By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –@tvanswerman
Paramount+ added 131 new movies to its lineup over the weekend. Here’s the seven best, in our humble opinion and in no particular order:
The Big Lebowski (1998)
The 1998 cult comedy from the Coen Bros. features an iconic Los Angeles slacker (Jeff Bridges) named ‘The Dude’ who accidentally becomes the focus of a murder investigation. Only Joel and Ethan Coen could take this farfetched plot and turn it into a cultural mainstay and masterpiece that resonates with multiple generations. The flawless supporting cast includes John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Philip Seymour Hoffman, David Huddleston, Julianne Moore, and John Turturro as Jesus, a bowler with a strange fetish for his ball.
American Gigolo (1980)
The 1980 drama from director/writer Paul Schrader stars Richard Gere as a high-class male escort who gets entangled in a murder mystery while serving the wealthy women of Beverly Hills. The film, which features the lush synthesizer music of Giorgio Moroder, and a driving, balls to the wall opening tune from Blondie (Call Me), does more to announce the beginning of the hedonistic 80s than any other piece of art. American Gigolo also made Gere a star and showed the cinema world that Schrader was more than a writer of great films such as Taxi Driver.
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Mel Brooks’ brilliant and delightfully politically incorrect 1974 spoof of Westerns stars Cleavon Little as Sheriff Bart but the real stars are Gene Wilder as the sheriff’s alcoholic, fast-drawing sidekick and Harvey Korman as the snidely Hedley Lamarr, a wealthy land-grabbing businessman. Both are as funny as it gets. Trivia: Brooks wanted Richard Pryor for the Sheriff Bart role, but the studio vetoed it, concerned that Pryor’s reputation for on-set (and off set) mischief would be trouble for the production. Pryor, one of the writers of the screenplay, would later get his chance to team with Wilder in four films, including 1976’s Silver Streak.
American Hustle (2013)
David O. Russell’s brilliant 2013 comedy-drama based on the real-life FBI Abscam sting operation in the 1970s. Christian Bale and Amy Adams star as two con artists who are forced by an FBI agent (Bradley Cooper) to help the agency set up corrupt politicians, including the mayor of Camden, New Jersey, played by Jeremy Renner. The film is a dazzling display of human folly and Russell has never been better. The great cast also includes Jennifer Lawrence, Jack Huston and Robert DeNiro.
Blue Chips (1994)
Blue Chips provides a gritty look at the dark side of college basketball recruiting, starring Nick Nolte as a college coach who faces ethical dilemmas. This film exposes the pressures faced by coaches, players, and the compromises made in the pursuit of success. The film’s realism is enhanced with the use of real-life NBA players Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway in key roles. Former Boston Celtics great Bob Cousy plays the college’s athletic director. (And he never misses!)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Schindler’s List (1993): Steven Spielberg’s poignant Holocaust drama tells the true story of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saves the lives of more than a thousand Jewish refugees. It is a haunting and powerful testament to the triumph of humanity.
Thief (1981)
Thief, the 1981 heist film directed by Michael Mann and starring James Caan as a veteran jewel thief who wants one more big score before settling down. Tuesday Weld plays his girlfriend and Robert Prosky is sensational in a small role as a dangerous gangster. (You’ll also love the score by 1980s synth band, Tangerine Dream.)
Here is the complete list of new movies that were just added to Paramount+:
10 Cloverfield Lane
54
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Abandon*
Afflicted
American Gigolo
American History X*
American Hustle
Amores Perros
An Unfinished Life
Angel Heart
Annihilation
Arrival
Asylum
Baby Boom*
Bad News Bears
Beastly
Below
Beneath
Blazing Saddles*
Bless the Child*
Blue Chips
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2
Breakdown
Captive State*
Carriers
Cheech & Chong’s Still Smokin’
Children of a Lesser God*
Cocktail
Curandero
Cursed
Days of Thunder
Death On the Nile (1978)
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
Dragonslayer
Eddie Murphy: Raw
El Norte
Elf
Event Horizon*
Forrest Gump
Fresh
Frida
Ghost Team One
God’s Petting You*
Good Mourning*
Hamlet (2000)*
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Hard Candy*
Hecho en México
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Hugo
I Married a Monster from Outer Space
In Too Deep
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa .5 Unrated
Jeff, Who Lives at Home
Ladybugs*
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death
Like Water for Chocolate
Long Shot
Married to the Mob*
Memories of Me*
Mimic
Mimic 2
Mimic 3: Sentinel
Mother!
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
Nacho Libre
Nick of Time
On the Edge*
Overlord
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Phantoms
Primal Fear
Prophecy
River’s Edge*
Road House*
Road to Perdition
Schindler’s List*
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
Seven Psychopaths
Sherlock Gnomes
Some Kind of Hero*
Stand and Deliver*
Stardust
Striptease*
Summer Rental
Super 8
Surviving Christmas
Teaching Mrs. Tingle*
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator Genisys
The Back-up Plan
The Best Offer*
The Big Lebowski*
The Blair Witch Project
The Brady Bunch Movie
The Brothers Grimm
The Cutting Edge*
The Devil Inside
The Dictator
The Fighting Temptations*
The First Wives Club
The Hole
The Hunt for Red October*
The Last Exorcism Part II
The Last Samurai
The Longest Yard
The Loved Ones
The Mighty*
The Monster Squad
The Prophecy
The Prophecy II
The Prophecy 3: The Ascent
The Prophecy: Forsaken
The Prophecy: Uprising
The Reckoning
The Ruins
The Spiderwick Chronicles
The Talented Mr. Ripley
The Three Amigos
The Virgin Suicides*
The Woman in Black
The Woods*
The Wrath of Becky*
The Yards*
Thief*
To Catch a Thief
Twisted
Up in Smoke
Witchboard II: The Devil’s Doorway
World Trade Center*
World War Z
World War Z (Extended Domestic Cut)
* denotes exclusive to Paramount Plus.
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— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
