July 23rd, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
As fans dress up and Warner and Mattel executives celebrate box office returns, Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” finally arrives – along with Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” – to jolt attendance and launch thousands of essays on everything from the film’s use of the Old Testament creation myth to its mockery of male fragility and the stranglehold of the patriarchy.
A rainbow-colored fantasia not aimed at the intellectual capacity of the…
July 20th, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Photo by Brian Lannin; courtesy of Bleecker Street
Laurel Parmet’s feature directorial debut “The Starling Girl” arrives on demand following a Sundance Film Festival premiere and a short theatrical window via Bleecker Street.
Finding fresh ways to depict coming-of-age stories involving matters of socially taboo topics is a tall order, but Parmet handles the story of a 17-year-old girl and her predatory youth minister with a strong sense of…
July 18th, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Writer-director Celine Song’s feature debut “Past Lives” premiered to much acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
Beautifully photographed by Shabier Kirchner on 35mm film, the thoughtful and contemplative drama might be as destined for award season accolades as the star-crossed childhood sweethearts are for paths that twine together and grow apart over the course of the near quarter-century explored in the narrative.
Song’s…
July 2nd, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
An online search for articles about David Gelb’s documentary “Stan Lee” returns a lengthy list of headlines summarizing what has been, for many years, the story about the story. Even many non-fans know that the recognizable face of Marvel Comics was an opportunist and self-promoter, often reluctant to share the proper amount of creative credit with giants like Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. But Lee’s influence on the industry he helped build is…
June 25th, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Filmmaker Lana Wilson’s “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” uses two parts (now on Hulu following a world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival) to explore the career of its title subject, the well-known model, actor, performer and celebrity.
Life in the spotlight began for Shields when her mother Teri supposedly announced – just five days after her daughter was born – that she intended to guide the child into show business. True to her word,…
June 19th, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
A vibrant troupe including several precocious brainiacs, their parents, military personnel, astrophysicists, singing cowboys, a grieving widower, a movie star, and a trio of tiny witches and/or vampires-in-training converges on Asteroid City (population 87) for the 1955 Junior Stargazer Convention in Wes Anderson’s gorgeous new feature. As quintessentially Andersonian as any of his previous movies, “Asteroid City” gracefully combines the…
June 13th, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Winner “A Thousand and One” is a vital New York story that unfolds over the course of a decade. And even though its spot-on period detail situates the drama in the place Toni Morrison called “the last true city,” the emotional weight of a mother’s love for a child is universal.
The movie’s history-by-suggestion covers the mayoral tenure of Rudy Giuliani and stretches to include an audio excerpt of…
June 4th, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Until I saw “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” I really thought the cinematic expression of the multiverse concept had peaked with the triumphant Best Picture Academy Award for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” a movie that catapults us – as I wrote in my original review – “onto the tracks of a rollercoaster careening through a dizzying set of alternative (sur)realities.”
But the new superhero film, which continues the onscreen…
May 28th, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Writer-director Nicole Holofcener leans in – all the way in – to the sturdy milieu of the well-heeled, narcissist-inhabited, New York-based comedy landscape dominated for so many decades by the now fading/faded Woody Allen.
A24 presents Holofcener’s “You Hurt My Feelings” as a May theatrical release following its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
In the film, protagonist Beth (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is a moderately successful…
May 15th, 2023
By Greg Carlson
gregcarlson1@gmail.com
Filmmaker Ryan White’s documentary “Pamela: A Love Story” (stylized onscreen as “Pamela, a Love Story”) serves as a companion piece to the contemporaneously published memoir “Love, Pamela.” Both artifacts allow model and actor Pamela Anderson the opportunity to reshape many aspects of the media-derived narrative of her once chaotic life.
The performer rocketed to international superstardom in the 1990s on the sandy and sun-soaked beaches…
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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…
