Criterion Channel App

Criterion finally made a streaming app that doesn't feel like every other streaming app. I've been spending more time browsing it than actually watching anything. Films are grouped by director, movement, and country instead of algorithm-driven rows. You can go from a Kurosawa samurai film to a whole collection of 1960s Japanese New Wave without searching for anything. It treats me like I already care about film history rather than trying to convince me to watch whatever is trending. Curated collections change monthly, each with essays and introductions from actual filmmakers and critics. At $10.99 a month, I keep going back and forth on whether it's worth it alongside 3 other services. But the difference is I actually finish films on Criterion instead of scrolling for 20 minutes and giving up. The recommendation engine isn't aggressive. It quietly suggests related work and lets you decide. For a media app in 2024, that restraint feels like a feature, not a limitation.