Kevin Hart will perform at American Airlines Center on August 12 as part of his Reality Check Tour.
Kevin Hart/Facebook
Comedian Kevin Hart's first major tour in over four years, "The Reality Check Tour," will make a stop in Dallas at American Airlines Center on Friday, August 12.
Produced by Live Nation, Hart's tour begins on July 2 and 3 with a two-night stay in Las Vegas, after which he will perform in over 30 arenas across North America, including dates in three other Texas cities — Houston on August 5, Austin on August 7, and San Antonio on August 13.
Hart's last visit to the state was in 2018, when he had stops in the four same cities in late October/early November.
“I am [hyped] as shit to go back out on tour," Hart said in a February 14 statement. "There is nothing better than making people laugh, I can feel the energy in the venues like caffeine pumping through my veins. I’ve been cooking up something special and have thoughts I need to get off my chest. Go get your tickets and come ready to have a good night!”
Hart is known to be one of the few comedians who can consistently fill up arenas. His most recent global comedy tour sold out over 100 arenas and sold over one million tickets worldwide. He also had a hometown stand-up performance at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, marking the first time a comedian sold out an NFL stadium in Philadelphia.
Tickets for the tour go on sale 10 am Friday, February 18 at KevinHartNation.com. Fans will also have access to a special Live Nation presale beginning 10 am Wednesday, February 16 through 10 pm Thursday, February 17.
Andrew Garfield, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Claire Foy, Phoenix Laroche, and Billie Gadson in The Magic Faraway Tree.
With kids and families always on the hunt for entertainment, it’s typically a safe bet for a movie studio to offer up something new, even if it is a film based on an old property. The Magic Faraway Tree, based on a series of books that started in the 1930s, is a very old property, one that its filmmakers have tried to liven up with a few stars, a lot of whimsy, and a boatload of CGI.
The Thompson family, led by stay-at-home dad Tim (Andrew Garfield) and breadwinner mom Polly (Claire Foy), are forced to move to a rundown country home when Polly gets laid off. The kids - Joe (Phoenix Laroche), Fran (Billie Gadson), and Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) - are used to the perks of city life like wifi and electricity, and each of them rebels in their own way to their new lot in life.
Fran, enticed by a fairy named Silky (Nicola Coughlan), is the first to venture out of the house, making her way to a magic tree that transports her to a world full of strange characters like Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning), and more. Her adventures there not only broaden the world she thought she knew, but may be the key to helping her ailing family.
Directed by Ben Gregor and written by Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2, Wonka), the film is a pleasant enough lark, but it fails to fully capture the imagination. The five-member family has a lot going on, from an initially-mute Fran to a domestic situation that raises more questions than it answers. The film tries to incorporate an anti-technology message through Tim’s hatred of a smart refrigerator (voiced by Judi Dench!) and the kids' addictions to devices, but it’s quickly shed in favor of other options.
Once Fran makes it to the Magic Faraway Tree, there’s a nice shift in the storytelling, but it’s unclear what the ultimate goal is. It’s a good idea to have Fran, the youngest of the children, convince her older, more cynical siblings about the virtues of the magic world, but the conflict in the real world doesn’t seem to rise to the level needed for the escape the tree provides.
There also seems to be a missing link in the storytelling for viewers to understand the importance of the fantastical characters. The visuals of seeing Moonface and his crescent moon-shaped hair, a man with a suit full of banging pots, and more are fun for a while, but not enough to carry the whole film. A last-minute revelation feels like it was something that should have been disclosed much earlier to help strengthen the emotions of the story.
A two-time Oscar nominee, Garfield is making his first foray into family movies (if you don’t count playing Spider-Man), and while he does a good job, he doesn’t make the best fit for the semi-goofy role. The same goes for the Emmy-winning Foy, who isn’t given much of anything to do. The movie puts the story on the shoulders of the three child actors, and while each of them acquit themselves well, none of them are so outstanding as to be noteworthy.
With nearly 90-year-old source material, The Magic Faraway Tree needed to be something truly special to stand out in the 21st century movie world. Unfortunately, it features a mostly forgettable story that features some fun visuals, a couple of cute kids, and not much else.
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The Magic Faraway Tree is now playing in theaters.
