Letterboxd’s most eager reviewers are changing cinema etiquette: ‘I was excited to pull out my phone’

‘[Writing Letterboxd reviews] is a bit of an addiction,’ said avid user Ben Glidden. Illustration: Guardian Design / Getty Images

I completely turn my phone off when I go to the movies. Not just on silent – all the way off. I say this not because I think that I’m better than you, or that by doing so the ghost of Billy Wilder will come back to shake my hand. I consider it one of life’s little luxuries: for at least an hour and 45 minutes, I am entirely unreachable. I keep my phone off for the duration of the credits, too. It feels decadent to stay put as my fellow moviegoers slowly filter out, illuminated only by rolling text.

And, lately, the glow of the Letterboxd app.