November 5th, 2015
Strictly for Spandau Ballet fans, “Soul Boys of the Western World” follows the familiar “Behind the Music” formula applicable to thousands of rock and roll stories. Long on hyperbole and much shorter on subtext and context, director George Hencken’s documentary relies on unfettered access to a trove of vintage film and video (for which archive producer Kate Griffiths deserves mention).
Tracing the rise and fall of the North London quintet fronted by vocalist Tony Hadley but led…
October 30th, 2015
A carefully crafted homage to sensualist 1970s European exploitation cinema in general and the work of filmmaker Jess Franco in particular, Peter Strickland’s “The Duke of Burgundy” bestows many perverse pleasures upon its viewers. Beautifully designed, confidently structured and filled with visual and aural luxuries, the story alights on the strained and idiosyncratic relationship between two insect researchers/enthusiasts whose intense…
October 30th, 2015
Fargo native films western ND crime drama
I caught up with Dan Glaser, a Fargo native who is currently wrapping up filming the movie “Valley of Bones” in western North Dakota. Glaser is also known for "Pinching Penny" (2011) and the recently completed "Oxenfree,” currently on the film festival circuit. His bestselling debut novels “dieselpunk” and “A Fistful of Nothing” are available on Amazon.
“Valley of Bones” reveals the story of an ex-convict paleontologist trying to…
October 29th, 2015
Changing standards…
What a difference a decade can make! Ten years ago today’s college graduates were still in middle school. Ten years ago, Blockbuster Video was the king of the movie rental industry for home viewing via DVD or VHS on TV sets that rarely approached the full broadcast standards established back in 1941 for black-and-white or in 1954 for color. Ten years ago one of the nation’s largest theatre chains was starting plans to convert from 35mm film (the professional…
October 22nd, 2015
A largely disappointing follow-up to his wild dissection of the methodology of Stanley Kubrick in “Room 237,” Rodney Ascher’s “The Nightmare” introduces an octet of bedeviled souls afflicted by sleep paralysis. Staging chilling reenactments that unfold like the lurid spine-tinglers on television’s “Unsolved Mysteries,” Ascher enjoys his role as deliberately neutral interlocutor, leaving it to the viewer to decide whether the filmmaker…
October 21st, 2015
By Brittney Goodman
The Dakota Resource Council is completing the the last of its free regional screenings of the award-winning film “Northern Lights” at the Fargo Theatre on Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. in celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the Nonpartisan League in North Dakota. The DRC is partnering with the Northern Plains United Labor Council, The North Dakota Human Rights Coalition and the South Agassiz Resource Council for the Fargo screening. All screenings are also supported…
October 15th, 2015
Bearing a handful of the stylistic touches of prominently credited producer Ulrich Seidl, Austrian horror-thriller “Goodnight Mommy” turns the screws of its nasty little bal masque until many viewers will avert their eyes. Written and directed by Seidl’s partner and frequent co-scripter Veronika Franz and Seidl’s nephew Severin Fiala, “Goodnight Mommy” – retitled from the original “Ich seh Ich seh” for English language markets – twists the home invasion premise of…
October 15th, 2015
One of the key classics of 20th century cinema is Frank Capra’s “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” yet another of the major films premiering in 1939. It earned 11 Academy Award nominations, but amazingly did not win a single category.
Nevertheless, it’s a film that should be shown theatrically every campaign and election year in every country. The moving story of political corruption and cynicism clashing with sincere political idealism and patriotism…
October 8th, 2015
As the most likely audience members of “Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead,” hardcore National Lampoon fans of a certain age are the choirboys and choirgirls to filmmaker Douglas Tirola’s preacher.
Tracing the history of the magazine and its prolific mediated spinoffs, Tirola’s film at least scratches the surface of the rise and fall of the Lampoon empire, even if a comprehensive account couldn’t possibly fit in a single feature movie. Cramming together dozens of interviews, hundreds…
October 7th, 2015
By Brittney Goodman
Fargo is about to get weird … and fantastic! The Fargo Fantastic Film Festival, in its thirteenth year, will feature 87 films and over 24 hours of programming over three days, Oct. 8-10, 2015, at the iconic Fargo Theatre. The festival celebrates “films of the Fantastic,” which includes science fiction, fantasy, horror and thrillers. It is one of the longest-running genre film festivals in the U.S., according to Moviemaker Magazine.
The festival kicks…
By Laura Simmonslaurasimmons2025@u.northwestern.edu Dr. Stephen McDonough researched why North Dakota had the highest COVID death rate and cases in the fall of 2020. His investigation accumulated into a 1,000-plus page book titled…
By Michael M. Miller michael.miller@ndsu.eduOne of the most important books published about the Germans from Russia in North Dakota is “Along the Trails of Yesterday: A Story of McIntosh County” by Nina Farley Wishek, published…
photo credit: Jessica GavinSeptemberOktoberfest: Now-October 3Wurst Bier HallStein-holding competition, happy hour Mon-Fri from 4-6, wear your dirndl or lederhosen, German music.https://wurstfargo.com/Papa’s Pumpkin…
By John Strandjas@hpr1.comOur Opinion: Thank you, Reader readers, for 29 fulfilling yearsChugging along, The Little Newspaper That Could commences its 30th volume and year with this issue. Simply getting here speaks volumes. Just…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comIs Cruelty a Part of Nature—or Is It Just Part of Human Nature?Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman has been my economics guru for many years for his pithy columns in The New York Times. In…
We are looking for 55-gallon plastic food grade barrels, do you have ideas or connections?We use these barrels to teach our resilient yard workshop series including Make Your Own Rain Barrel and Make Your Own Compost Tumbler. If…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.comMy new venture as a master’s degree student has got me thinking…again about food. Although I’m in an online program with the University of North Dakota, I thought it would be handy to list and…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comThe Melvins formed in 1983 Montesano, Washington, founded by singer/guitar player Buzz Osborne. The group is known for its heavy sound mixed with a dose of punk, forming its own subgenre.…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comFilmmaker Jacqueline Castel’s “My Animal” premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in January, but its vibes are better suited to the rising blood moon of autumn’s spooky season. Now…
By HPR Staffsubmit@hpr1.comThe Fargo Moorhead Visual Artists’ much-lauded neighbor lovin’ Studio Crawl is just around the corner – October 7 and 8, noon to 6pm. During the free event, the people who add culture and vibrancy…
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 John Showalter john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…
JANUARY 19, 1967– MARCH 8, 2023 Brittney Leigh Goodman, 56, of Fargo, N.D., passed away unexpectedly at her home on March 8, 2023. Brittney was born January 19, 1967, to Ruth Wilson Pollock and Donald Ray Goodman, in Hardinsburg,…
By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com On the first day of the month I ask people to thank a journalist they know or someone who contributes to papers in some meaningful way. When I grew up, my best friend's father was a journalist…
