Mr. brooks
for my money, the first four films of albert brooks are some of the funniest movies ever made, especially "real life".

mouth of madness
i think in the mouth of madness is quite good. i think this is his cut-off.

miracle mile of course
how do you not include miracle mile? and wouldnt the idea of unexpected shifts in tone from a david lynch movie be considered conventional? wouldnt the straight story count more as a gearshift for him?

saddest news of the year
silver jews are my favorite band. his lyrics have been such an inspiration for me. this is like a family member dying.

nowhere
how about gregg arakis nowhere