SPOTLIGHTm

Movies by Flixster on iPhone

What is it?

Movies was created by a Carnegie Mellon University student and later acquired by movie social network Flixster. In a quick moving application, Movies provides movies and DVDs being released, trailers, limited box office numbers, nearby theaters and showtimes, along with ratings from Flixster’s database.

How much does it cost?

Free.

Who is it good for?

Anyone who watches movies. People who plan trips to the theater on the go.

Summary

Movies by Flixster is a solid utility application that is much less of a “movie buff” application and more of a solid utility for the every man and we think that’s a welcome addition to any phone.

If you don’t go to movies and have no interest in them, clearly, you won’t need it. But for those of us who add to the billions of box office dollars every year, Movies might not provide you with the in-depth information of other top movie sites, but it will show you what’s playing and where, and even give you access to buy movie tickets online, which is half the battle. There are some shortcomings when it comes to choosing theaters and reviews, but it’s still well worth the space on your iPhone.

Keep it or Delete it?

Keep it.

While severely lacking in the movie news and information department, Movies by Flixster is a more than solid utility to help you figure out what movie is playing where. There’s really not a ton of depth to the application, but it focuses on a few things and does them very well.

While most the value in the application is going to be in the basic ability to find movie showtimes and see what’s coming out on any given week, there are some neat little features that you can find through the application.

One of our favorites is the “Trailers” button on the movie details page. Clearly, many of us have gotten over reading. It might take less time, but who wants to read anymore? Having trailers that stream directly from the application (no Safari loads) to show you a little bit about what a movie is about is incredibly convenient. Other than that, you get the basics - showtimes, redirects to buy tickets via MovieTickets.com WAP site, ratings, a star rating from Flixster, and a summary.

No unnecessary pictures, news, or other nonsense when you’re just trying to figure out what you do or don’t want to see that night, big plus.

The simplicity could be a gift and a curse depending on who is using the application. Because the application is lacking news and some ratings (perhaps some love from Rotten Tomatoes ratings outside of linking to movie pages that require loading via Safari?), it’s not a be all, end all movie application. It’s a very solid application, but real movie buffs could find that it’s a little too much utility and lacking some of the meat that they’re looking for.

Apart from that, the Movies application could be just enough of what you’re looking for to help you figure out what to watch and where on any given night.