More Bang for Your Buck

These are the best discounts for holiday events around Dallas-Fort Worth

Don't pay full price for holiday events like Luminova Holidays if you can help it.

Photo courtesy of Luminova Holidays

Holiday-themed events around Dallas-Fort Worth can be a lot of fun, but let's face it — they can also be very expensive, especially if you have a big family. To help our readers out, we've combed through event listings and Internet sources to find ways for them to save money during their holiday outings. We will update the list throughout the season as more deals are offered.

Gaylord Texan presents Lone Star Christmas
This holiday festival is unique in the area, as it has multiple options visitors can choose. Of course, you don't have to do all of them, but the more you do, the more the cost piles up. If you visit on "Value Days" (in general, Monday-Fridays, except for November 27 or December 18-26), you automatically save on the centerpiece event, I Love Christmas Movies, with each ticket level being discounted anywhere from $6-$8.

However, if you buy one of the Silver, Gold, or Platinum Play & Save Passes, you can save anywhere from 15-30 percent more off of I Love Christmas Movies and other events in the package. The catch is that you have to buy at least three of the events, which automatically makes the visit more expensive. But it's still better than paying face value for separate events when your kids beg you to do snow tubing or ice skating.

If you'd rather not buy multiple events at once, you can use the code REINDEER online to get 50 percent off on select dates for I Love Christmas Movies or $5 off Yuletide Bright, their walkthrough outdoor light attraction.

Texas Motor Speedway presents Gift of Lights
The annual drive-through holiday event at Texas Motor Speedway was already set up to be pandemic-friendly, and visitors can make it a little friendlier on their wallets if they go on certain discount days.

November 30: Crazy Car Day - Anyone who decorates their car will receive $10 off at the gate.
December 1: Crazy PJs Day - Anyone who dresses in their pajamas will receive $10 off at the gate.
December 2: Military, First Responder, and Health Care Worker Night - Anyone with a valid ID from one of those professions will get in for free.
December 7: Bring Your Pet Day - Anyone who brings their pet will receive $10 off at the gate.
December 8: Crazy Christmas Sweater Day - Anyone who wears a crazy Christmas sweater will receive $10 off at the gate.

Luminova Holidays
There aren't many discounts to be found for this new event at Globe Life Field in Arlington, but the Family Pack gives you five tickets for $59.99 on non-peak days ($79.99 for peak days). Buying two individual adult tickets and two children tickets would normally add up to $70, so on non-peak days it's like getting $10 off for a family of four or $25 off for a family of five. Additionally, all military (active, reserves, and retired), EMS and Nurses, and First Responders get a $5 discount on any day.

Six Flags Over Texas presents Holiday at the Park
The annual holiday event at the theme park will take place on various dates, November 20-January 3, and you'd have to be a fool to buy your tickets at the gate, where the cost is $79.99 per person. Buying online saves you anywhere from $40-$60, depending on the day you want to go. If you plan on going multiple times, a season pass (starting at $59.99 per person) pays for itself in 2-3 visits.

Panther Island Ice
The annual pop-up ice skating rink at Coyote Drive-In in Fort Worth offers a $3 discount off the $13 normal price for active duty military, guard, reservists, veterans, and their families, as well as students and faculty of Tarleton State University. Both groups must show proper ID to get the discount.

SnowDay Dallas
The Instagram-friendly holiday event at Galleria Dallas has a significant difference between adult tickets ($22) and children's tickets ($8), but it also gives a $2 discount for seniors 65 and older, military, and first responders with proper ID.

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Movie Review

Andrew Garfield leads peasant rebellion in medieval film The Uprising

Photo by Betina La Plante/Focus Features

Andrew Garfield in The Uprising.

Writer/director Paul Greengrass made his name with a cinéma vérité style of filmmaking that brought immediacy and depth to three Jason Bourne films, United 93, Captain Phillips, and more. In The Uprising, he uses those skills to tell the story of the so-called Peasants’ Revolt in 14th century England.

Greengrass wastes no time starting the main plot as Ploughman (Andrew Garfield) and his fellow villagers object to onerous taxes put on them by the country’s nobility, led by the young King Richard II (Woody Norman), to fund an ongoing war. Ploughman initiates a violent response over the tone-deaf — and unseemly — way the king’s guard go about their business, and the rebellion soon starts to spread across the countryside, with the citizens looking for a degree of autonomy.

The ever-expanding group makes their way toward London to try to make their case to the king himself. Meanwhile, the king’s top advisors, including Archbishop Sudbury (Stephen Dillane) and Treasurer Hales (Tom Hollander), try to usurp power from the inexperienced monarch even as the king’s mother (Katherine Waterston) tries to get him to be more assertive.

The history of the English monarchy is long and lurid, as Shakespeare detailed in multiple plays, including Richard II. Though the events in the film took place almost 650 years ago, it’s easy to see parallels between what the peasants were fighting for and modern-day politics. Greengrass’ storytelling intent is solid, and the righteous anger the citizens feel is initially relatable and palpable.

But the populism theme of the story soon gets bogged down in drudgery and minutiae that is difficult to understand, especially when the details are lost in the thick regional English accents. The leaders of the rebels — including John Ball (Jamie Bell), Wat Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis), and Alyce (Thomasin McKenzie) — are shown doing a lot of planning, but the strong feelings they have about their quest don’t come across well, leaving the audience as passive observers.

When there is action, Greengrass and his team employ a frenetic style that is not great for comprehension. While the gist of what is happening and what side is winning is legible, individual moments go by so quickly so as to be nearly meaningless. Save for Ploughman, any connection that has been made with various characters proves futile, as Greengrass doesn’t seem to have any time for emotion. Scenes that should feel thrilling or heartbreaking instead come off as empty.

Garfield is a two-time Oscar nominee who has done great work across multiple genres. He’s fine in this role, but whether it’s the story, the filmmaking, or something else, he’s not as captivating as usual. The same goes for other strong actors like Bell, McKenzie, Dillane, Hollander, and Waterston, who each seem to be giving their all to their performances but are somehow muted in the process.

Done right, The Uprising could have been a rip-roaring account of people standing up against their oppressors. What Greengrass has made, though, is a film that can’t translate its medieval story for a modern audience and concentrates too much on unexciting elements and too little on thrilling ones.

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The Uprising is now playing in theaters.

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