Cube Critics Minnesota Public Radio

Cube Critics Max Sparber and Alex V. Cipolle discuss documentaries featured at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, “No One Asked You” and “The Fishing Hat Bandit.” Plus a web- and podcast-only extra roundtable of other MSPIFF films, featuring Alex V. Cipolle, Caitlyn Speier and Jacob Aloi.

The following are capsule reviews edited from the the audio heard using the player above.

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‘No One Asked You’
“No One Asked You” is a compelling documentary about Minneapolis-born comedian Lizz Winstead — and film captures a quintessentially Minnesotan moment as Winstead visits the State Fair and looks at seed art.

Known for co-founding “The Daily Show” and co-creating Air America Radio where she introduced Rachel Maddow, Winstead has increasingly focused on reproductive rights and abortion access. The narrative follows her touring show across the country, featuring cameos from the likes of Mark Hamill in support of clinic efforts.

Set against the backdrop of the looming overturn of Roe v. Wade, the film intertwines humor with intrinsic drama, presenting tense confrontations at women’s health care clinics. Despite its comedic elements and lively direction — marked by a dynamic soundtrack and brisk editing — the film’s serious theme elicits both stress and tears, making it a profound, must-watch portrayal of a pivotal issue.

Additionally, an afterparty fundraiser will accompany the film’s screening at MSPIFF on April 20 and 21, featuring a 1970s theme.

— Max Sparber

‘The Fishing Hat Bandit’
“The Fishing Hat Bandit,” directed by local filmmaker Mark R. Brown, is set to make its world premiere at MSPIFF. This riveting documentary explores the life of John Whitrock, one of the most notorious bank robbers in recent history, who carried out 23 bank robberies over 18 months in Minnesota.

The film picks up with Whitrock after his release from prison, delving into his motivations for his crimes and his subsequent efforts toward restorative justice. Uniquely, the documentary focuses as much on the victims as it does on Whitrock himself, featuring interviews with affected bank tellers and the bank director whose tip led to Whitrock’s arrest by the FBI.

Not only is the film well-paced, running at about 90 minutes, but it also serves as a profound meditation on restorative justice, especially poignant in scenes where Whitrock meets with his victims.

Adding a layer of engagement, Whitrock and Brown will attend the premiere, participating in a Q&A session. Audiences can catch this compelling narrative on April 19 and 20 at the Main, with an additional appearance by Whitrock in Rochester at the Pop’s Art Theater on April 21.

— Alex V. Cipolle

‘Broken Eyes’
“Broken Eyes” is a compelling documentary by local director Dana Conroy, set to make its world premiere at the film festival. The film delves into the lesser-known risks of LASIK eye surgery through Conroy’s personal ordeal.

After undergoing LASIK, Conroy experienced chronic pain, migraines, dizziness and auras that persisted for years despite consultations with numerous specialists across the country.

Her subsequent research reveals that LASIK is not universally safe or effective, uncovering a community of patients similarly afflicted without recourse to effective treatments.

This documentary shines a light on a widely recognized procedure, exposing the hidden complications and the lack of remedies, offering a critical look at an issue familiar to many yet understood by few.

— Alex V. Cipolle

‘Profe’
“Profe,” directed by Sergio Mata’u Rapu and distributed by Twin Cities Public Television, is set for an exciting world premiere at the festival.

This documentary takes a deep dive into the challenges faced by two Spanish immersion schools in the Twin Cities — Academia Cesar Chavez and El Colegio — as they strive to renew their contracts with the University of St. Paul’s E

Cube Critics Jacob Aloi and Alex V. Cipolle review “Dream Scenario” and “Kung Fu Panda 4.”




The following is a transcription of the audio heard using the player above, lightly edited for clarity.

MPR News senior arts reporter and critic Alex V. Cipolle: “Dream Scenario.”

MPR News arts reporter Jacob Aloi: (Simultaneously) “Kung Fu Panda 4.”

Both: 3.2.1.

Cipolle: Mystic.

Aloi: (Simultaneously) Dustin Hoffman?

I feel like Nic Cage has been in a movie with Dustin Hoffman. They’ve both been around for so long.

Cipolle: But what about panda stuff?

Aloi: Nic Cage seems like a guy who would do panda stuff. Anyway, I’m Jacob Aloi.

Cipolle: Alex V. Cipolle.

Aloi: And this is Cube Critics.

Aloi: So, Alex, this week you watched a movie that stars Nicolas Cage. Tell me about it.

Cipolle: Yeah, I watched “Dream Scenario.” It is a surreal dark comedy from A24, came out in theaters in November, but it just became available streaming — you can rent it on several platforms.

