Weekend Event Planner

Taylor Swift and Amy Schumer power the best weekend events in Dallas

If you have procrastinated on going out to the State Fair of Texas, you'd better get a move on; it ends on Sunday. Otherwise, this weekend offers a wide range of fun and interesting events, including several big concerts, a great comedy festival, and a chance to meet some of your movie and TV idols in person.

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 15

CultureMap Stylemaker Awards Reveal Party
After weeks of gathering your votes, it's officially time to reveal the winners of the annual Stylemaker Awards. The six finalists are showing off their skills by putting together two looks from The Plaza at Preston Center retailers to debut at the Stylemaker Awards Reveal Party. Guest emcee Ron Corning will help us reveal the readers' and editors' choice winners at Tootsies.

Dallas VideoFest 28
After a few other special events earlier in the week, Dallas VideoFest 28 kicks into high gear at Angelika Film Center Dallas on Thursday. The festival, running through Sunday, will include Anomalisa, a stop-motion film from writer/director Charlie Kaufman, a rare screening of the 1972 Rolling Stones documentary Cocksucker Blues, and the presentation of the annual Kovacs Award to Chris Elliott and his father, Bob.

Don Henley in concert
Texas native Don Henley hasn't been a stranger to Dallas in recent years, playing two shows over the course of five months with the Eagles in 2013 and 2014. But this will be a solo show at Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie, as Henley is touring in support of his first solo album in 15 years, Cass County, which happens to be the Texas county where Henley was raised.

Friday, October 16

Dallas Comic Con Fan Days
This bi-annual event at Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas shouldn't be confused with the actual Dallas Comic Con, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its fair share of celebrities on hand. Among the stars who will be talking and signing autographs during the three-day event will be Lucy Lawless, Jason Momoa, C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, and William Zabka.

Aurora: All Together Now
For second time in three years, the Dallas Arts District will be turned into a panoply of light as it hosts Aurora, an expansive outdoor light-based art event featuring light, video, sound, and performance. This being the third Friday of the month, the district will also be alive with special events at Nasher Sculpture Center and the Dallas Museum of Art, which will have its own special Aurora installation.

Saturday, October 17

The D.O.C. in concert with Erykah Badu and Scarface
Perhaps spurred on by the depiction of himself in the unexpected summer hit Straight Outta Compton, Dallas rapper The D.O.C. will come to the Bomb Factory to put on his first performance in 20 years. He'll be joined by another Dallas legend, Erykah Badu, as her alter ego DJ Lo Down Loretta Brown, and Houston rapper Scarface.

Taylor Swift in concert with Vance Joy and Shawn Mendes
The coverage of Taylor Swift's 2015 world tour, which has been going on since May, has been so overreaching that most fans could tell you every minute detail you're likely to see Saturday at AT&T Stadium, her ~~lone~~ second Texas stop. The only question left to ponder is which local celebrity or fellow singer Swift will bring on stage for a "surprise" appearance. Swift will be joined by opening acts Vance Joy and Shawn Mendes.

Sunday, October 18

Ultimate Cowboys Fan Fest
As part of Klyde Warren Park's weekend-long third birthday celebration, it will host the Ultimate Cowboys Fan Fest. Along with appearances from the Cowboys cheerleaders, drumline, and mascot Rowdy, there will be a slew of fun activities and a performance from country singer Trace Adkins. Former Cowboy Darren Woodson will serve as emcee for the event.

Funny or Die presents Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival 2015
If you're a fan of stand-up comedy in the slightest, you'll want to be at Gexa Energy Pavilion on Sunday for Funny or Die's annual Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival. Amy Schumer and Aziz Ansari are the headliners for the final stop on the tour, but it will also feature comedians Anthony Jeselnik, Ashley Barnhill, Bridget Everett, Jeff Ross, Nick Thune, T.J. Miller, and Steve Rannazzisi.

Amy Schumer will headline the Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival at Gexa Energy Pavilion on October 18.

Amy Schumer/Facebook

Amy Schumer will headline the Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival at Gexa Energy Pavilion on October 18.

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Movie Review

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes' doc leaves truth in question

Photo courtesy of A24

Nathan Fielder and Elizabeth Holmes in You Can See Everything.

Elizabeth Holmes faced one of the most public downfalls in recent history after she was accused of defrauding investors in her health technology company, Theranos. Her subsequent indictment and conviction drew the interest of many, including, it seems, comedian/actor/filmmaker Nathan Fielder. Fielder somehow convinced Holmes and her husband, Billy Evans, to make a documentary about her final days of freedom, called You Can See Everything.

It’s not immediately clear why Fielder — who only has one previous feature-length documentary to his credit — is interested in profiling Holmes, but the approach that he and co-director Lance Oppenheim (Primetime) take is one that puts Fielder in the spotlight as much as her or Evans. Fielder looms over the couple — sometimes literally, sometimes from afar — as they care for their children, make meals, try to re-establish business relationships, and prepare for Holmes’ prison sentence, which is due to start about a month after the film begins in 2023.

Fielder quizzes Holmes and Evans about predictable subjects — such as how Theranos worked, her relationship with COO Sunny Balwani, and her conviction — and ones that are slightly off-kilter, including the miniseries The Dropout, which dramatized Holmes’ rise and fall. He is met with seeming openness by both of them — the title of the movie is uttered by Holmes at one point — but there are times where their idea of transparency doesn’t jibe with Fielder’s expectations.

Through it all, the quirky reputation that Fielder has from TV shows like Nathan for You, The Curse, and The Rehearsal colors his participation, as well. He appears sincere, if surprisingly intense, in his questioning, but there are more than a few moments where it’s fair to wonder if the whole thing is an act of performance art. That suspicion grows in the second half of the nearly three-hour film as Fielder and Oppenheim go down roads that stretch the definition of what a documentary is or can be.

The film is utterly fascinating as the filmmakers go on what seems to be a full-on exploration of the meaning of truth. Holmes and Evans, either intentionally or unintentionally, carry on conversations with Fielder with wide-open, unblinking eyes, something that conveys honesty and creepiness in equal measures. Fielder meets them with squinting expressions, looking like he’s trying to determine how candid they’re actually being.

One of the biggest things the film reveals (or does it?) is that — if she’s not a sociopath — Holmes might be someone who’s either oblivious or naive. As cryptic or strange as she can be in words and actions, Evans is even more so, and as the film progresses it’s him whose motives and ideas are called into question. Control over the narrative of the film wobbles back-and-forth between Fielder, Holmes, and Evans, and even at the end it’s unclear whose perspective has truly won out.

There is no way to accurately get across what it’s like to watch You Can See Everything for the first time. The motives of everyone involved are up in the air, resulting in a roller coaster ride that’s full of astonishment, laughs, and a number of surprises. It’s an audacious film that can’t be categorized, one that will challenge the thinking of voters when it comes time for awards season.

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You Can See Everything opens in theaters on October 16.

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