"I saw it when I was seven and it has stayed with me probably more than I’m aware of. I loved the Beatles and owned a bootleg single of “All My Loving,” so when the film came to my local cinema in Warsaw—called Moskwa (Moscow)—I queued up for half a day and got in. The film didn’t make much sense story-wise, but it was a mind-blowing experience. I remember it so vividly—the energy, the jokes, the crisp black-and-white shots, and above all the music. It’s a film that is carried by music, which was something new for me at the time. Was it the first music video? I think that British pop was responsible for some of the most inventive British films (OK, Richard Lester was American, but it’s still a very British film)."

"It may not be fair to say this is one of my top five, since it’s my dad’s film, and I’m in it as a youngster (playing Kevin Costner’s son); but even at 7 years old, when I first saw it, I remember sitting through the whole 3-hour film without moving. There’s something to the interplay of editing and dialogue that hooks me, no matter how many times I watch it, back into the investigation of the murder of President Kennedy. And perhaps because the crime remains unsolved, the film remains infinitely intriguing to watch, as though each time viewing it, you expect new revelations Instead, upon each viewing, I feel compelled to go out and research more about our country’s dark, hidden history. To create that kind of curiosity in an audience is a remarkable feat in itself."

"I would say the fourth one is Fast Times At Ridegmont High, which is like a really different version of the same thing at the same time. And you know it’s Cameron Crowe again, with Amy Heckerling, who’s amazing. I remember seeing that and it was kind of like gritty and so real. I think I saw it for the first time 10 or 15 years after it first came out, and it still was shocking and interesting. And we wanted to make sure that we had, in our film, real drug use — and the drug of the day was cocaine — and real boobs. We really wanted to go there. That’s something that I really admire in Fast Times At Ridgemont High. It’s hilarious, it’s not scared to go there and it doesn’t pull any punches. And the character work is so amazing."

"The first film is Moulin Rouge! — weird because I’m seeing Nicole Kidman later today, not to brag. I’m pretty stoked about that. I first saw it at a family friend’s house and they put it on for me because they thought I’d like it, they knew that I liked music. But the first 10 minutes of that movie are absolute chaos, like full-fledged chaos. So, I was like, I hate this, I don’t know what this is. I gave it a second try and watched it through the first 10 minutes and then the story started to come together and it became my favorite movie. I love that movie so much. I love the visuals, love the music in it, and just yeah, it spoke to my little gay heart when I was a kid."

"An utter masterpiece from the great Akira Kurosawa. Curiously, a Dashiell Hammet novel provided the inspiration for this film. I love that an American pulp novel from the 1920s was the spark for a staggering work of genius from Japan over three decades later. It demonstrates how art can transcend barriers across time, space, and culture and speak to us in a meaningful way. Yojimbo was remade as Sergio Leone’s spaghetti western classic A Fistful of Dollars, which I saw and loved long before I knew the original even existed. But when I discovered Yojimbo, it was like a gift from the universe. Everything else paled in comparison. Yojimbo is part western, part gangster noir, part samurai story, all awesome. It’s so good. Plus, if Kubo’s dad looks a wee bit like Kurosawa’s resplendent muse Toshiro Mifune, that’s not necessarily a coincidence."

"My friend Al played it to me when we were living together. It's a box set of all four of his releases at that time. It's super bleak and I don't know what it says about my mental state then, but for a long time it was the record I would fall asleep to, particularly on tour. There's something microscopic about the sound, but it's like a musical optical illusion - it can sound vast and oceanic or it can sound quite narrow. He's done something fascinating with the sonics so that it works on two dimensions. It's also just heartbreaking - there's one piece called 'Orgone Donor' with musical saw and violin over granular drones; a matt finish with these aching, twisted sliding harmonies. Like the soundtrack to the end of days. As though you're sliding into a black hole."

"Years ago I was on the Sundance jury and handed an award to a bright young Damien Chazelle for one of his short films, which naturally means I can now take credit for his entire career. Honestly though I don’t know how he keeps topping himself. When I was little, I saw “The Right Stuff” and was enthralled. Even after three hours I wished it didn’t have to end and could continue telling the story of the space race in such amazing fashion all the way to the moon landing. Now, over thirty years later, I finally got my wish. “First Man” crackles with energy and dread – the direction, the sound design, the edit, cinematography, it just felt so sharp and right in every department. It’s Mr. Chazelle’s strongest work to date and maybe my favorite film of the year."

"I think this is one of the best war movies ever made. It covered the heroics of World War 2 which we’re all familiar with from the greatest generation, but it was the first movie to ever capture the absolute terror of being a soldier in the war. It was okay to be absolutely terrified during that world war. Every other movie is mostly about showing bravery in such an unrealistic context, it’s like every soldier that fought there died gracefully. But I know people who fought in that war who saw that movie when it came out, and it brought back a lot of memories and fears and terrors. You weren’t encouraged to get help after the war for the trauma back then. And that movie did more for a lot of those soldiers and veterans, and it is just great filmmaking."