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Is watching a (decent) movie during long international flight during the 9 days permitted?
In general since many types of pleasurable activities are limited during the 9 days I would think that movies fall under the not-permitted category, just like listening to music for pleasure. The only difference here is that here I am not so much seeking out a pleasurable activity as much as I am seeking distraction during a long and uncomfortable flight.
There is no specific issur to the act watching a movie in the nine days. However there is a concept of mimaatim bi'simcha, decreasing celebration. So we can imagine a range of more "celebratory" type movies, like comedies, to less celebratory, like drama, to documentaries which aren't celebratory .
Assuming we are talking about non-assur content, it's up to you to decide what you want to do and how much you want to be mimaet bi'simcha.
https://www.ou.org/holidays/the-three-weeks/laws_and_traditions_of_the_nine_days/ is a very good summation of these concepts.
