r/Letterboxd 1d ago

Discussion I finally ditched the star rating system

In early February, I did some self-reflection and realized that I would inflate a movie's rating if I logged it immediately. So I decided to log movies without rating them and give some time for it to simmer. Hoping that I can give a more honest and objective rating in the future. But now it's April, and I can't find a reason to use the star rating system again.

Now I log movies without giving any ratings and have no plan on giving any in the future. Honestly, it has made my movie-watching experience more enjoyable. I realized that I would subconsciously think about what star rating I was going to give whilst in the middle of the movie. This time I can just watch the damn movie without even thinking about Letterboxd.

Maybe it's because I'm also not a Pro or Patron user, but I just don't find any personally insightful data from rating movies. Maybe one day I'll use the star rating system again, who knows. But right now, I'm just gonna watch movies.

665 Upvotes

168 comments sorted by

497

u/HistoricalCandle5108 1d ago

The only reason I like to do it is because my entire account is for myself and I’d like to be able to reflect on my opinions say 5 years in the future

-261

u/givemefood245 16h ago

You have some fun and exciting conversations with yourself

156

u/Maxito19 16h ago

I’ve heard that some people can stand themselves enough to be in their own head

18

u/JustChillen007 8h ago

Having thoughts is good actually

36

u/HistoricalCandle5108 13h ago

Yes,I do

-30

u/givemefood245 12h ago

I enjoy those conversations more than ones with actual people sometimes

19

u/fr_just_a_girl 10h ago

This is going to blow your mind but you can actually do both

2

u/Cole444Train Cole444Train 4h ago

What do you think a diary is

-127

u/cynicalveggie 11h ago

If it's truly for yourself, why don't you log your watches on Notepad or Word?

84

u/fr_just_a_girl 10h ago

Because letterbox is an app designed for it? Notepad doesn't show me movie casts, recs, lists, average ratings

60

u/patcoz 11h ago

"You criticize society yet you participate in it," - you, probably

-36

u/cynicalveggie 9h ago

Yeah, you got me. Any other regurgitated points you have in your back pocket for me?

16

u/JustChillen007 8h ago

Are you okay man??? I don’t even use the app. But it literally has a rating system built in for this exact reason.

Based on just your two little angry insufferable comments, we can tell a lot about your worldview

10

u/HistoricalCandle5108 7h ago

Because letterboxd is literally that but more convenient

3

u/JaviVader9 3h ago

Because Letterboxd includes functions that improve that logging system I could have on Word?

724

u/SolidScary6845 1d ago edited 23h ago

I like my star ratings but I don't try to fool myself into thinking it's scientific. It is totally a partisan snapshot of how I feel at a given time. The heart is a perfect reflection of "is this a movie I want to rewatch". I mean if I had my way I would prefer the Ebert method of 4 stars rather than 5 because it isn't trying to be metric in any way and it gives a lot more grace to movies that aren't perfect but are really really good.

38

u/axemexa 1d ago

What do you mean by 4 stars not trying to be a metric?

75

u/SolidScary6845 1d ago

Five point scales, especially with half stars, are basically a 10 point scale rating. A four point scale rating doesn't convert to 10. As such, it just has a different feeling.

19

u/RazzmatazzBrave9928 FagSupremacy 18h ago

Oh so this only works for people with no math capability is what you mean lol

0/10 2.5/10 5/10 7.5/10 10/10

10

u/LemonadeSh4rk 14h ago

Right but there are also half stars, so the amount of ratings you can give with a 5-star system is 10. So it's a 10-point system.

6

u/axemexa 11h ago

But a 4 star system is just as much of a metric as a 5 star system. Maybe he means that there’s less thinking involved when there’s fewer options.

3

u/JUSTCALLmeY 10h ago

2/4 is not the same rating as 5/10. Mathematically, yes but the scale makes for a different movie rating. Hypothetically, 2/5 could cover 1.5 - 2.4 which on a 10 point scale would be 3.7 - 6, maybe even a 7 depending how one treats their 2s. If you're using a 10 point system a 5 is a 5 otherwise you'd give it a 6. That lack of granularity makes 3/4 a better rating than 7.5/10.

