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

Film Critic Hunter Friesen reviews the new film Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.

‘Borat 2’ is a funny retread

HUNTER FRIESEN Nov 5, 2020

Back in 2006, Sacha Baron Cohen shocked the world with his hilarious mockumentary called “Borat.” Playing the titular fake news reporter from Kazakhstan, Cohen toured America interviewing people from...

Film Critic Hunter Friesen reviews the new film adaptations of the classic Roald Dahl novel The Witches.

‘The Witches’ casts weak spells

HUNTER FRIESEN Oct 29, 2020

From 1984 to 2000, Robert Zumeckis was an A-level director who could seamlessly blend visual wizardry with fantastical stories. His output during that time consisted of the “Back to the Future” trilogy,...

Film Critic Hunter Friesen reviews the new Netflix film The Trial of Chicago 7.

“Chicago 7” is a timely court drama

HUNTER FRIESEN Oct 26, 2020

“The whole world is watching!” Those words have just as much relevance today as they did back in 1968 at the Democratic National Convention. It is not a coincidence that the problems we dealt with...

Film critic Hunter Friesen reviews the new Adam Sandler film Hubie Halloween.

Sandler’s ‘Hubie Halloween’ could be worse

HUNTER FRIESEN Oct 15, 2020

Last year, Adam Sandler said that if he did not win an Oscar for his role as Howard Ratner in the Safdie brother’s film “Uncut Gems,” he would then make the worst movie of his career on purpose....

Film critic Hunter Friesen reviews the new Netflix film, Boys in the Band.

Film Review: stars shine in “Boys in the Band”

HUNTER FRIESEN Oct 5, 2020

Back in 1968, playwright Matt Crowley shocked the world by penning a stage production solely comprised of gay men and their repressed feelings. The spiteful language and harsh authentic look at gay life...

Film Critic Hunter Friesen reviews the new Netflix film, Enola Holmes,

Netflix movie ‘Enola Holmes’ is clever fun

HUNTER FRIESEN Oct 1, 2020

Over the years, we’ve heard a lot of stories about the famed detective Sherlock Holmes. In fact, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s deerstalker wearing sleuth holds the record for the most portrayals of a literary...

Film Critic Hunter Friesen reviews the new Netflix film, The Devil All The Time

Sin and sweat in ‘The Devil All The Time’

HUNTER FRIESEN Sep 24, 2020

What do you get when you combine two orphans by parental suicide, a serial-killing couple, a pedophile preacher, a corrupt sheriff and a town full of zealots? You get the darkest and most disturbing movie...

Mulan review: more realistic, less fun

‘Mulan’ review: more realistic, less fun

HUNTER FRIESEN Sep 14, 2020

For over a decade now, Disney has been mining their animated catalog of magical stories and remaking them into live-action movies. This trend has had its ups (the visual spectacle found within “The Jungle...

Film critic Hunter Friesen reviews the new film, Tenet

“Tenet”: an incomprehensible spectacle

HUNTER FRIESEN Sep 3, 2020

Spell it backward or forward, it spells the same. From Christopher Nolan - the virtuoso behind “The Dark Knight” Trilogy, “Inception”, and “Dunkirk” - comes “Tenet”, an action blockbuster...

Film Critic Hunter Friesen reviews the new film, New Mutants

“New Mutants” offers nothing new

HUNTER FRIESEN Aug 31, 2020

Fimed way back in the bygone time of 2017, “The New Mutants” - the newest entry into the now-scrapped X-Men Cinematic Universe - has had its fair share of trouble getting to theaters. Originally set...

Top 5 movies released during quarantine

Top 5 movies released during quarantine

HUNTER FRIESEN Aug 20, 2020

I know, I know. You just read the headline and thought to yourself, “What movies have come out over these past few months?” If you’re going by the usual distribution system of movies playing in cinemas,...

NI Film Critic Hunter Friesen reviews “Onward,” the animated film from Pixar.

Pixar’s ‘Onward’ is heartwarming

HUNTER FRIESEN Mar 12, 2020

Set on an Earth where the magical and mythological exist together, Pixar’s newest animated film, “Onward,” tells the tale of two elven brothers. The story begins on the 16th birthday of the younger...

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