Weekend Event Planner

Sam Smith and Ringo Starr top best weekend events in Dallas

It's another music-heavy weekend in Dallas-Fort Worth, with events featuring a couple of living legends, an homage to a recently-passed master, a newcomer who's taken the world by storm and a local singer who may be about to break out nationally.

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, October 9

Patio Sessions: Luke Wade & No Civilians with Kirk Thurmond
Fans of The Voice were wowed along with the coaches when Fort Worth's Luke Wade belted out Otis Redding's "That's How Strong My Love Is" in his blind audition. While he waits for the live shows to start, Wade will play a free show along with his band, No Civilians, as part of the Patio Sessions series in Sammons Park. They'll be joined by opening act Kirk Thurmond.

Dallas VideoFest 27
It may not have the cachet that other film festivals in the area do, but for 27 years Dallas VideoFest has been home to a wide array of thought-provoking movies. Now through Sunday at Alamo Drafthouse in Richardson and next weekend at Angelika Film Center Dallas, the Video Association of Dallas will screen hidden gems from around the world you won't get to see anywhere else.

Sam Smith in concert
There may be no bigger singer in 2014 than Sam Smith. The Brit released his debut album, In the Lonely Hour, in May, and thanks to hit songs like "Stay With Me" and "I'm Not the Only One," he's been a staple on radio ever since. The lucky few who have tickets will be able to listen to his soulful voice in the relative intimacy of House of Blues Dallas; the next time he comes back to town, he's sure to be in a bigger venue.

Friday, October 10

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents A Tribute to Marvin Hamlisch
There are famous composers, and then there's the late Marvin Hamlisch. One of only a dozen people to reach EGOT status (those who have one at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award), Hamlisch left his mark all over the entertainment industry throughout his nearly 50-year career. The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and guests like Jodi Benson and Donna McKechnie will honor Hamlisch's legacy with three concerts Friday through Sunday at Bass Performance Hall.

Living Colour in concert with Buffalo Black
Last year, Living Colour came to town to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its debut album, Vivid, which featured the iconic "Cult of Personality." Now the group is coming back to the Kessler in support of its upcoming new album, Shade, with support from opening act, Buffalo Black.

Saturday, October 11

Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band in concert
No matter what he's done in the 44 years since the Beatles broke up, Ringo Starr has always come across as the least valuable of the Fab Four. His fans know better, of course, and they'll pack Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie to hear him and his All-Starr Band, which now includes people like Todd Rundgren and Gregg Rolie, play the hits.

Steppin' Out Live with Ben Vereen
Ben Vereen is a Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor whose career has been as versatile as it gets. He'll show that nimbleness in this show at Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts in Richardson, when he pays homage to Broadway, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. with a program full of song and dance.

Art Garfunkel in concert
The name Garfunkel has come up again in pop culture recently, but in a funny way, as the comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates have used Art Garfunkel's notorious second fiddle status as a way to earn laughs. Like Ringo Starr, Garfunkel deserves better, and there's no way to better appreciate his music than by attending this concert at Majestic Theatre.

Friday, October 12

Southwest Airlines Freedom to Fly Celebration
In case it's somehow flown under your radar, the Wright Amendment, which kept Southwest Airlines from flying directly from Dallas to any state that it didn't border, finally comes to end on October 13. To celebrate the amendment's demise, Southwest is holding a free blowout party at Klyde Warren Park, complete with performances from Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison, Jack Ingram and Robert Earl Keen.

Sam Smith will play at House of Blues Dallas on October 9.

Sam Smith Facebook

Sam Smith will play at House of Blues Dallas on October 9.

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Movie Review

Jessica Chastain drama Dreams stumbles through steamy romance

Photo courtesy of Teorema

Isaac Hernández and Jessica Chastain in Dreams.

The opening scenes of the new drama Dreams are bracing, fictional sequences that call to mind real-life scenarios. In them, a young Mexican man named Fernando (Isaac Hernández) goes through a somewhat harrowing journey from the back of a semi truck in South Texas all the way to San Francisco. It’s a familiar immigrant story that seems to set the stage for a film with something interesting to say.

It turns out, however, that Fernando has not made the long and arduous trek for a job. Instead, it’s to be with Jennifer McCarthy (Jessica Chastain), a rich woman who helps lead a foundation dedicated to multiple things, including funding dance academies. Fernando, a talented dancer, and Jennifer have been in an off-and-on affair for years, with Jennifer wanting to keep their relationship a secret.

Although both are drawn to each other in an inexplicable, lustful way, their bond is tenuous, with each of them dissatisfied for different reasons. Fernando clearly sacrifices much more of himself than Jennifer, who wants for nothing except maybe more affection from her father, Michael (Marshall Bell), and brother, Jake (Rupert Friend).

Writer/director Michel Franco seems to try to inject tension into Fernando and Jennifer’s relationship from the start, an attempt that is only halfway successful. It’s clear from the way they greet each other - not to mention a steamy sex scene shortly thereafter - that they have known each other for a good length of time. Franco is able to get across this familiarity with an economy of scenes, and the intensity of their bond holds for a while.

But as the film progresses and both of them grow disenchanted with their arrangement, Franco starts taking the story in some odd directions. The biggest issue is that it’s never clear at what point in time the story is taking place. Fernando ends up making multiple trips back and forth across the border, with Jennifer doing the same at one point, and Franco’s use of flashbacks muddies the waters, wrong-footing the audience when he should be trying to draw them further into Fernando and Jennifer’s complications.

Revelations in the final act make the story even more confusing, as both main characters start saying and doing harsh things that seem to come out of nowhere. That would be all well and good if Franco actually committed to their changes of heart, but he keeps things wishy-washy for most of the final 15 minutes, resulting in an ending that makes little sense for either character.

Despite the story issues, both Chastain and Hernández give compelling performances. Chastain has been a little under the radar since winning an Oscar for The Eyes of Tammy Faye, but she keeps this character interesting longer than it should have been. Hernández has limited credits and appears to have been cast for his dancing ability, but he goes toe-to-toe with Chastain on more than one occasion and acquits himself well.

Dreams had all of the ideas to explore a more in-depth story about the complicated immigration policies between Mexico and the U.S., or how wealthy people take advantage of those less fortunate. But Franco never finds the right footing, settling instead for a titillating and somewhat mystifying relationship story that feels half-baked.

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Dreams is now playing in select theaters.

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