Though it’s a relative newcomer in the streaming landscape, Paramount+ has already built up an extensive library of movies to choose from, offering up some great selections for movie lovers. Paramount’s streaming platform is arguably better known for its original TV shows, such as the Yellowstone and Star Trek franchises, but its movie selection shouldn’t be overlooked. Thanks to its deep library of titles, Paramount+ has an impressive range.
Someone looking for a new movie to watch can find plenty of classics, along with brand-new releases they may have missed in theaters. However, there’s so much choice that it can be a little overwhelming for those uninitiated with the Paramount+ streaming platform. Here are the 10 best movies currently on Paramount+.
10 Arrival (2016)
Run Time: 1 hr 56 min Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94% (Critics) / 82% (Audience)
Cast: Amy Adams (Louise Banks), Jeremy Renner (Ian Donnelly), Forest Whitaker (Colonel G. T. Weber), Michael Stuhlbarg (Agent Halpern), Mark O’Brien (Captain Marks), Tzi Ma (General Shang), Jadyn Malone (6-year-old Hannah), Abigail Pniowsky (8-year-old Hannah), Julia Scarlett Dan (12-year-old Hannah)
While Dune is inarguably director Denis Villeneuve’s greatest triumph, Arrival is his greatest film, and it’s one of the hidden gems of the 2010s on Paramount+. Based on the short story “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang, there is truly no movie like Arrival, not just in the sci-fi genre, but in any genre. Rather than adopting the usual negative bent taken by so many sci-fi stories about aliens arriving on Earth, Arrival does the opposite, turning it into a beautiful narrative about connection, language, time, and loss. The time-twisting, drama all leads to a haunting revelation that lingers indefinitely with the viewer. It’s a movie that asks big questions about life and the universe, and, for the most part, does a brilliant job of answering them without being heavy-handed.
9 American History X (1998)
Run Time: 1 hr 58 min Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84% (Critics) / 96% (Audience)
Cast: Edward Norton (Derek Vinyard), Edward Furlong (Danny Vinyard), Beverly D’Angelo (Doris Vinyard), Jennifer Lien (Davina Vinyard), Ethan Suplee (Seth Ryan), Fairuza Balk (Stacey), Avery Brooks (Dr. Bob Sweeney), Elliot Gould (Murray), Stacy Keach (Cameron Alexander), William Russ (Dennis Vinyard)
It’s rare that a movie by a first-time filmmaker comes out swinging as hard as Tony Kaye’s feature directorial debut, but that’s exactly what American History X does. Edward Norton’s performance as a reformed neo-Nazi desperately trying to keep his little brother from going down the same path is one of the most powerful he’s ever turned in, even as it’s all darkened with a fatalistic sense of doom that hangs over every scene. It’s an unflinching look at how familial influence, socioeconomic status, violence, and indoctrination create generational damage that sucks everyone into its maelstrom, regardless of whether they’re merely on the fringes or not. American History X also holds one of the most horrifying and shocking scenes ever put to film, and an ending that starkly underscores the ultimate futility of hateful ideology.
8 Mission: Impossible (1996)
Run Time: 1 hr 50 min Rotten Tomatoes Score: 66% (Critics) / 71% (Audience)
Cast: Tom Cruise (Ethan Hunt), Jon Voight (Jim Phelps), Emmanuelle Béart (Claire Phelps), Henry Czerny (Eugene Kittridge), Jean Reno (Franz Krieger), Ving Rhames (Luther Stickell), Vanessa Redgrave (Max), Kristin Scott Thomas (Sarah Davies), Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė (Hannah Williams), Emilio Estevez (Jack Harmon), Rolf Saxon (William Donloe), Marcel Iureş (Alexander Golitsyn)
The Mission: Impossible series is one of the rare action series that has just gotten better and better with each installment, but it’s well worth revisiting the first movie that started it all almost 30 years ago. Brian De Palma’s spy thriller doesn’t rewrite the genre, but what it does do is make Tom Cruise a bona fide action star. While Cruise had been in action movies prior to this one, it could be argued that Mission: Impossible‘s still-iconic scene of Ethan Hunt breaking into a high-security vault on a zipline is what solidified Cruise as a practical stunt junkie–stunts he’s henceforth made sure he does himself. Since then, the Mission: Impossible movies have only gotten bigger and more eye-popping with the stunt work.
