002 - Starter Pack: Film Recommendations
Every now and then, someone will ask me for a recommended film list. Depending on the person, I’d tweak the list (e.g., I wouldn’t recommend Ari Aster or David Cronenberg films to everyone). It grew tiring, so I decided to develop my list into several based on level of interest—more specifically, films I consider to be digestible for the beginner and intermediate viewer (my advanced-ish list is in progress as I find my way into watching what may be considered more advanced).
Beginner Starter Pack
- Carmen: A Hip Hopera
-
Booksmart
-
Singin’ in the Rain
-
The Wiz
-
The Wizard of Oz
- A Clockwork Orange
-
Mother!
-
Heat
-
Dinner for Schmucks
-
Train to Busan
-
Planet of the Apes (2001)
-
Shrek
-
Idlewild
-
Guava Island
- Fantastic Mr. Fox
- The Truman Show
- Good Fellas
- The Shining
- Girl, Interrupted
- Zola
- Beetlejuice
- Donnie Darko
- A Bronx Tale
- Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
- Sound of Metal
- Black Swan
- The Exorcist
- It (2017)
- Coraline
- Spirited Away



Intermediate(-ish)
- Carmen Jones
-
Bones and All
-
Phenomena
-
The Fly
-
Strange Days
-
Fantastic Planet
-
Waves
-
The Lobster
-
The House that Jack Built
-
In Bruges
-
Suspiria (1977)
-
Suspiria (2018)
-
Isle of Dogs
-
Ex Machina
- Whiplash
- House
- Punch-Drunk Love
- Men
- Grand Budapest Hotel
- French Dispatch
- X
- Pearl
- Parasite
- Antiviral
- Akira
- Memento
- Dead Presidents
- Deep Red
- Memories
- Pulp Fiction



(A little more than) Intermediate(-ish)
- Persona
-
Ichi the Killer
-
Banshees of Inisherin
-
Hereditary
-
Midsommar
-
Blue Velvet
-
Infinity Pool
-
Perfect Blue
-
Paprika
-
Oldboy
-
The Red Shoes
-
The Thing
-
Sweetie
-
Opera
-
Videodrome
- Carrie
- Buffalo ‘66
- The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
- After Hours
- The Triplets of Belleville
- Visioneers
- Under the Skin
- Filth
- The Wailing
- The Favourite
- Another Round
- Triangle of Sadness
- Brazil
- Lord of the Flies
- The Wicker Man



Advanced(-ish) - in progress
- The Holy Mountain
-
Santa Sangre
-
Hour of the Wolf
-
The Big Shave
-
At Land
- Tetsuo the Iron Man
-
Boiling Point
-
Eraserhead
-
Daisies
-
Absurd Encounter with Fear
- Beau is Afraid
- Dementia
- Angst


