August 21st, 2014
“Boyhood,” Richard Linkater’s 12-years-in-the-making adventure that follows the lives of a familial quartet, carries in its DNA one of the Texas auteur’s most durable paradoxes: the easygoing, everyday and quotidian markers of cyclical middle class life onscreen contrast sharply with the vision, commitment and work ethic that Linklater applies to his profession. From the fascinating and entertaining connect-the-dots vignettes that propel “Slacker” to the unfolding poignancy…
July 17th, 2014
Making her feature debut with an expanded adaptation of her 2009 short, Gillian Robespierre shows plenty of talent and even more promise in “Obvious Child,” a low-budget comedy attracting as much attention for its subject matter as it is for star Jenny Slate’s breakout performance. Slate plays Donna Stern, a smart, underemployed stand-up comic whose candid onstage disclosures drive away an already unfaithful boyfriend. Reeling from the lost relationship, Donna takes refuge in…
July 3rd, 2014
Last April, HPR film editor and Concordia film professor Greg Carlson traveled to Toronto to watch his latest movie in front of a sold out crowd at largest documentary film festival in North America, Hot Docs.
Carlson’s “The Hammer and the Axe” was selected as a top 12 finalist in the International Documentary Challenge, a timed nonfiction filmmaking competition.
Having entered the Doc Challenge once in 2010 without advancing, Carlson said this year’s good news was a “total…
June 19th, 2014
Setting aside the inevitable comparisons to “Love Story” and the less inevitable comparisons to “Dying Young,” Josh Boone’s adaptation of “The Fault in Our Stars” is the most mordant and acerbic kids-with-cancer story to achieve such widespread appeal. Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, who played siblings in “Divergent,” are now star-crossed lovers Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters, the central characters in John Green’s hit novel of the same title. Both…
April 3rd, 2014
Midwest-raised, New York City-bred and Fargo-based pastry chef Nancy Olson is helping Nichole’s Fine Pastry maintain and catapult its already stellar reputation in town.
Not just any former NYC pastry chef, Olson has worked for some of the finest restaurants in the urban agglomeration, including Aureole (run by famous chef Charlie Palmer), Django (where she got her first New York Times review) and Peacock…
March 27th, 2014
What makes the average, everyday person become an activist? How does a Texas landowner go from everyday worries to fighting multinational corporations?
These are questions explored in the new documentary “Above All Else,” which debuted at the SXSW Film Festival this month.
The film follows the story of David Daniel who began to battle the southern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline in east Texas after he found stakes in his land before he even knew about the project.
A former…
February 27th, 2014
By Brittney Goodman
Spring must be around the corner, as the Fargo Film Festival is coming to downtown Fargo March 4–8, bringing with it the bustle of visitors from near and far, filling up not only the historic Fargo Theatre, but also local restaurants, pubs, coffee shops and hotels.
Even if the temperatures are not yet toasty (but we can hope, can't we?), downtown comes alive during the Fargo Film Festival, and this year's event promises a warm, stimulating and inviting atmosphere…
February 27th, 2014
Whether at a brat camp, in lock up, in a recovery center, at home or sleeping in empty train cars, barns or under bridges, Sarah Chatelain has had tremendous difficulty dealing with life.
The young Fargo-Moorhead resident used to see her unhappiness, inability to gel with her family and inability to feel accepted in society as being something she needed to escape from – as fast as possible – rather than something to deal with. Drugs, particularly meth, crack and cocaine, provided…
January 9th, 2014
“Inside Llewyn Davis” echoes several pet concerns previously explored by Joel and Ethan Coen in their impressive body of work. Exquisite period detail evocative of a romanticized past, the struggle for some degree of personal integrity in a marketplace geared toward the lowest common denominator, and a trippy Homeric odyssey infused with highly specific musical annotations are a trio of the new movie’s thematic interests that could be applied to “Miller’s Crossing,”…
October 17th, 2013
By Rick Abbott
As the leaves change color and the temperatures plummet ever lower, Halloween grows closer. If you’ve yet to get into the spooky spirit, there’s a horror film trailer festival coming to the Fargo Theatre to help.
It’s the second incarnation of Horrorfest, put on by Fargo Grindflicks.
KNDS Radio DJ Randal Black is part of Grindflicks, which started Grindfest, an exhibition of cult and exploitation movie trailers.
Black set up the first Grindfest at the Fargo Theatre in…
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By Alicia Underlee NelsonMore than 1,000 pro-worker events are planned for Thursday, May 1 across the country, including rallies in Fargo-Moorhead, Grand Forks, Minot and Jamestown. East Grand Forks and Bismarck will host protests…
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.comFor sale: White House in D.C. housing dung beetles and giant leechesI suspect someone close to Donald Trump has read “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,”because the Trump administration is…
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…
Mooncats and Pert Near Sandstone play Empire TheatreBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThe MoonCats describe themselves as “Americonscious Campfire Folk.” They have a clear acoustic folk sound with a sense of whimsy — think…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com The writing/directing partnership of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck has to be one of the most curious cases of crazy connect-the-dots career moves in recent cinema. From short documentaries and…
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 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 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…
