Weekend Event Planner

A Christmas Story and Usher top best weekend events in Dallas

As will be the case throughout pretty much all of December, holiday-themed events once again dominate the entertainment landscape around Dallas-Fort Worth. But there are a couple of non-holiday happenings going on, including the return of a hip hop master and special screenings of one of the best trilogies of all time

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

Thursday, December 4

Dallas Summer Musicals presents A Christmas Story, The Musical
A Christmas Story, which tanked in its initial movie release, is an unlikely success story. But home video and years of airing on TBS have made it a holiday classic, and now fans have a new way to enjoy the story through this stage musical. You can see Ralphie pine for a BB gun and almost shoot his eye out through song at Music Hall at Fair Park until December 14.

Usher in concert with August Alsina
Despite the presence of many high-powered competitors, Usher has remained at or near the top of the hip hop/R&B charts for going on 20 years. The Dallas-born singer is on the verge of releasing his eighth album, UR, in 2015, so attendees of this concert at American Airlines Center can expect a good mixture of the new and the old. Usher is joined by opening act August Alsina.

Friday, December 5

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is another story that has become a holiday classic thanks to repeated showings of the Rankin/Bass TV special. This stage musical attempts to replicate the charm of the original, using puppets and some of the same songs to give a nostalgic feel to things. It plays at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth through Sunday before moving to the Majestic Theatre in Dallas next week.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents DSO Pops Christmas
It's one thing to sing along to your favorite Christmas songs on the radio and quite another to do so when backed up by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and a choir. That is the case for the next three weekends at Meyerson Symphony Center when the DSO Pops plays a variety of holiday favorites and Christmas classics. The show runs through December 21.

Texas Ballet Theater presents The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is one of those holiday shows that will never go out of style, as it has almost the perfect appeal to both children and adults. Texas Ballet Theater present its annual rendition, taking the audience through the enchanted Land of Sweets with Clara and her Nutcracker Prince. It plays at Winspear Opera House through Sunday before moving to Bass Performance Hall next week.

Saturday, December 6

2014 Dallas Children's Health Holiday Parade
It's a been a long wait for the return of this annual holiday parade, as last year's edition was canceled due to a freak ice storm. There's zero chance of that happening this year, so guests can line Commerce Street and other roads in downtown Dallas to enjoy the plethora of floats, balloons, marching bands and more for the trek that culminates at Dallas City Hall.

Alamo Drafthouse presents Back to the Future Trilogy Feast
James Wallace, the head local programmer for Alamo Drafthouse, is a self-professed Back to the Future fanatic, so you know that this event showing the BTTF films back-to-back-to-back is worth the price of admission. Each movie has a full themed menu to make the experience even more fun. Great Scott, indeed.

Celebrate the Holidays at Klyde Warren Park / Reliant Lights Your Holidays
These two events in the Dallas Arts District are technically separate, but they are tied together in a unique way. The goings-on at Klyde Warren Park feature a variety of holiday activities, including music, live reindeer, photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and a tree lighting. But right after they light the tree, Santa and Mrs. Claus lead visitors over to Sammons Park for Reliants Lights Your Holidays, which has performances by Jack Ingram and Los Lobos, fireworks, a snow hill and more.

Sunday, December 7

CultureMap Holiday Pop Up Shop
Only the ultra-prepared have already finished their holiday shopping, so we're presenting a chance to peruse the offerings of a slew of local retailers all in one convenient spot. Among the stores showcasing their wares at Sixty Five Hundred are Dirt, Gypsy Wagon, Life of Riley, Mizzen + Main, Scardello Artisan Cheese and Trousseau of Dallas.

Dallas Summer Musicals presents A Christmas Story, The Musical at Music Hall at Fair Park through December 14.

Photo courtesy of A Christmas Story national tour

Dallas Summer Musicals presents A Christmas Story, The Musical at Music Hall at Fair Park through December 14.

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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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