April 12th, 2021
The Master’s Voice: Monro’s 'Kubrick by Kubrick'
By Greg Carlson
09 April 2021
Joining the group of nonfiction portraits that includes “Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures,” “Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes,” “Room 237,” “S Is for Stanley,” and “Filmworker,” Gregory Monro’s “Kubrick by Kubrick” is a worthy addition to the growing collection of documentary films exploring various aspects of the life and career of the legendary auteur. The most devoted fans might…
April 6th, 2021
By Greg Carlson
02 April 2021
Kring’s 'End of the Line' Part of North Dakota Environmental Rights Film Festival
One of several powerful films included in the upcoming 2021 North Dakota Environmental Rights Film Festival -- screening virtually from April 11 through April 25 -- director Shannon Kring’s “End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock” looks at recent history through the eyes of several committed and passionate indigenous water protectors. Following its recent world…
March 29th, 2021
Collecting Movies with Toby Jones (2021)
By Greg Carlson
28 March 2021
Toby Jones is an Emmy-nominated writer, director and cartoonist from Fargo, North Dakota currently living in Los Angeles. He has worked as a writer and storyboard director on “Regular Show,” an executive producer on “OK K.O.!: Let's Be Heroes,” and is the creator of “AJ's Infinite…
March 21st, 2021
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1agmail.com
21 March 2021
Memories of 1980s and 1990s video store culture will draw viewers of a certain age to “The Last Blockbuster,” Taylor Morden’s breezy,…
March 15th, 2021
by Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
An engrossing portrait that takes viewers deep into the world of marijuana farming in Northern California’s Humboldt County, “Freeland'' rumbles along on the strength of a lovely central performance by Krisha Fairchild as Devi, a one-time hippie and last-woman-standing from the idealistic commune of the title. Fairchild, who played the fictionalized character who shares her name in nephew Trey Edward Shults’s debut feature “Krisha,” has…
March 8th, 2021
Tom Brandau (1960-2021)
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
When I first made his acquaintance, I didn’t think I liked Tom Brandau.
And I was certain the feeling was mutual.
Following the unexpected death of Minnesota State University Moorhead film studies professor Ted Larson -- a mentor to me and to Rusty Casselton and to many others -- Rusty left Concordia to direct the film program at MSUM and I moved from MSUM into Rusty’s spot at Concordia.
Tom arrived a few years later to…
March 1st, 2021
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
19 February 2021
Photo courtesy Mari Mur.
Dava Whisenant received the Best New Documentary Director Award at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival for her feature debut “Bathtubs Over Broadway,” which opened the 2019 Fargo Film Festival. Whisenant continues to collaborate with Steve Young, and their short comedy “Photo Op” is part of the 2021 Fargo Film Festival, which is being held as a virtual event from March 18 to 28.
Greg Carlson: How did you get…
February 23rd, 2021
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
19 February 2021
Filmmaker Sabrina Doyle’s “Lorelei” aims for hardscrabble, working-class romance. Good onscreen chemistry between Jena Malone and Pablo Schreiber lifts the filmmaker’s debut feature out of traps set by occasionally mundane dialogue and predictable complications. Tonal and stylistic swings trade off between grim realism and dreamy expressionism. Savvy viewers will be able to say they’ve seen most of this world before -- in…
February 16th, 2021
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
18 February 2021
Filmmaker and activist Iara Lee’s “Stalking Chernobyl: Exploration After Apocalypse” ventures into the sites and surroundings of the abandoned Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, introducing an assortment of “stalkers” drawn to the growing popularity of this upside-down variant on eco-tourism.
Lee incorporates excellent, pre-disaster archival footage that emphasizes a constructed, utopian, Soviet-era idealism. And she balances…
February 11th, 2021
By Greg Carlson
2/5/21
Rodney Ascher’s previous two nonfiction features, “Room 237” and “The Nightmare,” played out like the cinematic equivalent of staying up late with friends to swap scary stories, conspiracy theories, and the kind of half-remembered word-of-mouth urban legends that have only grown more potent in the internet age. The filmmaker’s new movie premiered at Sundance last week and debuts February 5, 2021. “A Glitch in the Matrix”… |
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By Alicia Underlee NelsonMore than 1,000 pro-worker events are planned for Thursday, May 1 across the country, including rallies in Fargo-Moorhead, Grand Forks, Minot and Jamestown. East Grand Forks and Bismarck will host protests…
From concerts and car shows to Japanese art and Juneteenth celebrations, there's so much going on around the region this summer. This year's High Plains Reader Summer Events Calendar is back and bigger than ever. It's packed with…
June 21, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., Fargo“We Watch Shudder,” Fargo’s favorite horror podcasters, bring on the darkness during the longest day of the year. The Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival features…
By John Strandjas@hpr1.com One description that perhaps aptly describes the mental state of many lately is that they feel they are attached to a string. Or several strings. Call it the notion that people are played like puppets,…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comFor sale: White House in D.C. housing dung beetles and giant leechesI suspect someone close to Donald Trump has read “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,”because the Trump administration is…
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 After a very inspiring conversation with Kayla Houchin of Sonder Bakehouse a few weeks ago, I decided that it’s an appropriate time to write a column about some of the sweet people who are involved…
Mooncats and Pert Near Sandstone play Empire TheatreBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThe MoonCats describe themselves as “Americonscious Campfire Folk.” They have a clear acoustic folk sound with a sense of whimsy — think…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com The writing/directing partnership of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck has to be one of the most curious cases of crazy connect-the-dots career moves in recent cinema. From short documentaries and…
By Raul Gomezraul@hpr1.com Minutes before Modern’s Celebration of Life opened its door at the Sons of Norway, I was fiddling with the bar computer, trying to pull up the playlists of Modern’s work I had set aside for the…
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 Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There appear to be differences in the incidence of mental illnesses between men and women. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, post-traumatic stress…
By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…
By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson.nd7@gmail.com Our trucking business has me driving almost daily from gas plants in western North Dakota's oil patch to Canada. I haul natural gas liquids (NGLs) products we used to see flared off at…
