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Weekend Event Planner

These are the 9 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

Alex Bentley
Aug 12, 2021 | 6:00 am

For anyone who's missed big concerts in Dallas, this is your weekend as there will be two huge ones at one of the area's best venues. Another venue will host a well-known comedian and two big R&B artists, while another will bring in some high-quality basketball/comedy. There will also be a unique dance performance, comedy from a man with a more-famous brother, a concert from a hometown band that everyone knows, and more.

Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend.

Thursday, August 12

Bombshell Dance Project presents The Great 30
Inspired by the experimental nature of the Elevator Project, Bombshell Dance Project's The Great 30 is an interactive, site-specific dance performance taking place at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Using the entirety of the campus as a stage, Bombshell Dance Project will lead audiences on an active tour of the Center, including its outdoor spaces, during which they not only change locations with the performers, but also move with them. The performances, taking place through Sunday, will start in Sammons Park outside Winspear Opera House.

Improv Arlington presents Tony Rock
Being the brother of an established entertainer, Tony Rock was able to successfully elude the shadows of his older sibling, Chris, and step into his own limelight. After decades of experience, Tony has proven himself as a skillful comedian, actor, and executive producer. He'll perform six times through Sunday at Improv Arlington.

Friday, August 13

Edie Brickell & New Bohemians in concert
It's always great when hometown bands stay true to where they came from, and Edie Brickell & New Bohemians will do just that with two concerts at The Kessler in support of their new album, Hunter and the Dog Star. The band, which is best known for their 1988 debut album, Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars, has been seemingly rejuvenated in recent years, releasing two albums since 2018.

Alanis Morissette in concert
After a year's delay due to the pandemic, Alanis Morissette will finally come back to Dallas to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her iconic 1995 album, Jagged Little Pill. Although that album will be rightfully saluted, Morissette also released a new album in 2020, Such Pretty Forks in the Road. She'll be joined at this concert at Dos Equis Pavilion by fellow '90s musicians, Garbage and Liz Phair.

Andrew Schulz: The Infamous Tour
Even though he's 37 years old, comedian Andrew Schulz could still be considered an up-and-comer in the industry. He didn't start to get real success until 2017 when he released his debut comedy special, 4:4:1, which was followed the next year by his debut comedy album, 5:5:1. He's gone on to co-host two podcasts, and had a four-part Netflix special, Schulz Saves America, come out in December 2020. He'll perform at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

Saturday, August 14

Angelika Film Center presents Studio Ghibli Festival
The Angelika Film Centers in both Dallas and Plano are currently presenting some of the greatest animated films of all time from the celebrated Studio Ghibli. Praised for their originality, stunning animation, and ambitious storytelling, each film is a beloved part of Japanese culture and critically acclaimed around the world. Saturday shows are dubbed in English, followed by shows on Mondays are presented in Japanese with English subtitles. Princess Mononoke will show this weekend, followed by Kiki’s Delivery Service on August 21 and 23 and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind on August 28 and 30.

The Harlem Globetrotters Spread Game Tour
The World-Famous Harlem Globetrotters are bringing their newly reimagined Spread Game tour to Dallas. Ankle-breaking moves, jaw-dropping swag, and rim-rattling dunks are only some of the thrill that can be expected from this fully modernized show. Part streetball from the players who defined it, part interactive family entertainment, the new tour will show off the best of the Globetrotters in a dazzling exhibition of talent and game. There will be two performances on Saturday at American Airlines Center.

Kem in concert with Babyface
It'll be paradise for lovers of R&B music at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving when Kem and Babyface co-headline this special concert. Kem has been churning out hit albums for almost 20 years, notching three top 2 albums on Billboard's R&B charts. His latest, Love Always Wins, came out in 2020. Babyface is almost better known as a producer than as a singer, but his 10 studio albums have consistently reached the top 10 on the Billboard R&B charts, most recently 2016's Tender Lover.

Brad Paisley in concert
There have been few country artists as reliable as Brad Paisley over the past 20+ years. He delivers a new album every couple of years, and his quality has remained so high that each of his past nine albums has gone to No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts, including 2017's Love and War. He'll play at Dos Equis Pavilion with special guests Jimmie Allen and Kameron Marlowe.

Alanis Morissette will play at Dos Equis Pavilion on August 13.

Alanis Morissette
Photo courtesy of Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette will play at Dos Equis Pavilion on August 13.
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Movie Review

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

Alex Bentley
Aug 21, 2026 | 11:44 am
Andrew Garfield, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Claire Foy, Phoenix Laroche, and Billie Gadson in The Magic Faraway Tree
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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