The 25 best movies on Paramount+

Annihilation (2018)

This psychological sci-fi thriller is a true mind-bender, based on the novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer. The film follows Lena (Natalie Portman), a cellular biology professor who teams up with fellow scientists on an expedition to a mysteriously expanding land zone known as the Shimmer. Within the Shimmer, Lena and her team witness and experience odd occurrences that increasingly put them in harm's way. Such incidents are better left unspoiled, but trust that you won't forget some of the images and themes presented. As EW's critic praises, "It's the kind of film that leaves you dazzled, shellshocked — and not entirely sure whether your own moviegoing DNA hasn’t been altered a little in the process." —Kevin Jacobsen

Where to watch Annihilation: Paramount+

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Alex Garland

Cast: Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaac, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny

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Chicago (2002)

Rob Marshall's adaptation of the Broadway musical is a dazzling slice of put-on-a-show entertainment. It all kicks off when aspiring entertainer Roxie Hart (Renée Zellweger) is convicted for shooting and killing a man with whom she was having an affair. In prison, she meets (and tries to befriend) her idol, Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), and hires unscrupulous lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere) to shape the narrative of her case in her favor. Featuring electrifying musical sequences and go-for-broke performances, Chicago was a hit with critics and audiences, winning six Oscars including Best Picture. —K.J.

Where to watch Chicago: Paramount+

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Rob Marshall

Cast: Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, John C. Reilly, Queen Latifah, Taye Diggs, Dominic West, Christine Baranski

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Cloverfield (2008)

Like The Blair Witch Project before it, Cloverfield made great use of marketing itself with an air of mystery and ambiguity. Luckily, the film itself did not disappoint, using a found footage style to capture a horrifying monster attack in New York City. Cloverfield centers on a group of friends attending a party, only to be disrupted by an earthquake and a power outage. Soon, a giant creature descends upon the city, leading to mass chaos. EW's critic calls the film a "surreptitiously subversive, stylistically clever little gem of an entertainment," and it still holds up today, with its great use of its limited camera perspective and a shockingly poignant ending. —K.J.

Where to watch Cloverfield: Paramount+ With Showtime

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Matt Reeves

Cast: Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, Odette Yustman

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Clueless (1995)

Alicia Silverstone stars as Cher, the girl with, like, totally the coolest closet of all time, in Amy Heckerling's update of Jane Austen's Emma. It's a perfectly calibrated romp that both embraces and subverts some tried and true tropes of the teen comedy. "More than a decade and a half after we first met Silverstone's divine Ms. Horowitz," EW's critic wrote of the film in 2012, "she still has an important message for those of us watching at home: Namely, 'tis a far, far better thing doing stuff for other people.'" —Declan Gallagher

Where to watch Clueless: Paramount+

EW grade: C+ (read the review)

Director: Amy Heckerling

Cast: Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd, Brittany Murphy, Stacey Dash, Donald Faison

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Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Matthew Broderick inspired an entire generation of kids to be bad in John Hughes’ classic about hipster high schooler Ferris Bueller (Broderick) and his wacky, wild day playing hooky with his morose friend Cameron (Alan Ruck) and girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara). It's a silly romp and perhaps not much more than that, but the movie holds up (and manages to feel a bit modern) all these years later. As EW's critic recalls, "It's the rare film that charms both Kurt Cobain and Dan Quayle, but like Ferris Bueller himself — who was popular with sportos, motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wasteoids, dweebies, and d---heads alike...Ferris Bueller’s Day Off appealed to just about everyone." —D.G.

Where to watch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: Paramount+

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: John Hughes

Cast: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones, Jennifer Grey

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Galaxy Quest (1999)

The cast of a cult classic sci-fi show becomes unwittingly involved in an actual alien battle in this clever Star Trek-inspired satire. The actors are stunned to realize that the alien race, known as Thermians, have based their way of life on the show's themes ("Never give up. Never surrender.") and hope they can help them defeat an enemy. The sci-fi comedy was a solid hit with average moviegoers in 1999, while also meeting the approval of diehard Trekkies, who easily could've been the butt of the joke in lesser filmmakers' hands. Plus, while TV show fandom had been around for decades even by 1999, few could've predicted just how prescient of a film Galaxy Quest would be, considering the rise of fan conventions and general fan investment in the mainstream in the 21st century. —K.J.

