123movie.cc
Finding the perfect movie for Taco Tuesday can be tricky. Going to the movie theater is usually out of the question, and you've already spent 30 minutes scrolling through Netflix, but nothing has caught your eye.
I think that on Tuesday last, things looked pretty lackluster for me.
I found 123movie.cc when I was looking for a modern search engine with a familiar feel to other search engines like Google. A logo and a search box are both present on the site.
This site has many movies you've never heard of, and some new ones too.
A Design That Shines, But Isn?t Gold
I quickly looked through the catalog and saw that the new car had a shoddy transmission.
I browsed the selection of movies and came across a few that I thought would be good for Taco-Tuesday.
The landing page for the movie selections doesn't seem to care about what I might like. Instead, the films are in no particular order and half of them don't have an image for me to judge the book by its cover. So, I'm in a sea of meaningless movie titles with no direction on which way is up.
Fortunately, there is a filter option for the amoeba of movie titles.
You can search by genre and year, but those don't help much. Instead, I prefer to listen to users and they make it easy by offering to filter based on most viewed links and top of IMDB.
Unfortunately, while these filtering methods will get you a list of things people enjoy, it is limited to their library. And worse, it is a randomized list.
Whenever you click "most viewed?", a different list pops up each time, although it's not always an entirely new one. For example, the cinematic masterpiece and Charles Band's 2005 magnum opus "The Gingerdead Man" made its debut at #1 on the most viewed tab. But when I refreshed the page, it was #7 despite its clever title and obviously compelling plotline. There seems to be a group of top recommendations that don't seem to have any particular order.
And the IMDB top filter option has the same issue.
Besides offering a group of random movies that bear no resemblance to IMDB's actual top lists, it offers a group of movies that is completely random.
No one can ever agree on the best movies of all time, because there are so many different classics that appeal to different people.
I think it's fair to say that most people would agree that Empire Strikes Back should come before a Revenge of the Sith: Reviewed.
Yet, 123movie.cc has such a great algorithm that it puts the masterpiece of a review by PlinkettReviews before the actual movie.
While the website's layout is easy to navigate, you will still be lost in a meaningless library.
Surprisingly Clean on Mobile
Most free streaming sites are difficult to use on a phone without AdBlock installed.
Any click could take you down a rabbit hole of ads that might or might not be malware for your device.
But 123movie was reasonable. I clicked around before landing on American Dad. When I selected the show, I was given two ads that I was able to avoid. That's impressive compared to some sites that are almost unusable with ads on.
Most of the mobile websites I use will have an ad over the play button. And that ad will redirect a few times until you're on a landing page that tries to convince you that hot singles in your area are looking for you.
But this website didn't offer that. Instead, the link went straight to a landing page you're able to back out of. I had to do this twice before the show was playable.
The show started and didn't pause to buffer through the entire episode within 20-30 seconds.
I think the mobile experience of this site should be the standard for free streaming services. They offer a mediocre library with minimal ads that are easy to avoid, and fast servers that start your show (or movie) without buffering multiple times.
Sometimes, Bad is Good
Taco-Tuesday could've been ruined with a randomized movie list that gives no real direction. But instead, I ended up watching a movie that was so bad it made me laugh uncontrollably.
I think that this site perfectly sums up my experience.
The website looks good, but the library is horrible. But not in the "I'm never eating here again" way. It is awful in the "favorite-dive-bar-with-bad-service" way.
If you're bored on a weekday and want to watch a movie, I suggest checking out the library. Most of the movies on the list aren't well-known or popular, but they're usually so bad that you'll be laughing yourself sick by the end of the night.
This website has the appeal of an unattractive dog.
If you decide to take a chance on finding something on the site, you'll have a decent experience finding a mediocre (at best) movie.
The (not so) Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
I often give the benefit of the doubt, but there are some things that can't be forgiven.
This site can be inaccurate, which is why I suggest using another site for title suggestions.
So, you decide to give the movie 'Cats' a shot after having a few glasses of wine. You're positive it'll be a bad movie, something like the 2019 Hollywood failure 'Cats'. After convincing yourself that it's worth sitting through all 164 minutes, you watch it.
You're under a blanket with a big bowl of popcorn and your favorite fluffy socks.
You watch the movie. Get past the ads.
But you?re greeted by a much younger Jeff Goldblum staring in the 2001 movie Cats & Dogs. Let's leave aside that Jeff's performance is probably a better theatrical choice than the financial black hole that is the 2019 Cats.
Did you not see the movie poster and release date that were included on the website's description? 123movie doesn't seem to be very reliable when it comes to fulfilling their promises.
This is not appropriate.
I'm able to handle the lack of good movies, the subpar algorithm, and possible malware-laden ads. But I can't handle a false advertisement. If you're going to be a library filled with bad movies, at least take the time to get the links right.
What Can Be Improved
If something isn't meeting your expectations, you should let it go and move on.
This site offers free movies with minimal ads and a decent layout that makes it easy to check out their library. Their library is easy to navigate and has a good number of movies available for free.
Two things can be done to make glitter fall on their turd library.
Make sure the links in this article are accurate.
It can be tough to find something to sink two hours of my time into. And once I finally decide on something, it's frustrating when I'm redirected to another movie. To me, this seems like the best way to improve the quality of my life.
Check to see that the filters are working properly.
I am not the biggest tech guy, but I imagine there is a way to get an accurate list of IMDB movies integrated into the site. At the very least, the most viewed movies on the site itself should be easy to find. Its data the site should already have should make this easy.
At first, the filters looked helpful. But then I refreshed the page and was offered a different list with the same movies.
What?s the Verdict?
This site is not great.
The layout is easy to use, but the library lacks compelling movies, and the links might be incorrect.
I think this website is great, but there are some downsides. Some things are worth tolerating on this site, but others are not so much. It's hard to recommend this website to friends because of the downsides.
I'll use 123Movie if I need background noise while cleaning the house, but it would be tough to put this site on a list of reliable resources.
This is the McDonalds of free streaming. It's usually disappointing, but when everything else is closed, it's an option to get by on.
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