Weekend Event Planner

These are the 12 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

This weekend, you'll find events spanning the spectrum of entertainment, including two unique movie events, a concert featuring a live performance by a famous film composer, three interesting and varied theater productions, a gathering of global soccer fans, a visit from one of the biggest rappers on the planet, and much more.

Below are the best options for your precious free time Thursday through Monday. Don't like what you see? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, July 13

2017 Asian Film Festival of Dallas
The 2017 edition of the Asian Film Festival of Dallas, taking place through July 20 at Angelika Film Center Dallas, will feature its first showcase of films directed and produced by women. It will also have more films than any other year, with 70 films screening throughout the week, including five short blocks and 35 feature films. Fans can expect films in multiple genres from the U.S., Singapore, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Indian, Japan, Korea, and Tibet.

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents Finding Neverland
Finding Neverland tells the incredible story behind one of the world's most beloved characters: Peter Pan. Playwright J.M. Barrie struggles to find inspiration until he meets four young brothers and their beautiful widowed mother. Spellbound by the boys’ enchanting make-believe adventures, he sets out to write a play that will astound London theatergoers. The musical will run through July 23 at Winspear Opera House.

Hans Zimmer: Live on Tour
Composer Hans Zimmer is responsible for some of the most memorable film scores of all time and has won multiple Grammys, Golden Globes, and Academy Awards. This concert at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie will be a multi-layered experience for concert-goers, featuring music from Zimmer's multi-decade career, including pieces from Gladiator, The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Dark Knight trilogy, and Inception.

Friday, July 14

2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Frisco is one of nine cities hosting early-round games of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, pitting national soccer teams from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean against each other. While the U.S. and Mexican teams will be playing elsewhere, local soccer fans will still get to see Costa Rica face off against French Guiana and Canada play Honduras at this doubleheader event at Toyota Stadium.

Bastille on Bishop
Bishop Arts District will present the 8th annual Bastille on Bishop celebration, an evening full of entertainment, food, wine, petanque, and wonderful people to celebrate the beautiful country of France and their traditions. Oak Cliff was the original settlement of the French colony called La Reunion, and the neighborhood has picked up the mantle with great pride and love for the French culture. Make sure to buy your tickets in advance, as glasses used to consume drinks outside are not sold at the event.

Kendrick Lamar in concert with Travis Scott and D.R.A.M.
Kendrick Lamar is considered by many to be the best rapper in the world right now, with both of his past two albums — 2015's To Pimp a Butterfly and 2017's DAMN — hitting No. 1 on the Billboard charts. Fans at this concert at American Airlines Center will get to see exactly why, as well as experience the talents of opening acts Travis Scott and D.R.A.M.

2017 Festival of Independent Theatres
The Festival of Independent Theatres, playing at Bath House Cultural Center through August 5, pairs together independent theater companies for a different experience almost every night. The festival will feature productions from WingSpan Theatre, Echo Theatre, Audacity Theatre Lab, Fun House Theatre and Film, L.I.P. Service Productions, and Dustin Curry and Company.

Uptown Players presents La Cage Aux Folles
After 20 years of un-wedded bliss, Georges and Albin, two men partnered for better-or-worse, get a bit of both when Georges' son (fathered during a one-night fling) announces his impending marriage to the daughter of a bigoted, right-wing politician. Georges reluctantly agrees to masquerade as 'normal' when he meets the family of the bride-to-be. But Albin has other plans, with hilarious results. The production will run through July 30 at Kalita Humphreys Theater.

Saturday, July 15

Dallas Gallery Day
Dallas Gallery Day returns for its sixth installment, featuring over 20 participating spaces. Newcomers to the event include Ginger Fox Gallery and Jen Mauldin Gallery in Bishop Arts, along with Bivins Gallery in Uptown and the Goss-Michael Foundation, which returns to the mix for the first time in its new space on Monitor. The first 15 people arriving at any of the participating spaces will receive the highly coveted Gallery Day T-shirt. There will also be an after-party at SITE 131 from 6-8 pm.

Trees' 9th Anniversary Show with The Polyphonic Spree
The history of the iconic Deep Ellum Club Trees Dallas is close to legendary. The original incarnation, which was open from 1990-2005, hosted such notable bands as Nirvana and Radiohead. The club re-opened in 2009 under new ownership, and they'll celebrate what they're saying is their 9th nnniversary, but which is actually the 8th, with a concert featuring The Polyphonic Spree, Sealion, and Cure for Paranoia.

