best movie review aggregator

Atchity does acknowledge that “there is less space for subtlety” in Rotten Tomatoes.

It used to be fairly easy to be a reviewer for the site. Any member of a critics’ organization was eligible.

“That’s no longer the case,” Atchity said. “That’s merely a part of the qualification.”

Like Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic’s staff of six reads reviews and decides whether they’re positive or negative. But they try to address how good – or how bad – a movie is.

Sometimes it’s easy: If critics give a movie four stars out of a possible five, Metacritic automatically gives the review an 80. But 40 percent of Metacritic’s reviewers do not assign scores, so Metacritic’s staff of six gives the review a number.

“There is a process of us reading these reviews and evaluating them,” Marc Doyle, Metacritic’s editor-in-chief, told TheWrap.

Metacritic, which is owned by CBS Interactive, reads far fewer reviews than Rotten Tomatoes – 44.

And while at Rotten Tomatoes, all critics are created equal, Metacritic assigns scores to critics as well as to their reviews.

The greater a critic’s stature, the more influential that critic’s opinion will be on the Metacritic score.

Like Metacritic, it has a relatively small number of critics – 51. And like Metacritic, it assigns each critic his or her own level of importance.

But instead of weighting critics based on stature, it looks at their readership.

Anybody working for a large-circulation publication – even someone with no previous experience – would be considered especially important in Movie Review Intelligence’s formula.

“The mainstream taste needs to be heard as part of the mix,” David Gross, the site’s editor and publisher, told TheWrap. “I proudly include People magazine and Us Weekly and AP, along with the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, LA Weekly and Slant magazine. There are some wonderful small publications that are doing fantastic critical work – but I think all voices need to be heard.”

So how do their ratings stack up?

All three gave high marks to “The Artist,” the highest scoring best picture nominee across all three sites, across all three sites: an 89 from Metacritic, a 92.2 from Movie Review Intelligence and a 97 from Rotten Tomatoes. In a potentially ominous sign for its Oscar prospects, the sites were far more mixed on “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” which got a 46 on Metacritic, a 62.2 on Movie Review Intelligence and a 45 at Rotten Tomatoes.

Gross said that for the time being, he's pleased with his site's niche.

"The other sites are giants," Gross told TheWrap, "and so we’re happy to be the independent.”

101 Review Aggregators Guide: What They Are And Why They Matter

Rajat Singh Chauhan 10 minutes read February 14, 2024

Finding reliable and insightful reviews can be daunting in this era, where information is at our fingertips. 

Whether searching for the perfect restaurant, the latest tech gadget, or the next must-read book, pinpointing the most accurate and trustworthy reviews is crucial. 

Our blog sheds light on the intricacies of review aggregators, offering expert insights, tips, and recommendations to help you make informed decisions and save time and money. 

Read on as we delve into the world of review aggregation, uncover its complexities, and empower you to discover the finest review aggregator in the vast sea of opinions.

Let’s switch to what Review Aggregators are.

TripAdvisor Reviews

Facebook Reviews

Google Reviews

Amazon Reviews

Aliexpress Reviews

What Are Review Aggregators?

Review aggregators are web-based platforms that gather and consolidate reviews from a variety of origins, providing insights into products, services, or businesses.

They source these reviews from social media platforms, business directories, and various other review websites.

What they do is pretty simple: they gather reviews from all over the internet. These reviews come from individual websites, social media, forums, and more. 

Then, they put them all in one place and show them to you as a collection of reviews.

The cool thing is that this makes it easy to determine if a business or a product is the real deal. You don’t have to search the internet for reviews; review aggregators bring them to you in one spot. 

It’s like having many people tell you their thoughts simultaneously so you can make informed decisions without the hassle.

Let’s start with why online reviews are crucial in today’s world.

What Makes Online Reviews Crucial For Businesses?

Online reviews are pivotal in setting your business apart and enticing potential customers. 

Virtually every individual contemplating your services or products will invariably turn to reviews. 

How you fare in these reviews becomes the deciding factor between you and your rivals.

Consider these statistics to grasp the significance of online reviews for small businesses:

• Influential Decision-Makers: 93% of consumers admit that online reviews sway their purchasing choices.
• Local Business Insights: An impressive 87% of individuals actively peruse reviews for local businesses.
• Trustworthy Brand Perception: Brands that boast online reviews are trusted a striking 63% more than those without such feedback.

These statistics underscore the undeniable importance of online reviews for your business, but the question remains: Why are they so crucial? 

Let’s not overwhelm you with too much information and save it for the latter section.

Can Review Aggregators Assist With Reputation Management?

Yes, review aggregators can assist with reputation management. Review aggregators enable businesses to monitor and manage their online reputation by providing a centralized platform to collect and analyze customer feedback from various sources. 

By tracking and responding to reviews on these platforms, businesses can address customer behavior to reach marketing goals , showcase their commitment to customer satisfaction, and take steps to improve their overall reputation. 

This proactive approach to reputation management can help businesses maintain a positive image and build trust with their audience.

90% of Customers Read Online Reviews Before Buying

Easily aggregate user reviews & display on your website for free.

Trustworthy Sources To Aggregate Reviews From

The following sources are valuable for both businesses and consumers. They provide insights and feedback that can be instrumental in making informed decisions and managing a business’s online reputation .

1. Google Reviews

Google Reviews are integral to Google My Business listings. When people search for local businesses or services, they often find Google Reviews prominently displayed in search results and Google Maps . 

Customers can assign ratings and write detailed reviews about their experiences with the business, which can cover a range of aspects, from product quality to customer service. Embedding Google reviews can boost a business’s online visibility and trustworthiness.

2. Yelp Reviews

Yelp is a popular review platform that covers various types of businesses, particularly local ones. Users can leave detailed reviews, assign star ratings, and include photos of their experiences. 

Yelp allows users to share their opinions about restaurants, retail shops, and service providers. It’s known for its community-driven approach to reviews, and showcasing Yelp reviews on websites boosts social proof.

3. TripAdvisor Reviews

TripAdvisor is a go-to platform for travelers seeking information and reviews about hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions, and more. 

Users can rate their travel experiences, leave detailed reviews, and upload photos to help fellow travelers plan their trips. 

The platform is trusted by travelers worldwide for its extensive database of user-generated content, and websites can garner a lot of benefits by adding Tripadvisor reviews widget.

4. Amazon Customer Reviews

Amazon customer reviews are reviews of products sold on Amazon. Shoppers can rate products, write comments, and share their experiences to help others make informed purchase decisions. 

These reviews cover product quality, performance, and the overall buying experience. Business websites have amassed conversions and sales by embedding Amazon customer reviews .

5. Facebook Reviews

Businesses that maintain a presence on Facebook often have reviews and recommendations on their pages. 

Customers can rate the business and provide written feedback on their experiences. Adding Facebook reviews to websites can significantly impact the perception of a business, as they are visible to the business’s Facebook followers.

