
PINNLAND EMPIRE
828 FOLLOWERS
Reviews, Rants and biased opinions regarding cinema.
PINNLAND EMPIRE
1w ago
I’ll be the first to admit that I sometimes feel intimidated to write about certain specific movies that I consider to be great. These occurrences are few and far between (as they should be), but sometimes a film is so good there’s almost nothing to say outside of recommending it to as many people as possible. You can only gush about a movie so much until it starts to sound cringey. In this current age of Letterboxd/film twitter movie comedians, it’s sometimes difficult to tell if someone genuinely loves a movie or if they’re just being hyperbolic to try and get laughs & attention. If a ..read more
PINNLAND EMPIRE
3w ago
The Amputee /
The Saddest Music In The World
I knew David Lynch got me - Guy Maddin, gapersblock.com
Now that David Lynch has passed, his legacy and influence are being assessed and/or reassessed by everyone. There’s lots of lists, thinkpieces and threads on the idea of “Lynchian” and what movies fall under that category. Personally - I think it’s time to retire the Lynchian term (if you read my blog regularly then you know I’ve been pushing this for years). The term is almost always misused and it cheapens his legacy. Anything slightly “weird” gets called “Lynchian”. David Lynch n ..read more
PINNLAND EMPIRE
3w ago
Like every year, I contribute my best of the year movie lists to various blogs & podcasts. In addition to the links & videos below, I made a point to write about almost every movie this year on my list (Hard Truths being the one exception), so make sure to explore and click around within the 2024 tab (on the right) to keep with with everything I watched last year ..read more
PINNLAND EMPIRE
1M ago
Solaris / Maria
Tarkovsky’s work was rather a confirmation of my own vision - Alexander Sokurov, film comment
Stalker / The Second Circle
This post isn’t meant to reduce the relationship between Tarkovsky & Sokurov down to just a bunch of visual comparisons. They had a relationship that started as a mentor & mentee and slowly evolved to genuine friendship outside of just movies (Sokurov has dedicated books, films & essays to his late friend).
But, coincidental or not, some of the visuals between the two filmmakers are so striking that I couldn’t help myself ..read more
PINNLAND EMPIRE
1M ago
With the exception of one particular scene that I thought was really on the nose & unnecessary but also strangely important to the story, I thought The Brutalist was very good. It deals with a few things that are directly attached to my life. Now…there’s nothing I hate more than when someone makes personal relatability to a movie the determining factor as to whether it’s good or not, but architecture & design has been an integral part of the majority of my life. In addition to having an unhealthy obsession with cinema, I’m also an architectural draftsman. I’ve worked as an interio ..read more
PINNLAND EMPIRE
2M ago
Found footage horror movies can be insufferable and often times dumb, but every few years or so a new film comes along and manages to do something entertaining or slightly different within the genre. Nothing groundbreaking or “genre reinventing”. Just a fun & entertaining movie. At this point, a big part of making a watchable/somewhat believable found footage movie is finding a new-yet-logical explanation as to why someone keeps the camera rolling. Today everyone is always filming & posting themselves on all forms of social media and going live so that part of the story is kind of e ..read more
PINNLAND EMPIRE
2M ago
Wim Wenders’ latest is one of those films that’ll be miscategorized as “simple”, “light” or even “boring” to those that watch it casually or on a surface level. But beyond the time-filling hobbies and Jeanne Dielman-esque day to day routines of the film’s main character is a heavy and complex story about regret, death and making peace with the past.
Putting aside the excess baggage and semi-ambiguous family drama of the film’s main character, I find myself wanting to live the life of someone like Hirayama. He’s a simple man that takes pride in his work, loves music on cassette and spends hi ..read more
PINNLAND EMPIRE
3M ago
I went in to this without any expectation and came out pleasantly satisfied. Rose Glass’ sophomore feature didn’t break any new ground but it’s certainly a solid popcorn movie. I think some people are eager to make this out to be something more than it is due to the sexuality within the film but at the end of the day it’s nothing more than a fun crime story. And that’s totally fine. Contrary to what a lot of critics try to push nowadays, some movies exist for entertainment and/or a momentary escape. Everything isn’t some radical or political statement. On a surface level, Love Lies Bleeding ..read more
PINNLAND EMPIRE
3M ago
For those that don’t know - I’m not only from western Massachusetts but I’m a former classmate of Janet Planet director Annie Baker (not trying to name-drop. I just think it would be odd to not mention that). I don’t think my opinion on this movie holds more weight than anyone else who’s seen it, but I think I know the basic material more than the average person. Not the deeper coming of age story of an 11 year old girl and the close relationship with her quietly eccentric mother. But all the ancillary elements are very near & dear to my heart. It’s impossible for me to not feel no ..read more
PINNLAND EMPIRE
3M ago
I know this might not come off as the greatest endorsement or sell of a film, but Connor O’malley’s Rap World is all the good stuff from a Harmony Korine film (Trash Humpers & Julien Donkey Boy specifically), reshaped by someone with a much better sense of humor & creativity and zero cynicism (it is my personal opinion that Connor O’malley is one of the funniest and most talented people working today). This is absolutely the kind of movie that will be co-opted by the ironic vice magazine folks that like things ironically but I don’t think they were ever the audience in mind for this ..read more