Weekend Event Planner

These are the 13 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

The last weekend in June — seriously, the year is half gone already? — brings one of the busiest slates so far in 2016, with no fewer than 13 fun things to do over the course of the next four days. They include multiple concerts of all shapes and sizes, two new theater productions, a great way to beat the heat, and an early 4th of July celebration.

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, June 23

Decks in the Park Summer Kickoff
Decks in the Park is a free music festival series at Klyde Warren Park, showcasing a variety of local DJs and musicians. Among the performers at Thursday's event are Booty Fade; Blue, the Misfit; JT Donaldson; The Feels; Zander; DJ Souljah; Nick Van House; and Jeff Mitchell. Keep the party going after Decks in the Park with the after party at the Foundation Room.

NetWorks presents Disney's Beauty and the Beast
It's only been a couple of years since Disney's Beauty and the Beast last graced the stage at Winspear Opera House, but the tale as old as time never goes out of style. During this production, you can relive the story of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, a young prince trapped in a spell placed by an enchantress. It runs through Sunday.

Shakespeare Dallas presents Richard III
The second weekend of Shakespeare Dallas' Shakespeare in the Park gets down to business with an actual Shakespearean play, Richard III. The brutal drama tells the story of the rise of Richard III, who does everything in his power to remove all obstacles in his way to becoming king. The play will alternate with She Stoops to Conquer at Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre through July 23.

Friday, June 24

2016 Vans Warped Tour
The Vans Warped Tour is America’s longest running touring music festival of the summer, having been a showcase for both established and up-and-coming talent since 1995. This year's festival at Gexa Energy Pavilion features nearly 50 bands on five stages, including New Found Glory, Sleeping with Sirens, Motionless in White, and more.

Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs
Actor Alan Cumming is one of those rare performers who's as equally well-known for his work on stage as in movies, and on TV. Whether it's his Tony Award-winning role in Cabaret, playing a mutant in the X-Men series, or his supporting role in The Good Wife, he can do it all. He's showing off his voice in this special concert at Dallas City Performance Hall.

Texas Theatre and Alamo Drafthouse present John Carpenter: Live Retrospective
Director John Carpenter has been thrilling audiences with his work since the 1970s, including such classic movies as Escape from New York, The Thing, and They Live. But it's his role as composer that's going to be highlighted in this performance at Majestic Theatre, as he performs themes from his films, as well as several new compositions, including from his new album, Lost Themes II.

Dwight Yoakam in concert
Country star Dwight Yoakam was unstoppable in the late 1980s, opening his career with three straight No. 1 albums. He hasn't exactly been a slouch since then, with all but three of his 15 studio albums reaching the top 10 on the country charts. He comes back to Dallas to play at Annette Strauss Square in support of his 2015 album, Second Hand Heart.

Saturday, June 25

Slide the City
Everybody in Dallas is suffering through the current heat — and humidity — wave, so now is the perfect time for this record-setting water slide to return to offer a respite. Riders can speed on inner tubes through three city blocks along Sylvan Avenue and then enjoy a block party featuring food, music, local vendors, and street entertainers.

Market Street Allen USA Celebration 2016
The city of Allen is once again holding its Fourth of July party a week or so early, with this event at Celebration Park. Expect to find a kid zone, sports zone, food zone, military zone, and, of course, a grand fireworks finale. It also includes performances by Madi Davis, Reckless Kelly, and the Gin Blossoms.

6th Annual Jack FM Throwback Festival
North Texas’ ultimate tribute band festival is back in a big way for 2016, giving fans who can't see their favorite bands in concert the next best option. The festival at South Side Ballroom features 18 bands on three stages, including Back in Black (AC/DC tribute), Mysterious Ways (U2 tribute), and Rumours (Fleetwood Mac tribute), among others.

Reunion Lawn Party
The Reunion Lawn Party returns to the lawn of Reunion Tower, offering live music, food trucks, and lawn games. The first of three parties features performances by Ray Johnston Band and Beatles cover band Hard Night's Day. The Nodding Donkey is also back, serving frosty brews and wine, and there's a special light show on the Reunion Tower ball.

