123movies.st
Finding a movie for Taco Tuesday can be tough. Going to the movie theater is out of the question, and you've already spent 30 minutes scrolling through Netflix, but nothing has caught your eye.
I thought last Tuesday looked like at least that.
I looked into the wild west of online streaming, where you never know if a movie will load or the video is low quality.
I found 123movies.st when I was looking for a modern looking search engine. It has a familiar feel to other search engines like Google simple.
This site is loaded with movies you haven't heard of, and some new ones too.
A Design That Shines, But Isn?t Gold
I quickly looked through the catalog and noticed the transmission in the new car was shoddy.
I browsed through the movies, looking for a good one for Taco-Tuesday. The design is familiar, and it's easy to search for what you're looking for. But I wanted some recommendations for a good movie to watch on Taco Tuesday. So, I headed over to the movie section.
I don't think the landing page for the movies cares about what I might like. Instead, all of 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 on a sea of meaningless movie titles with no direction on which way is up.
There is a filter option for the amoeba of movie titles.
You can search by genre and year. But those don't really help much. Instead, I prefer to listen to users. And they make it easy for me by offering to filter based on most viewed links and top of IMDB.
Unfortunately, while these filter methods will get you a list of things people enjoy, it is not limited to their library. And worse - it's a randomized list.
Whenever you click on the ?most viewed? tab, itpopulates a different list every time. For example, the cinematic masterpiece and Charles Band's 2005 magnum opus, The Gingerdead Man, first appeared at #1 on the most viewed tab. But when Irefresh the page, it was #7 despite its clever title and obviously compelling plotline. There seems to be a group of top recommendations that appear in no particular order.
And the "Top IMDB" filter option has the same issue.
Besides offering movies to a group at random, it offers movies that don't resemble IMDB's actual top lists.
I think the best movies of all time are subjective. There are different classics for different people.
I don't think it would be a bad idea to put Revenge of the Sith before a Revenge of the Sith: Reviewed.
Yet, 123movies.st has such an awesome algorithm that they put the masterpiece of a review by PlinkettReviews before the actual movie.
While the layout of the website is easy to navigate, you won't be lost in a meaningless library.
Surprisingly Clean on Mobile
Many free streaming sites are difficult to use on phones without ad blockers installed.
Any click could take you down a rabbit hole of ads that may, or may not, be malware for your device.
But 123movies was reasonable. I clicked around before landing on American Dad. When I selected the show, I was given two ads that I could back out of. That's impressive compared to some sites that are almost unusable with ads on.
Most of the mobile sites I use 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.
However, this website did not offer that. Instead, the link went straight to a landing page you are 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.
Overall, 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
On Taco-Tuesday, my movie choice could have been ruined by a randomized list that offers no real guidance. But instead, I ended up watching a movie that was so bad I couldn't stop laughing.
I think that my experience using this site perfectly sums up.
The site looks good, but the library is not horrible. In fact, it's quite nice. However, it is awful in the ?favorite-dive-bar-with-bad-service? way.
I'm not suggesting that you invite friends over to watch a movie on 123movies. But if you find yourself bored on a weekday and want to watch a movie, keep an open mind and check out the library. You're not going to recognize most of the movies on the list, but most of them are so bad you won't be able to stop laughing after a few glasses of wine.
This website has the ugliness of a 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
Whenever I have a chance, I give the benefit of the doubt. But sometimes things are inexcusable and I need to hold people accountable.
This website has a broken algorithm that suggests the next title. Additionally, it is inaccurate.
After convincing yourself that a live-action musical about humanized bird murders is worth sitting down to watch, you give it a shot.
You're lying underneath your favorite blanket with a big bowl of popcorn and your favorite fluffy socks.
You click the movie. The ads disappear.
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.
You were promised a movie. Unfortunately, the website's description says that the movie isn't available yet. 123movies didn't even include the poster or release date!
This isn't right.
I can handle the lack of good movies, the subpar algorithm, and possible malware-laden ads. But I cannot 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
Sometimes you have to take things for what they are- whether that means accepting them for who they are or moving on.
This site offers free movies with minimal ads and a layout that makes it easy to check out their library.
Two things can be done to put glitter on their turd library.
First, be sure the links are accurate.
Finding something to sink two hours of my day into can be a tough decision. And once I finally make up my mind, it is frustrating to be redirected to another movie. To me, this seems like the most critical fix for the quality of life.
Second, make sure the filters are accurate. Make sure they are set to the right width and height, and that they are clearing any extraneous material.
I'm not the biggest tech guy, but I think there may be 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 - it would be data the site already has.
At first, the filters looked helpful. Then, when I refreshed the page, I was given a different list with the same movies.
Verifying each link points to the correct movie might be a hassle, but fixing the quality of the filter seems like a more straightforward fix that makes using the site much more user-friendly.
What?s the Verdict?
This site isn't great, by any means.
The layout is easy to navigate, but the library lacks compelling movies and the links might be incorrect.
Some things are worth putting up with on this site, but the downsides make it hard to recommend it to friends.
I'll use 123movies 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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