6. Trustpilot Reviews

Trustpilot is an independent review platform that covers a broad spectrum of businesses across different industries. It is recognized for its transparency and unbiased review collection. 

Customers can rate businesses and leave in-depth reviews that often include positive and negative experiences.

Top 5+ Review Aggregators Tools of (2023-2024)

These review aggregator platform tools serve different purposes and cater to various business needs. 

They can help companies enhance their online presence, manage their reputation, gain deeper insights from customer feedback, and facilitate customer communication. 

1. Tagembed

Tagembed is a review aggregator and analysis tool. It uses AI and natural language processing to collect and interpret customer feedback and reviews .

Tagembed assists businesses in gaining deeper insights from reviews and customer comments. 

Systematically collecting and categorizing customer reviews provides businesses with a comprehensive understanding of customer sentiments and emerging trends. 

Armed with this knowledge, companies can proactively refine their products and services, leading to more satisfying customer experiences and a competitive edge in the market. 

Tagembed offers a data-driven pathway to continuous improvement and customer-centric decision-making.

Tagbox is a user-generated content platform that allows businesses to curate and display customer reviews and social media content on their websites. 

It aggregates social content from various social media platforms , review sites, and other sources.

Tagbox helps companies build trust with potential customers by incorporating authentic user-generated content. 

It can enhance website engagement and provide social proof, as visitors can see real people discussing and endorsing products or services.

BirdEye is a comprehensive reputation management platform. It aggregates reviews from various online sources, offers review response tools, and provides insights into a company’s online reputation.

BirdEye is popular among businesses seeking to manage their online presence proactively. It helps them collect and monitor reviews, respond to feedback, and better understand their online reputation. 

This can lead to improved customer trust and loyalty.

Podium is a review and messaging platform that facilitates communication between businesses and customers. It collects reviews and enables two-way conversations through various messaging channels.

Podium’s messaging capabilities streamline customer interactions, making it easier for businesses to engage with customers. 

It also helps them manage reviews and online feedback more effectively, which can be especially useful in industries like healthcare and automotive.

Yotpo is a robust platform for customer content marketing . It helps businesses collect and leverage customer reviews, photos, and other user-generated content to enhance online credibility, engage customers, and drive marketing success. 

With features like SEO-friendly content and in-depth analytics, Yotpo is a valuable tool for modern businesses seeking to build trust and boost conversions.

Why Are Review Aggregators So Important For Consumers & Businesses?

As we promised earlier about the benefits of Review aggregators , here are a range of benefits for both consumers and businesses. 

A). Benefits for Consumers:

• Informed Decision-Making – Review aggregators provide consumers with a wealth of information and opinions from multiple sources. This helps them make more informed product, service, and business decisions.
• Transparency – Review aggregators promote transparency by presenting positive and negative feedback about a product or service. This allows consumers to evaluate potential drawbacks and benefits.
• Efficiency – Consumers can quickly access various reviews and ratings in one place, saving time and effort when researching products or services.
• Trust and Credibility – Reviews from fellow consumers and expert critics on these platforms can be more trusted and credible, as they often reflect real experiences and insights.
• Community Engagement – Some review aggregators foster communities where consumers can ask questions, share experiences, and seek advice from others with similar interests or needs.

B). Benefits for Businesses:

• Improved Reputation Management – Review aggregators enable businesses to monitor and manage their online reputation. Responding to positive and negative reviews can demonstrate a commitment to customer satisfaction.
• Customer Feedback Insights – Analyzing the feedback collected on these platforms provides various businesses with valuable insights into customer preferences, pain points, and areas for improvement.
• Competitive Analysis – By comparing their reviews and ratings to those of competitors, businesses can identify areas where they excel and where they may need to catch up. This information is valuable for competitive analysis and strategic planning.
• Increased Visibility – High ratings and positive reviews on review aggregators can increase visibility and trust. Many consumers check these platforms before purchasing, making a positive presence necessary.
• Data-Driven Decision Making – Businesses can use the data and review trends to make data-driven decisions regarding product development, customer service enhancements, and marketing strategies.
• Marketing Material – Positive 5-star reviews and ratings from review aggregators can be used as marketing material to build trust with potential customers. They serve as social proof of a business’s quality.
• Customer Engagement – Engaging with customers on these platforms can foster stronger relationships, resolve issues, and show a commitment to customer satisfaction.
• Customer Loyalty – Addressing concerns and incorporating feedback can increase customer loyalty and repeat business.
• Benchmarking and Performance Tracking – Review aggregators can serve as benchmarks for businesses to track their performance over time and set improvement goals.

Wrapping Up!

Review aggregators are indispensable tools in today’s digital landscape. They serve as information hubs, bringing together consumer opinions and expert reviews to help individuals make informed decisions. 

Whether you are looking for the perfect restaurant, a reliable product, or trustworthy services, review aggregators are your go-to source for transparency and credibility. 

These platforms offer valuable business insights, helping to manage reputations, engage with customers, and drive improvements based on honest feedback. 

Review aggregators have truly changed how we explore the world and have become essential to the consumer-business relationship.

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Best Film Aggregators For Indie Filmmakers In 2021

Film distribution is a must for indie filmmakers who want to get their movies, short films, music videos and more out to the world. It can get a little confusing with distributors, aggregators and more – so we’re here to break down what it all means, and share with you our picks for the best film aggregators for indie filmmakers in 2021!

What Are Film Aggregators?

Film Aggregators provide a service to help you get your movie, short film or series distributed on platforms such as Amazon, iTunes, Google Play and Sony PlayStation Network. Some aggregators can also help you with the encoding process and creating assets such as subtitles or dubs. Some charge a fee upfront and others will take a percentage of your sales.

What Is The Difference Between Film Aggregators & Film Distributors?

The main difference between is that film distributors control all the distribution and usually marketing for a film or project. Aggregators, however, typically only help you post your project to networks where it can be purchased. With aggregators, you retain more control of your creation.

BitMax are a widely known aggregator with a great reputation. They also offer post, license content management software and provide you with other revenue streams. They license and distribute premium VoD, SVOD, AVOD and TVOD content, and are responsible for the distribution of thousands of films, TV shows and more music videos than any other provider on the planet.

Price : Not publicly available but their basic service starts at $750 for a feature-length film. You can also contact them for a specific quote for your project.

Quiver Digital

Quiver were the preferred aggregator for Sundance’s Creative Distribution Initiative, and comes highly recommended by Jim Cummings .

Price : Charge up front. Feature films are $1395 for the first platform and $225 for each platform after that, and Shorts are $795 for the first platform and $175 for each subsequent one.

Quiver also don’t take a percentage on the backend, meaning you pay once and retain 100% of your revenue!

