Have you ever wanted to keep track of the movies you watched or make a list of ones to watch? There is an app for that! Letterboxd is considered the Goodreads or Yelp for movies where users can log movies they watch, rate and review them and make watchlists. Unlike other review sites like IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes, Letterboxd is more accessible for both cinephiles and casual movie watchers.
“I feel like a lot of those review sites are taken a lot more seriously, and I think a lot of the spirit of Letterboxd comes from the fact that it’s just a very average, normal person [reviewing], and you get the whole view of everything,” senior Jack Fredericks said. “You get the silly little one- liners, and then you’ll get the big, long wiregraph paragraphs that are practically an essay under a movie.”
While Letterboxd has been around since 2011, social media and red carpet interviews asking actors and directors for their “Letterboxd Four Favorites” has recently brought the app into the spotlight. Below are some of the different features it offers and a guide in using it to get the best experience.
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An example of a user’s profile that followers can view
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A snapshot of the various movie lists Letterboxd offers
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The many different ways you can search for movies on Letterboxd to then watch on other streaming platforms
Rating and Reviewing
One of the benefits of using Letterboxd is that by logging in movies that you watch into your diary, it is easy to see your past reviews and ratings on them along with the date that they were watched. After watching a movie, just search up the movie on the app, rate it from a scale of 1-5 (with an option to do increments of ½), write however much or little you want about the movie and save it to your profile where it can be seen by others.
While similar to other movie review sites in that way, Letterboxd is different in that it can also be considered a social platform that encourages discovery with finding new movies and following friends to view their movie activity. There is a section just for that where it shows followers recently watched and rated movies, providing a way to interact with friends and their thoughts on a movie. Even if you do not want to rate a movie, just reading the different reviews provides insight into the selected film.
“My friends get to see [what I watched], and then it also encourages my friends to watch the same movies as me. I think the main thing I like about [Letterboxd] is the conversation,” Fredericks said.
Watchlists
Another feature of Letterboxd is that users can make watchlists for themselves to keep track of what movies to watch next and find lists made by others. There are hundreds of lists made by other users and even ones officially curated by Letterboxd to help find your next movie to watch. For example, the app allows you to browse by lists such as the more general “most popular” and “highest rated” lists and more detailed lists like “one million watched club” or movies that have won different awards. The days of wasting an hour pondering what to watch are over. The movie you have been meaning to watch but keep forgetting the name of? Solved by adding it to your Letterboxd watchlist to come back to later.
“It’s so good because if you’re feeling [a certain] vibe…you can search it up and then see someone has also thought of that, and they made a list of movies. It’s like Pinterest for movies,” senior Olivia McGowan said.
Discovery
At the heart of Letterboxd is discovery. The features and simple interface makes it easy and even encourages users to find films that are under the radar or older and enjoy the experience of watching a movie and telling others about it.
“It’s connecting you to so much new media that doesn’t [often] get its time in the spotlight, but does have thousands and thousands of reviews on Letterboxd,” McGowan said.
Letterboxd has a bit of everything for everyone from the dedicated movie buffs to those wanting to watch more quality movies but not quite sure where to start. So the next time you finish watching a movie and have a strong opinion on the ending that you want everyone to know or cannot decide movie night with family or friends, consider downloading Letterboxd. You might find a new favorite movie or two!
