polyptychial

I’ve lived here for three years, the longest I’ve lived in one place as an adult.

For three years I’d go on my balcony and make a photo.

For three years I captured something different every time.

Polyp(dip)tych, (noun)

a work of art composed of several connected panels.

My Favorite Movies of 2020

What a year! I know we’re a month into 2021, but January is basically 2020-part deux and the year doesn’t really get kicking until Black History Month. And honestly, with the insurrection, Cicely Tyson passing, and just the general craziness and super fandom around the inauguration, I needed a break. But now I’m back and I wanted to get my list in before the end of February, once Black History month ends the year begins to lurch forward at break neck speed. For my list I’m only including movies I saw in 2020, so some of the trendy art movies I just recently saw aren’t going to be on the list. Which means Regina King’s absolutely incredible One Night in Miami won’t be on the list because I saw it like two days ago. Outside of the top 4 everything else on this list is pretty much interchangeable. While these movies span the gamut in terms of themes and impact I think my top 3 really spoke to this feeling of muddling through life and waiting for just the right moment where you can transcend into something bigger and more beautiful. Sometimes that meant losing yourself in the middle of dance floor, sometimes that meant getting your old ass on a stage to rap in front of an all white audience. No matter the differing context all these movies packed such an emotional punch I felt lighter after seeing them, and more hopeful. Let’s see if 2021 can live up to that hope, Lord knows 2020 tried its best to beat it out of us. As always, I implore you, watch one of these movies (any of them really) you’ll be better for it.

A young Black romance set in 1950’s New York, free of the typical strife but filled to the brim with beauty. This movie is so dazzling and really sturdy. I know sturdy isn’t always the sexiest way to describe a movie but I’m pretty sure this movie has instantly entered into the Black Cinema Classics people will be revisiting for the next 50 years. Outside of its questionable approach to handling gender dynamics and relationship expectations, it’s not trying to do something new it’s a straightforward romance about two young lovers, and the ups and downs that come with love, art and family. I think Tessa Thompson is the standout here, she did not come to play and is taking every role she gets to prove she’s a super star. It doesn’t hurt that it ends in Detroit too.

Watch Sylvie’s Love here

Bad Education follows the real life story of a principal in Long Island who is exposed for a long running embezzlement scheme. Having attended a somewhat notable high school it was so funny to see the lengths adults went to keep the heir of success around the schools reputation. This came out early in the pandemic and I couldn’t help but watch it every time it aired on HBO. There’s something strangely magnetic about the cinematography, with its chunky texture and packed framing that just makes it instantly rewatchable. There’s also Hugh Jackman who feels so slimy and yet charismatic that his performance carries this nice-guy sinister malevolence that is unshakable. The scenes where he’s going off on people or using his soft force to bend people to his will are just impossible to take your eyes off of.

Watch Bad Education here

This isn’t scary (I think I’m incapable of being scared anymore) but man does it surprise and keep you guessing and looking in every corner. The only Invisible Man I used to acknowledge was Hollow Man which tackles some similar themes around the relationship between men and women and the inherent power deficits that create conflict. Where this one exceeds the previous is its focus on one theme; gaslighting. The last sequence in this movie feels so good I wish I could have saw this in a packed theater just so I could lead a standing ovation.

Watch Invisible Man here

This was the last thing I saw in a theater right as things were locking down. It follows two friends in 1800’s Pacific Northwest who are on their way to becoming the regions first food sensations, they just gotta rob a cow on the way. I won’t lie at first I wasn’t impressed, its slow, kind of slight, and very subtle. But it refused to leave my brain. The images and mushy textures are just so indelible its like this movie is a constant soft whisper that won’t leave my ear. While nowhere near as intense it felt like a lower key There Will be Blood, talking about men, the elusive nature of the West, and what capitalism does to this country and its people.

Watch First Cow here

A group of middle aged high school teacher friends decide to try day drinking to bring some excitement to their life, things go well…until their eventually being peeled off the early morning street with hangovers. This movie walks a thin line between showing the excesses of alcohol abuse but also the benefits of a good social lubricant. It’s also heartachingly sincere, and without a doubt one of the best endings ever. I had a glass of wine after watching, it brightened my night.

