This Week's Hot Headlines

Coronavirus crisis dominates this week's 5 most-read stories in Dallas

Editor's note: A lot happened this week, and the news surrounding the coronavirus pandemic changed rapidly each day in Dallas. Here's your chance to get caught up. Read on for the week's most popular headlines.

1. Texas governor finally issues statewide shutdown of restaurants and bars. After avoiding the inevitable for more than a week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott finally shut down dining in restaurants and bars across the state of Texas, in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Abbott declared a public health disaster, also imposing statewide closures of schools, gyms, nursing homes, and retirement centers.

2. Dallas shuts down bars, gyms, theaters, to curb coronavirus spread. Going out for a cocktail is off the table: Days before the Texas governor's declaration, the city of Dallas closed all bars, as well as gyms, health clubs, and other venues that accommodate large groups.

3. These Dallas restaurants forced to close temporarily due to coronavirus. The coronavirus has had a horrid effect on every part of our lives, but perhaps the most horrifying impact has been felt by the food and beverage world, with the sudden and abrupt shutdown of an entire industry. Here are some of the Dallas restaurants that have already closed.

4. Kick COVID-19 to the curb by ordering takeout from these Dallas restaurants. Many Dallas restaurants offer food to-go, which you can pick up at the restaurant. Some are doing curbside delivery, where you pull up and they bring your order to your car. And many are using a third-party app, such as Uber Eats. Here's a list of restaurants by neighborhood, with more to come.

5. Dallas restaurants are doing good deeds even during COVID-19 crisis. Dallas' food and beverage industry is not only supremely hospitable, it's also consistently generous, always ready to rally 'round with charitable acts of kindness. That's even true during these cataclysmic times of the coronavirus, when thousands of people have suddenly lost their jobs. Here are some initiatives and random acts of kindness that have already surfaced in the DFW restaurant world.

No big gatherings like this for a while.

Photo courtesy of VisitDallas

No big gatherings like this for a while.

Movie Review

The Magic Faraway Tree is a whimsical family lark that fails to take root

Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

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.

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