When movies suddenly seem to have lost their magic, these are the 10 best movies to watch and fall in love with cinema again.
Every cinephile goes through a phase where movies no longer feel as exciting as they once did. In times when the future of the industry seems too bleak for movies to feel enjoyable, we often turn to our favorite comfort movies, only to find out that they, too, don’t hit as hard as they used to in the past. The only possible alternative is to let yourself be impressed by the strange and unknown: seek out some obscure recommendations or finally watch that all-time classic that everyone seems to have seen, except you. Here are the 10 best movies that will make you fall in love with cinema again.
10. Die Hard (1988)
Director: John McTiernan
Thirty-seven years later, Die Hard remains the best Christmas movie ever. In the film, NYPD Officer John McCale plans to reconcile with his estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia) at her office’s Christmas party, but the celebration is suddenly disrupted by dangerous terrorists who storm the building and take everyone hostage. Willis is the definition of an army of one in Die Hard, which somehow feels like a predecessor to Home Alone – with the addition of shootouts and a few explosions, of course.
Making use of limited resources to set up traps and lure the terrorists into them, John McCale takes down his enemies one by one. The contrast between the nail-biting set pieces and the sweet Christmas decorations perfectly sums up Die Hard’s unique tone: the movie never lets its unique humor get in the way of its sense of urgency. If anything, the nonchalant way with which John deals with multiple life-threatening situations only adds to the intensity. The movie is a charming reminder that action movies can be both funny and tense.
9. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Directors: Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly
Nostalgia and cinema have always gone hand in hand. Released in 1952, Singin’ in the Rain looks back at 1920s Hollywood and the dramatic shift from silent films to talkies. The movie follows silent actors Don (Gene Kelly) and Lina’s (Jean Ragen) struggling to adapt to the new sound technology while shooting a musical. To disguise Lina’s terrible voice, Don approaches an aspiring singer (Debbie Reynolds) to dub his co-star, but he soon finds himself falling for her.
A great way to fall in love with cinema again is to look back on the golden years of Hollywood. The colors in the movie are out of this world, and so are the beautifully choreographed musical numbers. Every scene, every line of dialogue is filled with unparalleled joy and respect for the healing power of cinema. The humor is just the right amount of silly, but also energetically self-aware. Not a single moment in Singin’ in the Rain has aged badly – it still is the perfect movie to revisit when times get rough.
8. Nouvelle Vague (2025)
Director: Richard Linklater
Nouvelle Vague is possibly the most personal pick on this list, as it was the movie that took me out of what I like to call “spectator’s block,” when you can’t watch anything without thinking that you should be doing something else. The movie commits to a premise that will have any film bro in a thirty-mile radius raising their eyebrows in alarming disapproval, as it follows the erratic production of Jean-Luc Godard’s (Guillaume Marbeck) first movie, Breathless. Although Godard isan untouchable figure in the cinema canon, Linklater delivers a delightfully unconcerned pastiche. He does his best to shoot Nouvelle Vague as if it actually belonged to the film movement it celebrates, imitating black-and-white film textures in the Academy ratio and directing a cast of predominantly French actors.
The movie is perfectly aware of its carelessness, using it in its favor to pay tribute to Godard’s reckless genius. It’s a charming and feel-good hangout movie that uses Godard’s notoriously caustic personality as the fuel for an adorably cartoonish character. The unseriousness of Nouvelle Vague will either make you fall in love with cinema again or inspire you to go out with a movie camera and shoot your own “worst movie of the year” – as Godard’s friends would describe Breathless in the end.
7. Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Director: Werner Herzog
According to Werner Herzog, “every man should pull a boat over a mountain once in his life.” It turns out that watching someone do that can be equally rewarding. Fitzcarraldo follows the titular character (Klaus Kinski) as he goes out of his way to make his dream of building an opera house near the Peruvian Amazon come true. To do that, he gathers a few brave men and sets off into the middle of the jungle to access an inhospitable, yet profitable, rubber region.
Fitzcarraldo explores the lengths a filmmaker will go to see their project accomplished. Herzog and Fitzcarraldo’s quests suddenly intersect as reality and fiction channel a common goal. It is a masterpiece that will make viewers fall in love with cinema in its most relentless form, committing to unimaginable achievements and delivering a legendary showcase of Klaus Kinski’s passionate madness. The story of Fitzcarraldo’s production is as compelling as the film itself: it would make for a great double feature with Burden of Dreams, the documentary that chronicles the chaotic behind-the-scenes process.
6. As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
Director: Jonas Mekas
Clocking in at 4 hours and 48 minutes, Jonas Mekas’ deeply personal masterpiece As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty feels as if it could go on forever. The movie assembles 30 years’ worth of footage, alternating between various subjects: the filmmaker’s friends and family, foliage, buildings, insects, the rain… It’s the cinematic equivalent of life flashing before your eyes, except it’s someone else’s life.