Watch Another Round here

I watched this movie in two-ish sittings, mostly because the first half is really punishing, but even after seeing the first 30 minutes I knew this movie would end up on this list. It follows a metal drummer and recovering addict who begins to slowly lose his hearing and decides to go to a deaf community to begin his transition into a new way of life. I thought this would be disability porn, where the idea of losing a sense becomes this all encompassing tragedy engulfing our able bodied protagonist. But this movie is a lot more, and digs into how truly ready any of us are for the upheavals life will throw our way.

Watch Sound of Metal here

I’m working on another piece about struggle in film and this movie just hits you in the gut and won’t stop twisting the knife. We follow a family in the UK as the dad takes on the job of what is essentially an Amazon delivery driver. Its all mundane things, but for any person whose had to work to make ends meat you know that your always one mistake, one persons ill will, one fuck up away from calamity. Living life on that edge can make for exploitative cinema but here it’s nothing but empathy, observation, and compassion. Another great yet sad ending.

Watch Sorry We Missed You here

I was afraid this movie would be too woke, trying to hard to be critical, but it hits all the right notes. Radha (write, director, and star) is legitimately funny, and outside of that I think the cinematography and direction here are really top notch and don’t get enough attention. Her escapades as a teacher, rapper, and playwright speak to a question I have a lot these days; will I ever “come of age”? Or will life just keep throwing curve balls that I will marginally improve at hitting. I think after watching this movie Radha would say that the feeling of never quite arriving is just life. The sooner you accept that, and learn to laugh at random white men’s asses, the quicker you’ll achieve happiness.

Watch The Forty-Year-Old Version here

Time has the most conventional setup of any movie, a woman waiting for her man to get out of prison and the long journey of raising a family and yourself alone. However, director Garrett Bradley goes out of her way to construct a piece that feels so elegiac that by the time your sobbing at its end, the films’ arms are firmly wrapped around you comforting you through the pain. Movies like this make me want to write books about editing, and black and white cinematography, and home videos as Black art. There’s something so exciting about the depth we gain from seeing this trove of footage over the years, showing a family changing, struggling, and pushing toward tomorrow. I think we’re on the cusp of a Black revolution in experimental documentaries and while this is more accessible than say Hale County from a few years ago, its no less impactful. If you don’t ugly cry in the last 10 minutes you might need to hang it up.

Watch Time here

I warned you three months ago. This movie has everything 2020 didn’t. Parties, people, crowds, chance encounters, everything I missed. But I think even without all that, the direction, the cinematography, the trust it has in its audience, chefs kiss! As I said in a blog a few months back, Steve McQueen is doing the Lords work. Upon re-watching this movie I was reminded of another filmmaker I love who says a great movie doesn’t just show you some stuff, it buries you alive in an experience. This was that, Lovers Rock buried me alive and I didn’t want to come up for air.

Watch Lovers Rock here, (and when it comes out on Blu-ray I’ll be the first to let you know!)

Below is the complete list along with some other favorites that were right at the edge.

1. Lover’s Rock

2. Time

3. The Forty-Year-Old Version

4. Sorry We Missed You

5. Sound of Metal

6. Another Round

7. First Cow

8. Invisible Man

9. Bad Education

10. Sylvie’s Love

    Honorable Mentions / They Almost Had It!

11. Dick Johnson is Dead

12. Bacurau

13. The King of Staten Island

14. Soul

15. The Vast of Night

Bending the Form: Debbie Allen and a Dream of Black Dance

One thing I looked forward to more than anything in high school were the seasonal dance concerts. The concerts were always held on Fridays during the last two or three hours of the day, so you got to miss class and see your friends all dressed up and prancing around the auditorium. Every year the concert would begin the same. The dance instructor, Ms. Ellis, would glide onto stage welcoming the audience of rowdy teens in a tone as stern as it was elegant. Ms. Ellis would lay out very specific instructions for appreciating the art we were about to experience. You were not to applaud or make noise of any kind during the performance. As audience members we were only allowed a light round of applause at the end of a piece, with hoots and hollers held to a minimum. She emphasized the work that went into every minute of dance we were about to witness, and she closed her welcome with a severe warning: if you disrespect this auditorium, these dancers, or stepped out of line in anyway she would have no problem cancelling the entire concert.

