Film buffs looking for more movies on Paramount Plus this month have good news, with a ton of flicks headed to the mountainous streaming service. While it's not one of our picks for the best streaming service, its access to the catalog of the second-oldest American movie studio is a boon to subscribers.
This month, just like most, saw dozens of new movies hit the service, many of which can sit alongside the best Paramount Plus movies. That said, Paramount Plus' interface can require a lot of scrolling to find a good movie, and so this list of curated classics will help you get to hit 'play' faster.
We help by narrowing down all of the new-to-Paramount Plus movies with this list comprised of titles with scores of 90% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes, the review-aggregating site. That’s essentially an A-grade, so you can feel confident these movies are excellent. And with dramas, a romantic comedy, a family-friendly action flick and two sci-fi movies of different flavors, we've got something for everyone.
If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) delivered another emotionally powerful movie with If Beale Street Could Talk, adapting James Baldwin's novel that follows the lives of Black New Yorkers Clementine "Tish" Rivers (KiKi Layne) and Alonzo "Fonny" Hunt (Stephan James). This is no straightforward film, though, as it tells their lives in a non-chronological order.
Friends their whole lives, and romantically entangled as they matured, Fonny and Tish struggle through life's trials — but stay afloat thanks to their love for one another. Things get worse, though, when Fonny is jailed on spurious rape charges when arrested by a cop (Ed Skrein) who's previously tried to bring him in on illegitimate charges.
Tish devotes her life to Fonny's release, and her family supports her throughout these struggles. This one hops from streaming service to streaming service quite often, so watch it now before it's gone.
Genre: Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%
Stream on Paramount Plus
Arrival (2016)
More meditative and emotional than many other science fiction movies, Arrival follows linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) as she's enlisted to help the U.S. Army study one of twelve alien spaceships hovering over Earth. While she and Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) begin to try and decipher the visitors' written language, Banks begins to develop a strange and unexpected connection to the aliens, based on her own life's trauma.
Critics hailed Arrival as science fiction for those who want a little more to think about and chew on. Adams' performance won a lot of points from reviewers, but if she and Renner aren't enough to get you to consider Arrival, note that it came from Dune director Denis Villeneuve.
Genre: Sci-fi mystery
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
Stream on Paramount Plus
The Queen (2006)
Stephen Frears' The Queen took on a difficult goal, humanizing the life of Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren) during the time after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Not only were the Queen and Diana not on the best of terms, but the Royal Family's push against having a public funeral and treat it like a royal death only exacerbated things.
Mirren won many an award for her performance, including the Oscar for Best Actress. Michael Sheen also got his fair share of praise for his performance as Prime Minister Tony Blair, who pushed the Royals to better understand public sentiment.
Genre: Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
Stream on Paramount Plus
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
No. 1 made it so in First Contact, as star/director Jonathan Frakes delivered one of the better Star Trek movies. Here, the Enterprise crew travel through time to stop the Borg from ruining history in a past era, a mission that is crucial to Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), whose assimilation into the Borg is still fresh in his memory, haunting his dreams.
Seen as a rebirth of sorts for Star Trek at the time, First Contact is an expertly made film that blends science fiction and horror perfectly together. Oh, and don't worry if you've never seen a Star Trek before, it's an excellent starter pack.
Genre: Sci-fi
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
Stream on Paramount Plus
Spy Kids (2001)
Spy Kids argues that the children aren't the future, but the saviors of the day, as Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara) must save their retired-spy parents (Antonio Banderas, Carla Guguino).
Perfect wish fulfillment theater for kids who long to be the heroes, Robert Rodriguez's Spy Kids offers the newbie spies a ton of gadgets to become the mini-Bonds of their dreams. Full of wonder and humor, Spy Kids is the kind of movie that kids will want to watch again, and Rodriguez's direction makes for a movie parents will be more than willing to check out.
Genre: Family-friendly action
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
Stream on Paramount Plus
Selma (2014)
Ava Duvernay's film about the 1965 voters rights marches dives under the layer seen in the news, with a personal drama. ThankThe constant death threats sent to Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his wife Coretta Scott King (Carmen Ejogo), combined with accusations regarding his fidelity to their marriage only increased the stress and toll put upon the two.
Critics loved Duvernay's direction and Oyelowo's performance, and praised the film for offering a lively history lesson that never once drags. Its depiction of Martin Luther King Jr. is also acclaimed, for presenting him with flaws and all.
Genre: Historical drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 99%
Stream on Paramount Plus
Say Anything (1989)
High schooler Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) is not at the top of his class, by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, he pursues Diane Court (Ione Skye), the valedictorian that everyone thinks will ignore him. Shockingly, she's down for a date or two. Unfortunately, her father (John Mahoney) isn't as impressed, and the IRS is also on his back.
Best known for the boombox scene that's been copied by more movies than we can recall, Say Anything was an instant classic rom-com then, and a rewatchable movie today.
Genre: Romantic comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Stream on Paramount Plus
More from Tom's Guide
