Matt Cipolla
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cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla
@cipollamatt.bsky.social
850 followers 230 following 1.1K posts
Was a film critic for seven-ish years (Bright Wall/Dark Room, The Spool, Ebert Voices, The Film Stage, so on). Now I guess I’m just critical. Tail-end millennial trash. Music, motorcycles, etc. #MeToo Mostly on Instagram @Cipolla.Matt cipollam926@gmail
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cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · 12d
Suffice it to say that I'm on Instagram far, far more than here or anywhere else.

@ cipolla.matt
cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · 2d
Saw BUGONIA. Chuckled at times, Robbie Ryan continues to be one of the most reliable cinematographers working today, and Stone and Plemons are obviously very good, but I really needed this script to go farther, not just louder. My love for KINDS OF KINDNESS continues to surprise me. boxd.it/bwfV6V
A ★★★ review of Bugonia (2025)
I didn't have time to watch Save the Green Planet! before this, so I can't speak to how this works in relation to the original. And frankly, I do wonder if I'd have even the sort of passive engagement...
boxd.it
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cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · 12d
Suffice it to say that I'm on Instagram far, far more than here or anywhere else.

@ cipolla.matt
cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · 23d
Dead Cab for Kennedys
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cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Sep 21
To Wong Foo, Thnks fr th Mmrs! Julie Newmar
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Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Sep 18
Got a *ton* of writing done on another screenplay, then went for a motorcycle ride at around 11:45 pm. Rode past a stranger with a nice Heritage Softail, circled back around to say hi to him, and then we rode around the city for over an hour and chatted at a gas station. What a good day.
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cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Sep 12
The last two days have really been making me think of “The Misery Chick” from DARIA, easily one of my favorite episodes.
cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Sep 11
Random inspirations: MYSTERIOUS SKIN, LAST DAYS, PARANOID PARK, THE VIRGIN SUICIDES, WILD STRAWBERRIES, CHILD'S PLAY 2, AUTUMN SONATA, NEAR DARK; the music of Rilo Kiley, Broken Social Scene, Wilco, and Shellac; and... getting an autism diagnosis in my late 20s! #scriptsky
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cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Sep 11
Logline: "A troubled seven-year-old grapples with his identity and post-9/11 life as he and his family take a trip from their suburban Detroit home during the infamous Northeast blackout of 2003."

A playlist I made and wrote a bunch to: open.spotify.com/playlist/2O0... #scriptsky
Mexican Wine
open.spotify.com
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cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Sep 11
Fun! A screenplay of mine, MEXICAN WINE, is a Second Rounder in Austin Film Festival's Drama Feature competition. It also got a 9 on a Black List evaluation a few months back, which about 0.5 percent of all projects get, so if anyone's interested in reading it... or buying it from me... #scriptsky
A laurel with two quills symmetrically surrounding the words: SCRIPT COMPETITION SECOND ROUNDER AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL 2025 An email from the Austin Film Festival. At the top is a graphic of a golden typewriter with the festival's logo directly to the right. The email reads: Dear Matt, Thank you for submitting your work, Mexican Wine, to the 2025 Austin Film Festival Script Competition. We are thrilled to share that your script has been named a Second Rounder in the Drama Feature category! This distinction places your work among the top 20% of this year’s entries and is a recognition of its strong storytelling and craft. This year brought one of the most competitive pools of submissions in our history, filled with dynamic voices and original stories. Your placement reflects the impact your work made on our readers.
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cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Sep 3
Saw LURKER. A script this rushed and staccato against such emotionally passive direction would be nice if the film actually used its conceit to any (a)moral purpose, but it’s too rushed and just sort of… there. boxd.it/aXgW4X
A ★★½ review of Lurker (2025)
It's hard to tell to what degree its staccato, all-too-quick screenplay is a feature and not a bug, but it can't help but feel inherently broad either way. It essentially plays like things happening o...
boxd.it
cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Aug 26
I saw POOLS last night. It was at least the third time in a year that I saw a new movie and thought, Oh, this feels like a web series from 2012. boxd.it/aRPIDb
A ★★½ review of Pools (2024)
This is about the third time in a year that I've seen a new movie and thought, This feels like a web series from 2012. This thing sure does feel like a web series from 2012! It looks quite good, espec...
boxd.it
cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Aug 24
BOYS GO TO JUPITER kind of reminded me of this. youtu.be/5Tp2acZ95dk?...
I'm not your daddy I'm your grandpa GEICO Commercial
YouTube video by Kesa Kay
youtu.be
cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Aug 23
Of course this is why my last two ComEd billing statements have suddenly been 70 percent higher than normal.

