Weekend Event Planner

These are the 8 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

While many events in and around Dallas have either been postponed or canceled during the coronavirus pandemic, some organizations have pivoted to virtual or socially-distanced events to continue offering the masses some entertainment while we need it the most.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. While they're not all outside of the house, they all promise to provide a nice distraction from the everyday life.

Thursday, November 5

Galleria Dallas and Fashion Group International presents "Fashion Meets Mask"
Galleria Dallas is partnering with the Dallas chapter of Fashion Group International to present "Fashion Meets Mask," an exhibit and virtual auction celebrating the art of the mask. More than 50 face masks created by local and national celebrities, including Venny Etienne, Lea Fisher, Linda Gray, and Troy Aikman, will be displayed on Level One at Galleria Dallas through November 30. Proceeds from the sale of those masks will benefit the Fashion Group Foundation of Dallas.

Reliant Lights Strauss Square
This event marks the return of concerts to AT&T Performing Arts Center. Featuring Dallas favorite Jake Dexter & the Main Street Sound and hosted by the Center’s Auxiliary Board, this benefit concert supports the relief fund created for the Center while its stages have been dark and its doors have been closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will take place outdoors at Annette Strauss Square.

Friday, November 6

Avant Chamber Ballet presents Under the Stars
Avant Chamber Ballet will present their first in-person performance of the 2020-21 season, Under the Stars. The show, which will be outdoors at Annette Strauss Square on Friday and Saturday, will be three ballets with no intermission: Katie Puder’s Ravel Violin Sonata, the world premiere of Madison Hicks’ Still Growing, and Katie Puder’s 19th Amendment, all with live music.

AURORA presents Marina Rosenfeld: "Ssalute"
AURORA’s Biennial will open with the world premiere of a new work by Marina Rosenfeld titled "Ssalute." A drive-through sound installation occupying the upper floors of a parking structure at 1200 Ross Ave., Rosenfeld’s new work is oriented around the spectator as a driver or passenger, enclosed in the protective skin of their vehicle. It starts with a personal salute offered by a live trumpet player, and this thickly amplified and augmented salutation follows drivers, echoing through the structure until they emerge onto the roof and the ambient sound of the city. The event will take place nightly through November 15.

Disney on Ice presents Dream Big
Courage leads the way for Disney’s most adventurous heroes when Disney On Ice presents Dream Big. The show, which will take place on various dates at American Airlines Center through November 15, features favorite Disney friends such as Mickey, Minnie, Miguel, Moana, Elsa, Belle, Genie, and more highlighting all the magic and adventure of Disney’s tales through world-class figure skating. The event will have pod seating, allowing visitors to safely enjoy Disney On Ice while social distancing from other groups that are also in attendance.

Saturday, November 7

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden presents Holiday at the Arboretum
The annual Holiday at the Arboretum includes the 12 Days of Christmas, featuring 25-foot-tall elaborately decorated Victorian-style gazebos that represent each of days from the song. In the evenings, the garden is open late for a special experience with over a million lights, with the gazebos and Christmas Village coming to life. The expanded Christmas Village, which opens on November 27, will feature life-size European-style houses, lighted trees, shop owners passing out samples, and live entertainment. The festival takes place through December 31 at the Dallas Arboretum.

Teatro Dallas presents A Grave is Given Supper
A literary-theatrical event, A Grave is Given Supper is a Narco-Acid Western told in a series of interlinked poems. The production, taking place on various dates through November 14 at Latino Cultural Center, follows the converging paths of two protagonists through El Sumidero, a fictional U.S./Mexico border town where an ongoing drug war rages. It is presented in an outdoor cabaret, and refreshments, rituals, and a copy of the book of poetry are included in the ticket price. A maximum of 24 tickets will be sold per performance.

Mainstage Irving - Las Colinas presents Erma Bombeck: At Wit's End
A celebration of humorist Erma Bombeck, At Wit’s End rejoices in the life of a woman considered to be one of America’s funniest moms, who championed the everyday lives of housewives with a daring truth few of her generation were willing to tell. Mainstage Irving - Las Colinas presents this one-person, full-length play, which will be available for on-demand streaming through November 21.

Disney on Ice: Dream Big will be at American Airlines Center, November 6-15.

Photo courtesy of Feld Entertainment

Disney on Ice: Dream Big will be at American Airlines Center, November 6-15.

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Movie Review

Horrific filmmaking makes DC villain Clayface less appealing

Photo by Parisa Taghizadeh

Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie in Clayface.

The history of DC Comics in movies has been hit-and-miss, especially when it comes to anything not directly involving Batman or Superman. Over the years, films have been headlined by heroes like Catwoman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Shazam, the Flash, and more, and while some succeeded, none left a lasting mark on moviegoers’ imaginations.

Much like they did with Joker, the powers-that-be behind DC Studios productions are trying to entice viewers with a no-holds-barred story in Clayface. Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) is an A-list movie actor with both critical and commercial appeal. Unfortunately, a night of celebration for his recent Oscar nomination leads to him sleeping with Theresa (Ruby Sear), the girlfriend of Markos Szabo (David Dencik), a prominent mobster in Gotham City. Markos then enacts revenge by taking a razor to Matt’s face.

Desperate to find a way to look like his old self again, Matt seeks out Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie), who’s conducting cutting-edge nanotechnology research that can heal any kind of damage. While the solution works on Matt, it also has the side effect of his body doing unintended things, even morphing into those with whom he comes into contact. After initially struggling with his new body, Matt decides to use his powers to enact revenge on those who’ve done him wrong.

Directed by James Watkins (Speak No Evil) and written by Mike Flanagan (The Life of Chuck) and Hossein Amini, the film is only intermittently entertaining as it tries to sell its ridiculous premise. Right from the start, it seems like the filmmakers have been given a limited budget, as everything from the sets to the CGI to the stilted dialogue feels cheap. For a film coming from a major studio, the whole thing comes off as schlocky and undercooked.

Watkins and his team try to make up for that shoddiness by delivering R-rated thrills like nudity and body horror, but those elements can only distract for so long. Much of the film is spent dealing with Matt’s trauma, and the downbeat nature of his body issues combined with very little action makes the movie not very fun to watch. The film also tries to make hay with more than a doctor-patient bond between Caitlyn — who has a boyfriend on the police force — and Matt, but like the most of the film, it never connects.

It’s not until the final third of the movie that the filmmakers land on the tone they should have been using the whole time. Matt’s ability to transform himself, while illogical and confounding, provides multiple over-the-top, funny moments and some legitimately creative kills. Instead of taking forever to set up Matt/Clayface’s origin story, Watkins and his team should have just cut to the chase and let him loose to see what the character could truly do.

This is the first big role for Welsh actor Harries, and while he’s not exactly magnetic, he proves himself worthy of the lead role. Ackie is also fine, but after several years of trying to advance up the Hollywood ladder, she may be running out of time to show she’s a star. The supporting cast has a couple of familiar faces, but it’s mostly lesser-known actors who do nothing to indicate they deserve bigger showcases.

It’s difficult to imagine any non-DC Comics fans having a strong attachment to the character of Clayface, and the film fails to make the case that he should be a continuing character. The poor quality of almost everything that appears on screen is indicative of the kind of effort and money that was put into the film, and sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

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Clayface opens in theaters on October 23.

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