A new month means a whole heap of new movies and shows for Paramount+ subscribers to enjoy, but with a whopping 127 films being added to the service in September, it can be easy to miss the best Paramount+ movies, but that’s where we can help.
Our picks of the new flicks hitting one of the best streaming services this month cover seventy years of cinema, with everything from classic comedy to brutal horror, sci-fi of both the cerebral and satirical variety, a legendary Hitchcock film and some timeless action thrillers.
We’re here to save you hours of scrolling with our list of the top choices for Paramount+ new September additions, and all have 90% or more on Rotten Tomatoes. So sit back, read on, and plan your next movie night.
Arrival (2016)
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Runtime: 116 minutes
Main cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Tzi Ma
Director: Denis Villeneuve
RT Score: 94%
This cerebral sci-fi cemented new Bond director Denis Villeneuve as one of Hollywood’s biggest directors and nearly a decade later it still ranks among his best work.
The film follows Amy Adams’ linguistics professor Louise Banks as she leads a team of scientists, academics and military personnel as they look to make contact with alien ships which have landed in various locations across the world. As the geo-political climate intensifies, Banks and her team begin to decipher the mysterious alien language and discover messages that could change the course of human history.
Arrival made a huge impact on release, being nominated for a number of awards, including Best Picture at the Oscars. And it’s not hard to see why. A different beast from most ‘alien invasion’ stories, the film is a thoughtful drama about human nature, understanding, regret and responsibility that asks some huge questions. Adams delivers one of the best performances of her career, selling the emotional gut-punch of a twist with quiet devastation. Villeneuve has gone on to make some visionary blockbusters, but none have had the emotional impact of this quiet masterpiece.
Face/Off (1997)
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Runtime: 139 minutes
Main cast: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Gina Gershon, Alessandro Nivola
Director: John Woo
RT Score: 93%
Back in the 90s, John Woo was the name in action cinema, and before Mission: Impossible II took things almost to the point of self-parody, Face/Off perfectly balanced the bonkers with the brutal.
The classic actioner sees FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) undergo a pioneering surgery to remove his face and replace it with that of terrorist Castor Troy (Nicholas Cage) – recently rendered comatose in a plane crash – in order to infiltrate his organization and gain information about a bomb plot. However, when Troy wakes unexpectedly, he forces the surgeon to give him Archer’s face. Chaos ensues.
For those yet to enjoy this action masterpiece, I assure you that’s the genuine plot, and the film is every bit as barmy as that synopsis implies. Both Cage and Travolta get to show off their unhinged best, and the action is utterly thrilling with as much slo-mo and as many doves as one might expect from peak 90s John Woo. If you’re in for a mature slice of retro action cheese, Face/Off is up there with the best.
Galaxy Quest (1999)
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Runtime: 102 minutes
Main cast: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell
Director: Dean Parisot
RT Score: 90%
An all star cast take on a retro sci-fi in one of the best Star Trek movies ever made.
Of course, the film isn’t an official entry into the Starfleet canon, but instead follows the cast of the titular 1980s TV show as they live off residual cheques and appearances on the convention circuit. However, when a group of aliens abduct the cast mates, believing the show to be a historical document, the ‘celebrities’ find themselves in a battle against evil intergalactic oppressors.
While the film affectionately pokes fun at Star Trek and space operas in general, it’s also a great blockbuster in its own right, with some genuinely inventive sci-fi world building. The cast also seem to be having huge amounts of fun, particularly Tim Allen’s Shatner-like ‘Captain’ and Sigourney Weaver’s communications officer, whose all-in-one uniform is just that little bit too tight. The stand out, however, is Alan Rickman as Alexander Dane, a Shakespearean actor who played the show’s Doctor, a Klingon/Vulcan mash-up known best for his iconic catchphrase. By Grabthar’s Hammer, press play on this one as soon as possible.
Animal House (1978)
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Runtime: 109 minutes
Main cast: John Belushi, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Thomas Hulce, Donald Sutherland
Director: John Landis
RT Score: 91%
Before the Griswald’s headed out on vacation and Van Wilder started throwing parties, National Lampoon burst into theaters with the film that basically launched 80s American comedy.
