I’ll be brief. It’s Friday, and we’ve all got things to do. A lot of things to do, in fact. Danzig, Steely Dan, Elvis Costello, and Nicki Minaj are all performing — Not on the same bill, sadly. The Asian Film Festival picks up steam, a sneaker convention kicks off at The Bomb Factory, and Moon Day sets up a direct line to the International Space Station.
Friday (07/17)
The Asian Film Festival of Dallas got going last night and runs through the weekend at the Angelika. These are the 5 movies you should take the time to check out at the area’s most under-appreciated film festival. I’m going to second Peter’s recommendation of Wild City, because action movies set in Hong Kong’s criminal underworld tend to be the best action movies. I’m also going to support the idea that spending a weekend in an air-conditioned movie theater is a fantastic way to beat the heat.
Nicki Minaj, whose money’s so tall that her Barbie’s got to climb it, kicks off both her own tour with Rae Sremmurd and a weekend of big concerts in Dallas tonight at Gexa Energy Pavilion. Imagine Dragons, Danzig, Steely Dan, and Elvis Costello (two of those acts are sharing a bill, and it’s unfortunately not Glenn and Elvis) are also in town this weekend, and you can read all about that over here.
Second Thought Theatre’s production of Othello, which has its press opening tonight at Bryant Hall on the Kalita Humphreys Theater campus, appears to be taking the “modern update” route in adapting the Shakespeare classic, judging by a promotional photo that shows the general in a U.S. Army uniform.
The Texas Theatre is encouraging everyone to dress up as post-apocalyptic Australian outcasts and paint-huffing war boys for a screening of the new Mad Max film, which we really liked. We’re more ambivalent about costume parties, but you can stick around for one of those after the movie.
The Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher are both open late tonight. The DMA’s got the murder mystery game, but the Nasher’s got the courtyard with the live music. You can do both, but be careful. There’s a lot of expensive art sitting around those joints.
I dabble in the occasional video game but suspect I’d be out of my depth at the SGC Gaming Convention in Irving this weekend. If you’re of the more hardcore gaming variety or the type of person who considers people that play games on YouTube celebrities, this giant thing runs through the weekend at the Embassy Suites.
Saturday (07/18)
We’d all written Pluto off as the solar system’s washed up, has-been planet. Now look at us. Three days of public interest in New Horizons’ Pluto flyby will likely not generate any extra funding for NASA, which is why events like Moon Day — this weekend’s space exhibition at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field — are important, especially for smart young kids who haven’t already sabotaged themselves by pursuing a degree in something like journalism. Let your kid talk live to an astronaut on the International Space Station at Moon Day and convince them that they should major in a STEM field because space is super cool.
Sneakers are serious business, and Kixpo, the sneaker and streetwear convention at The Bomb Factory, is about as serious as it gets.
It’s time for some group art shows, including gallery openings at PDNB, Circuit 12, and Erin Cluley.
Cameron Esposito‘s got a reputation for being pretty funny, which bodes well for the comedian and her set at the Granada.
Sunday (07/19)
Steely Dan and Elvis Costello share a hip old guy double-bill at Gexa Energy Pavilion, while Wreckless Eric gets after it with Salim Nourallah at the Kessler.
Speaking of hip old guys, Ian McKellan turns in a solid performance as an aging Sherlock Holmes in Mr. Holmes, a slow-burning character study that’s worth your attention.
I spent a good deal of time goofing around with this new Spotify feature: an interactive map that compiles playlists of the most popular songs unique to about 1,000 cities across the planet. I found it pretty fascinating, and there are worse ways to kill a few hours on a Sunday.
For more to do this weekend, go here.
