Skip to content

Filter Wizard

The Filter Wizard is EasyMovie's signature feature. Instead of scrolling through your entire library, you answer a few quick questions and EasyMovie narrows down to movies that match your mood.

Select Genres dialog

How It Works

  1. Launch EasyMovie — Choose Browse Mode or Playlist Mode
  2. Answer filter questions — Each step narrows down the pool
  3. See your results — A curated random selection from what matched

The wizard runs through up to seven filter steps. Each filter has three modes (configurable in Settings > Filters):

Mode Behavior
Ask Show a dialog each time — you choose in the moment
Pre-set Use your saved values silently — no dialog shown
Skip Ignore this filter entirely — all movies pass through

Filters set to "Skip" or "Pre-set" don't interrupt the flow, so you can make the wizard as quick or detailed as you like.

Filter Steps

1. Watched Status

Choose whether to include unwatched movies, watched movies, or both.

Watched Status dialog

Option Description
Unwatched Only movies you haven't seen yet
Watched Only movies you've already seen (rewatch night!)
Both Everything in your library

2. Ignore Genres

Select genres you want to exclude from results. Useful for permanently filtering out genres you never want (e.g., Horror for family movie night).

Ignore Genres dialog

Matching modes: - Any selected (OR) — Exclude movies matching any ignored genre - All selected (AND) — Only exclude movies matching all ignored genres

3. Select Genres

Select genres you want to include in results.

Select Genres dialog

Matching modes: - Any selected (OR) — Include movies matching any selected genre (default) - All selected (AND) — Only include movies matching all selected genres

Example: Selecting "Action" and "Comedy" with OR matching returns action movies, comedies, and action-comedies. With AND matching, only action-comedies appear.

4. Age Ratings

Filter by MPAA/certification ratings. The dialog shows all ratings found in your library.

Age Ratings dialog

The available ratings come directly from your movie metadata — whatever ratings your library contains will appear here.

5. Runtime

Choose a runtime range. The wizard offers preset ranges for quick selection.

Runtime dialog

Option Range
Under 90 minutes Short films and quick watches
90 – 120 minutes Standard movie length
120 – 150 minutes Longer features
Over 150 minutes Epics and extended cuts
Any runtime No filter

In Pre-set mode, you can configure exact minimum and maximum values (0–300 minutes, in 5-minute steps).

6. Time Period

Filter by release year. The wizard offers recency options and decade browsing.

Time Period dialog

Recency options: - Last year - Last 2 years - Last 5 years - Last 10 years - Last 20 years

Decade browsing: Select movies from specific decades (2020s, 2010s, 2000s, etc.)

Any year: No year filter

In Pre-set mode, you can configure: After year, Before year, Between years, or Less than X years ago.

7. Score

Set a minimum rating threshold.

Score dialog

Option Threshold
8.0+ (Excellent) Only highly rated movies
7.0+ (Good) Well-reviewed movies
6.0+ (Above Average) Decent and above
5.0+ (Average) Most movies qualify
Any score No filter

Scores use a 0–100 scale internally (so 70 = 7.0 rating).

Movie Counts

The wizard can show how many movies match each option, helping you make informed choices.

Enable in: Settings > Advanced > Filters > Show movie counts in wizard

Cumulative Counts

When enabled, counts narrow as you progress through the wizard. After selecting "Action" in the genre step, the runtime step shows counts for action movies only — not your entire library.

Enable in: Settings > Advanced > Filters > Cumulative counts

Performance note: Cumulative counting requires additional queries at each step. On low-power hardware, you may want to disable this for a snappier wizard experience.

Remembering Answers

EasyMovie can pre-fill the wizard with your previous answers, so you can quickly repeat last night's choices or use them as a starting point.

Enable in: Settings > Advanced > Filters > Remember last wizard answers

  • Select an option — Click or press Enter to choose
  • Back — Go back to the previous step
  • Cancel — Exit the wizard entirely