Cinema

Oh hi Mark…

November 7th, 2018


graphics by Raul Gomez

If you Google something, anything, about halfway down the page you’ll find the “People Also Ask” section. The results of this section are, not surprisingly, determined by the most commonly asked questions which leads users to the most commonly clicked links. When I Googled “The Room Movie” last year “Is the movie “The Room” a comedy?” was at the top of that list.

By the way, "The Room", for those of you who just found out about media, is the 2003 film funded, produced…

Read more...


Hill Looks Back at the “Mid90s”

November 7th, 2018

Jonah Hill’s feature directorial debut, which he also wrote, is a textbook bildungsroman of the hetero-masculine variety, a finely tuned throwback to the “Mid90s” of its title smart enough to locate the universal experiences that everyone -- regardless of generation -- recognizes. Shot on gorgeous Super 16mm in a 4:3 aspect ratio by ace photographer and regular Kelly Reichardt collaborator Christopher Blauvelt, Hill’s lean slice of life, which runs a fleet 84 minutes, is as…

Read more...


Filmworker: In Kubrick’s Shadow

October 31st, 2018

Unknown to the general public but fascinating to followers of Stanley Kubrick, the name Leon Vitali takes center stage in Tony Zierra’s “Filmworker.” Vitali, who moved from the onscreen role of Lord Bullingdon in “Barry Lyndon” to the offscreen one as Kubrick’s general factotum for a quarter of a century, may have been credited as the famous director’s “personal assistant,” but Zierra reveals the astonishing extent of Vitali’s loyalty. Drawing from a deep trove of…

Read more...


Turkish flix mega mix

October 24th, 2018


design by Raul Gomez

On Thursday, November 15 at the Sanctuary Events Center, Grindflicks will present “Turkish Movie Showcase: A Mega Mix of Turkish Flix.” Tickets for the 21+ event are five dollars at the door, which opens at 7:00 p.m. The movie starts at 8:00 p.m.

HPR film editor Greg Carlson talked to Grindflicks founder and events coordinator Randal Black, who has been bringing the best in exploitation cinema to Fargo audiences since 2010, about the wild allure of unofficial re-imaginings of some…

Read more...


First Man: Chazelle and Gosling Take a Moonwalk

October 17th, 2018

Damien Chazelle’s fourth feature follows the trajectory common to the careers of many ambitious and talented filmmakers honored with Academy Awards: the dissipation of rawness and experimentation as budgets, expectations, and stakes increase. “First Man,” a deeply self-serious adaptation of James R. Hansen’s Neil Armstrong biography of the same name, is the first of Chazelle’s features written by someone other than the director (the screenplay is the work of “Spotlight”…

Read more...


A Star Is Born

October 10th, 2018


Carlson - A Star is Born

WARNING: The following review reveals plot information. Read only if you have seen “A Star Is Born”

Bradley Cooper directs himself and Lady Gaga in the fourth version of the show business perennial “A Star Is Born.” Despite looking, at least on the surface, like a calculated shot at Oscar recognition and glory, Cooper’s own history with substance abuse and suicidal ideation marks the familiar story with a deep personal connection. The chemistry between the leads and the…

Read more...


Comedy Icon Gets Well-Deserved Bio with ‘Love, Gilda’

October 3rd, 2018

“Love, Gilda,” Lisa D’Apolito’s biography of founding “Saturday Night Live” member Gilda Radner, treats comedy fans to an earnest assessment of the brilliant performer’s life and career, which was cut far too short at age 42 as a result of ovarian cancer. As one of the trailblazing Not Ready for Prime Time Players, Radner originated a healthy share of some of the show’s most memorable characters during her five seasons on SNL. Competing for space and time against the…

Read more...


Deadly Clicks in Levinson’s “Assassination Nation”

September 26th, 2018

Slipping and sliding through its blood-soaked climax, “Assassination Nation” attempts to reconcile the lurid and exploitative embrace of its milieu with an in-your-face polemic on the modern hellscape of rape culture and toxic masculinity. As channeled through the hypersexualized noise of social media (where everyone can be a “star” or cultivate a personal “brand”) as well as the private-until-they’re-not exchanges of person-to-person text messages, writer-director Sam…

Read more...


Sevigny Takes Up the Axe in “Lizzie”

September 19th, 2018

Director Craig William Macneill speculates on the infamous legend surrounding Massachusetts murder suspect Lizzie Borden in “Lizzie,” a long-germinating labor of love for star Chloe Sevigny. Working from a screenplay by Bryce Kass, Macneill’s stylish direction will satisfy a good cross-section of true crime fans as well as admirers of Sevigny and Kristen Stewart, who plays live-in Irish housemaid Bridget Sullivan. The continuing cultural fascination with the gruesome deaths of…

Read more...


​Dinklage Is the Last Man Standing in ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’

September 12th, 2018

Filmmaker Reed Morano’s “I Think We’re Alone Now” doesn’t match the levels of heat surrounding the tireless veteran cinematographer’s other recent successes on “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Working from an original script by Mike Makowsky, Morano cannot be faulted for the film’s exquisite visual design, but the story -- another post-apocalyptic, last-person-on-earth dystopia winding up to some kind of bombshell -- stumbles following a riveting set-up.

Peter Dinklage is Del,…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry MidwestRoadTripAdventures Tracker Pixel for Entry Blackbird Tracker Pixel for Entry NewSalem1B Tracker Pixel for Entry EmpireAUG2021 Tracker Pixel for Entry Hjemkomst Tracker Pixel for Entry NewSalem1

Recently in:

By Alicia Underlee NelsonCitizens will rally in support of democracy and civil libraries in Minot on April 19 from 3-5 p.m. The event will begin at Minot City Hall (10 3rd Ave. S.W.) and participants will walk toward Broadway.…

By Prairie Rose Seminolems.prairierose@gmail.com I was a child who walked behind my parents into classrooms and kitchens, spaces of song and prayer, where teachings lived in the air and settled on my shoulders. I didn’t yet have…

Tuesday, April 22, 4 p.m.Junkyard Brewing Company, 1416 1st Ave. N., MoorheadWho here wants to taste a new beer? Try Money Honey, a peanut butter, banana and honey lager. $1 of every pint sold will be donated to the Pollinator…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com I feel like reading a newspaper is the equivalent of listening to music on vinyl. Not only is it analog, it’s an experience. I might be a little biased, but there's something about the rustling…

By Ed Raymondfargogadly@gmail.comThe wizards and kleagles in whites now wear blue suits and red tiesA hundred years ago, more than 30,000 members of the Ku Klux Klan from virtually every state in the Union wearing their white…

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.comRyan Coogler goes big and bold with “Sinners,” a sweaty, bloody vampire movie set in 1932. The filmmaker stuffs this universe with enough ideas to serve a limited-series season of episodic…

By Raul Gomez Modern Man was a gentle soul. If you were down or just wanted a friend, he’d be there for you. I remember the first day I met Modern Man. It was Jeremiah Fuglseth and me. He wanted to write about this legendary…

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 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 Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com In 2023, the Superintendent of Fargo Public Schools, Rupak Ghandi, gave a passionate plea to the Fargo School Board to follow federal law, because a recently passed state law would increase…