So Nicolas Cage plays Paul, a kind of dorky and middling college professor who is very desperate for recognition in his field. It starts when his tween daughter starts to dream about him.

Well, not really him. Her dreams just feature him as a neutral observer, as weird things happen to her. But before long, more and more people start to dream about him. His students are dreaming about him, a waitress, a former girlfriend — but he’s always just sort of in the background.

So the dreams spread. They go viral, and he becomes a sort of folk hero. But of course, this can’t end well. This is bad. He starts to turn violent in people’s dreams. The backlash ensues. He becomes a pariah. But keep in mind, he hasn’t actually done anything.

Aloi: It’s all in people’s heads.

Cipolle: It’s all in people’s heads. It’s really a cautionary tale about so many things: fame and who seeks it; mass hysteria; “cancel culture.” It really kind of feels like a Charlie Kaufman film, but it isn’t. Anyway, it’s a funny, disturbing, sad ride, I highly recommend it.




"Dream Scenario" trailer














What about you? Some panda stuff over here?

Aloi: So, Alex V. Cipolle, I watched a film that, surprisingly, also deals with celebrity and expectations that people put on you — and then goes into, you know, big transitions in life when our careers change.

And that movie is “Kung Fu Panda 4” starring Jack Black, as well as Awkwafina. And a whole host of other people, including Ke Huy Quan, the Oscar award winner from “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

So this is a continuation of the Kung Fu Panda series, which is about a panda named Po, who is the Dragon Warrior, and how he is the protector of this valley and this village, and he’s kind of like this mystical fighting figure, this warrior. And in this film, he has been chosen as the next spiritual leader of this village, right? He’s been selected for this and has to pass on the mantle of Dragon Warrior.

And it’s kind of a thing that screws to your psyche, a massive transition from being a warrior to being this kind of spiritual figure. And most of the film, though, is actually a buddy cop film between Jack Black’s Po and Awkwafina’s character, who’s actually a new character that’s been introduced into this franchise with this film.

Cipolle: Good chemistry there?

Aloi: Good chemistry, although I think it lacks some of the fun of the original series, like the original films. I grew up watching them. They came out when I was a kid. And this one, I think, lacks a little bit of the chemistry with the entire cast.

But I will say, Viola Davis, who plays the villain, who’s this kind of trickster sorceress — she is deliciously evil. She’s fantastic. So not as good as the previous entries, but “Kung Fu Panda 4,” in theaters now.




Kung Fu Panda 4 trailer

Cube Critics Matt Mikus and Aron Woldeslassie review “Damsel” and “Love Lies Bleeding.”

The following is a transcription of the audio heard using the player above, lightly edited for clarity.

Click here.


MPR News associate producer Aron Woldeslassie: Matt, I gotta ask: How did you end up surviving the two-day snowstorm?

MPR News digital producer Matt Mikus: Eating lots of very warm food. Also had to shovel a lot which was kind of a pain.

Woldeslassie: I’m Aron Woldeslassie.

Mikus: I’m Matt Mikus.

Woldeslassie: And this is Cube Critics.

Matt, I’m told you watched a new film on Netflix.

Mikus: Yeah, I got to see “Damsel.” It’s on Netflix. It’s basically a fantasy adventure kind of movie that flips the script in a way that’s really enjoyable.

It stars Millie Bobby Brown as Elodie and basically, she’s a princess who agrees to a marriage to save their kingdom. It doesn’t really go into the details — you don’t need that.

But what happens is, it turns out the marriage is just a ploy to throw her into a dragon’s lair to satisfy some kind of revenge plot of the dragon. But Elodie — she is having none of it.

She decides she’s just going to find a way out, survive and pretty much take her revenge on the family that threw her into the pit. So a lot of fun.

There are some weird plot points that were kind of confusing, like how do you trick a dragon for generations with the same ploy. But overall, a lot of fun. And it’s kind of cool to see a movie where the damsel isn’t going to be saved by some white knight riding on a white horse.

Woldeslassie: I ended up watching something very different. Although also female-led, which I’m happy about.

I ended up watching “Love Lies Bleeding.” It’s in theaters now.

The story follows a gym manager and an aspiring bodybuilder falling in love. And as as their romance develops, they are plagued by both their past as well as their desired future.

This movie is very violent and very gruesome. But it does something very sweet in terms of highlighting intimacy and sentimentality — through ultraviolence.

This film stars Kristen Stewart, who you probably know from her work in “Twilight” and “Adventureland,” and other great works, as well as a new star, Katy O’Brian, who stars as the bodybuilder in the film — she does a great job in it too.