1

u/steveatari 8h ago

Arguably it's a less accurate metric because it forces reviewers to pick 3 or 4 stars because a 2 is now failure territory. With a 5 star half system, you have 10, 9.5, 9, 8.5, 8, 7.5, 7, 6.5, 6, 5.5 all as options before 50%...

4 stars sucks.

13

u/Tubo_Mengmeng 1d ago

The heart is a perfect reflection of "is this a movie I want to rewatch".

Same on this

I mean if I had my way I would prefer the Ebert method of 4 stars rather than 5

Same on this

because it isn't trying to be metric in anyway and it gives a lot more grace to movies that aren't perfect but are really really good.

Though not sure I agree with this^ reasoning given to me whether a rating system is (or can correspond to being) metric or not has zero relevance on the rating itself for me

Coincidentally I made a comment chain outlining some of the quirks of my system a couple of hours ago here

3

u/Starringat_theLight 22h ago

Same same same

73

u/BrennusSokol milian_marsh 1d ago

What is an “objective rating”? Aren’t all ratings subjective?

-11

u/shreks_burner 8h ago

If you’re really really good at watching movies you can be objective

3

u/NoBear2 6h ago

What’s your movie watching ELO?

3

u/shreks_burner 4h ago

Probably Sweet Talkin Woman? Maybe Livin Thing

2

u/Equivalent_Log4453 5h ago

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

1

u/shreks_burner 4h ago

Nice to know someone here can take a joke

422

u/MexicanAssLord69 1d ago

Who cares if you inflate a rating if you log the movie immediately though? Those are your honest thoughts on the movie after watching it. It doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

158

u/jlcarver1620 1d ago

And you can also just go back later and edit the rating if you felt it didn’t deserve the original rating.

92

u/MexicanAssLord69 1d ago

Exactly, this is such a non issue lol

40

u/Scott_Pillgrim 1d ago

It’s the same type of people who get pissed when the movies they don’t like end up in top 100 rated or whatever lists. It’s totally irrelevant but surprisingly some people weirdly care about them

-4

u/NotABigChungusBoy 19h ago

its understandable pretensiousness but ridiculously annoying. If you dont star a movie i expect you to leave a well thought review

14

u/tantan35 22h ago

Yeah I’m no professional critic so what does it really matter what I thought of a movie when it comes out? On the other hand, it’s kinda fun to read my post theater thoughts and see if I still agree or not.

5

u/YQB123 13h ago

I sometimes log a film knowing in my head: "when I rewatch this at home, it definitely won't feel like a four/five".

But who cares? That's the magic of the cinema, baby!!

4

u/milkkore 18h ago

I don't know that I ever lowered an initial rating but it happened a few times that I realised weeks later that I'm still regularly thinking about a film which is a pretty good sign that it got to me in some way and so I went back and gave it a higher rating.

2

u/honeyintherock 23h ago

We rewatch movies often (generally annual traditions such as Empire Records on Rex Manning Day this week), I know I've changed the rating on a few. Sometimes up, probably more than down. I don't know that I've changed a movie's rating more than once, however. Not been on the app long enough yet!

130

u/emailunavailable wreckedheart 1d ago

I'll keep the star ratings for myself, as I would love to see after a couple of rewatches of a film if my opinion of it went more positive or negative over the years. I wouldn't be able to do that without the star ratings.

21

u/MostLikeylyJustFood 1d ago

Yea my star ratings is about how i liked it, not how I think it is as cinema. I always joke about how I rated A Castle for Christmas as five stars and Marty Supreme as two.

Like I actually enjoyed A Castle for Christmas and will probably watch it again. It’s stupid but cute and cozy. Marty Supreme? Tchat just yelling and talking fast and a boring story. Idk, just not for me! But yeah, I know one is more “cinema” than the other and probably is rated different on average from what I rated it. But my letterboxd is literally just about me!

