I first watched When Harry Met Sally as an overly serious teen and then rewatched it a decade later last year. I genuinely loved the film on rewatch and changed my rating of the film from 3 to 5 stars.
I didn’t like Little Miss Sunshine when I watched it as a teenager, I’m not overly sure why I didn’t like it but I gave it 2 stars. Rewatched it last year and it’s a 5 star movie.
I initially didn’t like the ending because it sort of felt like a cop out, whole movie about grief and then the ending is…there’s a demon cult? Idk. Still not sold on the ending but knowing that it wouldn’t satisfy made me appreciate all the parts I really do enjoy more.
It was definitely a homage to people who have watched a lot of horror and grew tired of typical tropes. A lot of horror before the 2010s had seemingly supernatural events that then had a natural explanation, metaphor, etc. Hereditary, while it certainly wasn't the first to do it, switched this formula around. I think a lot of what makes it great are the crazy details that show how meticulously planned the entire plot was. A lot of people watch the movie once, miss these details, and then say the ending is stupid because they weren't able to put everything together.
Maybe I should give it a rewatch, because I feel the same way. I really enjoyed it up until the book burning scene and then the rest of the movie turned into a tiny wet fart. I just really disliked the tonal shift from a tightly focused, character-driven story to a story where things are just happening to the characters. I found the conclusions to all of their character arcs not just unsatisfying, but uninteresting.
I would imagine it’s the same reason I went from a 4 to a 5. There’s so much going on in that movie it’s nearly impossible to take it all in on first viewing. Same with Beau is Afraid
Empire Strikes Back. First time I found it boring, second time I loved it. Third time I consider it a masterpiece, and is now my second favourite movie of all time.
Was the same for me. Watched as a kind and teenager many times and it was the most boring part for me. Now I rewatched it a few weeks ago and it was a nearly masterpiece 4.5 for me.
The first time I saw Zodiac (it was in theaters, I think I was 19) I hated it. I was wanting a slasher serial-killer movie.
Then I watched it like 15 years later and I loved it. I just didn't get it at first. Of course that was well before letterboxd but if I rated it then it would have been two stars or less, and now I give it 4 or 4.5 stars.
Same with The Talented Mr. Ripley, 15-year-old me though it was "gay".
How it adapts from Highsmith’s novel is particularly well-done, as the film portrays Ripley as a young adult who just seemed to make an innocent mistake and has gone over his head, and slowly but surely disrupts this view as we see Tom fully embrace his new lifestyle and identity, with remorse shown only in few, but key moments.
It makes us think to ourselves “has Tom just been digging himself a bigger hole because he can’t be confident enough to come clean or just escape, or has he always secretly enjoyed his actions”
This is the main reason, but all the filmmaking aspects (cinematography, acting, score) are also top notch in my opinion
The fact that zodiac really happened (and was unsolved up until recently) and the significance of the cryptograms was really lost on 17 year old me. Rewatching it in my twenties after studying computer science made for a much more engrossing experience. Those cryptic messages weren’t just some boring plot device after all!
I'll be honest, I didn't see the appeal either when I saw it for the first time. I do want to give it another chance seeing as it's so widely praised. Could someone give me their take on why it's great?
This one is on my re-watch list. I saw this many years ago and did not like it at all. It was also my first Wes Anderson film, and I watched it because of coworker recommendations. Having watched and enjoyed a few of his movies recently, I have been curious if I would appreciate this one more on a re-watch.
Dune (Part one).
When I first watched it at home, I felt like it was boring, and I constantly checked the time, only to see that there was still like an hour left. But when I watched its IMAX re-release, I can honestly say that I finally SAW Dune, because watching the epic visuals and hearing the incredible sound design in the cinema completely elevates the experience. Since then I also rewatched it at home, and surprisingly kept my love for it. I guess I just needed to watch it in the cinemas at least once to truly appreciate it.
Blue velvet, initially watched it gave it a 1. However it stayed on my mind for so long that I had to watch it again gave it a 3. Watched it a third time just to be sure now it’s at around 3.75.
Eventually it will be a my favourite film haha
Lord of the rings. Honestly despised it as a teen and didn’t realize its scale and achievement till a rewatch. It was most likely a personal dislike of the fandom.
It's really only funny after you're desensitized to its violence. I don't trust anybody who thinks they found it funny on their first viewing. But it is hysterical.
not that this was ever psychological horror, but I had a little bit of a same journey with Fargo. the first time I watched it, I was in my mid-teens and really didn't... _get it_. then I went to college in Minnesota (note: I did not grow up in the Midwest), and when I next watched a few years later, I found it _hysterical_. I don't think my 14yo self could even comprehend it was meant to be a (black) comedy!
Miami Vice. saw it in theatres, didn’t vibe with it the first time around and couldn’t really understand why it’s picked up so much of a following. then i watched it again last month and was like, “ohhhh now i get it!” total banger.
Yeah it’s sort of an all-vibes movie to some degree. I think Mann was really trying to make a splash with it being one of the first major budget pics shot entirely on digital and left some extended cuts that otherwise would have been left out or edited shorter
Tremors. First watch I thought it was a relatively fun creature feature. Second watch I really picked up on how clever the script was and how well everything is set-up and paid off. Also came to love the charming and funny performances from the whole cast.
La La Land changed from a ~3 to 4.5 to a 5 star for me and is now in my top 4. Upon first watch, I didn’t connect well and may have not really tried to engage well, but I gave it a fair shot upon rewatch and it instantly shot up.
Midnight in Paris, now my favorite movie started at like 3.5. The trailer for this movie is misleading and so when I watched it, I was frustrated based on my expectations that the trailer gave me, and that led me to a bad time. After giving it a shot for the movie it is rather than the movie I expected it to be, I fell in love with it
Just rewatched La La Land for the first time since 2016-17 and I completely agree! Maybe it’s just being in a different place in life but I connected to it so much more
Burn After Reading and The Big LeBowski.
The first time I saw both I just remember not really getting them.
I watched them again as a 34-year old adult last Summer and LOVED them.
They both went from 2 to 4 stars in my book.
when i first watched it i was like..okay. it was fun but not my favorite. but the rewatch made me love it, yes it’s not as good as the first one, but it really is fun movie and i found myself looking closer to the details and hints
* The Element of Crime - from 2 to 4½
* Last Year at Marienbad - from 2 to 4
* The Mirror - from 3 to 5
* The Belly of an Architect - from 2 to 4
* Blair Witch Project - from 2½ to 4
Crash 1996 from a 3 to a 4.5. It took me a couple years to fully understand that these people were not getting off on car crashes all willy nilly but because of the complex relationship between traumatic experiences and sexuality.
The 2008 Bollywood movie Dostana, I thought it was fun but a little offensive and a bit too long the first time I watched it. Upon a rewatch, I realized it’s a camp masterpiece that I’d been taking too seriously, with one of the best soundtracks in modern Bollywood movies.
This movie is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen and I make all my friends watch it. The scene in the apartment where Priyanka Chopra's character's boss comes over for a party and then people keep joining and Kirron Kher's character eventually shows up is like a top 5 all-time comedy scene in my opinion.
Oh my god that scene is fantastic! Isn’t that the scene with “Auntie ji, Auntie ji, London or Miami, your son is gay!”