The two of them fall in love in this very organic, very sincere and beautiful way. And throughout the film, you can see their love getting plagued by what is essentially gang violence, drugs and outside desire.

“Love Lies Bleeding” has a great director behind it, Rose Glass, who gives us so many incredible moments — directed through highlighted light as well as what I only describe as magical realism. The moments that seem impossible but are actually happening in front of your eyes.

I’m going to tell you to check out “Love Lies Bleeding,” as it is a great love story that is highlighted by some fantastic gruesome moments. Check it out now, it’s in theaters.

Cube Critics Regina Medina and Alex V. Cipolle review “Shōgun” and “The Regime.”

The following is a transcription of the audio heard using the player above, lightly edited for clarity.

Click here.


MPR News senior arts reporter and critic Alex V. Cipolle: Why did you want to watch this show in the first place? Like, what what drew you into it?

MPR News correspondent Regina Medina: It wasn’t even the trailer. It was, like, what’s going on here?

Cipolle: I’m Alex V. Cipolle.

Medina: I’m Regina Medina

Cipolle: And this is Cube Critics.

Regina, what did you watch this week?

Medina: I watched a show called “Shōgun” on Hulu, which is a 10-part miniseries that is based on the book by James Clavell called “Shōgun,” which was also a 1980s miniseries.

It takes place in late 16th-century feudal Japan. And it’s a historical drama that is very sweeping and epic, and it involves political intrigue, and, really, to tell you the truth, I’m not grasping half of what’s going on here — but I love it.

Hiroyuki Sanada, who you've seen in “Avengers: Endgame” and “Lost,” he plays Lord Toranaga, our lead protagonist — and his rivals are trying to get ahold of him, trying to eliminate him from the group.

Anyway, what’s my point? My point is, the production design is gorgeous. The Japanese landscape is gorgeous. And if you just want fun, here it is.

Cipolle: So, I also watched a show that deals in political intrigue, except the show I watched was a satire. So it is called “The Regime.” It’s a mini-series on HBO Max starring Kate Winslet and, wow, does she just take the reins of the show and run with it.

Medina: Don’t doubt it.

Cipolle: It is in the form of a sort-of head-of-state show. So it’s got some commonalities with the “The West Wing” and even “Veep.” Like, it has a lot of “Veep” — another HBO show.

Kate Winslet plays Madame Chancellor, the head of state of a place only identified as “Middle Europe,” a small country that could be Germany, it could be Hungary, we don’t really know. But it’s sort of this alternative universe.

And this show pulls from basically every head of state you can think of — she is Hillary Clinton. She is Trump. She is Putin.

MedinaL She’s a lot of people.

Cipolle: Angela Merkel. She even compares herself to Charlemagne.

It could have been a really muddy mix of trying to do too much, but instead, it’s taking all these ingredients and doing something entirely new with it. I’ve never seen her display her comedic chops quite like this. She does this crazy, sort-of British version of a mid-Atlantic accent. It’s both posh and strange at the same time.

Anyway, HBO Max — highly recommend.

Cube Critics Jacob Aloi and Kyra Miles disagree about Netflix’s live-action “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

The following is a transcription of the audio heard using the player above, lightly edited for clarity.

Click here.


MPR News reporter Jacob Aloi: You can say “half-assed,” “you can say “kick-ass,” you can say “worked my ass off,” you just can’t say [BEEP] like, or refer to your [BEEP].

And with that, my name is Jacob Aloi.

MPR early education reporter Kyra Miles: And I’m Kyra Miles.

Aloi: And this is Cube Critics.

So Kyra Miles, thank you for coming back on Cube Critics. This week we both watched the live-action adaptation of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” on Netflix.

It’s adapted from the beloved animated series of the same name, which tells the story of Aang, The Last Airbender, who is picked as this mystical sort-of shaman sort-of otherworldly being called The Avatar, who is destined to save the world from being overtaken by the Fire Nation.

Miles: Boo!

Aloi: Yes, boo the Fire Nation, they are an imperial Force that needs to be stopped in the world of “Avatar.”

I will say that when the series started, back in the day, the animated series, I did not watch most of it. I was actually just not interested. It just wasn’t for me. I don’t know why.

Miles: For shame, for shame.

Aloi: But I will say with this live-action adaptation, I really enjoyed it. It was so fun. I really think that it held true to what I remember from the animated series. I think that the acting was fairly good. I thought that, sure, it was a little scrungly sometimes with the budget, but overall, I thought it was enjoyable and actually made me want to watch the animated series.

But I will say, I think you might have a different take, being a fan of the animated series.

