Movie Review

It's hard to find flaws in the magically animated Kubo & the Two Strings

As a film critic, it can be easy to write a positive review praising a movie or a negative one picking it apart. But what to do when you fail to connect with a movie that for all intents and purposes should receive a glowing review?

That’s the conundrum I find myself in after seeing Kubo & the Two Strings, an absolutely gorgeous new animated film with a mystical story that should be affecting, but which left me cold.

Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson) is a boy who has experienced too much tragedy at a young age. He's lost his father and is now having to take care of his shell-shocked mother. When a vengeful spirit from the past comes after him and his mother, he must track down his father’s suit of armor to defeat the spirit. Luckily, he has a magical three-stringed instrument (no, not two strings — more on that later) that can conjure all sorts of origami items during his quest.

Along the way, he meets up with a monkey (Charlize Theron) and an armored beetle (Matthew McConaughey), creatures with familiar features of humans Kubo knows, who do their best to guide and protect him. That’s not an easy job, though, with Kubo’s mother’s evil sisters (both played by Rooney Mara) on his trail.

Made by Laika Entertainment, the same stop-motion animation studio behind films like Coraline, ParaNorman, and The Boxtrolls, the animation is as fluid and breathtaking as you could hope for. Using a combination of stop-motion and CGI, director Travis Knight and his team have created a fully realized world that amazes at every turn.

Many, especially those with a predilection toward Japanese anime movies, will find much to like about Kubo’s story. But there’s much that must be inferred with the plot, instead of having things explicitly laid out for you, a method that will work for some moviegoers, but not all.

This is never more evident than with the “Two Strings” of the title. For most of the movie, Kubo’s instrument remains solidly with all three strings. A critical event in the film’s final act finally has some reference to the strings, but again, its meaning must be inferred, as no character, not even Kubo, actually talks about it.

There’s also the standard issue of casting big names in key roles, an idea that serves neither the children, who probably have no clue who the actors are, nor the adults, whose enjoyment is not enhanced in the slightest by their presence. That casting also seems a bit haphazard, as actual Japanese actors fill the majority of the supporting roles; why cast white actors in the main roles in the first place?

There is no doubting the bona fides of Kubo & the Two Strings, as Laika obviously puts in the time and effort toward making a quality product. But whether you get the full enjoyment out of the film will depend on what you expect out of your storytelling.

Kubo can conjure all sorts of origami creations with his magical instrument.

Kubo in Kubo & the Two Strings

Photo courtesy of Laika Studios/Focus Features

Kubo can conjure all sorts of origami creations with his magical instrument.

This week in gluttony

These are the 11 best food and drink events in Fort Worth this week

These are the 11 best food and drink events in Fort Worth this week

Photo courtesy of Pizza Verde

Amazing pizza from Pizza Verde.

Christmas comes early this week with the debut of a holiday-themed pop-up with tropical vibes at a brand-new bar. There’s also lots of opportunity to learn about holiday wine pairings, with several wine dinners and tastings on the list. Mark your calendar for the launch party of a new coffee-infused version of a popular local whiskey, celebrate the anniversary of an acclaimed Fort Worth pizzeria, and more.

Monday, November 14

Anniversary Dinner at The Basement Lounge with La Onda
La Onda chef Victor Villarreal will help the underground Camp Bowie Boulevard lounge celebrate its seventh anniversary with a three-course seafood-centric dinner. The menu includes papas bravas with whipped crème fraiche and sturgeon caviar, Brazilian seafood stew, and a surprise dessert. Dinner is $100, plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 6 pm.

Tuesday, November 15

Antinori Wine Dinner at Tre Mogli
It’s the first wine dinner for this popular Italian destination from chef Stefon Rishel and his team. Six courses will feature a raw bar, ricotta and leek ravioli, seafood risotto, crispy quail, Niman ranch lamb chop, and fig tart with smoked whipped cream. The dinner is $125 (which includes gratuity), plus tax, and begins at 6:30 pm.

Holiday Crepes and Wine at Landon Winery Grapevine
The Grapevine winery will partner with Crepes on the Go to serve two sweet and two savory crepes paired with wines during this unique pairing event. The tasting is $42, plus tax, and will run from 6:30-8 pm.

