The movie begins with King Richard the Lionhearted getting himself killed as he and his army, which contains Robin Longstride, played by Russell Crowe, who eventually becomes Robin Hood, as he returns from the crusades by pillaging its way through France.  Now, most of us know that Richard came home through Austria and was captured and held for ransom by an Austrian duke.  But this might be one of the least revisionist parts of the movie, since even though Richard did not come home through France, his, as well as the other crusaders were much more known for murder, rape and pillage theen for their religious endeavors.

Eventually Robin becomes Robin of Loxley, son of Sir Walter Loxley, marvelously played by Max von Sydow,and already promised to Lady Marion, played by Kate Blanchett.
There follows some political intrigue and soe battles between various forces that ends with Robin being decreed an outlaw, and so the folklore can begin  I could be accused here of giving the plot away, but I didn’t think there was one, not much of one anyway.

Usually I see a movie like this to see an interpretation of twelfth century England in this case.  But I’m not sure that’s what I saw  In fact, I didn’t see much of a story, interesting dialogue or historical scenes.  I did enjoy the casting of Oscar Isaac as the quintessential evil Prince/King John.  There are many more important actors in this film: Vanessa Redgrave and William Hurt among them.  None of them play roles we might expect, like Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet and Little John,  all of which have essentially bit parts.

I found the movie dark, in mood as well as photography and not very interesting.  It might be worth seeing to see some talented actors at work.  The country scenes are nice, but I understand their authenticity is in doubt.  I suppose I could ccall this a costume drama with some violence, or maybe we could compare it to a spaghetti wesstern with not so much violence.  At any rate, comedy, plot and character development, romance are all absent.  No heros either, not even Crowe’s Robin Hood, who comes off to me like a Bret Favre turned political activist.

Script           C
Acting           B
Casting         B
Necessity to suspend disbelief      B
CGI              None, that I noticed
Scenery          B

Things began happening when, a couple of years ago, IHOP purchased Applebee’s. until then, Applebee’s was not on my list of restaurant stops  Immediately., the menu
offerings, service and food quality improved.  But what I wish to comment on their relatively “two for twenty.”  For twenty bucks you and a partner get an appetizer, an entree each and two sides.  True, the choices are limited, but buffalo wings, onion rings and cheese sticks are among the appetizer offerings, a 7oz steak, chicken and a burger among the entrees, and for 2 bucks you can have a delicious Parmesan shrimp sauce.  You and your mate can get filled up for just over $29.

Possibly following Applebee’s lead, Lone Star, which now offers peanuts in the shell again, also has a two for 20 deal.  It’s essentially the same as Applebee’s, but they have a steak con queso  for an appetizer and a “garlic lovers delight” as unique offerings.  The garlic lover’s delight is my favorite(even if not my stomach’s)  and costs of beef medallions in garlic powder or some such along with, in my case.

The food at Lone Star seems to have improved lately, too, and you and yours can get stuffed for about twenty bucks.

Those foodies on a budget should do well  at either of these places(of course there are a few Applebee’s locations).  I am not particularly budget minded, but I enjoy both of these.

The story itself involves a disgraced investigative newspaper reporter Mikael Blomqvist, played by Michael Nyqvist, is asked by the patriarch of the Vandrr family Henrik Vander, played by Sven Bertil Taube to investigate the decades old disappearance of his daughter.  The real sleuthing and mysterious danger begins when Blomqvist’s computer acount is hijacked by professional hacker by Lizbeth Salander. played by Naomii Rapace in the title role.  Lizbeth is on another assignment as well as being a parolee from an asylum for he criminally insane and is a young leather clad woman with many body piercings.  Plots. subplots, unusual connections abound, and one wonders if all these things are connected and  as the plot threads come together and back apart again, one wonders if this is Stephen King, in which they won’t make sense in the end, or Alfred Hitchcock, in which case they will.  To find out, you’ll have to see the movie:  I’m not going to tell you.

It should be obvious by now that I found the film riveting.  The visual film quality is exquisite and eery part, even the smallest,is played well and to the hilt by the actor in each and every case.  Except for a couple of scenes, the movie is filmed in Stockholm and on a nearby island.  One of the reasons I go to movies is to be transplanted to a place and/or situation that I normally could not experience.  Stockholm is not shown in detail, but one gets the general idea.

If you liked Alfred Hitchcock and wouldn’t mind a bit more adult action, then I think you’ll like this one.  Romance and action packed CGI are absent.