Now this might sound intense, it was, but being the goody-two-shoes I was I made sure to be quiet. In those two hours I saw young Black bodies like mine moving in ways and to music I had never imagined. I have pretty strong opinions about most art (film, music, photography) but dance has always been one of those things I find so elusive. I’m so in awe most times I have no time for analysis or critique, just appreciation. So it was more than refreshing and a bit surprising when my fiancé forced me to watch the new Netflix documentary about Debbie Allen’s dance academy. The surprise being that the same intensity and ferocious attention to detail that I had grown accustomed to during high school was fully embodied in Debbie Allen every moment she was on screen. It was so strange to see a woman so accomplished, who to this day has a successful career directing television, confront her students with the same energy as an overworked Detroit public school teacher like Ms. Ellis.

“It’s hard when the craft that chose you was not made in your image”

Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker is a recent Netflix documentary chronicling the Debbie Allen Dance Academy’s largest annual production and the students that make it possible. The documentary isn’t breaking any formal boundaries, giving us the basic count down of weeks until the big show. It does inject snippets of Allen’s and her student’s lives throughout and its in those moments the film soars. Like Black people that love any classical form of art, there is the inherent tension in our embrace of mediums that were created for traditionally white audiences. Or as Kylie Jefferson, a former student at DADA, put it “it’s hard when the craft that chose you was not made in your image”. For the young women, men, and for Allen herself, no matter how many times the traditional dance establishment rejected them they continued on, compelled by their love of the form.

Allen’s academy, and honestly her entire career, seems to be an attempt to bend that form towards Blackness, hence the Hot Chocolate Nutcracker. That mission is on full display throughout the film, as the movie captures Allen applying the traditional rigor and standards of dance companies to this children’s production. But the tension is also present throughout. In one scene the white instructor Allen has on staff takes issue with a modified ballet dance style Allen has the students doing. Allen stands firm in her direction but you are constantly aware that what Allen is creating is a constant negotiation between tradition and Blackness.

Where the real fireworks fly however are in the rehearsal scenes, which constitute most of the film. It’s these scenes where Allen’s dedication to these students take me aback. You can see how much she cares, yelling at them to take things from the top, staying for long rehearsals, and even stepping in to dance herself. There are multiple scenes with Allen squatting, low to the ground, looking dead into the eyes of a five year old Black girl asking her if she’s ready for this journey. And while some of these students come from the households with estates and with last names like Carter, the documentary goes out of its way to highlight the more than 75% of students who are there on scholarship. Negotiating the terms and expression of art will be a constant battle but one thing is settled, Allen has created a community institution in South LA that will be drawing in goody-two-shoes and not so goody-two-shoes kids for years to come. I think this is definitely worth your time, watch this movie!

Notable Movies Watched this November:

1. You Got Served (2004) - Another gem of the 2000’s, but I won’t lie outside of the dancing this was pretty rough. Acting was not great, I’m more than sure it was shot on an early Nokia, and despite all that it remains a classic.

2. Mangrove (2020) - I think Steve McQueen is moving in his purpose and it is a wonder to behold the art that comes from that. I hope all artist can learn to trust themselves this much with their stories.

3. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) - Wholesome, wholesome, wholesome. Probably has some deeper things going on under the surface but I think it does a great job of celebrating all those who feel outside the American white mainstream culture.

4. Citizen Kane (1941) - I’ve seen so many clips of this in school but avoided watching it at all cost, just too much pressure. But who would’ve known, its good, really good, basically a classic lol.

5. Influenza (2004) - What if Parasite was shorter and somehow better? Watch this short and you’ll know that Bong Joon-Ho is making the same movie over and over again and I’m not mad about it.

Notable Books read in November:

1. Beautiful Catastrophe (2005) by Bruce Gilden - This man is fearless. Some of the most uncomfortable street portraits you’ll ever see but also the most miraculous. Still figuring out how I feel about this type of surprise-attack street photography but these photos are a site to behold.

2. A Promised Land (2020) by Barack Obama - I haven’t finished this book, not sure I will, but my only hope is that we can start to have the larger and more critical conversation around Obama in the next decade.

Notable Albums Listened to in November:

1. Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) (2020) by Kali Uchis - Gorgeousness beamed into your ears, I think this has the most Spanish lyrics of any Kali project thus far and she is definitely in her element.

…

eric

Beach is Better

Happy Thanksgiving folks! Growing up in Detroit I always associated this time of year with crunchy leaves paving the driveway and early morning frost on the wind shield. But I live in LA now, and boy oh boy is fall slacking here. Now LA does have a bit of fall, the leaves do turn in certain places, and its been a little cool for the last few weeks, but the palm trees and mostly 70 degree weather is a curve ball I’ve slowly learned to accept.

