
Five Movies Worth a Repeat Watch
Welcome back to The Daily's Sunday culture edition.
Not all movies are meant to be watched twice. Some leave a glancing effect; others emanate so much intensity that the idea of sitting through them again feels unbearable. But then there are those films that draw you back in, even after you've seen it all before. So we asked The Atlantic 's writers and editors: What's a movie you can watch over and over again?
Raising Arizona (available to rent on Prime Video)
I've probably seen Raising Arizona, the Coen brothers' 1987 classic with Holly Hunter and a 22-year-old Nicholas Cage, a half dozen times over the years. But I've watched the opening sequence many, many more times than that. It's a whole movie-within-the-movie, building up to the title shot with Cage's deadpan narration, rapid-cut scenes, and a jaunty musical bed that goes from whistling and humming to weird ululating. The screenwriting has some all-time great lines ('I tried to stand up and fly straight, but it wasn't easy with that sumbitch Reagan in the White House,' says Cage, with wild hair, aviators, and a 12-gauge shotgun, preparing to stick up a convenience store).
The other day, I made my 12-year-old watch it for the first time. When Cage says to his chatty prison bunkmate, incredulously, 'You ate sand?!' my son nearly fell on the floor. A true marker of timelessness.
— Nick Miroff, staff writer
White Christmas (streaming on Prime Video)
It makes me miserable to contemplate how many people have never once seen the 1954 film White Christmas, let alone given it 10 to 20 percent of their attention while focusing on other activities, which is the ideal way to view it. Then again, the film's surprising obscurity is its hidden ace: From the moment you press 'Play' on White Christmas, no one who glances at the screen will be able to predict or even comprehend any aspect of the Technicolor encephalitic fever dream exploding before them unless they have previously seen White Christmas. In any given frame, a viewer might be confronted with a horde of people cavorting inside a giant purple void, waggling tambourines adorned with women's faces; the bombed-out smoldering remains of 1944 Europe; or the virtuoso dancer Vera-Ellen, in head-to-heel chartreuse, executing pirouettes at faster-than-heartbeat speeds (for no defined reason). Muted, it makes for terrific social lubricant at a party—there's something dazzling to remark upon nearly every second if conversation lags. Don't concern yourself with the plot; the film's writers did not.
— Caity Weaver, staff writer
The Lord of the Rings franchise (streaming on Max)
I suppose my answer is less of a love letter to a movie than it is one to my family. My husband is the movie buff in our family—I'll rarely be caught rewatching movies. But his undying loyalty to the Lord of the Rings franchise means we've watched the trilogy together multiple times, more than once in an 11-plus-hour binge. (Yeah … it's the extended editions, every time.) The movies are a genuinely gorgeous feat of storytelling, bested only by the books; fantasy and action sequences aside, they spotlight friendship, loyalty, and the dueling motivations of pride, duty, and greed. And for our family, at least, they'll be a regular feature—I'm pretty sure it was implicit in our wedding vows that we'd indoctrinate our kids into the LOTR lore—which means that the films are about carving out time for one another as well.
— Katherine J. Wu, staff writer
All Your Faces (available to rent on Google Play and Apple TV)
I've watched the French film All Your Faces three times in the past eight months. The movie isn't a documentary, but it's based on real restorative-justice programs in France that were introduced about a decade ago.
Why did I repeatedly return to a film about an idiosyncratic feature of a foreign country's criminal-justice system? There's something about the encounter between victim and perpetrator, and the instability and unpredictability of these interactions, that surprised me each time I watched it. Equally intense was the tenderness between the instructors and the programs' participants, most evident between the characters played by Adèle Exarchopoulos and Élodie Bouchez. But it's Miou-Miou, playing an elderly victim of petty street crime, who delivers the most haunting line in the movie: 'I don't understand the violence.' A mantra for our time.
— Isaac Stanley-Becker, staff writer
Little Women (streaming on Hulu)
Little Women first came to me as a comfort movie. Based on Louisa May Alcott's 1868 novel, Greta Gerwig's 2019 film adaptation features not so much plot as simply vibes: a familiar tale of four sisters and their childhood friend, scenes of a snowy Christmas morning perfect for the holidays.
But with each subsequent encounter during my lonely postgraduate months in a new city, I began to appreciate the little rebellions that make Gerwig's Little Women so special. The story is full of moments of seeing: Professor Bhaer turns around to watch Jo watching a play, Laurie gazes into the Marches' windows, and we, as viewers, feel seen by Jo's boyish brashness. But Gerwig also chooses to focus on Jo's many anxieties. Early in the film, Jo uncharacteristically dismisses her own writing ('Those are just stories,' she says. Just!); later, her monologue reveals a vulnerable desire for companionship (But I'm so lonely!). Gerwig honors the story's essence, but her version is not a granular retelling; rather, it serves as a homage to the art of writing itself—and women's mundane, humble stories, which Jo and Alcott are desperate to tell.
The Week Ahead
Ballerina, an action movie in the John Wick franchise starring Ana de Armas as an assassin bent on avenging her father's death (in theaters Friday)
Season 3 of Ginny & Georgia, a comedy-drama series about a single mom and two kids trying to settle down in a new town (premieres Thursday on Netflix)
The Haves and the Have-Yachts, a book by the journalist Evan Osnos featuring dispatches on the ultrarich (out Tuesday)
Essay
Diddy's Defenders
Diddy—whose legal name is Sean Combs—has pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Many Americans have taken to the comment sections to offer their full-throated belief in his innocence. Despite the video evidence of domestic violence, the photos of Combs's guns with serial numbers removed, and the multiple witnesses testifying that Combs threatened to kill them, this group insists that Diddy's biggest sin is nothing more than being a hypermasculine celebrity with 'libertine' sexual tastes.