FilmHub is part aggregator and part marketplace. They also offer distribution and a tech platform. FilmHub is great because you’re not limited to the ‘majors’ such as iTunes, Amazon etc, and can spread your film further to niche VoD platforms in various global territories.

One downside is that you’re not guaranteed access to platforms because it is a marketplace setup. Your film becomes available to VoD sites who may be interested, but it’s not entirely clear what FilmHub does in terms of promoting your movie .

Price : FilmHub don’t require any money upfront, but they do take 20% on the backend.

Premiere Digital

Premiere Digital offer both distribution and aggregation. The bonuses are that you get real-time visibility into your supply chain deliverables and royalty payments via a dedicated financial portal.

Price : It looks as though you’ll need to contact Premiere Digital, as their prices aren’t public!

When it comes to using an aggregator, remember to do some due diligence and research to make sure you understand what you’re getting and what it entails. Weigh up the various film aggregators for yourself and be sure to find the right fit for you and your movie’s needs.

We hope you enjoyed this article! If you did, we think you’ll love our articles on Creating A Film Press Kit , Casting An Indie Film , Sites For Indie Filmmakers , Creating Foley Sound Effects and The Art Of Great Storytelling For Filmmakers !

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Why You Should Use a Review Aggregator (+Best Tools)

As a business, you need to keep a keen eye on what your customers are saying about you. Your online reviews largely control the perception of your  brand , which you must manage as much as possible.

Review aggregators are platforms that collect a large amount of reviews on a product, service, or business. It then “aggregates” and gives an average score. Consumers use that score to assess your business, its products and services.

It affects their purchasing decision, which is why they’re so important.

Don’t know much about them? Don’t worry, this guide will cover everything you need to know, including:

• What a review aggregator is
• Why your business should care about review aggregators
• The 15 most important review aggregators to focus on
• How to manage your reviews with ReviewBot

Ready? Let’s get started.

What Is a Review Aggregator?

Review aggregators are platforms that collect reviews on a product or service, ranking them based on an accumulated average score. Consumers use them to help with research before making a purchasing decision.

Review aggregators exist for a number of different industries, products, services, and niches. Some popular examples include:

• Rotten Tomatoes for films/movies/TV series
• Metacritic for video games
• Yelp for local businesses
• Glassdoor for employer reviews
• Google Play Store for Android apps
• App Store for Apple apps
• G2 for software reviews

Review aggregators make it extremely easy for consumers to compare products and services, based on available reviews. Some of them are websites, while others are software apps.

Why Should Your Business Care About Review Aggregators?

Review aggregators are important to consider for your business because they can influence your sales. Consumers will go to review aggregator platforms and assess the quality of a product or service. They’ll compare it to other options available on the marketplace.

For instance, the Rotten Tomatoes score of a film/movie can greatly affect how many people pay to see it. The same is true for buying games, based on a Metacritic score. In fact,  every additional 5 points over an 80+ Metacritic score equates to double the sales .

As a business, you need to keep a keen eye on all review aggregator platforms that feature your products or services. They’re the best indicator of how good what you’re offering is, and where you stand compared to the competition. It’ll also give you a good idea where you can improve.

These Are the Most Important Review Aggregators to Focus On

There are quite a few review aggregators out there — a lot of them aren’t worth your time. Below we’ll list the most important ones you should focus on. Depending on the nature of your business not all of them will apply to you.

The  App Store  is an Apple platform that allows consumers to browse, purchase, and download Apple-based apps. Users can leave  reviews  for each app they use, which affects its aggregated score.

The platform allows users to identify all the highest rated, most popular apps for their Apple devices. Filters can be added to make this an easier process. The apps can be used on any Apple device, including the:

• Apple Watch

With over 1.8 million different apps on the platform, there’s endless options for Apple users. The most popular apps include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat.

• Google Play Store

The  Google Play Store  is a Google platform that acts as the official app store for Android devices. On it, Android users can browse, purchase, and download various different apps created for the Android operating system.

The platform also acts as a  review aggregator for the apps , hosting a large amount of user reviews. If you’ve bought an app from the Google Play Store you’re able to give a review yourself. Each app has an aggregated total score, which makes it easy to assess quality.

Aside from Android apps the store also features music, books, films/movies, and TV series.

And if there's something hugely important for mobile apps to focus on, it's their reviews: both good and bad. Replying to criticism and appreciating compliments gives new potential users a sign that you care. ReviewBot gives you instant alerts on new reviews so you can be fast in your customer support.

Yelp business pages

Yelp  is a crowd-source local business review and social media site. The platform allows businesses to create their own pages, which customers can leave  reviews  on. For businesses, the page is a resource that gives important information to potential customers.

Local businesses can set up their Yelp business page, adding images, opening hours, product/service details — and much more. It’s also possible to  respond to user reviews , which is important for  online reputation management .

Consumers can use the platform to assess the quality of local businesses. The user reviews of each business adds to an aggregated score, which makes it easy to compare available options.

Amazon  is the world’s largest online e-commerce marketplace, selling just about anything and everything. As a business, the platform offers a place for one to sell its products to a large audience.

Amazon sellers can set up a storefront where consumers can buy their products and leave  reviews . Every product an Amazon seller puts up for sale will have an aggregated review score, based on all its reviews.

Amazon storefronts also can be reviewed by users, which adds to its overall score. The quality of reviews are important on Amazon as it influences consumer purchasing decisions. Being able to assess product and seller quality is an essential component to consumer research.

• Google My Business

google-business-review-aggregator

Google My Business  is a platform for local businesses that combines with Google Maps and Google search. Businesses will have a business profile that shows up during a localized search query, or on Google Maps. The profile includes a variety of details about the business, including:

• Business name
• Physical location/address
• Phone number
• About/blurb
• Google posts
• User reviews
• Aggregated review score

The platform provides a way for local businesses to connect with local search users. Consumers can browse all location options, comparing user reviews, and the overall aggregated score, which is out of 5 stars.

iTunes for podcasts

iTunes  is a client app for the iTunes store, which offers a wide variety of digital multimedia. Some of the types of things on the platform include:

• Movies/films

Aside from offering those, the iTunes client app doubles as a multimedia library, categorizing a user’s digital collection. It also works as a media player and CD ripper.

The iTunes store is a great place for businesses that want — or have — a podcast. It makes it accessible to a large number of people.  Users can leave reviews , which affects an aggregated score. Consumers can easily sort through all the best podcasts available, choosing the best.

The  Mac App Store  — also known as the App Store — is a platform that offers Mac operating system apps. Consumers can buy/download all sorts of different softwares for their Macs, including:

• Safari browser extensions
• Apple arcade games

Developers can join the Apple Developer Program, which allows them to submit apps for consideration. If successful, their apps can be featured on the App store.

All Mac App Store apps can be  reviewed by users , which adds the app’s aggregated review score. This score makes it easy for individuals to compare apps, making it easy to find high quality options.

