mubi.com
Do you think that it is just me, or are other people starting to get a little bit sick of all the same old content from the premium streaming services? Whether it's Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, or even newer services like Peacock - it feels like there is way too much overlap these days (especially when compared to each service's original content). There is just too much repetition going on (other than each service's original content of course).
I don't think many of the most popular premium streaming services are all that great when it comes to quality. Netflix seems to alternate between releasing amazing films that get awards and producing trash that doesn't even deserve to be called a trailer.
With streaming services like Netflix and Hulu now catering to a wider range of viewers with more mainstream content, it seems as if there is a growing trend of showing less substantive content in favor of more views. For every quality show like Queen's Gambit, there are seemingly five Turn Up Charlies that barely hold any interest for viewers.
I am talking, of course, about Mubi, the streaming service that is only for the most serious cinephiles around the world. If you've never heard of Mubi before, prepare to make some room in your monthly streaming budget for what just might be the best movie streaming site of them all - so long as we can use the term ?best? to mean a streaming site that specializes in providing only the best movies.
Mubi's curation team selects only the best films from legendary and up-and-coming filmmakers to be showcased on their website. They pride themselves on their expertise in choosing the best films from around the world.
Some people might say that Mubi is an anti-Netflix because their strategy is about quality instead of quantity. Mubi does have a large selection of movies, but they mostly care about the best quality films and original content.
Mubi is adding a new movie to its service every day, so you will never run out of high-quality content to watch. Actually, let's not use the word "content." Netflix puts out "content," while Mubi produces capital-F Films. If you are sick of the subpar, maybe it's about time you subscribed to a premium streaming service that makes genius its M.O.
There are many factors to consider when choosing a new streaming service, and nowadays there are so many to choose from. It can be hard to decide which one is the best for you, but let's give Mubi a try and see what it has to offer.
History
Mubi was formerly known as The Auteurs, and is a movie streaming site founded in 2007 by Efe Cakarel. He started working on Mubi after being disappointed that he could not watch In the Mood for Love one day while in a café in Tokyo.
Mubi, a distributor and producer of films, was founded in 2013 by Alexandra Patsavas and Michael Patsavas. They offer a curated movie viewing experience with production credits to Mubi seen in Port Authority, Farewell Armor, Tickled, and Our Men. Mubi is focused on providing an elevated film streaming experience with one new staff curated movie per day.
Design
Mubi has an interface that is as sleek, dynamic, and user-friendly as some of the biggest streaming services on the block. With a black, white, and gray theme, film thumbnails pop. You'll find a search bar, navigational menu, and an overflow menu that contains plenty of settings and features should you require them. The main menu, however, offers 5 choices: Now Showing, Library, Feed, Notebook, and your profile. Every once in a while there may be a Live tab as well (for the occasions during which Mubi hosts live streamed events).
Finally, below that are the film's ratings and reviews.
On the top of Now Showing, you will find today's movie.Below that are several sections of side-scrolling movie thumbnails to choose from, separated by category (as is the custom with premium streaming site design). Finally, below that are the movie's ratings and reviews.
I like the Mubi design - it's intuitive, user-friendly, and it looks good. It does everything that good design should do: it makes it easy to access the site's many features.
Content and Features
Additionally, the site also offers a variety of resources for film buffs. If you're looking for information on a particular movie or film genre, Mubi has you covered. Finally, Mubi offers users the ability to rate and review any content that they see.
Speaking of, there are a lot of great features about Mubi. For one thing, as I mentioned earlier, Mubi hosts its own live-streamed events. This means that as a member, you'll be notified about when these events will happen. Generally, these events include award ceremonies, movie festival footage, and more. Additionally, Mubi has a variety of resources for film buffs. If you're looking for information on a particular movie or film genre, Mubi has you covered. Finally, Mubi offers users the ability to rate and review any content they see.
Mubi also has social features that are unrivaled in the movie streaming space. Two such novel features include The Notebook and the Feed. The Feed, as you would find on any old social media site, is a live feed of social media posts and user reviews of Mubi movies. Although this doesn't prove to be the most useful feature in terms of discovering new content, it is fun and adds a certain level of community to Mubi that I have longed for in other movie streaming services.
The Notebook is a built-in film blog that provides reviews and editorial content written by the film buffs who work at Mubi. This adds a nice additional layer to the Mubi experience, providing expert insight into what and how to watch.
Your profile on Mubi is very powerful, and you can access many different features on it. For example, you can see your Watch List, ratings, reviews, and favorites list. This is great for finding content to watch or reading reviews of movies that you might be interested in. If you want your movie opinions to stay private, Mubi allows you to do that too.
Mobile and Desktop Experience
Mubi is available on many devices, including desktop computers, smartphones, smart TVs, and more. It's always easy to access your favorite Mubi classics, no matter where you are.
The iOS mobile app is great! It is smooth, intuitive, fast, and flawless - which probably explains its average rating of 4.8 on the App Store. In addition, you can download films to your phone and watch them when you are without WIFI or cell service.
Pricing and Plans
If you're on the fence about whether or not to sign up for Mubi, there's a free 7-day trial. If at the end of that time you don't think it's for you, no big deal - just cancel within that first week and there's no charge. However, if after trying Mubi out you decide it's the perfect fit for you, it will cost $10.99/month. Alternately, committing to 1 year gets you a 36% discount, coming to $83.88/year.
Students can subscribe to Mubi for just $6.99/month, which offers the full scope of the service at this discounted rate.