June 3rd, 2015
The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (2015)WARNING: The following review reveals key plot information. Read only if you have seen “The Jinx.”
The bombshell revelation that concludes Andrew Jarecki’s HBO series “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” occurs when the title subject uses the bathroom while wearing a hot mic. Hilariously, weirdly, but somehow not surprisingly, the incident mirrors the gag in “The Naked Gun” when Leslie Nielsen’s Frank Drebin…
June 3rd, 2015
More examples of the classic film noir subcategory of crime thrillers have been showing up on impressive-looking Blu-ray releases, including several crossover genre pictures that incorporate various noir themes with a number of variations on the formula.
The solid semi-noir murder-mystery “Cover Up” (1949) came out this past spring from Kino, and the gripping desert-survival drama “Inferno” (1953) became available in a region-free 3D Blu-ray from Scottish distributor Panamint…
May 27th, 2015
Alex Gibney’s documentary “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief” uses author Lawrence Wright’s similarly titled book as the basis for a feature-length examination of the controversial organization known to many as the secretive, confusing and mysterious spiritual home of celebrities like Tom Cruise and John Travolta. Legally recognized as a religion by the IRS in 1993, the Church of Scientology began when prolific science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard morphed his…
May 23rd, 2015
WARNING: The following review reveals key plot information. Read only if you have seen “The D Train.”
In their feature directing debut, “Yes Man” screenwriters Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel take a stab at blending sitcom-like laughs with social introspection, and the results are as confused as the emotional state of main character Dan Landsman (Jack Black). Landsman, the self-appointed chairperson of his Pittsburgh high school reunion committee, spots old classmate Oliver Lawless…
May 21st, 2015
Released to Blu-ray last March in a limited edition of only 3,000 copies was the classic spectacle “Solomon and Sheba.”
Historical epics, especially biblical epics, sometimes get a bad reputation. Many rely on the spectacle of exotic settings and costumes, a few large-scale action sequences and overblown romantic melodrama with only a faint resemblance to historical facts or biblical accounts. Cecil B. DeMille was the master of the popular epic film, biblical and otherwise, but…
May 13th, 2015
Fargo-Moorhead native Katelyn Whitehead moved to Los Angeles after completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota. She is a talented artist, cutting her filmmaking teeth in Fargo 48 Hour Film Project competitions with collaborators, friends and fellow Moorhead Spuds Johan Anderson and Dan Bock. Whitehead enthusiastically endorses “Back to the Future” (“the Holy Grail of how to make a great studio film”), “The…
May 13th, 2015
Veteran documentary filmmaker Brett Morgen’s years of hard work pay off in “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck,” a stunning biographical portrait of the artist and musician. Morgen’s film, made with the full cooperation of Cobain’s survivors, includes Frances Bean Cobain as an executive producer. The director’s “all access pass” to the comprehensive Cobain archive brands his movie as the closest thing to a definitive treatment, and the arresting animation that illustrates a…
May 10th, 2015
Self-conscious, geeky coder Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson) wins a contest to visit the sprawling, private compound of his boss Nathan (Oscar Isaac), a computer genius using his billions to pursue artificial intelligence in the form of an erotically charged machine named Ava (Alicia Vikander).
Screenwriter/novelist Alex Garland makes his directorial debut with “Ex Machina,” the alternately intriguing and infuriating result of Nathan’s scheme to use Caleb as human bait in a twisted…
May 7th, 2015
Earlier this year the Criterion Collection released Blu-ray editions of two Japanese classics from the 1960s: Yasujiro Ozu’s intimate family comedy-drama “An Autumn Afternoon” (1962) and Kihachi Okamoto’s samurai epic “The Sword of Doom” (1966).
Both appear at first glance to revolve heavily around specific elements of Japanese culture and history, yet each transcends time and culture to depict universal realities of human nature.
“An Autumn Afternoon” was Ozu’s final…
April 30th, 2015
Local musician Charlie Mauk is best known for his hip-hop music, but he has recently taken on an entirely new project.
Mauk is serving as actor, director, writer and director of cinematography for his first full-length feature film “Aura.”With the help of his longtime friend Bjorn Pedersen, who also acts in a leading role, Mauk has been able to bring his own mob film to life. It has been seven months since…
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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…
