67 Movies Like Ready Player One (2018) (Page 5)

Staff & contributors

Chasing the feel of watching Ready Player One ? Here are the movies we recommend you watch right after.

A smashing box office success and an Oscar nominee for Best Visual Effects, Ready Player One has already proven itself to be a smart and surprisingly adequate rendition of today's techno-anxieties that underpin the use of VR in popular culture. Through its elaborate portrayal of a magnificent utopia—a world where you (your avatar) can be anything you want—the film acts as an antidote to what many would call the end of cinema. Fears about VR interfering with filmmaking and the potential dismantling of film worlds through that particular kind of "virtual realism" are countered by the ever-expanding possibilities of OASIS. Spielberg is anything but cynical here and even if the main characters, Wade and Art3mis, are teenagers who have been born in a world beyond salvation, there is still hope in their idealism. While they find themselves up against the CEO of an evil corporation called  that seeks to overthrow the OASIS, the battle is not as uneven as it seems. Even now, being the giant of sci-fi film that he is, Spielberg still believes in the youth, as he always has.

When it comes to romance films, Hollywood casts young women with older men so often that this age gap is rarely questioned, even when the characters are supposed to be around the same age range. Murphy’s Romance does have an age gap, but it’s one of the few romances that actually cares to examine the age difference, having the age dynamic in canon and with casting intentionally reflecting it. It’s also one of the few that justifies it with the folksy, old-fashioned charm exuded by James Garner, the stability, wisdom, and kindness Emma isn’t used to, and good ol’ chemistry between two leads that’s more heartwarming than heartracing. Murphy’s Romance won’t be the feet-sweeping romance that Hollywood placed on the pedestal, but it’s just the right two people finding each other at the right time, albeit interstitched with randomly added saxophone and a lot of barn-fixing scenes.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Anna Thomson, Brian Kerwin, Bruce French, Carole King, Charles Lane, Corey Haim, Dennis Burkley, Georgann Johnson, Henry Slate, Irving Ravetch, James Garner, Michael Crabtree, Peggy McCay, Sally Field, Ted Gehring

Director: Martin Ritt

Rating: PG-13

Elton John’s latest concert film follows the same structure as most current music documentaries: it splices present-day footage of the musician doing his latest (and final tour) with flashbacks of his past. In either rare archival footage or lovely animation, we see snippets of his troubled childhood, his serendipitous meet-up with writing partner Bernie Taupin, his rise to fame as an unlikely rock star, and his rocky relationships with different men. If you’re an avid fan of the singer, you likely won’t see anything new here, save for excerpts from his final tour. But whether you’re familiar with John’s music or not, this documentary is sure to be a pleaser, especially aurally.

Genre: Documentary, Music

Actor: Bernie Taupin, Dua Lipa, Elton John, John Lennon

Director: David Furnish, R.J. Cutler

Rating: PG-13

A beautiful, poetic and disturbing ode to the waters of the Chilean archipelago from the perspective of the stars and planets, its Indigenous inhabitants, and the bodies of those who were disappeared into it under the Pinochet regime. As Patricio Guzman tells us and shows us, water has a memory and a voice. The opening sequence is like Salgado's "Genesis" photos but in colour and moving on the screen, absolutely breathtaking.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Adil Brkovic, Gabriel Salazar, Gabriela Paterito, Javier Rebolledo, Patricio Guzman, Raul Zurita

Director: Patricio Guzmán

Rating: N/A

Set during the swingin' seventies, two small town Connecticut families are the subject of this visually stunning and somewhat disturbing drama. With an all-star cast that includes Sigourney Weaver as Janey Carver, an unsatisfied housewife and mother of two and Elijah Wood as her eldest son, there's plenty of star power and drama. In addition, director Ang Lee brings his signature sense of trial and unease while unleashing a quirky and pointed 70's aesthetic.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Adam Hann-Byrd, Allison Janney, Barbara Garrick, Bettina Skye, Byron Jennings, Christina Ricci, Christine Farrell, Colette Kilroy, Colleen Camp, Courtney Peldon, Daniel McDonald, David Krumholtz, Dennis Gagomiros, Donna Mitchell, Elijah Wood, Glenn Fitzgerald, Henry Czerny, Ivan Kronenfeld, Jamey Sheridan, Jessica Stone, Joan Allen, Joe O'Connor, John Benjamin Hickey, Jonathan Freeman, Kate Burton, Katie Holmes, Kevin Kline, Larry Pine, Maia Danziger, Marcell Rosenblatt, Michael Cumpsty, Miles Marek, Nancy Opel, Robert Westenberg, Sarah Thompson, Scott Wentworth, Sigourney Weaver, Tobey Maguire, William Cain

Director: Ang Lee

Rating: R

Like the action thriller Cellular (2004), Unseen plays with the idea of saving someone only through a phone. This time, however, Yoko Okumura’s directorial debut has video call instead of just audio, with video used to help nearly blind Emily run away from her kidnapper ex. Through split screen shots, occasional open hazy irises, and tiny phone screens, Unseen takes us on a desperate escape, an escape made possible by Emily’s connection with random stranger Sam. While some parts feel absolutely ridiculous, the thriller still feels like a wild ride, especially when focused on its two leads. It’s still enjoyable, if you can accept its silliness and the shallow way it approaches certain themes.

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Actor: Brett Baker, Jolene Purdy, Michael Patrick Lane, Midori Francis, Missi Pyle, Nicholas X. Parsons, Ren Hanami

Director: Yoko Okumura

Rating: NR

This film lays its foundation nicely: it’s got slapstick romance and an absurdly wholesome motivation, and juxtaposes it with a murder plot, telling you right away the kind of movie you’re going to get. Its mystery aspect is intertwined with comedy, and its comedy stems from an avoidance of direct confrontation, while being so casual with death. The combinations give the movie an exciting and comforting feeling, even with the awkward wrinkles and vaguely ominous pop of red and warm colors throughout. Still, it suffers from a lot of uneventful fluff and underwhelming payoffs. It's a good thing it's funny, then.

Genre: Comedy, Crime

Actor: Angela Finocchiaro, Antonino Bruschetta, Christian De Sica, Claudio Colica, Darko Peric, Dharma Mangia Woods, Fioretta Mari

Director: Giovanni Bognetti

There's a way to get tragedy right, in a way that keeps the drama engaging even as bad things continue to happen. The Damned Don't Cry gets its approach half-right, with the lead performances by Aïcha Tebbae and Abdellah El Hajjouji remaining sturdy all throughout, and never slipping into easy histrionics. But as the cycle of misfortune continues plaguing their characters, the filmmaking itself doesn't give us anything more to latch onto, with little progression in their arcs and a frustrating lack of insight into the very promising central relationship. There's no mistaking the film's good intentions, but the message arrives in an unfortunately clunky manner.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Abdellah El Hajjouji, Aïcha Tebbae, Antoine Reinartz, Jonathan Genet

Director: Fyzal Boulifa