20 great movies you'll only want to watch one time

Does this one even need an explanation? Anyone who has traveled to Midsommar knows why we are starting with Ari Aster's horror flick. People are broken up with, bodies are torn apart and loved ones are left behind. Even worse? It all happens in broad daylight. 

Scenes from a marriage we never want to see again. Marriage Story is the tale of two people and their custody battle. There's a shouting match that comes about halfway through that is so raw it became a meme. Laugh all you want, but this is gnarly stuff. 

What does it take to win an Oscar? Oh, let's see: for Leonardo DiCaprio, it took a bear attack, a snowstorm, a dive into a lake, a few punches to the face and about 20 other things we can't name off the top of our head. It makes for a tour-de-force performance, but not something we want to subject ourselves to again. 

Do we really want to see The Deer Hunter again? Probably not. I'm not sure I want to watch Rober De Niro suffer from PTSD all over again. It's chock-full of iconic performances (Christopher Walken! Meryl Streep!) and one of the most gutting endings ever. 

This movie made tons of money at the box office and almost no money at concessions. Why? Because it would be weird to eat popcorn while Jesus is being tortured. Mel Gibson made a movie that can't be paired with anything. 

You may have watched Ponyo and My Neighbor Totoro with the kids, but this Studio Ghibli movie is definitely not for children. You know, within minutes, this is not your average Ghibli flick. This is a war movie about two brothers who look for help wherever they can find it but are met with their backs turned. 

Everyone loves Trainspotting until the high wears off. What starts out as a highly energetic, propulsively edited movie about drug addicts ends with a feeling of regret. It mimics the feeling of heroin, which we are not looking for right now.

Christian Bale lost over 70 pounds for his role in The Machinist, about a shop worker who hasn't slept in years. In every scene, you stare at the actor, thinking, "How in the world is he so skinny? Is that CGI?" It's not, but the rest of this movie is filled with effects that make you feel like you're losing your mind. 

Deciphering a Charlie Kaufman movie is like deciphering a crossword puzzle. Once you've done it, you don't need to do it again. Indeed, no one could ever truly decipher this movie about a director whose film becomes a reality, but sifting through the endless squares seems a bit much. At least give it a few years before you dive back in. 

American History X tells the story of a neo-Nazi who realizes what he's doing is wrong, but is it too late? It's certainly a long path to redemption, filled with racism, torture, violence and injustice. Edward Norton is at the top of his game, but do we really want to spend another second with his character? Probably not. 

Look, this is not a movie to watch with other people around. It will have you in a puddle of tears when our protagonists decide to get a divorce. It's not enough to say that "it's just allergies" since everyone else in the room will probably cry too. Asghar Farhadi builds a dam of emotions that eventually breaks in a heartbreaking finale. 

This movie makes Schindler's List look like a walk in the park. It's the most bleak, brutal, and bombastic war movie ever made, one that sees a kid trudge through the swamps of injustice on his hands and knees. It's not an easy watch, despite being one of the most beautifully shot films of all time. But it makes a statement. 

The Come and See of dog movies. For many reasons, this one's not an easy watch, but the ending is quite effective. 

I'll never forget the experience of watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the genius screenplay, or the story of two people who try to erase all memory of each other. It's ingrained in my mind, and it's helped me to realize that with breakups, sometimes it's best to look back on the good times instead of forgetting someone altogether. That said, I'm not exactly trying to watch it again. 

There's a reason I don't want to watch this one again, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Oh, that's right. It's because of the friendship at the center, which slowly starts to disintegrate like froth on a freshly poured beer. 

Can somebody grab me a tissue? Scratch that: just bring me the whole box. Roberto Bernigni's story of a father who tries to hide the Holocaust from his son is full of life until it isn't. It's the ending that makes this one hard to watch again. 

Two musicians make great music together, but one is a pill-popping alcoholic, so things don't end on a high note. Rather, they end on a note of grief. 

Anytime you throw on a John Cassavetes movie, you know things will be hard on the screen. It's what you sign up for when pressing play. There will be good times, moments of realism, and humanity as well, which is why this story of a woman with mental problems and her tough husband is quite watchable while on screen.  

What's in the box? A criminal who commits gruesome acts, two detectives who try to stop him, and a bunch of dark set-pieces. David Fincher made one of the great noirs, but we have difficulty finding the courage to watch it again. It's not just the performances from Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman that suck you in, but the crimes that make this such a visceral nightmare. 

Just between me and you, I've seen this movie several times. It's one of my favorites. The story of a father and son who paste pictures around town is perfection, even when their bike is stolen, and they stumble around Rome without a job. You can't watch this movie without shedding a few tears, but you end up embracing the joyous moments as well.