Weekend Event Planner

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

Whether you love it or hate it, it'll be impossible to ignore WWE's annual WrestleMania this weekend, as it'll take over multiple venues around Dallas-Fort Worth in a manner similar to the Super Bowl or college championship games. If that's not your cup of tea, rest assured we have many other choices for you.

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, March 31

WrestleMania Axxess
Leading up to the main event on Sunday, fans can indulge in all things WWE courtesy of WrestleMania Axxess at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Thursday through Sunday, fans will have unprecedented access to meet their favorite WWE Superstars, Divas, and Legends through a host of interactive fan experiences, including autograph signings and live NXT matches.

Sarah Jaffe in concert with Sam Lao
The appearance of Sarah Jaffe at the Granada Theater on Thursday is a double-edged sword. On the plus side, it's yet another chance to see this amazing musician in an intimate setting as she tours in support of her 2015 EP, Visions. On the other side, after having worked with the likes of Norah Jones, Eminem, and Pixar, we were sure Jaffe would have been given more opportunities to move onwards and upwards. The rest of the world's loss is Dallas' gain.

Friday, April 1

2016 Deep Ellum Arts Festival
The Deep Ellum Arts Festival, celebrating its 22nd anniversary, is expanding by shifting three blocks east to now begin at Malcolm X Blvd and end at Exposition Hall, outside the iconic Sons of Hermann Hall, which will also serve at the Festival’s new headquarters. There will be more than 200 juried fine artists showcasing their work and more than 100 musical performances on multiple indoor and outdoor stages over the course of three days.

Nasher Prize Dialogues featuring Doris Salcedo
The news that artist Doris Salcedo had won the inaugural Nasher Prize came months ago, but with Nasher Sculpture Center holding a gala dinner in her honor on Saturday, there will also be a couple of related events. The Dialogues event at Booker T. Washington High School will feature Salcedo talking about her artistic philosophy and practice, while Nasher Prize Community Day on Sunday will allow the public to view her work and experience other activities related to the prize.

Uptown Players presents End of the Rainbow
Uptown Players begins its 2016 season with the regional premiere of the 2012 Tony Award-nominated musical, End of the Rainbow. The production is a savagely funny drama, set during Judy Garland's "comeback" concerts in December of 1968. The show features an ensemble of Garland hits and is infused with the glamour and the melancholy of stardom. It will play at Kalita Humphreys Theater through April 17.

Saturday, April 2

National Videogame Museum Opening Day
When we profiled the men behind the National Videogame Museum in Frisco back in November, it seemed that museum's opening was imminent. It took a little bit longer than they had hoped, but the museum will officially open its doors on Saturday, allowing the public to see its vast collection of more than 100,000 videogame consoles, games, and artifacts from the past and present.

WWE 2016 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
WrestleMania week continues with the WWE's annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at American Airlines Center. In a bid to branch out from hardcore wrestling fans, the WWE has gotten in the habit of honoring celebrity inductees like Pete Rose, Drew Carey, Mike Tyson, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. This year's celebrity inductee will be Snoop Dogg, and breast cancer survivor Joan Lunden will also receive the second annual Warrior Award.

Let’s Dance The Tour 2016
One of the biggest earworms of 2015 was Silentó's "Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae)," with the song and accompanying dance being the very definition of viral. If you still have it in your head, you'll want to attend this concert at South Side Ballroom, where Silentó will perform alongside other dance music singers such as iLOVEMemphis, DLOW, We Are Toonz, and 99 Percent.

Sunday, April 3

WWE WrestleMania 32
The ultimate event for wrestling fans, WWE WrestleMania 32 hopes to break an attendance record by taking over AT&T Stadium. All of WWE's biggest stars will be facing off in the preordained matches, including Triple H, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Shane McMahon, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, and more.

WWE heavyweight champion Triple H will be among the wrestling stars "fighting" at WrestleMania 32 at AT&T Stadium on April 3.

Photo courtesy of WWE

WWE heavyweight champion Triple H will be among the wrestling stars "fighting" at WrestleMania 32 at AT&T Stadium on April 3.

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Movie Review

Horror comedy film Y2K goes for nostalgia but maybe too soon

Photo courtesy of A24

Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, and Julian Dennison in Y2K.

Movies that rely on nostalgia can be successful if they’re timed right. Generally, 25-30 years seems about the right amount of time to try to take advantage of people’s fond feelings for a certain era, which is why movies/TV shows about the ‘80s have been prevalent for much of the 21st century, and ‘90s-set films started to pop up in the last 10 years.

Y2K, a horror comedy that plays on the fears of technological mayhem many people thought would happen at the turn of the century, is right on the cusp of that rule, taking place 24 years after its timeline. It centers on two teenage boys, Eli (Jaeden Martell) and Danny (Julian Dennison), who are opposite in demeanor but have an unshakeable bond. Eli likes a popular girl, Laura (Rachel Zegler), and Danny convinces him to crash a New Year’s Eve party where she’ll be.

As the clock strikes midnight and the year moves from 1999 to 2000, everything that uses an electrical current goes haywire, with many of them combining forces to attack the humans around them. Eli and Danny find themselves on the run with Laura, as well as two stoners, Ash (Lachlan Watson) and CJ (Daniel Zolghadri), with each of them trying to use their unique skillset to help defeat a growing robot army.

Directed by Kyle Mooney and written by Mooney and Evan Winter, the film lands some solid jokes about the era in its opening 20 minutes or so, whether it’s the extreme slowness of dial-up internet, the goofy user names from AOL Messenger, or the various high school cliques of the time. However, many of them seem to echo ones told in 1999’s American Pie, a weird kind of art-imitating-art moment instead of commenting on real life.

The jolt of the machines attacking partygoers seems to promise a fun-if-bloody romp, but Mooney and Winter don’t seem to know where to take the story. They establish the computer bona fides of Eli and Laura early on, but when it comes time for them to put their talents in action, it feels like two actors going through the motions instead of real people who know what they’re doing. Almost none of the characters are believable or entertaining, and the few that rise above are dispatched way too early.

And because the filmmakers don’t make you care about the main group, nothing they face is that interesting, either. The villainous robots are made up of a bunch of disparate parts, which would seem to offer the opportunity for funny sight gags. Mooney and his team fumble most of their chances, though, leaving that side of the story stuck in limbo where it’s not absurd enough to be hilarious or scary enough to really count as horror.

Martell, Dennison, and Zegler are each rising stars who have their individual charms, but only Dennison is able to make much of an impact. Zegler, who starred in West Side Story and will soon be Snow White, is especially misused. They try to shoehorn in a cameo by Limp Biskit lead singer Fred Durst, but his appearance makes little sense and adds almost nothing to the story.

Filmmakers who want to mine nostalgia, especially in a comedy, need to really commit to the bit instead of throwing in a few references and needle drops. Mooney, who’s making his directorial debut, demonstrates little feel for timing, and so most of the film is like a car spinning its wheels, going nowhere.

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Y2K opens in theaters on December 6.

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