J. Lohr Wine Dinner at Hotel Vin
Cynthia Lohr, co-owner of California’s J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, will visit the Grapevine hotel for a four-course wine-pairing dinner in the Bordeaux Ballroom. Chardonnay, two Cabernets, and a Petite Syrah will be paired with a seafood starter, lemon, basil, and fontina tortellini, Wagyu prime rib, and red velvet cake with cheesecake mousse and chocolate glaze. Dinner is $200, plus service charge and tax, and begins with a reception at 6 pm. Also note that Hotel Vin’s Winter Wonderland pop-up begins Friday for the holiday season, featuring the hotel’s popular igloo bubbles available for happy hour or dinner reservations. (This year they’re decked out with après ski lodge décor.) Reservations start at $150, plus tax and gratuity, for a bottle of wine and fondue to share during happy hour.

Wednesday, November 16

Willamette Valley Vineyards Wine Tasting at Wine 30
The Roanoke wine bar will offer a tasting of five Oregon wines from Willamette Valley. The $25 price includes charcuterie board bites. The tasting begins at 5:30 pm.

Thursday, November 17

The Beast & Co. Fall Wine Dinner
Near Southside restaurant Beast & Co. is hosting a seven-course wine dinner featuring seasonally inspired dishes and specially selected wine pairings from Chef Michael Arlt and owner Dustin Lee. Courses include beet with anchovy powder, oyster with seaweed dressing, burnt celeriac with endive & pear, halibut with mushroom & mustard, smoked duck with cassoulet, ginger molasses sorbet, and chocolate tart with salted cream. It runs from 7-9 pm and is $190 including tax & gratuity. Reservations can be made online: Go to the date 11/17 and select the "Fall Wine Dinner" event.

Friday, November 18

Gather with Gewurztraminer: A Thanksgiving Wine Pairing Class at Messina Hof Grapevine Winery
Learn how to pair Thanksgiving staples with Messina Hof wines during this tasting event. Thanksgiving tasting menu items will include honey glazed ham, oven roasted turkey, cornbread stuffing, sweet potatoes, fresh asparagus, cherry cobbler, and Southern pecan cobbler. The pairing is $45, plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 6:30 pm.

Pizza Verde: One-Year Celebration
The award-winning pizzeria marks its one-year anniversary with a weekend-long celebration from November 18-20 with giveaways, freebies, swag, and more. All three days, there'll be a spin-the-wheel for a shot to win free pizza and drinks. All weekend, for every $10 spent, diners get a raffle ticket and entry to win one of their three raffle baskets featuring items from Mariachi's Dine-In, the Modern Art Museum, Boulevard of Greens, Mashup Market, Planted Bakery, and more. On Saturday at 3:30 pm, there'll be a complimentary mimosa toast. Friday-Sunday, 11 am-3 pm.

Saturday, November 19

Texas Flavor Series Launch at Whiskey Ranch
Be among the first to sample and purchase TX Whiskey’s newest release – TX Blended Whiskey Texas Flavor Series Limited Edition with Avoca Coffee. This is the first flavored offering from TX Whiskey – although the distillery has partnered with the local coffee roaster in the past to create TX Whiskey-tossed coffee beans. The $10 ticket includes tastings available at 1 pm, 2 pm, and 3 pm, along with a cocktail from the bar. There’ll also be food trucks, live music, and complimentary bottle engraving. The new release will retail for $39.99 and the event will run from 12-5 pm.

Monday, November 21

Vegan Thanksgiving Beer Dinner at Funky Picnic Brewery & Café
The South Fort Worth brewery and restaurant has partnered with the Blue Zones Project to present a five-course plant-based dinner with a Thanksgiving twist. The family-style dinner includes green bean casserole, maple-roasted carrots, mashed cauliflower and mushroom gravy, butternut squash risotto, sage stuffing, chickpea meatloaf, vegan seitan turkey, and vegan pumpkin pie. A beer pairing flight is included. Dinner is $90 and begins at 7 pm.