I’ve traded in my pumpkin patches and cider mills for the crown jewel of the LA experience: the beach. The beach truly is the saving grace of California and west coast life. I was once a skeptic but in this long long year the beach continues to be the perfect getaway.

A little while back some friends and I randomly went to the beach for a normal Sunday outing. It was one of those beach days where you get there at just the right time, there aren’t throngs of families, it isn’t too dirty, and the sand isn’t molten lava. The day was so nice and regular I almost forgot the photos I took that day. In my down time between prepping my grandma’s dressing recipe and helping my partner with their mac & cheese I thought these photos captured everything great and surreal about the beach.

The camera I was using captures everything in portrait mode by default and has a somewhat wide field of view. This gives all of the images so much room to breathe, and the immense nature of the frame really highlights just how vast the sand and sky are on a nice day at the beach.

Me friends!

Random couple, couldn’t avoid the target on his back.

Am I flexible yet?

Steve & Barry’s Black Dream

Still from Steve McQueen’s film Lover’s Rock one fifth of his anthology film series Small Axe premiering on Amazon November 20

My fall break turned into an autumn sabbatical. My bad. Work, birthdays, COVID, the election; things kind of just slipped away. But I’m back! I won’t go making any promises on frequency but you can count on me to fill your inboxes with my insights until at least the end of the year. I know last time I was here I mentioned a dissection of Chris Rock’s filmography, don’t worry its on the way, it just ended up being way longer that I wanted (editor needed). I thought I’d come back to you with something short and sweet, along with my early call for my favorite movie of the year. Enjoy!

Two of my favorite directors are back in the spotlight, one at top form releasing five movies in one day, the other teasing us with trailers from his next project. Of course I’m talking about Steve McQueen (director of 12 Years a Slave and Widows) who seems to have finally come into full form as a Black filmmaker with the release of his five film anthology Small Axe. Then there is Barry Jenkins (director of Moonlight) who’s tackling a slave narrative for his next project in the Underground Railroad and has injected it with so much beauty and dignity my eyes hurt. Small Axe premieres today and will be releasing one of its five new films every week on Amazon and Underground Railroad has yet to set a release date.

I’ll start with McQueen since I’ve actually seen one of the five films comprising Small Axe back in October. I’m not going to bury the lead here, McQueen’s Lover’s Rock is the best Black house party movie I’ve ever seen. Does it matter that this party takes place 40 years in the past, does it matter these West Indian Black people are across the pond in London, and does it matter that I didn’t know a damn song that played in the entire movie: hell no! McQueen and his cinematographer Shabier Kichner (also Black) have put together something incredibly special from the opening shot to the last. They seamlessly capture the rhythm of a long night out; starting with the reluctant friend who doesn’t want to be out all night, to the DJ prepping the perfect track list.

But what separates McQueen’s foray into the party drama is his attention to detail. Only he would stop the movie to focus on the figure 8 sway of hips as a crowd grinds and dutty wines closer to each other. The vaporization of sweat off rolling waves of Black bodies as it converts to steam condensing back onto the dance floor walls. But he also captures the ways we hurt and heal one another with our bodies over the course of a long night. I wish I could describe every delectable moment of wild Black bliss in this movie but alas the onus is on you to watch it (there is a mosh pit scene, it is epic). I implore you, watch this movie, it will not disappoint, then go listen to Silly Games by Janet Kay.

Before McQueen made 12 Years a Slave and Widows, all his movies had white protagonist. I don’t think that made his cinema any less engaging or Black for that matter (a longer conversation on Black cinema) but the subject of all of his previous work focused so much on isolation and relied on such austere visuals that it lacked the raw joy of Small Axe. I think years of telling stories far from home brought McQueen back to his own neighborhood to fill a hole in the culture. There is a lot of buzz around the diaspora wars and Black Brits playing American roles, and while I don’t feel like wading into that fight today I can say that McQueen is doing the work that needs to be done by championing Black British stories and the need for stories of the entire Black diaspora. Small Axe is bold and ridiculously ambitious, McQueen saw this huge gap in Black British representation and decided to make five movies about it, covering different genres and times, but all centered on one community, his community.

With Barry he’s back at it again with the slow push ins and close ups that make your eyes want to swallow the frame. Jenkins is adapting Colson Whitehead’s great book The Underground Railroad where for all those who didn’t pay attention in history class its an actual railroad this time. So far Jenkins has released three teasers, the one I have here is the most recent he released on his birthday (Scorpio gang!). Each trailer has those creamy pastels and Nicholas Britell’s music is just next level. The slave drama can be a tough one for folks, and the fact that its one of the few Black stories to easily get white funding can make it more than problematic. But I think slavery as an institution can always use more light, and I think with Jenkins being an African American descendant of slaves raised in South this is going to be something special.

