Just wanted to say I dig the work you're doing and am glad to be a subscriber! First Reformed remains a movie that devastated me when I viewed it, and is a go-to recommendation to those who ask for movie picks, though always with the caveat that its efficacy can range from thought-provoking to day-ruining.
I find that if I go into a movie with intent to write about at-length it afterwards, it can ruin 'getting into' the film for me. Often the best writing I think I do about a movie is the writing that comes a day or two afterwards once it's had a chance to roil around my gray matter - and I do think it helps cement my feelings on it further. My Letterboxd usage evolved from 'gotta track all my movies' to an outlet for writing, whether long or short. I jokingly call it writing practice, but it does help me log key ideas I have about movies, or the larger ideas that form out of them. If other folks read them, great, if not, then they are there for me to reference when I need them.
I have found over time that my opinions on films are largely fluid - the pop-culture 'hidden gem' or 'overrated' calls that come daily now can push or pull my thoughts, as do conversations with others on film, though I tend to remain constant in my initial gut-check on a movie until I've had a chance to really re-watch it a few times. I enjoy the discourse, as if nothing else it helps me hew my sometimes fluffy thoughts on certain films or subjects to leaner forms of argument or opinion. I much prefer in-person discussion, as you are not (or rather, shouldn't) be facing as many chances to run face-first into the person who has spent ten minutes locking-and-loading a wall of text essay (not that no one ever bloviates in-person, but it's easier to interrupt, though I now have composed said wall-of-text here) or is perched to do a line-by-line dissection. Online is nice when you want to reference things, however - less lunging for my phone to take notes on recommendations when it's all documented in text.
Just wanted to say I dig the work you're doing and am glad to be a subscriber! First Reformed remains a movie that devastated me when I viewed it, and is a go-to recommendation to those who ask for movie picks, though always with the caveat that its efficacy can range from thought-provoking to day-ruining.
I find that if I go into a movie with intent to write about at-length it afterwards, it can ruin 'getting into' the film for me. Often the best writing I think I do about a movie is the writing that comes a day or two afterwards once it's had a chance to roil around my gray matter - and I do think it helps cement my feelings on it further. My Letterboxd usage evolved from 'gotta track all my movies' to an outlet for writing, whether long or short. I jokingly call it writing practice, but it does help me log key ideas I have about movies, or the larger ideas that form out of them. If other folks read them, great, if not, then they are there for me to reference when I need them.
I have found over time that my opinions on films are largely fluid - the pop-culture 'hidden gem' or 'overrated' calls that come daily now can push or pull my thoughts, as do conversations with others on film, though I tend to remain constant in my initial gut-check on a movie until I've had a chance to really re-watch it a few times. I enjoy the discourse, as if nothing else it helps me hew my sometimes fluffy thoughts on certain films or subjects to leaner forms of argument or opinion. I much prefer in-person discussion, as you are not (or rather, shouldn't) be facing as many chances to run face-first into the person who has spent ten minutes locking-and-loading a wall of text essay (not that no one ever bloviates in-person, but it's easier to interrupt, though I now have composed said wall-of-text here) or is perched to do a line-by-line dissection. Online is nice when you want to reference things, however - less lunging for my phone to take notes on recommendations when it's all documented in text.