11 Best Movies on Paramount+

Paramount+ hopped on board the streaming service phenomenon in 2021 and has never looked back. I mean, it was a bold move for the entertainment company, with the likes of Netflix dominating the industry and rivals Disney+ and Prime Video, amongst others, in hot pursuit. However, within a short period of time, Paramount+ has really developed itself as a leader in the streaming service space, with its impressive catalogue of movies entertaining viewers far and wide. From those silver-screen classics to newer indie festival darlings, there are plenty of options available for anyone.

So be sure to get comfortable on the sofa with some popcorn in hand and pick a movie from our list of eleven below to enjoy on Paramount+.

1. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

It was the movie that gave us Australian actress Margot Robbie, but The Wolf of Wall Street also showed off the full extent of Leonardo DiCaprio’s impressive mega acting talents as he took on the role of the real life-inspired Jordan Belfort, who worked his way up from an entry-level job at a Wall Street brokerage firm in the late eighties to the founder of his own firm, Stratton Oakmont, while still in his twenties.

While his career highs were impressive on the surface, deep down, chaos was brewing. In the biographical black comedy crime film directed by the immensely talented Martin Scorsese, Jordan’s fall is also documented as he begins partaking in a plot to defraud wealthy investors out of millions along with his trusted sidekick (played by Jonah Hill). However, as they get completely lost in their opulent lifestyle of crime, sex and drugs, they don’t realize that the SEC and FBI are closing in on their case.

2. Paranormal Activity (2009)

Those watching Paranormal Activity for the first time these days will never truly understand the power that this horror movie had over society upon its release. Right when vlogging, influencers, and content creation were just about becoming a thing in the online realm, this movie cashed in on the found footage style movie experience that had worked wonders for the equally horrifying 1999 flick The Blair Witch Project.

In the film, loved-up couple Katie and Micah move into the idyllic suburb home of their dreams but soon find themselves disturbed by the villainous supernatural presence within their four walls, which is all captured via video cameras set up in the house. They attempt to rid their home of the evil entity, which is out to destroy their lives forever. This small-budget movie gave the world the chills and went on to become a massive mainstream success across the globe, and rightfully so!

3. Licorice Pizza (2021)

We all know and love singer Alana Haim from the soft rock and pop band Haim, featuring her equally talented sisters Este and Danielle. But we didn’t realize what a fantastic actress she was until we saw her in the heartwarming movie Licorice Pizza. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, the movie is set in 1973 and follows the development and journey of Alana Kane and Gary Valentine’s relationship as they grow up and fall in love in California’s San Fernando Valley. This is such a cute, heartwarming and light-hearted movie that is essential viewing for the summer months.

4. Into the Wild (2007)

Emile Hirsch is absolutely incredible in Into the Wild, a biographical adventure drama film that’s based on the 1996 non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer. Written, co-produced, and directed by actor Sean Penn, the film features a young graduate from a wealthy background named Christopher McCandless, who shuns his wealthy, privileged background as he sells all his possessions and decides to hitchhike across the remote American wilderness on his own. Along his journey, he encounters several situations that forever change him as a person. We also catch a glimpse of Kristen Stewart in the movie, which was released a year before her Twilight fame. Little did she know that big things were ahead for her!

5. The Ring (2002)

The horror movie of all horror movies! The Ring, starring Naomi Watts, sees newspaper reporter Rachel Keller investigating what, on the surface, seems to be an urban legend. However, when four innocent teenagers all die mysteriously within a week of watching a videotape filled with nightmarish images, curiosity gets the better of her.

She decides to track down the tape and watches it for herself before the timer is immediately set for her death in seven days, in which she must unravel the mystery or meet her fate via Samara, the terrifying little girl with long, scraggly dark hair covering her face. This movie is seared in our memories forever and gave us endless nightmares for weeks upon its release over twenty years ago.

6. Up in the Air (2009)

Up in the Air bagged a whopping six nominations at the Oscars. Starring a bumper cast of George Clooney, Anna Kendrick, Vera Farmiga, and Jason Bateman, the flick follows the high-flying life of corporate downsizer Ryan Bingham, who travels up and down the country firing people. However, a young new coworker presents an impressive new business model, prompting him to take her under his wing. At the same time, he surprisingly begins developing feelings for another frequent flier, causing others to see him in a whole new light.

7. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Detroit is no Beverly Hills; that’s what police officer Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) finds out straight away when he lands there from sunny California and quickly learns that his childhood best friend has been brutally murdered there in Beverly Hills Cop. He decides to take up the investigation himself but soon finds himself embroiled in a dark criminal underbelly that is very different from the glamorous world of Beverly Hills. This eighties classic is not one to be missed!

8. The Virgin Suicides (2000)

Told from the perspective of the local neighborhood teenage boys, the 1999 drama The Virgin Suicides, from visionary Sofia Coppola, based on the best-selling debut novel by the American author Jeffrey Eugenides, focuses on the five isolated Lisbon sisters (Kristen Dunst, Hanna R.Hall, A.J Cook, Leslie Hayman, and Chelse Swain) living in a strict family in seventies Michigan. At its core, the movie is a mystery, looking into the impact of repression, longing, sex, and death in the world of American adolescence.

9. Smile (2022)

Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) begins experiencing increasingly disturbing occurrences after witnessing a bizarre incident involving a patient in Smile. As the terror begins overtaking her life, Rose must get to the bottom of her troubling past and escape what she believes is a demonic entity taking over people’s bodies in the form of a smiling person.

10. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Everything Everywhere All at Once dominated the Oscars this year, bagging coveted awards for the likes of Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Jamie Lee Curtis. The movie sees Evelyn Quan Wang, a Chinese-American immigrant who, while being audited by the IRS, realizes the fate of the world—every world—hangs in the balance and she must use her newfound parallel universe powers to fight powerful and bizarre forces destroying the multiverse.

11. Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

Starring Amandla Stenberg, Chase Sui Wonders, Rachel Sennot, Maria Bakalova and Pete Davidson, the black comedy horror film Bodies Bodies Bodies sees a group of twenty-somethings stuck at a remote mansion due to a hurricane. Things go from bad to worse when a dead body emerges during a party game, prompting the group to find out who the killer is amongst them while also learning who their true friends are along the way.

(featured image: Paramount Pictures)

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