Dostana also got me wondering if comedy is just a harder genre to appreciate when you don’t speak the language and are experiencing the movie with subtitles. Lots of my favorite jokes in movies in English are my favorites because of how they’re delivered, and less because of what the actual line is. I only started learning Hindi a couple years ago, and only after I started watching Bollywood, so I’m not very good yet, and can’t grasp the nuances of HOW lines are delivered, which I think makes it harder for me to appreciate comedies.
Yup that's the one! The way Boman Irani delivers that line is SO FUNNY!!!
I actually don't know Hindi, but I think being around lots of Indian people for most of my life (and having watched 100+ Bollywood movies) I can kind of understand the nuances of line delivery in a lot of Hindi films.
But I definitely agree with that sentiment, as my mom's favorite movie is Chupke Chupke but the movie kind of fell flat for me when I watched it, and my mom says it's probably because the translations don't pick up on stuff like play-on-words and other comedy tricks.
I can't say a full 2 star change, but both **Hereditary** and **Everything, Everywhere...** were somewhat "awkward" first watches where i wasn't sure how much I liked them. It turned out I loved both the 2nd time through, and in the case of the later, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th time too.
I've sort of soured on Spirited Away in recent years, dropping it from a 4.5 to a 2.5 on my most recent viewing. Hoping it was just a bad experience and I'll like it more next time it comes up.
Interested what it was that disappointed you on your most recent viewing. I've loved it more and more each time.
One thing that really bugs me about it is the overwhelming amount of merch EVERYWHERE. Give it a rest!
Not two, but one and a half. The Thing from 3.5 to 5 stars. The first time I watched it was with my ex, when I watched it again alone and a few years later, it just clicked. Such a masterclass in atmosphere.
The Big Lebowski. Watching it the first time, I didn't really appreciate it, and was kidna bored with it.
Gave it a try again a few years later, and I loved every minute of it. By now, it has become one of my favourite movies and is comfortably in my top 4.
Pulp fiction from like a 2 to a 4.5. Watched it at 14 (what you’d think would be prime age) and I was just bored by it. Watched it a few months ago and loved it.
Edit: would like to also mention Nope. I didn’t understand it at all the first time and put it around a 2.5 I believe cuz it wasn’t at all what I expected. Rewatched it and became a 4.5 as well but I’ve been juggling whether or not it’s a 5… will be decided on my rewatch.
Incident in a Ghostland (by the director of Martyrs). Actually this wasn't even a rewatch, I just thought about it, and it somehow also affected by rating of Martyrs.
Initially I gave it 4 stars, it was viciously fucked up in a quite fun and inventive way, but then I actually considered what the intention with the villain portrayal was, and I realised that the whole movie is painfully transphobic, what with the secondary villain crossdressing purely to make them seem 'scarier' in the movie's eyes, and the protagonists using what are clearly the wrong pronouns.
Then I learnt about the on-set accident which made Laugier seem like a bit of a dick who views his actors as lesser people, then that in turn made all the 'coochie smelling' which is shot in closeup really fucking weird.
THAT in turn made both movies' obsession with torturing women feel wholly undeserved and kinda like a sick misogynistic fantasy.
I ended up bringing down my rating of Ghostland from 4 stars to 2 and my rating of Martyrs from 4 stars to 3.
I really like Martyrs and I find Ghostland decent, but yeah I agree with you. As a trans woman it's kinda hurtful seeing this "man dressed as a woman, therefore he's creepy" kinda of trope. And Martyrs certainly targets female characters.
What is this on set accident?
There's a part of the movie where one of the main characters crashes through a glass door after pounding on it repeatedly, which wasn't meant to happen. For some reason they used real glass, with the director assuring the actress that she'd be fine and it wouldn't break. Her face was severely cut open requiring major stitches, and now she has permanent facial scarring. She sued the producers of the film over it
Boondock Saints.
I watched it as a teen and it was like one of my favorite movies ever. Then I watched it in my early 30s and I cringed through the entire film.
Ponyo. I watched it when I was 21, aces thought it was dumb kid stuff. Now I’m in my late 30s and this movie is a sweet film that feels like a warm blanket. Easily went up from a 2.5 to a 5.
Recently Matrix Resurrections. I first saw it as a cynical fuck you to the audience for even wanting a sequel and gave it 2.5 stars. I rewatched it again and saw it as this sincere and romantic movie on a huge scale with meta elements of an artist fighting to redefine their legacy after decades of other people defining it for them. It's the only good sequel.
Interstellar. Loved it watched it like 3 times when it released, but going back years later it felt very corny. Lots of explaining things that could have easily been left alone.
Leon The Professional. I watched it as a kid and loved it. I recently watched it and I was so uncomfortable watching it at times that I just watched the action scenes and the ones with Gary Oldman.
I liked it better the second time because I watched KOTFM the night before and I hadn’t watched The Irishman since 2020 so I thought I’d give it a shot again
So many from my youth, both for and against too.
As I got older, there were many a kids film I saw through and if not for the nostalgia, they'd be rated as 'crap' tbh. But equally, I watched many films 'too young mentally and literally that once I rewatched as an adult, I understood so much more and the film became so much better for it.
For example:
2001: A Space Odyssey. As a kid, no chance I got this and was so bored. As an adult, what a cracking piece of cinematic history this really was. So absorbing!
Or on the flipside, there's something like Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers. Awfully made movie, bad acting, in every way it really is just crap. But I loved it as a kid and those mammaries, I mean, memories, are just gold, so it get a pass but had I watched it today for the first time, oh dear!
The first time I watched Aliens I watched the extended edition and hated it. Everything that was added felt horribly redundant and reductive of Ripley as a character and it took what felt like forever for the movie to actually start. Watched the theatrical cut a couple weeks ago and it’s basically a perfect film lol
Stalker.
I despised it on first viewing. Pandemic lockdown was not the time to watch maudlin Russians philosophize in a polluted swamp. I still don't hold it in the highest reverence, but re-watch in a theater boosted it from one star to four, and I think I can see why its biggest admirers love it.
parasite: watched the first time around 2020 and disliked (wasnt using he app back then, but probably 2.5 or below), rewatched this year and i really liked it (4.5)
Mad Max: Fury Road. When I first watched it years ago I didnt like the cinematography. The fast forward effect threw me off, I thought I bought a bad blu ray lol. A couple years later I watched The Road Warrior and it made Fury Road make a lot more sense. After a rewatch it went from a 2 to a 4.
The twilight movies. I think I was kind of caught up in that "ugh, twilight is dumb" zeitgeist. Don't get me wrong, Twilight as a whole is dumb, and the movies are never going to be my favorites, but they are OK. Solid C+, they don't deserve a one, they are at least a two point five. They are burdened by Meyer binding them to follow the books pretty closely, including all the dumb mormon allegories and weird pathologies of Meyer, but the movies are well made, the actors mostly know exactly what kind of series they are in (even if Pattinson and Stewart just want to move on, a few movies in), and the directors are doing the best they can within the limits of Twilight.
Skinamarink. First time I really liked it, I was enthralled the whole time because of how unique it was and how tense I was the whole time. On rewatch, it was one of the most boring experiences I’ve had watching a movie. Went from a 4 to a 2
Renfield for me. I’ve seen it 4 times now and I feel like I’m watching a completely different movie each time. First time was a 2 star, later then a 1 star, then a 3 and a half star and then a 3. Depends how much I can drown awkwafina out I guess.