Notable Movies Watched this Fall:

1. Tenet (2020) - Saw this at the drive-in, was mostly underwhelmed. Some great fight sequences but way too dense and I’m sorry but John David Washington’s lack of a line up and fade really bothered me

2. Oceans 11 (2001) - I still love 13 more, only because I saw it first, but this was textbook good, it will be copied for generations

3. We are Who We Are (2020) - Best title cards for a TV show ever and Luca Guadagnino excels at creating tender moments and genuine characters, Jordan Kristine Seamón is a star

4. Lovecraft County (2020) - After episode four I wasn’t a fan, another thing that had great moments but boy was it dense

5. Mo' Better Blues (1990) - I like most of this, then Spike drops the ball. He really didn’t know what to do with these women as fully realized characters, I will say Giancarlo’s fit was impeccable every scene

6. His House (2020) - This is flat out a good movie, but I was really in the mood to be scared and this just didn’t terrify me when I needed it most. I like Wunmi Mosaku much more here than in Lovecraft Country

7. Waiting to Exhale (1995) - Did you know Forrest Whittaker directed this? And that it takes place in Arizona? Me either! This has loads of iconic moments but the pacing and structure feel off in every scene, I also wanted more Whitney and All State man

Notable Albums Listened to this Fall:

1. Before (2020) by James Blake - Five songs. All gems.

2. Savage Mode II (2020) by 21 Savage & Metro Boomin - For the longest my friend tried to convince me 21 was the caviar rapper of trap, I’m now a true believer

3. Hold Space for Me (2020) by Orion Sun - I saw Orion perform two years ago in a dusty warehouse in North Philly now they’re making music that breaks you in two and puts you back together, please listen they are on their way up

…

eric

Scraps

Sorry about missing last week, but I really needed the break. Hope everyone was able to sneak away for the long weekend. Today’s entry is light, thought I’d give you the usual updates on things that peaked my interest and also share some photos. I’m working on compiling another Photo-Mixtape and I always run into the issue of leftover pictures or scraps that are good but just don’t fit the theme or vibe. So here are a few fairly unremarkable photos that I’ve had to pass on but I thought were still worth sharing. And for good measure I threw in an absolutely incredible photo at the end I didn’t take but I feel everyone needs to see. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Took this one in Long Beach. That kid turned at just the right moment and bam! Leaving the beach as a kid was always rough.

Ikea parking lot on a dismal morning. Those cones were glowing though.

Can’t remember if this was at the Inglewood or Hollywood cemetery, either way palm trees in cemeteries will never make sense to me.

This is the one not by me: Photo by Tim Hursley, used in 1979 for the Museum of Modern Art architecture exhibit, “Transformations in Modern Architecture.” The image is of the Renaissance Center in Detroit, designed by the architect John Portman.

A quick preview for next week; I’ll be diving into Chris Rock’s oeuvre, specifically looking at all of the feature films he’s directed. His movies are some of my favorites, even when they’re rough around the edges, so I’m looking forward to re-watching. I’ve seen all the movies he’s directed except Top Five, which I only hear good things about. Not sure what the “take” will be, but I feel Chris Rock is one of our most enduring, and somehow the least problematic, comedy auteurs. I’ll unpack that a bit more in a week’s time. Until then stay safe, and for all my West Coast peeps (myself included) enjoy the apocalyptic skies.

Notable Movies Watched in August/September:

1. The Whistlers (2019) - Confusing yet enjoyable, stylish, dark, and despite its cryptic presentation it made me feel for everyone, also has a great last shot. Also also this movie has a very explicit sex scene in the beginning…I only bring up because I watched this on an airplane

2. Ali (2001) - This Will Smith performance is honestly good, like really good. I think the movie spends a little too much time with Malcolm X, especially since Spike kind of gave us the definitive look at this only a few years before. Doesn’t feel especially Michael Mann-y and a little to biopic-y as well, but really gets all the texture and emotions right

Notable Books Read in August/September:

1. I Can Make You Feel Good (2020) - Tyler Mitchell’s images are just so scrumptious and free its easy to get lost in them, I’m still not sure there is an emotional core though…but I like it, I think these images will come to define the latter 2010’s and our ideas of Black freeness and opulence (for better and worse)

