The Dead Don't Die (2019)

Jim Jarmusch's latest is a zombie movie unlike any other. It's not a horror movie. It's a comedy, an unconventional one at that. It breaks the fourth wall. It has a huge cast of familiar Jarmusch faces in bit parts. The humor is kind of awkward, off kilter. Bill Murray and Adam Driver are perfect for the dry, slow-paced, often deadpan jokes. I'm starting to like Adam Driver more in his comedic work. There are a lot of seemingly irrelevant characters. Surely there is something Jarmusch is trying to say about the outcasts of Centerville, a small American town (village?) with a cast of lonely characters. I'm not quite sure what. The movie takes a wonky turn at the end. It wouldn't have been how I ended it, but I'm not entirely unsatisfied cause it's appropriately bonkers.

The Death of Stalin (2017)

The Death of Stalin, from the creator Veep, is hilarious. It is so witty and sharp. The funniest thing about it is how ridiculously realistic it is. We can imagine that all these crazy things could've farcically happened in the Soviet Union. They are preposterous situations that are simultaneously terrifying and funny. I actually laughed out loud on the plane. Steve Buscemi and Jeffrey Tambor have the perfect demeanor for political satire. The opening scene in which they must re-stage a performance they forgot to record for Stalin is brilliant.

Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)

Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes is a series of 9 random vignettes centered around the theme of characters--some top notch actors--chatting over coffee and cigarettes, which look good in classy black-and-white. The conversations are abundantly awkward, and that it makes it hilarious and cringy at the same time. Very little happens in some of them (No Problem) and you just wait wanting more. There are some recurring topics of conversation, but the scenes are otherwise unrelated. Some of the best segments are Twins, Somewhere in California, Those Things'll Kill Ya, Cousins, Cousins? and Delirium.