Sunday, July 16

Dallas Film Society presents Movie Madness Marathon
The Dallas Film Society is presenting its inaugural Movie Madness Marathon. All you have to do is watch four of the biggest movies of the summer — Despicable Me 3, Spider-Man: Homecoming, War for the Planet of the Apes, and Baby Driver — over the course of a day and ask your friends for pledges of any amount to help raise a minimum of $500 to support the cause. The event at Studio Movie Grill Spring Valley will include giveaways after every completed film, prizes for those raising the most funds, and more.

Granada Theater presents Free Week Dallas
For the second year in a row, the Granada Theater is opening its doors for a week-long celebration of free music as a way of saying "thank you" to the fans. Free tickets will be available each day at the door. If you want to guarantee entry, $5 will get you in, and your first beer or cocktail is on the house. Bands performing through July 23 include Valise, Micky + The Motorcars, Quaker City Night Hawks, and Night Drive.

The Polyphonic Spree will headline Trees Dallas' 9th Anniversary Concert ( which should really be its 8th) on July 15.

Photo courtesy of Earth Day Texas

The Polyphonic Spree will headline Trees Dallas' 9th Anniversary Concert ( which should really be its 8th) on July 15.

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Movie Review

Andrew Garfield leads peasant rebellion in medieval film The Uprising

Photo by Betina La Plante/Focus Features

Andrew Garfield in The Uprising.

Writer/director Paul Greengrass made his name with a cinéma vérité style of filmmaking that brought immediacy and depth to three Jason Bourne films, United 93, Captain Phillips, and more. In The Uprising, he uses those skills to tell the story of the so-called Peasants’ Revolt in 14th century England.

Greengrass wastes no time starting the main plot as Ploughman (Andrew Garfield) and his fellow villagers object to onerous taxes put on them by the country’s nobility, led by the young King Richard II (Woody Norman), to fund an ongoing war. Ploughman initiates a violent response over the tone-deaf — and unseemly — way the king’s guard go about their business, and the rebellion soon starts to spread across the countryside, with the citizens looking for a degree of autonomy.

The ever-expanding group makes their way toward London to try to make their case to the king himself. Meanwhile, the king’s top advisors, including Archbishop Sudbury (Stephen Dillane) and Treasurer Hales (Tom Hollander), try to usurp power from the inexperienced monarch even as the king’s mother (Katherine Waterston) tries to get him to be more assertive.

The history of the English monarchy is long and lurid, as Shakespeare detailed in multiple plays, including Richard II. Though the events in the film took place almost 650 years ago, it’s easy to see parallels between what the peasants were fighting for and modern-day politics. Greengrass’ storytelling intent is solid, and the righteous anger the citizens feel is initially relatable and palpable.

But the populism theme of the story soon gets bogged down in drudgery and minutiae that is difficult to understand, especially when the details are lost in the thick regional English accents. The leaders of the rebels — including John Ball (Jamie Bell), Wat Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis), and Alyce (Thomasin McKenzie) — are shown doing a lot of planning, but the strong feelings they have about their quest don’t come across well, leaving the audience as passive observers.

When there is action, Greengrass and his team employ a frenetic style that is not great for comprehension. While the gist of what is happening and what side is winning is legible, individual moments go by so quickly so as to be nearly meaningless. Save for Ploughman, any connection that has been made with various characters proves futile, as Greengrass doesn’t seem to have any time for emotion. Scenes that should feel thrilling or heartbreaking instead come off as empty.

Garfield is a two-time Oscar nominee who has done great work across multiple genres. He’s fine in this role, but whether it’s the story, the filmmaking, or something else, he’s not as captivating as usual. The same goes for other strong actors like Bell, McKenzie, Dillane, Hollander, and Waterston, who each seem to be giving their all to their performances but are somehow muted in the process.

Done right, The Uprising could have been a rip-roaring account of people standing up against their oppressors. What Greengrass has made, though, is a film that can’t translate its medieval story for a modern audience and concentrates too much on unexciting elements and too little on thrilling ones.

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The Uprising is now playing in theaters.

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