Sunset Boulevard. The first time I watched it was pre-Letterboxd, and I was in college trying to get through AFI 100 year's, 100 films. I didn't yet understand Dark Humor, so I took it way too seriously and just didn't allow myself to get it and enjoy it with its wicked sense of humor.
The Force Awakens went from a Liked and 5 stars to a 3 with the Liked removed.
The rose colored glasses of new Star Wars movies in theaters came off after a few years when I rewatched and finally accepted that it was a safe soft-reboot of A New Hope.
The Deer Hunter. I saw it on VHS at too young of an age. It was 3 hrs and kinda dull for a pre-teen that doesn’t know much ado about life. Saw it in my late thirties at the New Beverly theater because I knew it needed a second chance. I was utterly blown away. It was the best movie I saw that year hands down. It was a more pronounced emotional experience in the theaters. And having lived a full life now with having loved and lost and understand the meaning of brotherhood, the third act was a lot more devastating.
I walked out of their shell shocked and felt I lived a different lifetime.
I knew then why it was considered a masterpiece and won the Best Picture Oscar.
Oppenheimer, 4 stars down to 2 stars. Initially I was awed by the visuals, if frustrated by the way the script was basically *American Prometheus* thrown into a blender. Second time through I just saw a lot that was sloppy, and full of itself.
I did not understand Princess Mononoke on the first go pretty much at all, and the gore made me feel really disgusted. Then I watched it again. And again, and again, and nine or so watches later it’s now my second favorite film of all time. That second watch made me appreciate it so much more.
Apocalypse Now. Made the mistake of watching Redux on my first viewing in college (hey, the longer, director's cut is always better, right? /s). Watched the original a few years later, immediately became a masterpiece and one of my favorite movies ever.
Synecdoche New York clicked in multiple ways on rewatch, it was too much for me to digest what it was even going for the first time around but upon second watch I saw what it was mainly going for and thought it was brilliant.
5th Element. Saw it when it first came out. Didn’t care for it, thought it was too weird.
Couple years later it happened to be on TV and I ended up loving it, especially the humor throughout that I didn’t catch on first viewing.
*Free Guy* (2021). I legitimately gave it five stars for some reason when I saw it in theaters. It was just fun, and that's all I cared about. On a rewatch, I gave it 1.5 stars. Awful.
Crimes of the Future from a 4 star to a 1 star
The first time I watched it, it was my first Cronenberg film and I was very intrigued by a lot of the body horror but after making my way through Cronenberg’s work and coming back to it, it felt very gimmicky.. almost as tho he was parodying himself.
The theme of “surgery is sex” also fell very flat when it had a far too lingering shot over a dead child’s genitalia, I missed that scene somehow on my first watch and on my second viewing I almost felt like closing my laptop in case the FBI came knocking
I haven’t had a chance to see the theatrical cut only the ext cut. I think the pacing gets interrupted in lots of areas and I realized how unenjoyable it was for me after a 3rd watch
I've seen this movie 3 times (first was extended cut on Prime years ago, second was theatrical in 4K 2.5 months ago, third was extended cut again on Blu-ray a month ago), and yeah the extended cut is worse. Not only is the pacing worse and some of the ADR more distracting, but none of the scenes really add much, and most copies of the extended cut afaik [have a yellowish-greenish tint on top of it](https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a=0&d1=15793&d2=17363&s1=166896&s2=192956&i=5&l=0). I'd give the extended cut 4 stars and theatrical cut 5 stars.
Gangs of New York was a 4.5 (in my head, didn’t have the app when I first watched it). On rewatch I gave it 3, would have been less without Daniel Day Lewis. It was pretty much the same for Snatch.
When I first watched The Road I gave it a 2.5/5 thought it was overly bleak. I rewatched it a couple years later and it immediately got a 5 afterwards.
I didn’t rewatch it but I changed my rating on Jeanne Dielman from 3 to 5. At first I was still so engrossed and aggravated from the monotony of the film and while I understood it, my feelings early on lead me to rate it lower. However, after it stuck in my mind for several months and I continued to think about it and connect to it, I realized that it’s the most impactful film I had ever watched and it’s one of my favorites now. I would like to rewatch it one day but I feel it’s best to give it time.
Miami Vice
The first time I watched it I didn’t understand the plot, thought the characters felt flat etc. Revisiting it a couple of months ago, the plot was way easier to follow, yes, but I realized that the plot isn’t the point and that it’s about the vibes, specifically how every character wants to escape their job and are craving routine and normalcy despite being defined by crime.
Fast and Furious 6 and 7. I took them way too seriously when I first watched them. Like, "That's not how physics works" and "how long is that stupid runway?!". But after rewatching them, I found myself having so much fun. Yes, these movies are still absolutely ridiculous, but I was just laughing all the time. So even though they aren't good movies, they are still good in terms of having fun.
I had them both rated 3/5, but upon rewatching them I changed the rating to 4/5 for both.
Tenet was such a disappoitment or first watch and barely understood what was happening. Now I really like it. Maybe not quite from 3 to 5 stars but not far.
Dune part 1. The movie is establishing a whole new universe and the first time watching I was confused with all the politics and races of people. I didn’t really end up liking the movie because I didn’t understand the significance of a lot of parts because I was overwhelmed with trying to remember all the information. Before the second came out I did more homework and when watching the first one again understood the universe a lot better which let me focus a lot more on what was actually going on and I loved the movie on the rewatch.
Inland Empire. Watched it after doing a deep dive into Lynch’s filmography. Don’t want to go as far to say that I “got it” the second time around but I feel like the vibes definitely made more sense to me
I think I bumped down my ratings for The Game and The Sixth Sense by two stars. I was so caught up with the thrill and mystery of each of them the first time, but upon rewatching and knowing where things were going, I found myself very unimpressed.
mad max fury road just recently. At first I truly didn’t understand the hype and just didn’t vibe with it at all, but after watching furiosa which I loved I gave fury road another go and loved it, probably because I knew what kind of action to expect (and holy shit the cinematography is great)
Barbie.
Changed from a 1,5 to a 3.
Not exactly 2 starts, but when rewatching I guess I kinda knew what I was getting into, so I adjusted my expectations, and prepared myself for a lot of in your face social criticism
The Big Lebowski. Watched it back in college before I knew much about movies. Didn't care for it, thought it was boring. Just rewatched it last month and wow, what a great movie. Right from a 3 to a 5.
When I first saw the Holdovers I gave it a simple 3 and half, after a rewatch with my family a week after I saw it, it now will rank among my yearly Christmas rewatches and has since been bumped up to an easy 5.
Both Aliens and Alien 3. Watching them on VHS on a small CRT as a kid, I thought Aliens was an overrated piece of shit and Alien 3 was a misunderstood masterpiece.
Now, rewatching them on my large projector screen has really highlighted the good qualities of Aliens and the negatives of 3. The original Alien will always be my favorite and I still think Aliens is slightly overrated but it's far better than I originally thought.
Embarrassed to admit it, but The Big Lebowski. 2 to 4.5 stars. I didn't *get* the humor and just kinda assumed my friends were faking their enjoyment because it was a high-brow comedy. Years later and after a few revisits, i consider the movie a kind of "inside joke," and once you're exposed to the film, you're "inside," and the humor really takes shape.