The movie inspires nostalgia for things which we have never experienced, but it’s much more than that. Although these memories don’t belong to us, personal associations come in droves. You will hardly remember more than ten scenes of the movie with clarity, but you will never forget what it felt like to sit for the entire runtime, observing the filmmaker’s memories while reminiscing about your own. As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses is a beautiful ode to the smallest details of life and how they amount to something profound.
5. The Big Lebowski (1998)
Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen
The Big Lebowski is possibly the most rewatchable movie of all time. Packed with a fantastic set of A-list stars, it follows the ‘Dude’ (Jeff Bridges), an unsuspecting loafer in Los Angeles who finds himself swept up into a dangerous conspiracy involving an ill-tempered billionaire, nihilists, and porn actresses. Nothing ever works out for the Dude in the movie, and every character he stumbles upon seems to be on the verge of a mental breakdown, yet he continues to take it easy, immune to the chaos that follows him wherever he goes.
The Big Lebowski can tell you everything you need to know about a character with a single one-liner. Some of the best Coen brothers’ creations are here, from the Dude’s erratic, Vietnam-obsessed best friend (John Goodman) to Jesus Quintana (John Turturro), a pederast-turned-professional bowler who even earned a spin-off movie of his own. Every rewatch unveils a new hidden layer of jokes and running gags. The Big Lebowski is endlessly diggable; every revisit turns up something new.
4. The Living World (2003)
Director: Eugène Green
The Living World (Le Monde Vivant) is a great reminder that watching movies should not be a passive activity. This underrated French film invites the viewer to make a deal with the narrative, presenting a clever game of suspension of disbelief. It is a fairy tale about knights, ogres, knights, and fate, although the story lies in the power of words.
In the opening scene, a man who calls himself the “Lion Knight” (Alexis Loret) appears, but the lion in question is actually a Labrador Retriever. The scene gives the audience a good idea of how the rest of the story will unfold: The Living World merely sketches the outlines of a magical world and leaves the rest to the audience. The criminally underseen movie reflects on the boundless charm of cinema and how much can be accomplished with minimal resources. It’s a fantastic experiment of association between words and images, a dream with a life of its own.
3. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
Director: Brad Bird
Mission: Impossible stands as the best Hollywood action franchise of the past decades, but it took four movies for it to find its footing. Following the success of the first film, John Woo and J. J. Abrams tried to stay true to the mythology established by Brian De Palma while changing the formula in the sequels, but it was Brad Bird who found the perfect balance between blockbuster fun and nail-biting suspense in the fourth movie. He brought the franchise back to its espionage roots and cemented a distinctive tone that would be carried over to the Christopher McQuarrie era.
It’s funny how Ghost Protocol has the least remarkable villain in the franchise and still manages to carry some of its most memorable scenes. That’s because the action and thrill revolve entirely around Tom Cruise. I’ve always enjoyed the emphasis of Mission: Impossible on the hero’s passion for duty and order: Ethan Hunt never underestimates a task. In an era when movie stars seem to be fading away, Ghost Protocol is a nostalgic nod to Hollywood icons. Many fans will argue that Mission: Impossible – Fallout is the best movie in the franchise, but Ghost Protocol will always be the most fun.
2. Cecil B. Demented
Director: John Waters
“A love letter to cinema” might be one of the dullest ways to describe a movie, but Cecil B. Demented offers an exciting alternative by delivering a hate letter to cinema. John Waters’ campy masterpiece follows a deranged director’s (Stephen Dorff) plan to kidnap a Hollywood icon (Melanie Griffith) and force her to star in his revolutionary movie. Perfectly designed for the most skeptical film buffs, the movie utilizes a caustic sense of humor to expose everything that’s wrong with commercial cinema.
For one thing, Cecil B. Demented is a perfect product of its time, as its idea of a box office hit is very different from the current state of blockbusters. Back then, family movies like Forrest Gump and Patch Adams were the formula for success, contrary to the superhero fatigue and wave of remakes of today. However, the message remains the same: we should not tolerate big corporations and studios dictating our consumer patterns. Cecil B. Demented is a movie to let yourself be provoked. It’s a visual manifesto in defence of exploitation, violence and sex on the big screen; a celebration of autonomy and creative vision.
1. After Life (1998)
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
If you had to pick one memory to keep for eternity, what would you choose? That’s the question that the afterworld counselors in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s After Life ask the recently deceased. They have only a few days to pick their happiest memory, which will then be transformed into a movie for them to watch for all eternity. Such a bold and ambitious premise only works because of the simplicity that permeates the narrative. Although the afterlife is depicted as a final visit to the registry office, there’s a lot of room for deeply felt emotions.
After Life is one of the most beautiful Japanese movies of all time, a great pick for those who haven’t been moved by cinema in a long time. Most of the film consists of tender moments of self-reflection and touching conversations between lost souls. After Life inspires us to reconnect with memories whose importance we may not have initially noticed. It’s a heartfelt and surprisingly romantic movie that will restore our faith not only in cinema, but also in ourselves.