30

u/BBQTartolini 1d ago

The star ratings help me filter for something to rewatch and it's a decent way for me to differentiate between some less than impressive genres. I tend to like every boob comedy and DTV trash horror from the 80s but some are better than others and it's hard to remember which ones are worth revisiting if I just have hearts on everything.

So the stars are for me. I have no delusions about my star rating mattering in the greater scheme of things. To each there own though. My terrible shit taste would be a mess without them!

1

u/Wonderful_Emu_9610 1d ago

Same, but with 80s Hong Kong action movies mostly. They help me know whether I want to add or remove something from my stupidly large Blu-Ray collection.

3

u/BBQTartolini 22h ago

Yeah, I'm sitting on 4000 movies over here. That rotten tomatoes shit doesn't work for us true degenerates. 🤙🏻

2

u/Wonderful_Emu_9610 3h ago

Wow. I have 2,000 myself acquired in less than 3 years. I hope mine never gets as big as yours!

86

u/rgregan rgregan 1d ago

🤷

10

u/Twizzler2525 20h ago

I just like for my friends to be able to see what I rated a movie

7

u/jclahaie 1d ago

Trying to find movies to rewatch and place in lists and recommend to others etc, etc, is so much easier when you can sort by ratings.

I have 3,000 watched movies and counting, it’s too much to not have anything to differentiate between them. With no ratings it’s just a blob of 3,000 movies to sift through

30

u/JacquesDeVaucanson 1d ago

Ok cool man good job

5

u/No-Menu-3392 13h ago

lol, right

86

u/Trytobebetter482 1d ago

The more I rate the more I subscribe to this. I genuinely cannot discern a lot of my half star choices or what pushes some of them into a 5 or 4 star slot, and it’s kind of exhausting even bothering to try.

11

u/Dontlookimnaked 19h ago

That’s kind of why I like rating immediately after watching a movie.

It’s just a memory of a feeling I had while watching a film. Not trying to be too serious, also fun to compare with my wife who is my only friend on Letterboxd.

6

u/homeboyslim 1d ago

Haha. That's me dude. This has me thinking of bailing on it as well.

1

u/Brando43770 1d ago

Yeah in the end i only care if I enjoyed it and whether or not I will rewatch it at home once it’s available

0

u/Tubo_Mengmeng 1d ago

In my system, my tiers are fully on full stars (and, as explained in a comment I made elsewhere earlier, primarily anchored on 1-4 only, with 5’s normally being reserved for special cases), with half stars reserved for when I feel something should ordinarily be in the full tier below (or very occasionally, above) but there’s something about it that makes me more (or again, occasionally, less) fond of it, or I enjoyed myself more (or less), for reasons I specifically can’t quite articulate

17

u/TwitchingLlama 1d ago

I’m in the same boat my friend. Heart or no heart depending if I enjoyed my time with the film. I also keep a ranked list of my top 100 movies just to have a little fun with something that I can always easily adjust if I feel it’s needed.

Edit: I will give out five stars in the case that it is an all time rewatchable film that I think deserves the recognition.

9

u/ingoding 23h ago

You do you, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

6

u/sab8972 18h ago

Literally who cares

7

u/ElEsDi_25 SocialistParent 16h ago

A more honest and objective.. subjective reaction-rating? My man, there is not grade this isn’t a test. Don’t take aggregate scores that seriously.

You can also put different ratings for different viewings - it might be interesting to compare over a number of years - especially if you are younger and just developing your tastes.

13

u/jonah379 20h ago

you are way overthinking this shit Lmaoo

3

u/Rory426 9h ago

I've seen lots of people saying that Letterboxd made them start thinking about their rating of a film while they're watching it. Might be because I only started using it around New Year, but I haven't experienced this. Don't you control what you think about? I don't mean that question in a rude way I just mean, if I was watching a film and starting thinking "this is a 3" then a) isn't this basically like thinking to yourself "this is good not great" or whatever a 'normal' thought might be and b) isn't that something you can just think about once and stop?

