Weekend Event Planner

Toadies and Chris Brown headline best weekend events in Dallas-Fort Worth

With summer break now over, event planners are taking advantage of people being in town by providing a slew of different opportunities. You name a type of event, and big ones are probably taking place this weekend, including those involving fashion, music, film, theater, art, comedy, books, and football.

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, September 10

Fashion X Dallas
The producers of Austin Fashion Week and Fashion Industry Gallery will present the second annual Fashion X Dallas, which will showcase collections from independent and emerging designers and nationally recognized contemporary brands. The three-day event will feature collections from prominent and well-known designers, promising emerging designers from around the country, and a finale with Dallas designers.

Chris Brown in concert with Kid Ink, Omarion, Fetty Wap, and Teyana Taylor
It seems like an impossibility for R&B/hip hop singer Chris Brown to stay away from controversy, but it'll hopefully be his music that's the focus of this concert at Gexa Energy Pavilion. Brown's One Hell of a Nite Tour, supporting his album X, will also include performances from Kid Ink, Omarion, Fetty Wap, and Teyana Taylor.

Friday, September 11

The 2nd Annual Poptopia featuring NEEDTOBREATHE
For the second straight year, 103.7 KVIL will present Poptopia, a music festival featuring some of the best and brightest pop bands around. Taking place at South Side Ballroom, this year's edition will include NEEDTOBREATHE, Andy Grammer (of "Honey, I'm Good" fame), Banks, Elle King, and Rachel Platten, whose "Fight Song" was arguably one of the songs of the summer.

Dia de los Toadies
Now in its eighth year, and third straight in Fort Worth, Dia de los Toadies is a two-day musical event that combines Texas acts as well as national ones hand-picked by the Toadies. Taking place Friday and Saturday at Panther Island Pavilion, it'll feature performances by the Toadies, who are set to release their latest album, Heretics, Sarah Jaffe, Burden Brothers, Local H, Holy Moly, Buck Pets, Sealion, Son of Stan, and Gollay.

McKinney Classic Film Festival
There are plenty of good reasons to check out the first-ever McKinney Classic Film Festival, taking place through Sunday at the McKinney Performing Arts Center, including screenings of gems like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, 12 Angry Men, and Adam's Rib. But the undisputed highlight will be the presence of Mary Badham, aka Scout, who will attend the screening of To Kill a Mockingbird on Saturday night.

Kitchen Dog Theater presents The Dumb Waiter
With its old home at the MAC now gone, Kitchen Dog Theater will open its 2015-2016 season at a new location, The Green Zone in the Design District. The season opener is Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter, a humorous and provocative story of two hit men as they wait in a basement for their next assignment. It'll run through October 10.

Saturday, September 12

Crow Collection of Asian Art presents Alexander Gorlizki: Variable Dimensions opening
The Crow Collection of Asian Art will open a new exhibition, Alexander Gorlizki: Variable Dimensions, that brings together the artist’s work in drawing, sculpture, installation, video, and the applied arts like carpets, wallpapers, and textiles for a rich kaleidoscopic experience. The exhibit will be on display through March 3, 2016.

Patton Oswalt in concert (UPDATE: Patton Oswalt has postponed his appearance due to a conflict with a film production)
Like many successful comedians, Patton Oswalt has become much more well known for his acting ability in shows like Justified, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Veep than he ever did with his first love, stand-up comedy. But anybody who's seen his act knows he's still one of the funniest comics out there, as he'll prove with this show at the Majestic Theatre.

Sunday, September 13

Arts & Letters Live: R.L. Stine and Marc Brown — The Little Shop of Monsters
There are many authors who are great at getting young people to read, but R.L. Stine, who wrote the Goosebumps series and many others, is near the top of that list. Stine has joined forces with illustrator Marc Brown for the new book The Little Shop of Monsters, which the two will discuss, among other things, at this Arts & Letters Live event at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants Season Kickoff Watching Party
The long wait is finally over: Football season is here again. The Dallas Cowboys will start their season with a home game against the New York Giants, but if you're not lucky enough to attend in person at AT&T Stadium, you can go to this free viewing party at the Bomb Factory, an event that will include food and drink specials and raffles.

Dia de los Toadies will take place at Panther Island Pavilion in Fort Worth on September 11 and 12.

Photo courtesy of KirtlandRecords.com

Dia de los Toadies will take place at Panther Island Pavilion in Fort Worth on September 11 and 12.

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Movie Review

Marty Supreme cements Timothée Chalamet as his generation's movie star

Courtesy

Timothée Chalamet

In a time when true movie stars seem to be going extinct, Timothée Chalamet has emerged as an exception to the rule. Since 2021 he has headlined blockbusters like the two Dune movies and Wonka, and also got nominated for an Oscar for playing Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown (his second nomination following 2018’s Call Me By Your Name). Now, he’s almost assured to get his third nomination for the stellar new film, Marty Supreme.

Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a world-class table tennis player living in New York. But reducing Marty to his best skill doesn’t do him justice, as he’s also a motormouth schemer who will do almost anything to achieve his dreams. He doesn’t have any qualms about wooing married women like neighbor Rachel (Odessa A’zion) or actress Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), or hiding his true ping pong skills to win money in scams with friends like Wally (Tyler the Creator).

Marty is seemingly on the go the entire movie, whether it’s trying to convince Kay’s millionaire husband Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary) to fund his table tennis ambitions; or trying to track down the dog of Ezra (Abel Ferrara), a man he accidentally injures; or trying to avoid the ire of the boss at the shoe store where he works. Just when you think he might slow down, he’s off to the races on another plan or adventure.

Directed by Josh Safdie and written by Safdie and frequent co-writer Ronald Bronstein, the film is an almost continuous blast of pure energy for 2 ½ hours. So many different things happen over the course of the film that the story defies conventional narratives, and yet the throughline of Marty keeps everything tightly connected. His particular type of brash behavior turns much of the film into a comedy as he does and says things that are both shocking and thrilling.

Another thing that makes the movie sing is the fantastic characterization by Safdie and Bronstein. Almost every person who is given a speaking line in the film has a moment where they pop, which speaks to airtight dialogue that the writers have created. Characters will be introduced and then disappear for long stretches of time, and yet because they make such an impression the first time they’re on screen, it’s easy to pick up their thread right away.

Safdie, as he’s done previously with brother Bennie (Uncut Gems), calls on a host of well-known non-actors or people with interesting faces/vibes to inhabit supporting roles, and to a person they are crucial to the film’s success. O’Leary (of Shark Tank fame), rapper Tyler the Creator, director Ferrara, magician Penn Jillette, and fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi each deliver knockout performances. The relative unknowns who play smaller roles are just as impressive, making each beat of the film feel naturalistic.

Leading the way is the powerhouse performance by Chalamet. For one person to believably play both the famously reserved Dylan and also a firecracker like Marty is astonishing, and this role cements Chalamet’s status as his generation’s movie star. A’zion is a rising star who gets great moments as Marty’s on-again/off-again love interest. Paltrow pops in and out of the film, lighting up the screen every time she appears. Fran Drescher as Marty’s mom and Sandra Bernhard as a neighbor also pay dividends in small roles.

Josh Safdie’s first solo directorial effort is unlike any other movie this year, or maybe even this century. Thanks to its breakneck storytelling, a magnificent performance by Chalamet, and countless intangibles that Safdie employs expertly, the film smacks viewers in the face repeatedly and demands that they come back for more.

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Marty Supreme opens in theaters on December 25.

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