July 22nd, 2015
Summer is drive-in season, traditionally a time for movies aimed at teens and sensation-seeking adults. Several of notorious producer Albert Zugsmith’s films are now on Blu-ray. The most critically-acclaimed of them, Orson Welles’ masterful “Touch of Evil” (1958), got a U.S. Blu-ray release in April 2014 from Universal. Olive Films released three of Zugsmith’s next four films to Blu-ray within the past year. Like the output of his prolific contemporary Roger Corman, these…
July 15th, 2015
Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s adaptation of Jesse Andrews’ popular novel “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” presents delights and dilemmas as it negotiates (and doesn’t negotiate) the rough terrain of terminal illness, race, class and white male privilege via an irresistibly attractive package aimed squarely at the eye and ear of the cinephile. Like “The Wolfpack,” another movie in which imaginatively staged recreations of cult films are pasted together in DIY delirium, “Me and…
July 15th, 2015
Several major cities have regular theatrical revivals of classic films made before the switch to sound technology, but, except for MSUM’s summer cinema series, silent films are difficult to find in this region without looking online for Blu-ray, DVD or streaming editions. This past spring, Flicker Alley released a three-disc DVD set of the little-known, but amazing and newly-restored French film “La Maison du Mystère” (“The House of Mystery”), an ambitious…
July 9th, 2015
Fascinating and frustrating, Crystal Moselle’s documentary “The Wolfpack” is essential viewing for fans of DIY moviemaking and cinephilia. The premise of Moselle’s film and the promise of her incredible subjects – a sextet of isolated, homeschooled brothers who grew up carefully acting out movies like “Reservoir Dogs” and “The Dark Knight” – makes “The Wolfpack” sound a little more otherworldly and exotic than the evidence supplied. Even so, the endearing…
July 9th, 2015
Racial inequality and intolerance continue to be in the news, as well as discussion of people passing themselves off as someone of a different race. Hollywood has tackled the subject numerous times, perhaps most memorably in two Oscar-nominated screen versions of Fannie Hurst’s novel “Imitation of Life,” both of which are on a Blu-ray from Universal released this past spring.
The two films were produced 25 years apart, each daringly groundbreaking in its handling of controversial…
July 1st, 2015
The annual MSUM Summer Cinema series returns this month with weekly Monday night screenings throughout July of classic silent movies with live musical accompaniment on the historic Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ in Weld Hall’s auditorium. Each film will also be introduced by an area film specialist. Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. and admission is $4 per night. Pre-show organ music performed by Red River Chapter members of the American Theatre Organ Society starts at 7:15 p.m. and doors open…
July 1st, 2015
A sticky mashup of broad comedy, contemplated quirk and stylish pretentiousness, the latter of which doubles as writer-director Rick Famuyiwa’s heart-on-sleeve love letter to his formative years, “Dope” operates a little bit like “Risky Business” meets “Friday.” Fishtailing between tonal shifts as rapid-fire as some of the semiautomatic weapons brandished in the story, the film’s greatest success hangs out in the fresh design and the throwback songs on the soundtrack –…
July 1st, 2015
Independence Day weekend is almost upon us, with picnics, concerts, programs and, of course, nighttime fireworks typically scheduled to commemorate the founding of the United States nearly 240 years ago. It’s also a great time to find a good movie set during that time period, but for whatever reason, relatively few films deal with this country’s very beginnings, and those that do are not well-promoted and remain hard to find, especially on Blu-ray.
Last fall Warner Brothers released…
June 24th, 2015
A luminous Blythe Danner portrays one of the warmest and most inviting characters of her long career in “I’ll See You in My Dreams,” a quiet and seductive movie about the contours of friendship and the parameters of solitude. Danner’s Carol Petersen resists the entreaties of her trio of pals (Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place and June Squibb) to sell her house and join them at the snazzy retirement community/country club where they socialize over cards and the occasional medical…
June 24th, 2015
The latest film adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s novel “Far from the Madding Crowd” is currently winding down its limited theatrical run, which started May 1 in just ten theatres, expanded slightly over the next few weeks and is now back to a few hundred screens. It did manage to play in Fargo and East Grand Forks, but for those who missed it in theatres, this epic period romance will come out on Blu-ray August 4.
Thomas Vinterberg’s film has much to recommend it, especially its…
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By Bryce Vincent Haugen By his own account, Edwin Chinchilla is lucky to still be in the United States. As a 12-year-old Salvadoran, he and his brother were packed into a semi with a couple dozen other people and given fake…
By Michael M. Miller Rev. Salomon Joachim, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Beulah, North Dakota., delivered an address to the Western Conference of the Dakota District of the American Lutheran Church in 1939. His presentation was…
Wednesday, March 25, Group lesson 7 p.m., Dance 9 p.m.Sons of Norway, 722 2nd Avenue North, FargoCare to dance? If you don’t already know how to dance, the Northern Lights Dance Club can show you a thing or two about social…
By John StrandDisclaimer: This editorial is the work of someone who’s spent most of his adult life working in the media — most of those years co-owning this very entity, the High Plains Reader, since 1996. The notion that folks…
By Ed RaymondThe bells are ringing for everybody on the planet As ICE, the worst of the worst law enforcement agencies in the Divided States of America, continues to use unconstitutional procedures to find the worst of the worst…
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 Sabrina Hornung There’s a Bosnian saying that states simply, “It’s a sin to throw away bread,” which really resonates with me — especially growing up with grandparents who lived through the Second World War and the Great…
The Slow Death at The AquariumSaturday, March 21, doors at 7:30 p.m. The Aquarium above Dempsey’s, 226 N. Broadway, FargoThe Slow Death is a punk supergroup led by Jesse Thorson, with members and collaborators that include…
By Sabrina HornungJD Provorse is a horror movie enthusiast and Fargo-based podcast host. Both he and cohost Michelle Roller have a comedy background and started the wildly entertaining podcast “We Watch Shudder” in 2022 as an…
By Jacinta ZensGraffiti is something we all see routinely on trains as they pass through the metro. If you pay attention even a little bit, you will notice that some graffiti pieces on train cars look much better than others in…
Saturday, January 31, 6:30-9 p.m.Transfiguration Fitness, 764 34th St. N., Unit P, FargoAn enchanting evening celebrating movement and creativity in a staff-student showcase. This is a family-friendly event showcasing pole, aerial…
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 Liverani In November 2025, the FDA initiated the removal of the “black box” warning from Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). The “black box” warning is a FAD safety warning for healthcare providers and patients…
January 31, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.Viking Ship Park, 202 1st Ave. N., Moorhead2026 marks 10 years of frosty fun! Enjoy sauna sessions with Log the Sauna, try Snowga (yoga in the snow), take a guided snowshoe nature hike, listen to live…
By Jim FuglieI’m feeling a little mean right now. It doesn’t happen often, but I tend to pay attention to politics and politicians and I’m pretty disappointed in one of our politicians right now. So I’m going to be mean to…
