This Tool Makes Deciding What Movie To Watch Next So Much Easier

Where do you get most of your film recommendations these days? Chances are, your guide to what to watch is powered by a recommendation algorithm. While sometimes, recommendation systems like those used by Netflix or Hulu can produce some good results, they often get a bit samey or can be off altogether. If only you could ask a professional film critic what film to watch next. Well, by crowdsourcing actual movie critics’ knowledge to give you more accurate and relevant recommendations, Cinetrii does just that.

Unlike traditional film recommendation engines, which typically fail to explain why a particular film was chosen or recommend popular titles you’ve likely seen already, Cinetrii takes into account movie reviews from mainstream critics that compare a specific movie to other films. It also shows you how films relate in an intuitive graphical format. 

When you search for a movie, Cinetrii shows you a tree of movies. Films above your query came out before the film you were looking for, whereas films underneath were released later. The shorter the line between the films, the more they relate to one another. Click on the bubble surrounding each recommended movie to see what critics say about it and visit the film’s IMDb page if the reviews interest you. 

For example, if you liked the 2003 Sofia Coppola film “Lost In Translation”, Cinetrii recommends that you check out the 2017 drama film “Columbus”. Why? Because a number of esteemed film critics compared the plot and the relationship between the two main characters in “Columbus” to those in “Lost In Translation”. 

Pretty cool, huh? In just five minutes, I was able to find a film I actually want to watch this weekend. And I haven’t even looked at 20 (or so) other movies the site suggested. 

Obviously, the system isn’t perfect. It didn’t show any results when I typed in the title of my all-time favorite film, the 2005 romantic drama “Pride and Prejudice”. Weirdly enough, it did have recommendations for other versions of the film. It might also disappoint you if you love blockbusters (mainly because, according to Cinetrii, few critics draw comparisons between box office hits and other works). That being said, the site is a great way to find films you’ve never even heard of before.