Word on the Street: UNC students share their top four movies, Letterboxd-style

From comedies to thrillers, romance to sci-fi, there are an abundance of popular movies and genres that audiences immerse themselves in. At UNC, the enthusiasm for cinema is alive and well, as students reflect and comment on their top four films of all time, or Letterboxd four, if they use the social movie-logging platform. 

Will Langford, first-year business administration major

“My top four are 'Gladiator,' 'The Bourne Ultimatum,' 'Ocean's Eleven' and 'Ratatouille.'

"In another life I would be Jason Bourne, so that's probably one of my top. I really enjoy watching that movie. And then 'Gladiator,' I'm a big fan of Roman history, so that takes a very cool stand on it from the more militaristic view of it.”

Raquel Grant, sophomore political science and economics double major

“So number one, I love 'Pitch Perfect 2' and then I love 'The Hangover' and then I love 'I, Tonya' and then, lastly, 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.'"

"I think I like them because they're very thoughtless, like feel good, not like complicated jokes because they're mostly funny, but they're like dumb funny.”

Nakai Moore, junior political science major

“My four favorite movies of all time are probably 'Black Swan,' 'Moonlight,' 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' and 'Parasite.'"

"I like 'Moonlight' because it delves into a very unique African-American experience, especially as it relates to different communities when it comes to intersectionality. And I like 'Black Swan' — it's like a psychological thriller — it's really cool how they made a psychological thriller about ballet.”

Kate Hendricks, first-year human and organizational leadership development major, marine science minor

"My favorite movie is 'Mamma Mia!' and then 'Central Intelligence,' 'Grown Ups,' the first one — the second one's okay, but not my favorite — and then '10 Things I Hate About You.'"

Gizem Yilmaz, junior international relations major

“My top four favorite movies, in no order, are 'Past Lives,' 'Ocean's Eight,' 'Crazy Rich Asians' and the first 'Minions' movie."

"'Past Lives' I think may be my top one. I think it's just shot so well, like the cinematography is really great, and it's a relatable movie.”

Madison Winn, sophomore environmental studies, economics double major, French minor

“My top four movies, not in any particular order, are 'Everything Everywhere All at Once,' 'Parasite,' 'La La Land' and 'Spider Man: [Across] the Spider-Verse.'”

"I like how a lot of them, either the directors are trying to do something different with the art style, or the characters and the cinematography, or just the acting is really, really good. And overall I just love a movie with a twist in it too, which I feel like a lot of those movies do.”

Emma Neal, December 2024 graduate with business administration and psychology degrees

“My top four movies are probably '[The] Shawshank Redemption,' 'The Notebook,' 'Lilo & Stitch' and 'Shrek 3.'

"'Lilo & Stitch' is my top four because that was the first Disney movie that I really remember ever watching. And I remember I went to Disneyland when I was really little and got a Lilo ring that I wore every day until one finger turned green. And so, since then, it's just been a huge comfort movie for me.”

Darlene Lara, junior political science, geography double major

“I love movies that make me really sad, but my favorite, favorite movie is 'Django Unchained,' which is not sad at all, but I love it. And then after that, I love 'Beautiful Boy,' 'La La Land' — that’s probably second — and then I like 'Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain.' It’s so dumb, but it’s so good.”

Raven Poindexter, sophomore biology, medical anthropology double major

“My favorite movies, first to fourth, are 'Titanic,' 'Jurassic World,' 'Jurassic Park' and 'Spider-Man: No Way Home.'”

"I used to be really into learning the lore behind movies, and those were all ones that I watched during that time, so I know way too many facts about all of them, and now they're very nostalgic for me because I grew up watching the Marvel movies and 'Jurassic Park' movies.”

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