Where to watch Galaxy Quest: Paramount+

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Dean Parisot

Cast: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell

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Gladiator (2000)

Ridley Scott's brutal, visceral epic stars Russell Crowe as fallen general Maximus, who becomes a gladiator and undertakes a campaign of revenge against those who wronged him. Gladiator, which was compared favorably to the ”sword-and-sandal movies” of the 1950s and '60s, earned rave reviews and multiple Oscars including Best Picture. And we will soon see Scott return to direct Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington in a follow-up installment, 24 years later. —D.G.

Where to watch Gladiator: Paramount+

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Ridley Scott

Cast: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris

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In the Bedroom (2001)

A middle-aged couple grapples with the impossible grief of losing their only child in this powerful Oscar-nominated drama. Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek star as Matt and Ruth Fowler, whose son is tragically killed by his girlfriend's ex, shattering their lives irrevocably. But, when the killer fails to be properly prosecuted, Matt makes a fateful decision to give him and his wife proper resolution. Todd Field crafts a riveting story full of all-too-real details. As EW's critic writes, Field "builds his movie with such confident vision that it's hard to believe this is his feature directorial debut." —K.J.

Where to watch In the Bedroom: Paramount+

EW grade: A (read the review)

Director: Todd Field

Cast: Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, Marisa Tomei, Nick Stahl, William Mapother, William Wise, Celia Weston

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Last Holiday (2006)

Queen Latifah and LL Cool J share an enviable chemistry in Wayne Wang's sensitive remake of the 1950 British film of the same name. Last Holiday is about 20 percent broad comedy and 80 percent genuine pathos, which turns out to be more successful than you'd think. Latifah plays an unrealized woman who, when diagnosed with a fatal disease and given weeks to live, decides to live it up at a chalet in Europe. It's nothing groundbreaking, but Wang's film has a pleasingly old-school, unhurried essence, and Latifah is always a welcome dramatic presence. —D.G.

Where to watch Last Holiday: Paramount+

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Wayne Wang

Cast: Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Giancarlo Esposito, Alicia Witt, Jascha Washington

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Mafia Mamma (2023)

Catherine Hardwicke's surprisingly weird action-comedy stars Toni Collette as a housewife who attends her grandfather's funeral in Italy only to be made the head of his substantial crime syndicate. It's as high-concept as comedies get, and that's the point. Collette couldn't put a foot wrong if she tried, performing at the exact frenetic pace a movie called Mafia Mamma requires. The action is admirably vicious, at times engaging in Evil Dead levels of gore. There's also a subplot about Monica Bellucci (made for comedy, it turns out) and a prosthetic limb that is truly one of the biggest, wildest swings a studio comedy has taken in recent memory. —D.G.

Where to watch Mafia Mamma: Paramount+ With Showtime

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Cast: Toni Collette, Monica Bellucci, Sophia Nomvete, Alessandro Bressanello, Eduardo Scarpetta

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Mean Girls (2004)

A musical update of Mark Waters' seminal high school comedy — following new girl Cady getting inducted into a group of queen bees headed by the ruthless Regina George — is now streaming on Paramount+. But, there's no better time to revisit the original, which has only gotten funnier with age. It's both laugh-out-loud entertaining and a thoughtful exploration of teenage behavior. As EW's critic wrote in 2004 of the Tina Fey-penned comedy, "The movie — a vinegary fable with a Splenda aftertaste — is a harbinger of hope not only for future feminist comedies of any grit but also for SNL-staffed feature films that don't disproportionately suck." —D.G.

Where to watch Mean Girls: Paramount+

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Mark Waters

Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried, Tina Fey, Tim Meadows

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Mission: Impossible — Fallout (2018)

Every Mission: Impossible movie is available to stream on Paramount+, but this sixth entry in the film franchise is arguably the best one yet. Fallout centers on IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) in his quest to stop an expected nuclear attack from a terrorist group. He and his team are joined by CIA assassin August Walker (Henry Cavill) to recover plutonium cores on a mission that proves decidedly more difficult than Hunt could ever imagine. Packed with dazzling set pieces and genuinely shocking twists, EW's critic praises the film as "the kind of pure, straight-no-chaser pop fun that not only keeps taking your breath away over and over again, it restores your occasionally shaky faith in summer blockbusters." —K.J.

