Weekend Event Planner

Fleetwood Mac and Mythbusters top best weekend events in Dallas

Christmas is just two weeks away, but believe it or not, the slate of events in Dallas-Fort Worth this weekend is not as holiday heavy as you'd expect. Among the offerings are a popular science TV program's road show, art by a rocker and a visit from that rocker's classic band.

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, December 11

Mizzen + Main presents Gift Your Guy Girls Night
Mizzen + Main specializes in men's shirts, but behind every good man is an even better woman, a demographic at which this event is aimed. Female attendees can induldge in Fluff Pop, champagne and flowers while they shop for the perfect Christmas gift for their husband or boyfriend at the brand's Design District showroom. Gift-wrapping is complimentary.

Andrea Bocelli in concert
Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli has been wowing audiences for going on 20 years, becoming one of the rare classical music artists to transcend his genre and appeal to the mainstream. Bocelli comes to American Airlines Center without a new album to support, meaning his fans can expect a mixture of favorite songs and holiday tunes.

Friday, December 12

Galleria Dallas presents 2014 Dallas CityScape
It's amazing what some people can create out of Lego bricks, and starting this weekend, you can ooh and ahh over the annual Dallas CityScape exhibit at Galleria Dallas. Featuring a slew of Dallas landmarks made entirely out of Legos, the exhibition is on display through January 4, with proceeds benefiting Education Opens Doors.

Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant in concert with the Dallas POPs
Christian music fans will be in heaven when genre superstars Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant team up for this special holiday concert at American Airlines Center. The two collaborated on Smith's recently released Christmas album, The Spirit of Christmas, which is sure to be heavily featured. Dallas POPs joins the duo for a memorable night.

Saturday, December 13

Samuel Lynne Galleries presents Mick Fleetwood: Reflections
In advance of Fleetwood Mac's concert on Sunday night, drummer Mick Fleetwood shows off his other passion — photography — at Samuel Lynne Galleries. The "Reflections" exhibit has works for sale December 11-13, and anybody who makes a purchase can attend this private reception with Fleetwood on Saturday.

Old 97's in concert with Matt Hillyer
Dallas originals the Old 97's complete a Texas-only mini-tour with this stop at the Majestic Theatre. Even though the band is enjoying the biggest success of their career with 2014's Most Messed Up, this concert is a blast from the past, as they play their debut album, Hitchhike to Rhome, in its entirety, along with a variety of their other hits. Matt Hillyer is the opening act.

Mythbusters: Behind the Myths Tour
Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman from the Discovery Channel's Mythbusters have been combining science and entertainment since 2003, proving or disproving theories, legends and Internet rumors. This show at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie features onstage experiments, audience participation and behind-the-scenes stories.

The Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Rocks Extravaganza!
Brian Setzer has had one heck of a career, putting out multiple records with the Stray Cats, the Brian Setzer Orchestra and as a solo artist. All of those elements and more are in play for this concert at the Winspear Opera House, as Setzer performs some of his biggest hits along with a variety of reimagined and acclaimed holiday classics.

Sunday, December 14

Demetri Martin: The Persistence of Jokes
Demetri Martin is one of those "that guy" comedians who has been fame-adjacent for many years without ever becoming truly famous himself. He's had roles in a number of movies as well as his own short-lived Comedy Central show. He is also slated to have his writing and directing film debut next year, but he has yet to really break out. He persistently tells some jokes at the House of Blues Dallas.

Fleetwood Mac in concert
Purist fans of Fleetwood Mac are rejoicing, as Christine McKie has rejoined the group for the first time in 16 years. That means this concert at American Airlines Center is an opportunity to hear the classic band's songs as they were meant to be heard. If you couldn't get tickets for this date, don't fret: The band recently announced that they'll return to Dallas again on March 4, 2015.

Post-weekend bonus

Dave Chappelle in concert
A week ago, the idea of Dave Chappelle's coming to Dallas wasn't even a possibility. Now fans are blessed with four chances to see the elusive comedian, because he's performing two separate sets at the House of Blues Dallas on both Monday and Tuesday. We don't know what he has planned, but we can't wait to find out.

Comedian Dave Chappelle performs four shows over two nights, December 15 and 16, at the House of Blues Dallas.

Photo courtesy of Dave Chappelle

Comedian Dave Chappelle performs four shows over two nights, December 15 and 16, at the House of Blues Dallas.

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Movie Review

Film sequel Avatar: Fire and Ash is a technical and visual feast

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Oona Chaplin in Avatar: Fire and Ash.

For a series whose first two films made over $5 billion combined worldwide, Avatar has a curious lack of widespread cultural impact. The films seem to exist in a sort of vacuum, popping up for their run in theaters and then almost as quickly disappearing from the larger movie landscape. The third of five planned movies, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is finally being released three years after its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water.

The new film finds the main duo, human-turned-Na’vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his native Na’vi wife, Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), still living with the water-loving Metkayina clan led by Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis). While Jake and Neytiri still play a big part, the focus shifts significantly to their two surviving children, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), as well as two they’ve essentially adopted, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and Spider (Jack Champion).

Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who lives on in a fabricated Na’vi body, is still looking for revenge on Jake, and he finds help in the form of the Mangkwan Clan (aka the Ash People), led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). Quaritch’s access to human weapons and the Mangkwan’s desire for more power on the moon known as Pandora make them a nice match, and they team up to try to dominate the other tribes.

Aside from the story, the main point of making the films for writer/director James Cameron is showing off his considerable technical filmmaking prowess, and that is on full display right from the start. The characters zoom around both the air and sea on various creatures with which they’ve bonded, providing Cameron and his team with plenty of opportunities to put the audience right there with them. Cameron’s preferred viewing method of 3D makes the experience even more immersive, even if the high frame rate he uses makes some scenes look too realistic for their own good.

The story, as it has been in the first two films, is a mixed bag. Cameron and co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver start off well, having Jake, Neytiri, and their kids continue mourning the death of Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) in the previous film. The struggle for power provides an interesting setup, but Cameron and his team seem to drag out the conflict for much too long. This is the longest Avatar film yet, and you really start to feel it in the back half as the filmmakers add on a bunch of unnecessary elements.

Worse than the elongated story, though, is the hackneyed dialogue that Cameron, Jaffa, and Silver have come up with. Almost every main character is forced to spout lines that diminish the importance of the events around them. The writers seemingly couldn’t resist trying to throw in jokes despite them clashing with the tone of the scenes in which they’re said. Combined with the somewhat goofy nature of the Na’vi themselves (not to mention talking whales), the eye-rolling words detract from any excitement or emotion the story builds up.

A pre-movie behind-the-scenes short film shows how the actors act out every scene in performance capture suits, lending an authenticity to their performances. Still, some performers are better than others, with Saldaña, Worthington, and Lang standing out. It’s more than a little weird having Weaver play a 14-year-old girl, but it works relatively well. Those who actually get to show their real faces are collectively fine, but none of them elevate the film overall.

There are undoubtedly some Avatar superfans for which Fire and Ash will move the larger story forward in significant ways. For anyone else, though, the film is a demonstration of both the good and bad sides of Cameron. As he’s proven for 40 years, his visuals are (almost) beyond reproach, but the lack of a story that sticks with you long after you’ve left the theater keeps the film from being truly memorable.

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Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in theaters on December 19.

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