Setting up the template of almost every college comedy that followed, Animal House sees two socially awkward freshmen attempt to pledge to the snooty Omega Theta Pi fraternity before being humiliatingly rejected. Ending up as part of the raucous Delta Tau Chi, the pair, along with their fraternity brothers, find themselves up against the college dean, who is determined to have the rowdy House abolished.
While he was already an established star of the fledgling Saturday Night Live, Animal House saw John Belushi’s larger than life presence burst onto the big screen as party animal Bluto. The film was also a breakout hit for director John Landis, and the feature writing debut of Harold Ramis, who would go on to write, direct, or star in some of the biggest comedy hits of the 1980s. Expect some of the humor to have dated, but for a chance to see where arguably the greatest wave of comedy filmmaking began, Animal House is a must-watch
To Catch a Thief (1955)
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Runtime: 106 minutes
Main cast: Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie Royce Landis, John Williams
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
RT Score: 93%
The question around Alfred Hitchcock’s best film is one with at least a dozen correct answers, but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone that wouldn’t consider To Catch a Thief a strong contender.
The film follows Cary Grant’s retired cat burglar John Robie, now living off his ill-gotten gains on the French Riviera. However, when a series of robberies are committed with all of his hallmarks, the former criminal is forced to clear his name. However, things are complicated as Robie becomes entangled with one of the wealthy victims (played by Grace Kelly), who suspects John may be responsible.
Not as frantic, perhaps, as some of Hitchcock’s other ‘wrong-man’ thrillers (although the director would reteam with Grant to perfect that formula four years later with North by Northwest), To Catch a Thief is nonetheless a sumptuous whodunnit with gorgeous scenery and crackling chemistry from the two leads. Grant has rarely been more charming and Kelly oozes elegance every time she steps on screen. To Catch a Thief won’t leave you as breathless as some of Hitchcock’s other works, but you’ll be totally absorbed by every frame of this technicolor mystery.
Witness (1985)
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Runtime: 117 minutes
Main cast: Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Josef Sommer, Lukas Haas, Jan Rubeš, Alexander Godunov, Danny Glover
Director: Peter Weir
RT Score: 94%
Speaking of Hitchcock, 1985’s Witness is a Harrison Ford crime thriller that could have come from the Master of Suspense himself.
When an undercover cop is murdered in a Philadelphia train station, the sole witness is an 8-year old Amish boy. Assigned to investigate, police detective John Brook (Ford) finds himself a target as he begins to uncover a trail of police corruption. Forced to seek shelter with the boy and his mother, Rachel (Kelly McGillis), in their Amish community, Brook starts to appreciate their culture and begins a cautious romance with Rachel.
Witness deftly balances its ‘worlds apart’ love story with its police thriller trappings, exploring a world that even now is unknown to most. But while the star-crossed romance is the heart of the film, don’t be fooled, when the action kicks off, it does so with all the squib-heavy bloodshed you’d expect from a cop film of the era. Ford gets to show off his tender side, but still proves he’s every bit the action hero. If you’re looking for a neat twist on a well worn genre, Witness is absolutely worth seeking out.
The Loved Ones (2009)
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Runtime: 84 minutes
Main cast: Xavier Samuel, Robin McLeavy, Victoria Thaine, Jessica McNamee, Richard Wilson, John Brumpton
Director: Sean Byrne
RT Score: 98%
It’s hard to believe a lesser-known Aussie horror film best described as Pretty in Pink meets Hostel has the highest rated film on this list, but The Loved Ones far surpasses expectation.
When teenager Lola (Robin McLeavy) is turned down by her high-school crush Brent (Xavier Samuel) for the school dance, she decides to throw a private prom of her own, kidnapping her classmate and subjecting him to her demented party. What follows is a disturbing mash-up of glitter balls, satin dresses and power drills that has to be seen to be believed.
There’s no doubt that The Loved Ones is a brutal watch, but what sets it apart from similar films of the same era is a wickedly funny streak that takes the sort of teen heroes John Huges created to their problematic extreme. With definite shades of Stephen King’s Misery, Brent’s ordeal becomes almost Looney Tunes-esque as the film plays out, with McLeavy delivering an outstandingly unhinged performance as the rejected Lola. Not one for the squeamish, but an absolute blast for gore hounds looking for a short, sharp, blood-drenched watch.
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