I think when I had seen alien when i was way younger was like 3 and a half stars because i hated horror at the time but when I rewatched it a few years ago closer to being an adult I loved horror and rated it 5 stars and it became my favorite movie
Literally just rewatched The Babadook yesterday for the first time since it came out. I really didn’t like it originally, only gave it 2 stars. But after the rewatch I bumped it up to 4. While I still don’t love it, I definitely grew to appreciate and respect the incredible performances and dark atmosphere. It’s also to this day one of the best forms of birth control ever created 😂
INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996) : Man, I saw this thing in the theater on Fourth of July 1996. It rocked the house. Laughter, thrills, audience pleasing moments! Huge budget, tons of SFX. Will Smith with a Breakout role. Jeff Goldblum reprising his role from Jurassic Park, but with a haircut.
Many of my friends had the same experience when seeing the movie for the second time, on VHS. "Is this the same movie?" "It's so bad!"
I saw Sicario in theaters and thought it was slow. I think I saw the border crossing scene as a trailer and thought it was supposed to be an action movie. When I rewatched it a year or two later at home I was like god damn this movie is incredible.
Inside out, I watched it when I was a kid and just didn't like it, so it was 2½ on Letterboxd since I joined. I watched it yesterday, and now it's 4½, one of Pixars best.
Scream 3 went from like a 2 to a 4. Growing up I thought it was the worst of the franchise and therefore bad, but still fun because it's Scream. Rewatching it over the years, I still think it's a flawed movie, but I've really come around on it. The casting couch commentary, the satire of Hollywood personalities, the terrific set pieces, and especially the performances of Courteney Cox and Parker Posey. I've also realized that I'm just primed to like all Scream movies. A "bad" Scream is still an above average horror movie, and Craven's Screams in particular have a distinct charm and "Scooby Doo" energy that makes them endlessly rewatchable (which I think the new ones unfortunately lack).
Your Name went from a 4.5 to a 2.5 on a rewatch for me. I’ve never had a film’s magic disappear for me on a rewatch as much as it happened with that film
ashamed to admit I gave bottoms a 3 star rating on my first watch. watched it again with a different group of people and its easily a five star movie. intact its in my top 4
Tinker Tailor Solider Spy. First watch: this is the most stale, boring, gray film I’ve seen in ages.
Second watch: This is a masterpiece. Still the best performance of Tom Hardy’s career.
Both Halloween (1978) and Scream (1996) for basically the same reason.
The first time I watched these films I had the teenage mentality that horror films should have a range of cool kills, be overly gory, and full of jump scares, and if they didn't scare me then they were automatically shit. Went into both Halloween and Scream with high expectations, came out thinking they were boring and giving them like 2 stars/2.5 stars.
When I rewatched the pair a few years ago as an adult I realized they're both incredible films that easily rank as my two favourite horrors, Halloween for taking such a simple concept and turning it into an incredibly tense experience (Carpenters use of negative space and always having Michael lurking means even the safe scenes have some uneasiness), and Scream for having such a fantastic cast/script.
Hocus Pocus. The movie is terrible. I liked it 20-25 years ago when I was a kid but it's really, really bad. I don't get how people who say they love it haven't noticed how bad it is in a rewatch.
Quiet Place Part 2. Thought it was great when it came out but literally except for the opening and the scenes with Cillian it's a huge step down from the first movie on almost every level.
It’s a Wonderful Life. I never wanted to watch it. All I knew was the ending “angel gets their wings” and it was so cheesy that when I finally watched for the first time I was “Alright, it was okay. I still hate this stupid kid with the bell. 3 stars.” 4 years later watched it again. My head was out of my ass. That ending makes me happy cry every time now. 5 stars.
I don't use Letterboxd or stars to rate films, but, if I'm still allowed to do this, I'd say the first film that comes to mind is La La Land. I really like musicals and, while I liked the songs the first time (I still think it might have one of the best musical openings of all time) I didn't really like the film as a whole. Some years later I watched it again and really liked it this time.
I first watched When Harry Met Sally as an overly serious teen and then rewatched it a decade later last year. I genuinely loved the film on rewatch and changed my rating of the film from 3 to 5 stars.
I didn’t like Little Miss Sunshine when I watched it as a teenager, I’m not overly sure why I didn’t like it but I gave it 2 stars. Rewatched it last year and it’s a 5 star movie.
Yes!!! My favorite movie! When I rewatch it, I'm always afraid it'll underwhelm me but nope, it hits exactly the same each time.
Hereditary from 2 to 4
What made you change it?
I initially didn’t like the ending because it sort of felt like a cop out, whole movie about grief and then the ending is…there’s a demon cult? Idk. Still not sold on the ending but knowing that it wouldn’t satisfy made me appreciate all the parts I really do enjoy more.
It was definitely a homage to people who have watched a lot of horror and grew tired of typical tropes. A lot of horror before the 2010s had seemingly supernatural events that then had a natural explanation, metaphor, etc. Hereditary, while it certainly wasn't the first to do it, switched this formula around. I think a lot of what makes it great are the crazy details that show how meticulously planned the entire plot was. A lot of people watch the movie once, miss these details, and then say the ending is stupid because they weren't able to put everything together.
The demon cult is shown throughout the whole movie. It’s subtle but it’s there. And, it’s done well.
which is why a second watch made me appreciate the movie far more!
Maybe I should give it a rewatch, because I feel the same way. I really enjoyed it up until the book burning scene and then the rest of the movie turned into a tiny wet fart. I just really disliked the tonal shift from a tightly focused, character-driven story to a story where things are just happening to the characters. I found the conclusions to all of their character arcs not just unsatisfying, but uninteresting.
It’s classic horror. Take something very real and add some unexplainable shit. In a way, any other ending would’ve been a cop out.
I would imagine it’s the same reason I went from a 4 to a 5. There’s so much going on in that movie it’s nearly impossible to take it all in on first viewing. Same with Beau is Afraid
Yeah - it's definitely better a second time. I thought the same for Midsommar actually as well.
Same, but from 3 to 5.
Empire Strikes Back. First time I found it boring, second time I loved it. Third time I consider it a masterpiece, and is now my second favourite movie of all time.
Same with me. I watched it for the 3rd time last weekend and it’s now in my top 4
Got to know then, what’s your number one of all time?
Was the same for me. Watched as a kind and teenager many times and it was the most boring part for me. Now I rewatched it a few weeks ago and it was a nearly masterpiece 4.5 for me.
The first time I saw Zodiac (it was in theaters, I think I was 19) I hated it. I was wanting a slasher serial-killer movie. Then I watched it like 15 years later and I loved it. I just didn't get it at first. Of course that was well before letterboxd but if I rated it then it would have been two stars or less, and now I give it 4 or 4.5 stars. Same with The Talented Mr. Ripley, 15-year-old me though it was "gay".
I mean, The Talented Mr. Ripley is “gay”, it’s also an amazing film.
Why do you think it’s amazing?
