September 24th, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Filmmaker 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 available on major streaming services following a brief theatrical run in select cinemas, Castel’s feature directorial debut is poised to scratch the itch of discerning horror hounds who appreciate slow-burn smarts as much as gory violence.
The film’s…
September 21st, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Many films have used the unsettling revelation of tattoos as a device to startle the viewer with a visual roadmap to a deeper understanding of character. The “love” and “hate” lettering across the knuckles of Robert Mitchum’s Reverend Harry Powell in “The Night of the Hunter,” in the context of the character’s chilling speech, still inspires nightmares. In “Cape Fear,” Mitchum’s Lieutenant Elgart quips of Robert De Niro’s Max…
September 17th, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri play best pals PJ and Josie, woebegone nerds hot for cheerleaders Brittany (Kaia Gerber) and Isabel (Havana Rose Liu) in a high school caste system that looks and feels quite familiar to fans of the durable teen sex comedy.
In “Bottoms,” directed by Emma Seligman – who co-wrote the screenplay with her “Shiva Baby” star Sennott – the satire, the visual gags, the gross-outs, and the gusto combine to form one…
September 3rd, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
In Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner “Scrapper,” her feature debut as writer and director, Charlotte Regan establishes a much more whimsical tone than the darker notes sounded by Charlotte Wells in her masterful “Aftersun.” There are more than enough stories exploring difficult father-daughter relationships to chalk up the similarities between the two movies as a fluke of timing, but Regan’s film faces the unenviable challenge of premiering…
August 27th, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
In Sundance standout “Fremont,” the outwardly mundane and inwardly tumultuous experiences of a young woman from Afghanistan are spun by filmmaker Babak Jalali into gold.
Donya (Anaita Wali Zada) has left her home country for the California community of the title after spending time as a military translator. Hiding, repressing, or simply refusing to deal with complex emotions and likely PTSD (though she would deny it), Donya takes up residence in…
August 21st, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Ruth Beckermann’s “Mutzenbacher” invites viewers to consider the traditional dynamics of the erotic novel – and subsequent filmic depictions of eroticism – by rearranging the visual furniture most closely associated with the voyeuristic gaze privileging the straight, white, male producer/consumer.
The filmmaker uses “Josephine Mutzenbacher or, The Story of a Viennese Whore as Told by Herself,” the anonymously published 1906 book, as a…
August 18th, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Randall Park, making his feature directorial debut, convincingly adapts Adrian Tomine’s excellent 2004-2007 graphic serial “Shortcomings.”
Tomine wrote the screenplay, which comes as a relief to longtime “Optic Nerve” fans worried that a movie wouldn’t adequately capture the particularities of the author’s beautifully minimalist lines and the mood contained in the spaces within and between the panels. The collaborators are so obviously…
August 6th, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Available on Hulu following a world premiere at Sundance and a spring release date in the U.K., director Raine Allen-Miller’s feature debut “Rye Lane” is an ebullient drop of sunshine with more than enough charm to match its fresh and earnest spin on the romantic comedy. Even the rom-com averse will find plenty to like in the story of a meet-cute (or, given the initial sobbing, meet-pitiful) between two twenty-something Londoners reeling from…
July 31st, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Corbijn Covers Hipgnosis in ‘Squaring the Circle’
Dutch photographer, music video creator, and film director Anton Corbijn – now in his late 60s – brings his artistic insider touch to “Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis,” an engaging and entertaining documentary examination of the massively influential team responsible for some of the most recognizable album covers of the 1970s.
Suited to the likes of rock fans and graphic design…
July 26th, 2023
By Annie Prafcke
annieprafcke@gmail.com
A bold white title card reads, “New York 1987.” Wide shots of the glimmering nighttime NYC skyline appear before we move into a lively neighborhood. Upbeat music kicks in. People are out. They’re dressed up, dancing in the street, laughing.
We follow an elegant Black drag queen, covered head to toe in sparkly, shiny gold. She struts into a dimly lit dance hall. It’s not a place of wealth but it conveys O-P-U-L-E-N-C-E opulence. Red velvet…
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By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.com The business of Indian Hating is a lucrative one. It’s historically been designed to dehumanize Native people so that it’s easier to take their land. ‘Kill the Indian, save the man,”…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com The onion calendar is an old German folk tradition used to predict levels of moisture each month throughout the coming year using salt, a knife, an onion and a little bit of patience. Donna and…
Sunday, January 19, 2-6:45 p.m.Sanctuary Events Center, 670 4th Avenue N, FargoIt’s a taste of Chinatown in Fargotown, an exciting cultural celebration filled with captivating performances including dragon dancers, vendors,…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com I’m really sick of the “Nobody wants to work anymore” narrative. Like, really sick. I can’t hide the eye rolls and I don’t even try to hide them anymore. In fact, I feel like they’ll…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comMaybe we will have a transgender insurrection at the capitol on Jan 6About 3.18 million years ago an adult female chimpanzee eventually named Lucy (after that famous Lucy in the Beatles’ song…
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.comPhoto by Rick Gion To say the least, this election season was a doozy. Anxiety was high for many on both sides of the political aisle. To calm down and settle the nerves, a comforting meal is…
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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 The Paris-born filmmaker Mati Diop made a major splash in 2019 with the fascinating feature “Atlantics,” which received the Grand Prix at Cannes. A supernatural reimagining inspired by her…
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…
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By Curtis W. Stofferahn, Ph.D.Curtis.stofferahn@email.und.edu In June, two events markedly contrasted the difference between two different visions of agriculture: precision agriculture and regenerative agriculture. The dedication…
