https://things-i-imagined.com/blog daily 1.0 2021-05-25 https://things-i-imagined.com/blog/polyptychial monthly 0.5 2021-04-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1619581345875-G8H19LYBOOPNCBPH5RJP/DipTychs-06.jpg Blog - polyptychial https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1619581290636-MVX86M9H02JP2YXNW8VF/DipTychs-04.jpg Blog - polyptychial https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1619581239047-AWWCC3BRYTUDT8WOGAXH/DipTychs-02.jpg Blog - polyptychial https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1619581378771-HMV3TLXIHMO54V3IXUUT/DipTychs-07.jpg Blog - polyptychial https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1619581446346-89HA42C5GA773ZKQ8LSX/DipTych_no.8-08.jpg Blog - polyptychial https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1619581209090-ACQ67MVVQDG59ZPOOGZJ/DipTychs-01.jpg Blog - polyptychial https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1619581270016-GQSC3H0Y1D7D2XJL9EP7/DipTychs-03.jpg Blog - polyptychial https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1619581315658-0YC9WC8VWETZEKCL9NMB/DipTychs-05.jpg Blog - polyptychial https://things-i-imagined.com/blog/my-favorite-movies-of-2020 monthly 0.5 2021-02-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1612292848992-YCXO0CJN94UZ58079CXT/Top10_2020_8-08.jpg Blog - My Favorite Movies of 2020 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 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1612292698599-Q76QIES0170LXASC2TEU/Top10_2020-11.jpg Blog - My Favorite Movies of 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1612247839761-UM1TXH2HFAT45ONS4RIQ/Top10_2021Graphics-03.jpg Blog - My Favorite Movies of 2020 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 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1612247727034-464282OFPZHIR597N99H/2021Graphics_%2310-01.jpg Blog - My Favorite Movies of 2020 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 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1612248166558-NLXBQ88QHZCHC726SBYP/Top10_2021Graphics-07.jpg Blog - My Favorite Movies of 2020 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 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1612248373817-3NLTN0ZISO0YE92U9BFY/Top10_2021Graphics-09.jpg Blog - My Favorite Movies of 2020 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 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1612248515107-CG90I0ARE2KJTDN9UWRQ/Top10_2021Graphics-10.jpg Blog - My Favorite Movies of 2020 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!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1612248022632-KGJ4R3ZZFG5R6JEKK5QS/Top10_2021Graphics-05.jpg Blog - My Favorite Movies of 2020 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 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1612248082090-E3STBDONJAFST78LWIOY/Top10_2021Graphics-06.jpg Blog - My Favorite Movies of 2020 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 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1612247789518-BYCH3AH78XTFVAT8W6WZ/Top10_2021Graphics-02.jpg Blog - My Favorite Movies of 2020 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 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1612247900984-A9QR6KGFYGS2XW9C1L3S/Top10_2021Graphics-04.jpg Blog - My Favorite Movies of 2020 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 https://things-i-imagined.com/blog/dreaming-of-dance-debbie-allen-and-the-mission-to-bend-art monthly 0.5 2020-12-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1607068019155-JQAGN0W1WZ9S2K6X0O5H/dballen.jpg Blog - Bending the Form: Debbie Allen and a Dream of Black Dance https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1607069447852-KCHS34U0M0M81DAHRJNM/hchoc.jpg Blog - Bending the Form: Debbie Allen and a Dream of Black Dance https://things-i-imagined.com/blog/beach-is-better monthly 0.5 2020-11-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1606463970642-AQHZP5OCA3NYNQQOKXQK/000059660011.jpg Blog - Beach is Better https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1606463677506-LT0FV53H1QXE82QB44WV/000096620006.jpg Blog - Beach is Better Random couple, couldn’t avoid the target on his back. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1606464171509-XW2EDD5IGTFX3VPDYGBZ/000047620016.jpg Blog - Beach is Better https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1606463568516-FIHOYDHMRIN8Q0SEQXGL/000059660001.jpg Blog - Beach is Better Me friends! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1606464074086-V9UL2U7WZ09C5DCVJCBV/000047620015.jpg Blog - Beach is Better Am I flexible yet? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1606463726537-MHI2MHLRYT4FKVLNV1XZ/000062190001.jpg Blog - Beach is Better https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1606464019610-7FK1Z0REWLNPKBUL7VWG/000059660014.jpg Blog - Beach is Better https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1606463378271-XXY3NUCX27Y8B63HU6LW/000059660005.jpg Blog - Beach is Better https://things-i-imagined.com/blog/steve-amp-barrys-black-dream monthly 0.5 2020-11-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1605849887780-01C4244SRLB9RPTET2KI/p08yzf60.jpg Blog - 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 https://things-i-imagined.com/blog/little-updates monthly 0.5 2020-09-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1599804605802-DT6RJC3V7XBW2PIX9PA9/000087760013.jpg Blog - Scraps Can’t remember if this was at the Inglewood or Hollywood cemetery, either way palm trees in cemeteries will never make sense to me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1599804462803-25R4TSBABZ75EOKZBKLX/000045230009.jpg Blog - Scraps Ikea parking lot on a dismal morning. Those cones were glowing though. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1599804155196-U2KNR988C9PSQV06BN7H/000024110013.jpg Blog - Scraps 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. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1599803436221-PPV1BX321MDCWE0ZJ1LU/THU010_Detroit_1978_master.jpg Blog - Scraps 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. https://things-i-imagined.com/blog/a-land-called-foolish-pride monthly 0.5 2020-08-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1594176486387-F2EJASHATFM9G6N5YTMU/000087750032.jpg Blog - A Land Called Foolish Pride https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1594176436971-AB42LU5BFIHLW0VHDB21/000087750038.jpg Blog - A Land Called Foolish Pride https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1594098429028-URG566616TVNAL23RA6W/000087750021.jpg Blog - A Land Called Foolish Pride https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1594176464021-NLJKGOYSY1RENZXFRBVF/000087750035.jpg Blog - A Land Called Foolish Pride https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1594015102585-HJKJ7P1YM2NUMMVAVINK/000087750037.jpg Blog - A Land Called Foolish Pride https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1594098298370-MPZXF2RD0UKIG4G89R91/000087750031.jpg Blog - A Land Called Foolish Pride https://things-i-imagined.com/blog/bring-back-this-nick-a-review-of-love-dont-cost-a-thing monthly 0.5 2020-08-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1594964426043-X60LC6O7NP16F8J8KGRI/AAAABU17_ciCA1blwhfTfI0msxnljCOLFrsumkwOEwcNbgKgX4SEi1WKh-rzKHMmAVbq75gCQBR8yDMikWOwp4QFT3NrUoJu.jpg Blog - When we all could agree Nick Cannon was Great: A review of “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” https://things-i-imagined.com/blog/my-online-composition-notebook monthly 0.5 2020-08-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1594184649167-4CF9Z6OTT22YBEQ44RCA/000418020035.jpg Blog - welcome to my blog https://things-i-imagined.com/blog/category/Travel monthly 0.5 https://things-i-imagined.com/blog/tag/Travel monthly 0.5 https://things-i-imagined.com/about daily 0.75 2020-08-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1594080623321-39IKBAWIH0OJTS51X936/000048610013.jpg About - things I imagined is a film, photography, and art blog. A loose curation of what I’m watching, reading and shooting these days. Black art and film are at the forefront of my interest. I’m a Detroit native who’s calling Los Angeles home for now, although Philly will always have my heart. Reach out! things.we.imagined@gmail.com https://things-i-imagined.com/photomixtapes daily 0.75 2020-07-19 https://things-i-imagined.com/photomixtapes/new-portfolio-item monthly 0.5 2021-04-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1619295557729-X7BHKY6BW4FTZIVIAF0I/DipTych_2-02.jpg Photo Mixtapes - The DipTych's https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1619580064753-WK1KBYQ0RH1WOYT3GXAM/DipTychs-04.jpg Photo Mixtapes - The DipTych's https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1619294912913-UXL291I4S5QZ5E0THJU3/DipTych-01.jpg Photo Mixtapes - The DipTych's https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1619580143789-95TQQAS17BEPCG6BUVN0/DipTychs-06.jpg Photo Mixtapes - The DipTych's https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1619580034243-1JHEVUU7PEBH71I67BH8/DipTychs-03.jpg Photo Mixtapes - The DipTych's https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1619580485566-JJK233WU20UADP1DUDFX/DipTych_no.8-08.jpg Photo Mixtapes - The DipTych's https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1619580100652-I6JNV2KVIS9VDSKFQAQX/DipTychs-05.jpg Photo Mixtapes - The DipTych's https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1619580175874-E8CCCK695WPKOIMG57IJ/DipTychs-07.jpg Photo Mixtapes - The DipTych's https://things-i-imagined.com/photomixtapes/project-two-myrny monthly 0.5 2020-07-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1595134620294-M35NXFVB0EHJSSGI5GYZ/000045250009.jpg Photo Mixtapes - east hollywood reverb https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1595134171828-N24VPNEEXMXYX5MALWQL/000045240005.jpg Photo Mixtapes - east hollywood reverb https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1595134170340-XQQAALCFO43S4EZI79Z9/000024090004.jpg Photo Mixtapes - east hollywood reverb https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1595134729977-Y26A1ZASLOXMXAHT9MPW/000045260002.jpg Photo Mixtapes - east hollywood reverb https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1595134170700-QRJ81F7SQ8WAMWONA7S7/000024070001.jpg Photo Mixtapes - east hollywood reverb https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1595134171297-LXM575O0X96Q8F404L9K/000045240007.jpg Photo Mixtapes - east hollywood reverb https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1595134178953-LG6SN94I6OWHF7Y15F69/000045240012.jpg Photo Mixtapes - east hollywood reverb https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1595134696739-LFRD0YOIHSSWQ9ZPPUUE/000045240004.jpg Photo Mixtapes - east hollywood reverb https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1595134174498-66A302RO8MJEU7J6TK78/000045240008.jpg Photo Mixtapes - east hollywood reverb https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1595134178094-DKOZN5G1A91DOYBQEZW6/000045260003.jpg Photo Mixtapes - east hollywood reverb https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1595134178825-76N76OFMEXR3GZWEUPC0/000095330012.jpg Photo Mixtapes - east hollywood reverb https://things-i-imagined.com/photomixtapes/project-one-nd49a monthly 0.5 2020-07-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1594098298370-MPZXF2RD0UKIG4G89R91/000087750031.jpg Photo Mixtapes - a land called foolish pride https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1594176436971-AB42LU5BFIHLW0VHDB21/000087750038.jpg Photo Mixtapes - a land called foolish pride https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1594176486387-F2EJASHATFM9G6N5YTMU/000087750032.jpg Photo Mixtapes - a land called foolish pride https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1594098429028-URG566616TVNAL23RA6W/000087750021.jpg Photo Mixtapes - a land called foolish pride https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1594176464021-NLJKGOYSY1RENZXFRBVF/000087750035.jpg Photo Mixtapes - a land called foolish pride https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e86ca18608bdc72a92850e3/1594098383241-U8OQW6P78WU37NT5JEUQ/000087750037.jpg Photo Mixtapes - a land called foolish pride