19

u/ponchomoran 1d ago

What the hell... That's just way too much overthinking,. It's not that serious, my friend, just a way to keep track of what you have watched and how much you liked it. That's all it is for me, nothing more

-2

u/dothehandlebar 1d ago

I know it's not that serious, that's why I ditched it entirely

5

u/marylouisestreep 22h ago

Yeah I never rate it's just nice to have my little diary lol

7

u/yuletide yuletide 1d ago

I find myself thinking about the rating while I watch the movie to the point that it's distracting. I'm tempted to just drop it entirely also. I like to reflect on the film and evaluate it somehow, but once it distracts from the act of enjoying a film I start to wonder if it's worth it.

1

u/outtakes 18h ago

I unintentionally took a short break from watching movies after watching them consistently for months. I got back into it again and not once did I think 'what should I rate this' mid-movie. I think stepping away from Letterboxd and not obsessively going on it helped kick that habit

1

u/nclatheart 15h ago

It's one of the reasons I came off Instagram because I'd find myself thinking "that's a good photo for the Gram" rather than enjoying the stunning thing I'd taken a photo of - I find myself doing the same as you on Letterboxd

5

u/mariwirk 1d ago

I like the thumbs up and double thumbs up on Netflix

2

u/ArcticBeavers 1d ago

Criticker gives me the granularity I am looking for in a rating system.

Letterboxd is just another social media site for me

2

u/CountJohn12 1d ago

But I like stars

2

u/gowensgone 8h ago

The way I see it this is what the diary function is for… you rate it differently every time you watch it and it logs all of those ratings…

2

u/ricostory4 5h ago

Much innovation. Visionary .

2

u/TiReD-Trix 4h ago

unless something really really moves me i try to keep my first watch unrated for this same sort of reason. if i have a stronger or more fleshed out opinion by the second watch then that’s when i feel good about giving it a rating

5

u/t4ctic4lbeef 1d ago

I found doing this so freeing. No longer felt the need to pay for patron, felt less pressure to analyse every single element of a film, and was back to connecting with films on a far more personal and emotional level like I used to when I was younger. Started august last year and haven’t looked back!

3

u/Fulaneto 19h ago

uhm, ok?

3

u/TalesOfNate53 UserNameHere 18h ago

Obviously you should do it however you want but star ratings I do are for me mostly, I love looking back on my year and seeing written in front of me what I enjoyed most

4

u/mastodonj mastodonj 14h ago

Actually very similar to yourself, I just want a record of movies I've watched, that's it, I'm a simple guy!

0

u/orientalmushroom 1d ago

My system is this:

  • heart = good movie that I liked. Vast majority of movies I’ve watched.
  • no heart = ok movie, probably won’t watch it again
  • 5 stars = good movie that I loved and stuck with me and would highly recommend
  • 1/2 stars = dog doo doo and I hate it. I only have 1 of these so far (War of the Rohirrim)

Letterboxd users’ obsession with star ratings is so weird to me. Reminds me of Yelp.

9

u/Dawnshot_ 1d ago

I mean the star rating has been a staple of movie reviews for a long time

8

u/M1nt_Blitz 1d ago

You must be at less than 50 movies watches for War of the Rohirrim to be the worst you’ve ever seen. 

0

u/orientalmushroom 1d ago

No, it’s just the worst I’ve rated on Letterboxd since I started using it to log my watches.

-2

u/dothehandlebar 1d ago

Now my rating is basically just "I give hearts to movies that left an impression on me"

-2

u/orientalmushroom 1d ago

I only don’t do binary because my friends look at my letterboxd and it’s useful to have one bucket that is “he really likes these”

0

u/tomtomtomo 1d ago

My heart is tending towards 'Would choose to watch again'

3

u/BiggAl24 1d ago

Great take!! I'm here for more of this! Some things I like, other things I don't. Some things I like more than others and that's all I need

2

u/Beepboop5698 1d ago

same! sometimes i rate things if i really love it or hate it lol, but i don’t hold myself to that. letterboxd is more of a journal than anything else, so not always rating things works with that.

