• Home
  • popular
  • Events
  • Submit New Event
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • News
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Home + Design
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • Innovation
  • Sports
  • Charity Guide
  • children
  • education
  • health
  • veterans
  • SOCIAL SERVICES
  • ARTS + CULTURE
  • animals
  • lgbtq
  • New Charity
  • Series
  • Delivery Limited
  • DTX Giveaway 2012
  • DTX Ski Magic
  • dtx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Your Home in the Sky
  • DTX Best of 2013
  • DTX Trailblazers
  • Tastemakers Dallas 2017
  • Healthy Perspectives
  • Neighborhood Eats 2015
  • The Art of Making Whiskey
  • DTX International Film Festival
  • DTX Tatum Brown
  • Tastemaker Awards 2016 Dallas
  • DTX McCurley 2014
  • DTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • DTX Beyond presents Party Perfect
  • DTX Texas Health Resources
  • DART 2018
  • Alexan Central
  • State Fair 2018
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Zatar
  • CityLine
  • Vision Veritas
  • Okay to Say
  • Hearts on the Trinity
  • DFW Auto Show 2015
  • Northpark 50
  • Anteks Curated
  • Red Bull Cliff Diving
  • Maggie Louise Confections Dallas
  • Gaia
  • Red Bull Global Rally Cross
  • NorthPark Holiday 2015
  • Ethan's View Dallas
  • DTX City Centre 2013
  • Galleria Dallas
  • Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Homes in Dallas Texas
  • DTX Island Time
  • Simpson Property Group SkyHouse
  • DIFFA
  • Lotus Shop
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Dallas
  • Clothes Circuit
  • DTX Tastemakers 2014
  • Elite Dental
  • Elan City Lights
  • Dallas Charity Guide
  • DTX Music Scene 2013
  • One Arts Party at the Plaza
  • J.R. Ewing
  • AMLI Design District Vibrant Living
  • Crest at Oak Park
  • Braun Enterprises Dallas
  • NorthPark
  • Victory Park
  • DTX Common Desk
  • DTX Osborne Advisors
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • DFW Showcase Tour of Homes
  • DTX Neighborhood Eats
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • DTX Auto Awards
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2017
  • Nasher Store
  • Guardian of The Glenlivet
  • Zyn22
  • Dallas Rx
  • Yellow Rose Gala
  • Opendoor
  • DTX Sun and Ski
  • Crow Collection
  • DTX Tastes of the Season
  • Skye of Turtle Creek Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival
  • DTX Charity Challenge
  • DTX Culture Motive
  • DTX Good Eats 2012
  • DTX_15Winks
  • St. Bernard Sports
  • Jose
  • DTX SMU 2014
  • DTX Up to Speed
  • st bernard
  • Ardan West Village
  • DTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Taste the Difference
  • Parktoberfest 2016
  • Bob's Steak and Chop House
  • DTX Smart Luxury
  • DTX Earth Day
  • DTX_Gaylord_Promoted_Series
  • IIDA Lavish
  • Huffhines Art Trails 2017
  • Red Bull Flying Bach Dallas
  • Y+A Real Estate
  • Beauty Basics
  • DTX Pet of the Week
  • Long Cove
  • Charity Challenge 2014
  • Legacy West
