Event Planner

Super-hot Lumineers headline the best events in Dallas this weekend

The last weekend in April is short on outdoor events but long on variety, as you can choose from movies, concerts, food trucks, theater and art, among many others. 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, April 25

2013 USA Film Festival
Since the Dallas International Film Festival came on the scene, the USA Film Festival has been diminished a bit. But it's made a comeback this year by featuring such films as The Way, Way Back from Jim Rash and Nat Faxon, Much Ado About Nothing from Joss Whedon, and other great options. The festival runs through Sunday at Angelika Film Center Dallas.

The Black Crowes in concert
One of the pleasures of being a fan of a longtime band — unless it's a mega-act like U2 or Madonna — is that their popularity eventually wanes, and they return to the smaller venues where they played when they first started. The Black Crowes aren't what they once were, but they can still rock, as they demonstrate at House of Blues Dallas.

The Lumineers in concert with Sam Doores, Riley Downing and The Tumbleweeds
The Lumineers have come a long way in just one year. The band released its debut album in April 2012 and subsequently played in small clubs like the Prophet Bar. But the success of the single "Ho Hey" and comparisons to another big folk rock group, Mumford & Sons, made them stars. Now they're back to play at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie.

Friday, April 26

2013 Texas Food Truckin' Fest
The Dallas-Fort Worth food truck craze has ebbed and flowed during the last few years, but if this event is any indication, it's not going anywhere anytime soon. More than 30 food trucks park outside Rangers Ballpark in Arlington to fill your belly. Also enjoy live entertainment, TVs showing Rangers games and more. The festival takes place all day Saturday as well.

Dallas Theater Center presents Fly By Night
The latest from Dallas Theater Center is a relatively new musical that might have you straining your eyes and opening your heart. That's because the production, playing at Kalita Humphreys Theater through May 26, is about three people looking for love amid an epic blackout in New York City in the '60s. Part of the music is played by local Max Brown.

Saturday, April 27

Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts presents Ed Asner in FDR
Last week saw a well-known actor tackling a famous figure in a one-man play, and this one brings another, as Ed Asner shows off his impersonation of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in this one-night-only production at Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts in Richardson. The 83-year-old recently had to stop one show after feeling ill, so let's hope nothing like that occurs here.

Queensryche in concert with The Voodoos
Those who haven't kept up with Queensryche in the last few years may be surprised to hear that the band is now technically two bands. Most of the band members went one way, while original lead singer Geoff Tate went another. It's Tate's version that playS at the Granada Theater in support of the forthcoming album Frequency Unknown.

Sunday, April 28

Nasher Sculpture Center presents The Great Create
Nasher Sculpture Center has long been a proponent of getting kids involved in art, and this event is a way to give them an outlet and provide for future opportunities. Local and national artists lead kids 12 and under in a variety of activities, and proceeds from the event benefit Nasher youth programs.

Texans for West Benefit Concert
The town of West, Texas, is well-known to anybody who travels north or south on I-35, so it's no surprise that the fertilizer plant explosion there last week was heart-rending for many. If you haven't already helped in some way, you can do just by attending this concert, which features Toadies lead singer Vaden Todd Lewis, Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights, Somebody's Darling and The O's.

Os Mutantes in concert with Capsula
If you're looking for a unique music group, look no further than Os Mutantes. The psychedelic rock group has been around since the 1960s, but they took a nearly 30-year break until the mid-2000s. The one constant has been singer/guitarist Sergio Dias, who has stuck with the band through its many incarnations. They put a period on the weekend at The Kessler.

Dallas Theater Center presents Fly By Night at Wyly Theatre April 26-May 26.

Photo by Karen Almond

Dallas Theater Center presents Fly By Night at Wyly Theatre April 26-May 26.

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Movie Review

Glen Powell bumps off rich family in How to Make a Killing

Photo courtesy of A24

Glen Powell in How to Make a Killing.

Becoming a star in Hollywood and maintaining that stardom are two very difficult things to achieve, but Glen Powell has been adept at doing so over the past few years. A key supporting role in Top Gun: Maverick led to lead parts in films like Hit Man, Anyone But You, Twisters, and The Running Man. Powell is looking to keep his star power shining in the new dark comedy/thriller, How to Make a Killing.

He plays Beckett, an outcast member of the ultra-wealthy Redfellow clan. Struggling to get by in a menial job in New York City while still living in New Jersey, Beckett’s only smidgen of hope is that he remains an heir to the vast Redfellow fortune. The only trick? Every other remaining family member must die before he’ll see a dime of that money. When even that menial job goes away, Beckett indulges the fantasy of bumping off his familial competition.

Among those standing in his way are cousins Taylor (Raff Law), a finance bro, Noah (Zach Woods), a pretentious artist, and Steven (Topher Grace), a celebrity pastor; Uncle Warren (Bill Camp) and Aunt Cassandra (Bianca Amato); and grandfather Whitelaw (Ed Harris). Complicating matters, however, are an old childhood friend, Julia (Margaret Qualley), who starts asking more of Beckett than he can give; and new flame Ruth (Jessica Henwick), who happens to be dating Noah when he meets her.

Written and directed by John Patton Ford (Emily the Criminal), the film is a tale of two halves. Narrated by Beckett in the form of telling his story to a prison chaplain, the story plays with audience expectations on multiple occasions. As Beckett ramps up to detailing exactly how he got started down the road toward being a serial killer, the film has a fun-if-macabre vibe.

Under normal circumstances Beckett would be someone to despise, but since he’s an underprivileged person who’s taking aim at people who (mostly) don’t seem to appreciate their good luck, it feels okay to cheer for him. This follows a recent trend in “eat the rich” films, one that’s been influenced by a turn against real-life billionaires. Ford plays heavily into the theme and it works for a good portion of the film.

However, things get a little murky in the second half of the movie. A few of the planned killings get less attention than others, making their - pardon the pun - execution less interesting/fun than the others. Also, Ford does a poor job of indicating just how much weight should be put on Beckett’s relationship with Julia, someone with whom he only has occasional interactions for the bulk of the film.

It’s difficult to know the exact right way to showcase Powell, but this film doesn’t seem to be the best fit. Whether it’s the odd hairstyle/wig he’s given, or the varying degrees of confidence his character shows, his performance is up and down. Qualley’s acting style is over-the-top, and she needed to dial it down in this particular role. Henwick and Camp are the grounding forces in the film, keeping the story somewhat tethered to reality while almost everyone else makes a meal of their scenes.

How to Make a Killing is serviceable entertainment that gives viewers a decent number of laughs and thrills. But Ford can’t find a way to make the story work all the way through, and a so-so performance by Powell keeps the film from rising above its mediocre station.

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How to Make a Killing opens in theaters on February 20.

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