Weekend Event Planner

These are the 6 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

After a three-month break, there are enough in-person events in and around Dallas to put together an honest-to-goodness roundup. Of course, the coronavirus pandemic will require adjustments, with most of the events being enjoyed from cars, but at least the opportunity is available to get out and about once again — don't forget your mask.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. If you're looking for something do that doesn't involve leaving the house, you can also find virtual events like Theatre Three's production of The Immigrant on the calendar.

Thursday, June 25

USA Film Festival
The first big in-person event in Dallas since events were forced to cancel or postpone, the 50th annual USA Film Festival will feature 25 separate free programs, including narrative features, documentary features, short film blocks, retrospective screenings, and more. Notable screenings will include Out Stealing Horses starring Stellan Skarsgård and Tesla starring Ethan Hawke as electrical pioneer Nikola Tesla. Screenings will take place through Sunday at Angelika Film Center Dallas, although you must call the festival to reserve tickets in advance.

Friday, June 26

Jurassic Quest Drive-Thru
Jurassic Quest, the dinosaur exhibit that features ultra-realistic, life-size animatronic dinosaurs, is adapting to the new world we live in to offer a drive-thru experience in Dallas. Visitors will be able to go on a quest with an online audio tour that will take them throughout the exhibit, where they will encounter some of the largest dinosaurs to ever roam the earth. The event will take place this weekend and July 1-5 outside of the Tower Building at Fair Park.

Prism Movement Theater presents Everything Will Be Fine
Prism Movement Theater, in collaboration with the Latino Cultural Center, will present Everything Will Be Fine, an innovative drive-in dance-theater experience in the parking lot at Latino Cultural Center. The performance is about a woman learning how to deal with a new world and her well-meaning (if slightly clueless) friends after experiencing an unthinkable loss. Packed into 45 minutes, Everything Will Be Fine is designed to be experienced safely in the current pandemic. The show will play June 26 and 27, and July 10 and 11.

Cinema Pop-Ups
Cinema Pop-Ups is an event designed to give the feel of the classic drive-in movie theater while still adhering to the safety protocols necessary during this time. Featuring films like Edge of Tomorrow, Ready Player One, and Shazam!, the series will be in the parking lots of Town East Mall in Mesquite (June 26-July 12) and The Star in Frisco (June 28-July 12). Cars will be spaced at least 8 feet apart, and visitors will have the ability to stream audio to their own personal mobile devices. Part of that series, but wholly its own thing will be...

Saturday, June 27

A New Kind Of Concert: Garth Brooks
Country star Garth Brooks is putting on a show without ever having to leave his home. Brooks will broadcast a special live concert filmed exclusively for this event, which will be the largest ever one-night show to play at outdoor theaters. Taking place at both The Star in Frisco and Town East Mall in Mesquite, tickets are good for standard passenger cars or trucks, with up to six people per vehicle; RVs and limousines will not be permitted. Parking will be on a first-come, first-serve basis, and, like all of Brooks' concerts, the show is expected to be full.

Sunday, June 28

Ro2 Art Gallery presents "My Corona" opening reception
Ro2 Art will present "My Corona," a group exhibition that examines how society responds to an unprecedented crisis. "My Corona" delves into the disruption of everyday life, as well as the underlying societal issues that have been brought to the forefront since millions of people in isolation, many unemployed, became increasingly tuned-in to the world around them. The opening reception will have limited attendance (via Eventbrite, 10 visitors per timeslot), and masks will be required for entry. The show will be available for view by appointment only through July 31.

Ro2 Art Gallery presents "My Corona" opening reception on June 28.

Photo courtesy of Dee Shapiro

Ro2 Art Gallery presents "My Corona" opening reception on June 28.

movies event-planner concerts theater galleries

Movie Review

Ryan Gosling tries to save the universe in Project Hail Mary

Photo by Jonathan Olley

Ryan Gosling in Project Hail Mary

The reasons behind the success of 2015’s The Martian, which earned over $630 million worldwide and got nominated for seven Oscars, had as much to do with the novel written by Andy Weir as it did with star Matt Damon and director Ridley Scott. Weir’s commitment to making an entertaining story that was also scientifically accurate proved to be easy to translate into a blockbuster movie.

The same is true for Weir’s 2021 novel, Project Hail Mary, now a film starring Ryan Gosling. Gosling plays Dr. Ryland Grace, who opens the film waking up from an induced coma, alone on an interstellar spaceship named the Hail Mary. As his foggy mind clears, he - and the audience - learn that he was recruited to help an initiative to save the world after it’s discovered that a mysterious phenomenon is causing the sun to cool down, threatening all life on Earth.

The film toggles back and forth between Grace’s time on the ship and his whirlwind journey of scientific discovery on Earth, with revelations coming on both sides. On Earth, he mostly deals with Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller), the unflappable and unstoppable leader of the international coalition dedicated to solving the problem. And in space, orbiting the far-off star known as Tau Ceti, he encounters another being he names Rocky, a five-limbed creature that looks like a boulder which teams up with him to try to save both of their worlds.

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and written by Drew Goddard (who also wrote The Martian), the film melds multiple genres into an astonishingly great whole. It starts off as a mystery, morphs into science fiction, transitions into actual science, becomes a thriller, adds in plenty of drama, and - for good measure - features plenty of comedy along the way. Shifting tones like this film does is tricky for many filmmakers, but Lord and Miller prove to be masterful at knowing just how much of each to include before it becomes too much.

One of the biggest keys to the story is the fact that Grace is not a hero in the movie sense of the word. He’s very smart, but he’s also an everyman, teaching middle school science after being shunned from academia. The circumstances of how he ended up on the Hail Mary are doled out in pieces over the course of the film, but it’s clear from the start that Grace’s talents are not the ones found in your typical astronaut. Ironically, it’s him being forced to do heroic stuff that imbues him with an atypical type of bravery.

The relationship between Grace and Rocky is unique, and Rocky ends up being as endearing an alien that’s been featured in movies despite the fact that he has no face and speaks only in musical tones. The film does a very effective job of putting the audience in Grace’s shoes, having to figure out ways to communicate with Rocky at the same time as he’s trying to figure out how to complete a mission he wasn’t trained to do.

Gosling is the ideal actor to portray a man like Grace. Essentially alone for much of the film, his innate charm and humorous delivery keep the film from feeling like an extended monologue. The flashback scenes to his time on Earth feature solid performances from people like Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), Lionel Boyce (The Bear), and more, who fill in the pieces of the story without feeling out of place.

Project Hail Mary is a crowd-pleaser in all the right ways, delivering plenty of thrilling action and funny moments while also digging deep into science nerd elements. With a movie star like Gosling in the lead and successful filmmakers like Lord, Miller, and Goddard behind the scenes, the film makes an early case for being one of best of the year.

---

Project Hail Mary opens in theaters on March 20.

movies film

Weekend Event Planner

These are the 6 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

Ro2 Art Gallery presents "My Corona" opening reception on June 28.

Movie Review

Ryan Gosling tries to save the universe in Project Hail Mary

Japanese restaurant chain with sizzling hot plates to debut in Frisco

The drinks are unique at new Flower Mound shop Bruvana Coffee

28 Dallas billionaires make new Forbes list of world's richest people