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The 5 Best (and 5 Worst) Movies to Watch On a Long Flight

By Nadia Chaudhury | Lists | September 17, 2014 |

By Nadia Chaudhury | Lists | September 17, 2014 |


Flights are boring. You’re stuck in one place for HOURS, looking at BORING stuff like clouds, skies, magnificent sunsets, etc. Why not watch a movie instead? It can keep you busy without having to do any real work, which is the best kind of keeping busy. Here are five movies that should be available on every flight, and five that shouldn’t be.


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1. Yes: Indiana Jones & Raiders of the Lost Ark
Any of the trilogy (let’s pretend that fourth one never happened) would work, but opt for the first film, which has everything you’d ever want: Nazis, snakes, and swooning over badass Marion Ravenwood.


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2. No: Last Tango in Paris
Awkwardness all around. It’s like watching a movie with your parents, but with 300 strangers instead.


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3. Yes: The Breakfast Club
Being in detention is like being trapped on a plane, so commiserate with the ragtag group. Let’s hope, though, that the flight doesn’t decide to share their deepest darkest secrets or talents.


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4. No: Battle Royale
Yeah, sure, The Hunger Games is pretty much the same thing, but the sanitized U.S. movie didn’t show nearly as much ridiculously violent death as the Japanese film.


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5. Yes: Any Liam Neeson movie except Non-Stop
Fill in the blanks for the titles, but the plotlines all pretty much sound the same: someone is taken from someone else, and Liam Neeson is there to kick ass and get them back. The ultimate stupid crowd-pleasers. Never quit, Neeson, never quit.


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6. No: Gravity
If you STILL haven’t seen Gravity, you missed your chance to fully appreciate it: on a big-ass screen. Don’t even bother checking it out this gorgeous movie on your tiny reclined-seat screen.


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7. Yes: The original Star Wars series
You might as well watch ‘em for the 783rd time before the reboot with EVERY POSSIBLE AMAZING ACTOR EVER is out. They never let you down.


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8. No: Lawrence of Arabia
Lengthy movies might seem like a good call on long flights, but this nearly four-hour-long classic isn’t the kind of film that should be interrupted by turbulence.


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9. Yes: Mean Girls
Rewatching this highly quotable movie is like talking to an old, comforting friend. And really, when was the last time you sat down and watched it all the way through, instead of just randomly finding it on cable television one weekend?