July 27th, 2016
“Mountains May Depart” (2015), written and directed by acclaimed Chinese director Jia Zhangke, came out on Blu-ray this month from Kino Video.
It’s Zhangke’s first narrative feature since his Cannes Palme d’Or nominee “A Touch of Sin” (2013), which Kino released to Blu-ray in 2014. Both films are effective critiques of social problems and alienation that are by no means limited to modern China.
In “A Touch of Sin” Zhangke looked at the growth of violence in China in…
July 27th, 2016
The insightful Caity Birmingham recently said, “Someday we'll be able to give ‘Ghostbusters’ an honest B- and cite ten movies that did the female scientist action buddy movie so much better.” You gotta admire the optimism in Ms. Birmingham’s note, since the discourse in the months – even years – leading up to Paul Feig’s parallel universe/remake/reboot/reimagining of the hugely popular 1984 comedy phenomenon has focused on an awful lot of ugly and ignorant outbursts…
July 22nd, 2016
It’s been a good period for film noir on Blu-ray this year, as the genre (or subgenre or style, depending on who is defining it) seems to be enjoying a renaissance of popularity, with its flawed anti-heroic characters, fashionably dark cynicism, and stylish low-key cinematography. A nice variety of titles both classic and obscure have been getting quality Blu-ray editions from several distributors, including Kino, Olive, Twilight Time, Criterion, Flicker Alley, and even Warner. Here…
July 20th, 2016
In 1996, six years following the disappointment of “Graffiti Bridge,” Prince agreed to provide the soundtrack music for director Spike Lee’s “Girl 6.” The project would mark the artist’s final full-scale cinematic collaboration, even though filmmakers continued to use his material and seek him out.
Functionally, the “Girl 6” record — credited to Prince even though at the time he was using the unpronounceable symbol to signify his name — constitutes a fantastic collection…
July 13th, 2016
After its fortuitous rediscovery about a decade or so ago, followed by a painstaking restoration, the long-lost silent melodrama “The Daughter of Dawn” received a limited theatrical release in 2014 and is finally being made available for Blu-ray home viewing next week. The independently produced 1920 feature had only a few showings when first made and then disappeared for nearly a century.
What is nearly unique about this historic 78-minute film is that it featured a cast made up…
July 13th, 2016
Based on a story by Karen Rinaldi, Rebecca Miller’s adaptation of “Maggie’s Plan” imagines the intellectual, white, fairytale New York City familiar to Woody Allen fans as the backdrop for a screwball-inspired comedy of amour fou and remarriage.
Featuring Greta Gerwig as the young woman who comes between, and then determines to reunite, academics Julianne Moore and Ethan Hawke, “Maggie’s Plan” covers little that hasn’t already been thoroughly examined by Allen during his…
July 6th, 2016
There is nothing quite like the experience of seeing silent films on a big screen with a live musical accompaniment and a receptive audience. The 40th Annual Summer Cinema Series at Minnesota State University Moorhead starts Monday, July 11 and will focus entirely on silent comedy this year.
Two evenings will spotlight feature films by Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, and two will be four-film anthologies of classic shorts by Charlie Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy.
All movies will have music…
June 29th, 2016
Once its cult bona fides were established at the 2002 Butt-Numb-A-Thon (when Eli Roth presented a VHS dub to Harry Knowles as a birthday gift), the adaptation of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” made by kids over the better part of a decade in the 1980s enjoyed a run of successful public screenings – including a stop at the Fargo Film Festival courtesy of Ellen Shafer and Margie Bailly.
While Steven Spielberg and George Lucas graciously looked the other way concerning rights issues,…
June 22nd, 2016
By Kaley Sievert
“With this film, we hope to show the mainstream that Native American comedians are just as funny as Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., and Gabriel Iglesias,” says Jon Roberts, comedian and member of the Red Lake band of Ojibwe. “If given the opportunity, [Native Americans] can give America a look at something they never knew existed.”
Roberts and Rob Fairbanks, comedian and member of the Leech Lake band of Ojibwe, are two Minnesota competitors in Project Greenlight, a…
June 22nd, 2016
Sam Fuller’s “House of Bamboo” seems to be pretty much under the radar of many film fans, but is interesting and unusual on several levels, as a social commentary and twisting the film noir “rules” by being shot in color and CinemaScope with stereo sound, as well as for reversing a number of traditional roles expected in the genre. It received a very good Blu-ray release last summer.
Samuel Fuller was an independent-minded, often-perverse maverick filmmaker, noted for some…
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By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.comIt’s been eight years since the Water Protectors were cleared off the banks of the Cannonball and Missouri Rivers. It was a bitter ending to a battle to protect the water; and for most of us…
By HPR Staff We’re all a part of building strong, healthy and inclusive communities. But the region’s non-profit organizations do a lot of the heavy lifting. Now it’s time for these organizations to step into the spotlight.…
February 15, 6-9 p.m.Miss Kitty’s, 5855 16th Ave SE, Braddock, North DakotaWhat better way to celebrate the day after Valentine’s Day than with a nut fry? Mind you, we’re not talking about chestnuts roasting on an open…
By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com As I write this article, it’s January, and the temperatures in North Dakota are negative. I’m living in a house and our furnace just died a forever death after years of quick fixes. Yet,…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comHow billionaires with brain rot are creating bedlam in the USAOn January 21, 2010, the Republican-dominated United States Supreme Court approved a death sentence for American democracy of 250 to…
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 So far in 2025, announcements for new restaurant openings in the metro far outnumber closings. This is good news going into the new year for us hungry folk. In my opinion, the positive trend will…
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By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Local band Zero Place has been making quite a name for itself locally and regionally in the last few years. Despite getting its start during a time it seemed the whole world was coming to…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Now streaming on MUBI, Elizabeth Sankey’s essay film “Witches” morphs from what at first appears to be a feminist deconstruction of movie and television representations of the title…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIn 1974, the Jamestown Arts Center started as a small space above a downtown drugstore. It has grown to host multiple classrooms, a gallery, performance studio, ceramic studio and outdoor art park.…
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 Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com On Dec 5, the Turning Point USA chapter at North Dakota State University hosted an event called BisonFest. This event featured Chloe Cole, a former trans kid, known for detransitioning and…
By Jim Fugliejimfuglie920@gmail.com A friend of mine, a well-known Bismarck liberal (I have a few of those), came up to me after church the other day and asked, “So, are you moving out of the country?” I knew he was referring…