Trustpilot  is a consumer review website that allows individuals to write reviews for various businesses. The categories of businesses reviewed are diverse, including things like:

• Travel insurance
• Jewellery stores
• Car dealerships
• Furniture stores
• Pet services
• Dental services

Those are just a few of the many — Trustpilot pretty much covers all industries and niches.

For businesses, Trustpilot is used similarly to  Yelp  and Google My Business in that you set up a page. It’ll include images, product and service details, opening hours, a website and a phone number.

Each business will have an aggregated review score, based on all the reviews they’ve received. Consumers can use this accumulative score to easily find the best options available to them.

Angie's List

Angie’s List  is a crowd-sourced review website for local businesses and contractors. It covers popular services like:

• Landscaping
• Housecleaning

Consumers can enter in their ZIP code and compare the top-rated service providers in their area. The ratings of each business/contractor is determined by price, quality, responsiveness, punctuality, and professionalism.

Each business/contractor has its own page, which includes images, service details, a website, physical location, and phone number. All individual reviews are also visible, along with an aggregated score. This makes it easy for users of the platform to find the best option for them.

Glassdoor  is a job search engine and review website where employees can anonymously review its employers. The reviews critique specific aspects of employment, including benefits packages, salary, and work environment.

The platform makes it easy for employees who are currently unemployed, or receiving additional offers to make informed career decisions. Employees are able to claim their company profile on Glassdoor, which includes important information about the organization.

Each employer has an aggregated review score, based on all the reviews given by employees. Glassdoor has a stringent screening process that ensures all reviews are authentic, actually coming from real employees. This makes it a great resource for employees to browse.

Foursquare  is a local search-and-discovery app that recommends locations, based on the user’s geographical location. Dubbed the “Foursquare City Guide,” the app will identify local restaurants, cafes, shops, bars, nightclubs, theater, and much more.

Using the app, consumers can discover new spots they’ve never known about before, creating opportunities for new experiences.

Each local business has its own page, which includes important information, like:

Each local business has an aggregated review score out of 10, which is based on all the user reviews given. This makes it easy for consumers to find high quality local options in their neighbourhood.

Capterra  is an online marketplace and review website for business softwares. On the platform consumers can review and compare software from over 700+ different categories — examples include:

• Customer relationship management (CRM)
• Email marketing
• Human resources
• Helpdesk software
• Inventory management
• Task management

Software vendors can create listings for their products and services. Your product profile will include features, screenshots, and reviews.

Each individual software product has an aggregated review score, based on all user reviews. This makes it effortless for individuals to compare all available options.

GoodFirms  is a research and review platform for finding better software and service providers. With it, consumers can find the best solutions available for their specific needs. Some of the software categories featured on the platform include:

• Document management
• Marketing automation

For service providers you’ve got mobile app development, SEO services, digital marketing, web design, e-commerce, and many others.

GoodFirms serves as an effective consumer research tool for those that need business software. The platform makes it easy to compare all available options. Each specific product and service has an aggregated review score, based on all user reviews.

G2  is a tech marketplace and review platform for business software and services. Real, authenticated reviews are used to give each individual product and service provider an aggregated score.

The platform covers a wide variety of different software categories — popular examples include:

• Payment gateways
• Mobile app development

Software developers can claim a listing for their products and services. The profile page will include essential information, like pricing, a short biography, contact details, and a website. There’s also the aggregated review score, based on all user reviews.

Yahoo! Local Listings

Yahoo Local Listings  provide a way for you to control your local business listings across 70+ different online listings. Dubbed “Localworks,” users can keep their various listings up-to-date regarding business information.

The all-in-one platform gives you easy access to all the reviews across your listings. You can easily optimize for search engines, GPS, social media, apps, and digital maps. By aggregating all of your business profile listings, it saves you time and effort.

Here's How to use ReviewBot to Manage Your Reviews in One Place

Managing all the reviews your business and its products/services can be time consuming. With so many different business listings and platforms you need to be on, you’d have to visit them all. What you need is a tool that can manage all of your reviews in one place.

ReviewBot  can help you do this. It scans all of your reviews across all the major platforms, such as:

• The App Store

Real-time tracking will keep you apprised of any and all new reviews. You’ll be sent a notification, so you can respond promptly, ensuring time sensitivity. Notifications can also be filtered according to feedback, so you’re only alerted of reviews you care about.

ReviewBot effortlessly integrates with Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Zendesk — it’ll fit in with your other tools. Other great features include competitor tracking, automatic language translation, status reports, and social sharing.

With ReviewBot, you’ll be able to more easily manage your online reviews, taking your reputation management to the next level.

In this guide we covered everything you need to know about review aggregators.

Review aggregators accumulate large amounts of user reviews on a product, service, or business. They spit out an average, accumulative score, which consumers use as a research tool.

They — review aggregators — influence consumer purchasing decisions, which is why they matter for your business.

Make sure you keep your customer feedback in check with ReviewBot . With a 14-day free trial and plans starting at just 5$/month, any business can now show their users that they care about them. 

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What Are the Best Aggregators for All of Your Streaming Services?

It has gotten way too hard to keep track of streaming subscriptions nowadays. Nearly 10% of streaming users in the United States are subscribed to five or more services , and with that many to keep track of it can get very easy to simply lose one in the shuffle.

That’s why so many streaming users are crying out for aggregation platforms. A survey from December showed that 86% of customers want a single service that would pull together all of their basic personal information, offer access to all their streaming subscriptions and show them content recommendations from all of those services together in one location, with one monthly bill instead of separate invoices for each streamer they use.

There are already several of these services available, though none of them have been able to convince all the major subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platforms on the market to join them. Verizon’s +play has been the most successful in this regard, as the telecom company does not operate its own streaming video service, which means that streamers like Netflix and Disney+ don’t have to worry about helping the competition by joining it. +play recently renewed a deal with Netflix in which users can get a free year’s subscription to the Premium tier of the service.

Prime Video , YouTube TV and Apple also offer aggregation platforms to varying degrees. Unlike +play, however, some streaming services have been more hesitant to embrace these platforms, as their operators also offer competing video streaming services.

Which Aggregation Platforms Offer the Most Subscription Services?

Which is the best streaming service aggregator.

If you’re a Verizon customer, there’s no doubting that +play is the answer. The service offers the most major subscription video services of any aggregator, and special deals like the year-long subscription to Netflix’s best tier help it stand head-and-shoulders above the rest. The caveat here of course is that if you’re not a Verizon customer, you can’t access +play at this time.

Prime Video Channels is the second-best option on the list for that reason. You don’t have to buy a mobile or internet plan to get access to it, though you will need to sign up to Prime Video for $8.99 per month. Prime Video Channels doesn’t have the sheer number of services that +play can boast, though it too has special deals on certain services that can’t be accessed via other aggregators (such as the seven-day free trial to HBO Max ).

