Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for movies like Rye Lane:
Hit Man
Despite my love for nearly all things Richard Linklater and Glen Powell, I just couldn’t bring myself to fall for their newest release on Netflix – Hit Man, which tries its hardest to hide its superstar lead behind a thick layer of nerdy, undesirable heft that I saw right through from beginning to end.
Fingernails
Fingernails, directed by Christos Nikou, stands as another strong addition to Apple TV+’s repertoire, blending elements of romance, drama, and comedy against the backdrop of a futuristic society grappling with the complexities of love. Starring Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed, and Jeremy Allen White, the movie explores the fragility of relationships in a world where a single fingernail can determine the strength of a couple’s love.
Players
Players is comfortable with just existing rather than flourishing and finding new territory to cover in this expansive romantic comedy genre of movies. Netflix’s latest film is just as light and unremarkable as nearly every other one that they’ve produced. Gina Rodriguez and Damon Wayans Jr. co-star in lackluster, windless entry.
Anyone But You
While Anyone But You might offer a few chuckles and some eye candy in the form of Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, it’s a mostly forgettable affair that leaves you craving a rom-com with some actual bite and fizz.
Preparation for the Next Life
Bing Liu’s Preparation for the Next Life is a patient, unvarnished drama about two people trying to build a life together with nothing to fall back on. After the nonfiction clarity of Minding the Gap, Liu shifts to narrative without losing the documentary instincts that made his debut so piercing. You feel that in the way the camera lingers on kitchens in Chinatown, cramped rooms, and the small rituals of work and survival. The story is familiar, yet the texture is specific.
Blue Moon
Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke reunite for Blue Moon (2025), a compact character study that plays in similar fashion to their collaboration nearly 25 years ago Tape. Set almost entirely inside Sardi’s Bar in 1943, the film follows a single night in the life of lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) on the evening that his ex-creative partner Richard Rodgers’ Oklahoma! premieres to rapturous success nearby. Hawke’s Hart drinks, riffs and ricochets through memories and resentments, bending conversations to his own restless monologue whether the audience is Eddie the bartender (Bobby Cannavale), the much younger Elizabeth (Margaret Qualley), or Rodgers himself (Andrew Scott).
Empire of Light
There is some remarkable cinematography and sound littered throughout Empire of Light, but the script written by Sam Mendes is way too weak in its foundation. The movie strains too hard to make you feel anything, and the end result is that you ultimately feel nothing.
Spoiler Alert
I could see some thinking Spoiler Alert is a bit too emotionally manipulative and calculated, but seeing Jim Parsons finally get to be in a good movie that lets him show a different side than Sheldon Cooper was enough of a refreshing spin to suck me in. Ben Aldridge as his significant other Kit delivers a role that only deepens as it goes on. The movie does a beautiful job at telling a somber and heartbreaking tale with the utmost care that it deserves, one that I’m sure Michael Ausiello must be proud of.
Ticket to Paradise
When Ticket to Paradise is clicking, it is a lot of fun and absolutely worth the price of admission. When it isn’t, the movie is still charming and charismatic enough to appreciate and sink into, all thanks to leading performances from Julia Roberts and George Clooney.
Elemental
Elemental acts as a surprising return to the roots of Pixar. It’s a movie with a host of relevant themes and messages rolled into a sincere and effective love story. It’s been a a minute since Pixar landed an original story with such a clear balance of narrative and comedy.