First, there was the Sullivan Middle School Spring Concert.  This began with three numbers by the Sullivan Band: a very interesting piece called ”A train heading west and other outdoor scenes,” “The Coast Guard March(all middle school band concerts must have a march)” and “ Song of the whaler.”
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The first of the scenes in the first offering was “Prairie Ritual,” indicating the appropriateness of this selection.  The actual Train Heading West sounded like, well, a train heading west.

The march was spirited, and I think the whole band offering impressive: worth listening to even if one knows anyone in the band.

The sixth grade band concert was, well, a sixth grade band concert.  At this point I’d like to mention the music director at Sullivan, Mr. Pacmara, who is obviously a hard working and dedicated educator th at in my view has worked miracles with these kids.

There followed two offerings by the sixth grade chorus: the hauntingly beautiful Israeli folk song “Zumm gali gali’ and the cute “Ode to Pluto(you’ll always be a planet to me).”  This, I think is the best one can do for a sixth grade choral concert.

Next up for me was the Holy Spirit Elementary School spring program, “He is there.”  Unlike the Sullivan concert, the offerings were all had a religious theme.  There were  several choral groups involved, the pre kindergarten grades K-5, grades K-2, grades 3-5 and 2-5.  Sometimes there was instrumental accompaniments by some of the older students and readings from by a large selection of students which gave the experience a formal feel.

Then there was the Butterfly Spring Recital by the Presidention Music Students, mentored and taught by Sister Bernadette.  The performers were all beginning through intermediate piano students There were two sessions, at 1:00 and 3:30.  Each reciter performed two pieces plus perhaps a “butterfly” composition of their own.  The level of the compositions was appropriate in all cases, allowing each student to showcase his/her particular talents.  At the risk of causing anyone to feel left out, I particularly enjoyed “Navajo Dreams” played by Grace Ward,, and “Fiesta de Seville,” and “Caprice a la carte” by Laura Sperling.

I think our community is fortunate to have an individual like Sister Bernadette willing to work with these kids to get them to this level.  Of course, the kids themselves deserve a lot of praise for wanting to spend this kind of time and effort to improve themselves in the performing    Moving away from scholl and towards summer, the Red River Soccer Club runs the Red River Soccer Academy for 6-9 year old aspiring soccer players.  Players of this age can opt to either play in a league or attend the academy, where there are taught soccer by coach twice a week in a hour to hour and a half session that includes a scrimmage.  Thls is serious about becoming good soccer players should chose the academy.

Summer fully arrive with the Fargo Park District-Hershey track meet.  This is a pre-teen event including field events and 50, 100 and 200 yard dashes and and 880 yard run.  Participants could choose two events in which to compete in their two year age group.

Wow.  Lots do do in this town if you’re a kid.

Jalapeño’s menu is probably the most varied in the area.  It has everything the others Mexican places have and  a lot more.   That is not to say it’s hands down he best Mexican place around although it might be), as some of the items leave something to be desired in my view.

The plain nachos are very tasty, unusually so.  I’m told that the cheese is just white American cheese, but treated specially.  They also are the only such restaurant in the area that offers chorizos(sausage with melted cheese) for an appetizer

There is a page of steak and chicken in a variety of sauces and vegetable mixes.  In my experience, steak in a Mexican restaurant are often unimpressive, but the toppings make up for it.  And I find that is the case Jalapeno’s..  The selection of enchiladas and tamales are covered in thick, meaty sauces, although the tamals themselves leave a lot to be desired.  The food is available with a variety of hot sauces.  There is also an extensive seafood menu.   If you know something about Mexican food and/or are feeling adventuresome, yo can craft your own meal from the a la carnte menu.  For example(and I’m not pushing this) I put together cheese enchiladas in red sauce,  black beans, and cheese with rice for a meal.  It was  good, but I might have done better to sick with one of the meals on the menu.

I like this restaurant, as I do most  of the others,  They each have their strong points,  What I like best about Jalapenos are the appetizers, the steaks and the sauces for the enchiladas.    A full bar is available, including, of course several varieties of margaritas.

Almost immediately after McGregor accepts the assignment, strange events start happening that have “conspiracy” stamped all over them.  The rest of the movie involves McGreor’s attempt to unravel this conspiracy(of there is one)  This much I knew before goimg to the film. What I did not know was that the conspiracy was about water boarding, Al Quida Iraq and suggest US-UK colusion.

I think this a well crfter movie with an intricate plot and marvelous sets and casting.  Of course this is Polanski  I will also admit to being a sucker for beautiful; homes with georgfeous architecture, expensive cars and all the other trappings of wealth and power.  Everything, from the setting to the smallest part is done with concentrated attention to detail.  I single out the cameo of Eli Wallach as a old fisherman.

