Weekend Event Planner

These are the 7 best things to do in Fort Worth this weekend

There are relatively few new events going on in Fort Worth this weekend, but the ones that are happening offer intriguing possibilities. Choices include a charitable food event, a movie about a baseball spy, five art openings in one location, a theatrical reimagining of a classic horror book/movie, and a unique classical music performance.

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

Thursday, August 1

DFW Restaurant Week: Specialty Bites
DFW Restaurant Week’s second annual Specialty Bites will be an evening featuring music, exclusive craft cocktails, wine sampling, and tasty bites from the best and upcoming restaurants in the area. The event, taking place at Crockett Row, will kick off DFW Restaurant Week (which gets started Friday with a "preview weekend") and benefits Lena Pope and the North Texas Food Bank.

Friday, August 2

Magnolia at the Modern: The Spy Behind Home Plate
Aviva Kempner's The Spy Behind Home Plate is the first feature-length documentary to tell the real story of Morris "Moe" Berg, the enigmatic and brilliant Jewish baseball player turned spy. Berg caught and fielded in the major leagues during baseball's Golden Age in the 1920s and 1930s. But very few people know that Berg also worked for the Office of Strategic Services, spying in Europe and playing a prominent role in America's efforts to undermine the German atomic bomb program during WWII. The film will screen six times through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Fort Worth Community Arts Center openings
The Fort Worth Community Arts Center will celebrate the beginning of August with the opening of five new art exhibits, including Emilie Duval: "Now You Know," TAC Juried Exhibit 2019, Jerry Smith: "This'n That — Apropros Appropriation," "Animalia," and Shawn O'Connell: "23." Each of the exhibits will remain on display through August 21.

Casa Mañana Theatre presents Carrie the Musical
A fully re-imagined musical of Stephen King’s gripping tale, Carrie the Musical revolves around Carrie White, a misfit living in the small town of Chamberlain, Maine. At school she's an outcast who's bullied by the popular crowd and virtually invisible to everyone else. At home she's at the mercy of her loving but cruelly over-protective mother. But Carrie's just discovered she's got a special power, and if pushed too far, she's not afraid to use it. The show, presented by Casa Mañana's Apprentice Program, will have four performances through Sunday.

Saturday, August 3

Panther Island Pavilion presents Rockin’ the River
Rockin’ the River features five different bands playing back-to-back sets throughout the day on the Coors Light Waterfront Stage at Panther Island Pavilion, finishing with a final band on the after-party stage before a fireworks display. There will also be food and beverages available for purchase, as well as tube and watersport rentals. Adam Hood will headline the band lineup this week.

Sounds Modern presents Brazenly Self-Effacing
Sounds Modern presents Brazenly Self-Effacing, a musical drama of impermanence and disappearance, made up of works whose composers found beauty in stripping away ego, agency, and identity. Presented in conjunction with the current exhibition, "Disappearing – California, c. 1970," the concert includes the music of John Cage, Steve Reich, Kaija Saariaho, Seth Shafer, and more. The concert will be at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Sunday, August 4

Panther Island Pavilion presents Sunday Funday
Sunday Funday at Panther Island Pavilion is a day of relaxation and fun in the sun. Tubes and pedal boats are available to rent along with kayaks, stand-up paddle boards, and canoes from Backwoods Paddlesports. Visitors can enjoy cold beer, music, friends, food trucks, and floating on the Trinity River.

Sounds Modern presents Brazenly Self-Effacing at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth on August 3.

Photo by Stephen Lucas

Sounds Modern presents Brazenly Self-Effacing at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth on August 3.

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Movie Review

The Wild Robot does sweet film adaptation of popular children's book

Photo courtesy of DreamWorks Animation

Roz (Lupita N'yongo) and Brightbill (Kit Connor) in The Wild Robot.

It takes a lot for a new children’s book to become broadly popular, but 2016’s The Wild Robot did just that with its simple but heartfelt story about a robot that finds itself accidentally stranded on an island, forcing it to adapt to a world for which it was not programmed. That instant classic status has now been solidified with its adaptation into an animated movie of the same name.

Roz (Lupita N’yongo) is a helper robot designed to aid humans with almost anything they might need. Instead of its intended destination, though, it mysteriously finds itself washed up on an uninhabited island filled with a variety of animals. The curious creatures soon activate the robot, and it spends a lot of time trying to figure out its purpose in a world devoid of humans.

Roz finds that purpose with a parentless gosling it names Brightbill (Kit Connor). Given instructions by other geese that Brightbill must learn to survive on its own, Roz and a helpful fox named Fink (Pedro Pascal) proceed to do everything in their power to teach Brightbill how to eat, swim, and fly. The straightforward quest turns out to be anything but, with more than a few surprises along the way.

Directed by Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon) and written by Sanders and Peter Brown, the film has a sweet story, although it’s not as affecting as one might expect. The filmmakers focus on creating a strong bond with Roz as the robot is put through a lot of stress, from the natural elements to aggressive animals to not knowing what its mission is. Once Brightbill enters the picture, those feelings are heightened, but the “mother-son” relationship never reaches its full potential.

In addition to the never-ending (and unintended) education of Roz, the film retains its watchability thanks to a load of off-kilter humorous moments. Because it features mostly talking animals, there is a good amount of cutesiness, but the filmmakers add in a few details that make it more pointed than your typical kids movie. The necessary relationship between predators and prey is touched on more than once, with funny (and slightly gruesome) results. And scenes late in the film seem to be a commentary on climate change without being heavy-handed.

Fans of the original book may be disappointed to find that the movie creates its own look, starting with a rounder, sleeker Roz. The animals and natural scenery all feel more rustic, with a fuzziness around the edges that complements the outdoor setting. While perhaps not as immersive as some other modern animated movies, the film has a style that’s dazzling in its own right.

N’yongo has a calming voice that fits Roz perfectly. Thankfully, she forgoes any robotic affect, choosing instead to use a steady, unemotional tone that makes the character appealing nonetheless. No one else is especially memorable in the voice department, even though the film contains big names like Pascal, Ving Rhames, Bill Nighy, Catherine O’Hara, and Mark Hamill.

The Wild Robot is a solid film with some nice messages for children, even if it falls short of being one that demands an immediate rewatch. The book (and its sequels) will continue to be read by kids for generations to come, with the movie serving to bring its story to an even wider audience.

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The Wild Robot opens in theaters on September 27.

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