Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for movies like Knox Goes Away:
A History of Violence
Leave it to David Cronenberg to deconstruct the mythical American hero with odd wit and clinical detail. A History of Violence looks like a small-town melodrama on the surface, then peels back skin to expose identity, impulse, and the stories we tell to survive. Viggo Mortensen gives one of his sharpest performances as Tom Stall, a soft-spoken diner owner whose quick, efficient dispatching of two spree killers turns him into a local legend and blows up the quiet life he has built with Edie, played with fierce tenderness by Maria Bello.
No Country for Old Men
Revisiting No Country for Old Men on its 4K Criterion Collection release reminded me why this film stands among the greats—not just of 2007, not just of the 21st century, but of all time. It’s Joel and Ethan Coen at their most precise and uncompromising, blending their dualistic approach to filmmaking: the sharp nihilism of their darker works with the understated, situational humor that defines their lighter outings. It’s a masterpiece of tension, craft, and existential dread, all wrapped in a narrative as sparse and unrelenting as the Texas landscape it inhabits.
Se7en
30 years after the movie’s release, Se7en stands the test of time by being David Fincher’s first significant breakthrough hit. A murder mystery, the film leans on great performances and rainy imagery.
Memories of Murder
Memories of Murder remains my favorite of Bong Joon-ho’s films, narrowly edging out Parasite, and is a testament to his unparalleled ability to weave societal critique into gripping narratives. Few movies are as chilling, as masterfully constructed, or as deeply affecting as Memories of Murder. Not just Bong’s best, but one of the best films ever made.
Dead Man’s Wire
Gus Van Sant’s Dead Man’s Wire has the bones of a taut pressure cooker, a true-story hostage standoff that should play like a noose tightening. Bill Skarsgård is Tony Kiritsis, a lower-middle-class real estate developer turned live wire, convinced he has been cheated by mortgage banker Richard Hall (Dacre Montgomery). In a desperate bid for retribution, Tony rigs a shotgun to his own neck with the titular “dead man’s wire,” takes Richard hostage, and demands a fortune and an apology. The premise is instantly cinematic, and Van Sant clearly understands the pull of a community watching a crisis become entertainment, with public sympathy bending in unsettling directions when class resentment gets a face.
The Rip
I ended up liking The Rip more than I expected to, and less than I wanted to. It is better than a lot of recent action-thriller comfort food, and it has enough atmosphere and mistrust to keep you locked in. It just never quite becomes the great Miami cop paranoia movie it keeps teasing. Solid, serviceable, occasionally tense, and a reminder that with this cast and this premise, there was a meaner, sharper version sitting right there.
Ballad of a Small Player
Edward Berger trades battlefield thunder and papal intrigue for the neon haze of Macau in Ballad of a Small Player, and the downsizing mostly helps. Where All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave felt airless in their importance, this Netflix noir drifts on smaller, grubbier currents. Colin Farrell plays the magnificently named Lord Doyle, a con man hiding in five-star purgatory, burning through stolen money while chasing baccarat streaks that never come. He wears “lucky” gloves, talks to himself like a man trying to will fortune into existence, and keeps sinking. Farrell leans into the hangdog glamour of a loser who still orders champagne. It is one of his better sad-cad turns.
Play Dirty
Play Dirty is the latest in Prime Video’s conveyor belt of glossy but weightless action titles. You can feel the intentions are different this time, since Shane Black aims for a straighter crime caper rather than the snarky crackle of The Nice Guys or Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. On paper, the package looks sturdy. Mark Wahlberg plays Parker, LaKeith Stanfield plays Grofield, and Rosa Salazar plays Zen, a trio of professional thieves drawn into a job that pits them against the New York mob and the president of Zen’s South American home country. In practice the movie is mostly table setting that never pays off.
The Pickup
I’ll admit I had more fun with The Pickup (2025) than I expected. Prime Video has been churning out a steady stream of C-tier action comedies, and most of them vanish from memory the moment the credits roll. I figured this would be another one of those forgettable titles, but to my surprise, it has just enough charm and comedic energy to make for a breezy, if uneven, watch.
Roofman
Roofman is the kind of “they don’t make them like this anymore” adult caper that suits Channing Tatum better than almost anything. He dials down the movie-star wattage and leans into hangdog charm as Jeffrey Manchester, a serial McDonald’s robber who perfects the art of dropping through rooftops, then graduates to a more audacious escape-and-hide scheme after he is finally caught. Derek Cianfrance treats the true story with a straight face and a curious heart, finding room for procedure, romance, and the melancholy of a guy who is always one step from being found out.
READ MORE: Knox Goes Away (2024)
