Weekend Event Planner

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

The last weekend in the short month of February brings a little of everything in and around the Dallas area. The event choices include a classic piece of classical music, an appearance by a legendary band, a harbinger of spring, a celebration of the best of movies, and a party with a top local singer.

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, February 23

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Also Sprach Zarathustra
Jakub Hrůša conducts the Dallas Symphony Orchestra as part of its Texas Instruments Classical Series. Featuring violinist Vilde Frang, selections for the concert at Meyerson Symphony Center include the DSO premiere of Martinu's The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca, Britten's Violin Concerto, and Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra. There are four performances through Sunday.

Bon Jovi in concert
There are very few bands that can maintain a certain level of popularity for more than 10 years, much less 30, but Bon Jovi is in that rare group. Since their breakout album in 1986, Slippery When Wet, each of their albums has reached the top 10, including their latest, 2016's This House is Not for Sale, which debuted at No. 1. They play at American Airlines Center.

Dan Savage: Savage Love Live
Dan Savage is media pundit, gay and equal rights activist, author, writer, podcaster, and syndicated columnist of Savage Love. He brings his unique perspective to The Kessler for a live advice show, answering questions about love, sex, and more. The event is presented by WordSpace, a nonprofit literary events organization that produces over 50 interdisciplinary programs a year citywide.

Friday, February 24

Snap Judgment Live!
Snap Judgment, which has appeared on NPR stations for the past five years, delivers a raw, intimate, musical brand of narrative, daring audiences to see the world through the eyes of another. Snap Judgment Live!, taking place at the Majestic Theatre, features some of the world’s finest storytellers on stage, backed by Snap Judgment band.

Eisemann Center presents A Carlin Home Companion: Growing Up with George
In her solo show, A Carlin Home Companion: Growing Up with George, Kelly Carlin reveals what it takes to go from living in the shadow of her father, iconoclastic comedian George Carlin, to standing in the light. During the show, Carlin weaves together amusing and poignant family stories with classic video footage of her father’s career and family memorabilia. Performances take place both Friday and Saturday at Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts in Richardson.

Saturday, February 25

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden presents "Dallas Blooms: Flower Power"
You know that spring is around the corner when Dallas Arboretum brings out its annual Dallas Blooms exhibit. This year's is dubbed Flower Power and features more than 500,000 spring blooming bulbs, florally decorated topiary VW vehicles, and much more. The exhibit is on display through April 9.

Arts & Letters Live: Jessi Klein
Jessi Klein is the Emmy and Peabody award-winning head writer and executive producer of the critically acclaimed Inside Amy Schumer. In her new book, You’ll Grow Out of It, Klein compiles a perceptive collection of confessional essays that offer readers a relatable glimpse into exactly what it means to be a woman in today’s world. Klein will talk about the book at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Sunday, February 26

Oak Cliff Film Festival presents Oscars Party
Any film fan worth his or her salt will be tuning into the Oscars on Sunday night, and you can join a large group of them at this annual Oak Cliff Film Festival event at Texas Theatre. The free watch party features an Oscars pool with prizes, including VIP badges to the 2017 Oak Cliff Film Festival, a special live-sketch performance by House Party Theatre, themed drinks, and a photo booth.

Erykah Badu presents Sauceizm, Another Badu Birthday Bounce
When it comes to celebrating birthdays, few people do it better than Dallas' own Erykah Badu. The unique singer-songwriter-activist celebrates another voyage around the sun with a special birthday concert featuring her band, The Cannabinoids, at the Bomb Factory. Expect the unexpected, along with some great music.

Bon Jovi plays at American Airlines Center on February 23.

Photo by Norman Jean Roy

Bon Jovi plays at American Airlines Center on February 23.

Movie Review

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is better than the first but not by much

Blumhouse

Five Nights at Freddy's 2

Blumhouse Productions first made their name with the Paranormal Activity series, establishing themselves as a leader in the horror genre thanks to their relatively cheap yet effective movies. In recent years, they’ve added on “soft” horror films likeM3GAN and Five Nights at Freddy’s to draw in a younger audience, with both films becoming so successful that each was quickly given a sequel.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 finds Mike (Josh Hutcherson) and his sister Abby (Piper Rubio) still recovering from the events of the first film, with Abby particularly missing her “friends.” Those friends just so happen to be the souls of murdered children who inhabit animatronic characters at the long-defunct Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, children who were abducted and killed by William Afton (Matthew Lillard).

A new threat emerges at another Freddy Fazbear’s location in the form of Charlotte, another murdered child who inhabits a creepy large marionette. Mike, distracted by a possible romance with Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), fails to keep track of Abby, who makes her way to the old pizzeria and inadvertently unleashes Charlotte and her minions on the surrounding town.

Directed by Emma Tammi and written by Scott Cawthon (who also created the video game on which the series is based), the film tries to mix together goofy elements with intense scenes. One particular sequence, in which the security guard for Freddy Fazbear’s lets a group of ghost hunters onto the property, toes the line between soft and hard horror. That and a few others show the potential that the filmmakers had if they had stuck to their guns.

Unfortunately, more often than not they either soft-pedal things that would normally be horrific, or can’t figure out how to properly stage scenes. The sight of animatronic robots wreaking havoc is one that is simultaneously frightening and laughable, and the filmmakers never seem to find the right balance in tone. Every step in the direction of making a truly scary horror film is undercut by another in which the robots fail to live up to their promise.

It doesn’t help that Cawthon gives the cast some extremely wooden dialogue, lines that none of the actors can elevate. What may work in a video game format comes off as stilted when said by actors in a live-action film. The story also loses momentum quickly after the first half hour or so, with Cawthon seemingly content to just have characters move from place to place with no sense of connection between any of the scenes.

Hutcherson (The Hunger Games series), after being the true lead of the first film, is given very little to do in this film, and his effort is equal to his character’s arc. The same goes for Lail, whose character seems to be shoehorned into the story. Rubio is called upon to carry the load for a lot of the movie, and the teenager is not quite up to the task. A brief appearance by Skeet Ulrich seems to be a blatant appeal to Scream fans, but he and Lillard only underscore how limited this film is compared to that franchise.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is better than the first film, but not by much. The filmmakers do a decent job of making the new marionette character into a great villain, but they fail to capitalize on its inherent creepiness. Instead, they fall back on less effective elements, ensuring that the film will be forgettable for anyone other than hardcore Freddy fans.

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Five Nights at Freddy's 2 opens in theaters on December 5.

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