A popular designer and HGTV star is doing a meet and greet in Grapevine: Jenn Todryk, vivacious host of HGTV’s No Demo Reno, will hold court at Grapevine Mills Mall inside Arhaus The Loft on January 18.
Meet and Greet guests will also have a chance to win gift cards from Grapevine Mills retailers including Arhaus, Neiman Marcus Last Call, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Pandora.
Walk-ups not allowed: Only guests with tickets will meet the home renovation expert. One ticket allows up to 4 people. You can reserve your ticket here.
Todryk is the founder of a highly relatable blog called "Life as a Rambling Redhead" where she shares behind-the-scenes moments of filming, home projects, and motherhood, which has earned her more than 1.4 million followers on Instagram.
No Demo Reno follows her as she devises cost-saving ideas to create transformations on homes, with a goal of keeping the original floorplan. The show rejects demolition as the path to renovation, meaning no casual removal of walls.
When not filming, she spends time with husband Mike and their three children.
Todryk has been open about how she has Hashimotos, an autoimmune disorder where her body attacks her thyroid, but doesn’t let that stop her from designing spaces for clients.
The couple own coffee shop Armor Coffee as well as their newest project: Armor Brewing Co, a restaurant serving craft beer.
Meet and Greet with HGTV star Jenn Todryk is on January 18, 11 am–1 pm at Grapevine Mills – Arhaus The Loft.
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.