This is movie making at its finest, in my opinion.  However. I don’t think I’m ready for conspiracy theories about Al Quaida conspiracy theories just yet.

I would compare this movie with The Bourne Identity without the violence or chase scenes. And it’s much better made. There’s also not much romance or sex, but there’s some.  If you’d like well made movies, complicated scripts, conspiracy theories or expensive settings, I think this movie a good bet.  If you need lots of action, sex and violence, this won’t do it for you.

Nilsson has had films in the Festival from its inception. He will be present at this showing.  Imbvued is about a losing gambler that bets on impossible outcomes.  The story is a bet of his involving a woman that comes in to his life.  I don’t know much else about the film except that it has a strong cast, lead by Stacy Keach,

Into Temptation is about a prostitute in Minneapolis that confesses her sin of committing suicide to a priest before she commits it.  The hype is that the backdrop of Minneapolis is one of the things that make the movie worth seeing.

Each of the following nights is devoted to a particular category. Wednesday is Animations night, with The Secret of Kells, an Academy Award nominee showing at 9:15.  The Pre-Party is at Mosaic Foods at the Plains Art Museum.

Thursday is Documentary Night, with the Pre-Party at John Alexanders.  The showings will include Thicker Than Water, recipient of the Prairie Spirit Award.  I’m not sure if this film qualifies as an Indigenous Voices film, but the Native American ‘Voices category has been so remaned.

Friday Night is Comedy night with the Pre-Party at The Silver Moon Supper Club.  This showing will include the 2 minute film competition at 9:15.  The Pre=Part on Saturday will be at HoDo’s, and the winners in each category will be shown Saturday night.  The post party will be at ecce.

Starting at `0AM each day starting Wednesday there will be showings of a diverse group of films ofa all types.  In the days when I could attend some of these showings, I found this to be great fun.

Day passes(morning or afternoon) are $5, evening passes $8, and thre are sevral other passes that include more((Good Deal $30, Not a Bad Deal $50 and Heckuva Deal, which includes all films and parties, $100.  For more details, visit the Festival website, www.fargofilmfestival.org.

There will be reporting throughout the Festival.

The Road of the title is apparently the path taken by the few surviving humans after an unspecified global disaster.  There are apparently few human survivors, and many are sick with an unspecified malady which could be radiation poisoning.  But it could also not be.  The idea of a nuclear holocaust isn’t born out by the fact that everything is damaged, strewn about and in disarray.   In other words, the damage doesn’t seem to be in any way localized.  In the beginning, thee ae fires which continue on a smaller scale.  The sky is gloomy, finding something to eat a problem.  Many of the survivors apparently resort to cannibalism.  But not so our heroes, a man and his c. 12 year old son, played intensely by Viggo Mortensen and Kobi Smit McPhee.  Their pre and post disaster story is told through flashbacks as they make their way along The road to presumably warmer climes.
The movie is about their adventures, if you can call them that, along the journey.  Their encounters with other humans are almost invariable with those looking for other humans to kill and eat.

One could say that the movie is a good versus evil allegory.  It could also be viewed as a study of the age old question man inherently good or inherently evil?”  Or, it could be viewed as a dark adventure story to add to the ever growing list of post apocalyptic stories.  I did find it thought provoking, although sometimes boring and not always fun to watch.  Smit McPhee’s part isn’t huge, but his performance is more than credible.  The filming in a dark, brownish hue an appropriate touch.  I thought a typical good art house offering.

In some ways, The Road is a lot like The Road Warrior, and it’s sequels, but I think it’s a lot more serious than that.  For a comparison with other movies that would determine whether you would like this or not. The Lord of the Flies might be a barometer.  There’s little action and no humor.  It’s not a musical or costume drama.

Script:    B
Acting:  A
Cinematography:  B
Relavance:  Depends on how you want to view it. A to C.
Necesity to suspend disbelief:   Shouldn’t be a problem.

The film is billed as a semi-autobiography of the Coen’s childhood in St. Louis Park, a suburb of Minneapolis during the 1960’s.  At that time, I was a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, soI enjoyed the portrayal of 60’s era of suburban era Minneapolis.  In those days, St. Louis Park was oft referred to St. Jewish Parm, or th Garden City of Minnesota, a Rosenbloom on every corner.  One would not say politically incorrect things  liike this as often these days, but for the most part, these usages were not mean spirited.  The portrayal of St. Louis Park in the 60’s is uncannily accurate.  Wonder how they did that.