…

eric

A Land Called Foolish Pride

Another week and another day this photo comes to define this year. I originally published these photos as part of my photomixtape “I’m Locked Inside A Land Called Foolish Pride” about a month ago, the photos in it are even older. These images were made at the height of the protest, around the beginning of June, which feels like 100 years ago at this point. As someone with very little hope for this iteration of our country, it feels like there will be stories like the past week until the day I die. That doesn’t mean I won’t applaud, assist, and struggle with the people fighting everyday to make sure that isn’t the case, but it does mean I will always have a healthy dose of skepticism. But this post isn’t about our larger struggle, its about these photos and how I think still being an amateur with this photography stuff yielded some impressive results and some of my favorite photos that spoke to me this week especially.

Today I thought I’d do a commentary on the creation of the images in this photo-mixtape collection I’m calling “A Land Called Foolish Pride”. (Forewarning, these photos are basically illegible if your brightness is down so turn it way up for the full experience.)

Technical Specs

I shot this on my Nikon F3, which is a durable and compact professional film camera made in the 90’s. Now, not being anywhere close to a professional I was kind of wielding this beast without the full finesse and insight it deserves. With the camera, I used a 50mm lens and this very peculiar film stock called Ferannia P30 which was originally a black and white negative film used in old Italian movies, adapted for film cameras. The main thing to know about the film is its very contrasty, meaning the whites are very white and the blacks are very black.

Capturing A Crowd

Camera in hand, it was several minutes into the protest before I realized that this had been the first time I had been close, sharing the same space and energy of folks, in months. I think there was something about that collective rule breaking, being right up against one another, that adds a certain electricity to these photos when I look back at them. My camera became an extension of my hands as I reached up, down, and around to get shots of people who were celebrating, folks who were angry, and folks dealing publicly with an anguish few could understand. I’m sure having auto-focus would have made that day a lot easier, but the little effort I had to put into focusing right on people’s faces, on their backs, on their fists, I think added something to the final photos.

Le Results

Because of the film’s sensitive nature and my general inexperience I ended up underexposing all of my images, making the blacks extra inky and the whites blown out. However this amateur mistake ended up being quite the blessing in disguise. I remember when the protests were in full swing there was a conversation on social media about who gets to photograph and share these moments, and more importantly the tactical importance of obscuring activist identities from the state. So before these photos were developed I felt a way about whether or not to publish them. The mistake I made of underexposing addressed this for me. The darkness of the photos lend them a kind of mysterious and stark quality, but they also hide people’s faces. The results become more figurative but I think they still show the feelings people felt that day. My favorite photo is the cover image, not only because the stark black and white really work but also because I think shame is where the white mainstream is stuck at right now. There’s beauty in fully recognizing the state as the inherently violent actor it is, but also a tragedy that people have landed on shame as the answer to its brutality. If we don’t move past shaming and towards real retributive justice we’ll continue to be stuck.

Hope this gave you some insight into my process, and would love to hear thoughts. This is the first post with a comment section, so let me know what you think below. Also listed some recommendations from the past month, enjoy!

Notable Movies Watched in August:

1. Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) - The colors in this movie are just the pinnacle of colors in a Wes Anderson movie. Also the pinnacle of whip pans.

2. Luce (2019) - Did the most, to say so little…also, I’m already an Octavia Spencer stan but my hate for the lead character embolden me to the point of fanaticism. (maybe it was a good movie)

Notable Books Read in August:

1. Gordon Parks The Atmosphere of Crime (1957) - so much talent in one body

2. What We Lose: Zinzi Clemons (2017) - not as heartbreaking as I expected, but still emotionally stripped to the bone

Notable Albums/Singles Listened to in August:

1. Fantasy(s.) (2020) by Against All Logic - he flips & whips 2000’s Beyonce…and it works!

2. Quarantine Cassanova(a.) (2020) by Chromeo - really funny and catchy, perfect time capsule

3. My Future(s.) (2020) by Billie Eilish - the anime music video put it over the top

4. Lianna La Havas(a.) (2020) by Lianna La Havas - still think she’s cosplaying as Corrine Bailey Rae but best opening to an album this year

5. Gold Teeth(s.) (2019) by Blood Orange, Project Pat, Gangsta Boo, and Tinashe - this is exactly what I like to drive to

…

eric

When we all could agree Nick Cannon was Great: A review of “Love Don’t Cost a Thing”

It’s probably important to say that I started thinking of this review well before Nick Cannon got himself into the boiling hot water he’s currently in. I was stuck at home and going through my DVD collection and saw this gem, and decided it was too good not to talk about here. Then Nick had to go and make things complicated...again. So this review isn’t some stealth support for Nick or some slick condemnation, just my true unadulterated love for “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” (LDCT) a movie that guided me through the 2000’s. Now onto the review.

