July 3rd, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
While some Josephine Decker fans have decided to turn up their noses at her adaptation of Jandy Nelson’s 2010 YA novel “The Sky Is Everywhere,” I was delighted by the filmmaker’s impossibly beautiful, candy-colored vision of grief and love.
Nelson prepared her own book for the screen, making a few key changes to the story of teenage Lennie Walker (Grace Kaufman) as the heroine who figures out how to cope following the unexpected death of…
June 25th, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Kate Dolan’s dark and atmospheric feature debut “You Are Not My Mother” lives at the fringes of folk horror, but the underlying family melodrama drives a story more interested in generational trauma than supernatural fairytale.
In significant ways a thematic companion piece to Natalie Erika James’s intense “Relic,” Dolan’s movie carefully locates the sweet spot between creepy Celtic lore and the equally troubling responsibilities that…
June 20th, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Talia Osteen’s high-concept “Sex Appeal” is more charming than it has any right to be. Osteen’s feature directorial debut, which can be seen in the United States on Hulu, takes turns embracing formulaic conventions and subverting them.
Fortunately, some chemistry between appealing lead Mika Abdalla (as brainiac Avery Hansen-White) and Jake Short (as longtime torch-bearer Larson) offsets the predictability of both the biggest story beats and…
June 20th, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Alexandre O. Philippe has steadily become one of the most devoted contemporary chroniclers of our silver screen dreamworlds. The roots of the filmmaker’s movie obsessions can be found in “The People vs. George Lucas” and “Doc of the Dead,” but the major turning point was “78/52,” in which Hitchcock’s “Psycho” – and especially the mythology, allure, and impact surrounding the shower scene – received an illuminating and…
June 5th, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
The newest David Cronenberg feature, “Crimes of the Future,” shares its name with the director’s own 1970 film, but the 2022 edition stands as a self-contained work and is not a sequel or a remake. The career-long preoccupations of the filmmaker, however, remain unmistakable. Cronenberg, whose movies are sometimes lumped in with lesser horror exercises, braids his creepy visions of the limits of the human body with a strong interest in the…
May 30th, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
In Chloe Okuno’s feature debut “Watcher,” which premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition during the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, a frightening serial killer called the Spider haunts and stalks the neighborhoods of Bucharest.
Maika Monroe’s aspiring actress Julia has unwittingly chosen this inopportune moment to relocate to Romania with her husband Francis (Karl Glusman), who has taken a new job to advance his career. While paying direct…
May 23rd, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Novelist/screenwriter/director Alex Garland has earned a sizable and devoted following over the years. His previous two feature directorial efforts, “Ex Machina” and “Annihilation,” shimmered with retro-futurist cool and pop philosophical preoccupations enhanced by the presence of appealing performers, dazzling production design, and the sharp cinematography of Rob Hardy.
“Men,” Garland’s latest, will draw the filmmaker’s faithful,…
May 18th, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Writer-director Mariama Diallo’s satirical short “Hair Wolf” attracted attention at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, earning a jury award for its funny/scary social commentary. Diallo returned to the festival in 2022 with debut feature “Master,” a promising extension of her interests in the contemporary politics and historical hegemony of insidious, institutionalized white supremacy. “Master” drops the humor of “Hair Wolf” but…
May 8th, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Photo credit: Amazon Studios
Amy Poehler’s nonfiction feature debut as director is a solid and informative account of the inextricably linked personal and professional lives of two visionary entertainers and broadcasting pioneers. The title “Lucy and Desi” doesn’t require the last names Ball and Arnaz for viewers to instantly identify the powerful pair (or to guess why Poehler would be drawn to the story). They are still household names,…
May 1st, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmial.com
Speaking Truth to Power and Profit
Filmmaker Rory Kennedy lays out damning evidence in “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing,” which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and is now available to stream on Netflix. Kennedy’s sobering, infuriating film is peak advocacy storytelling, a focused takedown equally interested in the human cost of corporate greed and the chain of bad decisions that led to a pair of preventable crashes. Air travel has…
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By Olivia Slyteroslyter.g@cord.eduPhotos by Sabrina HornungFor months, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has been asking the heavy question “Should the 1973 ruling of Roe v. Wade be overturned?” On May 2nd,…
Selected Summer EventsJuneJune 21 – Primitive Man 10 Year Anniversary Tour – The Aquarium, Fargo, NDJune 22-27 – Don’t Hug Me Musical – Stage West - POW/MIA Plaza, West Fargo, NDJune 22 – Ryan Necci and The Buffalo…
Monday, July 4, all dayUlland Park2401 47th Avenue Southhttps://www.gfsertoma.org/4th-of-july-celebrationGrand Forks hosts the biggest Independence Day bash in the region–and it’s an all-day affair. Come early for yard games, a…
By John Strand and Thomas Bixbyjas@hpr1.comOur Opinion: Are Many of Us ‘Detached From Reality?’Why is it that many Americans believe the falsehood that Joe Biden’s election to the Presidency was a fraud, that it was rigged?In…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.com Christianity Has Fallen Off the CrossCorky and I have classified ourselves as faithful Christians for nearly ninety years, but we both have reached the point where a solid majority of…
Well shiver me timbers. After weeks of sampling some of the finest drinks in F-M from more bars than we could shake a belaying pin at, the results of High Plains Reader’s 6th Annual Cocktail Showdown are in! For nine weeks,…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.comPhotos by Rick GionSome people say that a pizza tastes better if you cut it in squares. And, the main event in this food battle features Fargo-Moorhead’s favorite thin-crust squared circles.Judging a…
By Martin Beckman and Jordan TepleyHigh Plains Reader: Just to fill in the people that are unfamiliar. Who are y'all and could you tell us a little about Suffering Hour?Kenn Nardi: Suffering Hour is a black/death metal band based…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comWhile some Josephine Decker fans have decided to turn up their noses at her adaptation of Jandy Nelson’s 2010 YA novel “The Sky Is Everywhere,” I was delighted by the filmmaker’s…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comArtwork: Woodcut by Danielle Gravon titled "Allegory of Fargo Winter I"On June 18, the Rourke will be holding their 62nd annual Midwestern Preview, the date celebrating the opening anniversary of…
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By Brittney Goodman goodmanbritg@gmail.comJuneJune 16 – 17 - Footloose presented by Thompson Theater – Empire Arts Center –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comCharlie Berens is a man of many hats. The creator of the “Manitowoc Minute” is a newsman, comedian, writer and musician. We had the opportunity to speak with the Wisconsin native about his new…
By Kris Gruberperriex1@gmail.comSpring is here (mostly), and our area is buzzing with people eager to get back out and about -- many newly vaccinated and feeling a bit safer. Partnering with Jade Events, Fargo Brewing is just…
by Laurie J Bakeremsdatter@gmail.com Part of modern yoga is participating in the world around us. We live in a time of upheaval in society and nature, and of great suffering in humans of all ages. Most of us perceive this suffering…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comLehr Mayor and Council Members Donate City Salaries To Save Legion HallEvery rural community has at least one social space that holds multiple generations of memories and has remained a social…
By Madeline Lukemadelineluke@ymail.comSonja Kaye, of CLEAN in Fargo gave the third of four talks on climate change issues specific to North Dakota for the “What in the World Series,” in Valley City on April 5. While the topic…
