With the shutting down of movie theaters due to the pandemic, there has been a lack of viewership in movies and new box office hits. This has been very upsetting for me and many others given that it has been years since I have been to a movie theater. Despite this, a new hope was introduced to me on September 5, 2021: Letterboxd. My good friend, Genevieve Geils got me hooked into this cinematic reviewing universe and I have been requested by Jake Freudenheim to write an article regarding this app. I have not looked back since I was introduced to this new wave and you should not either.

Upon downloading the app and setting up your login information, you are greeted with a seemingly infinite list of movies and indicate whether you have watched each one or not. Along with filling this out  you are given the option to like the movies and rate them on a scale of one to five stars. After doing this for nearly an hour, I had rated a grand total of 191 movies. This global social networking app had already proved to me its glory and the new-found addiction was just beginning. 

Not only do you get to rate films that you have watched, but you are given the ability to review them. I have caught myself looking through the reviews of countless movies and seeing what people have to say about them for an embarrassing amount of time. This app is so perfect because it makes the users feel as though they are movie critics and are given free range to share their opinions to the Letterboxd community. There is something satisfying about reading a review about a movie and having this random person’s opinions align with yours, especially when they are unpopular ones. Like any other social media platform, Letterboxd holds reviews that do not hold back and are very entertaining to scroll through. A user by the name, Hungkat described the plot of the new movie, Dear Evan Hansen (which has not been a huge success among audiences) as “basically the ‘s(he) be(li)ev(ed)’ meme”. There are numerous reviews on any movie you could think of that have literally made me laugh out loud. Another one of my favorite reviews comes from the user BRAT under the movie Finding Nemo when they said, “i miss when pixar movies were 75% singular adventure, 25% sentimental message instead of the other way around”. The reviews are definitely one of my favorite aspects of this app because people are ruthless online and it never fails to be funny.

Although the reviews never disappoint, the best feature of the app has to be, drum roll please, the favorite films section of each user’s profile. This highlights 4 movies that you choose to display front and center on your page. This says a lot about a person and has caused a lot of contemplation in my life the past month regarding what 4 movies embody me. Sharing my top movies makes me nervous because of the judgment that comes with liking certain films, but they are the following in no particular order: La La Land, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Jojo Rabbit and Wedding Crashers. It is very fun to view different profiles and get a first impression of a person by what they claim to be their favorite movies.

Another reason I have been absolutely obsessed with this app is because of all of the uproar over the release of the new Netflix show: Squid Game. I have been binging this show the past week and constantly checking Letterboxd to view different fan theories, undercover meanings, and reviews of the first season. Although the app revolves around movies, they also offer insights to different limited series. Squid Game lends itself perfectly to Letterboxd because there are many questions that are asked throughout the series and plot twists that people have touched on that make it very interesting to read about. There are also many questions on whether or not there will be a season two of this hit show, so many fans are predicting what the next season could possibly be about. Letterboxd is perfect for when new shows and movies release because there are countless numbers of reviews to read through and theories to question.

I currently only know three people that have the app other than me, so please consider downloading it and diving into the world of Letterboxd. My username is miamatthews, so please follow me if you get this app. I promise that you will not regret it, but you might spend more time on it than you are anticipating so be warned. I truly believe that Letterboxd is the next big thing, so why not be the cool one who beats the masses to it?