0123movie.ws
Finding the perfect movie for Taco Tuesday can be a challenge. Going to the movie theater is out of the question, and you have already spent 30 minutes scrolling through Netflix, but nothing has caught your eye.
On Tuesday last, as far as I was concerned, at least that's what it looked like.
That's when I found 0123Movies.cc. Its modern look has a very familiar feel to other search engines. It has a logo and a search box.
But this site is loaded with movies you have never heard of, as well as some new ones.
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 searched for a movie to watch on Taco-Tuesday, and the design of the website was familiar. I easily found what I was looking for, but I wanted some recommendations. So, I went to the movie section.
The landing page for the movies 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.
Thankfully, there is a filter option for the amoeba of movie titles.
You are able to search by genre and year. However, those do not help much. Rather, 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 filter methods will give you a list of things people enjoy, it is limited to their library. And worse - it is a randomized list.
When you click the ?most viewed? link, itpopulates a different list every time, although not an entirely new list. 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 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 appear in no particular order.
And the "Top IMDB" filter option has the same issue.
Besides offering a group of random movies, the site offers a group of random movies that bear no resemblance to IMDb's actual top lists.
Naturally, there is no one right answer when it comes to the best movies of all time. There are classics that appeal to different individuals based on their individual tastes and preferences.
Despite some disagreements, I believe we can all agree that Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith should come before a review of it.
Yet, 0123Movies.ws has such an effective algorithm that they put the masterpiece of a review by PlinkettReviews before the actual movie.
Despite the easy-to-navigate website layout, you will still be lost in a meaningless library.
Surprisingly Clean on Mobile
Most free streaming sites are full of adverts which can be difficult to avoid if you don't have AdBlock installed on your phone.
Any clicking may bring 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 was able to cancel. That's impressive compared to some sites that are almost unusable with ads on.
Generally, the mobile sites I use will have an advertisement over the play button. And that advertisement 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 connection was reasonable and within 20-30 seconds, the show started and did not pause to buffer through the entire episode.
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, I could have had my meal ruined by a randomized movie list that didn't give any real direction. But instead, I watched a movie that was so bad - I couldn't stop laughing.
I have found this site to be particularly helpful in summarizing my experience using it.
The website looks good, but the library is horrible. However, it is not horrible in the ?I?m never eating here again? way. It is awful in the ?favorite-dive-bar-with-bad-service? way.
I will not suggest 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 are not going to recognize most of the movies on the list, but most of them are so bad you will not be able to stop laughing after a few glasses of wine.
This website has the appeal of an unattractive dog.
If you decide to take a chance by browsing the site, you will have a decent experience finding either a mediocre movie or one with poor quality.
The (not so) Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
I always give the benefit of the doubt, but some things are so inexcusable that I cannot forgive them.
This site can be inaccurate in suggesting the next title.
Let's say you give it a chance. You sit down to watch a movie. You've had a few glasses of wine, and you're ready for something bad. You know, like the 2019 Hollywood failure Cats. After convincing yourself a live-action musical about humanized bird murders is worth sitting down to watch, you give it a shot.
You are lying under your favorite blanket with a big bowl of popcorn and your favorite fluffy socks.
You click the movie. The ads disappear.
But you, who are 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. The website's description even had the movie's poster, release date, actor list. 123Movies does not deliver on their promise.
This is not appropriate.
I can handle the lack of good movies, the subpar algorithm, and possible malware-laden ads. However, I cannot handle a false advertisement. If you are 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 need to take things at face value and not overinterpret them.
This site offers free movies with minimal ads and a well- designed layout that makes it easy to check out their library.
Two things can be done to add glitter to their turd library.
Make sure the links in your document are accurate.
It can be a tough choice to find something to sink two hours of my life into. And once I finally make up my mind, it is frustrating when I am redirected to another movie. To me, this seems like the most important fix for the quality of life.
Second, ensure that the filters are accurate.
I am not the biggest tech guy, but I imagine that 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 should already be there.
I initially thought the filters were helpful; however, after refreshing the page, I was presented with a different list of movies with the same titles.
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?
It is not recommendable for anyone.
This site is not recommended for anyone. It is mediocre at best.
The layout of the library is easy to navigate, but it does not contain many compelling movies, and the links might be incorrect.
Of course, this is a free website, so some things are worth tolerating. However, the downsides of this website make it difficult to recommend to friends.
I will 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 is usually disappointing, but when everything else is closed, it is an option to get by on.
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