Takal Celebrates ‘Black Christmas’
Filmmaker Sophia Takal’s reimagining of Bob Clark’s 1974 slasher classic “Black Christmas” improves on a tepid 2006 remake by Glen Morgan without finding the…
Read NowCinema · 2019
March On: Gerwig’s Very Own ‘Little Women’
Greta Gerwig continues to exercise her command of cinematic storytelling with “Little Women,” a perfectly wrapped and beribboned Christmas gift as welcome as a…
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Jennifer Kent Sings a Bloody Song in ‘The Nightingale’
Jennifer Kent’s “The Nightingale” will not attract the same cult following or breadth of widespread fan devotion as “The Babadook,” but her latest marks…
Read NowLove on the Run
Matsoukas Makes Convincing Debut with ‘Queen & Slim’
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Heller Does Mister Rogers for Grown-Ups in ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’
Of the three feature films directed by Marielle Heller, all of which are based in one way or another on biographical source material, “A…
Read NowBong’s ‘Parasite’ Infiltrates Year-End Best Movies Lists
“Parasite” will be the top-grossing foreign-language film at the 2019 American box office, and deservedly so. Joon-ho Bong’s most satisfying and accomplished movie since…
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Mike Flanagan Does King by Way of Kubrick in ‘Doctor Sleep’
Nearly forty years after Stanley Kubrick’s classic horror film conjured thousands of nightmares, director Mike Flanagan wakes up the belated sequel “Doctor Sleep,” the…
Read NowEggers Unlocks ‘The Lighthouse’
Fans of Robert Eggers’ brilliant feature debut “The Witch” have been waiting impatiently for “The Lighthouse,” and while the filmmaker decidedly avoids any kind…
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Fleischer Gets the Gang Back Together for ‘Zombieland: Double Tap’
Ten years later, Ruben Fleischer returns to the apocalyptic landscape of his funny, fresh, and winning feature debut “Zombieland,” but the “Double Tap” fails…
Read NowJulia Hart Powers Up with ‘Fast Color’
Julia Hart’s “Fast Color” moved quickly and too quietly from South by Southwest debut to skinny theatrical engagements via Lionsgate’s “Codeblack home” video. Several…
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Animators Tiernan and Vernon Pay a Call on “The Addams Family”
Admirers of previous television and film incarnations of Charles Addams’ legendary collection of macabre icons have another variation to contemplate, but the computer-animated feature…
Read NowLynn Shelton Goes South in ‘Sword of Trust’
Birmingham, Alabama-set “Sword of Trust” is filmmaker Lynn Shelton’s first feature to be located outside the Pacific Northwest, and the change of scenery results…
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Joanna Hogg Directs a Dazzling Honor Swinton Byrne in ‘The Souvenir’
A carefully crafted and intensely observant fictionalization of writer-director Joanna Hogg’s experiences once upon a time in film school in the early 1980s, “The…
Read NowRethink Dance Film Festival
For the second year, the Rethink Dance Film Festival is coming to Fargo, a collaboration of The Human Family and the Rethink Dance Company.…
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James Gray Takes Brad Pitt to Outer Space in ‘Ad Astra’
Arthouse sensibilities converge with a major star (having a major year) and elite visual effects in James Gray’s “Ad Astra,” a movie poised to…
Read NowHear our voice!
LGBT Film Festival enters its 11th year
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All that’s fantastic
FFFF celebrates 17th year
Read NowLive That Fantasy: Lorene Scafaria’s “Hustlers”
Based on “The Hustlers at Scores,” Jessica Pressler’s 2015 “New York Magazine” article, Lorene Scafaria’s “Hustlers” dives headfirst into the world of sex work…
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A Bloody Horror Take on an Old Saturday Morning Favorite
Marketed as “The Banana Splits Movie” even though the only on screen titles stick with “The Banana Splits,” Danishka Esterhazy’s bottom-shelf slasher flick marks…
Read Now“Ready or Not” Seeks Bloody Fun
The Radio Silence creative team that includes directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett and producer Chad Villella mark a career highlight with “Ready or Not,”…
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Gurinder Chadha Listens to the Boss in ‘Blinded by the Light’
Based on a memoir by journalist and superfan Sarfraz Manzoor, the inoffensive music-themed bildungsroman “Blinded by the Light” licenses the songs of Bruce Springsteen…
Read NowAndrea Berloff’s Directorial Debut “The Kitchen”
A dispiriting negative critical consensus and the worst opening numbers to date for Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish nailed shut the coffin lid of…
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Another Year of Theatre for the Brave and Curious
By Scott Ecker [email protected] Last Tuesday I joined many local artists and audience members for Theatre B’s season preview at the Hjemkomst Center. As…
Read NowOne Wedding, No Funeral: Wang Invites Us to ‘The Farewell’
Writer-director Lulu Wang finds inventive ways to freshen up the terminal cancer tale in “The Farewell,” a worthwhile diversion to so much summer blockbuster…
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