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
Frances McDormand performances
Fargo · Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri · Mississippi Burning · Almost Famous
medium
Directed by Pete Docter at Pixar
Monsters, Inc. · Up · Inside Out · Soul
hard
Biopics about jazz musicians
Whiplash · Bird · Round Midnight · Born to Be Blue
Two real bandleaders, one fictional drummer who feels real because every conservatory has a Fletcher, and one trumpet player rebuilding his face and his sound. The thread is the price of the gift.
tricky
The protagonist turns out to be the antagonist
Fight Club · Shutter Island · Black Swan · Identity
Four films built on the same rug pull. The person you have been rooting for is the person you should have been afraid of the whole time. If you have not seen these, look away now.