbo” (1941)
- “Bambi” (1942)
- “Alice in Wonderland” (1951)
- “Peter Pan” (1953)
- “Lady and the Tramp” (1955)
- “The Aristocats” (1970)
- “Chick Flicks”
-
These films are stories about girls, for girls, and have coined the term “chick flick” as a result. A lot of these were made in the early 2000s, so they also reign in a level of nostalgia and charm that modern films seem to have lost. Overall, these movies are perfect for a night in with the girls or for a feel-good story on a bad day!
- “Bottoms” (2023)
- “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006)
- “Bridget Jones’s Diary” (2001)
- “The Princess Diaries” (2001)
- “Mean Girls” (2004)
- “Clueless” (1985)
- “Legally Blonde” (2001)
- Period pieces
-
People tend to use the term “period piece” just for movies set earlier than the 20th century, but the genre actually encapsulates any movie that is set in a historical period before our own. The stories of these films range from a domestic family life in New England, to the lavish lifestyle of Marie Antoinette and to the tragedy of the Titanic sinking. With vastly different subgenres, stories and historical periods, one of these period pieces is bound to catch your interest.
- “Little Women” (2019)
- “Pride and Prejudice” (2005)
- “Jane Eyre” (2011)
- “Marie Antoinette” (2006)
- “Oppenheimer” (2023)
- “Titanic” (1997)
- “Saving Private Ryan” (1998)
- horror
-
With the blooming of flower petals and the return of the sun, springtime isn’t exactly the most inspiring time to watch a horror film, but for those who like to be on edge year-round, these classics will keep the lights on and your blankets pulled up over your eyes.
- “It” (2017)
- “The Conjuring” (2013)
- “Get Out” (2017)
- “Us” (2019)
- “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984)
- “Hereditary” (2018)
- “The Omen” (1976)
- artistic and unique
-
These films are a bit off the beaten path, often tackling complex ideas through each aspect of the film, even just in things like the cinematography and color grading can parts of the story be found. The Wes Anderson films on this list tend to swing more on the comedic and quirky side, but films like “Conclave” and “The Zone of Interest” take a much more serious tone and can even be quite disturbing. Overall, I can’t recommend these films and similar ones enough- you don’t have to understand every nuance of a movie perfectly to enjoy it.
- “Bones and All” (2022)
- “Moonrise Kingdom” (2012)
- “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (2014)
- “The Virgin Suicides” (1999)
- “Crimson Peak” (2015)
- “Conclave” (2024)
- “The Zone of Interest” (2024)
- Breathtaking animations
-
You’ll have to excuse the amount of Ghibli films on this list, but each frame of their films could be a painting, a work of art in its own right. Though animated films sometimes have a reputation for being childish and not tackling as mature themes, I think it’s worth noting that many of these films tackle the same concepts, but just tend to be more digestive and accessible for a younger audience. “Your Name” in particular is a real tearjerker, I end up crying each time I watch it!
- “Song of the Sea” (2014)
- “Your Name” (2016)
- “Luca” (2021)
- “My Neighbor Totoro” (1988)
- “Howl’s Moving Castle” (2004)
- “Spirited Away” (2001)
- “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (2009)
- Superheroes
-
Personally, I feel like nowadays the superhero genre is oversaturated with filmmakers looking to make a profit rather than a good story, but every now and then a gem emerges through the rubble and we end up with films like the ones listed below. In the superhero genre particularly, the baseline of a character such as Batman may have several renditions due to their popularity, but each set of films takes on a different aspect of the character that makes it worth watching. The Batman Christian Bale plays in “The Dark Knight” for example, is quite different from the Batman Robert Pattinson plays in “The Batman.”
- “The Dark Knight” (2008)
- “Deadpool” (2016)
- “Black Panther” (2018)
- “The Batman” (2022)
- “The Incredibles” (2004)
- “Iron Man” (2008)
- The Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy (2014-2023)