YouTube TV and Apple TV Channels bring up the rear on this list because they have fewer of these types of deals. You can still use both services to help aggregate your streaming bill every month, but you won’t get as many special offers or choices with them.

An Option for the Future: Xumo Play

Aggregation is one of the main features that Xumo Play will offer when the joint Comcast-Charter Communications venture is relaunched . That service will combine aggregation with on-demand video choices, which helps to explain why Peacock is not currently available on any other aggregating platform. Comcast is clearly holding it back to be a launch partner for the new Xumo Play when it becomes available, which could be as early as 2023.

Xumo Play is a free video streaming service that includes on-demand access to several movies and TV shows. Xumo Play offers 290 free virtual channels, including those focused on reality TV, vintage TV, and game shows.

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Screen Rant

Atlas review: jennifer lopez’s new netflix movie gets science fiction totally wrong.

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Best Sci-Fi Movies On Netflix

Who voices smith in netflix's atlas, atlas ending & ai twist explained.

• Atlas' VFX & Jennifer Lopez's committed performance are highlights.
• Atlas has a weak script & tone-deaf message about AI.
• There is a lack of curiosity that affects characters & story quality.

When I try to describe Atlas , the one word that keeps coming to mind is perfunctory. It's not a word I typically use to talk about a movie, but it popped into my head relatively early in the runtime, and I've been unable to shake it. So, I'll have to try and unpack its persistence instead.

Atlas is a 2024 Netflix original movie starring Jennifer Lopez as Atlas Shepherd. Atlas, a data analyst who doesn't trust AI, who sets out to recover a rogue robot. But when things don't go according to plan, she is forced to trust AI in order to save humanity.

• Pretty strong VFX work holds it all together
• Jennifer Lopez is game
• Superficial, soulless approach to sci-fi
• Script struggles to stay ahead of the audience
• Tone deaf message on AI

Merriam-Webster ascribes two definitions to perfunctory, though " lacking in interest or enthusiasm " isn't quite what I mean. That would seem to describe the intentions behind the film as much as the film itself, and my reaction was to the end result, not the whole enterprise. The other definition, " characterized by routine or superficiality: mechanical, " gets me closer. Atlas is like an artificial sci-fi movie that walks and talks like the real thing, but just isn't .

Atlas' Flaws Don't Seem Fatal At First Glance

You have to dig a little deeper.

Set in a technologically advanced future, Atlas is named for its protagonist, Atlas Shepherd ( Jennifer Lopez ), who was just a girl when Harlan (Simu Liu) , one of her genius mother's (Lana Parrilla) artificially intelligent robots, went rogue. Harlan not only broke free of his programming, but hacked into AI programs worldwide and overrode the protocols that kept humans unharmed. Millions died, Atlas' mother first among them. When humanity started to win the war, however, the world's first AI terrorist fled into outer space.

Almost 30 years later, Atlas has grown into a brilliant but volatile analyst determined to find Harlan. When a lead finally reveals his hideout, she bullies her way onto the mission to recover him, led by Colonel Elias Banks (Sterling K. Brown), whose views on AI are markedly different. He and his platoon have embraced her mother's neural link tech and each sync with an AI-powered mecha suit. The resulting union, the thinking goes, makes them superior to their adversary. Choosing whether to trust her suit's program, Smith (Gregory James Cohan), could determine whether Atlas lives or dies.

The irony of reviewing a film about AI by saying it failed my Turing test isn't lost on me, but that is essentially what happened. Atlas is, by and large, a serviceable sci-fi action movie . It has some visible script issues, in particular an inability to stay ahead of the audience, and Liu's mastervillain is terribly bland. But the cohesive VFX brings this futuristic world and its spectacle-heavy combat to life, and Lopez came ready to anchor this two-hander-with-a-robot.

In another world, all it's really guilty of is being just okay . But I felt completely inactivated by this movie . I connected to no one, cared about nothing. The emotional tenor of scenes rose and fell without moving me in the slightest.

Optimistic and agnostic views on AI are usually predicated on engaging with its world-destroying potential as a hypothetical; that they can conceivably win out when that's a demonstrable reality is quite a position to take.

At first, I struggled to understand why. The screenplay deploys a few different techniques to shape our relationships to certain characters, and while it's easy to see through to the dramatic purpose of specific scenes, they were still executed well enough to work. Most roles seemed a bit thankless, but I (for the most part) wasn't bumping the performances. I couldn't even fall back on the style-over-substance cliché, because that would've at least left me with something to hold onto.

Atlas Is Missing The One Thing Every Sci-fi Movie Needs

And nothing can really compensate for it.

Once I zeroed in on the pacing, I understood. Atlas is definitely story-driven, and moves through scenes like it's eager to get to the next chapter. The most interesting thing about any given moment is what is happening, sometimes because of what that reveals about Atlas. That obviously puts a lot of pressure on the plot to be interesting, but it also betrays the movie's complete lack of curiosity — the " superficiality " part of being perfunctory.

There is a wealth of potential beneath the veneer of this story that the filmmakers simply don't care to explore.

Take Lopez's introduction: Atlas is reluctantly woken by a smart home-style robot, which almost immediately asks her if she'd like to resume their chess game, since she fell asleep while playing. Despite being groggy, and concentrating on multiple video feeds at once, she occasionally speaks chess moves aloud until, just as she's walking out the door, she delivers the winning blow. It showcases her intelligence, her competitiveness, her ability to multitask. A save-the-cat moment, if we're supposed to find our protagonist impressive instead of endearing.

What it doesn't show is why Atlas, who grew up surrounded by robots until one murdered her mother, is comfortable with this level of technology at all. Has she overcome her trauma? No. In fact, her character arc is predicated on her inability to trust AI. So what does this say about her? Does she enjoy having dominion over tech in her own home? Did her childhood leave her better at connecting with machines than people, even if she loathes them?

The movie doesn't think to ask, and doesn't want us to, either. The line distinguishing the AI Atlas fears and the programs she doesn't think twice about is never defined . The whole world is this dynamic on hyperdrive: Atlas opens with newsreel footage of Harlan's reign of terror, which includes a hacked factory arm wheeling around to crush unsuspecting workers. Not only did mechanization progress after that, but humanity went back to AI, and even experimented with connecting their brains to it.

So, in this future, we build Skynet -lite and millions die. Then, when we crawl back from the brink, we double down . I'm not highlighting this simply to call it out as implausible — it actually isn't hard for me to envision a world of people so dependent on technology that they can't give it up, even after mass death. But the idea that we're just supposed to take it all for granted is maddening. There is a wealth of potential beneath the veneer of this story that the filmmakers simply don't care to explore.

Atlas (2024)

Atlas' message on ai borders on a silicon valley psyop, but, thankfully, the movie's bark is worse than its bite.

