294 Best Lovely Movies to Watch (Page 19)

Sometimes we want to bask in drama, and other times all we want a movie to make us feel good. If you’re looking for a sweet and sincere watch, here are the best lovely-themed movies and shows to stream.

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271. The Beanie Bubble, 2023

Between Air, Pinball, Blackberry, and Tetris (is nothing sacred anymore?), 2023 has seen its fair share of business biopics. Unfortunately for The Beanie Bubble, it’s coming at the tail end of a trend that has overstayed its welcome in theaters. The Beanie Bubble isn’t very different from its predecessors in that it depicts its product as revolutionary and game-changing for the industry (it’s really not) and attempts to simplify the business phenom via cute graphics and quirky dialogue. Those aspects of the film are fine, if a bit forgettable, but The Beanie Bubble deserves some praise for exploring the power imbalance between Warner and his female partners, whose ideas he milked to no end. Robbie (Elizabeth Banks), Sheila (Sarah Snook), and Maya (Geraldine Viswanathan) are the ones telling this story, and even though the constant time hopping can get irritating, there are times when it feels inspired, like when Robbie starts one sentence and Maya ends her thought. They may be years apart but they’re all falling victim to the same greedy man who has a pattern of exploiting the talented women around him.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Adelle Drahos, Ajay Friese, Brian Troxell, Callie Johnson, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Chris Mayers, Delaney Quinn, Elizabeth Banks, Geraldine Viswanathan, Hari Dhillon, Jason Burkey, Javier Vazquez Jr., Jeff Schine, Julia Farino, Kurt Yaeger, Laura Palka, Laura Whyte, Madison Johnson, Mariana Novak, Myke Holmes, Nils Onsager, Paul Kim, Paul Ryden, Robert Mello, Sam Salary, Sarah Snook, Scott Hanson, Stephanie Hong, Sweta Keswani, Tatyana White, Toru Shimoji, Tracey Bonner, Veanna Black, Vince Pisani, Zach Galifianakis

Director: Damian Kulash, Kristin Gore

Rating: R

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272. Testament of Youth, 2014

Testament of Youth isn’t totally unique. Plenty of period dramas, even those that are true to life, have a similar approach of capturing the loveliness of a teenage summer vacation to better juxtapose the ugliness of war and how terrible it is to put young adults through it at a time when they should be exploring their lives. But it’s not terribly made– the film gets better as it goes, Max Richter’s excellent score is captivating, and there’s a certain novelty of watching the fresh faces of some of Britain’s biggest actors, even if their better known works have eclipsed this film. Testament of Youth may not be as devastating as war films like Atonement, but it’s a fairly decent watch, if you’re specifically craving for a period drama you haven’t watched before.Genre: Drama, History, War
Actor: Alexandra Roach, Alicia Vikander, Anna Chancellor, Charlotte Hope, Colin Morgan, Daisy Waterstone, Dominic West, Emily Watson, Hayley Atwell, Heather Nicol, Henry Garrett, Jenn Murray, Joanna Scanlan, Jonathan Bailey, Josh Taylor, Kit Harington, Laura Elsworthy, Miranda Richardson, Naomi Everson, Niamh Cusack, Nicholas Farrell, Nicholas Le Prevost, Taron Egerton, Teresa Churcher, Xavier Atkins
Director: James Kent
Rating: PG-13

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273. Provoke, 2023

Art Deco, opium dealings, and cutting off tongues… China then is different from China now, but that short period of time before World War II still fascinates people with how different the country could have been. Tencent Picture took advantage of that fascination through their microdrama Provoke, mixing in a revenge plot that comes straight from the film noir popular at the time. Of course, there’s only so much plot points one can fit into less than 15-minute episodes, and because of this, the camera lingers a bit too long on the cast’s gorgeous faces in order to stretch out the story for 25 episodes. That being said, the whole production is so stunning to watch that fans of the genre might be willing to forgive that the story is spread too thin. Provoke might have been more cohesive as a movie, but it’s intriguing enough to binge as is after the end of a long work day.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Actor: Daisy Li, Elaine Yi, Min Xing Han, Wang Ruolin, Zhao Yiqin

Director: Zeng Qingjie

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274. Miracle in Cell No. 7, 2013

