4 great movies to watch on Paramount+ this week (December 1

It’s the start of the month, and that means a new batch of first-time movies are moving into Paramount+, making it an easy choice for a movie night this week.

For this first week of December, I’ve put together this list that features some of the best: a sci-fi landmark, an Oscar-winning heart-throb, Scorsese’s legendary mob film, and one of the best crime comedies of all time. Line up the one you like or try them all this week.

4

The terminator

Sarah Conner herself, Linda Hamilton, plays a small role in the most popular show streaming right now…Stranger things—and found myself trying to describe the legendary action star to my 14-year-old daughter. I know it’s rated R, but it might be better to just watch The terminator with her because I will never do her justice. The genre-defining action sci-fi is currently streaming on P+, and if you haven’t seen it, it’s the story of an unkillable cyborg assassin (Arnold Schwarzenegger) from the future, who travels back in time to kill Sarah Connor (Hamilton) before she gives birth to the man who will one day lead the resistance against the machines.

Luckily, as Sarah tries to figure out what’s going on, resistance soldier Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn, Extraterrestrials) also arrives from the future to protect her. The 100% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score speaks for itself, but The terminator is one of James Cameron’s best, kicking off one of the most successful film franchises of all time.

The terminator

Release date

October 26, 1984

Runtime

108 minutes

Director

James Cameron

3

Beverly Hills Cop

After a stint on Netflix to coincide with its cool Eddie Murphy documentary, Being Eddie, Beverly Hills Cop (and the others in the franchise) returns to Paramount+ for December. Murphy’s hysterical stand-up special, Delirious, This was perhaps my first glimpse of his immense talent. Yet his performance as Detroit detective Axel Foley is what made him a force to be reckoned with as an actor and leading man in Hollywood.

Beverly Hills Cop helped define the buddy-cop action comedy genre, blending sharp jokes with real stakes and real emotional depth. Foley travels to Beverly Hills to investigate the murder of his best friend, Joey, and continues to run circles around local cops Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Sergeant Taggart (John Ashton) with his confident style, wild improvisations and, yes, the banana in the exhaust. Eventually, they team up to take down corrupt art dealer turned drug dealer Victor Maitland (Steven Berkoff).

Beverly Hills Cop

Release date

December 5, 1984

Runtime

105 minutes

Director

Martin Brest

2

The Freedmen

Director Martin Scorsese has had a storied career, with a long list of landmark films that changed cinema forever. It can, however, be argued that The Freedmen is the director’s magnum opus. Acclaimed as the best gangster film ever made, the iconic 1990s film is based on the life of real-life smartass Henry Hill (played to perfection by Ray Liotta) and his rise from his childhood in Brooklyn to the ranks of the mafia.

Henry is guided along the way by veteran gangsters Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro, Taxi driver) and loose cannon Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci, Alone at home). Together, they steal trucks, pull off heists, and perform various other gangster tasks, until drugs, murder, and clashes with the mob boss all land them in trouble. From the iconic one-take scenes (Henry and his wife Karen going to the Copacabana is a chef’s kiss) to its balance of dark humor and terrifying violence, The Freedmen is probably the best movie you see all week.

The Freedmen

Release date

September 19, 1990

Runtime

145 minutes

Director

Martin Scorsese

1

Forrest Gump

“Life is like a box of chocolates”, “Stupid is also stupid” and “Run, Forrest! Run!” are all immortal moments from Robert Zemeckis’ 1994 Best Picture-winning comedy-drama, Forrest Gump. I guess the film is so ubiquitous that I didn’t really need to include it here, but it’s also such a warm blanket, a comforting image for a tough work week, how could I not? Tom Hanks was already doing very well in his career, but playing this sweet, simple, ordinary man from Alabama living an absolutely extraordinary life took the actor to another level.

Traveling through some of the greatest moments and events of the 20th century – from Vietnam to the White House to crossing the United States and back – we’re just along for the ride as Forrest keeps thinking about Jenny (Robin Wright), his troubled lifelong friend. Forrest Gump is moving, bittersweet, and funny, and it also features one of Gary Sinise’s greatest performances as double amputee war veteran Lieutenant Dan.

Forrest Gump

Release date

July 6, 1994

Runtime

142 minutes

Director

Robert Zemeckis

December is shaping up to be a solid month for movies on Paramount+, ensuring there will be plenty to watch over the holidays.

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