September 14th, 2022
By Scott Ecker
scottallenecker@gmail.com
I cover two new movies a week for my podcast “All Screens Great & Small” with my co host J.D. Provorse. The podcast exists primarily to make sure the two of us stay engaged with current releases.
For me personally, the abundance of streaming options had become overwhelming. I found myself just rewatching the same couple of comfort food shows, and I didn’t want…
September 14th, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Kunstler Sisters Direct Documentary Version of Jeffery Robinson’s Presentation “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America”
Directors Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler, daughters of storied attorneys William Kunstler and Margaret Ratner, blend creative visual storytelling with keen legal and historical acumen to transform Jeffery Robinson’s potent stage lecture into one of the most vital documentaries of the year. “Who We Are: A Chronicle…
September 14th, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Co-directed by Saul Williams (who also wrote the screenplay and music) and Anisia Uzeyman (who also photographed and co-art directed), “Neptune Frost” recently made its way to a 2022 limited theatrical release via Kino Lorber, following a 2021 Cannes premiere in the Directors Fortnight section of the festival.
A vivid musical mashup blending science fiction with an emphatic political statement on the exploitation of African nations by American…
August 21st, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
With the documentary feature “Freakscene: The Story of Dinosaur Jr.,”director Philipp Reichenheim (who also uses the handle Philipp Virus) compiles a serviceable primer on the wall of sound produced by one of the seminal power trios of 1980s independent/DIY music. In the 90s, the band would go on to near-mainstream success during the ascendancy…
August 17th, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Audrey Diwan’s “Happening,” which premiered at the 2021 Venice International Film Festival and screened in the Spotlight section of Sundance earlier this year, feels contemporary and immediate despite being set in 1963.
The story of Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei) – a promising student of literature seeking an illegal abortion – unfolds with meticulous craft and exacting rhythm. Using the weeks of Anne’s pregnancy like chapter markers, an…
August 17th, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
In addition to boasting one of the year’s best titles, Jordan Peele’s mind- and genre-bending mash-up “Nope” is big and bold and willing to take risks, even if those wild gambits don’t always pay dividends. The filmmaker’s third feature as writer/producer/director pokes and prods at all kinds of fascinating text and subtext, once again suggesting that there is much more to his stories than what may only be observable on a superficial…
August 17th, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Filmmaker and educator Raymond Rea, who recently retired from Minnesota State University Moorhead, made an indelible impact on the Fargo-Moorhead film community.
In 2008, Rea arrived in Minnesota following years in San Francisco, where he taught at City College and San Francisco State University. Rea made his way to the West Coast from New York – where he studied with cinematographer Beda Bakta at NYU – by way of Ann Arbor. He also took classes…
August 1st, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
In addition to boasting one of the year’s best titles, Jordan Peele’s mind- and genre-bending mash-up “Nope” is big and bold and willing to take risks, even if those wild gambits don’t always pay dividends. The filmmaker’s third feature as writer/producer/director pokes and prods at all kinds of fascinating text and subtext, once again suggesting that there is much more to his stories than what may only be observable on a superficial…
July 24th, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Available on Hulu and in a limited theatrical engagement following its premiere as part of the Sundance Film Festival in January, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” spins what might easily have been a much darker examination of sexuality, aging, generational and gender-based expectations, and the ethics of prostitution into a primarily fluffy corona of pink cotton candy.
Many, myself included, will concede that is precisely the intention of…
July 20th, 2022
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Directors Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes, anticipating the recent Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade, began work on their documentary “The Janes” in 2019. The movie, now available to view on HBO Max following a January premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival (which also hosted Phyllis Nagy’s “Call Jane” and Audrey Diwan’s “Happening”), chronicles an important moment in the still-unfolding history of abortion rights…
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By Laura Simmonslaurasimmons2025@u.northwestern.eduGovernor Doug Burgum called for the removal of the anti-corporate farming law during the State of the State Address. The anti-corporate farming law is a contentious topic. Some…
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By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comAfter a year of darkness, the windows at the corner of First Avenue and Broadway – the building that sparked the Downtown Fargo renaissance – are once again aglow. Friends shrug off their…
Now-February 25Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargohttps://frostival.com/schedule/Whoever said there’s nothing to do in Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo clearly hibernates through Frostival, because this six-week celebration of winter just…
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By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comOur opinion: The sound of ND collectively holding its breathAs the legislative session nears one may notice a certain stillness in the air as a good part of North Dakota’s population collectively…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comCan a Sick Society Recover from Plagues, Pandemics, and Pandemonium?I wanted to check the dictionary definition of “pandemic”: Widespread; general; universal. In medicine: Epidemic over an…
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.comThe winter blues has me feeling sentimental about former Fargo eateries. It’s been so cold recently that I need to warm up with some fond food memories.The first eatery of absence on my nostalgia…
By John Showalter john.d.showalter@gmail.comSick riffs, extreme vocals, chaotic energy: all these and more are among the reasons that people listen to…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comThe unbelievable fate of one of the world’s largest collections of physical movie media is the subject of “Kim’s Video,” a fizzy and entertaining nonfiction cocktail mixing essay-like…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIf you’ve ever driven down the Enchanted Highway, the 32-mile ribbon of road connecting Regent to Gladstone in western North Dakota, home to the world’s largest salvaged metal sculptures,…
By Jessica M. Hawkesjmhawkes84@gmail.comIt wasn’t long after the founding of the railroad and river town of New Rockford that entertainment venues started to put down their own roots. Its population bolstered by booms of nearby…
By Jan Syverson Jan.r.Syverson@gmail.comFor the past 30 years live, stand-up comedy has had a place in the Fargo Moorhead area, Starting with…
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 John Showalter john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…
By Breanna Sieglerbreanna@icehousefit.comNew Year, New You? I guess that means that I have to go to the gym three times a week and I should probably sign up for an event so that I can stay on track. I think I could maybe do a half…
By Stacie Hansen-Leiersubmit@hpr1.com I’ve been a resident of Valley City for most of my fifty-one years, with the exception of short residencies in Jamestown, Fargo, the Park Rapids Minn. area and five years in the Cities.I’ve…