Miles: Okay, first of all, the fact that you’re reviewing an adaptation and haven’t seen the source material is crazy.

Aloi: I’ve seen some of the source material, just not all.

Miles: It’s crazy.

Um, it was not as bad as I thought — I went in wanting to hate it. And I still kind of do. But it wasn’t that bad. I agree that the budget, the money, did not reflect the quality that I was expecting. I will say that the acting was clunky. The costumes were giving cosplay. They weren’t shooting on set.

We saw a lot of green screen in this “Avatar” live-action. It was a bit half-assed and I already was skeptical because the original creators did leave the production halfway through, we remember that.

But, overall, what I did like about it was that I think it had a nice backstory. It explained more about the backstory than we got in the animated version.

I think having it live-action, we were really able to see the atrocities of war. We were really able to see like, oh, people are being burned alive. Oh, the world is at war. But I also think that what makes the original show so beloved, and so good to rewatch again and again — even as an adult — is that it has those light moments and it still lets the kids be kids.

I think when it’s live action, and you see, like you said, the atrocities of the war and everything that’s going on, it’s hard for it to stay light. And I think the animated version is able to give that balance better than the adaptation was able to.

That’s why I said I just need to figure out who’s the audience for this. I don’t know.

Cube Critics Alex V. Cipolle and Aron Woldeslassie discuss the final season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and a new comedy special from Jenny Slate.

The following is a transcription of the audio heard using the player above, lightly edited for clarity.


https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cube-critics/id525807831?mt=2

MPR News senior reporter and critic Alex V. Cipolle: Richard Lewis recently passed. And he is, crazy enough, buried in Roseville.

MPR associate producer Aron Woldeslassie: Do we know his Minnesota connection? Did he just enjoy the city of Roseville?

Cipolle: I would love that. I think his wife is originally from here and bought plots there.

Woldeslassie: Okay, I’m imagining him going to the AMC and going like I gotta get buried here. It’s so good.

Cipolle: I’m Alex V. Cipolle.

Woldeslassie: And I’m Aron Woldeslassie.

Cipolle: And this is Cube Critics.

Speaking of Richard Lewis, I am currently watching the final season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” the brainchild of Larry David, who is the co-creator of “Seinfeld.“

And it’s really touching because Richard Lewis plays a large part of this season. I mean, he’s been in it since the beginning — it started in 2001 — and one of the funniest bits of the season so far is Richard Lewis going to AA, which he attends with Larry David’s girlfriend, played by Tracey Ullman.

And he starts using AA as a sort of comedy club set, a place to workshop his ideas and he starts talking about it in terms of like, I’m gonna do a tight five or tight 10 or another AA member, he’s like, they opened for me today.

So it’s a pretty funny send-off for him.

Woldeslassie: How charmingly abusive.

Cipolle: Absolutely. And, like, narcissistic. But that was kind of the heart of what Richard Lewis did.

And, you know, it’s also just a classic season filled with all the petty confrontations that Larry David the curmudgeon gets into, and some of the star cast is still there like Ted Danson, Cheryl Hines, Susie Essman, J. B. Smoove.

And I really think it’s going out on a high note. And I feel like it might end up the same way that “Seinfeld” did with kind of a final episode that’s a trial. I think Larry David is doing it out of spite because people did not like that finale.

Woldeslassie: “Seinfeld” diehards will know that “Seinfeld” ended on a very contentious episode that a lot of people didn’t like, including myself.

Cipolle: I liked the finale personally, but yes, it was very divisive. And I really recommend this season — going out on a high note on HBO Max.

Woldeslassie: If you’re interested in some comedy that feels a little bit less final might I suggest Jenny Slate’s second stand-up special ”Seasoned Professional” on Amazon Prime

In this special, Slate covers everything that went on in her life during the pandemic: love, marriage, pregnancy and therapy. You probably remember Slate from her work in “Marcel the Shell,” “Big Mouth” and obviously “Parks and Rec,” where she was such a great member.

Cipolle: The best!

Woldeslassie: And her one season on “Saturday Night Live,” which she briefly alludes to in this special.

Slate has this very charming, childish energy that feels similar to “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.” And in that, she’s kind of making fun of a certain type of silliness and we’re all kind of just enjoying this exuberance and at the same time, you’re also enjoying the multiple cuts to the left she takes with her gross-out humor.

Slate is a member of alt-comedy and because of that, I don’t think her humor is for everyone.

I definitely think you should check this out if you’re looking for some weeknight watching. It’s a good time. “Seasoned Professional” on Amazon Prime.



Updated March 9, 2024: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the television show “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”