Weekend Event Planner

These are the 8 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

If you're attending a big event this weekend, chances are you'll be stopping by the American Airlines Center, as the venue is hosting three huge concerts. If those aren't on your agenda, you can also support a local film, catch one of two interesting new theater productions, see another big concert outdoors, or get arty with a dance production.

Below are the best options for your precious free time Thursday through Monday. Don't like what you see? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, August 3

USA Film Festival and the Texas Association of Motion Media Professionals present TexFest
TexFest is a community showcase screening series featuring works by Texas filmmakers. This installment honors two Dallas-based filmmakers, Matthew Stephen Tompkins and Jon Keeyes, and includes a screening of their new feature film, The Harrowing. The event takes place at Angelika Film Center in Dallas.

Lionel Richie in concert with Mariah Carey
At first glance, the pairing of Lionel Richie and Mariah Carey might seem odd, as Richie has long been a classics singer and Carey is still a current act. But Carey has released only one new album in the past eight years and hasn't had a bona fide hit since 2008, so the appeal for both singers now lies in their early work. They're performing a co-headlining concert at the American Airlines Center.

Theatre Three presents The Minotaur
A present-day version of a classic Greek myth, The Minotaur is a contemporary take on love, honor, and human connection. With refreshing originality and wit, it explores how people break out of history to shape new stories for themselves. The play, written by Anna Ziegler, runs through August 27.

Friday, August 4

Queen and Adam Lambert in concert
Brian May, Roger Taylor, and Adam Lambert are debuting a brand-new show that was specially designed and created for this outing. The high-energy concert, taking place at the American Airlines Center, brings Queen's history alive through favorite Queen hits such as “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Will Rock You,” and “We Are The Champions.”

Cry Havoc Theater Company and Kitchen Dog Theater present The Great American Sideshow
The Great American Sideshow is a political allegory about the current state of affairs in the United States. Otto Barron is the new owner of The American Sideshow, and along with the carnival barker Narcissa he sets out to sow discord and wreak havoc, all in the name of making the sideshow great again. The play runs at Trinity River Arts Center through August 12.

Saturday, August 5

John Mayer in concert
For a singer who's never had a top 10 single in his career, John Mayer sure has had a lot of success. His high profile has as much to do with his work, which includes his 2017 album The Search for Everything, as it has with his string of starry relationships: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jessica Simpson, Minka Kelly, Jennifer Aniston, Katy Perry, and Taylor Swift, to name a few. He plays with The Night Game at the American Airlines Center.

Sunday, August 6

Incubus in concert with Jimmy Eat World and Judah & the Lion
As is the case with a lot of bands, Incubus has never reached the heights that they did with their breakout album, 2000's Make Yourself, which featured songs like "Pardon Me" and "Drive." But they've maintained a steady presence on the alternative charts, including their latest album, 2017's 8. They play Starplex Pavilion with support from opening acts Jimmy Eat World and Judah & the Lion.

Majestic Theatre presents Wanderlust Dance Project
Wanderlust Dance Project is bringing together Dallas-Fort Worth's eclectic dance community for its second annual dance festival, featuring the best dancers and choreographers in town, with a sprinkle of Julliard talent. The event includes a chance for budding choreographers to exhibit their dances onstage in a professional atmosphere. The program takes place at the Majestic Theatre.

Adam Lambert performs with Queen at the American Airlines Center on August 4.

Photo by Neal Preston

Adam Lambert performs with Queen at the American Airlines Center on August 4.

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Movie Review

Zootopia 2 Disney is an OK sequel that keeps the fun of the original

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Animation Studios

Nick (Jason Bateman) and Judy (Ginnifer Goodwin) in Zootopia 2.

When Zootopia came out in 2016, Walt Disney Animation Studios was in the midst of a great run of original films, including Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6, and finally Moana. Their output since then has not been as good, including three mediocre sequels, three so-so originals, and only one truly great film, Encanto.

All of which is to say that the odds for Zootopia 2 breaking that trend were low even before they started working on it. The odd couple pair of rabbit Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) are now officially detectives in the Zootopia Police Department, but they still have a penchant for not following the orders of Chief Bogo (Idris Elba). Such mischievous behavior doesn’t sit well with the other detective teams, which include pairs of zebras, hippos, hogs, and goats.

Still, their slightly insubordinate ways put them on the path toward discovering the infiltration of Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan), the first reptile to be seen in Zootopia in a long time. He’s trying to steal a book that would prove that his relative was the rightful inventor of a weather technology that gives all animals in Zootopia an ideal climate. But the high-powered Lynxley family, including father Milton (David Straithairn) and son Pawbert (Andy Samberg), lay claim to the idea and won’t give it up easily.

Written and directed by Jared Bush, and co-directed by Byron Howard, the film retains the fun of the first film if not the consistently interesting story. Though Judy and Nick get along much better than they did previously, they still don’t see eye-to-eye on everything. It’s Judy who takes more risks this time around, with Nick’s rule-breaking ways seeming to have rubbed off on her, a nice twist that leads to some ironic situations.

The filmmakers struggle to make the story as easily coherent this time around, with the new characters a decidedly mixed bunch. The Lynxleys are supposed to be the bad guys of the film, but they’re not featured enough to drum up any enmity for them. The detective duos are fun comic relief, especially the two who refer to themselves as the Ze-bros, but none of them factor very much in the actual story.

Instead, the filmmakers fall back on things like cameos from small characters from the first film and a flurry of groan-worthy animal puns. While it’s fun to see the sloth Flash (Raymond S. Persi), sheep Bellwether (Jenny Slate), and Gazelle (Shakira), their appearances are too brief to carry the movie overall. The visuals are as fantastic as expected of Disney films, especially the myriad fur/hides/scales of the different creatures, but the film is not designed to necessarily wow in that respect.

Both Goodwin and Bateman prove again that they were cast perfectly for their respective roles, as Goodwin fully embodies Judy’s relentless enthusiasm and Bateman brings the wry tone to his street smart character. If you know them, it’s fun to have people like Samberg, Straithairn, Quinta Brunson, and Patrick Warburton in supporting roles, but no one but Warburton and his distinctive voice elevates the film.

Like most of Disney’s recent sequels, Zootopia 2 is a pleasant enough movie that lets fans revisit some favorite characters. But when a bar is set high with the first film as it was with Zootopia, it takes more outside-of-the-box thinking to have the second one measure up in any significant way.

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Zootopia 2 opens in theaters on November 26.

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