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It was featured on the soundtrack for "Save the Last Dance" and topped Billboard's end-of-year chart for 1998. 1999: "Believe" by Cher The dance-pop song was the lead single from Cher's 22nd album. It has appeared in episodes of "Friends," "Grey's Anatomy," and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." 2000: "Breathe" by Faith Hill Although "Breathe" never reached the top of the Hot 100, it was named Billboard's top-performing single of 2000, becoming the first country song to achieve the feat. 2001: "Hanging By A Moment" by Lifehouse "Hanging By A Moment" was the lead single released from the alternative band's debut album, "No Name Face." 2002: "How You Remind Me" by Nickelback According to Nielsen Soundscan, "How You Remind Me" was the most played song on US radio in the 2000s. 2003: "In Da Club" by 50 Cent "In Da Club" was the rapper's first No. 1 single. 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It's been used so much since its release that Powter said he felt " detached from the song" because it's essentially in the public domain. 2007: "Irreplaceable" by Beyoncé "Irreplaceable" was released as the third single from Beyoncé's second solo album, "B'Day," and was crowned the third-best breakup song of the 21st century by Business Insider. 2008: "Low" by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain "Low" was featured on the soundtrack for the 2008 film "Step Up 2: The Streets." 2009: "Boom Boom Pow" by The Black Eyed Peas "Boom Boom Pow" was the group's first No. 1 single in the US and won the Grammy for best short form music video. 2010: "Tik Tok" by Kesha Kesha's debut single has been parodied by Weird Al and appeared on an episode of "The Simpsons." 2011: "Rolling In The Deep" by Adele Adele's music video for "Rolling in the Deep" is one of the few to cross 1 billion views on YouTube. 2012: "Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye featuring Kimbra The one-hit wonder won best pop duo/group performance and record of the year at the 2013 Grammys. 2013: "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz Macklemore's novelty hit won best rap performance and best rap song at the 2014 Grammys. 2014: "Happy" by Pharrell Williams Pharrell delivered the perfect feel-good song of the summer in 2014. It was recorded for the "Despicable Me 2" soundtrack and wound up being the year's biggest hit. 2015: "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth "See You Again" was made as a tribute to Paul Walker for the "Furious 7" soundtrack and spent 12 weeks at the top of the Hot 100. For several years, it was the most-watched music video on YouTube with more than 3 billion views. Bruno Mars's "Uptown Funk" was also a massive hit in 2015, topping the Billboard pop chart. 2016: "Love Yourself" by Justin Bieber "Love Yourself" was released as the third single from Justin Bieber's fourth album, "Purpose." It was one of the best-selling songs of 2016, and its music video has over 1 billion views on YouTube. 2017: "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber Although Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" was the top Billboard single of 2017, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's infectious club banger (with a boost from Bieber) claims one of the longest streaks atop the chart with 16 consecutive weeks throughout summer 2017. That's longer than Sheeran's 11 weeks with "Shape of You." The original music video for "Despacito" (sans Bieber) was the first in history to reach five billion views on YouTube. 2018: "God's Plan" by Drake Drake's "God's Plan" was Billboard's year-end No. 1 single for 2018. The rapper had another big hit that year when his song "In My Feelings" became a meme. 2019: "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus Lil Nas X enlisted Billy Ray Cyrus for a remix of "Old Town Road" because he was a childhood fan of "Hannah Montana," in which Cyrus costarred with his daughter, Miley Cyrus. The country-rap duet holds the record for the longest stretch at No. 1 with 19 weeks atop the chart. It also became the fastest song in history to be certified diamond. 2020: "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd Less than one year after "Blinding Lights" was crowned Billboard's top song of 2020, it was named the top Hot 100 song of all time. The Weeknd's smash hit spent 43 weeks in the chart's top five, 57 weeks in the top 10, 86 weeks in the top 40, and 90 weeks on the Hot 100. 2021: "Levitating" by Dua Lipa "Levitating" was originally released in March 2020 as the fifth track on Dua Lipa's sophomore album " Future Nostalgia." It was promoted as the album's fifth single and peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 in May 2021, eventually becoming the longest-charting song by a female artist, spending a total of 77 weeks on the chart. 2022: "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals In March 2022, "Heat Waves" completed an unprecedented 59-week climb to No. 1. The sleeper hit, written solely by Glass Animals front man Dave Bayley, reigned atop the chart for five straight weeks and ended the year as Billboard's top-performing hit. "Heat Waves" later became the longest-charting hit in the Hot 100's 64-year history. It spent 91 weeks on the chart, breaking the record set by The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights." (It has since been broken again by "Lose Control" by Teddy Swims.) An honorable mention goes out to "As It Was" by Harry Styles, which ended 2022 as Billboard's second-biggest song. The lead single from " Harry's House" spent 15 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, setting a record among British artists. 2023: "Last Night" by Morgan Wallen Despite a string of controversies, Morgan Wallen's single "Last Night" became the singer's first No. 1 hit on the Hot 100. It spent 16 weeks atop the chart in 2023, setting a record among solo artists. It has since been broken by Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)." 2024: "Lose Control" by Teddy Swims Although Taylor Swift topped the year-end Hot 100 Artists ranking and her album, " The Tortured Poets Department," topped the Billboard 200 Albums recap, the magazine crowned Teddy Swims' sleeper hit "Lose Control" as the top-performing single of 2024. "Lose Control" was originally released in June 2023 and debuted at No. 99 on the Hot 100. It reached No. 1 in March 2024 after a 32-week climb. In July 2025, "Lose Control" became the first song ever to spend 100 weeks on the all-genre chart.


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