Spoilers ahead: for the puzzle and the movies/games
This page reveals all categories and answers for this puzzle. It also discusses plot details, story endings, and other spoilers for some of the movies/games shown.
easy
Mission: Impossible films
Mission: Impossible · Mission: Impossible 2 · Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol · Mission: Impossible - Fallout
These are all mainline entries in the Mission: Impossible series. The easy click is the franchise title, but the mix of numbering and subtitles still makes you actually read the set.
medium
Adapted from works by Philip K. Dick
Minority Report · A Scanner Darkly · The Adjustment Bureau · Screamers
Each of these films comes from Philip K. Dick source material, but they cover a wider tonal range than people often remember. One is glossy studio sci-fi, one is rotoscope melancholy, one is a political romance, and one is a nasty little cult creature feature.
hard
1970s political paranoia thrillers
The Parallax View · Three Days of the Condor · Marathon Man · Capricorn One
These films all sit in that jittery 1970s lane where institutions feel hostile, truth keeps receding, and even ordinary movement through the world starts to look dangerous. The connection is broader than a single plot beat, which is what makes the group a harder read.
tricky
Titles that read as direct instructions
Do the Right Thing · Talk to Her · Don't Look Now · Wait Until Dark
Read literally, each title sounds like somebody telling you what to do right now. The trick is grammatical, not thematic. They are commands, warnings, or instructions disguised as movie titles.