Sometimes it's hard to relate to foreign movies because of the different cultures, languages and actors. But Miracle in Cell No. 7 transcended the language barriers for me and delivered one of the most touching stories I have ever seen. It's a Korean film about the intricate yet simple love story between a mentally challenged father and his daughter. When the father is wrongly accused of a crime he did not commit and is sent to prison, his personable character eventually causes the prisoners around him to help reunite him with his daughter in prison. Warning: many tissues will be needed.Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Actor: Choi Ro-woon, Dal-su Oh, Gal So-won, Han Yi-jin, Im Jae-min, Jeong Man-sik, Jin-young Jung, Jo Deok-hyeon, Jo Jae-yoon, Jo Jae-yun, Jung Han-bi, Jung Hee-tae, Jung Jin-young, Jung Man-sik, Jung-tae Kim, Kal So-won, Kang Seung-wan, Kang Ye-seo, Kim Jung-tae, Kim Ki-cheon, Kim Ki-chun, Kim Se-dong, Kyul Hwi, Lee Seung-yeon, Lee Yoon-hee, Man-shik Jeong, Man-sik Jeong, No Kang-min, Oh Chang-kyung, Oh Dal-su, Park Gil-su, Park Kil-soo, Park Sang-myeon, Park Shin-hye, Park Won-sang, Ryu Seung-ryong, Seung-ryong Ryu, Shin-Hye Park, So Won Kal, Song Lee-woo, Won-sang Park, Yeo Moo-yeong, Yoon Sun-Woo
Director: Hwan-kyung Lee, Lee Hwan-kyung
Rating: N/A, Not Rated

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275. Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, 2023

With social media inextricably linked to our lives, the way we navigate relationships is different now. Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is a visually stunning debut that depicts this unique modern anxiety, and its different facets through three childhood friends. Adarsh Gourav, Siddhant Chaturvedi, and Ananya Panday have the easy, breezy dynamic that grounds the film. This, along with the chill soundtrack and stylish approach of writer-director Arjun Varain Singh took in depicting their issues, definitely match the aesthetic appeal we’re used to from the online world. The film’s conclusion doesn’t fully resolve things– after all, there’s no stopping the interconnectedness between real life and the online world– but Kho Gaye Hum Kahan’s struggles feel relatable, even if it’s as surface-level as the world it wishes to criticize.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Adarsh Gourav, Ananya Panday, Anya Singh, Divya Jagdale, Farhan Akhtar, Ikhlaque Khan, Kalki Koechlin, Kartik Shah, Kashyap Kapoor, Mahathi Ramesh, Malaika Arora, Narendra Jetley, Rahul Vohra, Rohan Gurbaxani, Sapan Verma, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Sonali Sachdev, Suchitra Pillai, Vijay Maurya

Director: Arjun Varain Singh

Rating: PG-13

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276. Faces Places, 2017

What happens to genius and complex filmmakers once they reach old age? Agnès Varda at 89 is one example. She maintains an interest in the same deep questions but portrays them in a casual way - basically tries to have a little more fun with things. She finds a friend in JR, a young artist with a truck that prints large portraits. Together they go around French villages (the French title is “Visages Villages”), connecting with locals and printing their photos on murals. Their interactions are researched, but not worked. In fact, they are deeply improvised. Because of this and because the movie is structured in an episode format, it will completely disarm you. And when you least expect it you will be met with long-lasting takes on mortality, loss, but also gender, the environment and the evasiveness of life and art.Genre: Documentary
Actor: Agnès Varda, Amaury Bossy, Jean-Paul Beaujon, Jeannine Carpentier, JR, Yves Boulen
Director: Agnès Varda, JR
Rating: PG

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277. Always Be My Maybe, 2019

An innocent-fun movie, Always Be My Maybe is a lovely thing to turn your brain off to. Sasha and Marcus are high-school best friends who dated briefly and went their separate ways. 16 years later, they meet again - Sasha is a famous chef, and Marcus is still living with his dad.

What really makes this movie is the writing from Ali Wong and Randall Park, who also play the two leads. The dialogue is sharp, believable and smart - going as far as covering themes of gender and parenting. But also, because a rom-com about two Asians from San Francisco is not exactly a common occurrence, the characters are fresh, the jokes are fresh - everything is fresh.

Watch out for the character who plays Marcus' dad, he plays the character of an overly honest Korean dad perfectly. And also watch out for Keanu Reeves, he plays a crazy version of himself!

