Cinema

​Yellow wallpaper: Parsons explores the ‘Backrooms’

June 1st, 2026

By Greg Carlson

The cinematic precocity of director Kane Parsons is quickly emerging as one of the year’s big moviemaking stories. The 20-year-old filmmaker’s “Backrooms,” an unsettling journey through the looking glass, has frequently been cited in tandem with Curry Barker’s recently released “Obsession.” Barker is Parson’s senior by six years, and according to several web-based outlets including “The Hollywood Reporter,” the two filmmakers hold the record as the…

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​Fueled by joy: Kasdan’s ‘Martin, Life Is Short’

May 26th, 2026

By Greg Carlson

Filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan gives longtime pal Martin Short the celebrity documentary treatment in new Netflix movie “Marty, Life Is Short.” With a half century of show business experience under his belt, Short continues to perform at the age of 76 on stage and in the successful Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building.” Along with a number of his instantly recognizable SCTV peers, Short has collected enough noteworthy material to fill several feature-length…

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Neville profiles another high profile entertainer in ‘Lorne’

May 18th, 2026

By Greg Carlson

The perpetually busy documentarian Morgan Neville profiles the perpetually busy producer Lorne Michaels in another of the moviemaker’s sturdy celebrity profiles. Following closely on the heels of nostalgia snapshot “Breakdown: 1975” and the Paul McCartney and Wings time capsule “Man on the Run,” “Lorne” attempts a career retrospective of the “Saturday Night Live” creator. Now 81 years old, Michaels continues to guide the influential sketch comedy…

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Polgár’s Checkmate: Kennedy examines the ‘Queen of Chess’

May 11th, 2026

By Greg Carlson

Issues of gender reside at the heart of Rory Kennedy’s entertaining documentary “Queen of Chess,” available on Netflix following a January world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. In the feature, Kennedy explores the remarkable career and achievements of the phenomenal Judit Polgár. The Hungarian’s staggering stat line should pique the interest of any viewer. As the greatest female chess player of record, Polgár remains the only woman to be ranked on the…

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Centennial Film Series: The General (1926)

May 11th, 2026

By Blaise Balas

If you asked a random person on the street if they could name a silent movie star, odds are one of the first they would come up with would be Buster Keaton. And for very good reason; famous for his expressive face, extraordinary physical abilities, and the talent to always do his own stunts — including, but not limited to, the infamous house gag that has been paid homage to countless times since it was first screened — Buster Keaton was truly one of the greatest stars…

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​Plane crash or shark attack: Why not both? Harlin dives into ‘Deep Water’

May 4th, 2026

By Greg Carlson

Leagues more entertaining than its logline and/or trailer might initially suggest, Renny Harlin’s “Deep Water” smartly avoids taking itself too seriously by fully embracing its delightfully trashy pedigree as a genre-bending mashup of classic disaster movie and shark attack chiller. Coming together under the big umbrella of the survival formula, the result of the cross-pollination is a pleasing diversion for moviegoers looking to shut off their brains for the…

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​Stewart adapts memoir in directorial debut: ‘The Chronology of Water’

April 27th, 2026

By Greg Carlson

Kristen Stewart’s critically well-received directorial debut should do better in its second life on digital streaming platforms and VOD than it did during the very limited theatrical release it received stateside at the tail of end of 2025. For physical media collectors overseas (as well as those in the United States with region-free players), the British Film Institute’s Blu-ray became available on April 27, 2026. Shot on glorious 16mm by Corey C. Waters, “The…

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​Wicked funny: “I’m Chevy Chase and you’re not”

April 20th, 2026

By Greg Carlson

Veteran documentary filmmaker Marina Zenovich has chronicled a number of powerful men in entertainment, politics and popular culture, including Roman Polanski (twice), Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, Lance Armstrong and Jerry Brown, so neither her most recent subject nor her methodological approach should surprise any viewers who have enjoyed her consistently watchable work. In “I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not,” Zenovich continues her pattern of grappling with a…

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​And it’s a beautiful day: the Coen brothers’ “Fargo” 30 years later

April 14th, 2026

By Blaise Balas

As many Fargoans will tell you, it is almost vanishingly rare that our town gets any kind of major recognition, let alone placement in a movie. Movies are reserved for New York, Chicago, Boston — you know, the big places. This is a rule to which there is one Oscar-winning exception: the Coen brothers’ 1996 masterpiece “Fargo.” Not only is the film named for our fine city, it was internationally recognized, won multiple awards and endures as a classic to this day.…

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​Fargo Theatre Centennial Film Series: ‘Fargo’ — in conversation with Peter Stormare

April 13th, 2026

By Greg Carlson

The Fargo Theatre’s Centennial Film Series opens this Tuesday evening (April 14) with a special 30th anniversary screening of “Fargo.” Nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture, “Fargo” received two Academy Awards; Frances McDormand was named Best Actress in her role as indefatigable Brainerd Chief of Police Marge Gunderson and Best Screenplay honors went to brothers Joel and Ethan Coen.

In the film, Peter Stormare’s taciturn Gaear Grimsrud may not…

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