Weekend Event Planner

These are the 8 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

The first weekend of the new year is traditionally light on new events as organizers and eventgoers recover from the holiday onslaught. Still, there's always something going on, including the last gasp of holiday events, a symphony concert, a local theater production, visits from two comedians, an astronomy exhibition, monster trucks, and a concert with lasers.

Below are more best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, January 4

Final call for holiday events
Some holiday events wrapped up their runs last week, and this weekend will see every other big event in the Dallas area come to a close. If you want to wring every last drop of holiday joy out of the season, you can still go to Holiday at the Arboretum, The Trains at NorthPark, Snowday at Galleria Dallas, Peace Plaza Ice Rink in Grapevine, and The Colony Christmas Spectacular. The first two close on Friday, while the latter three close on Sunday.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Elgar Cello Concerto"
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra opens 2024 with "Elgar Cello Concerto," featuring conductor Marie Jacquot and cellist Maximilian Hornung. Selections include Schmidt's Intermezzo from Notre Dame, Elgar's Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 4. There will be four performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Junior Players presents Legally Blonde The Musical
Elle Woods appears to have it all. Her life is turned upside down when her boyfriend Warner dumps her so he can attend Harvard Law. Determined to get him back, Elle ingeniously charms her way into the prestigious law school. While there, she struggles with peers, professors, and her ex. With the support of some new friends, though, Elle quickly realizes her potential and sets out to prove to herself and to the world that being yourself never goes out of style. Junior Players' production runs through Sunday at Moody Performance Hall.

Friday, January 5

Improv Arlington presents Jay Pharoah
Jay Pharoah is an actor and stand-up comedian who is best known for his wide array of uncanny celebrity impressions, including President Barack Obama, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Stephen A. Smith, Kanye West, and Chris Tucker, all of which he showcased during his six-season stint on Saturday Night Live. He'll perform five times through Sunday at Improv Arlington.

Hyena's presents Daryl Felsberg
There is no mistaking when Daryl Felsberg is on stage, as the larger-than-life comic commands a room everywhere he goes. His storytelling approach, littered with jokes and heaps of laughs, always has a big payoff. His sarcasm is as rich and thick as his brisket-infused bloodstream. He'll perform four times through Saturday at Hyena's Comedy Nightclub at Mockingbird Station.

Saturday, January 6

SciArt Exchange presents Sensing Deep Space: Pandora's Cluster
Sensing Deep Space: Pandora’s Cluster is a multisensory experience that merges art and science while taking visitors on a tour through new discoveries in the Pandora’s Cluster region of space to help us truly grasp what’s out there. The James Webb Space Telescope revolutionized deep space exploration, offering humanity a portal into the inaccessible cosmos. It also allowed the creation of an installation that shatters the boundaries of earthly experience, enabling visitors to traverse the untraversable. The event takes place through February 4 at Eisemann Center for Performing Arts in Richardson.

Monster Truck Wars
Monster Truck Wars is a high-energy monster truck show where trucks compete in nonstop, head-to-head competition. The all-new Robot Battle is joining the action this year, where three-story-high transforming robots Galactron and Reptar battle on the arena floor. The event also includes kid’s power wheel races and a chance to take a ride in a real monster truck. There will be two performances on Saturday at Fair Park Coliseum.

Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular
The Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular is a multimedia show featuring the original music of Pink Floyd, carrying fans on a mind-expanding journey driven by cutting-edge laser, lighting, and video effects. The concert takes place at House of Blues Dallas.

Photo courtesy of SciArt Exchange

SciArt Exchange presents Sensing Deep Space: Pandora's Cluster at Eisemann Center for Performing Arts starting on January 6.

holidays concerts symphony music theater comedy science cars event-planner

Movie Review

Glen Powell bumps off rich family in How to Make a Killing

Photo courtesy of A24

Glen Powell in How to Make a Killing.

Becoming a star in Hollywood and maintaining that stardom are two very difficult things to achieve, but Glen Powell has been adept at doing so over the past few years. A key supporting role in Top Gun: Maverick led to lead parts in films like Hit Man, Anyone But You, Twisters, and The Running Man. Powell is looking to keep his star power shining in the new dark comedy/thriller, How to Make a Killing.

He plays Beckett, an outcast member of the ultra-wealthy Redfellow clan. Struggling to get by in a menial job in New York City while still living in New Jersey, Beckett’s only smidgen of hope is that he remains an heir to the vast Redfellow fortune. The only trick? Every other remaining family member must die before he’ll see a dime of that money. When even that menial job goes away, Beckett indulges the fantasy of bumping off his familial competition.

Among those standing in his way are cousins Taylor (Raff Law), a finance bro, Noah (Zach Woods), a pretentious artist, and Steven (Topher Grace), a celebrity pastor; Uncle Warren (Bill Camp) and Aunt Cassandra (Bianca Amato); and grandfather Whitelaw (Ed Harris). Complicating matters, however, are an old childhood friend, Julia (Margaret Qualley), who starts asking more of Beckett than he can give; and new flame Ruth (Jessica Henwick), who happens to be dating Noah when he meets her.

Written and directed by John Patton Ford (Emily the Criminal), the film is a tale of two halves. Narrated by Beckett in the form of telling his story to a prison chaplain, the story plays with audience expectations on multiple occasions. As Beckett ramps up to detailing exactly how he got started down the road toward being a serial killer, the film has a fun-if-macabre vibe.

Under normal circumstances Beckett would be someone to despise, but since he’s an underprivileged person who’s taking aim at people who (mostly) don’t seem to appreciate their good luck, it feels okay to cheer for him. This follows a recent trend in “eat the rich” films, one that’s been influenced by a turn against real-life billionaires. Ford plays heavily into the theme and it works for a good portion of the film.

However, things get a little murky in the second half of the movie. A few of the planned killings get less attention than others, making their - pardon the pun - execution less interesting/fun than the others. Also, Ford does a poor job of indicating just how much weight should be put on Beckett’s relationship with Julia, someone with whom he only has occasional interactions for the bulk of the film.

It’s difficult to know the exact right way to showcase Powell, but this film doesn’t seem to be the best fit. Whether it’s the odd hairstyle/wig he’s given, or the varying degrees of confidence his character shows, his performance is up and down. Qualley’s acting style is over-the-top, and she needed to dial it down in this particular role. Henwick and Camp are the grounding forces in the film, keeping the story somewhat tethered to reality while almost everyone else makes a meal of their scenes.

How to Make a Killing is serviceable entertainment that gives viewers a decent number of laughs and thrills. But Ford can’t find a way to make the story work all the way through, and a so-so performance by Powell keeps the film from rising above its mediocre station.

---

How to Make a Killing opens in theaters on February 20.

movies film