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Actor: Adam Farnsworth-Lautsch, Ali Wong, Ashley Liao, Brian Cook, Byron Noble, Casey Wilson, Charlyne Yi, Chris Hlozek, Corey Seaver, Daniel Dae Kim, Eddie Flake, Ellen Ewusie, Emerson Min, Emilio Merritt, Jackson Geach, Jagen Johnson, James Saito, Jason Canela, JayR Tinaco, Johnny Walkr Jr., Karan Soni, Karen Holness, Keanu Reeves, Kenan Zeigler-Sungur, Kipp Glass, Latonya Williams, Maddie Dixon-Poirier, Marcella Bragio, Marco Soriano, Michelle Buteau, Miya Cech, Neil Webb, Nevin Burkholder, Oliver Rice, Omar Khan, Panta Mosleh, Peggy Lu, Peter New, Randall Park, Raymond Ma, Sean Amsing, Simon Chin, Sonia Beeksma, Steven E. Rudy, Susan Park, Tana Yu, Tyler McConachie, Vivian Bang, Xiao Qing Li, Yaroslav Poverlo

Director: Nahnatchka Khan

Rating: PG-13

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278. Sitting in Bars with Cake (2023)

Sitting in Bars with Cake's best qualities and roughest qualities stem from the fact that the story is apparently based on true events. Screenwriter Audrey Shulman (who based the script on her cookbook of the same title) clearly wants to honor the details of this very personal year in her life, but the effect is a story that often lacks thematic coherence. When the cancer diagnosis is inevitably revealed, the rest of the film's subplots just seem frivolous and underdeveloped in comparison. But there's also a charm to having this be a story about a friendship rooted in regular, random things—suddenly interrupted by a devastating illness. The film definitely doesn't escape the cliches of a cancer drama, but they're deployed in a more sedate, mature way here. And if the filmmaking doesn't do much to tell this story in a more interesting way, the performances are enough to let the emotions land when they really need to.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Bette Midler, Maia Mitchell, Odessa A'zion, Ron Livingston, Yara Shahidi

Director: Trish Sie

Rating: PG-13

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279. Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles, 2023

While this documentary may not provide the level of insight or as cohesive a narrative as other films from recent years about children's entertainment, Hot Potato benefits from the sheer charm and approachability of The Wiggles themselves. It's inspiring to see these men and women be perfectly ordinary people who just patiently put in the work to get to where they are today. The film doesn't necessarily find a central idea or philosophy behind The Wiggles' music, but their creativity and enthusiasm for performing manages to turn the simplest things (like fruit salad) into a celebration of life. The documentary isn't particularly good at balancing its tones, especially when it deals with the struggles that various Wiggles have faced in their personal lives, but it remains likable and wholesome all the same.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Anthony Field, Bindi Irwin, Caterina Mete, Emma Watkins, Evie Ferris, Greg Page, Jeff Fatt, John Travolta, Lachlan Gillespie, Lucia Field, Matthew Broderick, Murray Cook, Paul Field, Paul Paddick, Robert De Niro, Sam Moran, Sarah Jessica Parker, Simon Pryce, Steve Irwin, Terri Irwin, Tsehay Hawkins

Director: Sally Aitken

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280. The New Look, 2024

For a show about luxury brands (featuring A-list actors no less), The New Look is surprisingly tacky. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought I was watching a History Channel reenactment, instead of a supposedly prestige Apple TV+ show about the murky histories of Coco Channel (Juliette Binoche) and Christian Dior (Ben Mendelsohn). The lines are clunky, the delivery is stiff, and doing all this in English with forced French and German accents is certainly…a choice. It’s not that they’re poor accents, but the inconsistency is distracting; it often sounds like I’m listening to a dub, which I’ve never been a fan of. To his credit, director Todd A. Kessler knows how to make a fashionable show. The gowns are gorgeous, and the designs Channel and Dior come up with look just as chic as the day they first came out. But that’s just one thread of multi-layered show. It may look good, but it crumbles under the weight of its ambitious goal to be a biopic, a period piece, and a war drama all at once. What a waste of a good cast, an interesting story, an a gorgeous collection of gowns!Genre: Drama
Actor: Ben Mendelsohn, Claes Bang, Emily Mortimer, John Malkovich, Juliette Binoche, Maisie Williams
Rating: TV-MA

