Weekend Event Planner

These are the 11 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

Now that Labor Day is behind us, we can get back to the business of having a full events calendar. Among the options this weekend are an ambitious project in Deep Ellum, comedy from two luminaries in the field, a remembrance of 9/11, and much more.

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, September 8

Deep Ellum Foundation presents Reimagine Crowdus
Over the next month, the Deep Ellum Foundation is transforming Crowdus Street into a three-block-long pedestrian walkway, with regular local music performances, live art demonstrations, group activities, and more. The experimental event gives businesses in the area a chance to highlight their products and services and brings the community together with creative free activities. Events happen every day through October 4.

Improv Addison presents Rickey Smiley
It will be a homecoming of sorts when comedian Rickey Smiley performs at Improv Addison this weekend. Smiley got his start on the radio in Dallas back in 2004, making his patented prank calls, and The Rickey Smiley Show, now based out of Atlanta, has gone on to be syndicated nationwide. Smiley performs seven times through Sunday.

Fashion X Dallas 2016
Fashion X Dallas (Fashion “by” Dallas) returns for its third year and adds a new component, Style Setters. Four influencers in the local community — Linda Gray, LeeAnne Locken, Steve Kemble, and Heidi Dillon — have been selected not only for their iconic style but also for their tireless work and dedication to nonprofit organizations. The event takes place through Saturday at Fashion Industry Gallery.

Friday, September 9

Dallas Symphony Pops Series: An Evening with Megan Hilty
The 2016-2017 Dallas Symphony Orchestra season kicks off with this Pops concert featuring Broadway and television star Megan Hilty. The star of shows like Wicked, 9 to 5: The Musical, and Noises Off performs "Popular," "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," and songs from her album, It Happens All the Time, in three concerts through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Lyric Stage presents Camelot
Lyric Stage opens its 24th season with the Broadway classic Camelot. The enchanting fable of chivalry, majesty, and brotherhood is a four-time Tony Award-winning musical that features songs like “If Ever I Would Leave You,” “The Simple Joys of Maidenhood,” and the title song. Dallas native Kristen Beth Williams, recently seen in the national tour of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, plays Guinevere. The show runs through September 18 at Irving Arts Center.

Saturday, September 10

Deron Williams Celebrity Dodge Barrage 2016
The start of the Dallas Mavericks' season — well, preseason — is just three short weeks away. To help get ready, point guard Deron Williams is hosting his Mavericks teammates, other NBA players, and celebrity and amateur teams in the round-robin-style dodgeball tournament. The action takes place at Frisco Fieldhouse and includes MavsMan and Champ, the Mavs ManiAACs, and the Dallas Mavericks Dancers.

Nasher Sculpture Center presents Kathryn Andrews: Run for President Opening Day
With this being a presidential election year, there's no better time for Nasher Sculpture Center to host the exhibit Kathryn Andrews: Run for President. In the exhibit, which is on display through January 8, 2017, Andrews uses images and props to create a loose narrative around candidates, campaigns, and the end of a presidency. Andrews is talking about the exhibit as part of the 360 Speaker Series on Saturday.

CitySquare presents A Night to Remember with Jerry Seinfeld
The annual A Night to Remember, which benefits CitySquare’s poverty-fighting programs, has been musically inclined the past few years, bringing in performers like Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, and Hall & Oates. Not only does this year's event feature superstar comedian Jerry Seinfeld, but in true stand-up comic tradition, he's performing twice at Winspear Opera House.

Kraftwerk in concert
German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk have been making music for nearly 50 years, but they're notoriously reclusive. This multimedia 3-D concert at the Bomb Factory is a rare opportunity to see the band live, as they bring together music and performance art for a true "Gesamtkunstwerk — a total work of art."

Sunday, September 11

Travis Manion Foundation presents 9/11 Heroes Run
The DFW community is gathering for the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The event honors and remembers the heroes of 9/11, the wars since, and all those who bravely serve our communities every day as police, fire, and first responders. The 9/11 Heroes Run 5K and 1-mile fun run is to be followed by a Breakfast with the Brave, where runners and the community can meet, thank, and form relationships with local police, fire, military, and veterans while enjoying local breakfast food trucks and a performance by the Cody Wayne Band.