Curiosity is practically the essence of science fiction; without it, Atlas has no soul . And, as the above scene illustrates, the characters suffer the same fate. They are all reduced to a list of facts about themselves that they accept with no sign of struggle or capacity for change. Atlas at least gets to develop her level of trust in AI, but from the perspective of drama, it may as well be an on/off switch that affects little else about who she is. No wonder I found her journey so uninvolving.

Netflix's library contains an impressive number of science fiction movies. Here is a list of the ten best films to stream right now.

At its least offensive, Atlas scratches an itch, perfunctorily. However, I could read it in terms of our current moment and come up with something much worse. The film responds to growing anxieties around artificial intelligence by admitting, yes, it could evolve to try and wipe us out. But it's also a tool, and we should still put it everywhere, even in our brains. If Atlas can learn to trust it after everything she went through, then you, humble viewers, should have no problem doing the same.

That is, when you boil it down, what this movie has to say on the topic of AI. It breezes right past saying the quiet part out loud to having no awareness of a need to modulate volume at all. Optimistic and agnostic views on AI are usually predicated on engaging with its world-destroying potential as a hypothetical; that they can conceivably win out when that's a demonstrable reality is quite a position to take. But don't be too concerned. Worrying about Atlas ' message would require a lot more faith in it as a delivery system than is warranted.

Atlas is available to stream on Netflix May 24. The film is 118 minutes long and rated PG-13 for strong sci-fi violence, action, bloody images and strong language.

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The Best Movies New to Every Major Streaming Platform in May 2024

David ehrlich.

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Netflix may get most of the attention, but it’s hardly a one-stop shop for cinephiles looking to stream essential classic and contemporary films. Each of the prominent streaming platforms caters to its own niche of film obsessives.

From the boundless wonders of the Criterion Channel to the new frontiers of streaming offered by the likes of Ovid and Paramount Plus, IndieWire’s monthly guide highlights the best of what’s coming to every major streamer, with an eye toward exclusive titles that may help readers decide which of these services is right for them.

Here is your guide for May 2024.

“The Breaking Ice” (dir. Anthony Chen, 2023)

Even by the Criterion Channel’s own sky-high standards, the streamer’s May lineup is an absolute bonanza. The fun starts with an expertly curated tribute to the most popular year in movies, as a retro on the glory days of 1999 brings you everything from “Beau Travail” and “Bringing out the Dead” to Spike Lee’s underappreciated “Summer of Sam” and Sofia Coppola’s “The Virgin Suicides.” Meanwhile, anyone looking to dive a bit deeper into the past need look no further than a series called “Hollywood Crack-Up: The Decade American Cinema Lost its Mind,” which pays homage to the finest on-screen freakouts of the 1960s with “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Seconds,” “Targets,” and a whole lot more.

And now that Venice is making tourists pay to visit during the summer, the most cost-effective way to enjoy the city might be the Channel’s retrospective of the best movies that have been set there; David Lean’s “Summertime” is a lovely place to start, but don’t leave before catching Luchino Visconti’s “Death in Venice” and Paul Schrader’s “The Comfort of Strangers,” which Criterion’s physical media brand has rightfully helped to reclaim from its unearned reputation. 

And that’s it… if you don’t count a classic-laden tribute to Columbia’s Golden Era (“From Here to Eternity,” “On the Waterfront,” “Bonjour Tristesse,” etc.), Nobuhiko Obayashi’s “Antiwar Trilogy” (a must for anyone who only thinks of him as the “Hausu” guy), a Shirley MacLaine retro that spans from “The Trouble with Harry” in 1955 to “Bernie” in 2011, films by Michael Roemer (“Vengeance Is Mine”) and Ayoka Chenzira (“Alma’s Rainbow”), and more and more and more. I’m only singling out Anthony Chen’s exquisite “The Breaking Ice” because it flew too far under the radar when it was released earlier this year, and this frigid love triangle deserves a second chance now that “Challengers” has sparked a new interest in such things. 

All titles available to stream May 1.

“The Sales Girl” (dir. Janchivdorj Sengedorj, 2022)

Janchivdorj Sengedorj’s “The Sales Girl” is a wise and winsome coming-of-age story about a shy, virginal nuclear engineering student named Saruul (wonderful newcomer Bayartsetseg Bayangerel) who finds herself subbing in for the sales clerk at a Mongolian sex shop after her friend slips on a banana peel and breaks her leg — Saruul naturally tells her parents that she’s taken a part-time job in “the organ trade.”

Comically ill-equipped for the job of selling dildos and delivering lubes to hotel rooms after hours, Saruul soon strikes up an unexpected friendship with the store’s middle-aged owner, Katya (Enkhtuul Oidovjamts), a larger-than-life primadonna who thinks of her business as a pharmacy for people in desperate need of pleasure. What starts as a muted fish-out-of-water comedy gradually matures into something more profound, as Katya’s carpe diem attitude toward life teases Saruul out of her shell. But Sengedorj has little interest in broad punchlines or tear-jerking sentimentality. On the contrary, his film balances out its giggly subject with a movingly contemplative approach to growing up.

“The Sales Girl” stays true to its wry sensibilities from start to finish, with several endearing scenes devoted to Saruul’s silly-sweet exploration of her own sexuality, but any tawdriness is leveraged into a searching and heartfelt meditation on the nature of happiness in a world that seldom has much of it to offer. Throw in rich cinematography and a gorgeous indie pop soundtrack by Dulguun Bayasgalan, who occasionally performs his songs on-screen during Saruul’s daydreams, and you have a memorably wistful tale about the feeling that “life will pass you by while you’re walking around staring at your boots.”

Available to stream May 24

Other highlights:

– “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” (5/3) – “Banu” (5/3) – “Silent Land” (5/31)

“The Contestant” (dir. Clair Titley, 2023)

It takes chutzpah to open your documentary with archival footage of a news anchor saying “If you put what we’re about to show you in a movie, I doubt anyone would believe it,” but Clair Titley’s “The Contestant” has the goods to back it up. If the story told here were the subject of a scripted biopic, it would smack of exaggeration or gross dramatic license; if it were told in a narrative film, it would seem about as realistic as Park Chan-wook’s “Oldboy,” which might be the work of fiction that it most closely resembles. In Titley’s hands, however, the harrowing tale of the cruelest reality show ever conceived — in which a man known as Nasubi was stripped naked, left in a bare apartment, and told that he would only be released once he won $8,000 worth of prizes from magazine contests — is all too believable. Dusting off a story from the late ’90s, Titley’s film is made all the more unsettling for how accurately Nasubi’s ordeal predicted the torturous mind games that reality television programs have inflicted upon their contestants ever since. And how eagerly the rest of us still are to watch along.

Available to stream May 2

– “Eileen” (5/10) – “The Sweet East” (5/17) – “Ferrari” (5/24)

“Sunset Song” (dir. Terence Davies, 2016)

Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s 1932 novel “Sunset Song” had been swelling inside the late Terence Davies for more than 40 years, and the sensitive British filmmaker — who suffered an almost religious torment in the process of bringing his projects to the screen — had been trying to adapt the book for almost as long. Some things are worth the wait.

