The cinema going public has some cracking movie offerings coming before the year is out, and with more and more film content coming to tablets and smartphones, with thought it high time for a roundup of the top apps any self-proclaimed cinephile should be ashamed to be without. Click through our gallery below to find the very best film apps you can’t afford to be without.
Think we’ve missed anything? Let us know in the comments below.
Empire Magazine – iPad – FREE
The UK’s biggest film magazine now has its own dedicated iPad app, complete with all the new-fangled iPad magazine staples including embedded video, bits you pinch and prod through with your fingers and pages that flip sideways when you turn (or drop) your iPad. The app is free, and issues will cost you a very reasonable £3.99 a pop – two quid cheaper than the pulped up wooden versions you used to buy in the shops.
IMDb Movies and TV – iPad, iPhone, Android – FREE
There was no way we could have a list of best movie apps without including what might be the film fan’s ultimate go-to guide. Visting the Internet Movie Database on a mobile device still takes you to one of those irritating mobile web pages, so downloading the app is a must (don’t worry, it’s free). Inside you’ll find all the cast lists, reviews, commentaries and trivia about damn near every movie ever made, as well as IMDb’s own star ratings decided by its thousands of users. A must-have.
Download IMDb Movies and TV: iPad, iPhone, Android
AirVideo – iPad, iPhone – £1.99
Then again, who needs the cinema? It’s expensive, loud and the floor’s all sticky. Rubbish. If you’d rather stay home than trek to the nearest Odeon, AirVideo is a bargain app that lets you stream any video content from your computer straight to your iPad over WiFi. Best of all, it can live convert videos, meaning you can get around Apple’s draconian restrictions on which file types you can watch – even if you’re streaming 720p.
Download AirVideo: iPad, iPhone
LoveFilm by Post – iPad, iPhone – FREE
Remember the days renting a film involved, you know, going outside? Think of LoveFilm as your personal, indulgent film butler. Would sir (or madame) care to watch a spot of Jason Statham this evening? Very good, I shall have one of the servants bring it over immediately. Don’t get up.
Yes, LoveFilm will have any film over to you by first class post with just the tap of a virtual button, along with a pre-paid first class envelope to post it back in when you’re done. There’s a range of packages, for which you pay a small fee, but the selection of both films, TV series and games for home consoles is comprehensive and there are no late fees. But if even that sounds like too much effort, there is always the ultimate couch potato option, which is…
Download LoveFilm by Post: iPad, iPhone
LoveFilm Player – iPad – FREE
After taking the “go” out of “movie-going” with its postal service, LoveFilm is now available instantly on your iPad, with its free LoveFilm Player app streaming movies directly to your tablet. You’ll still need to sign up, but when the cinema’s too far away and there’s no time to wait for the postman, the LoveFilm Player app will sort out your movie cravings in an instant.
Flixster – iPad – FREE
Like a US-centric IMDb, Flixster’s own iPad app uses your current location to offer not just reviews, but also your nearest cinemas and lists of what’s on nearby. Also like IMDb, Flixster offers its own ratings of films, pulled direct from popular film review site rottentomatoes.com, which gives two ratings based on reviews of professional critics and another on the site’s non-professional visitors. If you’re based in the States, you also get the option to add any film on the site to your Netflix account.
Vue and Odeon – iPhone – FREE
Two apps from the UKs two biggest cinema chains, but with much the same idea at heart. Download the free apps and you can browse the whole range of Vue and Odeon cinemas up and down the country, watch trailers, read reviews and book seats. Unless you’ve got some kind of blood feud going on with one or the other of these cinema giants, we can’t see any reason to take these over, say, Flixster. Except for those special loyalty deals offered by both the apps, of course.
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