Prior to the Internet, movie-going was a relatively simple activity – look up movie times in the newspaper, head to the theatre to buy the tickets, and watch the movie. Today, however, movie-going can be a much more interactive experience involving research and planning before you even set foot in the theatre. Moviefone, Fandango, MovieTickets.com, and Rotten Tomatoes are the best sites to visit before you head to the theatre.
Moviefone lists the movies that are currently playing in theatres, organized by city or zip code. Featuring movie posters, trailers, show times, plot details, and advance tickets, Moviefone has all the information you need to decide what movie to see. Each movie page also has a comments section at the bottom where you can write a quick review of the film.
Fandango offers similar services as Moviefone, such as trailers, movie details, and show times, but it sells tickets to more movie theatres (16,000 screens). Fandango also offers film clips, movie news, and interviews with actors.
MovieTickets.com strives to be a “virtual box office” – users can buy tickets online or from their smart phones. MovieTickets.com has an international presence, reaching outside the United States into Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Mexico, and Argentina. For most theatres, MovieTickets.com lets you print your tickets at home, saving time (and possibly waiting in line) at the box office. If you register (for free) at MovieTickets.com, you can buy tickets faster without having to reenter your credit card information, and you can get invited to free movie screenings.
Although you can’t buy tickets at Rotten Tomatoes, you can get in-depth information and reviews about current box office movies. Percentages appear all over the site, indicating how well-liked a particular movie is according to critics and users on Rotten Tomatoes. The Tomatometer (also called T-meter) measures how good a movie is – a good review (above 60% approval) gets a fresh red tomato, while a bad review (below 60%) gets a rotten green tomato.