7 Blazing Saddles (1974)
Run Time: 1 hr 32 min Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88% (Critics) / 91% (Audience)
Cast: Gene Wilder (Jim the Waco Kid), Cleavon Little (Sheriff Bart), Slim Pickens (Taggart), Harvey Korman (Hedley Lamarr), Madeline Kahn (Lili Von Shtupp), Alex Karras (Mongo), Mel Brooks (Governor William J. Le Petomane + other roles), Burton Gilliam (Lyle), David Huddleston (Olson Johnston), Liam Dunn (Rev. Johnson), John Hillerman (Howard Johnson), George Furth (Van Johnson), Claude Ennis Starrett, Jr. (Gabby Johnson), Carol Arthur (Harriett Johnson), Charles McGregor (Charlie), Robyn Hilton (Miss Stein), Dom DeLuise (Buddy Bizarre), Count Basie (Himself)
There isn’t a film in Mel Brooks’ oeuvre that isn’t a beloved comedy, but Blazing Saddles is right at the top of the best of his best. Upon release, critics and audiences were somewhat mixed on his edgy, satirical, blackly comedic Western, but today, it’s considered a classic. Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little are a historically great comedic duo, with Little’s cocky, enthusiastic Bart helping to buoy Wilder’s world-weary Jim. In between the many, many Brooksian gags and jokes, however, is a sly commentary on bigotry and the backward thinking of small towns set in their ways. Blazing Saddles skewers the stupidity of racism, showing it’s just as dumb and shortsighted now as it was then.
6 Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
Run Time: 1 hr 54 min Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88% (Critics) / 91% (Audience)
Cast: Audrey Hepburn (Holly Golightly), George Peppard (Paul Varjak), Patricia Neal (Mrs. Emily Eustace “2E” Failenson), Buddy Ebsen (Doc Golightly), Martin Balsam (O.J. Berman), José Luis de Vilallonga (José da Silva Pereira), John McGiver (Tiffany’s salesman), Dorothy Whitney (Meg Wildwood), Stanley Adams (Rutherford “Rusty” Trawler), Alan Reed (Sally Tomato), Clauds Stroud (Sid Arbuck), Mickey Rooney (Mr. Yunioshi), Elvia Allman (Librarian), Miss Beverly Hills (Stripper)
Audrey Hepburn captured the timeless elegance of mid-century movies, and Breakfast at Tiffany‘s is one of her most beloved films, both for her work and also for her instantly iconic costume design. It’s a much happier spin on Truman Capote’s 1958 novella of the same name. Where, in the original story, Holly Golighty’s narrative read as a cautionary tale of little girls being lost in the big city, the movie version of Breakfast at Tiffany‘s celebrates Holly’s adventurous free spirit. The story is a wholly implausible confection of comedy, romance, and coincidences, but Hepburn is never more charming than as the airy, captivating Holly. Perhaps the fact that it’s such a sweet palate cleanser is why it’s withstood the test of time whereas other romantic comedies have been forgotten.
5 Chaplin (1992)
Run Time: 2 hr 24 min Rotten Tomatoes Score: 60% (Critics) / 81% (Audience)
Cast: Robert Downey Jr. (Charlie Chaplin), Marisa Tomei (Mabel Normand), Geraldine Chaplin (Hannah Chaplin), Dan Akroyd (Mack Sennett), Penelope Ann Miller (Edna Purviance), Anthony Hopkins (George Hayden), Moira Kelly (Hetty Kelly), John Thaw (Fred Karno), Paul Rhys (Sydney Chaplin), Kevin Kline (Douglas Fairbanks), Matthew Cottle (Stan Laurel), Maria Pitillo (Mary Pickford), Milla Jovovich (Mildred Harris), Kevin Dunn (J. Edgar Hoover), David Duchovny (Roland Totheroh)
To modern audiences, Robert Downey Jr. has been so long associated with playing Tony Stark/Iron Man in the MCU that it’s hard to think of him in meaty dramatic roles. But Chaplin is a movie that proves just what a phenomenal talent Downey is, pulling off a masterful performance as Charlie Chaplin when Downey was just 26 years old. The biographical dramedy is the perfect vehicle for Downey, allowing his comedic timing and serious dramatic power to shine in equal measure. It’s an astonishing bit of work; Downey all but becomes the legendary Charlie Chaplin when he’s on screen. The movie takes certain liberties with the exact facts of Chaplin’s life, but there has never been anything that’s better captured the essence of Charlie Chaplin than Charlie Chaplin himself.
