Event Planner

The Book of Mormon headlines best weekend events in Dallas

This weekend in Dallas events is full of bold-faced names from the world of theater, acting, comedy and music. It's so jam-packed, in fact, that you might just want to book a hotel in town so you don't have to go home between events.

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

Thursday, August 22

Lexus Broadway Series presents The Book of Mormon
Anyone who has even a passing interest in live theater has wanted to see The Book of Mormon since it premiered on Broadway in 2011. The brainchild of South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, along with Avenue Q's Robert Lopez, it's a musical that's bawdy and offensive, but also catchy as hell with a surprisingly sweet message. Most tickets for its stay at Winspear Opera House, running through September 1, are gone, but you can always try your luck at their daily $25 lottery.

Improv Addison presents Kevin Pollak
Kevin Pollak is one of those "That Guy" actors, someone who's appeared in a ton of movies you've seen - A Few Good Men, Grumpy Old Men, The Usual Suspects - but who's rarely been the star. He's also an extraordinary mimic, doing great impressions of people like Johnny Carson, Jack Nicholson and Christopher Walken. Expect that and some more funny stuff when he stops by Improv Addison for shows Thursday through Saturday.

Friday, August 23

Chazz Palminteri's A Bronx Tale
The biggest reason anyone knows Chazz Palminteri's name is because of his one-man play, A Bronx Tale. Debuting in 1990, it was optioned by Robert De Niro, who let Palminteri write the film's screenplay and play one of its best roles, the mob boss Sonny. That catapulted his career, and now he's revisiting the work that made it all possible. He'll be at Wyly Theatre on Friday and Saturday.

Gorilla vs. Bear III: Danny Brown, Blue Hawaii, Haerts, Empress Of and Booty Fade
Local music blog Gorilla vs. Bear always does a great job in promoting independent talent, and the line-up they've secured for their third annual music showcase at Granada Theater is yet another example. Featuring Danny Brown, Blue Hawaii, Haerts, Empress Of and Booty Fade, it'll be a night of great music and one where you might be able to say you saw an up-and-coming band when they were still small-time.

Saturday, August 24

Bell Biv Devoe in concert with Tony! Toni! Tone! and SWV & Al B. Sure
Despite putting out a grand total of three albums, Bell Biv Devoe still holds a strong place in the hearts of anybody who came of age in the early 1990s, both for hits like "Poison" and for their history with the three members' previous band, New Edition. This showcase at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie will be a quadruple throwback, as they'll be joined by Tony! Toni! Tone!, SWV and Al B. Sure.

Icona Pop in concert
The Swedish female duo known as Icona Pop has been making waves the past couple of years with their irresistible electro-pop music. They've had hit songs with "I Love It" and "Girlfriend," and after coming through town at Granada Theater last December as an opening act, they'll get full headliner status at House of Blues Dallas. You best come ready to dance.

Sunday, August 25

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents The Russian Festival
Starting Friday, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra will present the works of famous Russian composers like Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff at Bass Performance Hall. Each of the daily concerts will be different, and each will feature a different pianist from the 2013 Cliburn Competition, culminating with Sunday's performance by third place finisher Sean Chen.

Funny or Die presents The Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival featuring Dave Chappelle and Flight of the Conchords
The announcement of this comedy/freak fest was one of those "Holy crap!" moments, as it's the first indication in years that comedian Dave Chappelle may be ready to step back into the spotlight. He and the Flight of the Conchords will undoubtedly be the highlights, but there will also be two stages of stand-ups, street performers, psychics and more at this catch-all event at Gexa Energy Pavilion.

The Book of Mormon will play at Winspear Opera House through September 1.

Photo courtesy of AT&T Performing Arts Center

The Book of Mormon will play at Winspear Opera House through September 1.

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Movie Review

White supremacy is the villain in real-life thriller The Order

Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Jude Law in The Order.

White supremacy has long been a stand-in for evil in movies, with the correlation easy to make given the strong ties to Nazi Germany. Whether a film puts forth white supremacists as its main characters or supporting ones, their usefulness in a story is as people who are easy to hate and that deserve to be held to some sort of justice.

While that idea holds true in the new film, The Order, the nature of the group featured is somewhat muddled. The central figure is FBI agent Terry Husk (Jude Law), who essentially sets up a one-man task force in the Pacific Northwest to track a group known as The Order. Husk is convinced that the group, which is an offshoot of a larger white supremacist organization, is behind a series of bank robberies to fund anti-government schemes.

Husk recruits local police officer Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan) to help follow the group, which is led by Bob Mathews (Nicholas Hoult). The two, joined occasionally by FBI agent Joanne Carney (Jurnee Smollett), do their best to keep up with The Order’s increasingly bold crimes, which morphs from “just” bank robbery to murder.

Directed by Justin Kurzel and written by Zach Baylin, the film is at its best when it delves into the personalities of its characters. Husk’s monomaniacal nature is great for his job, but not so much for his family life. Bowen has a solid bond with his wife and kids, but his greenness in law enforcement leads to some questionable decision-making. Mathews, like many cult leaders, is a charismatic person with very misguided tendencies.

The filmmakers set up the plot (which is based on a real-life story) well, but the details get a little loose as the film goes along. While The Order has a hatred of Jews, a plot against radio personality Alan Berg (Marc Maron) doesn’t make much sense in the context of the film. The geography of the group’s operations is also confusing; they’re located in Washington, but they range out as far as Colorado and California to commit their crimes.

Still, the inherent appeal of good-vs-evil keeps the plot mechanics going, and the side stories of the main characters give them a depth that makes up for other faults. The filmmakers also make sure to demonstrate how the scourge of white supremacy has never been limited to one particular era, and continues to infect American society to this day.

Law commits fully to the lead role, giving a performance with a convincing American accent that is far from the suave British parts which have dominated his filmography. Hoult proves equally believable, giving his character a nuance that somehow makes him more detestable. Sheridan adds another interesting role to a career that would be enviable for any other young actor.

While The Order doesn’t rise to the level of an awards contender, its story is still relatively compelling with antagonists that, unfortunately, never go out of style. A great cast playing characters with engaging lives keeps the film watchable even when it goes into some odd detours.

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The Order is now playing in theaters.

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