Sippin’ Santa at The Down ‘n Out
The new watering hole at 150 W. Rosedale St. will open its doors in festive fashion by hosting Sippin’ Santa, a tropical-themed holiday pop-up that will have more than 30 locations in bars across the country. Island-inspired libations will include the Kris Kringle Colada made with dark Jamaican rum and cream of coconut; the hot Undertow Toddy made with cognac; and Rudolph’s Rum Rhapsody made for two. The pop-up will run until December 31.

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Get the Party Started

Pink amps up the fun with Summer Carnival tour coming to Arlington

Pink singer with microphone music

Courtesy photo

Pink will play at Globe Life Field in Arlington on September 29, 2023 as part of her Summer Carnival tour.

Grammy Award-winning singer Pink (aka P!nk or P!NK if you prefer) is bringing her Summer Carnival tour 2023 to Globe Life Field in Arlington on Friday, September 29.

The initial tour announcement includes 21 dates around North America, starting with Toronto, Canada on July 24. All dates will be at Major League Baseball stadiums or similarly large venues.

In addition to the stop in Arlington, Pink will also play in San Antonio on September 25 and Houston on September 27. All Texas dates - at which she'll be joined by Brandi Carlile, Grouplove, and KidCutUp - are post-summer, but who's counting?

This will be Pink's first appearance in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since her Beautiful Trauma World Tour in 2018-2019.

The tour announcement did not come alongside a new album announcement, but there are signs that one is coming soon. Earlier in 2022, she released the protest song "Irrelevant" in part in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and she just released "Never Gonna Not Dance Again" on November 4.

Pink's last album was 2019's Hurts 2B Human, which was her third straight - and third overall - No. 1 release.

Tickets for the tour go on sale to the general public starting at 10 am Monday, November 21 at LiveNation.com.

Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning 10 am Wednesday, November 16 until 11 pm Sunday, November 20 through the Citi Entertainment program.

Verizon will also offer a presale for select shows in the U.S. through its customer loyalty program, Verizon Up, from 12 pm Thursday, November 17 to 11 pm Sunday, November 20.

Airplane News

Two pilots from Keller were among 6 dead in crash at Dallas military airshow

airplane crash

Twitter

One plane hit another at the Wings Over Dallas Airshow at Dallas Executive Airport.

Six people died in an airplane crash at the Wings Over Dallas Airshow at Dallas Executive Airport in south Dallas on November 12, two of whom were from the city of Keller.

Len Root worked as a contract commercial pilot; and Terry Barker was an Army veteran and pilot for American Airlines for 36 years.

Barker was also a former city council member for Keller, according to Keller Mayor Armin Mizani, who said on Twitter that "I was fortunate to have him as a friend, and his guidance when it came to what was best for our residents never steered me wrong."

Other casualties included Major Curtis Rowe, a veteran pilot, who volunteered to be a crew member on the B-17, and according to Fox 4, Houston-based pilot Craig Hutain, who was flying the P-63 Kingcobra. Hutain flew for United Airlines and was planning on retiring in a few years.

Kevin “K5” Michels and Dan Ragan were the other two men who died.

Described as a chance to "re-live history," the show featured vintage World War II planes in air. The crash made national news and was photographed and recorded by a number of spectators.

The two planes that crashed were a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, and a small Bell P-63 Kingcobra. According to Airlive.net, the P-63 took a wide turn which would have prevented its pilot from seeing the B-17.

Both planes were owned by the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) and based in Houston. According to CNN, hundreds of spectators watched as the planes collided, then burst into a fireball on the grounds of Dallas Executive Airport.

CAF president Hank Coates said that the pilots at CAF airshows are volunteers, many airline pilots, retired airline pilots, or retired military pilots, and said the aircraft were safe and well-maintained.

The NTSB will issue a preliminary report in four to six weeks, although spokesman Michael Graham said a full investigation could take more than a year. They're urging anyone with video or pictures to send them to witness@ntsb.gov.

“They’ll actually be very critical since we don’t have any flight data recorder data or cockpit voice recorders or anything like that,” Graham said. “They’ll be very critical to analyze the collision and also tie that in with the aircraft control recordings to determine why the two aircraft collided and to determine, basically, the how and why this accident happened and then eventually, hopefully, maybe make some safety recommendations to prevent it from happening in the future."