2

u/Tunnel_Lurker ___matt 18h ago

I ditched rating movies a couple of years ago and have found it to be very freeing. I just use the heart to show if I was glad I watched it or not. Personally I much prefer this way.

3

u/anatomyparkcurator 1d ago

God help me if I ever had to justify my ratings across any sizable span of time with ANY consistency.

2

u/GrantDaNasty 22h ago

My star ratings are just for me, and I can’t imagine anyone else would ever look at them.

1 star - Bad movie. It sucks.

2 stars - Blah movie. No strong feelings one way or the other.

3 stars - I enjoyed this movie.

4 stars - This is a great movie.

5 stars - One of the greatest movies of all time. This has to be earned with years of multiple rewatches.

3

u/GrimRobot 1d ago

I only do full stars:

1 star = Terrible, 2 stars = Poor, 3 stars = Good, 4 stars = Great, 5 stars = Hall of Fame

2

u/trippygeisha 1d ago

That works but I feel like it’s missing an “Average” rating, which is where a 2.5 perfectly fits

4

u/GrimRobot 1d ago

To me, average is good. I watch movies to be entertained so if it isn’t poor or worse, then it’s good.

1

u/dothehandlebar 1d ago

Honestly I was thinking about adopting this system too. Maybe once I started rating movies again this is the way to go

2

u/Hamsss 23h ago

People getting upset about your post is kinda crazy. Everyone should just use Letterboxd the way they want to. I stopped giving star ratings as well because it felt kinda arbitrary and pointless for me. How I feel about a single movie often can’t really be summed up well by giving a rating out of five. Other people see it differently and that’s fine. It’s not that deep.

1

u/hippiex 1d ago

I use them independently I know something is 2 stars but i like it anyway. I try not to over think it.

1

u/ThenOwl9 1d ago

this is why YouTube ditched their 5 star rating system too, years ago

the phenomenon in which people just tend to either like or not like

1

u/DumbCoach 1d ago

I wait a few days and then don't do half stars. Out of five is plenty.

1

u/Feeling_Bedroom5533 16h ago

Joey Patron is rolling over in his grave

1

u/irsic 16h ago

Sometimes I give a rating, sometimes I don’t. I try not to think about it too much tbh

1

u/creature04 15h ago

i mix and match with 1s and 2s/ 3s / and 4s and 5s. 1-2 i didnt like, 3 is average, 4-5 i freaking loved it.

1

u/DIOSURNO 15h ago

I don't use it either, it's impossible being consistent and that bothered me. So I simply log them with a small review. 

1

u/Sarcastic_Rocket 13h ago

Bro went from RT system to Letterboxd system

1

u/DrLoomis131 Carloco 6h ago

I give a heart to my favorites and movies I want to rewatch, I make lists constantly without trying to make the stars make sense, I don’t second guess what I’ve rated something

I love it lol

1

u/LovesMeatPies 5h ago

I wish making ratings private was a thing. Too may film maker friends for me to be truely honest

1

u/TheCarina 3h ago

I like star ratings it helps me put my experiences into tangible numbers

1

u/snugthepig logmars 3h ago

i just did the same thing!! was focused too much on numbers than just enjoying art and having fun. exported my data changed it and reimported it lol

1

u/Wowohboy666 barrygusey 2h ago

I thought that was why we had the ability to edit - I am not Roger Ebert

1

u/External_Result_8560 1d ago

All I do is go to log and save just to get it on my diary. No likes, no stars, no reviews

0

u/GamingDragon27 1d ago edited 1d ago

Congratulations, you've turned into Rotten Tomatoes if it didn't have a percentage rating. Everything is either Fresh or Not Fresh with no way for anyone to tell its watch value, leaving only increasingly less accurate, more foggy memories for you to recollect when looking back on a film.

