On April 17, the small town of West, Texas, was forever altered when a fertilizer plant exploded, killing more than a dozen and injuring so many more. Not surprisingly, however, through this tragedy we witnessed the powerful way in which a community — a country, really — unites to support those in need through emergency services, volunteer work and financial help.
Just 11 days after the tragedy, the citizens of Dallas descended on Annette Strauss Square to support their neighbors to the south at the Texans for West benefit concert. Hundreds of music enthusiasts sprawled out on the lawn at the AT&T Performing Arts Center to catch Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights, Toadies lead singer Vaden Todd Lewis, The O's, Somebody's Darling and Goodnight Ned — all of whom donated their time.
Credit goes to speedy event planners Matt Tobin, of Goodfriend Beer Garden & Burger House; Gavin Mulloy, of Granada Theater; Becki Howard,of AT&T Performing Arts Center; and major cash sponsor Regions Bank. The organizers also partnered with Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) to create the Texans for West Fund. Concert proceeds will be deposited with CFT, which will distribute the money among nonprofits whose missions are to provide basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter and counseling services for those affected by the West disaster.
Spotted in the crowd of charitable concertgoers: Maxwell Smith, Nathan Yates, Katy Simmons, Sarah Hipp, Jeff Fryman, Billy Thomas, Zane Aveton, Rani Monson, Stephanie Bradshaw, Brandi Farris and Oliver Smith.
Local musicians donated their time for the concert benefiting those in West, Texas.
Photo by William Neal for WJNPHOTO
Local musicians donated their time for the concert benefiting those in West, Texas.
Becoming a star in Hollywood and maintaining that stardom are two very difficult things to achieve, but Glen Powell has been adept at doing so over the past few years. A key supporting role in Top Gun: Maverick led to lead parts in films like Hit Man, Anyone But You, Twisters, and The Running Man. Powell is looking to keep his star power shining in the new dark comedy/thriller, How to Make a Killing.
He plays Beckett, an outcast member of the ultra-wealthy Redfellow clan. Struggling to get by in a menial job in New York City while still living in New Jersey, Beckett’s only smidgen of hope is that he remains an heir to the vast Redfellow fortune. The only trick? Every other remaining family member must die before he’ll see a dime of that money. When even that menial job goes away, Beckett indulges the fantasy of bumping off his familial competition.
Among those standing in his way are cousins Taylor (Raff Law), a finance bro, Noah (Zach Woods), a pretentious artist, and Steven (Topher Grace), a celebrity pastor; Uncle Warren (Bill Camp) and Aunt Cassandra (Bianca Amato); and grandfather Whitelaw (Ed Harris). Complicating matters, however, are an old childhood friend, Julia (Margaret Qualley), who starts asking more of Beckett than he can give; and new flame Ruth (Jessica Henwick), who happens to be dating Noah when he meets her.
Written and directed by John Patton Ford (Emily the Criminal), the film is a tale of two halves. Narrated by Beckett in the form of telling his story to a prison chaplain, the story plays with audience expectations on multiple occasions. As Beckett ramps up to detailing exactly how he got started down the road toward being a serial killer, the film has a fun-if-macabre vibe.
Under normal circumstances Beckett would be someone to despise, but since he’s an underprivileged person who’s taking aim at people who (mostly) don’t seem to appreciate their good luck, it feels okay to cheer for him. This follows a recent trend in “eat the rich” films, one that’s been influenced by a turn against real-life billionaires. Ford plays heavily into the theme and it works for a good portion of the film.
However, things get a little murky in the second half of the movie. A few of the planned killings get less attention than others, making their - pardon the pun - execution less interesting/fun than the others. Also, Ford does a poor job of indicating just how much weight should be put on Beckett’s relationship with Julia, someone with whom he only has occasional interactions for the bulk of the film.
It’s difficult to know the exact right way to showcase Powell, but this film doesn’t seem to be the best fit. Whether it’s the odd hairstyle/wig he’s given, or the varying degrees of confidence his character shows, his performance is up and down. Qualley’s acting style is over-the-top, and she needed to dial it down in this particular role. Henwick and Camp are the grounding forces in the film, keeping the story somewhat tethered to reality while almost everyone else makes a meal of their scenes.
How to Make a Killing is serviceable entertainment that gives viewers a decent number of laughs and thrills. But Ford can’t find a way to make the story work all the way through, and a so-so performance by Powell keeps the film from rising above its mediocre station.
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How to Make a Killing opens in theaters on February 20.
