The student news site of the University of Northern Iowa

Northern Iowan

The student news site of the University of Northern Iowa

Northern Iowan

The student news site of the University of Northern Iowa

Northern Iowan

A report from the 2022 Sundance Film Festival

HUNTER FRIESEN Jan 31, 2022

Since its inception in 1978, the Sundance Film Festival has been the harbinger for new work from American and international independent filmmakers. Names such as Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson,...

Twenty-five movies to get excited about in 2022

HUNTER FRIESEN Jan 31, 2022

The last two articles I have written have been about reminiscing over the good and bad in 2021. Even with its ups and downs, 2021 could be labeled a good year for film. At the very least, it was better...

Film Critic Hunter Friesen reviews the best movies of the past year.

Ten best films of 2021

HUNTER FRIESEN Jan 24, 2022

In the movie world, 2021 was a year to be thankful for what we have because sometimes you never know how much you appreciate something until you’ve lost it. This year brought back a slight return to...

Winter break movie reviews

HUNTER FRIESEN Jan 24, 2022

At this point last year, movie theaters were still closed and streaming services had become the dominant medium for movie watching. And while we haven’t completely snapped back to reality, this winter...

Companions “Power of the Dog” reinvents the western genre

HUNTER FRIESEN Dec 6, 2021

Despite being the master of the gangster genre with such films as “Goodfellas,” “Casino,” and “The Irishman,” director Martin Scorsese cites “The Age of Innocence” as his most violent film....

Film critic Hunter Friesen reflects on what he is thankful for within films.

We are thankful for films

HUNTER FRIESEN Dec 2, 2021

Thanksgiving is always a time of year where we celebrate gratitude, something that we don’t do enough these days. As a film critic, I share as much of the blame as everybody else. My process usually...

Film Critic Hunter Friesen calls the French Dispatch a visual masterpiece.

‘The French Dispatch,’ Wes Anderson’s masterpiece

HUNTER FRIESEN Nov 15, 2021

With each subsequent entry into his distinct filmography, Wes Anderson seems to make it a mission to make the most Wes Anderson film. The intricacies of 2001’s “The Royal Tenenbaums” seemed quaint...

Film critic Hunter Friesen says the new Marvel movie Eternals is different in a refreshing way.

‘Eternals’ just another cog in the Marvel machine

HUNTER FRIESEN Nov 8, 2021

How is it that Chloé Zhao’s previous film “Nomadland,” about a woman wandering the Midwest in a van, is more interesting and full of life than a $200 million blockbuster filled with literal gods? Both...

Film Critic Hunter Friesen says that Last Night in Soho is anything different than a mild disappointment.

Dreams turn to disappointment

HUNTER FRIESEN Nov 1, 2021

Zippy editing, deadpan comedy from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and a killer soundtrack. These are the characteristics that have come to define the filmography of Edgar Wright. The world first got a glimpse...

As Dune hits theaters this past weekend, there are questions of there being a second Dune soon to start production; Dune is set to break pandemic box office records during opening weekend.

“Dune” is a grand disappointment

HUNTER FRIESEN Oct 25, 2021

Like humanity’s search for the missing link or the cure for cancer, movie studios have unsuccessfully tried and failed to adapt Frank Herbert’s daunting 1965 science fiction novel, which laid the framework...

Margueite de Carrouges played by Jodie Comer is seen in recent movie The Last Duel.

“The Last Duel”: A modern medieval epic

HUNTER FRIESEN Oct 18, 2021

At 83-years-old, Ridley Scott is quite the inspiration. With a directorial career that spans nearly 2,500 commercials and countless films – such as “Alien,” the Best Picture-winning “Gladiator”...

El critico de cine Hunter Friesen da por la ultima pelicula de James Bond que hara Craig. Esta es la quinta pelicula de Bond de Craig.

Despedida de Bond

MARIO MENDEZ, Spanish Editor Oct 11, 2021

Desde su primera aparición cinematográfica en 1962, James Bond ha hecho muchas cosas. Se ha reencarnado cinco veces, ha viajado por todo el mundo (incluido el espacio) y ha salvado el mundo más veces...

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