Nasher Sculpture Center presents Ultra-Seeing
Starting Sunday, the Nasher is going to be presenting monthly screenings of experimental cinema. The program is steered by Frank Dufour, a professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, and Emmanuel Lefrant, director of Light Cone, a French organization dedicated to the diffusion and conservation of experimental cinema. The first screening focuses on avant-garde films from the 1920s and '30s; the series takes place through May 2017.

Dallas Mavericks point guard Deron Williams hosts the Celebrity Dodge Barrage at Frisco Fieldhouse on September 10.

Deron Williams Celebrity Dodge Barrage 2016

Photo by Gemini Keez

Dallas Mavericks point guard Deron Williams hosts the Celebrity Dodge Barrage at Frisco Fieldhouse on September 10.

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Movie Review

Jack Black and Jason Momoa make A Minecraft Movie into ridiculous fun

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Jack Black, Jason Momoa, and Sebastian Hansen in A Minecraft Movie.

One reason the majority of movies based on video games have failed is because their filmmakers didn’t understand how to translate the appeal of the game to the relatively-limited storytelling ability of film. Players can often spend hundreds of hours in the world of a video game, and trying to condense that experience down into 90-120 minutes is close to an impossible task.

Minecraft, a sandbox adventure game which contains countless possibilities for its players, turns out to be the exact right type of game to turn into a movie, at least in the proper hands. A Minecraft Movie is completely and gloriously ridiculous from beginning to end, with the filmmakers - led by director Jared Hess - understanding that to make a movie about a game in which (almost) anything can happen, you have to match that energy.

And so they tell an uproarious story in which Steve (Jack Black) is a miner on Earth who discovers a portal to the Overworld (aka the world of Minecraft) where everything from animals to plants to food is made up of blocks. After getting trapped in the Nether, a dangerous, hell-like dimension, he sends his trusty dog back to Earth with the cube that opens the portal between Earth and the Overworld.

Through a hilarious series of events too detailed to properly explain here, the cube falls into the hands of ‘80s video game legend Garett Garrison (Jason Momoa). When Henry (Sebastian Hansen), a 14-year-old who’s just moved to town with his sister, Natalie (Emma Myers), discovers the cube at Garett’s store, the two of them - along with Natalie and local realtor Dawn (Danielle Brooks) - get pulled into the Overworld as well.

Usually when a film is written by a team of five writers, as is the case here, it’s a sign that the screenplay will be less than cohesive. While they didn’t manage to come up with a comprehensible story, they do fill the running time with as many gags as possible, a strategy that pays off handsomely. Taking the creative ethos of Minecraft and amplifying it immeasurably, the film features too many off-the-wall jokes to know where to begin.

The connections between the human characters are about as random as can be, and yet due to the nature of the “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” approach, they develop a strong bond nonetheless. Steve and Garett are both pompous characters whose egos are the sources for much of their humor. Henry and Natalie bring the heart, while Dawn complements the group well despite not really fitting in with everyone else.

Of course, the whole point of making A Minecraft Movie is to pay tribute to the game, and they are able to throw plenty of bones to the gamers while still entertaining anyone who’s never played it. They incorporate the essentials of the game like building massive structures, crafting items, and interacting with creatures (aka mobs), but in such a fun and engaging way that it doesn’t really matter if a lot of it doesn’t make complete sense.

Black’s style of acting is one you either love or hate, and this might be the epitome of a Jack Black performance. He dials up virtually every line he delivers, a manic tour-de-force that sets the tone for everyone and everything else in the film. Momoa is also great, delving into comedy in a way he rarely has before and succeeding mightily. Hansen and Myers both work well, giving the film the youthful feel it required, and while Brooks is mostly along for the ride, she gets in a few good scenes of her own.

Could A Minecraft Movie now take the throne as the best adaptation of a video game ever? That’s purely subjective, but the way Hess and his team put the pedal to the metal from minute one and never let up, it certainly deserves to be part of the conversation. It’s a silly, fast-moving romp that works both as an homage to the game and as a stand-alone movie.

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A Minecraft Movie opens in theaters on April 4.

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