Weekend Event Planner

The 7 best things to do in Dallas over New Year's 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 over New Year's weekend. While not every event is out of the house, they all promise to provide a nice distraction from the everyday life.

Wednesday, December 30

Rebirth Brass Band in concert
The Granada Theater will celebrate the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 with back-to-back performances by the Rebirth Brass Band. The New Orleans band has released 17 albums in their career, most recently 2014's Move Your Body. They'll play once on Wednesday night and again on Thursday night.

Thursday, December 31

New Year's Eve events
Somewhat surprisingly, there is no shortage of parties and other New Year's Eve events to attend around Dallas-Fort Worth. For a full list of all of the different things to do, check out this link. For best restaurants to dine on New Year's Eve, click here. For best New Year's Day brunches, click here.

Four Day Weekend presents Virtual New Year's Eve
You could choose to party with other people, or you could enjoy one of the best comedy improv groups in the area from the comfort of home. Four Day Weekend has not been able to perform live in Dallas or Fort Worth since the pandemic began, but they will end this dumpster fire of a year on a high note and celebrate a new year with this virtual event.

Cirque Italia presents Paranormal Cirque (UPDATE: This event has been postponed.)
Under the black and red big top tent of Paranormal Cirque exists a crazy yet fun fusion between circus, theatre, and cabaret in perfect harmony with the evolution of a show that brings audiences back to when they dream ... and when they had nightmares and fantasies. The show, taking place in the parking lot of the Irving Mall through January 18, features acrobats, illusionists, freaks, mysterious creatures, and all the elements that make one think of a "normal" circus, except it's anything but normal.

Friday, January 1

Vogel Alcove presents Day 1 DFW
Vogel Alcove’s annual event, Day 1 DFW, returns for its sixth year, this year presented by Main Event. The family fair has been reimagined to offer families three safe ways to play on New Year’s Day, each option designed to fit the health and safety concerns for varying comfort levels of Dallas-Fort Worth families. The three ways to participate include an in-person event at Main Event sites in Frisco, Grapevine, and Grand Prairie, a virtual event, and a free drive-in fireworks show at Toyota Stadium in Frisco.

Sunday, January 3

Last call for holiday events
With the holiday season coming to a close, so too will the holiday events. Events finishing up their runs on Sunday include SnowDay Dallas, Lone Star Christmas at Gaylord Texan, The Trains at NorthPark, Holiday at the Park at Six Flags Over Texas, Luminova Holidays, Vitruvian Lights, Radiance! A Holiday Light Spectacular, Dallas Zoo Lights, Ella's Swinging Christmas from WaterTower Theatre, Estella Scrooge from The Firehouse Theatre, and The Christmas Line from East Dallas Arts.

Dallas Museum of Art presents "Frans Hals" closing day
Sunday is also the final day to view the "Frans Hals" exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art. Two imposing portraits of the same sitter painted a decade apart showcase the revolutionary technique of Frans Hals (1582/83–1666), the first major artist of free Holland. Hals was the foremost portraitist of his time, recognized for “painting character” through virtuosic, loose, and animated brushwork. The portraits of Pieter Jacobsz Olycan, loaned to the DMA, demonstrate the evolution of the artist’s technique at the highest point of his career.

Rebirth Brass Band will play at the Granada Theater on December 30 and 31.

Photo by Jeffrey Dupuis

Rebirth Brass Band will play at the Granada Theater on December 30 and 31.

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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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