  • Wildflower
  • Stillwater Capital
  • Tulum
  • DTX Texas Traveler
  • Dallas DART
  • Soldiers' Angels
  • Alexan Riveredge
  • Ebby Halliday Realtors
  • Zephyr Gin
  • Sixty Five Hundred Scene
  • Christy Berry
  • Entertainment Destination
  • Dallas Art Fair 2015
  • St. Bernard Sports Duck Head
  • Jameson DTX
  • Alara Uptown Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival fall 2017
  • DTX Tastemakers 2015
  • Cottonwood Arts Festival
  • The Taylor
  • Decks in the Park
  • Alexan Henderson
  • Gallery at Turtle Creek
  • Omni Hotel DTX
  • Red on the Runway
  • Whole Foods Dallas 2018
  • Artizone Essential Eats
  • Galleria Dallas Runway Revue
  • State Fair 2016 Promoted
  • Trigger's Toys Ultimate Cocktail Experience
  • Dean's Texas Cuisine
  • Real Weddings Dallas
  • Real Housewives of Dallas
  • Jan Barboglio
  • Wildflower Arts and Music Festival
  • Hearts for Hounds
  • Okay to Say Dallas
  • Indochino Dallas
  • Old Forester Dallas
  • Dallas Apartment Locators
  • Dallas Summer Musicals
  • PSW Real Estate Dallas
  • Paintzen
  • DTX Dave Perry-Miller
  • DTX Reliant
  • Get in the Spirit
  • Bachendorf's
  • Holiday Wonder
  • Village on the Parkway
  • City Lifestyle
  • opportunity knox villa-o restaurant
  • Nasher Summer Sale
  • Simpson Property Group
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2017 Dallas
  • Carlisle & Vine
  • DTX New Beginnings
  • Get in the Game
  • Red Bull Air Race
  • Dallas DanceFest
  • 2015 Dallas Stylemaker
  • Youth With Faces
  • Energy Ogre
  • DTX Renewable You
  • Galleria Dallas Decadence
  • Bella MD
  • Tractorbeam
  • Young Texans Against Cancer
  • Fresh Start Dallas
  • Dallas Farmers Market
  • Soldier's Angels Dallas
  • Shipt
  • Elite Dental
  • Texas Restaurant Association 2017
  • State Fair 2017
  • Scottish Rite
  • Brooklyn Brewery
  • DTX_Stylemakers
  • Alexan Crossings
  • Ascent Victory Park
  • Top Texans Under 30 Dallas
  • Discover Downtown Dallas
  • San Luis Resort Dallas
  • Greystar The Collection
  • FIG Finale
  • Greystar M Line Tower
  • Lincoln Motor Company
  • The Shelby
  • Jonathan Goldwater Events
  • Windrose Tower
  • Gift Guide 2016
  • State Fair of Texas 2016
  • Choctaw Dallas
  • TodayTix Dallas promoted
  • Whole Foods
  • Unbranded 2014
  • Frisco Square
  • Unbranded 2016
  • Circuit of the Americas 2018
  • The Katy
  • Snap Kitchen
  • Partners Card
  • Omni Hotels Dallas
  • Landmark on Lovers
  • Harwood Herd
  • Galveston.com Dallas
  • Holiday Happenings Dallas 2018
  • TenantBase
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2018
  • Hawkins-Welwood Homes
  • The Inner Circle Dallas
  • Eating in Season Dallas
  • ATTPAC Behind the Curtain
  • TodayTix Dallas
  • The Alexan
  • Toyota Music Factory
  • Nosh Box Eatery
  • Wildflower 2018
  • Society Style Dallas 2018
  • Texas Scottish Rite Hospital 2018
  • 5 Mockingbird
  • 4110 Fairmount
  • Visit Taos
  • Allegro Addison
  • Dallas Tastemakers 2018
  • The Village apartments
  • City of Burleson Dallas

