by Greg Carlson | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | October 16th, 2019
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 from “Sausage Party” directors Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan fails to measure up to either the 1960s ABC series or the pair of Barry Sonnenfeld-directed features released in the early 1990s. Certainly, the new movie could be much worse, but very little of Addams’ brilliant satire is on display.…
by Greg Carlson | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | October 9th, 2019
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 in what might be the writer-director’s most satisfying movie to date. Sharing screenplay credit with “Saturday Night Live” writing veteran Mike O’Brien, Shelton continues to encourage the improvisational work of her cast members. That approach can often backfire, but the impressive skills of the ensemble turn the…
by Greg Carlson | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | October 2nd, 2019
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 Souvenir” is essential viewing for devoted cinephiles. Semi-autobiography may be an appropriate descriptor for the movie, but “The Souvenir,” which collected the World Cinema Dramatic Prize at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, should not be confined to a lone category like memoir. Hogg’s wide embrace folds around…
by Brittney Goodman | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | September 25th, 2019
For the second year, the Rethink Dance Film Festival is coming to Fargo, a collaboration of The Human Family and the Rethink Dance Company. The program is on Tuesday, October 8 at the Fargo Theatre’s Second Screen at 7 pm. Nine films from all over the world will screen in this program of dance films. Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the door. The event sold out last year, so advance tickets are a wise idea.
The Rethink Dance Film Festival showcases artists in front of and behind…
by Greg Carlson | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | September 25th, 2019
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 earn the filmmaker his best notices to date in a career spanning 25 years. Set in a near future where space travel to outposts on the moon and Mars functions with the charmless tedium of our contemporary airlines, astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) is tapped to participate in a curious mission: reach out with a message to his previously…
by Sabrina Hornung | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | September 18th, 2019
When asked about the origins of the LGBT Film Festival, Raymond Rea, MSUM film instructor and LGBT Film Festival founder said, “When I lived and taught in San Francisco I taught many classes on many variations of Queer Film. So, on moving to F-M and starting to teach in the Film program at MSUM I had the drive to keep that area of focus going by leading a Queer Film Series.”He went on to say, “We met on Wednesdays nights, I introduced a film, we watched and then discussed. That…
by Sabrina Hornung | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | September 18th, 2019
The year 2019 ushers in the 17th annual Fargo Fantastic Film Festival, which will be featuring over 250 films this year alone. The festival not only features filmmakers from over 40 countries, it holds a special section for local talent from all levels of expertise. We had the opportunity to speak to Tony Tilton, the man behind the Fargo Fantastic Film Festival and Mr. Valleycon himself.
High Plains Reader: Can you tell us the origin story of the Fargo Fantastic Film Festival (FFFF)--Was…
by Greg Carlson | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | September 18th, 2019
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 through the eyes of the women who make a living at it. Shaping her narrative around the complexities of female friendship and the pressures wrought by the financial crisis of 2008, Scafaria -- who also wrote the screenplay -- convincingly paints a psychologically resonant portrait that allows the viewer a seat on…
by Greg Carlson | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | September 11th, 2019
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 the first R-rated adaptation of a Hanna-Barbera property since the dawn of the brand more than 60 years ago. A brazen attempt to cash in on the curiosity of audience members old enough to have enjoyed any of the 31 episodes of “The Banana Splits Adventure Hour” that debuted on NBC in 1968 and stretched until 1982…
by Greg Carlson | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | September 4th, 2019
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,” a rollicking horror-comedy that happens to be Fox Searchlight’s widest release to date. The movie’s thematic elasticity -- which many critics peg as a timely critique of Trump-era, one-percenter avarice -- plays to multiple audiences. Politics, however, don’t need to stand in the way of the film’s breathless race…
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MOORHEAD - As a young boy growing up in Kurdish-controlled Iraq, Jahwar Salih played soccer and tennis, dreamed of a college education. Those dreams were smashed after he turned 16; he picked up an AK-47 and joined the Peshmerga to…
By the time Butch Patrick was cast with the iconic role of Eddie Munster the wolfboy son on the classic television program “The Munsters,” he was a seasoned child actor. Starring in television roles on such programs as…
The Aquarium, 3rd Ave & BroadwayWednesday, October 23, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.The talented songwriter, local favorite and DJ hosting the Cult of Lick EP launch party. Electronic dance music but now striking out in new directions. Our…
Last week we had the opportunity to attend the Climate Change Forum at Standing Rock High School in Fort Yates. If there was one word to describe the experience it would be inspiring. Tribal elders, Executive Director of…
American Health Care—From Tropical Paradise To the Bottomless Muddy MuckWe have the best medical care in the world for the 10% who can afford it and the worst care for the bottom 90% among the Organization of Economic Cooperation…
To say that this year’s Bartenders Battle was the best display of talent in the six years since its creation would be an understatement and a disservice to not only the bartenders who made it into the competition, but also the…
By Jill Finkelsonjsfinkelson99@gmail.comThe unassuming old truck shop on First and University is now frying up Funky Fried Chicken for Fargo. Their menu features chicken tenders and sandwiches with a selection of sides like pimento…
By Jill Fikelsonjsfinkelson99@gmail.comDean Sime has been collecting records since he was in sixth grade. Since then, he hasn’t stopped. Though he stopped working in a music store twenty years ago, he has spent the last ten years…
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 from “Sausage Party” directors Conrad…
By Lonna Whitinglonna@lonna.coNot long ago at a North Dakota nursing home located in Nelson County, a storyteller from The North Dakota Council on the Arts helped an elderly woman express in writing an important milestone from her…
By Michael Str!kemichaelstrike.solo@gmail.com“No one moves to Fargo to become a professional actor,” she said, but after starting Theatre B with her husband and a core ensemble of performers almost 18 years ago; Carrie…
Stand-up comedy is traditionally a one-way exchange. Outside of the odd question addressed to a random audience member, the limit of the spectators’ contribution to the conversation is their laughter at the comedy stylings being…
The famous 20th century Southern writer William Faulkner quipped, “Civilization begins with distillation.” Technically one brews beer instead of distilling it, but the sentiment still holds true. Fargo is no stranger to the…
Every Thursday evening during the month of June, Mara Solberg is inviting people to come out and try Yoga on the Farm. It is a unique yoga experience that was born from an idea that was proposed to Solberg.“I’ve been with Red…
by HPR Contributor
by Devin Joubertdevinlillianjoubert@gmail.comIt’s that beautiful time of the year that’s filled with seasonal decorations, sparkly lights, warm family gatherings, and delicious feasts. I love everything about this time of the…
By William Southworthwsouthwo@cord.eduThe United Kingdom has a new boss. Considered to by some to be a British counterpart to Trump, Boris Johnson is riding a wave of political discontent with a can-do attitude and bubbly stage…