The story centers around a normal, if three is such a thing, 30 something family man who is an untenured faculty member at an unnamed institution of higher learning.  Presumably it’s the University of Minnesota, but St. Olaf College is credited in the end credits, and I don’t think the U of M was.  Anyway, it doesn’t really matter.  Slowly, throughout the movie the man, Larry Gopnik, played by Michael Stuhlbarg, sees his life unravel in evry phase.  He has serious difficulties with a particular student, his tenure question appears ot pose difficulties, his wife is having an affair with a friend of the family, he has a red neck neighbor(in St. Louis Park?  Strains my credibility a bit), his son is preparing for his Bar Mitzvah by smoking pot, and it continues.  This isn’t giving away too much, I don’t think, since the movie isn’t about the specific events but more about how they’re dealt with.

I have heard references to the storj of Job in the bible with reference to this movie.  Since Gopnik is Jewish, I can see how one could come to that conclusion, but I didn’t and don’t.  Job was successful, Gopnik was not, at lest not yet.  And the ending and possibly conclusion is different.  Even though I have had enough close Jewish friends to empathize with the personal misfortunes taking place on the screen, I alos know enough about Jewish culture to view the movie with some amusement as the characters make all the wrong decisions within the confines of Jewish culture.  Sort of like watching a Jewish(I won’t say kosher) I Love Lucy episode, only with much more unfortunate events.

Referring to the last paragraph, I really liked the portrayal of 60′ Jewish suburban culture.  There was more involvement with the local Rabbis than I’m used to so I can’t comment on the accuracy of that part of the portrayal, but I have been to a Bar Mitzvah, and that portrayal was accurate.

So, what do we have here?  A depiction of a middles class man whose life deteriorates told completely within the scope of a 60’s Jewish suburb.  Will you like it?  Hard to say.  I felt the casting and acting superb/  If you are unfamiliar with our Jewish sub-culture, iit could be interesting from that perspective.  I think if you’re in the right mood and have the right amount of detachment, it could be humorous, even hilarious.  If you like the Coen brothers, this is them at their darkest.  If you’re after light hearted comedy or action and adventure, this mvie isn’t it.

If you do see the movie, there are a couple of things that you may not know that might help you understand the situation portrayed.

There was a tornado in south Minneapolis in the mid 60.s.  In the 60’s, the academic community was wrestling with the question of how to award tenure.  The idea that we now take for granted of a research university was in its infancy.  The question of whether to award tenure in such an institution to an excellent teacher who has weak or no scholarly activity had not yet been decided(for the most part it has been decided: no).

Script         A
Casting       A
Acting         B+
Necessity to suspend disbelief       A
Social Relevance    B
Educational Value     B
Entertainment Value     Depends
Ability to lift the audiences spirits       F

The movie is about Pitt(Lt. Aldo Raine) and his troops escapades and an SS Colonel called ”The Jew Hunter,” played spectacularly by Christoph Waltz.  Waltz hunts Jews but also is hunting Raine.  Spy intrigue abounds, and much of the movie is about conversations between Col Landa(waltz) and Frenchman, American prisoners, Alda and his prisoners among others.  IO think it important to listen to these conversations carefully, as in most cases nothing is as it seems and the plot is twisting and writhing like a wounded snake.  Landa is insufferably polite, and I bring this up to match with the one thing about the movie I found annoying: gore and humor in the same scenes.  However, if we are to believe the Nazi caricatures in other movies, this is completely in keeping with the Nazi mentality.

I like movies with plots with many twists and turns, and in this case I never knew where the movie was headed.  Every time I thought I had an idea of where it was going, I’d realize “no, that can’t be because….”

There is some action, most of it pretty brutal.  Other important characters include Shoshana Dreyfus, played by Melanie Laurent, a Jew that has at least temporarily escaped Landa’s clutches.  She is introduced in virtually the first scene of the movie.  She and Diane Kruger, as Bridget van Hammersmart, a German actress, turn in very strong performances.

This is a very smart looking movie, and I really enjoyed the apparent legitimacy of the sets.  The movie is in German, French, American, English and Italian.  When there is no confusion about which language is in use, the dialogue is in English.  The subtitles use the very nice device of using color, so there is no difficulty in reading them.

If you like WWII dramas or international intrigue, you can’t really go wrong here.  If you are squeamish or are looking for high society drama, see something else.

Script:  A
Acting:  A+
Scenery:  A
Special Effects:  Aren’t many.
Necessity to suspend disbelief:  Good question.  See the movie and decide for yourself.