It doesn't take too much digging around on Paramount+ to find a few movies that you might consider favorites—comfort food flicks you could watch again and again, quirky classics anchored around one famous line, or, in the case of my top pick this week, something to pay homage to a star gone too soon.If a bit of nostalgia—backed by some big awards and solid reviews—is alright with you this week, here's a rock-and-roll road-trip dramedy, a sci-fi mission to Mars, and one of the best entries in a famous slasher franchise.3 Almost Famous A young rock journalist's life-changing assignment As a music-obsessed kid growing up in the '90s, my bedroom floor was littered with issues of Rolling Stone, SPIN, and the NME.
These music bibles were the reason I became a journalist in the first place, and Cameron Crowe's road-trip dramedy, , hit me with all those feels when it was released in 2000.The Oscar-winning semi-autobiographical film is a coming-of-age story that Crowe basically lived.Set in 1973, it follows 15-year-old William Miller (Patrick Fugit), who manages to score a cover-story assignment for Rolling Stone that lands him on the tour bus of the fictional band Stillwater (an amalgam of The Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, whom Crowe actually covered).
Dubbed "the enemy" by the band, William chases a one-on-one interview with the aloof guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup), while falling for the free-spirited queen of the band's groupies, Penny Lane (Kate Hudson).Meanwhile, William's infuriated mother (Frances McDormand) tries to coax him home as the band implodes and the heartache starts.Full of memorable moments—like the bus-ride singalong, and Russell, high on LSD, proclaiming from a rooftop, "I am a golden god!"— is one of the greatest movies ever made.
Almost Famous R Drama Music Release Date September 15, 2000 Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming RENT BUY Cast Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Patrick Fugit, Zooey Deschanel, Michael Angarano, Anna Paquin, Fairuza Balk, Noah Taylor, John Fedevich, Mark Kozelek, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Liz Stauber, Jimmy Fallon, Olivia Rosewood, Bijou Phillips, Alice Marie Crowe, J.J.Cohen, Gary Kohn, Ray Porter, Mark Pellington, Eion Bailey, Terry Chen, Rainn Wilson Runtime 124 minutes Director Cameron Crowe Writers Cameron Crowe Producers Ian Bryce, Lisa Stewart Main Genre Drama Budget $60 million Studio(s) Columbia Pictures Distributor(s) DreamWorks Distribution, Columbia Pictures Powered by Expand Collapse 2 Total Recall Arnold goes to Mars and all hell breaks loose Paul Verhoeven's 1990 sci-fi extravaganza is a campy, mind-bending visual-effects feast that is still so much fun to watch, even today, making it hard to pass up when you come across it on streaming.The Oscar-nominated (and Special Achievement Award winner for special effects) film has so much going for it, it's well worth the hour-and-53-minute runtime.
For starters, it stars Arnold Schwarzenegger in all his one-liner, butt-kicking glory, as Douglas Quaid, a man living in 2084 who goes to a company called Rekall to have memories of a vacation to Mars implanted in his brain.The story, loosely based on Philip K.Dick's trippy short story , spirals from there as the procedure inadvertently unlocks suppressed memories Quaid was clearly meant to forget.
Suddenly, the woman he thought was his wife (Sharon Stone) is trying to kill him, a hired gun named Richter (Michael Ironside) is hunting him, and he goes to elaborate lengths to get to Mars, where he joins up with a rebel force to fight a repressive regime.Come for Arnold and his brilliant Austrian-tinged one-liners ("Consider that a divorce!"), stay for Mary the three-breasted mutant and the iconic "Two Weeks" scene with the ground-breaking animatronic exploding head.Total Recall R Action Adventure Science Fiction Release Date June 1, 1990 Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming RENT BUY Cast Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, Michael Ironside, Marshall Bell, Mel Johnson Jr., Michael Champion, Roy Brocksmith, Ray Baker, Rosemary Dunsmore, David Knell, Alexia Robinson, Dean Norris, Mark Carlton, Debbie Lee Carrington, Lycia Naff, Robert Costanzo, Michael LaGuardia, Priscilla Allen, Ken Strausbaugh, Marc Alaimo, Michael Gregory, Ken Gildin, Mickey Jones Runtime 113 minutes Director Paul Verhoeven Writers Dan O'Bannon, Gary Goldman, Ronald Shusett, Jon Povill, Philip K.
Dick Producers Buzz Feitshans Main Genre Action Budget $65 million Studio(s) Carolco Pictures Distributor(s) Tri-Star Pictures Executive Producer(s) Andrew G.Vajna Powered by Expand Collapse 1 Scream VI Ghostface takes Manhattan, and Hayden Panettiere returns If Hayden Panettiere's most recognizable television roles were ' regenerating cheerleader Claire Bennet and 's feisty country-pop diva Juliette Barnes, then her most famous film role was undoubtedly the Scream franchise's horror-obsessed-fan-turned-FBI-agent, Kirby Reed.The world lost the 36-year-old actress far too soon earlier this month, so why not pay a bit of a tribute to the star with this week? After campaigning hard to bring the character back after she was left for dead in 2011's , Panettiere got her wish in 2023 in this, the sixth entry in the famed franchise, and a direct sequel to 2022's soft reboot.
This time, Kirby returns as an FBI agent who's been pulled to New York after Ghostface follows survivors of the Woodsboro killings—sisters Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega), and twins Chad (Mason Gooding), and Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown)—to Manhattan.Looking for a fresh start at college, the group instead finds a new, more aggressive Ghostface stalking them.Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and Kirby are pulled into the hunt, with neither coming out unscathed.
is the first film in the franchise without Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott and is one of Panettiere's last films.Scream VI R Horror Crime Thriller Release Date March 10, 2023 Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming RENT BUY Cast Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Jack Champion, Roger L.Jackson, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Josh Segarra, Hayden Panettiere, Henry Czerny, Tony Revolori, Skeet Ulrich, Samara Weaving, Courteney Cox, Matthew Giuffrida, Andre Anthony, Thomas Cadrot, Chanel Mings, Erika Prevost, Jesse Camacho, Jenna Wheeler-Hughes, Mizinga Mwinga, André Bédard Runtime 123 minutes Director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett Writers Guy Busick, James Vanderbilt, Kevin Williamson Producers Cathy Konrad, Courteney Cox, Gary Barber, James Vanderbilt, Kevin Williamson, Marianne Maddalena, Peter Oillataguerre, William Sherak, Chad Villella, Ron Lynch Prequel(s) Scream, Scream, Scream 3, Scream 2, Scream 4 Franchise(s) Scream Main Genre Horror Prequel Scream 5 Budget 33–35 million Studio(s) Paramount Pictures Distributor(s) Paramount Pictures Powered by Expand Collapse Comfort movies and paying homage to a lost star Just because these three movies are some of my favorites, it doesn't mean you're going to like any of them.
I hope you do, but if not, we have tons more suggestions for you—across all the major streaming services—over at How-To Geek's streaming section.Paramount Plus 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 Stream on Paramount+ Expand Collapse
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