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…
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…
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,…
September 12th, 2018
by Ryan Janke
ryanjanke@hpr1.com
The lights are down and the energy is up at the Fargo Theatre this week as the Fargo-Moorhead LGBT Film Festival kicks off, celebrating its 10th anniversary in Fargo. Festival director Raymond Rea, a professor of film at the School of Media Arts & Design at Minnesota State University Moorhead, spearheaded the project shortly after arriving in the area in 2008.
Ten years after he curated the Queer Film Series at the university, Fargo-Moorhead LGBT Film…
September 5th, 2018
With first-time feature director Carlos Lopez Estrada at the helm, friends/screenwriters/producers/stars Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal collaborate on “Blindspotting,” one of the year’s most innovative and thought-provoking movies. Just as given to imaginative flights of fantasy as Boots Riley’s “Sorry to Bother You” -- another Sundance premiere examining the twined Romulus and Remus of race and Oakland, California -- “Blindspotting” skips Riley’s wild swerve into…
August 29th, 2018
The borders of the real and imagined assume a prominent place in Josephine Decker’s “Madeline’s Madeline,” the new feature from the talented filmmaker of “Butter on the Latch” and “Thou Wast Mild and Lovely.” As a richly layered metanarrative that utilizes the vehicles of acting, performance, and improvisation as the means to explore a complex emotional triangle involving a troubled young woman, her mother, and her theater teacher, Decker’s movie is a visual and…
August 22nd, 2018
Spike Lee’s stated desire to comment on current events through the colorful prism of a 1970s-set period piece reaps tremendous rewards in Cannes Grand Prix winner “BlacKkKlansman,” a startling and brilliant addition to the veteran filmmaker’s top tier. Loosely based on Ron Stallworth’s autobiographical memoir, Lee’s film dramatizes the utterly unbelievable story of the first African-American officer and detective on the force of the Colorado Springs Police Department.…
August 15th, 2018
Elsie Fisher’s Kayla Day is the lonely but indefatigable middle-school protagonist of first-time feature filmmaker Bo Burnham’s “Eighth Grade,” a winning addition to the pantheon of the adolescent cinematic bildungsroman. What details and nuances other performers might have brought to the role we wouldn’t dare to imagine, so perfect is Fisher’s take. She constructs a brilliant characterization utterly unselfconscious in its self-consciousness. There are millions like Kayla,…
August 8th, 2018
Tim Wardle’s documentary “Three Identical Strangers” shares the seemingly impossible tale of brothers Eddy Galland, David Kellman, and Bobby Shafran, separated-at-birth identical triplets who discovered one another as young adults in 1980. Recipient of the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Storytelling shortly after its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, the movie draws on new interviews and a strong archive of visual material to paint a colorful but…
August 1st, 2018
Making his feature directorial debut, “The Grudge” writer Stephen Susco scares up a handful of unnerving images and grim thoughts in “Unfriended: Dark Web,” a standalone follow-up to the incredibly profitable 2014 Blumhouse film. Like the first “Unfriended,” “Dark Web” was produced at a cost of roughly one million dollars, practically guaranteeing a big return on investment by the conclusion of its opening weekend. The second installment retains the visual gimmick of…
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By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comDairy Queen restaurants across the country will raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals during Miracle Treat Day on Thursday, July 31. At least one dollar from every Blizzard…
By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comFM Pride Week returns to the Fargo-Moorhead metro August 3-10. A snapshot of events are listed below. Discover event descriptions and locations as well as volunteer opportunities online at…
September 18- October 18Open House Saturday, September 20, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.Open House and Reception Saturday, September 27, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.The Arts House, 409 East Caledonia Ave., Hillsboro, ND John Carroll Pederson (1928-2025) was…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com I’m going to go ahead and say it. I have trust issues with a lot of things and artificial intelligence (AI) is one of them. Yes, it’s a tool that can sit shotgun and make your everyday tasks…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comIf a child is drowning in a ditch, will you get your shoes muddy? “Big Moma” Leah Drumwright was a Black slave in the 19th century who had one of her numerous babies and was nursing an infant.…
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 There seems to be a renaissance in Italian restaurants in the Fargo-Moorhead metro area. It’s a welcome change from just sporting an Olive Garden as a lone option. No offense to Marilyn Hagerty’s…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Bluegrass is a genre of music that is often associated with the American South. Many people would express incredulity at being told there is a thriving bluegrass and folk music community…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com As a follow-up to “The Whale,” a raucous adaptation of the first novel in Charlie Huston’s Henry Thompson series was a good choice for eclectic auteur Darren Aronofksy, whose bold visions…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com 2025 marks three years of the Annual Vergas Area Backroads Art Crawl. The art crawl is sponsored by the Vergas Arts Club. The Arts Club also happens to be part of the Vegas Community Club and both…
Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comPenn & Teller are returning to their roots. The legendary magic and comedy duo will appear on the Crown Stage at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, Minnesota, where they first…
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 Dr. Marc Sapir, MD, MPHjessica@pellienpublicrelations.com Across America, families are quietly struggling with a rising challenge: how to care for aging parents, siblings, grandparents, neighbors and friends. Most seniors want…
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@rocketmail.com Working in the Bakken oil fields of the Williston Basin is so different from my home in Fargo. I'm not judging, because the people working and living in western North Dakota are very…