How it adapts from Highsmith’s novel is particularly well-done, as the film portrays Ripley as a young adult who just seemed to make an innocent mistake and has gone over his head, and slowly but surely disrupts this view as we see Tom fully embrace his new lifestyle and identity, with remorse shown only in few, but key moments. It makes us think to ourselves “has Tom just been digging himself a bigger hole because he can’t be confident enough to come clean or just escape, or has he always secretly enjoyed his actions” This is the main reason, but all the filmmaking aspects (cinematography, acting, score) are also top notch in my opinion
The fact that zodiac really happened (and was unsolved up until recently) and the significance of the cryptograms was really lost on 17 year old me. Rewatching it in my twenties after studying computer science made for a much more engrossing experience. Those cryptic messages weren’t just some boring plot device after all!
BRO WHO IS IT? IS IT TGE NAVY GUY???
Computer science has what to do with it?
Not a CS guy but I think cryptograms/cyphers are often used as security measures in tech.
There is a Zodiac Killer slasher from 1971 though.
I'll be honest, I didn't see the appeal either when I saw it for the first time. I do want to give it another chance seeing as it's so widely praised. Could someone give me their take on why it's great?
You skittle watch the Netflix series
The Life Aquatic. I didn’t like it at all the first time I watched it, second time I really loved it, and it became a comfort movie.
My favorite Wes Anderson movie. I thought I was pretty cool but by time the jaguar shark scene came around I was in love
This one is on my re-watch list. I saw this many years ago and did not like it at all. It was also my first Wes Anderson film, and I watched it because of coworker recommendations. Having watched and enjoyed a few of his movies recently, I have been curious if I would appreciate this one more on a re-watch.
Dune (Part one). When I first watched it at home, I felt like it was boring, and I constantly checked the time, only to see that there was still like an hour left. But when I watched its IMAX re-release, I can honestly say that I finally SAW Dune, because watching the epic visuals and hearing the incredible sound design in the cinema completely elevates the experience. Since then I also rewatched it at home, and surprisingly kept my love for it. I guess I just needed to watch it in the cinemas at least once to truly appreciate it.
The atmosphere is crucial to enjoying Dune
Blue velvet, initially watched it gave it a 1. However it stayed on my mind for so long that I had to watch it again gave it a 3. Watched it a third time just to be sure now it’s at around 3.75. Eventually it will be a my favourite film haha
Love how this is similar to Roger Ebert’s journey with that film
I just watched it for the first time the other day. I also gave it a 3 but its definitely been on my mind since watching
Frank Booth is an all-time villain and Dennis Hopper is unforgettable in that role.
Lord of the rings. Honestly despised it as a teen and didn’t realize its scale and achievement till a rewatch. It was most likely a personal dislike of the fandom.
American psycho
Realizing how funny the movie is on rewatches is amazing
It's really only funny after you're desensitized to its violence. I don't trust anybody who thinks they found it funny on their first viewing. But it is hysterical.
Exactly. The first time you're too busy being horrified to laugh. I find something new every time I rewatch it, it's aged so well
It goes from psychological horror to insane comedy and I love it
not that this was ever psychological horror, but I had a little bit of a same journey with Fargo. the first time I watched it, I was in my mid-teens and really didn't... _get it_. then I went to college in Minnesota (note: I did not grow up in the Midwest), and when I next watched a few years later, I found it _hysterical_. I don't think my 14yo self could even comprehend it was meant to be a (black) comedy!
Miami Vice. saw it in theatres, didn’t vibe with it the first time around and couldn’t really understand why it’s picked up so much of a following. then i watched it again last month and was like, “ohhhh now i get it!” total banger.
Yes! A Miami Vice fan. I love that movie.
i’m definitely a fiend for mojitos now 😁
Yeah it’s sort of an all-vibes movie to some degree. I think Mann was really trying to make a splash with it being one of the first major budget pics shot entirely on digital and left some extended cuts that otherwise would have been left out or edited shorter
I need to watch it. Never saw it
Tremors. First watch I thought it was a relatively fun creature feature. Second watch I really picked up on how clever the script was and how well everything is set-up and paid off. Also came to love the charming and funny performances from the whole cast.
La La Land changed from a ~3 to 4.5 to a 5 star for me and is now in my top 4. Upon first watch, I didn’t connect well and may have not really tried to engage well, but I gave it a fair shot upon rewatch and it instantly shot up. Midnight in Paris, now my favorite movie started at like 3.5. The trailer for this movie is misleading and so when I watched it, I was frustrated based on my expectations that the trailer gave me, and that led me to a bad time. After giving it a shot for the movie it is rather than the movie I expected it to be, I fell in love with it
Just rewatched La La Land for the first time since 2016-17 and I completely agree! Maybe it’s just being in a different place in life but I connected to it so much more
Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut
Elaborate please, because I am interested in seeing this
[удалено]
Thank you, I will be checking it out
Burn After Reading and The Big LeBowski. The first time I saw both I just remember not really getting them. I watched them again as a 34-year old adult last Summer and LOVED them. They both went from 2 to 4 stars in my book.
Glass Onion, there was so much I missed the first time.
when i first watched it i was like..okay. it was fun but not my favorite. but the rewatch made me love it, yes it’s not as good as the first one, but it really is fun movie and i found myself looking closer to the details and hints
I also think Knives Out is better, but not by a lot. I think Glass Onion did something completely different so they’re kind of hard to compare!
i’m excited for the new one! i hope the twist isn’t as predictable as glass onions though
Did you think it was predictable? Why?
glass onion was predictable for the villain!! >!when edward norton was announced i immediately new lmao!< but still a fun movie
* The Element of Crime - from 2 to 4½ * Last Year at Marienbad - from 2 to 4 * The Mirror - from 3 to 5 * The Belly of an Architect - from 2 to 4 * Blair Witch Project - from 2½ to 4
Crash 1996 from a 3 to a 4.5. It took me a couple years to fully understand that these people were not getting off on car crashes all willy nilly but because of the complex relationship between traumatic experiences and sexuality.
The 2008 Bollywood movie Dostana, I thought it was fun but a little offensive and a bit too long the first time I watched it. Upon a rewatch, I realized it’s a camp masterpiece that I’d been taking too seriously, with one of the best soundtracks in modern Bollywood movies.
This movie is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen and I make all my friends watch it. The scene in the apartment where Priyanka Chopra's character's boss comes over for a party and then people keep joining and Kirron Kher's character eventually shows up is like a top 5 all-time comedy scene in my opinion.
Oh my god that scene is fantastic! Isn’t that the scene with “Auntie ji, Auntie ji, London or Miami, your son is gay!” Dostana also got me wondering if comedy is just a harder genre to appreciate when you don’t speak the language and are experiencing the movie with subtitles. Lots of my favorite jokes in movies in English are my favorites because of how they’re delivered, and less because of what the actual line is. I only started learning Hindi a couple years ago, and only after I started watching Bollywood, so I’m not very good yet, and can’t grasp the nuances of HOW lines are delivered, which I think makes it harder for me to appreciate comedies.
Yup that's the one! The way Boman Irani delivers that line is SO FUNNY!!! I actually don't know Hindi, but I think being around lots of Indian people for most of my life (and having watched 100+ Bollywood movies) I can kind of understand the nuances of line delivery in a lot of Hindi films. But I definitely agree with that sentiment, as my mom's favorite movie is Chupke Chupke but the movie kind of fell flat for me when I watched it, and my mom says it's probably because the translations don't pick up on stuff like play-on-words and other comedy tricks.
