Every once in a while I will go through a phase of wanting to watch a certain genre of films or a bunch by a certain director or starring a certain actor. When this occurs, I fill up my Netflix queue, Hulu list and watchlists on other streaming services with these films I never end up getting to because I become distracted by a new show or new film that comes out and end up wanting to watch more like it.

There is an overwhelming amount of content on these streaming services that they use to attempt to ensnare you in a binge-watching hole for hours, days, weeks or months on end. With all of these films lined up that I want to watch, sometimes it is impossible to keep track of what I have yet to see. I often just forget to go back to the earliest additions to my list and never end up seeing them and when the title comes up in conversation my response is always, “Ah I’ve been meaning to watch that. It’s been on my list forever,” and then I still hardly ever end up watching it.

When I do finally get around to watching the films, I always enjoy telling people about them and discussing the film with my friends who have also watched them. Lucky for me, I have a similar taste in movies as a few of my friends, so we often share the same feelings or thoughts about a film after watching it. Sometimes, it takes pure coincidence or a bit of asking around to find a friend that has seen some of the less popular or just random films that I have happened to have seen.

Last semester, a couple friends showed me this app called Letterboxd. This app allows you to make a watchlist containing any film regardless of where you are able to watch it. Once you watch any of the films on your watchlist, you can go back to the list and leave a rating and review for your friends on the app to view and comment on. On the profile page, the user’s most recent reviews/ratings are shown as well as his/her four favorite films, watchlist and diary of reviews and ratings.

Letterboxd has changed the way I watched movies. The extra level of interaction I have with my friends when we see each other post reviews and/or ratings adds to the comradery of being a film enthusiast. It has led to several fun conversations/debates about the movies we enjoy as well as the ones we felt fell flat. One of the debates sparked between my friend and I was about the film Tenet (2020). I enjoyed the film a lot, but my friend had a several hasty reasons for not liking it nearly as much as myself. This is one of many controversies my friend and I have had over films in our diaries. We have both sat in front of each other scrolling through and debating/questioning the ratings we have given several different films.

My favorite section of the app is the “Favorites” section on the profile page. I enjoy looking at what my friends’ top four films are as well as showing off my top four which are in no particular order: Whiplash (2014), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Knives Out (2019) and Gladiator (2000). As one could tell by my favorites, I am a fan of Chris Evans.

I highly recommend Letterboxd to anyone who loves film, especially to the people like me who want to watch too many to keep up with.