Cinema

​HPR Exclusive: Janet Brandau on ‘Sadie Breaks the Silents’

August 9th, 2021

By Greg Carlson

gregcarlson1@gmail.com

12 August 2021

The premiere screening of Tom Brandau’s final film, "Sadie Breaks the Silents," will be held at 1 p.m. at the Fargo Theatre on Saturday, September 11, 2021. The program is free and open to the public. Refreshments and conversation will follow at Drekker Brewing Company.

Janet Brandau talked to HPR’s Greg Carlson about the project and Tom’s legacy.

Greg Carlson: I know you appreciate silent films, as did Tom. Had he made anything…

Read more...


No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics

August 2nd, 2021

No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics

By Greg Carlson

gregcarlson1@gmail.com

05 August 2021

Fans and readers as well as the uninitiated will appreciate veteran filmmaker Vivian Kleiman’s “No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics.” Drawing from richly detailed and insightful interviews with a quintet of masters, Kleiman elects to cover as much territory and history as possible without taking on the burden of comprehensiveness. Even so, the director’s scope is broad and…

Read more...


​Collecting Movies with Conor Holt

July 26th, 2021

Greg Carlson

gregcarlson1@gmail.com

29 July 2021

Conor Holt works in television post-production in Los Angeles and has scoured almost every video store and thrift shop in Los Angeles County on an endless quest for VHS cassettes. This spring he finally made the trek to Bend, Oregon to visit the last Blockbuster in the world.

Greg Carlson: When did you fall in love with the movies?

Conor Holt: Since I’m a 90s kid, I grew up with VHS tapes in the house and home video was always part of my…

Read more...


​Emma Seligman’s ‘Shiva Baby’ and the Art of Comic Discomfort

July 18th, 2021

Greg Carlson

gregcarlson1@gmail.com

22 July 2021

Of the many offspring of “The Graduate,” few films approach the original’s perfect blend of eager but anxious anticipation regarding the future and post-adolescent tendencies toward solipsistic self-pity. Or, for that matter, the quality of the comedy and the level of craftsmanship. Mike Nichols directed the 1967 masterpiece with such skill, filmmakers still drink from the well more than half a century on, seeking to replicate some of…

Read more...


​Cate Shortland’s ‘Black Widow’

July 12th, 2021

By Greg Carlson

gregcarlson1@gmail.com

15 July 2021

The prerequisites for continued Marvel Cinematic Universe domination are met: a script balancing eye-popping action and emotionally-charged character development; a narrative that functions as a standalone entertainment but also plugs directly into the massive, always-expanding mainframe; an expert ensemble capable of playing both tongue-in-cheek metanarrative and earnest pathos as required from scene to scene. And as an added bonus for…

Read more...


​Janicza Bravo Takes ‘Zola’ on the Road

July 7th, 2021

by Greg Carlson

gregcarlson1@gmail.com

08 July 2021

Janicza Bravo’s “Zola” -- stylized onscreen as “@Zola” or “@zola” depending on your favorite style guide -- is the curious story by Aziah “Zola” Wells, candidly recounting a partly truthful and partly embellished autobiographical sex trafficking road trip odyssey she unloaded as a series of 148 tweets in the fall of 2015. The thread, which Wells took down twice before getting the desired traction, became a Twitterverse…

Read more...


​Questlove Comes to Harlem for ‘Summer of Soul’

June 27th, 2021

by Greg Carlson

gregcarlson1@gmail.com

01 July 2021

If the accolades bestowed on Ahmir Khalib “Questlove” Thompson’s directorial debut as feature documentary filmmaker are any indication, we are on the cusp of a fresh “Summer of Soul” in the hot months of 2021.

Claiming both Grand Jury and Audience Award prizes following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Questlove’s beautifully constructed movie is a history lesson and a celebration. Something akin to the unearthing…

Read more...


