It’s a new calendar month, and you know what that means: more movies on Paramount Plus. And this month’s list new additions to the Paramount Plus catalogue is a doozy, with some absolute classics in the line-up.
With so much to choose from it’s hard to pick just three favorites, but whether you’re looking for a big old cry, a beautifully acted take on a very modern obsession or just a story about a man with a very big role – and we don’t necessarily mean an acting role – then Paramount Plus is the place for you.
Her
Score: 95%
Judgement: R
Duration: 1h 59m
Director: Spike Jonze
This is even more fun if you imagine it as a prequel to the joker movie, because the star here is Joaquin Phoenix. But this is a completely different role. Phoenix plays Theodore Twombly, a quiet, sensitive man who discovers who he believes is “Miss Right,” played by Scarlett Johansson. There’s only one problem. She is Siri.
If you loved Michel Gondry Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind I think you’ll love this. Empire magazine says it is “a sweet, smart, silly, serious film for our times, set only in the future”. RogerEbert.com said it was “one of the most compelling and truly provocative films you’re likely to see this year”.
45 years
Score: 97%
Judgement: R
Duration: 1h 33m
Director: Andreas Haigh
Charlotte Rampling is superb alongside Tom Courtenay in this incredibly moving story of lost love and missed opportunities. Rampling is Kate, a married woman whose life is thrown into turmoil when her husband’s long-lost ex is finally discovered under sad circumstances. The reveal puts a huge strain on their relationship, and it’s a real tissue box thanks to the towering performances of both leads.
According to FilmFreak it is “a drama of profound majesty that will surely be marveled at for many years to come”, while the Associated press was enchanted: “How many great films could be written about the enigmatic, profound face of Charlotte Rampling? Hundreds? Thousands? At least, Andrew Haigh’s 45 years is one of them.”
Boogie nights
Score: 94%
Judgement: R
Duration: 2h 32m
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
It’s 1977 and in the San Fernando Valley, Eddie (Mark Wahlberg) and his impressive assets are discovered by porn producer Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds), who turns him into porn superstar Dirk Diggler. According to the Chicago Tribune the story is told as “a beautifully crafted overview of ’70s excesses filtered through the messy world of Southern California’s burgeoning adult film industry.”
The film was frequently compared to the work of Quentin Tarantino, but so be it Shame suggests that “the Tarantino comparison is ultimately less about technique than it is about the shared joyful electricity of filmmaking, the feeling of an artist clearly high on the sheer act of making a film.” Entertainment weekly was one of many publications that thought it was a real hit. “Boogie nightsan epic tale of porn, pleasure and excess, offering a purer thrill than any film this year,” it said.