Weekend Event Planner

These are the 9 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

While many events in and around Dallas have either been postponed or canceled during the coronavirus pandemic, organizations have pivoted to virtual or socially distanced events to continue offering the masses some entertainment while we need it the most.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time. While not every event is out of the house, they all promise to provide a nice distraction from the everyday life.

Thursday, February 25

Junior Brown in concert
Country singer Junior Brown is a true original, best known for his signature instrument, the "guit-steel" double neck guitar that is a hybrid of an electric guitar and lap steel guitar. Active since the early '80s, Brown has released 11 albums in his career, including 2018's Deep in the Heart of Me. He'll play two shows on Thursday at The Kessler.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents The Concert Truck
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra will present the residency of The Concert Truck, collaborative community concerts across the city featuring musicians of the DSO and other arts organizations. Concerts will be held outdoors at various locations through March 14, with audiences and performers able to maintain a safe distance while enjoying live performances. Locations this weekend include Medical City Medical Center – Children’s Hospital on Thursday, Nasher Sculpture Center on Friday, and Klyde Warren Park and The Sound at Cypress Waters on Saturday.

Kitchen Dog Theater presents CRAFT: Art of the Hooch & Pooch
After a false start due to weather last week, Kitchen Dog Theater will celebrate their 30th Anniversary with this series that looks back at a few of the world premiere plays they’ve produced over the years written by Artistic Company Members. The series starts with Pompeii!! with creators Cameron Cobb, Michael Federico, and Max Hartman. Virtual episodes will begin with a mixologist walking viewers through the creation of an original craft cocktail, followed by a deep dive conversation into the craft behind the creation with artists from the productions. There will be other episodes monthly through June.

Cirque Italia presents Paranormal Cirque
After two other stops in the area, Cirque Italia's Paranormal Cirque heads north to Denton. Under the black and red big top tent of Paranormal Cirque exists a crazy yet fun fusion between circus, theater, and cabaret in perfect harmony with the evolution of a show that brings audiences back to when they dream ... and when they had nightmares and fantasies. The show, continuing through March 7 at the North Texas Fairgrounds, is only for teenagers and above; no kids under 13 will be admitted.

Friday, February 26

The Dallas Opera presents Tosca
Since the Dallas Opera is still unable to present live productions, they are going back into their archives again to stream the company’s 2015 production of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca. The passionate, star-studded production was originally presented in 2015, including a live simulcast at Klyde Warren Park. The stream will be available to view at any time through March 27.

Improv Addison presents DeRay Davis
Comedian DeRay Davis has been killing it on stage, in movies, and on TV for years. His film credits include Semi-Pro, both Barbershop movies, and Johnson Family Vacation. On the small screen, Davis has appeared in HBO's Entourage, Comedy Central's Reno 911, and provided numerous voices on The Boondocks. He'll perform five times through Sunday at Improv Addison.

Saturday, February 27

Jonathan Tyler in concert with Desure
Jonathan Tyler is a Dallas-based musician who has received national attention, opening for major acts like Erykah Badu, Leon Russell, Deep Purple, The Black Crowes, Kool and the Gang, and more. Tyler and his band, the Northern Lights, have released three studio albums in their career, including 2015's Holy Smokes. He'll perform at The Kessler, with Desure as the opening act.

Sunday, February 28

New exhibitions at Dallas Museum of Art (UPDATE: The opening of these exhibits is being postponed one week to March 7.)
The Dallas Museum of Art will open two new exhibitions on Sunday, most notably "Frida Kahlo: Five Works," which gives visitors the rare opportunity to see five exquisite works by the acclaimed Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. Also opening is "Devoted: Art and Spirituality in Mexico and New Mexico," which features devotional works drawn from the DMA’s Latin American collection, exploring interrelated artistic traditions in the two regions. The Frida Kahlo exhibition will run through June 20, while "Devoted" will remain on display through January 2, 2022.

