Shortcut: Movie Information

Shortcuts
1

I built this Shortcuts workflow to quickly get movie information when I’m browsing iTunes or Netflix for something to watch. Rather than switching over to Safari, opening a new tab, typing the URL, loading the web site, typing the name of the movie, then going back to iTunes, you can just install this Shortcut. Then, use the system-wide share sheet to get information about the movie in a few taps!

What it Does:
Activate this workflow from the systemwide share sheet, as follows:

  1. Find a movie title in iTunes or Netflix; or, type the name of the movie in a text editor like Drafts and “share” the text.
  2. Tap Shortcuts on the bottom row of the share sheet. (If it’s not visible there, tap More, then toggle Shortcuts on.)
  3. Tap the Movie Information workflow.
  4. Choose a lookup service:

The services available are:

  • IMDB, to look up plot summaries, cast, and production information
  • JustWatch, a great service for looking up streaming sites that might have an iTunes movie for free
  • Common Sense Media to see if the movie is appropriate for the whole family
  • Rotten Tomatoes, for movie reviews

The workflow uses regular expression matching to determine if the link was shared from Netflix or iTunes, and then it strips out the extraneous information to leave just the name. If the text passed into the workflow doesn’t match one of these formats, the workflow assumes it is a movie title in plain text and uses that string for the search.

Note: Due to format differences, this workflow might not work with localization settings outside the U.S.

Download:

Your Turn:
Do you have a favorite app or movie lookup service not covered by the workflow? Build an enhancement and post it back here for everyone to see!

3 Likes
2

Sweet! I thought about making one of these; just didn’t have the time to dig into the API. Nice work, man! I added it to the list.

3

Is there any way to add the capability to search for movies that are upcoming on cable? For example. if a movie, such as Eraserhead, were soon to be broadcast on TCM, are there any accessible sources that have “upcoming on cable” listings for movies?

I would like to automate seeing which movies on a watchlist are coming up. I haven’t been able to find a way to do this.

4

@Quahog, do you have a favorite search service you use to find streaming schedules?

5

I just use the search function on Youtube TV, which shows movies coming up in the next 2 weeks. But it sometimes misses some.