April 7th, 2016
For those who were unable to make it to this year’s Fargo Film Festival, two movies released to Blu-ray March 8 by Kino-Lorber Video should prove satisfying. Both had little theatrical play beyond the rounds of film festivals last year.
Sebastian Schipper’s rather audacious slice-of-life heist thriller “Victoria” is most impressive for its concept, the logistics needed to carry it out, and its sustained performances without a single cut. It hopes to involve the viewer as a…
April 6th, 2016
Werner Herzog shares another meditation on humanity in “Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World.” Lit with the master filmmaker’s blazing curiosity, the fascinating documentary ponders a wide variety of digital-era conundrums and curiosities via ten chapters.
Bouncing from topic to topic, “Lo and Behold” accomplishes the showman’s trick that leaves the audience salivating for more – many of the sections could sustain feature-length examinations on their own.
From…
March 30th, 2016
At 63 years of age, Paul Reubens completes a minor miracle with the return of beloved, iconic manchild Pee-wee Herman, the eccentric creation whose appeal to grown-ups and children hit the bullseye in Tim Burton’s feature directorial debut “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” and on television in “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.”
“Pee-wee’s Big Holiday” fails to top the 1980s incarnation of the character, but longtime fans will smile at several of the movie’s colorful gags. Produced by…
March 30th, 2016
Sports fans of the Upper Midwest may have special interest in a classic film released to Bluray this month, since the title is “The Vikings” and one of the sequences features fighting hawks. The Norse setting also depicts the ancient heritage and culture of many North Dakota-Minnesota-Wisconsin families.
Serious analysts might identify some interesting subtext in the 1958 film “The Vikings,” dealing with class, gender, religion, and tribal/cultural relationships to compare…
March 24th, 2016
Craig Cobb, the white supremacist who purchased properties in Leith, North Dakota as part of a warped plan to establish a community for like‐minded racial separatists, takes center stage in “Welcome to Leith,” recipient of the Bill Snyder Award for Documentary Filmmaking at the 2016 Fargo Film Festival.
Principally examining the period during which Cobb’s actions and publicity‐seeking behavior ran afoul of the townspeople (depending how you count, not more than two dozen souls)…
March 18th, 2016
by Greg Carlson
Producer Matt Myers and writer‐director Joe Maggio, along with many cast and crewmembers from “Supermoto” will attend the Fargo Film Festival for a special screening of the narrative feature. “Supermoto” will be shown on Saturday, March 19 at 3:15 p.m. at the Fargo Theatre. HPR’s Greg Carlson talked to Myers about the film.
HPR: Tell me a little bit about “Supermoto.”
Matt Myers: “Supermoto” is Joe Maggio’s sixth feature film. It’s about a young woman…
March 9th, 2016
Filmmakers, actors, award-winning works, more than 100 films
by Kaley Sievert
It’s that time again, when the Fargo Theatre attracts flocks of moviegoers and a variety of directors and actors who have submitted their films to the 16th annual Fargo Film Festival.
Pounds of popcorn will be munched as film fans come to enjoy the beautiful stories that adorn the theatre’s screen. Laughter, sniffles, crunching and applause will come from the darkened auditorium as the movies capture the…
March 7th, 2016
WARNING: The following review reveals key plot information. Read only if you have seen “The Witch”
Near the thrilling, ecstatic conclusion of first-time feature director Robert Eggers’ “The Witch: A New-England Folktale,” our young protagonist Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), having endured unspeakable horrors, demands that family goat Black Phillip, a possible vessel for the Devil himself, converse with her. The resulting exchange, a pulse-quickening negotiation that maneuvers…
March 7th, 2016
In observance of International Women’s Day, March 8, the North Dakota Women’s Network (NDWN) will host a special screening of the historical Women’s Suffrage film, "Iron-Jawed Angels" at the Fargo Theatre.
According to Shelly Carlson, event coordinator and a long-time member of the NDMW, this film was selected because the group wanted a film to highlight an important time in women’s history, in honor of both Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day. “Iron-Jawed…
February 27th, 2016
As sharp and entertaining as the man it examines, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You” is a substantive chronicle of one of the most influential television creators/producers in the history of the medium. While some degree of hagiography is inevitable on the heels of Lear’s 2014 memoir “Even This I Get to Experience,” the filmmakers handle several delicate and/or controversial public and private themes important to Lear’s biography.…
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By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comNorth Dakota communities will join a “nationwide day of defiance” against authoritarianism and President Donald Trump’s policies on Saturday, June 14. A range of "No Kings" events…
From concerts and car shows to Japanese art and Juneteenth celebrations, there's so much going on around the region this summer. This year's High Plains Reader Summer Events Calendar is back and bigger than ever. It's packed with…
June 21, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., Fargo“We Watch Shudder,” Fargo’s favorite horror podcasters, bring on the darkness during the longest day of the year. The Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival features…
By John Strandjas@hpr1.com One description that perhaps aptly describes the mental state of many lately is that they feel they are attached to a string. Or several strings. Call it the notion that people are played like puppets,…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comThe Fiddler on the roof was taking a big chance after two thousand years of hate Cal Thomas, who seems to hate a lot in a journalistic and broadcasting career where he expresses his conservative…
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…
By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comThe Moorhead Public Library will offer three free, all-ages outdoor concerts featuring regional bands this summer. The series begins on June 12 with the Meat Rabbits, a group that blends…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Wes Anderson’s twelfth full-length feature, “The Phoenician Scheme,” sees the idiosyncratic auteur pull back from the elaborate storytelling scaffolding and structures of “The Grand…
By Raul Gomezraul@hpr1.com Minutes before Modern’s Celebration of Life opened its door at the Sons of Norway, I was fiddling with the bar computer, trying to pull up the playlists of Modern’s work I had set aside for the…
By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comAct Up Theatre, in partnership with Minnesota State University Moorhead, will present “The Sound of Music” on June 10-14. All shows are at 7:30 p.m. at the Minnesota State Moorhead’s…
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 Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There appear to be differences in the incidence of mental illnesses between men and women. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, post-traumatic stress…
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.com Our trucking business has me driving almost daily from gas plants in western North Dakota's oil patch to Canada. I haul natural gas liquids (NGLs) products we used to see flared off at…
