If you’ve been reading My Filmviews for a while you are aware that I keep a close track of my movie watching. Of course my opinions are written down here, but there are tons of movies I never write about. I enjoy rating them and seeing how many I’ve seen in a year. I’m probably not the only person that does that though, so this week’s question is:
Do you track which movies you’ve seen, how do you do it and why?
Personally I keep track of my movie watching through several sites. The first one is IMDB, which I’ve used to track my movie watching since 2004. In those years I’ve currently seen 1275 movies, with probably half of that in the last two years (which is also about the time this blog exists.
You can find my profile here and you can already take a peek at my ratings before the reviews are up 😉
The next site I use is What I Watch. It is a Dutch site with an English option and the amazing thing about this site is that it will allow you to see an impressive amount of statistics about your moviewatching. Here you can find my movie watching of this year.
Finally I also try to work my way through a list and currently that is the IMDB top 250. I Check Movies is THE site if you love reading and going through movie lists. It gives you virtual awards for seeing a number of movies out of a list (bronze, silver, gold etc.) and is kept up to date. On the right hand site you can see my current standing in my goal of having watched at least 225 movies out of the IMDB top 250 list.
You can find my profile here . It also has an import function, so if you already use IMDB it’s very simple to check a whole lot of movies quickly.
Do you track which movies you’ve seen, how do you do it and why?
I know you guys are all keen on the virtual log and online sites. But I am still very happy with using my Film Journal! I am so retro!
I know that’s what you use to track your movie watching and I remember your pictures of it. It looks awesome, especially with all the drawing you do.
Yeah like Scott I write them all down in my film journal. I rate some on IMDb and most on Lovefilm. Haven’t really got in to Letterboxd but have enjoyed ranking loads of movies on Flickchart. Will have to check out some of these sites you mention though. I like the sound of What I Watch!
Ah, another old schooler who slowly adapts to the newer media 😉
wow, since 2004 means it’s 8 years already! I rated some movies in IMDB, but not every time. I usually use I Check Movies. And lately with Letterboxd too. Never used flick chart again (forgot about them). Both last sites I know from you (just realized this as I type this comment). Thanks I guess 😀
Yeah, have been using it a long time and it’s become almost a ritual of visiting it moments after I’ve seen something (if I can of course)
I really haven’t gotten into tracking the films I watch but I have started a “project” for this year on my blog site. I’m just calling it my “2012 New Movie Project”. I’m simply keeping up with every movie I watch this year that’s NEW to me. It could be made in the 1940’s or it could come out this week, as long as it’s new to me. I’m breaking them down by month and update it after each new movie.
It’s been kinda nifty (and sometimes pathetic) to see how many new flicks I’ve watched. But I’m enjoying it.
I know that I would need a lot more free time to track all my movie watching as I watch way more than I write about. It’s a bit of a luxury being able to pick the movies you want to write about as for some I wouldn’t have too much to write about 🙂
EXACTLY. I’ve been ribbed by some friends that ask me “What kind of critic are you if you don’t go see ALL the movies that come out, even the bad ones”. I simply reply “I guess I’m not a critic because I get to choose what I watch”. I do see some and write about them if asked. But for the most part I pick them too. I also see more than I write about. Not enough time with a family, kids, and a job factored into the equation!
Yeah, I dont feel the need to watch every movie that comes out either. I’m in the exact same situation. It’s busy enough with all those things and trying to have at least five posts a week (some of them taking a lot of time to prepare)
Hi, Scott and company:
I’ve leaned more towards tracking a film once I’ve heard it’s been green lighted and word leaks out. It started when I first heard of Mario Puzo’s ‘The Godfather’ being okayed and I started casting the film in my head. Followed by Edward Bunker’s semi autobiographic ‘No Beast So Fierce’ with Dustin Hoffman that became ‘Straight Time’. Robert Stone’s ‘Dog Soldier’ being faithfully morphed into ‘Who’ll Stop the Rain’ and Gustav Hasford’s ‘The Short Timers’ being bought by Stanley Kubrick for ‘Full Metal Jacket’.
If a film interestes me once it’s had its opening weekend, I’ll follow it on ‘Rotten Tomatoes’ or
‘Box Office Mojo’.
Interesting. After you have watched one you don’t note it down anywhere or is it just a mental note?
Hi, Nostra!
I’ve already reviewed ‘Straight Time’ for you. Mostly through memory.
I’ll write down memorable lines and those cast members that stand out. Maybe a scene or two. Like Al Pacino’s slow close-up in ‘The Godfather’ as he calmly explains what he’s going to do to Sollozzo and McCluskey.
Or Nick Nolte’s ode to Tuesday Weld as she walks off to meet her fate. While he’s duct taping rifle grenades to his jeaned thigh in preparation to going to war and setting up an ambush and rescue in ‘Who’ll Stop the Rain’.
That’s a pretty good memory, especially knowing how detailed your reviews are.
I wish I had kept some sort of log like you’ve done Nostra. Since I started my 100 movies challenges back in 2008, I’ve kept a log of what I’ve watched on my blog.
I really should probably think about hooking myself up and logging my films on IMDB! I’ve rated a few things on there, but just when I’m looking to kill a bit of time.
Well, you got to start somewhere, so might as well do that now. Of course the blog is also a great one to do so. I’m just a fan of looking at the statistics What i Watch offers for example 🙂
I’m guilty of keeping several text files on my computer that list all the movies I’ve seen. The options you listed here might be a better choice though!
Give them a look, they are great and easy to access.
Hmmm, I don’t really do it. But since I’m starting to do a monthly roundup, I try to keep better log of the movies I see.