Where to watch Mission: Impossible — Fallout: Paramount+

EW grade: A (read the review)

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Cast: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, Michelle Monaghan, Alec Baldwin

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No Country for Old Men (2007)

This riveting crime thriller proved that the Coen brothers and writer Cormac McCarthy were a match made in (admittedly bleak) heaven. Adapted from McCarthy's 2005 best-seller of the same name, No Country for Old Men follows the aftermath of a botched drug deal that leads to Vietnam vet Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) discovering a briefcase stuffed with $2 million. Menacing hitman Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) tries to track down Llewelyn, while Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) investigates. The nihilistic film turned into an unexpected Oscar success because of the sheer quality of filmmaking on display, winning the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for Bardem's unforgettable performance. —K.J.

Where to watch No Country for Old Men: Paramount+

EW grade: A (read the review)

Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen

Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin

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Pearl (2022)

Ti West's feverish, magnetic homage to John Waters, Douglas Sirk, and William Castle is a prequel following the titular farmgirl (Mia Goth) turned teen killer of X (2022). Dreaming of stardom during long days at the cinema, Pearl's perception of reality begins to warp and her taste for fame becomes homicidal. As EW's critic writes, "Pearl is best viewed as its main character's movie-obsessed vision, everyone else in it mere supporting players to the swirl in her head." —D.G.

Where to watch Pearl: Paramount+ With Showtime

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Ti West

Cast: Mia Goth, Emma Jenkins, Tandi Wright, David Corenswet, Alistair Sewell

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A Quiet Place (2018)

Not advised for those easily startled, A Quiet Place became an instant horror favorite upon its 2018 release. Predatory alien creatures with hypersensitive hearing have overrun Earth, and any sound can be a death sentence for humans. John Krasinski does triple duty as director, co-writer, and star, playing a man living in this postapocalyptic world with his family, who are trying to survive and find a way to fight back. The gripping tension inherent in its premise would be enough to cause anxiety in viewers, but Krasinski proves adept at deploying maximum terror when you're least expecting it. As EW's critic writes, "When A Quiet Place has one finger on the panic button and the other on mute, it’s a nervy, terrifying thrill." —K.J.

Where to watch A Quiet Place: Paramount+

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: John Krasinski

Cast: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe

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Red Eye (2005)

Wes Craven's stone-cold brilliant B-movie is so good it almost seems like a disservice to call it a B-movie. A case study in films not needing to be long or intricate to be utterly thrilling and highly cinematic, this sub-80-minute genre-hopper finds Rachel McAdams trapped on a plane with a murderous Cillian Murphy. Red Eye moves like a bullet, jumping from disaster movie to psychological two-hander to blazing action and eventually a pretty gnarly stalker-in-the-house sequence. It's ruthlessly structured and quite different from anything else Craven did. —D.G.

Where to watch Red Eye: Paramount+

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Wes Craven

Cast: Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, Brian Cox, Jayma Mays, Theresa Press-Marx

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Rocketman (2019)

Biopics about famous singers are rarely hailed for their originality, but this inventive musical drama based on the life of Elton John is an exception. Taron Egerton, in a Golden Globe-winning performance, portrays the legendary musician through his career peaks and valleys, nailing the flamboyant stage persona and the darker private moments fueled by his addictions to drugs and alcohol. Featuring brilliantly staged musical numbers and an eye-catching color palette befitting of its subject, Rocketman is, as EW's critic writes, "a musical extravaganza anchored less in the real world than in a sort of glittery jukebox Narnia." —K.J.

Where to watch Rocketman: Paramount+

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Dexter Fletcher

Cast: Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard

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Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997)

One of the great underrated cinematic duos, Romy (Mira Sorvino) and Michele (Lisa Kudrow) are twentysomething slackers who enjoy their simple lives. But, with their 10-year high school reunion impending, they try to reinvent themselves as successful to impress the classmates who bullied them. Unable to put their plans into action, they resolve to lie about having led fabulous lives — including claiming to have invented the Post-It note. While EW's critic originally called the film an "amiable mess," it has since been reclaimed as a cult classic due to its giddy spirit and infectiously fun performances from Sorvino and Kudrow. —K.J.

Where to watch Romy and Michele's High School Reunion: Paramount+

EW grade: C+ (read the review)

Director: David Mirkin

Cast: Mira Sorvino, Lisa Kudrow, Janeane Garofalo

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She's All That (1999)

Another particularly broad '90s high school comedy (can you tell we love the subgenre?), this one has an admittedly problematic plot at its core. Cool guy Zack (Freddie Prinze Jr.) is dared to date super-not-cool (but, like, artsy and thoughtful and interesting) Lainey (Rachael Leigh Cook). We've all seen the scene where she walks down the stairs newly beautified, and it's easy to roll your eyes at the concept. The chemistry between Prinze and Cook, though, as well as a smart script (polished by none other than M. Night Shyamalan), set this one well apart from the pack. —D.G.