4 Schindler’s List (1993)
Run Time: 3 hr 15 min Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98% (Critics) / 97% (Audience)
Cast: Liam Neeson (Oskar Schindler), Ben Kingsley (Itzhak Stern), Ralph Fiennes (Amon Göth), Caroline Goodall (Emilie Schindler), Jonathan Sagall (Poldek Pfefferberg), Embeth Davidtz (Helen Hirsch), Małgorzata Gebel (Wiktoria Klonowska), Mark Ivanir (Marcel Goldberg), Beatrice Macola (Ingrid), Andrzej Seweryn (Julian Scherner), Hans-Michael Rehberg (Rudolf Höß), Piotr Polk (Leo Rosner)
When Steven Spielberg does history, he does it better than any other living filmmaker. Schindler’s List is inarguably the most resonant and lasting movie ever made about the Holocaust. It’s not an over-exaggeration to say the film is a staggering achievement; its legacy is such that it’s hard to think another film about the Holocaust and the plight of Jews under Nazi occupation will ever do them the same justice. Schindler’s List is by no means an easy watch–in fact, it has been a one and done film for many. Spielberg does not flinch away from the atrocities of war, with a shower scene at Auschwitz being particularly disturbing. But throughout the horrors of reality, Spielberg manages to weave a story of humanity and beauty, creating a balanced tale that is as harrowing as it is beautiful.
3 Clue: The Movie (1985)
Run Time: 1 hr 36 min Rotten Tomatoes Score: 70% (Critics) / 86% (Audience)
Cast: Tim Curry (Wadsworth), Eileen Brennan (Mrs. Peacock), Madeline Kahn (Mrs. White), Christopher Lloyd (Professor Plum), Michael McKean (Mr. Green), Martin Mull (Colonel Mustard), Lesley Ann Warren (Miss Scarlett), Colleen Camp (Yvette), Lee Ving (Mr. Boddy), Bill Henderson (The Cop), Jane Wiedlin (Singing Telegram Girl), Jeffery Kramer (The Motorist), Kellye Nakahara (The Cook), Howard Hesseman (The Evangelist/The Chief)
Long before modern Hollywood was taking games and turning them into movies, there was Jonathan Lynn’s wacky black comedy murder mystery Clue, based on the classic board game of the same name. Like many now-beloved movies, Clue only saw middling critical reception upon its release and did less well with audiences, but today is considered a cult classic thanks to the sly dark humor and incredible casting. Tim Curry is inspired as the butler Wadsworth, and his manic third-act explanation of how he had deduced the crimes unfolding is particularly memorable. Helping him are the wacky characters, a rambling old mansion, conspiracies and secrets, and more twists and turns than are possible to keep up with. If looking for a perfect example of a whodunit perfectly executed, Clue is it.
2 The Crow (1994)
Run Time: 1 hr 41 min Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84% (Critics) / 90% (Audience)
Cast: Brandon Lee (Eric Draven/The Crow), Rochelle Davis (Sarah Mohr), Ernie Hudson (Sergeant Daryl Albrecht), Michael Wincott (Top Dollar), Bai Ling (Myca), Sofia Shinas (Shelly Webster), Anna Levine (Darla Mohr), David Patrick Kelly (T-Bird), Angel David (Skank), Laurence Mason (Tin Tin), Michael Massee (Fun Boy), Tony Todd (Grange), Jon Polito (Gideon), Bill Raymond (Mickey), Marco Rodríguez (Detective Torres)
As the saying goes, they don’t make them like The Crow anymore – literally and figuratively. Alex Proyas’ comic book adaptation kickstarted the era of dark, gothic-tinged supernatural action movies with dark rock soundtracks to match. While already a sleeper hit at the box office at the time of its release, The Crow has still gained a cult classic status for the fervency of its following and almost mythical status among fans of genre movies. It’s a mythologized status that was, in part, cemented by the tragic and untimely death of Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee, during the filming of the movie. Lee’s breakout role and final film is a tantalizing glimpse of what might have been, with the late actor’s powerful on-screen presence undeniable in the role. The Crow is a genuinely great ’90s action movie, with slick, stylish action and a dark tone that sets it well apart from the over-the-top testosterone-driven, musclebound action movies of the era.
1 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Run Time: 2 hr 17 min Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91% (Critics) / 95% (Audience)
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator), Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor), Edward Furlong (John Connor), Robert Patrick (T-1000), Earl Boen (Dr. Peter Silberman), Joe Morton (Miles Bennett Dyson), Jenette Goldstein (Janelle Voigh), Xander Berkeley (Todd Voigh)
James Cameron’s Terminator franchise has stuck around for decades, but it could be argued it didn’t truly begin until the 1991 sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The first Terminator was a prescient bit of sci-fi that predicted a dystopian future where A.I. had turned on humanity. Terminator 2 ups the stakes by injecting the sci-fi action story with a heaping dose of heart, humanizing the cold and emotionless Terminator: even humanity’s worst enemy is capable of change. The mousy, scared Sarah Connor of the first film is completely gone; Linda Hamilton’s character is a force to be reckoned with. However, it’s then-newcomer Edward Furlong whose performance grounds the movie. As the future savior of humanity, the 10-year-old John is still full of empathy and compassion, and it’s the bond he forges with the robotic Terminator that binds the movie and elevates it into one of the greatest sci-fi action films, not just on Paramount+, but ever.