“Love Don’t Cost a Thing” is my favorite high school movie. Thought it’d be good to let you know where I stand right off the bat. My impartiality partly comes from it dropping at the exact right moment as I was coming of age in the 2000’s and watching movies I had no business seeing. I mean just listen to this synopsis on the back of the DVD case and tell me this isn’t peak 2000’s:

“Academically, Alvin is off the charts. Socially, he’s a big fat zero. But Alvin has a plan to go from geek to elite, from shy boy to fly boy, from misfit to mack daddy. Wannabe playa Alvin is making his play. Nick Cannon portrays Alvin, who offers to fix the damaged car of popular, babelicious Paris (Christina Milian) if she’ll pose as his girlfriend. But popularity has a price. Is he too bling-bling to see that Paris is falling for the old Alvin? What Alvin really wants is there for him. And it don’t cost a thing.”

On top of it climbing to the precipice of the 2000’s bling era, this is undoubtedly one of the few high school movies with Black leads. There are plenty of high school movies that feature supposed high school aged Black characters, but movies about black people navigating the awful and complicated landscape that is secondary education seem to be rare. In BET’s Top 10 Black high school movies, LDCT doesn’t even make it into the listing, they have “Lean on Me” as number one. I mean, forreal? This is a list that includes Rick Famuyiwa’s classic “Dope” but doesn’t include his 1999 masterpiece “The Wood”. But, terrible list aside I am submitting this film to the library of Black Cinema Cult Classics (or BC3s as I call them). It hits all the marks: reviewed poorly by the mostly white film critics, was #4 at its opening box office, and seems to be missing from our current conversation around 2000’s nostalgia.

First, lets talk about Christina Milian who is just beaming with charisma and star power. Despite the characters in the movie obsessing over how gorgeous she is, I think the film does a good job of not objectifying her completely. And for my money, this is Nick Cannon’s best work. His performance is not as guarded as he is in “Drumline” but he doesn’t condescend when playing the nerd. The magic really happens when Nick and Christina are on screen together, whether they’re shooting flirty stares at one another or in the middle of an argument these two are just electric. I’m very surprised they didn’t star in like 5 movies together after this. Nick really had back-to-back wins during this time, he gets his first starring vehicle in “Drumline” this LDCT drops in 2003. He only needed one more movie I think, and he would have been one of the Kings of the 2000’s, he would have a trilogy of instant classics, but alas, his next starring role wouldn’t come until 2005’s “Underclassman”, which is just not good.

We can’t forget the unsung heroes of this movie; Ashley Monique Clark, Keenan Thompson, and Steve Harvey. These three bring the funniest parts of the movie; Ashley as the little sister is the right mix of annoying, nosey, and lowkey right about everything, Keenan adds just the right dose of over the top humor and Steve brings the black dad-isms in all the right places. I think this is Steve Harvey’s only role where he really gets to play up his comedic talent but also his dramatic. The final scene between Steve and Nick on the bed, when all feels like its lost, he’s not cool, he can’t be a nerd, and his dad comes in to save the day, is just magical. The direction is simple, the performances are sincere, and the score comes in so subtly it doesn’t hammer home the message “BE YOURSELF” but gives you a small tap in the right direction.

The film is a remake of a 1987 movie starring Patrick Dempsey called “Can't Buy Me Love” which apparently had a much more cynical tone and takeaway. The main thing separating this movie from its predecessor is the fact that it was co-written and directed by a Black woman, Troy Beyer (like her many talented black directing peers hasn’t gone on to direct another major film at this scale since). I think there’s something about the tenderness and humanity she brings that pushes this beyond just being some saccharine overly long sitcom movie. There’s a moment when Paris says “Popularity is work” and I think this movie showed that popularity is work but so is being lame and a nerd. It takes work to maintain relationships no matter the imagined social strata they exists on. Knowing the brands and cool places to hangout seems like just as much work as knowing about Yu-Gi-Oh cards and anime.

