• Rabbits
  • Persona
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey
  • Being John Malkovich
  • The Lobster
  • A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
  • L'Argent
  • Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
  • Columbus
  • The Farewell

still life

Films that keep camera movement to a minimum and let moments breath. 

Stillness on a more formalistic level. A tendency towards…

  • House
  • The Fabulous Baron Munchausen
  • The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
  • Poor Things
  • The Twentieth Century

fabricated reality (matte painting, miniatures, stagecraft, greenscreen)

Live-action films that blend reality and matte painting/backdrops/greenscreen or feel like they're in an elevated stage-play environment. The kind of…

  • I'm Thinking of Ending Things
  • Mirror
  • A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
  • A Serious Man
  • Paterson

mundane surrealism

Films that focus on the surreal aspects of mundane life, or stylistically enhance the mundane aspects of life to make them…

  • Eraserhead
  • Mandy
  • The Babadook
  • Midsommar
  • Get Out

surreal horror

I’m more interested in horror’s ability to distort reality than blood and gore. Watching and reading more horror in the…

  • Pi
  • November
  • Eraserhead
  • The Lighthouse
  • Uncut Gems

* turns dial to 11 *

Some of my favorite films that are a bit much...but still awesome in their own regard...

  • Parasite
  • Psycho
  • Good Time
  • The Lobster
  • Mandy

...then it took this sharp turn

Movies with a sharp turn that derails the expected direction, shifts the tone or genre, or escalates disproportionately to the…

  • Manchester by the Sea
  • Blade Runner 2049
  • Inherent Vice
  • Dead Man
  • The Conversation
  • Sorry to Bother You
  • L'Argent
  • Greener Grass
  • Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
  • House

MAXIMALIST/minimalist

Double feature with a maximalist film followed by a palate cleansing minimalist film. Each shares a common theme, but with…

  • Sorry to Bother You
  • Possessor
  • The Lighthouse
  • Lady Bird
  • Get Out

Top Up-and-Coming Directors (Loosely) Ranked

Ranking is VERY LOOSE (more like “zones”) and based on the AVERAGE RATING of all the films I’ve seen by…