    Movie Review

    Gifted displays a lot of heart and some intelligence

    Alex Bentley
    Apr 6, 2017 | 3:33 pm
    Gifted displays a lot of heart and some intelligence
    play icon

    Displaying human intelligence in a movie can be a tricky proposition. You want to show enough to demonstrate how the particular person thinks on a higher plain than the average human, but not so much that his or her intellect becomes so daunting as to be incomprehensible.

    That’s the challenge in Gifted, in which 7-year-old Mary (McKenna Grace) has a genius-level aptitude toward mathematics, something immediately recognized by her first-grade teacher, Bonnie (Jenny Slate). Mary's uncle, Frank (Chris Evans), who has had custody of Mary since the death of her mother, understands her innate skills but is determined she have as normal a childhood as possible, resisting the temptation to put her in a school for the gifted.

    When Mary’s grandmother, Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan), who has been all but absent from Mary’s life, catches wind of Frank’s plan, she swoops in to start a custody battle. As both she and Mary’s mother were also extremely adept at mathematics, Evelyn wants to ensure Mary’s abilities don’t go to waste, even if it means uprooting her from the only life she’s ever known.

    The film, directed by Marc Webb and written by Tom Flynn, relies heavily on the natural cuteness of Grace to sell Mary’s story. Unlike some other child actors, Grace actually acts like your typical child, even when she’s coming up with answers to mathematical equations that boggle the mind. Her toothless grin and blonde hair go a long way toward making her relatable.

    The family dynamic in the film is also strong, if sometimes baffling. Frank’s background is kept hazy for much of the film, but even when he makes decisions that seem counterintuitive, there’s no denying the love he feels for Mary, nor that he believes he’s making those decisions for the right reasons. Frank’s earnestness also sells a budding relationship with Bonnie and friendship with his neighbor, Roberta (Octavia Spencer).

    Still, there are elements that could have been improved. When Frank’s history is fully revealed, it only brings up more questions instead of clarity — questions that are then never sufficiently answered. The result of the custody battle also makes things cloudy, putting a somewhat sinister tone on the film for a short spell.

    It’s nice to see Evans in a non-Captain America role, even if he’s not at his most dynamic. He and Grace balance each other nicely, and there’s never a moment where their relationship is unbelievable. Slate and Duncan do well in their roles, but Spencer’s part is somewhat embarrassing, through no fault of hers. It’s one that exists seemingly to shoehorn in some diversity, and it stands out like a sore thumb every time she appears.

    The conclusions that Gifted comes to undercut the story to a degree, but the journey that the film goes on is an affecting one. You may not be any smarter after watching the movie, but you won’t be any dumber for the experience, either.

    McKenna Grace in Gifted.

    McKenna Grace in Gifted
      
    Photo by Wilson Webb
    McKenna Grace in Gifted.
    reviewsmovies
    news/entertainment

    most read posts

    Dallas chef nominated for James Beard award parts ways with restaurant

    Dallas restaurants heat up new summer menus in this roundup of news

    Dallas Caramel Company founder Rain McDermott dies at 52

    This Week's Hot Headlines

    Exotic ice cream shop sweetens this week's most popular Dallas stories

    CultureMap Staff
    Jun 21, 2025 | 10:00 am
    Kwality Ice Cream
    Kwality
    Kwality Ice Cream

    Editor's note: The top Dallas news of the week is all about food, from innovative Indian concepts to a high-profile steakhouse. Catch up on our most popular stories below, then visit our event planner for the best things to do in Dallas this weekend.

    1. Kwality Ice Cream shop to bring creamy exotic desserts to Frisco. An ice cream chain with an Indian flair is dipping into Dallas-Fort Worth. Called Kwality Ice Cream, it's a concept founded in New Jersey that specializes in traditional Indian ice cream and cold drinks, and it's opening a location in Frisco.

    2. High-profile Palladino's Steak & Seafood heads to Preston-Royal Dallas. A high-profile new steakhouse is coming to North Dallas. Palladino’s Steak & Seafood, an eponymous concept from Dallas restaurateur Joseph Palladino, will open at 5959 Royal Ln., in the former Spec's space.

    3. Veteran Dallas restaurant team to open innovative Indian to-go spot. A Dallas restaurant team versed in Indian food is opening an innovative new to-go spot. Called Elephant Indian Grill, it’s a to-go-only restaurant opening in the Park Cities, in the former Granny’s Cajun Cooking, where it’s set to launch in late June.

    4. Dallas chef nominated for James Beard award parts ways with restaurant. Dallas chef RJ Yoakum, who has earned scads of acclaim in Dallas in his role as executive chef at Georgie, the high-profile restaurant in the Knox Street district, is no longer its executive chef.

    5. Savvy team to open expansive Indian restaurant Silk Road in Coppell. An Indian restaurant from a team of hospitality veterans is coming to Coppell. Called Silk Road Indian Cuisine and Bar, it will open soon at 160 W Sandy Lake Rd. in the former JC’s Burger Bar space, where it will feature flavors from northern and southern India.

    openingssteakhousechefsindian foodfriscocoppelltop stories
    news/entertainment

    most read posts

    Dallas chef nominated for James Beard award parts ways with restaurant

    Dallas restaurants heat up new summer menus in this roundup of news

    Dallas Caramel Company founder Rain McDermott dies at 52

    Loading...