Night of the Proms 2016 featuring Michael Bolton, Wynonna Judd, Wang Chung, and Steve Walsh
Night of the Proms returns to Dallas with its one-of-a-kind classic-meets-pop concert. Taking place at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie, featured artists include Michael Bolton, Wynonna Judd, Wang Chung, and the former voice of Kansas, Steve Walsh. They are being backed by Il Novecento, crossover opera star Fernando Varela, a 24-voice choir, and a five-piece electric band.

Sunday, June 26

Love Ignites: Lighting the Path to Brighter Tomorrow
Celebrating the one-year anniversary of marriage equality, this event at Cathedral of Hope will also surely touch on the recent tragic events in Orlando. It includes music by Cathedral of Hope and Turtle Creek Chorale, along with speakers like attorney Neel Lane; Resource Center CEO Cece Cox; and Judge Tonya Parker, one of the first Dallas judges to marry same-sex couples.

Alan Cumming sings sappy songs at Dallas City Performance Hall on June 24.

Photo courtesy of AT&T Performing Arts Center

Alan Cumming sings sappy songs at Dallas City Performance Hall on June 24.

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Movie Review

Comedy all-stars Jack Black and Paul Rudd can't save Anaconda sequel

Photo by Matt Grace

Jack Black and Paul Rudd in Anaconda.

In Hollywood’s never-ending quest to take advantage of existing intellectual property, seemingly no older movie is off limits, even if the original was not well-regarded. That’s certainly the case with 1997’s Anaconda, which is best known for being a lesser entry on the filmography of Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez, as well as some horrendous accent work by Jon Voight.

The idea behind the new meta-sequel Anaconda is arguably a good one. Four friends — Doug (Jack Black), Griff (Paul Rudd), Claire (Thandiwe Newton), and Kenny (Steve Zahn) — who made homemade movies when they were teenagers decide to remake Anaconda on a shoestring budget. Egged on by Griff, an actor who can’t catch a break, the four of them pull together enough money to fly down to Brazil, hire a boat, and film a script written by Doug.

Naturally, almost nothing goes as planned in the Amazon, including losing their trained snake and running headlong into a criminal enterprise. Soon enough, everything else takes second place to the presence of a giant anaconda that is stalking them and anyone else who crosses its path.

Written and directed by Tom Gormican, with help from co-writer Kevin Etten, the film is designed to be an outrageous comedy peppered with laugh-out-loud moments that cover up the fact that there’s really no story. That would be all well and good … if anything the film had to offer was truly funny. Only a few scenes elicit any honest laughter, and so instead the audience is fed half-baked jokes, a story with no focus, and actors who ham it up to get any kind of reaction.

The biggest problem is that the meta-ness of the film goes too far. None of the core four characters possess any interesting traits, and their blandness is transferred over to the actors playing them. And so even as they face some harrowing situations or ones that could be funny, it’s difficult to care about anything they do since the filmmakers never make the basic effort of making the audience care about them.

It’s weird to say in a movie called Anaconda, but it becomes much too focused on the snake in the second half of the film. If the goal is to be a straight-up comedy, then everything up to and including the snake attacks should be serving that objective. But most of the time the attacks are either random or moments when the characters are already scared, and so any humor that could be mined all but disappears.

Black and Rudd are comedy all-stars who can typically be counted on to elevate even subpar material. That’s not the case here, as each only scores on a few occasions, with Black’s physicality being the funniest thing in the movie. Newton is not a good fit with this type of movie, and she isn’t done any favors by some seriously bad wigs. Zahn used to be the go-to guy for funny sidekicks, but he brings little to the table in this role.

Any attempt at rebooting/remaking an old piece of IP should make a concerted effort to differentiate itself from the original, and in that way, the new Anaconda succeeds. Unfortunately, that’s its only success, as the filmmakers can never find the right balance to turn it into the bawdy comedy they seemed to want.

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Anaconda is now playing in theaters.

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