Dallas celebrity chef Stephan Pyles welcomed the cast of Ballroom With a Twist, aka a traveling Dancing With the Stars, to San Salvaje for the official cast party.
After a successful show at the Music Hall at Fair Park, a posse comprising Cheryl Burke, Karina Smirnoff, Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Tony Dovolani headed to the modern Latin restaurant, where the staff was ready and waiting. Other BWAT cast members — including Legacy Perez, Jenna Johnson and Randi Lynn Strong — as well as former Bachelor and DWTS castmember Sean Lowe and wife Catherine, also hit up the Arts District hot spot, bringing the tally to more than 30 singers and dancers.
Tony Dovolani was the life of the party, showing that trademark charm and charisma his fans adore.
Dovolani was the life of the party, showing that trademark charm and charisma his fans adore. He and Smirnoff created quite a stir on the patio with their smoking hot moves, causing passersby to snap photos and drivers to roll down their windows to get a better look.
Salsa band Fifo Y Su Combo impressed the group so much that they opted to hire the band for another hour. Sources also tell us that Burke and Smirnoff were dolls throughout the evening, never letting their celebrity status get in the way of a little Texas fun.
If you were inspired by this dance party, you can create your own: San Salvaje has live Latin music and dancing every Friday and Saturday, from 9 pm to midnight.
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.
