"It is storytelling that is so unexpected and brilliant as to seem inevitable, and that’s the best kind. I wanted to put down my pencil and back away until I learned how to write when I saw this movie. Structurally, it’s insanely sound. Everything that they’re doing is visually ecstatic, and philosophically it could be studied for centuries. It contains every aspect of modern life and religion and philosophy and knows it, and they’re doing something that is very deliberately very heady. But at the same time, when asked what is this movie about, their answer was “It’s about kung fu versus robots.” If it was just that, it would be on this list. But it’s that and everything else."

"Robert Plant has a horrible attempt at a wail at the beginning. He doesn’t get anywhere near it, but it’s still awesome. In a way, live stuff is about the mistakes. You don’t want a note-perfect recital of a song, you want a fucked up, exciting, bum notes everywhere, people falling off their stools version of it. And I think Led Zeppelin are brilliant at that kind of stuff. Everything on this is completely real and it sounds like they’re really trying and not quite getting there – and that’s the thrill. That’s what it’s all about. The white knuckle ride. We didn’t sign up for the teacup ride. It’s real life – there’s a human element to it, and you really get that on Led Zeppelin recordings."

"I like how fragmented Atlanta is. It just belies people's expectations of what a character is going to be and their socio-economic situations. I just feel like there's a lot of humour on the show but it's also dealing with a lot of heavy, serious stuff and race issues. I also just like how it's fragmented and artful. It feels more filmic to me than TV. I also like 'This Is America' - both the video and the song. I thought that was one of the most brilliant things. It's so hard to make comments about culture, and then also the entertainment world, as well as the rap world. That was amazing. That reflects a lot of the attitude of Atlanta, as well. It's being self-reflective"

"The final one is The Silence of the Lambs. I love dark movies, and I love thrillers. I don’t like horror movies because I get too scared. [laughs] I draw the line at thrillers; I like to think while I’m afraid. Obviously, great characters in that movie. The shots last for like a million years. Anthony Hopkins never blinks. Again, you just see the throughline; Jodie Foster’s character is obviously strong in that she’s dealing with this serial killer and she’s keeping up with everybody and her boss at the FBI. At the same time, she’s so vulnerable. It’s her vulnerability that enables her to have this connection with this psychopath. It’s a brilliant performance, and I just love that movie. It’s so good."

"Wild Bunch, yeah. I’ve seen that as many times as I’ve seen any… it was just a great classic western. The wonderful characters — full of great character actors, you know: Warren Oates, Strother Martin, L.Q. Jones, William Holden, Robert Ryan — they’re just terrific. Just from the acting point of view, the whole shape of it was brilliant, and the story. It was violent and sexy and beautiful. And a fantastic narrative — ambitious and big. Impossible to imagine anyone doing it now, really. I’m a child of that, the Bonnie and Clyde to Raging Bull period, you know. Those are the films that heightened my interest in acting and movies and everything. But that’s the sort of classic of that period, I suppose."

"Bridesmaids: If you have not seen it yet then you probably don’t live on Earth. But if you do live on Earth and haven’t seen it you should check it out. It is one of the more modern of the comedy choices I picked, because if you want to see genius comedy – I mean genius, brilliant comedy – Kristen Wiig will just teach you a lesson, and show you how to be funny. She’s unbelievable in this movie. The story is relatable. If you didn’t think Kristen could be funnier, then get ready for Melissa McCarthy, because she hits you over the head with a cinder block of comedy. It is unbelievably well-written, well-acted, well-directed…one of my faves."