Where to watch She’s All That: Paramount+

EW grade: B– (read the review)

Director: Robert Iscove

Cast: Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook, Matthew Lillard, Paul Walker, Anna Paquin

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Super 8 (2011)

Inspired by the wonder-filled '80s-era films by Steven Spielberg, Super 8 is a visually striking homage that works even for those who don't have nostalgia for that time period. Set in 1979, the film centers on 14-year-old Joe (Joel Courtney) and his peers as they film a zombie movie with a Super 8 camera. Their filming is interrupted when they witness a truck crash into a train, which soon leads to mysterious events occurring around town. EW's critic praises the film for its "original storytelling grounded in a sophisticated respect for storytellers who have come before." —K.J.

Where to watch Super 8: Paramount+

EW grade: A (read the review)

Director: J.J. Abrams

Cast: Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Joel Courtney, Gabriel Basso, Noah Emmerich, Ron Eldard, Riley Griffiths, Ryan Lee, Zach Mills

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There Will Be Blood (2007)

Paul Thomas Anderson weaves an epic tale of greed and corruption in this riveting Western drama. The film charts Daniel Plainview's (Daniel Day-Lewis) rise to power during the oil boom at the turn of the 20th century, stepping on all who helped him get there. Day-Lewis delivers one of his most towering performances as the ruthless baron whose fractured relationship with his son comes back to haunt him in his later days. "It can hardly be called an 'act,'" EW's critic writes, "so fully does the fictional Daniel come alive, with all the fury, hatred, restlessness, and distrust that courses through him." —K.J.

Where to watch There Will Be Blood: Paramount+

EW grade: A (read the review)

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O'Connor, Ciarán Hinds, Dillon Freasier

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Titanic (1997)

This disaster epic has enthralled audiences since 1997, with its story of star-crossed lovers Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) set against the backdrop of the RMS Titanic sinking on its maiden voyage in 1912. While Jack and Rose may be fictional, director James Cameron took great pains to be as accurate as possible with the construction of the ship and its subsequent sinking — even if he now contends that he was "half right" in his depiction of the disaster. Titanic would ultimately become one of the highest-grossing movies of all time and tie the record for most wins in Oscar history with 11. —K.J.

Where to watch Titanic: Paramount+

EW grade: A (read the review)

Director: James Cameron

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Gloria Stuart, Victor Garber, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, Danny Nucci, David Warner, Bill Paxton

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Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Joseph Kosinski's follow-up to Tony Scott's 1986 original is perfect blockbuster entertainment if you can avoid some of the dubious messaging. Tom Cruise returns, this time teaching a pack of new recruits the aerial ropes to fight a war against an unspecified enemy. It's another perfectly structured genre movie that gets by on pure adrenaline but works because you actually believe in the stakes. Knowledge of the first film helps but isn't entirely necessary; as EW's critic observes, the film "toggles deftly between winking callbacks and standard big-beat action stuff meant to stand on its own." —D.G.

Where to watch Top Gun: Maverick: Paramount+

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Cast: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Glen Powell, Val Kilmer

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World War Z (2013)

Initially dismissed for its inflated budget and reported reshoots, World War Z ended up as a neat, efficient thriller. Brad Pitt, as United Nations investigator Gerry Lane, goes on a quest to save the world from a zombie apocalypse. (As his homebound wife, Mireille Enos is given pitifully little to do.) The best part of the movie is ironically the reshot portion, a stripped-down stalking sequence in a laboratory that closes the film. "World War Z turns the prospect of the end of our world into something tumultuous and horrifying and, at the same time, exciting," EW's critic writes. "It's scary good fun." —D.G.

Where to watch World War Z: Paramount+

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Mark Forster

Cast: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, Matthew Fox, Elyes Gabel

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Young Adult (2011)

This angry and weird little movie was made by Jason Reitman after his Oscars hot streak, seeing him reunite with Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody. It's one of Reitman's best films and definitely Cody's most mature, a spiky and risky examination of a former cool girl (Charlize Theron) who returns to her hometown to show everyone how much better than them she is. As EW's critic notes, "The queasy brilliance of Young Adult lies in the movie's refusal to make Mavis so monstrously crazy that she poses no threat because she’s obviously a cartoon." —D.G.

Where to watch Young Adult: Paramount+

EW grade: A (read the review)

Director: Jason Reitman

Cast: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser, Collette Wolf

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