Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for movies like Bottle Rocket:
Drive-Away Dolls
Despite Ethan Coen’s Drive-Away Dolls feeling like “lesser Coen brothers” at times, there are still some great lines and hilarious set pieces to make the movie worthwhile. Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan shine, and the noir elements hint at a style that the Coens have only ventured into a few times with their earlier films.
Read our full review of Drive-Away Dolls
Ocean’s Eleven
Ocean’s Eleven might just be the coolest heist movie ever made. Directed by Steven Soderbergh and featuring one of the most effortlessly charismatic ensembles in film history—George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia—it’s a masterclass in smooth, stylish entertainment. Decades later, it remains endlessly rewatchable, a perfect blend of clever plotting, sharp dialogue, and pure Hollywood star power.
Read our full review of Ocean’s Eleven
One of Them Days
Keke Palmer is undeniably magnetic, and One of Them Days serves as another showcase for her effortless charm and comedic timing. Directed by Lawrence Lamont, the film largely exists to let Palmer shine, and she doesn’t disappoint, carrying the movie’s 97-minute runtime with infectious energy.
Read our full review of One of Them Days
Rushmore
Although Wes Anderson’s career starts with Bottle Rocket and the short film that inspired that movie, I don’t think it really takes off into another stratosphere until Rushmore – a breakout hit worth every bit of praise that it gets. It may live a bit in the shadows of a few movies that come after it, but it’s undeniable that the motifs and thematic impulses Wes Anderson begins to lay out here are monumental in the works that would follow.
Read our full review of Rushmore
Cocaine Bear
Cocaine Bear reinvents the boundaries of cinema and what’s possible for the medium moving forward. An absolutely groundbreaking work that sets the tone for 2023. Just kidding. But it’s still goofy and wild. And a bear does cocaine, confirmed.
Read our full review of Cocaine Bear
The Monkey
The Monkey is a middling but watchable entry in the 2025 horror slate. It doesn’t reach the high bar set by of Oz Perkin’s best films, nor does it fully honor the emotional undercurrents of King’s original story, but it’s never boring. If nothing else, it reaffirms Oz Perkins as a horror director worth watching—even when the material doesn’t quite land.
Read our full review of The Monkey
No Hard Feelings
No Hard Feelings feels like a shot in the arm for studio comedies – a subgenre in desperate need of *something* to revive it. Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman both star, and carry with them completely different perspectives of maturing emotionally.
Read our full review of No Hard Feelings
Joy Ride
Joy Ride shoots for the stars in its outrageous comedy style and unique sense of emotion, but the two often clash for an uneven viewing experience. Adele Lim’s directorial debut occasionally hits the right notes, but with some snags along the way.
Read our full review of Joy Ride
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Royal Tenenbaums not only stands as one of Wes Anderson’s best movies of his career, but also a defining work of the independent filmmaking scene in the early 2000s. It’s dripping with color and visual intensity, masking a story with deep themes of broken families.
Read our full review of The Royal Tenenbaums
Nebraska
In classic Alexander Payne fashion, the setup for Nebraska is equal parts funny, sad, and deeply personal. And the payoff is well worth the wait due to remarkably nuanced and layered performances from Bruce Dern and Will Forte as a complicated father-son duo.