Film

Tetris

Tetris is a taut Cold War thriller disguised as a video game origin story. It follows an American businessman navigating Soviet bureaucracy, corporate intrigue, and geopolitical chess in 1988 to secure rights to the world's most addictive puzzle game. Tense, smartly paced, and surprisingly moving about the gap between invention and ambition.

TMDb rating3.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy caper-style business stories where a deal turns into a cat-and-mouse chase through bureaucracy, and you like a lively, wisecracking hero who thinks his way out of trouble.

Skip it if you want the game itself at the centre of the film, since the story leans on Cold War negotiations and corporate rivalry more than on play, and a few scenes move at a slow, procedural pace.

What it asks of you: Around two hours, it moves briskly through meetings, handshakes and rooftop-style escapes, so it needs you to keep track of who is double-crossing whom.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Social Network2010

Like Tetris, it's a sleek thriller about the murky business of acquiring intellectual property, corporate backstabbing, and one man's obsession with changing the world. Fast dialogue, real stakes, genuine intrigue.

But It's cynical in a way Tetris isn't. If you want something warmer or less focused on legal liability, this will feel cold.

The Social Network poster

Bridge of Spies2015

Spielberg's Cold War thriller has the same careful tension, the same sense of ordinary people caught in geopolitical machinery. Methodical, intelligent, and deeply concerned with moral compromise.

But It's measured to the point of slowness. If you want something snappier, the pacing will test your patience.

Bridge of Spies poster

The Imitation Game2014

Another film about a brilliant outsider fighting bureaucracy and prejudice to complete something world-changing. Emotionally richer than you'd expect, with real stakes and genuine character work.

But It plays fast and loose with historical fact, which bothers some people more than others. The emotional beats can feel manufactured.

The Imitation Game poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Tetris

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Chernobyl2019

Both are thrillers about Western involvement with Soviet complexity, where ideology and corporate desire collide. Both show how systems work against individuals.

An HBO miniseries about Soviet bureaucracy, corruption, and the gap between what people know and what they're allowed to say. Like Tetris, it's about the machinery of the Soviet system crushing individuals. Meticulously crafted, genuinely frightening.

But It's relentlessly bleak. There's no warmth or humour; watching it feels like a duty rather than entertainment.

Chernobyl poster
More like this (8)

Spotlight2015

An ensemble thriller about ordinary professionals uncovering a massive conspiracy through dogged work and careful strategy. Quiet intensity, smart dialogue, satisfying in ways that have nothing to do with explosions.

But Nothing explodes. The tension is all procedural. If you need kinetic energy or romantic subplot, you won't find it here.

Spotlight poster

All the President's Men1976

The template for all intelligent thrillers about people uncovering truth. Two journalists navigate power, paranoia, and the machinery of corruption. Methodical and mesmerizing.

But It's from 1976 and moves at a 1976 pace. Modern audiences sometimes find it sluggish, even though it's actually gripping.

All the President's Men poster

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy2011

A Cold War espionage film about a man moving through shadowy institutions trying to identify a mole. Dense, atmospheric, and rewards close attention. Gary Oldman at his most subtle.

But It's deliberately cryptic and requires you to piece things together yourself. If you want clarity and exposition, you'll be frustrated.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy poster

The Post2017

Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in a lean, smart thriller about the Vietnam War, government secrecy, and the cost of publishing the truth. Urgent and surprisingly funny.

But It can feel a bit too pleased with itself about defending the free press. Some find it didactic rather than dramatic.

The Post poster

Margin Call2011

A taut ensemble film about professionals navigating corporate disaster and moral compromise over one night. Sharp dialogue, high stakes, and a cynical view of how institutions actually work.

But It's a bit too chatty and insider-focused. If you don't find financial jargon interesting, the constant talk will exhaust you.

Margin Call poster

The Right Stuff1983

A sprawling drama about ambition, competition, and what it costs to be first at something. Historical, thrilling, and genuinely moving about the human cost of achievement.

But It's nearly four hours long and refuses to cut anything. The pacing is leisurely; patience is required.

The Right Stuff poster

Halt and Catch Fire2014

Both are about the tech boom of the 1980s, about dreamers trying to bring something new into the world against corporate and political resistance. Both care equally about the business and the people.

A TV series about the personal computer revolution in the 1980s, with the same obsession with creation, business war, and the human cost of ambition. Beautifully made, genuinely moving, and it gets better as it goes.

But The first season is slower and more conventional than the rest. It takes time to find its voice, and some people give up too early.

Halt and Catch Fire poster

The Man from Earth2007

Both are thrillers built on the power of a single obsession—convincing people that something implausible is real. Both do more with character and dialogue than with cinematic spectacle.

A low-budget film about an impossible proposition that nobody quite believes, sustained entirely by dialogue and performance. It's a puzzle box that rewards attention. Taron Egerton-adjacent in its refusal to be what you expect.

But The budget shows everywhere. It looks like a college production. If you need production value and spectacle, you'll hate it.

The Man from Earth poster

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