wgntv.com/news/chicago...
AI data centers driving up ComEd electricity prices, experts say
ComEd customers viewing their bill for this current billing cycle were hit with sticker shock, and it’s not only the hot weather that’s contributing.
wgntv.com
cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Aug 23
So… has anyone else’s electricity bill been skyrocketing lately?
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cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Aug 20
72 degrees, rode up and down Lakeshore Drive past midnight, putted around the city, filled up my tank. I feel cleansed.

Also, I bought this bike with faaar past 9,000 miles on it, but yay, a nice round number!
The speedometer of my 2012 Triumph Bonneville T100 motorcycle, parked and illuminated in orange. The odometer reads 10,000 miles.
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cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Aug 19
I had a nightmare last night that I was at a SCREAM marathon and someone told me that Jonathan Glazer used AI for THE ZONE OF INTEREST.
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cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Aug 19
Glad I was able to get a quick ride in today before the sky completely opened up.
My black and grey 2012 Triumph Bonneville T100 motorcycle sitting with a black gloss Biltwell Gringo SV helmet on the seat, its visor up. Behind the bike is a small grassy area, and behind that is a harbor filled with parked boats, all their masts pointing up toward the mostly cloudy sky. The picture is taken from the left side of the bike. My black and grey 2012 Triumph Bonneville T100 motorcycle parked with a field of grass behind it and a large tree to the left side. In the far background is the distant Chicago skyline.
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cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Aug 18
Pleasantly surprised to see a Criterion release for perhaps the best movie ever. When they didn’t do anything when it turned 25 last summer, I just figured it wouldn’t get anything ever.
cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Aug 18
I’m sure the feeling will come back. I tend to hyperfixate on interests, but that doesn’t mean interests can’t still ebb and flow. Writing about movies could not pay less, so it’s not like I ever really did it for money.

Anyway, here’s James Benning’s TEN SKIES to watch: youtu.be/dnBGr6VsDVU?...
Ten Skies (James Benning) - 2004
YouTube video by accochamps
youtu.be
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cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Aug 18
I currently learn less from new films than I did before. Perhaps it’s because I already spent so many years dissecting my own taste. Maybe it’s because movies used to be more of a social vessel for me, but now that I’ve learned more about myself elsewhere, I get more from other things in my life.
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cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Aug 18
So, do I still love movies? Yes. That’s about 90 percent of what I write about, or what I write, as an author. But as a projectionist in my life once said regarding new releases, “No, I don’t hate movies. I love movies; I just don’t love any of *these* movies.”
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Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Aug 18
I recently watched James Benning’s TEN SKIES and was blown away by it. 98 minutes, ten different shots of skies, and nothing else. Its life is overpowering and I’m still digesting it. If there were more stuff like that in theaters, I guess I’d be more excited, but that’s a pipe dream.
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cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Aug 18
I guess it makes sense that I pivoted to screenwriting about a year and a half ago. I figured I’d write stuff I’d like to see: stuff with wavering, sometimes lackadaisical plots; occasionally bleak work; scripts where things just continue to happen because the world somehow doesn’t ever end.
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cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Aug 18
If there were more movies out there that toyed with internalization and lyricism—what Omnes Films is doing is a great example—I’d be more into contemporary film. But with a few precious exceptions (e.g. THE BEAST, EEPHUS), this is the least I’ve ever cared about new movies in my life. It’s weird.
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cipollamatt.bsky.social
Matt Cipolla @cipollamatt.bsky.social · Aug 18
If I think about what art form I consume the most on a quantitative level, it’s music. The form is inherently less literal than film because it lacks visuals, and it also happens to be an art I can often consume while doing other things without compromising my digestion or perception of it.
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