“Sunset Song” offers a plaintive World War I-era story of a tall Aberdeenshire farm girl named Chris Guthrie (a magnificent Agyness Deyn) who feels closer to her family’s land than she does any of the men who try to reap it with her, and gorgeous 65mm cinematography makes it easy to appreciate that attachment. The film accumulates a tender beauty as the narrative slowly melts into myth, and — as the war takes hold — Chris becomes less of an individual woman than an undying symbol of femininity and forgiveness. 

It was a natural progression for Davies, who sculpted by omission and tells impossibly wistful stories in the time between time. His films are rooted in memory and swaddled by nostalgia, suspended between an acutely remembered past and the unbearably painful present that it left in its wake. With Chris, he found a character who feels that dislocation in her bones, and the ache of it would be too much to bear if not for the strength of her roots. “Nothing endured but the land,” she says, sublimating herself into the earth itself. “Sea, sky, and the folk who lived there were but a breath. But the land endured. And she felt in the moment that she was the land.”

Available to stream May 14

– “Sushi Girl” (5/1) – “Barking Dogs Never Bite” (5/15) – “Sound of Noise” (5/15)

“The Iron Claw” (dir. Sean Durkin, 2023)

A true-life American tragedy that leverages the summery Texas idyll of “Dazed & Confused” into a larger than life — but heartbreakingly sincere — re-telling of “King Lear,” “The Iron Claw” is a wrestling epic inspired by a legend so sad that writer-director Sean Durkin felt like he had to sand it down in order for it to seem believable on screen. Inverting the fake-it-so-real ethos of a sport that’s long been enjoyed as a form of steroidal theater (its operatic melodrama sustained by the exaggerated nature of its spectacle and vice-versa), Durkin’s film dials back the body count so that the scale of its loss doesn’t make it impossible for audiences to accept that it actually happened, or to exalt in the love that it ultimately left behind. 

No matter: Just as a “fake” wrestling punch could probably knock you unconscious, even this “watered down” story about the curse that Fritz Von Erich passed down to his sons like a self-fulfilling prophecy is still powerful enough to pile-drive you with the force of a WWE World Champion. You can call it “‘The Virgin Suicides’ for boys,” you can call it “Louisa May Alcott’s ‘Little He-Men,’” you can even call it an insult to Chris Von Erich’s memory if you want. However you choose to think of it, “The Iron Claw” deserves at least one title that simply cannot be contested: This is the undisputed heavyweight tear-jerker of the last few years.

Available to stream May 10

– “All About My Mother” – “The Florida Project” (5/1) – “Stop Making Sense” (5/3)

“A Night of Knowing Nothing” (dir. Payal Kapadia, 2021)

Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia is about to become a major name in world cinema, as her much-anticipated new feature “All We Imagine As Light” is due to premiere in Competition at Cannes next week. Those who can’t make it to the festival would do well to catch up with Kapadia’s breakthrough documentary on Metrograph at Home, which teed her up for international success. Here is an excerpt from the rave review of “A Night of Knowing Nothing” that Siddhant Adlakha wrote for IndieWire in the fall of 2021:

“A dreamlike documentary that magnifies the personal until it reveals a lucid political collage, Payal Kapadia’s feature debut ‘A Night of Knowing Nothing’ is composed of archival footage, student chronicles of contemporary protests, and letters whispered aloud to an absent lover. Co-written by Kapadia and Himanshu Prajapati, its fictitious framing device — a box discovered in a room at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), containing lost film reels and a diary written by a student known only as ‘L’ — creates several floating layers of dramatic reality, which gently fall atop each other to create a vivid portrait of revolt and oppression, love and pain, and philosophical thought threatened by nationalist agenda.

The central thesis of this New York Film Festival Currents selection can be boiled down to a single question: What is the purpose of a university in modern India? However, its approach to this seemingly simple idea is boldly multifaceted, from its ghostly depiction of young love that blossoms in the absence of parents (and curdles when they re-enter the picture), to its exploration of the modern Indian film school — using decades-old student reels to create an artistic continuum — to the vital role of the student protest within India’s political milieu, and its self-reflexive goal of using socialized education to level the playing field.”

Available to stream May 1

Other highlights: 

– “Girlhood” (5/1) – “Pamfir” (5/3) – “Three Crowns of the Sailor” (5/10)

“Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World” (dir. Radu Jude, 2023)

MUBI is one of several prominent streamers that tends to celebrate Cannes each May, but this year it’s come up with a very different approach: “Le Booing,” a series devoted to movies that were jeered on the Croisette. Olivier Dahan’s Nicole Kidman vehicle “Grace of Monaco” may not have that “so bad it’s good” magic when you’re not watching it from the third balcony of a massive theater while wearing a tuxedo you bought online for $60, but there’s really only way to find out (ditto Jodie Foster’s “The Beaver” and Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Only God Forgives”). On a slightly less trollish note, MUBI has also chosen to stream two of the best films that have ever premiered at Cannes, Lee Chang-dong’s “Secret Sunshine” and “Burning.” What’s more, subscribers will also get first crack at one of the best films the festival missed out on last year, Radu Jude’s electric and utterly essential “Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World,” a postmodern masterpiece of “cinema and economics” that happens to feature the greatest Uwe Boll performance you could ever hope to see — even if he’s outshined by the unfiltered genius of “Bobita” at every turn. 

Available to stream May 3

– “Burning” (5/1) – “Secret Sunshine” (5/1) – “Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry” (5/14)

“A Simple Favor” (dir. Paul Feig, 2018)

Netflix’s May slate represents the steamer’s usual grab bag of newish library titles (“Starship Troopers,” “Upgrade,” “The Matrix Resurrections”), orphaned blockbusters that nobody else was all that eager to snap up (“Madame Web”), and Originals that range from hard-hitting Netflix premieres (Yance Ford’s anti-policing doc “Power”) and would-be crowd-pleasers (see: “Atlas,” which stars Jennifer Lopez as an AI-skeptical data scientist who runs into some computer trouble in deep space). I’m mostly highlighting Paul Feig’s “A Simple Plan” because this is a great opportunity to remind yourself why this criminally enjoyable wine-drunk delight is a lot more fun during a group trip to the movie theater than it is when you watch it alone on your couch, a difference that I would really love to impress upon the good folks over at Amazon MGM Studios before they foolishly release their upcoming sequel straight into the streaming void. 

