A Tour of My Insane Letterboxd Profile, Just For You
You can learn a lot about a person based on their top four.
Ah, awards season. It’s the most pretentious time of the year: Film Twitter abounds with new watch threads, TikTok is abuzz with bad takes in the form of stitched videos… and, of course, the film bros’ Letterboxd profiles constantly update with rewatches of this year’s Oscar nominees.
I am not necessarily a film bro (I prefer the term “film girlboss”), but I do have a Letterboxd account. I’m active on it year-round, but I figured there’s no better than time Oscars lead-up to take you on a fun little tour through my deranged, disjointed, and sometimes disturbing diary of the movies I watch.
But wait — what if you’re a normal, well-adjusted adult with a life and had no idea what “Letterboxd” even is or why it’s so great? Fear not, dear reader, I am chronically online and know about these things so you don’t have to.
What is Letterboxd?
Letterboxd describes its concept as “social film discovery”, which I suppose is true. Fitting a site/app made for some of the most insufferable people on the planet (I pay for Pro membership, so I’m allowed to say that) has an even more niche and esoteric description.
It’s really not as deep as it sounds. Letterboxd is a social media platform for people to keep track of and review movies. You can comment on people’s reviews, follow other users, make lists, and explore what films are popular that week on the platform. The name comes from “letterbox”, a word that refers to the black bars on the sides or top and bottom of the screen when a movie shot in a certain aspect ratio is displayed in its original proportions.
The platform is free to use for anyone, but for access to more features (and a cool little badge next to your profile name that shows everyone you’re a loser with no life — again, I can say this), you can pay about $20 a year for a Pro subscription or $50 a year for a Patron subscription.
So, it’s a movie review app. Sure. Cool. But let me further explain why Letterboxd appeals to me, someone who did not consider myself a “movie person” until I started using it and took a deep dive into the platform's culture.
Why I use it
Although Letterboxd was initially intended as a movie-reviewing platform, it has truly grown so much larger than that. Upon Gen Z finding the app, Letterboxd has now become a game of “who can write the best witty one-liner” for their review. Twitter accounts like letterboxd reviews with a threatening aura (which I’ve been featured on a few times, not to flex) and best of letterboxd showcase the sense of humor of the average Letterboxd user. These kinds of users never take themselves too seriously, which made “getting into” movies a little less intimidating to me.
While there may be some incredibly pretentious film snobs out there who have a primal need to gatekeep, for the most part, commitment to the bit on Letterboxd is not only encouraged, but celebrated. If you take some time to respond to someone’s list or review in the comments, you might find yourself in an interesting conversation you would’ve never had otherwise. Every random stranger I’ve interacted with on Letterboxd has been nothing but kind and genuine, which I feel is a rarity on the internet nowadays.
In addition to its thriving global community, Letterboxd also has its own blog and podcast which both delve into the niche and new. It provides a space for creative people to be heard and listened to regarding film in all its forms. Even if you think you’ve seen everything good in your favorite genre, Letterboxd always has something new to offer you.
I love to track things. Letterboxd has this cool “diary” feature that shows you a visual list of what movies you watched on what date. Having a Pro subscription also gives you access to some cool yearly and all-time stats, like how often you’ve watched certain directors or actors or how all the movies you’ve watched pan out genre-wise.
There’s a lot to love about Letterboxd, and since joining in 2021, I think getting my thoughts out about the films I watch in a space where others deeply understand and value their merit has helped me find my identity as a creator. Once, a friend mistook me for a film major instead of an English major because I’m always talking about movies.
With all that being said, I proudly present you to…. my official Letterboxd profile tour.
My top four
An essential part of the Letterboxd profile is the “top four”, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: four films that are featured at the top of your profile. The shelf is labeled as “Favorites”, but the films you feature there don’t necessarily need to be that. They can be your four all-time favorites, your four current favorites, or just four films you want to showcase on your profile at that moment. Everybody has a different approach to the top four, but my top four are my all-time favorites.
Currently, this is what my top four look like:
I hope to one day do a write-up on all four of these films, but for now, I’ll just briefly explain why each of these films is among my favorites.
From left to right:
Midsommar (2019, dir. Ari Aster): I love Florence Pugh and anything coming out of the twisted mind of Ari Aster.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019, dir. Céline Sciamma): Gay.
Mulholland Drive (2001, dir. David Lynch): Gay but a little esoteric with it.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012, dir. Stephen Chbosky): Quintessential coming-of-age film based on the quintessential coming-of-age novel that every former Tumblr user has read.
