One of Dallas' most unique and enjoyable programs is ordering another round. Thursdays on Tap at the Perot Museum of Nature & Science starts up again on April 6 and runs through the end of October (cue rejoicing from the 21-and-up crowd who loves booze and dinosaurs).
This is your chance to tour the entire museum without the daytime crowds or children getting underfoot. You can also purchase drinks from the outdoor bars for only $3-$10 (last call is at 9:45 pm, FYI).
Then purchase tasty treats and delicious bites from the many rotating food trucks and vendors parked outside from 6-10 pm.
The drool-worthy vendors you can expect to see on Thursday nights in April include:
Mi Cocina (April 6 and 20)
Cuates Kitchen (April 6)
Easy Slider (April 6)
Community Beer Co. (April 6, 13, and 20)
Sushi Dojo (April 13)
Cousins Maine Lobster (April 13)
Magdalena's (April 13)
Egg Stand (April 20)
Ruthie's Rolling Cafe (April 20)
Don't forget to play one of the outside games while enjoying live music by local artists. Tauvy Thompson will perform at the first event on April 6, Alex Cantrell on April 13, and Alejandro De La Puente is scheduled for April 20.
Until Labor Day, the museum’s latest traveling exhibition “The Science Behind Pixar,” presented locally by NexPoint, is included in the price of admission.
Though taking public transportation, carpooling, or using a rideshare service is recommended due to the nature of the event, all guests can park for $10 per car (credit card only) in the main parking lot under Woodall Rodgers Freeway on Broom Street, right across from the museum.
Thursdays on Tap is $25 for non-members, and only $5 for members. The program begins April 6 and runs weekly until October 26. More information can be found on the Perot Museum's website.
The reasons behind the success of 2015’s The Martian, which earned over $630 million worldwide and got nominated for seven Oscars, had as much to do with the novel written by Andy Weir as it did with star Matt Damon and director Ridley Scott. Weir’s commitment to making an entertaining story that was also scientifically accurate proved to be easy to translate into a blockbuster movie.
The same is true for Weir’s 2021 novel, Project Hail Mary, now a film starring Ryan Gosling. Gosling plays Dr. Ryland Grace, who opens the film waking up from an induced coma, alone on an interstellar spaceship named the Hail Mary. As his foggy mind clears, he - and the audience - learn that he was recruited to help an initiative to save the world after it’s discovered that a mysterious phenomenon is causing the sun to cool down, threatening all life on Earth.
The film toggles back and forth between Grace’s time on the ship and his whirlwind journey of scientific discovery on Earth, with revelations coming on both sides. On Earth, he mostly deals with Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller), the unflappable and unstoppable leader of the international coalition dedicated to solving the problem. And in space, orbiting the far-off star known as Tau Ceti, he encounters another being he names Rocky, a five-limbed creature that looks like a boulder which teams up with him to try to save both of their worlds.
Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and written by Drew Goddard (who also wrote The Martian), the film melds multiple genres into an astonishingly great whole. It starts off as a mystery, morphs into science fiction, transitions into actual science, becomes a thriller, adds in plenty of drama, and - for good measure - features plenty of comedy along the way. Shifting tones like this film does is tricky for many filmmakers, but Lord and Miller prove to be masterful at knowing just how much of each to include before it becomes too much.
One of the biggest keys to the story is the fact that Grace is not a hero in the movie sense of the word. He’s very smart, but he’s also an everyman, teaching middle school science after being shunned from academia. The circumstances of how he ended up on the Hail Mary are doled out in pieces over the course of the film, but it’s clear from the start that Grace’s talents are not the ones found in your typical astronaut. Ironically, it’s him being forced to do heroic stuff that imbues him with an atypical type of bravery.
The relationship between Grace and Rocky is unique, and Rocky ends up being as endearing an alien that’s been featured in movies despite the fact that he has no face and speaks only in musical tones. The film does a very effective job of putting the audience in Grace’s shoes, having to figure out ways to communicate with Rocky at the same time as he’s trying to figure out how to complete a mission he wasn’t trained to do.
Gosling is the ideal actor to portray a man like Grace. Essentially alone for much of the film, his innate charm and humorous delivery keep the film from feeling like an extended monologue. The flashback scenes to his time on Earth feature solid performances from people like Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), Lionel Boyce (The Bear), and more, who fill in the pieces of the story without feeling out of place.
Project Hail Mary is a crowd-pleaser in all the right ways, delivering plenty of thrilling action and funny moments while also digging deep into science nerd elements. With a movie star like Gosling in the lead and successful filmmakers like Lord, Miller, and Goddard behind the scenes, the film makes an early case for being one of best of the year.