Available to stream May 19

– “Starship Troopers” (5/1) – “Power” (5/17) – “Atlas” (5/24)

“Midnight Traveler” (dir. Hassan Fazili, 2019)

Over the course of 1,000 days and as many miles, Hassan Fazili used three cell phones to record almost every step of his family’s perilous journey from their native Afghanistan (where the progressive director was targeted by the Taliban) to their current home in Central Europe, capturing a contemporary migrant experience from the most immediate and ground-level of perspectives. It’s a project that was made to restore a certain way of seeing; to punch a hole through the screen that separates people from the reality of what’s happening in their world. But in trying to get so close to the truth without touching it, Hassan almost fell into the same gap that he was trying to bridge; the most harrowing moments of his bracing and essential film find him perilously close to losing the same perspective that he’s trying to share with the world. Those personal missteps perversely make for an even stronger movie, as “Midnight Traveler” resolves into a riveting portrait of a crisis with no end in sight.

Available to stream May 30

– “Deserted Station” (5/3) – “Robe of Gems” (5/10) – “Aberdeen” (5/23)

“Mourning in Lod” (dir. Hilla Medalia, 2023)

“Mourning in Lod,” made by the Israeli director Hilla Medalia, was originally conceived as a documentary short about a murdered Israeli man whose kidney was donated to a Palestinian woman in East Jerusalem who would have died without the organ transplant. That feel-good story of grace and humanity amid the violence of the 2021 Israel-Palestine crisis is still on the surface of the potent, if scattershot, 71-minute feature that Medalia cut together in the end, but it’s almost completely overshadowed by the parallel — and far more ambivalent — story it tells about the value of personal charity in the face of systemic oppression.

Concise and knowingly, regrettably unresolved, “Mourning in Lod” does what it can to weave a single episode of hope and civility into a tortured history of sectarian violence, and Medalia makes a commendable effort to root the feel-good story she first intended to shoot in the awful context of the political and humanitarian crises that surround it. Her film is not, as some might fear, a hagiographic portrait of an Israeli man’s posthumous gift to his Palestinian neighbor. Instead, she turns her attention to the Israeli organ donor, whose murder was instigated by the murder of a Palestinian neighbor the previous night. What good is a drop of kindness in an ocean of cruelty and killing? “Mourning in Lod” refuses to settle for easy answers, but it soberly crystallizes the anger and heartache that hovered in the air in the days leading up to October 7, 2023.

Available to stream May 17

– “Annihilation” (5/1) – “Days of Heaven” (5/1) – “In the Cut” (5/1)

“Rolling Thunder” (dir. John Flynn, 1974)

Quentin Tarantino’s job is making movies, but his passion — as anyone who’s read his book, listened to his podcast, attended his secret screening at Cannes, or simply paid any degree of attention to him at all over the last 30 years could tell you — is raving about John Flynn’s 1977 revenge thriller “Rolling Thunder.” And for good reason: This A-grade B-picture, about a traumatized Vietnam vet (William Devane) who returns home from seven years as a POW only for some local goons to murder his wife and child, is as lean and mean and deeply satisfying as it gets (the script was co-written by Paul Schrader, and it shows). Throw in a young Tommy Lee Jones as the hero’s best friend/brother-in-arms, a climactic shootout for the ages, and a lethal dose of renegade justice and you’ve got an exploitation classic for the ages. 

– “On the Waterfront” (5/1) – “American Fiction” (5/2) – “Creed” (5/15/)

“Blood and Black Lace” (dir. Mario Bava, 1964)

Shudder’s May slate includes a handful of new streaming exclusives, including the creepy “Stopmotion” and the long-awaited sequel to 1997’s “Nightwatch,” but our pick of the month belongs to Mario Bava, whose giallo delights are always a highlight whenever they make their way to the streaming world. Here is what IndieWire’s Wilson Chapman had to say about the immaculately titled “Blood and Black Lace” when he included it on our list of the best giallo films : “Set in the world of Rome’s fashion industry, the movie stars Eva Bartok and Cameron Mitchell as the co-owners of a successful fashion house that is plagued by scandal and later by a mysterious murderer preying upon the models. A visual feast, Bava’s masterpiece is best remembered today for its iconic bathtub murder scene, which directors like Martin Scorsese and Pedro Almodóvar would later imitate.”

– “Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever” (5/17) – “The Lift” (5/20) – “Stopmotion” (5/31)

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Bring Home Your Own ‘M3GAN’ Doll Courtesy of Mondo

She's the first of her kind.

The Big Picture

• M3GAN is a slasher doll movie with unexpected dance moves, chilling story, and cosplay-worthy features for fans.
• New 1/6 scale figure of M3GAN comes with swappable heads, paper cutter blade, and movie-accurate clothing.
• M3GAN follows a lifelike doll turning dangerous, grossing $181 million worldwide, and announces a sequel leaning into the AI universe.

Seldom is there a slasher movie that immerses its audience completely into a world full of gore and chilling violence, Blumhouse’s M3GAN is one such feature. Directed by Gerard Johnstone , the slasher doll movie took fans by surprise with its unexpected dance moves, chilling story, and cosplay worthy of Halloween . While another iteration of the blockbuster science fiction horror film is on the way , Mondo has unveiled a new 1/6 scale figure to creep out fans further, Bloody Disgusting reports.

The new figure comes with many interesting additional features like standard and battle damage swappable head , paper cutter blade, stylus, swappable fists, neutral hands as well as swappable torn ear hand. The figure comes complete with a head display figure stand, fabric dress, faux hair, a bow, and movie-accurate clothing.

“Designed by Senior Creative Director Hector Arce , M3GAN arrives in brilliant packaging courtesy of in-house designer extraordinaire Jordan Christianson ,” Mondo said in a statement, “And thanks to the paint application by the mega-talented Viola Wittrocka and brilliant photography by Raúl Barrero , our product photos keep getting mistaken for actual film stills.”

What’s ‘M3GAN’ About?

M3GAN follows a lifelike doll that's programmed to be a child's greatest companion and a parent's greatest ally. The doll is designed by a brilliant roboticist, Gemma, who designed it to listen, watch, and learn as it plays the role of friend, teacher, and playmate for young kids. Things take a turn when Gemma becomes the unexpected caretaker of her 8-year-old niece, and she decides to give the girl an M3GAN prototype, which leads to unimaginable consequences. The movie surprised fans and grossed over $181 million worldwide against a budget of $12 million. It’s highly acclaimed for its campy blend of humor and horror, garnering a 93 percent rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes . Banking on its success the makers announced a sequel M3GAN 2.0 which will lean into the AI universe .

The movie stars Allison Williams as Gemma, Violet McGraw as Cady, Ronny Chieng as David, Brian Jordan Alvarez as Cole, Jen Van Epps as Tess, Stephane Garneau-Monten as Kurt, and Lori Dungey as Celia. Further rounding off the cast are Amy Usherwood , Jack Cassidy , Michael Saccente , Samson Chan-Boon , Kira Josephson, and more. Young actor Amie Donald plays M3GAN while Jenna Davis provides the voice for the slasher doll.

The M3GAN 1/6 scale figures are available on May 28. M3GAN is available to stream on Prime Video .