Bruce Wood Dance presents WOOD/SHOP
Bruce Wood Dance presents the first installment of the virtual series WOOD/SHOP. The first event will feature two premieres: Gabriel Speiller's Roses in December, an emotive trio of dancers winding through the twisting terrain of loss, grief, and hope; and Megan Storey's The Silence That Wakes Us, a riveting rush of movement with a compelling play of sound and silence inspired by reflections of her personal experiences with loss. It also includes a unique film project made by Cole Vernon.

Jonathan Tyler will play at The Kessler on February 27.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Tyler

Jonathan Tyler will play at The Kessler on February 27.

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Movie Review

Tom Cruise goes for broke in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

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Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, and Hayley Atwell in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning.

Over the course of 30 years and eight films, the Mission: Impossible film series has proven to be the most reliable of any action movie franchise. Not all of them are equally good, but with Tom Cruise (who will be surprising fans at Dallas screenings) in the lead as Ethan Hunt, they can be counted on for at least a couple of mind-blowing stunt sequences per film, enough to keep fans clamoring for more.

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning has the feel of being the last film in the series, and not just because the 62-year-old Cruise is getting up there in age. Following up closely on the events of 2023’s Dead Reckoning Part One (Part Two changed to The Final Reckoning for unknown reasons), the film has Hunt trying to stop an A.I. villain known as The Entity from taking over the world’s collective stash of nuclear weapons.

To do so, Hunt and his cobbled-together team - Luther (Ving Rhames), Benji (Simon Pegg), Grace (Hayley Atwell), and Paris (Pom Klementieff) - must hopscotch around the world, tracking villain Gabriel (Esai Morales) and trying to figure out a way to get The Entity’s source code, which is located on a sunken Russian submarine. Oh, and they also have to evade capture by a disgruntled U.S. government, led by now-President Erika Sloane (Angela Bassett).

Written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie and co-written by Erik Jendresen, the film might just be the most convoluted one in the series so far. The filmmakers layer on tons of exposition, with lots of flashbacks to previous events in the series to explicate the events of the present, as well as providing unexpected connections to previous films. The plan for stopping The Entity and the references to the past are so dense that the first half of the film is relatively boring.

Things pick up in the final 90 minutes of the three-hour film, mostly because that’s when the majority of the action takes place. More than other entries in the series, the film considers the geopolitical implications of Hunt’s actions, and he has to negotiate with a variety of high-powered people to do what he deems best. While his efforts are somewhat preposterous, even by the standards of the series, they lead to a bunch of fun sequences that provide levity among the world-changing drama.

Ultimately, what makes the film succeed are its action scenes. Cruise has done stunts on planes/helicopters before in the series, but what he does during a biplane sequence toward the end of the film is almost beyond belief. Yes, he’s attached to the plane with harnesses that are digitally erased, but he’s still doing it hundreds of feet in the air at great bodily risk considering how often he gets tossed around. There has been other spectacular stunt work in the series, but this one deserves to be near the top of the list.

The flashbacks to scenes from throughout the series underscore just how much Cruise has changed in the past 30 years, but also make it amazing that he’s still willing to sacrifice his body as much as does in this film. No other actor goes as far as he does to entertain the masses, and the events of the story even give him opportunities to show off his dramatic acting skills.

The supporting cast is more packed than usual, and all of them enhance the film. In addition to Hunt’s team, the President has a group of advisers that includes actors like Henry Czerny, Holt McCallany, Nick Offerman, and Janet McTeer. Other recognizable faces like Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso), Trammell Tillman (Severance), and Katy O’Brian (Love Lies Bleeding) show up for impactful roles.

Whether or not this is the last film in the current incarnation of the series, The Final Reckoning has a lot to offer for longtime fans, as well as some fresh great action that remains some of the best Hollywood has to offer. The story may be completely baffling, but with Cruise and other appealing actors leading the way, there’s more than enough great entertainment to go around.

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Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning opens in theaters on May 23.

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