The hashtag #7favdirectors was trending on Twitter the other day, and I figured I’d share my favorite directors in depth rather than a simple list. So here are my favorite directors and why they made the list (in no particular order). Also keep in mind that this list can change rapidly based on my feeling and new movies that come out.

Peter Jackson: This director makes my list for one main reason, he directed the series that really got me interested in movies (The Lord of the Rings series). Without him a big part of my love for movies would be gone. I also really liked his take on King Kong so that helps.

Christopher Nolan: Every time I watch a Christopher Nolan movie I fall more in love with his work. His films are thought-provoking and have a sense of something bigger. He brings out amazing performances in actors and has a very noticeable style. If you can watch a movie and know who directed it without looking it up that’s impressive on the director’s part. You can never be certain of anything in Christopher Nolan’s movies and that’s a good thing.

Martin Scorsese: The Wolf of Wall Street is by far one of my favorite movies of all time. After watching it I knew I had to check out more Scorsese movies. I bought a bundle that came with The Aviator, The Departed, and GoodFellas. After watching all three I knew I had found a genius. Gangs of New York was also fantastic.

James Cameron: Along with Lord of the Rings, Avatar is one of the movies that inspires me most. It really shook my world up. I remember how crazy it was when it came out in 2009. I don’t understand some of the hate that it gets. Avatar obviously isn’t the only good movie of James Cameron’s, but it’s the one that had the biggest impact on my life.

Alejandro G. Iñárritu: Birdman and The Revenant are two of the most well made movies I have ever seen. The stories that they tell will always live on and their uniqueness will never be forgotten. Alejandro puts an extreme amount of effort into his films and it shows.  I absolutely cannot wait to see what comes from this director in the future.

Neill Blomkamp: This guy is really trying to say something about the world, and you can see it in his work. Although Chappie got slammed by the critics, it is one of my favorite movies. There’s something about his work that really draws me in. He takes elements of Sci Fi but makes it feel grounded in reality, and that’s quite a talent.

Quentin Tarantino: I’m not only inspired by Quentin Tarantino’s work, but the kind of person he is. He stands up for what he believes in, stays original and unique, and makes some of the most entertaining movies you can ever watch. I really hope he doesn’t stop directing after his tenth movie like he says he will.

Honorable Mentions: Zack Snyder, Ridley Scott, J.J. Abrams, David Fincher, Casey Neistat, Kevin Smith, Mel Gibson, George Miller, and Steven Spielberg.

Thanks for reading!