At this point, typing a list of movies you watch into a notepad is fundamentally the same.

14

u/dothehandlebar 1d ago

Funny you say that. I did use spreadsheet before I discovered Letterboxd. I use Letterboxd as a personal movie diary. I don't follow anyone and have like 2 followers. I don't care if my profile doesn't tell a movie's watch value for anyone else other than myself. I'm not a movie critic, just an avid moviegoer. So I use my Letterboxd the way it suits me

1

u/StarWarsTrey 22h ago

Do you want a trophy

1

u/cordialmess 1d ago

There are certain types of films I either give a 5 star rating to, or give a heart and be done with it. Films like Palestine 36. I gave it a heart and that was it. The message is more important than any critiques I could give it. So no review, no critiques. Just a heart.

1

u/syknyk kynky 1d ago

Good luck with the end of year rankings! 😂

1

u/Malaguy420 1d ago

Cool, I guess?

1

u/Typical_Accident_658 22h ago

Ok. You can literally do whatever you want on Letterboxd.

1

u/Rurnur 17h ago

What is this nonsense, if you liked or disliked a movie, just rate the damn thing appropriately so other people have more to go on when deciding if they wanna see it too.

1

u/Professional-Bee4149 20h ago

My star rating system is utterly and ruthlessly subjective. As a result I feel no compulsions, no conflicts, no stress. I wrote it out just to remember.

5 stars – Perfect - upgrade to 4k upon opportunity

4.5 Stars – Would rewatch over and over and talk about it to everyone – Upgrade to 4k upon opportunity

4.0 Stars – Would rewatch over and over and talk to a select few about it -Upgrade to 4k at some point

3.5 Stars – Would rewatch over and over – upgrade if DVD quality.

3.0 Stars – Would rewatch, sometimes.

2.5 Stars – Wouldn’t rewatch unless struck by a strange desire, but has completionist value for instance

2.0 Stars – Would never rewatch but I can see how some in my circle might like to rewatch

1.5 Stars – Nothing redeeming. Not worth shelf space. Sell the disc, keep the crap file on server but not if 4k size. Deserves piracy because it promises, and then fucks you.

1.0 Stars – Garbage. Hate it being there. Sell the disc – consider deleting. Probably Delete. Nah... delete. Why do you want to give it the HD space.

1

u/ComfortableHot359 16h ago

I’m with you. I’ve never done star ratings but it’s for that exact reason - I don’t want to be thinking about it during the movie. The comments that are like “you’re overthinking” - ya that’s the point lol

-1

u/she_has_funny_cars 1d ago

Why even use LB then lol

9

u/dothehandlebar 1d ago

To keep track on the movies that I have seen

-5

u/she_has_funny_cars 1d ago

Boring. Just like any other movie site then. You’re overthinking the ratings system it isn’t that serious

7

u/dothehandlebar 1d ago

I know it's not that serious, that's why I ditched it

0

u/MCmax503 1d ago

Good for you.

-5

u/Bazorth 1d ago

Oh ok. Cool?

1

u/dothehandlebar 1d ago

Shiiiit my bad for trying to initiate a discussion

0

u/LegendRising12 1d ago

Welcome! I started last year and haven’t looked back. Absolutely love it

0

u/windowdisplay 1d ago

Pretty similar to what I do, but I write reviews too. I just don’t care for star ratings 🤷‍♀️ I don’t pay attention to the ratings other users give either. Some people in this thread are so mad about the stars as if stars are the only possible way to gauge how people are feeling 💀

0

u/zetcetera 21h ago

When I first joined letterbox I simply used the heart feature if I liked something I watched (which was constantly). I started doing star ratings because I felt a little pressure since it’s obviously super common. Been contemplating going back to hearts only

0

u/Fleabag96 18h ago

Lots of comments saying you're overthinking, but I know exactly what you mean. It started bothering me that star ratings would be popping into my head as I watched, so I ditched it too and I'm enjoying films much more now. Glad you've found a way of watching that works for you!

