If you’re a big fan of watching movies in the theatre, Movies Now is an application you need to definitely check out. It’s essentially a box office application packaged neatly into your iPad in a wait that very few other applications have done so far. There is both an iPhone app and an iPad app, but we’ve decided to focus on the iPad app this time around. However, if you’re interested in the iPhone application, it’s 1.99 on the App Store.
The Good
Movie listings, trailers, and ticket purchases at the tip of your fingers can only be a good thing. Instead of finding my way to a computer to look up play times, then surfing to another website for trailers, and yet another to purchase my tickets, I can get it all directly on the couch from my iPad.
Being able to select your town, or have the iPad find your location is a huge advantage when looking up movie times. The Google Maps integrations will probably be overlooked by most, but it definitely sets the application apart from some of the others on the market.
Movies Now immediately lists off the Top Box Office films in an appropriate ranking based on ticket sales, they list films that have been just released, and films that are still kicking around in cinemas, despite no longer being a top grossing film.
Getting details on a film
The steps for getting more information on a particular film is quite simple, click on the movie poster and you’re met with a modal box that now includes a plot summary, actors list, a trailer link, as well as upcoming show times, and the ability to add a film to a wishlist.
The wishlist
I’m not sure if the wishlist is the best term for the section, but the feature is handy none the less. You have the ability to add films to a “must see” listing for later reference. It becomes really handy when you’re sitting around contemplating which films you want to spend a large chunk of your hard earned paycheck on. Most people can’t dedicate much time to checking the film listings on a daily basis, so being able to queue up a list for future reference is a huge bonus for most of us.
Purchase tickets from home
Another doozy of a feature is the ability to purchase your movie tickets directly from movietickets.com in the application. It’s a huge time saver, and a great way to ensure that you get tickets for a premiere before tickets sell out.
The Bad
There’s nothing truly bad about this application, but there is one little annoyance that has been a real thorn in my side. The Showtimes listings seem to only show film times from a theatre sixteen miles away from my house, despite have several closer movie theatres available to me. I’m not sure why, and it only seems to do it when I’m at home.
Final Thoughts
If you’re the type of person who watches more than a couple movies a year at a theatre, I’d highly recommend picking up this application. We had a hard time finding any flaws with the application, and outside of those we mention, there isn’t really much bad we can say about it. At 1.99, Movies Now is a steal of a deal.
