Movies are universal. They unite us through emotions and shared experiences. Whether they have words or are silent, whether they are full of vibrant color or in black in white, each movie can elicit similar feelings among all viewers. 

For senior Chris Garcia, movies mean a little bit more. “[My passion for film] wasn’t something I feel like I even realized,” said Garcia. “I was just kind of watching more movies and it gradually became a passion.”

To help keep track of what movies he watches and his thoughts on them, Garcia also writes reviews on Letterboxd (click here to see Chris’ page).

“Over the summer I had written short reviews about what my thoughts on movies were. Then, I got a Letterboxd account so I can just practice writing about how I feel about movies” said Garcia.

Movie reviews and ratings must take all aspects of the film into consideration. One point that Garcia focuses on the most is the dialogue.

“Even if you have a good story, if you have bad dialogue, it just brings it all down. How the dialogue is written is really important,” he explained.

Besides dialogue, Garcia said “the most important aspect to me is the directing of the movie and the vision behind it”. He went on to say that “My all time favorite directors are Paul Thomas Anderson… and Yorgos Lanthimos. I like Wes Anderson too” 

Garcia has been able to write many reviews due to the rate at which he watches. “I don’t have any extracurriculars usually, so I just do homework and use the other time to watch a movie.” He watches eight movies a week on average, typically viewing one a day.

For someone as passionate about film as Garcia, his movie intake is nothing short of admirable. He plans to take his expertise to the next level, as he will be majoring in Film and TV Production at Emerson College.

Plenty of highly-anticipated movies are being released this year, so make sure to get your ticket, head to the theater, and even consider writing a review!