Well, it’s all personal preference. It’s information that’s probably only interesting for yourself or sometimes for a post you are writing, but as you can read I’m a big fan of keeping track.
I keep a Numbers spreadsheet on my iPhone/iPad but that’s it. It’s something I’ve wanted to keep track of for at least 10 years but finally decided to do it this year.
That’s a good way to do it as well, but there are quite a lot of apps to choose of that also do it I think.
Yeah, I would be doing it differently if I wasn’t already using Numbers for several other things. I’m a fan of spreadsheets, though
It does allow for a lot of personal calculations!
A few years ago I decided to create a spreadsheet for all of the films I have watched….ever. Of course, I did a lot of memory-searching and I’m sure I’m still missing some, but it covers a lot of what I have seen since I’ve had enough judgement to rate films. I have them organized by genre and rating, keeping track of specific directors I like, and I also have a list of what I consider GREAT movies, which has about 150 films at the moment. I don’t really rely on any online site to keep track of what I watch, it’s all in my computer. Kind of OCD, I know
I actually review just a minority of the films I get to watch simply because I have no time to do so, hence why I have trouble keeping up with other blogs and my own. Oh well…
Niels
Make sure to make backups, you wouldn’t want to lose that info!
I know what you mean with keeping up with other blogs. There are days when I have over a hundred unread blog mails in my inbox, which means I won’t be able to read/comment on them all and have to select which ones to open.
Personally I don’t track the movies I’ve seen because I kind of think it’s pointless. If you have seen it, you will remember that you’ve seen if that makes sense.So I don’t really get the point aside from bragging rights and what not.
To each his own, I quite enjoy all the information I can see about my movie watching habits.
Hmmm, I keep track of every film I watch on Letterboxd and then all the films that I’ve seen at the cinema in my film journal.
This is the first year that I’ve really kept tracked, though. I remember reading people’s posts in January saying how many films they saw last year and wondering how many I had seen!
PS Sorry for being AWOL for so long, I’m starting a new job on Monday and moving house this weekend so have had some very, very busy weeks!
I was wondering what you were up to. Wish you the best with your new job, must be exciting times.
Interesting to see you are tracking it now too, how many have you seen up to now?
My blog is really my record of all the films I’ve seen since I started in October 2010. I only generally see about 3 films a week so it’s not so hard keeping on top of them. Though at the moment I have 6 posts in draft, one from last October!
I did dabble in Letterboxd for a bit, but since it was a carbon copy of my blog I didn’t see the point. But I do like your IMDB page.
I know that feeling of having some posts in draft for ages. After a while I’ll usually delete them as my memory of a particular movie has faded too much.
Part of why I started my blog was to keep a record of the films I’ve watched. My plan was to review everything I watch, even if I’ve seen it before (hence the Re-View) I also think it’ll be interesting to go back after a couple of years and see how my views change, see if a film goes up or down in my estimations after giving it a bit of a break or watching it with fresh eyes.
Like the look of I Check Movies so might give that a look.
I wouldn’t be able to keep up. As for rewatching movies I noticed that my views don’t change that much. If I didn’t like it the first time I will probably feel the same way if I revisit it years after. One of the reasons I haven’t given 2001: A Space Odyssey a second chance, even though I think I should.
I didn’t like 2001 either. I actually think it works the other way round more often than not… I really like a film the first time and then rewatch it and find that it doesn’t actually maintain its appeal with a re-view.
So I’m not the only one. Sometimes it feels like that’s a movie you are not allowed to not like 😉
I have a lot of strong views on films considered “classics.” Sometimes I think people like films because they feel like they are supposed to.
The only tracking I use is the list of reviewed movies on my page. It doesn’t, however, account for movies I watch on tv, or blu-ray, or netflix for example. I may do that here in the future, but not at the moment. it’s a fun idea.
Reading the rest of the comments it’s clear not everyone does it or only does so by using their blogs. It’s a personal thing, but I enjoy looking at the statistics something like What I Watch gives me or having seen a specific amount of movies on a specific list on icheckmovies.
You bet I track all the movies I watch. The best thing for it in my opinion is Letterboxd. Are you on there? It’s only in beta at the moment, but if you want to be on there, I can send you an invite if you email me your email address.
Yeah, I’m on there although I don’t really use it much. Mainly since I was waiting for an import option of all my ratings from IMDB. I think they were going to implement something like that, but don’t know if they already did.
Another interesting post, Nostra! Like Scott, I have a film journal which I try to keep updated as often as possible (although I’m probably due another one!). I’m pretty bad at keeping track of things via websites; I spend a few days getting really into it but then just forget all about it. I really should try harder!
Thanks Amy, another old schooler 😉 To everyone their ritual though…for me it’s visiting the websites, for you it’s taking out the journal!
Excellent question, Nostra! I am all about tracking everything I do, haha. For movies, I am an avid user of icheckmovies.com and IMDB. I have also been trying out Letterboxd, though I’m not sure how much longer I will keep up with that since I already use the other two. It’s a lot of fun to work through lists such as IMDB’s Top 250 or the AV Club’s New Cult Canon, for example.
Yeah, I was using the other ones before as well and don’t think Letterboxd adds that much which I’d use. The lists on icheckmovies are fun!
I started tracking from 2012. I used a moleskine notebook to write all the movies and books I’m reading plus I update on letterboxd. I do have a film journal but that’s just for movies I watch in the theater.
Fun to see how everyone got their own ways of noting it down. Somehow it gives a bit of statisfaction going through what you’ve seen.