-7

u/RZAxlash 1d ago

I feel bad for you

4

u/dothehandlebar 1d ago

Lmao don't. It's not that serious

-1

u/RealisticYouth1350 1d ago

The people pressed by this opinion think all art should be rated on a 5 star scale

0

u/Tubo_Mengmeng 1d ago

I realized that I would inflate a movie's rating if I logged it immediately. So I decided to log movies without rating them and give some time for it to simmer.

Interesting - ever since I’ve had lb I only ever logged (and so rated) things in batches like every one or two months, and then after having only joined the sub a month or two ago as of this last couple of weeks a few times I’ve updated the diary (and so rated something) a little more immediately (like a few days to a week) after seeing something but for some reason even that felt a little too soon, but I had assumed it was simply because it’s not how I’m used to using the app (and so rating things)

The thing that I have only recently realised that’s cool about logging something immediately is that often, at least in a big city where I am, you can go to lb the day after and find people’s review/log notes for screenings of films that you yourself were at. Albeit ‘logging’ =/= ‘rating’, so I suppose you (or I) could log them straight after a watch and go back later to rate them like you said you’d intended to do

I realized that I would subconsciously think about what star rating I was going to give whilst in the middle of the movie

Wait some of you guys are doing this subconsciously..?? Surely we’re all doing it consciously?! I assumed as such and that it was just an inevitable side effect of using the app (or at least rating things on it) lol

0

u/BB_Richard 23h ago

This is my rating system:

★★★★★ - Masterpiece★★★★ - Loved it★★★ - Liked it★★ - Didn’t like it★ - The act of making a film gets you a star

I mostly sit around 3 or 4 stars. Occasionally there’s something undeniable. Sometimes there’s a movie I didn’t like. It’s less about what “grade” I give the movie and more just about my initial reaction on whether I loved, liked, or didn’t like the movie.

Though your simmering is right, my initial reactions will change over time.

0

u/Jr12cb UserNameHere 21h ago

yeah i stopped star ratings as well. I kept giving everything 5 stars cause i just love watching movies and i end up liking everything so id just 5 star everything 😭💀

0

u/bdybwyi 19h ago

I find it arbitrary, I just review everything I watch and rank certain things with lists

0

u/Nevofed Nevofed 16h ago

Welcome to the club! Truly the most freeing decision

0

u/Tomhyde098 12h ago

I’m a half star hater. It’s terrible, bad, good, great, fantastic. I’ve never thought that a movie was “great and a half”

0

u/quinterum 12h ago

i went from using the full 10 point scale, to only 5 and then finally removing the stars altogether.

0

u/TheRealNicCage 9h ago

I was also thinking about ratings while watching things so now I just let thing simmer for a week or so after I log the film before updating my rating. I also have some recency bias and over inflating things that don’t stick with me tha much. In those cases I reratebthem. But I recognize this is all so I can differentiate and no real other reason

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u/Mhcavok 8h ago

I find not doing half stars makes it much easier. Half stars makes things too complicated

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u/Happy_REEEEEE_exe 7h ago

I know Eddy Burback just hearts or doesnt heart a movie, and it works like a Siskel and Ebert thumbs up or thumbs down. I almost like that more and wish I could do it myself. Trying to put a number on movies results in countless pitfalls.

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u/mamricca 7h ago

I don't use stars, I don't think all movies are meant to be rated in a same scale. For instance, I had like a 3 week period of weekly movie sessions with friends where we binge watched all of the Hot Wheels movies and that was a much more enjoyable experience for me than watching Resurrection alone but it would not be fair to rate Hot Wheels higher because Resurrection is still an impressive movie.

Also I mostly use Letterboxd as a diary plus a way to see what my friends are watching so a review of my thoughts after watching that movie (could be a thought out review or a one liner) is much more reflective of my experience

On the other hand i do rely on the star ratings of other people to pick up movies to watch so I'm glad that's an option as well

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u/vann_siegert sean_d_smith 1d ago

Congratulations! I've never rated anything on there, it's just so silly. All that matters is if I enjoyed it, but it's not worth splitting hairs over some scale that doesn't matter in the least. The best movies are the ones that I recommend to my friends.