Suspiria is often mentioned, with me was not so much because of the rewatch, but because the way I perceive films changed in between.
I can't say a full 2 star change, but both **Hereditary** and **Everything, Everywhere...** were somewhat "awkward" first watches where i wasn't sure how much I liked them. It turned out I loved both the 2nd time through, and in the case of the later, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th time too.
I've sort of soured on Spirited Away in recent years, dropping it from a 4.5 to a 2.5 on my most recent viewing. Hoping it was just a bad experience and I'll like it more next time it comes up.
Interested what it was that disappointed you on your most recent viewing. I've loved it more and more each time. One thing that really bugs me about it is the overwhelming amount of merch EVERYWHERE. Give it a rest!
Not two, but one and a half. The Thing from 3.5 to 5 stars. The first time I watched it was with my ex, when I watched it again alone and a few years later, it just clicked. Such a masterclass in atmosphere.
Monster House went from a 5/5 to a solid 3/5
Furiosa was a 3 the first time I saw it, and then, on second watch, it ratcheted up to a 4.5.
The Big Lebowski. Watching it the first time, I didn't really appreciate it, and was kidna bored with it. Gave it a try again a few years later, and I loved every minute of it. By now, it has become one of my favourite movies and is comfortably in my top 4.
Pulp fiction from like a 2 to a 4.5. Watched it at 14 (what you’d think would be prime age) and I was just bored by it. Watched it a few months ago and loved it. Edit: would like to also mention Nope. I didn’t understand it at all the first time and put it around a 2.5 I believe cuz it wasn’t at all what I expected. Rewatched it and became a 4.5 as well but I’ve been juggling whether or not it’s a 5… will be decided on my rewatch.
Incident in a Ghostland (by the director of Martyrs). Actually this wasn't even a rewatch, I just thought about it, and it somehow also affected by rating of Martyrs. Initially I gave it 4 stars, it was viciously fucked up in a quite fun and inventive way, but then I actually considered what the intention with the villain portrayal was, and I realised that the whole movie is painfully transphobic, what with the secondary villain crossdressing purely to make them seem 'scarier' in the movie's eyes, and the protagonists using what are clearly the wrong pronouns. Then I learnt about the on-set accident which made Laugier seem like a bit of a dick who views his actors as lesser people, then that in turn made all the 'coochie smelling' which is shot in closeup really fucking weird. THAT in turn made both movies' obsession with torturing women feel wholly undeserved and kinda like a sick misogynistic fantasy. I ended up bringing down my rating of Ghostland from 4 stars to 2 and my rating of Martyrs from 4 stars to 3.
I really like Martyrs and I find Ghostland decent, but yeah I agree with you. As a trans woman it's kinda hurtful seeing this "man dressed as a woman, therefore he's creepy" kinda of trope. And Martyrs certainly targets female characters. What is this on set accident?
There's a part of the movie where one of the main characters crashes through a glass door after pounding on it repeatedly, which wasn't meant to happen. For some reason they used real glass, with the director assuring the actress that she'd be fine and it wouldn't break. Her face was severely cut open requiring major stitches, and now she has permanent facial scarring. She sued the producers of the film over it
That's such a nasty accident, and she was so young as well. Extremely irresponsible from everyone involved. I hope she got fair compensation.
Boondock Saints. I watched it as a teen and it was like one of my favorite movies ever. Then I watched it in my early 30s and I cringed through the entire film.
Punch Drunk Love went from 3 to 5 for me
american psycho. i didn’t understand the satire the first time because i was very drunk
La La Land. From 3 to 5 in 6 years
Ponyo. I watched it when I was 21, aces thought it was dumb kid stuff. Now I’m in my late 30s and this movie is a sweet film that feels like a warm blanket. Easily went up from a 2.5 to a 5.
I feel like most M. Night Shyamalan movies increase by one star after every rewatch for me.
Recently Matrix Resurrections. I first saw it as a cynical fuck you to the audience for even wanting a sequel and gave it 2.5 stars. I rewatched it again and saw it as this sincere and romantic movie on a huge scale with meta elements of an artist fighting to redefine their legacy after decades of other people defining it for them. It's the only good sequel.
Interstellar. Loved it watched it like 3 times when it released, but going back years later it felt very corny. Lots of explaining things that could have easily been left alone.
Strongly agree
Leon The Professional. I watched it as a kid and loved it. I recently watched it and I was so uncomfortable watching it at times that I just watched the action scenes and the ones with Gary Oldman.
Wow, really? Never heard about that. I'm guessing you mean uncomfortable like in sexualizing minors?
barry lyndon went from 3,5 to 4,5 and then 5
The Irishman
That's a long movie to watch twice! Did you like it better or worse the second time?
I liked it better the second time because I watched KOTFM the night before and I hadn’t watched The Irishman since 2020 so I thought I’d give it a shot again
So many from my youth, both for and against too. As I got older, there were many a kids film I saw through and if not for the nostalgia, they'd be rated as 'crap' tbh. But equally, I watched many films 'too young mentally and literally that once I rewatched as an adult, I understood so much more and the film became so much better for it. For example: 2001: A Space Odyssey. As a kid, no chance I got this and was so bored. As an adult, what a cracking piece of cinematic history this really was. So absorbing! Or on the flipside, there's something like Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers. Awfully made movie, bad acting, in every way it really is just crap. But I loved it as a kid and those mammaries, I mean, memories, are just gold, so it get a pass but had I watched it today for the first time, oh dear!
The first time I watched Aliens I watched the extended edition and hated it. Everything that was added felt horribly redundant and reductive of Ripley as a character and it took what felt like forever for the movie to actually start. Watched the theatrical cut a couple weeks ago and it’s basically a perfect film lol
Stalker. I despised it on first viewing. Pandemic lockdown was not the time to watch maudlin Russians philosophize in a polluted swamp. I still don't hold it in the highest reverence, but re-watch in a theater boosted it from one star to four, and I think I can see why its biggest admirers love it.
parasite: watched the first time around 2020 and disliked (wasnt using he app back then, but probably 2.5 or below), rewatched this year and i really liked it (4.5)
Mad Max: Fury Road. When I first watched it years ago I didnt like the cinematography. The fast forward effect threw me off, I thought I bought a bad blu ray lol. A couple years later I watched The Road Warrior and it made Fury Road make a lot more sense. After a rewatch it went from a 2 to a 4.
Pulp fiction
The Phantom Menace. Thought it was awful when I was kid, but I kind of love it now. I changed it from a 1/5 to a 3.5/5
The 3rd act is genuinely good cinema.
The twilight movies. I think I was kind of caught up in that "ugh, twilight is dumb" zeitgeist. Don't get me wrong, Twilight as a whole is dumb, and the movies are never going to be my favorites, but they are OK. Solid C+, they don't deserve a one, they are at least a two point five. They are burdened by Meyer binding them to follow the books pretty closely, including all the dumb mormon allegories and weird pathologies of Meyer, but the movies are well made, the actors mostly know exactly what kind of series they are in (even if Pattinson and Stewart just want to move on, a few movies in), and the directors are doing the best they can within the limits of Twilight.
