If you’re the kind of movie lover who actually enjoys bouncing between genres and appreciates the kind of classics that still hit even after you’ve seen them a dozen times, then Paramount+ has a deep well you can draw from for days.
For this week, March 9 to 15, I’ve pulled a few go-tos that should make your watch list happy—a franchise-starting horror favorite, a historical epic to end all epics, and a breakneck spy-action blockbuster that doesn’t stop.
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Scream
The classic origins of Ghostface killer
Scream 7 recently hit theaters, and while critics haven’t been too kind to it, with the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score in the franchise’s 30-year history, it’s so far been a hit at the box office. If you haven’t gotten around to seeing it yet, why not first go back to where it all started with the OG, 1996’s Scream, for a sure thing.
Horror master Wes Craven broke the mold with Scream, a teen slasher film with smarts and wit, that shook up the genre by making fun of and exploiting pretty much every horror cliche you could think of. The film follows the now-iconic character Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell), a high school senior still grieving after the murder of her mother one year earlier. When a killer wearing a ghost-faced mask starts stalking and picking off Sydney’s friends (first taking out Drew Barrymore in the classic killer-inside-the-house scene), it’s clear that his ultimate target is Sydney herself.
What makes the original Scream so good is that, even though it telegraphs all the horror tropes, it’s still genuinely scary, funny, smart all at once. Costars include Courtney Cox as bloodhound reporter Gale Weathers and David Arquette as local deputy Dewey Riley, as well as Skeet Ulrich and Matthew Lillard. And if you want to keep going after watching the first movie, Paramount+ has all six Scream films available for your own mini-marathon.
Scream
Release Date
January 14, 2022
Runtime
114 minutes
Director
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
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Gladiator
Are you not entertained?!
Whenever I watch this epic period action drama, and Russell Crowe’s hulking gladiator Maximus Decimus Meridius asks, “Are you not entertained?!” inside I’m fervently nodding, “Yes, yes I am.” Ridley Scott’s epic Roman action drama Gladiator is like no other film, and it was a powerhouse when it came out in 2000, raking in 12 Oscar nominations and five wins, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe.
Gladiator takes place in ancient Rome and centers around Maximus, the celebrated general of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), whose twisted son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), murders him to take the throne. After Commodus learns that his father wanted Maximus to succeed him instead, Commodus has Maximus’ family killed. Exiled and thought dead, Maximus is sold to slavers, where he is forced to fight for his freedom as a gladiator. And he’s really, really good at it. Eventually, his success brings him back to Rome, where he might just get his chance to exact his revenge on Commodus.
Gladiator had a big hand in reviving the ancient-world/historical epic genre of the day, which makes it surprising that it took more than two decades for them to make a sequel, Gladiator II, starring Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal, which you can also stream on Paramount+ right now.
Gladiator
Release Date
May 5, 2000
Runtime
155 minutes
Director
Ridley Scott
1
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Ethan Hunt and his team go rogue to save the world
It’s a great time for Mission Impossible movies on Paramount+, with all eight of Tom Cruise’s action-packed spy franchise available to stream. And while you should set aside some time to watch them all from the beginning, it’s 2011’s Brad Bird-directed installment (and his live-action directorial debut), Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, that always stands out for me, and is arguably the film that breathed new life into the struggling series.
Ethan Hunt’s (Cruise) trusty Impossible Mission Force team—which this time out lacks Ving Rhames’ Luther, but includes field agent Brandt (Jeremy Renner), tech wiz Benji (Simon Pegg), and operative Jane (Paula Patton)—find themselves blamed for a Kremlin bombing and blacklisted. The team is forced to go rogue, and completely off-grid (hence the “ghost” protocol), to clear their name. Oh, and they still have to track down and stop a dangerous figure known as Cobalt, who is hellbent on starting a nuclear war.
This is the Mission movie where Cruise insanely scales the outside wall of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. Just another day at the office for the then 48-year-old. Ghost Protocol still holds an impressive 94% freshness on Rotten Tomatoes.
Paramount+ has your number for classics this week with this trio. Pick whichever fits your mood, or scroll through some of our other recommendation lists over the past weeks for more ideas.
Subscription with ads
Yes, $8/month
Simultaneous streams
3
Live TV
Select live sports (NFL on CBS & UEFA Champions League)
Price
Starting at $8/month or $60/year