Recent activity
Letterboxd doesn’t just feature your top four films — it also features the last four films you’ve watched. Users are encouraged to share their last four watched with the film community during “#LetterboxdFriday” on social media.
Sometimes your last four tell a story… Here’s mine in case you wanna figure the plot of it out.
From left to right, in order from most recently watched to last recently watched:
Cocaine Bear (2023, dir. Elizabeth Banks)
Koyaanisqatsi (1982, dir. Godfrey Reggio)
The Woman King (2022, dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood)
Come and See (1985, dir. Elem Klimov)
Ratings spread
Some people on Letterboxd are super particular about how their ratings spread looks. I’m not, and I’ve always been committed to rating the films I see based on how enjoyable they were for me, not just rating them five stars because everyone else in the reviews has or because it’s critically acclaimed.
Art — especially film — is highly subjective and it’s particularly important to me to stay true to what resonated with me in a piece and what didn’t.
Allow me to elaborate on what each star rating means to me and when I use them:
0.5 stars: You can’t rate things a 0 on Letterboxd, so if you see me rating something a .5, that’s why. The movie was so bad it doesn’t even deserve a full star or I probably couldn’t even get through the whole thing.
1 star: It certainly was a movie that I watched.
1.5 stars: I very rarely ever rate things like this. It was certainly a movie that I watched, and maybe there was a very minor detail or concept I liked about it to the point where it’d feel disingenuous to give it just one star.
2 stars: Not necessarily “bad” but one I didn’t enjoy. Nothing stood out and was good enough for me to give it 3 stars. Not very memorable and one I definitely wouldn’t watch or think about again.
2.5 stars: I don’t rate this very often either. Just a little less memorable than something I’d give 3 stars. Previous films I’ve rated a 2.5 have nothing blatantly awful about them, but they just didn’t hit for me.
3 stars: The most frequent rating I give films. If it’s three stars, it’s pretty “eh” and shoulder-shrug-worthy. Not really good, not really bad. Something I’m not mad I watched but something I most likely wouldn’t watch again. Truly middle-of-the-road cinema.
3.5 stars: My most frequent rating given. Still kinda “meh” but one I’d maybe consider watching again. I want to like it but it just didn’t give me the vibe of a four-star film.
4 stars: I liked it! A solid film and one I’d for sure watch again if I were showing it to someone who hadn’t seen it before.
4.5 stars: An objectively good film, but perhaps has some minor details or plot points that hold it back from being a full 5 stars. Plus, if every film were 5 stars, a 5-star rating wouldn’t be special anymore, would it?
5 stars: If I rank a film 5 stars it’s either one of my all-time favorites, one I think has no flaws, one I think everyone would see, or all three. It is cinema at its finest. Occasionally used as a joke (see my Morbius review in the next section).
Reviews
Reviews are, of course, the main highlight of Letterboxd. Presented without context, here are some favorites of my own.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. If you’d like to see more unhinged one-liner reviews and even a few that are actually in earnest, check them out here.
Lists
Lists on Letterboxd are actually amazing. On top of your standard, straightforward “best films of the decade” lists, you can find comprehensive collections with hundreds — sometimes thousands — of films that fall into a hyperspecific mood or genre, like films that meet the simple criteria of being “visually insane” or ones that are similar in some way to the myth of Sisyphus.
Finding a list that intrigues me is usually my first step in finding a film that intrigues me. And although I wish I could utilize the lists feature in the same creative and innovative way other Letterboxd users have, I am once again unfortunately only capable of being the funny guy. Here’s a selection of my favorite joke lists I’ve created during my time on Letterboxd.
Like with my reviews, I do have some lists that are genuine, like my ranking of every A24 film I’ve seen so far or my list of all-time favorites. I’m always updating and changing my lists, so if you want to see them all, check them out here. Don’t forget to check out the notes!
Letterboxd makes me laugh and it makes me think. It’s such a unique, neat platform that’s still somewhat of a hidden gem. If you don’t have one, I recommend you sign up for an account (FOR FREE) and try it out! If you don’t have anyone to be friends with on there, you can be friends with me — if you can still stand me after seeing my profile. I promise I’ll like all your reviews.
This article is part of an unofficial-official series of film-related content I’m doing over here in the lead-up to the 2023 Oscars. Follow me so you don’t miss what I have coming up!
Next time: a showcase of one of my most favorite underrated 90s psychological horror films. Hint: it’s in one of the lists linked in this article!
