It’s a Friday night. You’re with a group of people – family, friends or maybe just you and your significant other. Regardless of who you’re with, if you want to watch a movie it can be quite difficult to choose a movie that you will all enjoy. Differing tastes, opinions and perceptions all play a role in ensuring that choosing a mutually agreed upon movie is going to be a difficult task. Luckily a new service called Foundd has come onto the scene.
Foundd is a web service which allows you to rate movies that you’ve seen. It then takes the ratings and gives you a watchlist based upon those ratings. This is pretty standard practice, so Foundd’s new and unique feature is the ability to create groups with friends who have also rated movies. The app allows you to find a movie that the whole group can agree upon just by clicking a few buttons. Stay with me after the jump to learn more about the service for just you and for your next movie watching group.
Rating Movies
Before jumping into the ratings and viewing system, you have to invest a few moments in the set-up of Foundd. You can choose to connect with Facebook or Twitter. Foundd also offers the option to connect with just an email address, which seems too often to be a rarity. The downside is that social and group-list features are available only if you connect with Facebook, but more on that later.
Once you are signed up and signed in, the important stuff can begin. You must rate at least 20 movies (although the more, the better) before you are able to view your watchlist or utilize any advanced features. The rating screen gives you the option to rate the movie up to 5 stars, or to simply click the “don’t know” button if you haven’t seen the movie before.
Pineapple Express gets a 4 out of 5 as I rate movies I’ve seen.
In case you need a quick refresher while rating movies, Foundd includes a few screenshots, a link to a trailer and an info button on every movie block.
Your Watchlist
After you have rated at least 20 movies, you can check out your watchlist to view the movies Foundd recommends, based upon your personal taste. Each movie has the standard trailer, info and stills. You can find the movie on both Netflix and iTunes, thanks to the convenient links on each movie.
Perusing the movies now showing up in my watch list.
You can also rate or remove any movies you wish. The same 5 star rating system is available if you have seen the movie before. If you wish to remove the movie without rating it, you can also remove films from the watchlist with just one click.
Another great feature of the watchlist is the filter ability. You can filter the movies on your watchlist by genre, which is not a terribly innovative feature. A more exciting filter option is the ability to select where the movie is available. Netflix DVDs, iTunes and Netflix Instant are all options available.
It’s easy to filter by genre or watch location.
Invite/Groups
While Foundd has some cool stuff going on, up to this point it isn’t anything more than another movie rating service. Foundd breaks off in a new direction, however, with the introduction of various social features. First are the little integrations. Things like a “share” button on each movie you rate or watch, which allows you to post to Facebook or Twitter about the movies on your list.
The most exciting feature, however, is the ability to create group watchlists. You start by inviting friends to join you. You can choose to send Facebook invitations and personal messages or to invite by email. The Facebook friends you successfully invite show up in your friend’s list once they connect to Foundd.
You can invite friends by email or Facebook message.
After you have some Facebook friends on the service, you can create group watchlists. These lists take into account the ratings that both you and any group members have made so far. This is definitely the best part of Foundd. Thanks to Foundd, finding a movie to watch with friends or roommates is infinitely easier. The list tends to have great recommendations and we can filter the list for only movies available on Netflix Instant. Friday nights are now a lot easier, thanks to Foundd.
Adding friends to my group lists.
My one big complaint is that Foundd does not allow you to create groups with anyone except friends from Facebook. I think that you should be able to create groups with members contacted solely via email. At the very least, integration with other social networks is necessary.
Final Thoughts
Foundd is a cool service. It’s a great new twist on a traditional movie rating and recommendation service. The recommendations are generally pretty solid, and the ability to make a group watchlist has saved me from frustration many times. Other than the singular integration with Facebook in some instances, I don’t really have any complaints. The app is easy to navigate, simple to understand, innovative and offers great results. They are even planning to expand the service, with new sections for things like music and apps.
Upcoming data types soon to be available on Foundd. I can’t wait!
I think Foundd is a fantastic app. I am curious, however, to get your opinion. Have you tried Foundd? Were you pleased with the results? Do you have a different service that you prefer? Share your thoughts in the comments below.