Paramount+ Just Added 85 New Movies – Here’s the 4 Best

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow me on X.

Paramount+, the streaming service, over the weekend (June 1-2, 2024) added 85 new movies to its lineup. Here are the four best, in my humble opinion:

American Beauty (1999)
American Beauty, director Sam Mendes’ twisted but painfully accurate 1999 satire of suburban life with Kevin Spacey starring as a Dad who comes down with a serious case of arrested development in his late 30s. The film has arguably not aged as well as you might hope thanks to various sexual misconduct allegations against Spacey and a Lolita-like subplot. But it’s still an insightful and entertaining look at mid-life crisis.

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.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) 
The 1975 movie reunites The Godfather’s Al Pacino and John Cazale as real-life bank robbers whose caper goes horribly askew. Based on a real-life story, Dog Day is a showcase for two of the finest actors of their generation. Brilliant performances. And great story telling from New York auteur Sidney Lumet.

There Will Be Blood (2007)
Daniel Day-Lewis puts on an actor’s master class as Daniel Plainview, a 19th Century oilman who will stop at nothing to achieve wealth and power. The film, directed with perfection by Paul Thomas Anderson, is a snapshot of our nation as it begins its transition from a frontier land to a highly developed capitalist empire. And what a snapshot it is. PTA’s use of the camera is characteristically magnificent with some of the most beautiful and gripping shots you’ll ever see. Great acting. Great direction. Great movie.

Complete List of New Movies Just Added to Paramount+:

10 Cloverfield Lane*
13 Going on 30*
A Man Called Horse
American Beauty
Animal Kingdom

Black Sheep
Black Snake Moan*
Blazing Saddles
Bounce*
Bound*

But I’m a Cheerleader
Chantilly Bridge
Chasing Amy*
Chicago
Coach Carter

Congo*
Cop Land*
Critical Condition
Crocodile Dundee*
Crocodile Dundee II*

Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles*
Dog Day Afternoon
EuroTrip
Failure to Launch
Flags of Our Fathers

Foxfire
Fresh
From Dusk Till Dawn
From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money
From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman’s Daughter

Galaxy Quest
Hardball
Harlem Nights
Head of State
Heatwave

High Noon
Hustle & Flow
In & Out*
In The Bedroom
It Takes Two

Jade
Kiss The Girls
Lifeguard*
North of Normal
Pretty In Pink

Save the Last Dance
Shaft
She’s All That
She’s the Man
Sherlock Gnomes

Shooter
Shutter Island
Soapdish
Some Kind of Wonderful
Son of Rambow

Stardust
Summer of Sam
Super 8
Texas Rangers*
The African Queen

The Beach Bum*
The Boy*
The Brady Bunch Movie
The Cookout*
The Fighting Temptations

The Honeymooners
The Impossible*
The Island
The Last Airbender
The Last Castle

The Lookout*
The Love Guru*
The Net
The Queens of Comedy
The Quiet Man

The Raid 2
The Raid: Redemption
The Shootist
The Sons of Katie Elder
The Way Way Back

There Will Be Blood
Tommy Boy
Trading Places*
Unidentified Objects
Vampire in Brooklyn

* Denotes the movie is available to Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers.

The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.