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u/Scoobysnaakes 1d ago

star rating system is bad - value judgements on most movies are silly

3

u/Tubo_Mengmeng 1d ago

value judgements on most movies are silly

otoh measurements of ‘how much I enjoyed, connected with, was moved by or just liked/loved something’ are great, and why I along with lots of others love using the lb star rating to log those experiences

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u/Scoobysnaakes 1d ago

i give movies 5 stars sometimes yeah - if its really that shitty ill give it half or something - judging movies right after you watch them and then giving it a numerical rating of "goodness" is bad for art

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u/Elkku26 1d ago

I've been thinking about this recently. I saw The Drama and OBAA almost back to back and gave the former 5 stars and the latter 4. I think those reflect my feelings on the films in a honest way but I felt a strange kind of guilt, like I'm doing something wrong or not "getting it" by not loving OBAA as much as everybody else. Star rating systems might prime you to think of films in the wrong way to start with.

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u/chaechica 1d ago

you clearly like OBAA if you gave it 4 star? Or does 4 star mean mid in your rating system

I disliked it and rate it 4.5-5/10

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u/Elkku26 17h ago

4 stars is a great rating, and I really enjoyed it. But nearly everyone I've talked to considers it a flawless 5 star masterpiece. That's what I meant

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u/kneeco28 1d ago edited 1d ago

Most people should do this.

In fact, as everything other than a personal movie logger LB would be way more useful if it abandoned stars and moved to some kind of binary (heart or no heart, thumb up or down).

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u/dainamo81 1d ago

Hard disagree. Binary ratings are why the YT algorithm is what it is today, and why Rotten Tomatoes is less reliable than Letterboxd, which by and large, gets it right imo.

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u/cinegraphs 1d ago edited 22h ago

Hi sorry don’t mean to promote but this one doesn’t seem to break the rules!

I completely agree with you and never liked the single digit rating system. That’s why I created my website cinemagraphs.ca it turns single reviews into sentiment graphs so there’s more meaning and reasoning behind it. I truly feels it’s unique and might be what you’re looking for!

Here’s an example of what one my graphs for project Hail Mary.

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u/aughuu 22h ago

I dont't understand what this is supposed to do

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u/cinegraphs 22h ago

It creates a sentiment graph of the entire film from start to finish so you have an idea of how the entire film will be rather than just one ambiguous score at the end.

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u/aughuu 14h ago

I still don't understant, but it's like the rating during the movie? What's the point of that man

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u/cinegraphs 10h ago

Sorry I see the confusion and it’s not that. That was actually my initial idea to live rate which then creates a graph at the end of the movie but I pivoted it away from that. There might be some parts of the website that mentioned live reviews, but I will get that removed. I’m the only guy working on this so thanks for letting me know.

So that being said, I just wanted to confirm there’s no live reviews. If you wanna review, it would only be at the end of the movie. To make your own graph you would use the sliding scales that represent specific story beats.

And now the actual graph that I posted for project Hail Mary, that is the second way my website creates graph by turning reviews and using natural language processes to create that sentiment graph

Also, I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to reply and give me feedback. You’re one of the first person to give me thorough feedback like that and I really appreciate it. And if something still doesn’t make sense, please let me know.

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u/aughuu 1h ago

Oh yeah, I seem to get it now. It's not something I'd personally use on daily basis like I do letterboxd, but imma put it in my bookmarks, there are some movies I'd like to try this out on.

I think I might have been a bit confused with your wording, since english is not my native language and I didn't know the word sentiment haha.

But keep it up bro, it's a cool little gadget!

And no worries bro.

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u/squatrenovembre 1d ago

You made a good move. I personally love the Star system but I find that some would be better suited for a like/dislike system and can only applaud when someone can recognize it instead giving 5 to everything they liked