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281. Song of the South, 2023

Not to be confused with the old racist Disney movie, Song of the South is a carefully crafted historical epic based on the classic Vietnamese novel. Set in 1940s Vietnam, French colonial rule hangs over the main story, with the young An searching for his father after a tragic loss. It’s beautifully shot, capturing South Vietnam’s culture in ethereal countryscapes, blatantly nationalistic moments, and excellently choreographed fight sequences. Huynh Hao Khang also depicts An with a charm and charisma that makes his journey the most interesting to watch. However, his journey meanders halfway through, with each change in travel companion unsteadily shifting the tone of the film. Song of the South is an intriguing watch, but the structure, humor, and the CGI distracts from the poignancy of the original novel’s story.

Genre: Drama, Family, War

Actor: Công Ninh, Hồng Ánh, Mai Tài Phến, Trấn Thành, Tuấn Trần, Tuyền Mập

Director: Nguyễn Quang Dũng

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282. Paging Mr. Darcy, 2024

Despite the fact that this isn't the light fantasy romcom it seems to present itself as at the onset, Paging Mr. Darcy nevertheless becomes a breezy, likable little TV movie because it allows its main characters to be adult human beings. The story is still mostly fluff that ends far too abruptly, but for the most part, watching these two walk around and flirt from the very beginning makes for pleasant viewing. There isn't any pressure placed on these people to fabricate some sort of will-they-won't-they dynamic or to act accordingly to Jane Austen's work, and the result is a romance that feels so much simpler and so much more authentic than a Hallmark movie probably deserves.Genre: Comedy, Romance, TV Movie
Actor: Benjamin Ayres, Carolyn Scott, David Pinard, David Rosser, Jinny Wong, Lillian Doucet-Roche, Mallory Jansen, Steven Vlahos, Will Kemp
Director: Peter Wellington
Rating: G

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283. Nuovo Olimpo, 2023

Nuovo Olimpo is stunning, atmospheric, and the very concept of the film – where lost love intersects with Italian cinema – is an interesting one. Starting the film’s relationship at a specific movie theater feels reminiscent of Cinema Paradiso, especially as Enea’s path mirrors Salvatore becoming a famous director. However, the film doesn’t really dive deep into this concept, nor does it add much to say with its gay romance. There’s something here about the relationship between the creator and the viewer that is undeniably interlinked, and there’s a hope that they can meet in the middle. But when the film doesn’t care about the couple’s individual paths, there are times it feels like it’s just going through the motions.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Aglaia Mora, Alvise Rigo, Andrea Di Luigi, Aurora Giovinazzo, Damiano Gavino, Eugenio di Fraia, Federico Mancini, Giacomo Colavito, Giacomo Stallone, Giancarlo Commare, Greta Scarano, Loredana Cannata, Luisa Ranieri, Priscilla Drag

Director: Ferzan Özpetek

Rating: R

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284. All the Light We Cannot See, 2023

With the source material being a Pulitzer winning novel, All The Light We Cannot See had high expectations. Plenty of what made the novel great was its straightforward prose, as well as its back-and-forth timeline, where each scene is arranged not by chronological order, but by the thematic logic that informs the characters’ actions. The new Netflix adaptation keeps the novel’s structure, however, the novel’s poetry is lost as the metaphors are shortened to its most cliché versions, and the showrunners couldn’t trust that the viewers would acknowledge the novel’s subtleties. While the cast does what it can, the show just feels like a missed opportunity to tell an excellent story.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Aria Mia Loberti, Hugh Laurie, Lars Eidinger, Louis Hofmann, Mark Ruffalo

Rating: TV-MA

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285. Dating Santa (2023)

As far as romance movies go, Dating Santa is surprisingly free of the usual artificial conflicts that plague the genre. The central couple meet early on and stay in close proximity to each other throughout—meaning they get to skip past the cliche of the courtship phase and converse maturely as adults about turning a new leaf relatively later in life. What ends up straining the film's story, unfortunately, is the much more lighthearted storyline about trying to convince a little girl that this new man in her mother's life is Santa. It's a cute idea that just gets too hard to sustain over time, especially since the daughter proves herself intelligent and perceptive, but still somehow willing to believe so many obvious deceptions.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Ana Serradilla, David Chocarro, Olivia Duflos

Director: Jose Sierra

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