If you’re a Paramount+ subscriber, you’re probably aware of all the great movies and shows that have landed on the service this month. Its TV series are great, but sometimes you just want to throw on a low-commitment flick during the week, relax, and hit the hay.
I’m a recent Paramount+ subscriber, and so far I’ve been really impressed with its film catalog, which includes some of my favorite all-time movies, including some on the list below. They’re all great movies—pick one each night and you’re set!
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Galaxy Quest
Galaxy Quest is easily in my top 10 favorite movies of all time. Yes, really. It’s one of the few movies that, if I was flipping through channels on a weeknight and this popped up, I’d have to watch it. It doesn’t matter if it’s halfway over; I’m in.
With tongue planted firmly in cheek, Galaxy Quest is a love letter to Star Trek and its insane fandom. It follows the lives of the washed-up actors of the canceled TV series Galaxy Quest, who are scraping by on the convention circuit. That is until they’re all “recruited” by the Thermians, a race of actual aliens who have based their entire society on the show, which they picked up in deep space—and they think it’s real. They’ve even somehow recreated the show’s fictional starship, the NSEA Protector, and they need its crew (Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shaloub, and others) to fend off a race of aliens who want to destroy them. It’s funny, clever, and endearing, and pokes fun at Trek in the best way.
4
Rosemary’s Baby
Roman Polanski’s 1964 thriller Rosemary’s Baby remains one of the creepiest movies I’ve ever seen, and it’ll make you paranoid the next time you move into an apartment and meet the neighbors. Mia Farrow stars as Rosemary Woodhouse, who moves into an old historical Manhattan apartment with her husband Guy (John Cassavetes), a struggling actor.
Their neighbors, Minnie (Ruth Gordon) and Roman Castevet (Sidney Blackmer), are friendly and helpful … perhaps too friendly and helpful. When Guy lands a big role, the Castevets bullishly insert themselves into Rosemary’s life, and she starts to suspect that they’re part of a satanic cult with eyes on her unborn child. With its eerie score, chilling nightmare scenes, and a haunting Oscar-winning performance from Ruth Gordon, viewers can only stand by and watch as Rosemary descends into madness.
3
Zoolander
Think about it: Why do male models make the best spies and assassins ever? As explained by former hand model J.P. Prewitt (David Duchovny) in Zoolander, it’s because they’re easily brainwashed, and they have access to the world’s elites, from Hollywood stars like Billy Zane to prime ministers. And who’s the biggest male model on the planet? Derek Zoolander, that’s who.
Ben Stiller’s 1991 satirical masterpiece is a joy from beginning to end, and is filled with silly physical gags and endlessly quotable lines. The plot, you ask? Well, Derek is being used by sinister fashion designer Mugatu (Will Ferrell) in a scheme to assassinate the Malaysian Prime Minister (it doesn’t really matter why). With help from fellow male model Hansel (Owen Wilson) and nosy reporter Matilda (Stiller’s real-life wife, Christine Taylor), they dig deep into the elite fashion world to get to the bottom of things before it’s too late. Buy why male models?
2
Gattaca
A cult classic sci-fi drama from 1997, Gattaca was one of the first films I recall that delved into the idea of a future where genetic engineering was commonplace, and that humans would at some point shop for features and attributes of their unborn children like they were items on a menu. This is the existentially-questionable future that Gattaca presents.
Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) is exemplary in his training to be an astronaut. He’s physically fit, mentally sharp, and if all goes well, he’ll be sent on a prestigious mission to Saturn’s moon. That is if no one learns that he was naturally born and has a heart condition. Jerome Morrow (Jude Law),​​​​​​​ on the other hand, while a perfect genetically-modified specimen, he’s been crippled in an accident and is going nowhere. So, the pair team up in a mutually-beneficial scheme to fool the system—Vincent becomes everything Jerome cannot be. But a murder at Gattaca puts the spotlight on Vincent, and his love for his coworker, Irene Cassini (Uma Thurman), threatens Vincent’s dreams of reaching the stars.
1
The Hunt for Red October
Sean Connery playing hardened Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius, with his full, thick, Scottish accent front and center, is an absolute delight. The classic 1990 Cold War action-thriller The Hunt for Red October ranks as one of the best submarine movies of all time.
Based on Tom Clancy’s bestselling novel, it’s a tense cat-and-mouse film that follows Ramius, who has gone rogue with Russia’s top secret Typhoon-class nuclear sub, Red October, that can basically go where it wants, undetected. The U.S. military thinks Ramius is going to park it, and its warheads, right off the east coast. But CIA analyst Jack Ryan (in his first film appearance) has another theory about Ramius—he’s trying to defect—and must somehow find and board the Red October to help him before the missiles start flying.
Paramount+ is a treasure trove of new and classic movies, as well as some top-notch TV series, with a decent-sized catalog you can tap into for months to come.
- Subscription with ads
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Yes, $8/month
- Simultaneous streams
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If you enjoy CBS offerings, you’ll want to subscribe to Paramount+. You get access to hit shows like Star Trek and Yellowstone, as well as a variety of SHOWTIME content.