This film isn’t breaking any formal boundaries but man is it doing everything just right. I have to shout out the costume designers Jennifer Mallini and Christine Peters, everyone’s outfit says everything you need to know about them. Special shout-out to whoever put together Christina’s first all-white pool outfit.

Now, with my adult eyes there are some issues I noticed, like the pacing towards the end feels a bit off, and when you watch the deleted scenes there’s definitely some areas where I felt like we could’ve used some more breathing room. But that’s about all I can do when it comes to criticism, this is as close to perfect when it comes to teen movies. Well, I guess the Mom’s wig is pretty bad, but I’ll chalk that up to the industry. And the bully on the basketball team clearly had anger issues, and was very much a 47 year old man. Also did we talk about the soundtrack! The Soundtrack! Bring back Murphy Lee, bring back the double XL shirts, bring back the braids and Sean John headbands, and even though its already back, bring back the king of 2000’s footwear the all white Air Force Ones. I beg that you listen to the main song for the movie "Luv Me Baby"-by Murphy Lee featuring Jazze Pha and Sleepy Brown.

Even after all these thoughts, I’m still not entirely sure why I love this movie so much. Maybe its because I have vivid memories of practicing Soulja Boy dances with my cousin when YouTube was in its infancy, or maybe its because I grew up with a work-all-the-time dad that was cooler than me and listened to Al Green non-stop. But you cannot tell me this movie isn’t good. If you have not seen it, I implore you, watch this movie. It will not disappoint.

…

eric

P.S. To all the new subscribers’ thanks for making it to the end, this is way longer than my reviews will normally be. You can find other reviews on the site, along with my photography.

welcome to my blog

Never thought this would be starting during such heavy times. I really just wanted a space to talk shit and show what I’ve been working on, but it feels like the universe is determined to ruin a good time. So despite the ever worsening circumstances, welcome to my blog. I want this to be a space you can rely on to hear my thoughts on movies, art, Black things and everything in between. Hopefully with some depth and insight, but I can’t make any promises. I’ll also be using this as a space to lovingly dump my photography and any ongoing projects I’d like to share.

I should probably tell you a little about me, my name is Eric I’m a Detroit native and current resident of Los Angeles. I love movies, read comics, and sometimes collect books just to see them on my shelf. I love all things arty but movies are my thing. I’ve mostly avoided putting my thoughts on the internet because it seemed like too much and honestly I’m just sensitive and easily influenced. But now felt like the perfect time, with more time than I know or want to know what to do with.

Some basic housekeeping for the site, you can sign up for the blog as a newsletter (sign-up linked below) and get my bullshit beamed directly into your inbox. I’ll be posting every Friday, mostly movie reviews, reflections on art and culture, and the occasional hot-take. I’ll try to avoid think-piecing you to death. I hope you’ll stick with me as I dig into the random things that interest me. If you made it this far just know I appreciate you.

Every so often I’ll do these mini reviews where I give brief thoughts on things I’m watching and listening to. I’ll followup with full reviews don’t worry, this is just a taste. Check out my recent images in the Photo Mixtapes section.

Notable Movies Watched in June:

1. Love Don’t Cost a Thing (2003) - This is my favorite high school movie of all time, and even though I haven’t given it much thought I’m pretty sure this is the best black high school movie. I miss when Nick Cannon didn’t wear head-wraps. This movie also has the best Steve Harvey scenes ever put to film

2. The Wizard of Oz (1939) - still absolutely incredible, I’m a closeted Wiz hater (I blame the white director) but I’ll give it a second viewing since I haven’t seen it since I was like 9

3. Short Cuts (1993) - odd and very long, but very very LA, would love if it was even longer

4. An Unmarried Woman (1978) - white ladies, new white leases on new white lives, and it couldn’t have been better, this might be the best directed thing I’ve seen in a while

5. I Know This Much is True (2020) - I want to love Derek Cianfrance soo much, and this might be the first time he got out of his way enough to tell an excellent and just devastating story, watch if you want to be sad

Notable Albums Listened to in June:

1. Bishouné: Alma del Huila (2014) by Gabriel Garzón-Montano - thank God for the Drake sample

2. Becoming | Music from the Netflix Original Documentary (2020) by Kamasi Washington - I seem to love jazz now? Why am I my father

3. Græ (2020) by Moses Sumney - hearing this live was the last time I was surrounded by people…it was worth it

…

eric