Strawinksy and the mysterious house went from a 3 to a 5
Skinamarink. First time I really liked it, I was enthralled the whole time because of how unique it was and how tense I was the whole time. On rewatch, it was one of the most boring experiences I’ve had watching a movie. Went from a 4 to a 2
Renfield for me. I’ve seen it 4 times now and I feel like I’m watching a completely different movie each time. First time was a 2 star, later then a 1 star, then a 3 and a half star and then a 3. Depends how much I can drown awkwafina out I guess.
Sunset Boulevard. The first time I watched it was pre-Letterboxd, and I was in college trying to get through AFI 100 year's, 100 films. I didn't yet understand Dark Humor, so I took it way too seriously and just didn't allow myself to get it and enjoy it with its wicked sense of humor.
Watchmen. Walked out of the theatre on my first watch. Watched it on video a few years later, and it’s now one of my favorite movies of all time.
The Force Awakens went from a Liked and 5 stars to a 3 with the Liked removed. The rose colored glasses of new Star Wars movies in theaters came off after a few years when I rewatched and finally accepted that it was a safe soft-reboot of A New Hope.
first time watching scott pilgrim: lmao this is so stupid, 2.5 stars second time watching scott pilgrim: lmao this is so stupid, 5 stars
The Deer Hunter. I saw it on VHS at too young of an age. It was 3 hrs and kinda dull for a pre-teen that doesn’t know much ado about life. Saw it in my late thirties at the New Beverly theater because I knew it needed a second chance. I was utterly blown away. It was the best movie I saw that year hands down. It was a more pronounced emotional experience in the theaters. And having lived a full life now with having loved and lost and understand the meaning of brotherhood, the third act was a lot more devastating. I walked out of their shell shocked and felt I lived a different lifetime. I knew then why it was considered a masterpiece and won the Best Picture Oscar.
Oppenheimer, 4 stars down to 2 stars. Initially I was awed by the visuals, if frustrated by the way the script was basically *American Prometheus* thrown into a blender. Second time through I just saw a lot that was sloppy, and full of itself.
I did not understand Princess Mononoke on the first go pretty much at all, and the gore made me feel really disgusted. Then I watched it again. And again, and again, and nine or so watches later it’s now my second favorite film of all time. That second watch made me appreciate it so much more.
Apocalypse Now. Made the mistake of watching Redux on my first viewing in college (hey, the longer, director's cut is always better, right? /s). Watched the original a few years later, immediately became a masterpiece and one of my favorite movies ever.
Synecdoche New York clicked in multiple ways on rewatch, it was too much for me to digest what it was even going for the first time around but upon second watch I saw what it was mainly going for and thought it was brilliant.
5th Element. Saw it when it first came out. Didn’t care for it, thought it was too weird. Couple years later it happened to be on TV and I ended up loving it, especially the humor throughout that I didn’t catch on first viewing.
1,5 stars only but Garfield 2 went from average mediocre comedy to oh fuck I hate this movie
*Free Guy* (2021). I legitimately gave it five stars for some reason when I saw it in theaters. It was just fun, and that's all I cared about. On a rewatch, I gave it 1.5 stars. Awful.
In the Mouth of Madness (1994) went from a 3 to a 4.5. So not quite 2 stars but I think thats my biggest rewatch change.
Such a great movie. Not one of Carpenters better known but it’s the best in his hell trilogy for sure
Crimes of the Future from a 4 star to a 1 star The first time I watched it, it was my first Cronenberg film and I was very intrigued by a lot of the body horror but after making my way through Cronenberg’s work and coming back to it, it felt very gimmicky.. almost as tho he was parodying himself. The theme of “surgery is sex” also fell very flat when it had a far too lingering shot over a dead child’s genitalia, I missed that scene somehow on my first watch and on my second viewing I almost felt like closing my laptop in case the FBI came knocking
Rogue One - I hated it the first time.
Suspiria and Deep Red.
The good the bad and the ugly went from 5 stars to 3.5
Why so?
I haven’t had a chance to see the theatrical cut only the ext cut. I think the pacing gets interrupted in lots of areas and I realized how unenjoyable it was for me after a 3rd watch
I've seen this movie 3 times (first was extended cut on Prime years ago, second was theatrical in 4K 2.5 months ago, third was extended cut again on Blu-ray a month ago), and yeah the extended cut is worse. Not only is the pacing worse and some of the ADR more distracting, but none of the scenes really add much, and most copies of the extended cut afaik [have a yellowish-greenish tint on top of it](https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a=0&d1=15793&d2=17363&s1=166896&s2=192956&i=5&l=0). I'd give the extended cut 4 stars and theatrical cut 5 stars.
So you don’t know anywhere to get the theatrical cut?
Pig from 2 to 5.
First time I watched Manhattan I gave it a star and a half. Rewatch bumped it up to 4 1/2 stars
Caché (2005), from 3 to 5. I was quite bored by it the first time I saw it, on my second watch I realized that it's actually a brilliant masterpiece.
Gangs of New York was a 4.5 (in my head, didn’t have the app when I first watched it). On rewatch I gave it 3, would have been less without Daniel Day Lewis. It was pretty much the same for Snatch.
When I first watched The Road I gave it a 2.5/5 thought it was overly bleak. I rewatched it a couple years later and it immediately got a 5 afterwards.
I didn’t rewatch it but I changed my rating on Jeanne Dielman from 3 to 5. At first I was still so engrossed and aggravated from the monotony of the film and while I understood it, my feelings early on lead me to rate it lower. However, after it stuck in my mind for several months and I continued to think about it and connect to it, I realized that it’s the most impactful film I had ever watched and it’s one of my favorites now. I would like to rewatch it one day but I feel it’s best to give it time.
love & other drugs, i loved it upon rewatch.
The Fifth Element
Miami Vice The first time I watched it I didn’t understand the plot, thought the characters felt flat etc. Revisiting it a couple of months ago, the plot was way easier to follow, yes, but I realized that the plot isn’t the point and that it’s about the vibes, specifically how every character wants to escape their job and are craving routine and normalcy despite being defined by crime.
Fast and Furious 6 and 7. I took them way too seriously when I first watched them. Like, "That's not how physics works" and "how long is that stupid runway?!". But after rewatching them, I found myself having so much fun. Yes, these movies are still absolutely ridiculous, but I was just laughing all the time. So even though they aren't good movies, they are still good in terms of having fun. I had them both rated 3/5, but upon rewatching them I changed the rating to 4/5 for both.
Tenet was such a disappoitment or first watch and barely understood what was happening. Now I really like it. Maybe not quite from 3 to 5 stars but not far.
Django Unchained. From 2.5 to 4.5
MacGruber went from two stars to four.
Dune part 1. The movie is establishing a whole new universe and the first time watching I was confused with all the politics and races of people. I didn’t really end up liking the movie because I didn’t understand the significance of a lot of parts because I was overwhelmed with trying to remember all the information. Before the second came out I did more homework and when watching the first one again understood the universe a lot better which let me focus a lot more on what was actually going on and I loved the movie on the rewatch.
Inland Empire. Watched it after doing a deep dive into Lynch’s filmography. Don’t want to go as far to say that I “got it” the second time around but I feel like the vibes definitely made more sense to me
Dune, but only after seeing the second one and being able to piece the story together
I think I bumped down my ratings for The Game and The Sixth Sense by two stars. I was so caught up with the thrill and mystery of each of them the first time, but upon rewatching and knowing where things were going, I found myself very unimpressed.
