Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for movies like Anemone:
Bring Them Down
Bring Them Down isn’t without merit. It’s a serious-minded adult drama that digs into masculinity, family obligation, and rural hardship with conviction. But it’s also a film that feels like it’s holding back when it should be going for the jugular. Given the caliber of its cast—Christopher Abbott and Barry Keoghan co-starring—it’s hard not to wish the material had been sharper or more focused.
The Banshees of Inisherin
The story in The Banshees of Inisherin is simultaneously laugh-out-loud audacious and deftly potent with real questions on life and legacy. This is essentially Martin McDonagh’s treaties on friendship and what you leave behind once you leave Earth. Colin Farrell is the film’s stand-in for niceness towards those around you, and Brendan Gleeson’s character is a stand-in for tangible contributions to the world (in the film’s case, music). McDonagh constantly tries to unearth what it means to leave behind a legacy, and who will care about us when we die.
Small Things Like These
I thought Cillian Murphy couldn’t get any more wide-eyed and weathered than in his Oscar-winning turn as the title character in Oppenheimer, but just one role later, he manages to do exactly that in Small Things Like These. Serving as a low-key star vehicle for one of the industry’s most steadfast and quietly expressive performers, Murphy feels almost too right for a role like this. The film simply follows him—face etched with equal parts resilience and sorrow—through a small Irish town during the Christmas season as he uncovers deeply unsettling truths about the Catholic Church, an institution that looms heavily over nearly every citizen in town.
There Will Be Blood
Calling this a canonical masterpiece is almost redundant, yet revisiting Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood still feels shockingly alive, starting with Daniel Day-Lewis, whose Daniel Plainview might be the defining screen portrait of American ambition curdled into misanthropy. From the wordless, pickaxe-and-broken-bones prologue to the baptism humiliation and the “I drink your milkshake” finale, Day-Lewis maps a soul corroded by competition until there is nothing left but the will to dominate.
Echo Valley
Echo Valley isn’t a disaster—it’s handsomely shot, capably acted, and carries the skeleton of a compelling story. But the execution is underwhelming. With muddled direction, an emotional arc that doesn’t fully connect, and a central relationship between Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney’s characters that is more implied than developed, this Apple TV+ release lands closer to forgettable than impactful. It’s a film with some standout moments, but not nearly enough of them.
Wolf Man
Wolf Man is another uneven entry in Universal Pictures’ long-running struggle to make their classic monster IP feel vital again. Leigh Whannell may be one of the more exciting genre filmmakers working today, but this misaligned project is more whimper than howl.
The Woman in the Yard
In a time when many horror films try to be either thinkpieces or thrill rides and fail to be either, The Woman in the Yard hits a rare sweet spot. It’s a horror film that’s genuinely tense, emotionally grounded, and smartly contained. It may not be a game-changer, but it’s a solid, satisfying entry in the modern horror canon—and a reminder that even filmmakers with inconsistent track records like Jaume Collet-Serra can deliver when the right material lands in the right hands.
The Northman
If The Northman isn’t Robert Eggers’ best movie, it’s at least his boldest. It’s finetuned and pinpoint beyond what you’d expect from an already exacting director, and the stunning ensemble cast is entirely dedicated to their profound roles – all led by Alexander Skarsgård and Anya Taylor-Joy.
The Iron Claw
The Iron Claw is a powerful reminder of the human spirit being both enduring and fragile. It’s a movie that redefines what a sports movie can be, leaving viewers emotionally spent and profoundly moved. This is, without a doubt, one of 2023’s greatest achievements in filmmaking, a confirmed *masterpiece* that will linger in your mind and heart long after the final bell rings.
Inside Llewyn Davis
Inside Llewyn Davis is indeed a masterpiece of nuanced character study, where the Coen brothers bring their signature blend of dark humor, existential despair, and offbeat storytelling into a film that feels as emotionally resonant as it is stylistically unique. It’s a film that pulls no punches in portraying the painful, humbling reality of an artist struggling against not just the world, but also his own shortcomings. Llewyn Davis (played perfectly by Oscar Isaac) may be a man adrift, emotionally wounded by the loss of his partner, selfish and hard to like, yet he is also profoundly human, filled with raw talent and unfulfilled potential.
READ MORE: Anemone (2025)