Weekend Event Planner

These are the 11 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

There are some weeks where events in Dallas offer pure entertainment and little more. This is not one of those weeks, as multiple events will mark the second anniversary of the deaths of five police officers in a shooting in downtown Dallas. On a lighter side will be a trio of concerts, a semi-famous comedian, and the beginning and ending, respectively, of two big theater productions.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, July 5

Cry Havoc Theater Company presents Babel
Cry Havoc Theater Company has created a new documentary work that examines the second amendment right to keep and bear arms. The company has traveled locally and nationally, collecting interviews from voices on multiple sides of the gun ownership debate. Those interviews, along with the teens' reflections on them, will offer a glimpse into the emotionally charged, national conversation. Part of AT&T Performing Arts Center's Elevator Project, the production will play in Hamon Hall at Winspear Opera House through July 15.

Donny & Marie Osmond in concert
Brother and sister Donny & Marie Osmond have collectively recorded more than 70 albums, starred in their own television series, specials, documentaries and numerous other programs. They'll come to Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie as part of a tour will take fans on a journey through their hits, including One Bad Apple," "Paper Roses," "Love Me For A Reason," and "Crazy Horses."

Friday, July 6

2018 Vans Warped Tour
The Vans Warped Tour is the largest traveling music festival in the United States and includes a multitude of genres, including metal, hip hop, reggae, pop, and more. The tour will feature performances across six stages at Dos Equis Pavilion, including sets from Bowling for Soup, Reel Big Fish, Falling in Reverse, The Used, Kublai Kahn, Sharptooth, Hail the Sun, Unearth, and more.

Improv Arlington presents Donnell Rawlings
Donnell Rawlings is an overnight success a decade in the making. He appeared on Comedy Central’s award-winning and critically celebrated Chappelle’s Show as Ashy Larry, the '70s jheri-curled "Beautiful," and numerous other characters. He'll perform five stand-up comedy sets through Sunday at Improv Arlington.

Saturday, July 7

July 7 commemorative events
On the two-year anniversary of the Dallas police shootings, there will be multiple events commemorating the anniversary, including the Officer Down Motorcycle Ride at Dallas City Hall, a a 35-mile historic ride that raises funds to support officers and community building programs; and Fundraiser for the Dallas Five at Ferris Wheeler's, featuring barbecue and music to raise money for Brotherhood for the Fallen.

March for Our Lives presents Road to Change
Sticking with the theme of gun violence, March for Our Lives will present Road to Change, a panel discussion and engagement fair at Paul Quinn College. The moderated discussion will include students and alumni from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida; Manuel Oliver, father of slain MSD student Joaquin Oliver; and local students who have been affected by gun violence.

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents Broadway Series: Hairspray
AT&T Performing Arts Center and Dallas Theater Center are joining together to produce the Broadway musical, Hairspray. It’s 1962 in Baltimore, and Tracy Turnblad, has only one desire — to dance on the popular Corny Collins Show. When her dream comes true, Tracy is transformed from social outcast to sudden star. She must use her newfound power to dethrone the reigning Teen Queen, win the affections of heartthrob, Link Larkin, and integrate a TV network. The production will have a limited run at Winspear Opera House through July 15.

Dallas Summer Musicals presents The Lion King
If you haven't had a chance to see one of the best Broadway musicals of all time while it's still in town, this is your last chance. The Lion King, finishing with two performances on Saturday at the Music Hall at Fair Park, boasts the music you love and jaw-dropping technical wizardry that still astonishes 20 years after the musical debuted on the Great White Way.

Sunday, July 8

Fine Arts Chamber Players presents Basically Beethoven Festival
Every Sunday in July, Fine Arts Chamber Players will present another concert as part of the Basically Beethoven Festival, featuring Rising Star Recitals with young musicians followed by a showcase performance with professional musicians. This performance at Moody Performance Hall will feature a professional trio composed of Shauna Thompson, flute; Deborah Brooks, cello; and Shields-Collins Bray, piano.

Xscape in concert with Keyshia Cole
The all-female R&B trio Xscape only released three albums in the '90s, but they left a big impression thanks to hits like "Just Kickin' It," "Understanding," "Who Can I Run To?," and "The Arms of the One Who Loves You." They recently released their first new music in almost 20 years, and they'll play at Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie with support from fellow R&B star Keyshia Cole.

The AT&T Performing Arts Center/Dallas Theater Center co-production of Hairspray will play at Winspear Opera House, July 7-15.

AT&T Performing Arts Center and Dallas Theater Center present Hairspray

Photo by Paxton Maroney

The AT&T Performing Arts Center/Dallas Theater Center co-production of Hairspray will play at Winspear Opera House, July 7-15.

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Movie Review

Faces of Death returns with modern twist on cult horror film

Photo courtesy of of IFC Films

Dacre Montgomery in Faces of Death.

True horror fans will likely be familiar with the 1978 cult film Faces of Death, which purported to be a documentary showing real-life killings in gory detail. It didn’t, of course, but that didn’t stop rumors from continuing to spread for decades. Now, almost 50 years and multiple sequels later, comes a new version of Faces of Death, an actual movie that pays homage to the original in interesting ways.

Margot (Barbie Ferreira) works at a YouTube-like company called Kino as a content moderator, flagging videos that violate the company’s policies. This means her job often involves seeing some truly despicable things from all manner of depraved people. One day, though, she comes across a video that seems a little too real, and after seeing more similar videos, she starts to believe they’re genuine murders.

Going against her company NDA, she starts to investigate the videos on her own, which puts her on the radar of Arthur (Dacre Montgomery), who is actually kidnapping people and killing them on camera through methods seen in the original Faces of Death film. It’s not long before Arthur tracks her down, with a plan to make her one of his next victims.

Written and directed by Daniel Goldhaber (How to Blow Up a Pipeline) and co-written by Isa Mazzei, the film is not so much scary as it is creepy, with the occasional gross-out sequence. The idea of having someone emulate the killings in the cult film is a good idea, and pairing it with the modern-day attention economy - in which content creators go to increasing lengths for clicks - is a clever twist on a concept that other films have done.

The film as a whole is a commentary on how social media and video sharing sites have often decided to prioritize profits over the well-being of their users. Margot is shown allowing videos involving violence and sexual assault to stay on the site while nixing ones depicting how to use Narcan or demonstrating putting on a condom on a banana. Josh (Jermaine Fowler), Margot’s boss, is even explicit in the company mandate that outrageous videos drive views.

While Arthur has the makings of a good villain, there are few attempts to make him seem truly diabolical. His kidnappings often seem more spur-of-the-moment than calculated, and even though he has a well thought-out dungeon at home, the house’s location in the suburbs seems to make him vulnerable to easy discovery. Goldhaber and Mazzei leave more than a few unanswered questions along the way that take away from the intensity of the story.

Ferreira is yet another actor from Euphoria who’s capitalizing on her exposure from that show. She plays Margot’s increasing anxiety well, and when the action ratchets up in the final act, she meets the moment in a satisfying way. Montgomery returns to the vibe he had while playing the evil Billy on Stranger Things, and even though his character doesn’t fully live up to his potential, Montgomery sells his evil for all it’s worth.

The new Faces of Death may not be what some are expecting given the reputation of the previous films, but it’s a solid horror/thriller that uses the brand as a launching pad into something different. It doesn’t make much of a dent in the scare department, but it does give its violence and gore a degree of relevance in today’s often desensitized world.

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Faces of Death is now playing in theaters.

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