5 Movies Guys Will Accidentally Watch Whenever They're On TV

One of the major downsides of not having cable is waking up with a hangover and being forced to use my aching brain to find a movie as I scroll through Netflix in a usually futile attempt to distract myself from the pain that only I can be blamed for.

Besides that, I can't really think of any huge negatives when it comes to cutting the cord: It's nice to be able to choose what you want to watch whenever you want to watch it, especially when you're able to use your parents' login information to avoid paying a single cent.

However, there's an underrated upside of not being able to mindlessly flip through channels whenever I have nothing better to do. It's virtually impossible to accidentally stumble upon a movie and not realize I've watched the entire thing until I snap out of a trance when the credits start rolling at an unreadable speed two and a half hours later.

I can't tell you how many days of my life have been wasted because I mindlessly flipped to AMC or TNT and came across one of those movies that just seems to draw you in -- no matter how many times you've watched it before. Below is a list of movies I've accidentally watched more times than I can count.

"The Shawshank Redemption"

I'll Always Watch It Because: Morgan Freeman is a modern Siren whose voice is impossible to resist.

Considering how far you have to scroll down the cast list before the first female appears, "The Shawshank Redemption" is a guy movie in every sense of the word.

If you've never seen it, think "Chicago," only the exact opposite.

I can't pinpoint a specific reason I've spent so many hours of my life watching this movie on a Sunday afternoon, but I think it's mostly because I'm still holding out hope Brooks might finally be able to step back into society without any problems.

"Gladiator"

I'll Always Watch It Because: I am entertained.

I don't know if I've ever watched "Gladiator" in its entirety in one sitting, but I still think I've watched it at least 27 times collectively, based on the number of times my finger refused to touch the channel button after coming across it.

My favorite game to play is taking everything we've learned about Joaquin Phoenix since the movie came out and trying to guess how much of his performance is simply him playing himself.

Hint: He does a lot less acting than you'd think.

"Con Air"

I'll Always Watch It Because: It's Nicolas Cage being the best at being the best at being the worst.

I know there are countless Nicolas Cage movies I could have named here. I'll never turn down the chance to watch "National Treasure" or "Gone In 60 Seconds," and you could argue "The Rock" is the superior movie when it comes to Cage thwarting criminal masterminds in some sort of prison environment.

With that said, there's something about "Con Air" that sets it apart from the other works in Cage's oeuvre. Is it his mesmerizing hairstyle? The brief appearance from Dave Chappelle? The fact he somehow made the phrase "put the bunny back in the box" intimidating?

Whatever the ratio, these ingredients combine to make something that never stops being enjoyable.

"Road House"

I'll Always Watch It Because: Patrick Swayze.

It's impossible to describe the premise of "Road House," and that gives anyone who's reading this a reason to watch. It's about a famous bouncer who is forced to confront an evil tycoon who is willing to stop at nothing to... control the small businesses in a town in rural Nebraska.

However, the film also features approximately 1,789 cumulative punches, a guy wearing a shark tooth necklace, a monster truck, Sam Elliott's mustache, a taxidermied polar bear being used as a weapon and a scene where Patrick Swayze rips a man's throat out with his bare hands.

If you can't understand the appeal after reading all of those reasons, there's not much else I can do to help. I'm sorry you live a meaningless life.

Any "The Lord of the Rings" movie

I'll Always Watch It Because: Man is too weak to resist the call of The Ring.

There's no better way to ruin your Saturday than by coming across the Balrog scene from "The Fellowship of the Ring" on TNT at 1 pm and barely touching your remote until the seventh ending in "Return of the King" mercifully comes to a close eight hours later.