Coronavirus News

Restaurants and theaters around Dallas throw down coronavirus deals

Nachos and margs from the O.T.B.

Photo courtesy of On the Border

Finding a silver lining in the coronavirus is next to impossible, but some Dallas restaurants and businesses are doing their best by serving up special offers to make it sting a little less.

Here's some deals to check out:

Big Yellow Box
Dickey's Barbecue Pit has launched a new catering innovation called the Big Yellow Box, designed to feed small gatherings. There are five new self-contained pick-up options that serve up to 12 people:

Pulled Pork Party Pack ($85) – 4 lbs. of pulled pork, slaw, barbecue beans, potato salad, rolls, pickles, onions, rolls, sauce
Sandwich Party Pack ($99) – 12 sandwiches, Caesar salad, potato salad, pickles, onions, sauce
Original Party Pack ($110) – 2 lbs. of brisket, 2 lbs. of pulled pork, slaw, potato salad, beans, pickles, onions, sauce
Wings and Ribs Party Pack ($115) – 18 ribs, 24 wings, mac & cheese, slaw, rolls, sauce
Brisket Party Pack ($155) – 4 lbs. of brisket, choice of three sides, rolls, pickles, onions, sauce

Margs to go
Uncle Julio's has launched new frozen margaritas to-go for curbside pick-up at all DFW locations. They're doing both frozen and swirl margaritas in three sizes: 16-ounce pouch for $10, half-gallon for $30, and gallon for $50. You let the margarita sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes until it achieves that perfect slushy consistency.

Wine deals
Avanti Restaurant in Uptown Dallas is offering wine specials every Tuesday. Two of their favorite wines — such as Alias 2018 Cabernet for $35 or Jean-Luc Colombo 2018 Rose for $29 — will be featured for in-house sipping or bottle to go.

Happy hour specials
On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina has new Happy Hour specials on appetizers and drinks. It's an elevated Happy Hour menu Monday-Friday 3-6 pm, with $5 appetizers and an all-new appetizer: Queso Sampler. They're also discounting Dos Equis beers. These items are available only during happy hour and include:

Queso Sampler – Border-style queso, signature queso, and smoky queso
Mini cheese quesadillas
5 Mini Crispy Tacos with chicken or beef
4 Firecracker Stuffed Jalapeños with chicken and cheese, and a side of queso
3 Mini Burritos with choice of chicken or beef, and a side of queso
Cantina Nachos with refried beans, ground beef or chicken tinga, queso, pico de gallo, lime crema, and guacamole

Movie nights
Ida Claire in Addison has begun hosting movie nights on the patio every Thursday, when guests can enjoy a free nostalgic or classic movie, starting at 9 pm. During the showings, they'll offer special movie night bites and beverages, including $5 Ranch Waters and $5 Crawfish Corn Beignets. This week's movie is Dirty Dancing, and they'll have a $5 Dirty Martini as the special movie night drink.

Future movies include:

July 30 - Zoolander
August 6 - Footloose
August 13 - Three Amigos
August 20 - Clueless
August 27 - Office Space
September 3 - The Sandlot
October 3 - Mean Girls (it's "National Mean Girls Day," who knew)

For reservations, call 214-377-8227 or visit www.ida-claire.com.

Rent a theater
Studio Movie Grill is offering customizable private auditoriums for $200. The rental includes the entire auditorium, luxury recliners in most locations, a choice from 100+ classic movies or guests can bring their own content. Food from the SMG restaurant and full-service bar is available to add-on, and can be ordered safely from a server or through the App or Kiosk.

There are auditoriums in a variety of sizes, and will allow up to 50 people, per the current occupancy mandate.

SMG has more than 100 classic titles in rotation such as A Star is Born, Pokemon Detective Pikachu, and the Harry Potter series, as well as a robust lineup of exciting, high-quality new releases from smaller independent studios.

They're also increasing operating hours in several locations, offering showtimes Monday-Thursday 3-9 pm and expanding Friday-Sunday hours from 12-10 pm. This allows private bookings during lunchtime and in the afternoon.

hotels

Movie Review

The Magic Faraway Tree is a whimsical family lark that fails to take root

Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Andrew Garfield, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Claire Foy, Phoenix Laroche, and Billie Gadson in The Magic Faraway Tree.

With kids and families always on the hunt for entertainment, it’s typically a safe bet for a movie studio to offer up something new, even if it is a film based on an old property. The Magic Faraway Tree, based on a series of books that started in the 1930s, is a very old property, one that its filmmakers have tried to liven up with a few stars, a lot of whimsy, and a boatload of CGI.

The Thompson family, led by stay-at-home dad Tim (Andrew Garfield) and breadwinner mom Polly (Claire Foy), are forced to move to a rundown country home when Polly gets laid off. The kids - Joe (Phoenix Laroche), Fran (Billie Gadson), and Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) - are used to the perks of city life like wifi and electricity, and each of them rebels in their own way to their new lot in life.

Fran, enticed by a fairy named Silky (Nicola Coughlan), is the first to venture out of the house, making her way to a magic tree that transports her to a world full of strange characters like Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning), and more. Her adventures there not only broaden the world she thought she knew, but may be the key to helping her ailing family.

Directed by Ben Gregor and written by Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2, Wonka), the film is a pleasant enough lark, but it fails to fully capture the imagination. The five-member family has a lot going on, from an initially-mute Fran to a domestic situation that raises more questions than it answers. The film tries to incorporate an anti-technology message through Tim’s hatred of a smart refrigerator (voiced by Judi Dench!) and the kids' addictions to devices, but it’s quickly shed in favor of other options.

Once Fran makes it to the Magic Faraway Tree, there’s a nice shift in the storytelling, but it’s unclear what the ultimate goal is. It’s a good idea to have Fran, the youngest of the children, convince her older, more cynical siblings about the virtues of the magic world, but the conflict in the real world doesn’t seem to rise to the level needed for the escape the tree provides.

There also seems to be a missing link in the storytelling for viewers to understand the importance of the fantastical characters. The visuals of seeing Moonface and his crescent moon-shaped hair, a man with a suit full of banging pots, and more are fun for a while, but not enough to carry the whole film. A last-minute revelation feels like it was something that should have been disclosed much earlier to help strengthen the emotions of the story.

A two-time Oscar nominee, Garfield is making his first foray into family movies (if you don’t count playing Spider-Man), and while he does a good job, he doesn’t make the best fit for the semi-goofy role. The same goes for the Emmy-winning Foy, who isn’t given much of anything to do. The movie puts the story on the shoulders of the three child actors, and while each of them acquit themselves well, none of them are so outstanding as to be noteworthy.

With nearly 90-year-old source material, The Magic Faraway Tree needed to be something truly special to stand out in the 21st century movie world. Unfortunately, it features a mostly forgettable story that features some fun visuals, a couple of cute kids, and not much else.

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The Magic Faraway Tree is now playing in theaters.

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Coronavirus News

Restaurants and theaters around Dallas throw down coronavirus deals

Movie Review

The Magic Faraway Tree is a whimsical family lark that fails to take root

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