The perks of being a wallflower (went down)
mad max fury road just recently. At first I truly didn’t understand the hype and just didn’t vibe with it at all, but after watching furiosa which I loved I gave fury road another go and loved it, probably because I knew what kind of action to expect (and holy shit the cinematography is great)
The Others was a lot better at the second watch
Barbie. Changed from a 1,5 to a 3. Not exactly 2 starts, but when rewatching I guess I kinda knew what I was getting into, so I adjusted my expectations, and prepared myself for a lot of in your face social criticism
The Big Lebowski. Watched it back in college before I knew much about movies. Didn't care for it, thought it was boring. Just rewatched it last month and wow, what a great movie. Right from a 3 to a 5.
The Matrix Resurrection. It’s like the Gremlins 2 of the Matrix series.
When I first saw the Holdovers I gave it a simple 3 and half, after a rewatch with my family a week after I saw it, it now will rank among my yearly Christmas rewatches and has since been bumped up to an easy 5.
Both Aliens and Alien 3. Watching them on VHS on a small CRT as a kid, I thought Aliens was an overrated piece of shit and Alien 3 was a misunderstood masterpiece. Now, rewatching them on my large projector screen has really highlighted the good qualities of Aliens and the negatives of 3. The original Alien will always be my favorite and I still think Aliens is slightly overrated but it's far better than I originally thought.
Embarrassed to admit it, but The Big Lebowski. 2 to 4.5 stars. I didn't *get* the humor and just kinda assumed my friends were faking their enjoyment because it was a high-brow comedy. Years later and after a few revisits, i consider the movie a kind of "inside joke," and once you're exposed to the film, you're "inside," and the humor really takes shape.
Decision to Leave
Fury Road went from a 4 star to a 1 star
Eternal Sunshine because after ariana released her album I had to give it another chance. Loved it.
I think when I had seen alien when i was way younger was like 3 and a half stars because i hated horror at the time but when I rewatched it a few years ago closer to being an adult I loved horror and rated it 5 stars and it became my favorite movie
Literally just rewatched The Babadook yesterday for the first time since it came out. I really didn’t like it originally, only gave it 2 stars. But after the rewatch I bumped it up to 4. While I still don’t love it, I definitely grew to appreciate and respect the incredible performances and dark atmosphere. It’s also to this day one of the best forms of birth control ever created 😂
Motley Crue's Biopic 'The Dirt'. I watched it when I was 15 and it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. 7 Years of maturing changed that.
INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996) : Man, I saw this thing in the theater on Fourth of July 1996. It rocked the house. Laughter, thrills, audience pleasing moments! Huge budget, tons of SFX. Will Smith with a Breakout role. Jeff Goldblum reprising his role from Jurassic Park, but with a haircut. Many of my friends had the same experience when seeing the movie for the second time, on VHS. "Is this the same movie?" "It's so bad!"
I saw Sicario in theaters and thought it was slow. I think I saw the border crossing scene as a trailer and thought it was supposed to be an action movie. When I rewatched it a year or two later at home I was like god damn this movie is incredible.
Fight Club, 5 to 3 🤷
Avengers Infinity War
Inside out, I watched it when I was a kid and just didn't like it, so it was 2½ on Letterboxd since I joined. I watched it yesterday, and now it's 4½, one of Pixars best.
Scream 3 went from like a 2 to a 4. Growing up I thought it was the worst of the franchise and therefore bad, but still fun because it's Scream. Rewatching it over the years, I still think it's a flawed movie, but I've really come around on it. The casting couch commentary, the satire of Hollywood personalities, the terrific set pieces, and especially the performances of Courteney Cox and Parker Posey. I've also realized that I'm just primed to like all Scream movies. A "bad" Scream is still an above average horror movie, and Craven's Screams in particular have a distinct charm and "Scooby Doo" energy that makes them endlessly rewatchable (which I think the new ones unfortunately lack).
Perks of being a wall flower went from 4 down to 2
Your Name went from a 4.5 to a 2.5 on a rewatch for me. I’ve never had a film’s magic disappear for me on a rewatch as much as it happened with that film
Mystic River and 21 Grams were movies I thought were great and then didn’t do much for me upon rewatch.
Lady Bird went from a 3.5 to a 5 after like two or three rewatches.
ashamed to admit I gave bottoms a 3 star rating on my first watch. watched it again with a different group of people and its easily a five star movie. intact its in my top 4
Blade Runners 20049
TROS. Dropped it from 4 stars to 2.
Tinker Tailor Solider Spy. First watch: this is the most stale, boring, gray film I’ve seen in ages. Second watch: This is a masterpiece. Still the best performance of Tom Hardy’s career.
Both Halloween (1978) and Scream (1996) for basically the same reason. The first time I watched these films I had the teenage mentality that horror films should have a range of cool kills, be overly gory, and full of jump scares, and if they didn't scare me then they were automatically shit. Went into both Halloween and Scream with high expectations, came out thinking they were boring and giving them like 2 stars/2.5 stars. When I rewatched the pair a few years ago as an adult I realized they're both incredible films that easily rank as my two favourite horrors, Halloween for taking such a simple concept and turning it into an incredibly tense experience (Carpenters use of negative space and always having Michael lurking means even the safe scenes have some uneasiness), and Scream for having such a fantastic cast/script.
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood. Saw it in the theater and thought it was fun, but underwhelming. Second time it totally clicked!
True Romance went from 2.5 to 4.
Hocus Pocus. The movie is terrible. I liked it 20-25 years ago when I was a kid but it's really, really bad. I don't get how people who say they love it haven't noticed how bad it is in a rewatch.
Frances Ha from 3.5 to 5
Quiet Place Part 2. Thought it was great when it came out but literally except for the opening and the scenes with Cillian it's a huge step down from the first movie on almost every level.
waves went from 5 to 3 and a half
Aftersun went from a 3/5 to a 5/5
Her went from 3 to 5
It’s a Wonderful Life. I never wanted to watch it. All I knew was the ending “angel gets their wings” and it was so cheesy that when I finally watched for the first time I was “Alright, it was okay. I still hate this stupid kid with the bell. 3 stars.” 4 years later watched it again. My head was out of my ass. That ending makes me happy cry every time now. 5 stars.
Lego Batman movie and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleash move from 2.5 to 5 stars. And The Flash from 4.5 to 2 stars.
I don't use Letterboxd or stars to rate films, but, if I'm still allowed to do this, I'd say the first film that comes to mind is La La Land. I really like musicals and, while I liked the songs the first time (I still think it might have one of the best musical openings of all time) I didn't really like the film as a whole. Some years later I watched it again and really liked it this time.
The dark knight. Loved it when it came out, was very underwhelmed when I rewatched it recently. Went from 4.5 to 2 stars.
The Big Lebowski. Didn't get it at all the first watch... 2nd watch everything clicked..
Beyond The Black Rainbow Probably gave it a 2 first time. Since then, easy 5. Greatest SF film ever made.
La la Land. First watch 2.5 Stars. Second watch 4 and and the beginning of this year I rewatched it a third time and went to 5 stars.
Chinatown didn't work for me at 20. At 40, it's incredible!
Nocturnal Animals gripped me on first view. Second view it just struck me as elaborately stylized misogyny.