‘The Sparks Brothers’: Edgar Wright Goes Inside the Maelstrom of Sparks

June 14th, 2021

by Greg Carlson

gregcarlson1@gmail.com

17 June 2021

Edgar Wright -- the subject of his own cult of fandom -- knows a thing or two about obsessive devotion to odds and ends of pop culture. And with “The Sparks Brothers,” the filmmaker’s first feature-length foray into nonfiction, Wright applies the same attention to detail and supercharged storytelling that he brings to his fiction worlds. Built to impress longtime listeners and new ears alike, Wright’s love letter to Ron and…

Read more...


‘Glob Lessons’: Tribeca Film Festival

June 14th, 2021

by Dominic Erickson

gregcarlson1@gmail.com

14 June 2021

Colin Froeber and Nicole Rodenburg (who grew up in Fargo) are premiering their film "Glob Lessons" at the Tribeca Film Festival this weekend. The movie can be seen on-demand for the duration of the festival.

“Glob Lessons” is the funny and heartfelt feature directorial debut of Nicole Rodenburg. Written by Rodenburg and her creative partner Colin Froeber, the film premiered as part of the Tribeca Film Festival on June 12.

Rodenburg…

Read more...


​Prano Bailey-Bond Visits Britain’s Video Nasty Era in Debut ‘Censor’

June 7th, 2021

by Greg Carlson

gregcarlson1@gmail.com

10 June 2021

Horror hounds and those who -- like me -- are attracted to movies about movies will appreciate “Censor,” an intriguing but uneven period piece. The feature debut of director and co-writer Prano Bailey-Bond, the film is set initially within the drab offices of the group of professionals responsible for assigning film ratings during the 1980s “video nasty” phenomenon in Great Britain. Despite the potential to showcase outrageous…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry Seven Tracker Pixel for Entry Gruff Tracker Pixel for Entry Cottonwood Tracker Pixel for Entry Bismarck Tracker Pixel for Entry Blackbird Tracker Pixel for Entry 7Clans

Recently in:

By Bryce Vincent HaugenFor the first nine months, the dysfunction of the Trump administration and Congress was a four-time-zone-away abstraction for a Moorhead native living in Alaska’s interior. But it became all too real when…

By Michael M. Millermichael.miller@ndsu.edu I would like to recognize some of the scholarly Germans from Russia from Canada and USA shared on the GRHC website. There are additional names not included here. If you have suggestions…

December 17-21, 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and SundayThe Fargo Theatre, 314 N. Broadway, FargoCould this be the end of an era? After 26 years of doing the Holiday Soul Tour and 35 years together as a band, The…

By Sabrina Hornungsabina@hpr1.com I scroll through comment threads on the news stories in my social media feed and come across the retort, “You voted for this.” Sure the vote’s in…but when someone’s livelihood is at stake,…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comDemocrats have MAGA, MAHA, MAWF, and Trumplicans to fight My favorite analyst of things religious and political is Finton O’Toole who uses plain English, curses, temper, and knowledge to make a…

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 Mandy Dolneymandy@ksbsyndicate.com This cake will be on the menu at Nova Eatery through Thanksgiving served with maple crème anglaise Ice cream. It uses pumpkin pie pumpkins grown locally at Ladybug Acres and local apples grown…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Dakotah Faye is a hip-hop artist from Minot, North Dakota, and he’s had a busy year. He’s released two albums. This summer he opened for Tech N9ne in Sturgis and will be opening for Bone…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Japanese director Hikari, born in Osaka and originally named Mitsuyo Miyazaki, is poised for a significant stateside breakthrough with “Rental Family,” the new film she co-wrote with…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Gallery 4 downtown recently celebrated its 50 year anniversary, making it one of the longest consecutively running galleries in the country. With different membership tiers, there are 17 primary…

Press release“Shakespeare with a sharpened edge.” To launch its 2025 – 2026 season, Theatre NDSU is thrilled to team up with Moorhead-based organization Theatre B to perform a co-production of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and…

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…

sBy Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com The holidays are supposed to be magical: party, presents, fancy food, lights and sparks. You are looking forward to it. You work very hard, you put in long hours at work as well as at…

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.comPersonal background and historical perspective My deep concern about tariffs stems from my background as a fourth generation North Dakota farmer. Having lived through the 1980s farm crisis…