October 1st, 2024
By Greg Carlson
The epic ambitions of Coralie Fargeat’s sophomore feature “The Substance” are trumpeted by its whopping 141-minute running time, a length that may please body horror aficionados and exhaust the less patient. Demi Moore is brilliantly cast as Elisabeth Sparkle, a longtime media personality and aerobics segment host whose cruel boss (an absolutely repulsive Dennis Quaid) fires her in favor of a newer and younger ingénue. A devastated Elisabeth…
September 30th, 2024
By Greg Carlson
Chris Wilcha’s excellent documentary “Flipside,” now available to rent on major streaming platforms following a successful run of film festival appearances, is essential viewing for Gen X pop culture hounds and any artists who have abandoned more creative projects than they have finished. Despite a thriving career as a director of television spots for major corporate clients, Wilcha confesses a familiar conundrum for so many film and media…
September 16th, 2024
By Greg Carlson
The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker makes an auspicious feature directorial debut with the bracing and stimulating coming-of-age story “Janet Planet.” Focusing on the microscopic details of a complex mother-daughter relationship, the movie is now available to rent on major streaming services following a theatrical run. Baker’s transition from the stage to the screen proves to be a best-of-both-worlds proposition; “Janet…
September 9th, 2024
By Greg Carlson
Thirty-six years is just a blink in eternity’s endless ocean of the afterlife, but as far as the Hollywood clock goes, it is a massive gulf. Lucky for us fans of Tim Burton’s original 1988 “Beetlejuice” that the key players from the classic horror-comedy decided to join the fun in what is certainly the filmmaker’s most enjoyable and satisfying movie in, well, a very long time. There is no shortage of chatter, both amateur and professional,…
September 4th, 2024
By Greg Carlson
In January, Sean Wang’s thoroughly satisfying feature directorial debut “Didi” premiered to plenty of buzz and acclaim at Sundance, where it collected the U.S. Dramatic category’s audience award and a special jury recognition for its ensemble. On a serious roll, Wang has been a busy filmmaker in recent months. His short documentary “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó” received an Oscar nomination and screened in the 2024 Fargo Film Festival, which…
August 26th, 2024
By Greg Carlson
Working from a screenplay she co-wrote with E.T. Feigenbaum, Zoë Kravitz adds a significant new line to her resume with feature directorial debut “Blink Twice." The gender-focused thriller opens with a trigger warning that tips audience members to the central issue ahead: disturbing depictions of sexual violence will challenge viewers who may have thought the trailer portended some kind of equally sinister satire of the filthy rich in the vein of…
August 20th, 2024
By Greg Carlson
Set between the events of the original 1979 “Alien” and its propulsive 1986 sequel “Aliens,” the latest installment in the long-running series is called “Alien: Romulus.” Uruguayan-born director and co-writer Fede Alvarez, no stranger to franchise filmmaking, understands Disney/Fox’s assignment: “Romulus” functions as a blend of standard genre beats and as a loose refresh of Ridley Scott’s classic. The result is a mostly…
August 12th, 2024
By Greg Carlson
The behind-the-scenes drama swirling around Vera Drew’s feature directorial debut “The People’s Joker” has provided nearly as much excitement as the movie itself, an entertaining DIY bildungsroman built from bits and pieces of the decades-long media juggernaut driven by the mythology surrounding the most consistently popular American comic book character of the last century: Bruce Wayne’s Gotham City alter ego we know as the Batman. In…
August 6th, 2024
By Greg Carlson
Vivacious, candid, and magnetic as ever, the now 83-year-old silver screen legend Faye Dunaway is profiled in a feature length documentary by veteran Laurent Bouzereau for HBO. With the full participation of the outspoken star and her son Liam, Bouzereau’s “Faye” cherry-picks key milestones that form a serviceable overview of one of the most electrifying American movie icons to emerge in the class of late 1960s New Hollywood talents. The most…
August 3rd, 2024
By Greg Carlson
Writer/director/performer Kit Zauhar’s indieworld ascendancy continues its upward trajectory with sophomore feature “This Closeness,” which enjoyed a limited theatrical release this summer following a world premiere at South by Southwest in 2023. The movie is now available on streaming platform MUBI. The action unfolds in a cheap, two-bedroom apartment in Philadelphia that is being offered by Adam (Ian Edlund) as a kind of Airbnb/homestay spot…
__293px-wide.jpg)
__293px-wide.jpg)
_(1)__293px-wide.jpg)
By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.comIt’s been eight years since the Water Protectors were cleared off the banks of the Cannonball and Missouri Rivers. It was a bitter ending to a battle to protect the water; and for most of us…
By HPR Staff We’re all a part of building strong, healthy and inclusive communities. But the region’s non-profit organizations do a lot of the heavy lifting. Now it’s time for these organizations to step into the spotlight.…
February 22, 6-7pmEmpire Arts Center, 415 Demers Avenue, Grand ForksPolish up your dancin’ shoes there’s a hootenanny in Grand Forks that you won’t want to miss. Twin Cities-based Pert Near Sandstone joins forces with Pick…
By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com As I write this article, it’s January, and the temperatures in North Dakota are negative. I’m living in a house and our furnace just died a forever death after years of quick fixes. Yet,…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comHomo Sapiens are now old enough to know betterAccording to fossil experts — so far, Homo sapiens have been around for about 300,000 years, evolving slowly from a few other Homos, until most of the…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com So far in 2025, announcements for new restaurant openings in the metro far outnumber closings. This is good news going into the new year for us hungry folk. In my opinion, the positive trend will…
__300x100.jpg)
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Local band Zero Place has been making quite a name for itself locally and regionally in the last few years. Despite getting its start during a time it seemed the whole world was coming to…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com To write with any degree of detail about filmmaker Drew Hancock’s “Companion” requires a spoiler alert. So if you have not seen the movie and hope to wring maximum enjoyment from the…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIn 1974, the Jamestown Arts Center started as a small space above a downtown drugstore. It has grown to host multiple classrooms, a gallery, performance studio, ceramic studio and outdoor art park.…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
By Josette Ciceronunapologeticallyanxiousme@gmail.com What does it mean to truly live in a community —or should I say, among community? It’s a question I have been wrestling with since I moved to Fargo-Moorhead in February 2022.…
By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com On Dec 5, the Turning Point USA chapter at North Dakota State University hosted an event called BisonFest. This event featured Chloe Cole, a former trans kid, known for detransitioning and…
By Jim Fugliejimfuglie920@gmail.com A friend of mine, a well-known Bismarck liberal (I have a few of those), came up to me after church the other day and asked, “So, are you moving out of the country?” I knew he was referring…
