Weekend Event Planner

These are the 11 best things to do in Fort Worth this weekend

It's an unusual week in December in Fort Worth, as the majority of events on the list are non-holiday related. But the biggest one is, as The Nutcracker returns for its annual visit. There will also be several concerts at Billy Bob's, a holiday concert, a basketball triple-header, festival-style events at two different venues, and the closing of a notable art exhibition.

Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend.

Thursday, December 9

Ryan Bingham in concert
Americana singer Ryan Bingham is a member of an elite fraternity: those who have won both an Oscar and a Grammy for the same song. Bingham took home those honors for writing "The Weary Kind" for the 2009 film Crazy Heart. His movie contributions since then have been nil, but he's released a number of albums, including 2019's American Love Song. He'll play at Billy Bob's Texas.

Friday, December 10

Magnolia at the Modern: Paper & Glue
The latest in the Magnolia at the Modern film series is the documentary Paper & Glue. Using unexpected canvasses, the artist JR intends to give a global voice to everyday people through a genre-blending combination of public art, photography, and large-format spectacle. The film will screen seven times through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Texas Ballet Theater presents The Nutcracker
Audiences can experience the most magical Christmas tradition of the season as Clara and her Nutcracker Prince battle an army of mice and travel through a winter wonderland to meet the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Kingdom of Sweets. Exquisite costumes and dazzling choreography will transport audiences to a world where dreams do come true. The production will run through December 26 at Bass Performance Hall.

Jubilee Theatre presents A Phunk Dr's Christmas
The longtime house band for Jubilee Theatre and one of the hottest cover bands in North Texas, the Phunk Dr’s, will lead a concert of music, comedy, and more, celebrating the holiday season and featuring some of Jubilee Theatre’s long-time performers. There will be four performances through Sunday at Jubilee Theatre.

Charley Crockett in concert
While many musicians who come out of Texas go the country route, Charley Crockett has made his own path in the blues genre. He's also as relentless a music producer as anybody out there, as he's released at least an album every year since 2015, including two this year alone, most recently Music City USA. He'll play at Billy Bob's Texas.

Saturday, December 11

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame presents Basketball Hall of Fame Classic
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will present the first-ever Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. The one-day triple-header, taking place at Dickies Arena, will feature mostly non-local matchups, including Mississippi State taking on Colorado State, North Texas going against UMass, and Stephen F. Austin facing off with Liberty.

Fort Worth Museum of Science and History presents Winter Fest
The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History will present Winter Fest, a multicultural holiday celebration for the whole family. Guests are invited wear their pajamas, enjoy hot chocolate, and get a picture with Santa, while learning about diverse holiday celebrations from across Fort Worth. Central to the event will be a special live dance performance from local dance company, Ballet Folklorico de Fort Worth, Inc.

Fort Worth Botanic Garden presents Holiday in the Garden
Holiday in the Garden is a festive indoor-outdoor event, featuring a Sip-n-Shop, festive décor, free afternoon admissions to Fort Worth Botanic Garden, and even a special visit from Santa Claus. The Fort Worth Opera will put on a holiday performance, and Wandering Roots Markets has organized a number of food trucks, live music, and an artisan market featuring handmade goods for sale.

Scotty McCreery in concert
In the history of American Idol, there is a clear hierarchy for successful singers the show has produced. At the top is Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Adam Lambert. Tenth season winner Scotty McCreery is in the second tier, but his track record — all five of his albums, including his latest, Same Truck, have made the top 10 on the Billboard Country charts — shows he's no slouch. He'll play at Billy Bob's Texas.

Sunday, December 12

Amon Carter Museum of American Art presents "Thomas Moran’s Mount Superior" closing day
Sunday is the final day for visitors to see Mount Superior, a major new acquisition by 19th-century landscape painter Thomas Moran. Featuring a long-lost watercolor by the acclaimed landscape artist, "Thomas Moran’s Mount Superior" explores divergent depictions of the American landscape through photography, works on paper, and popular culture ephemera from the period. Drawn from the museum’s deep holdings of works on paper and photography, this exhibition recounts a story that only the Carter’s collection can tell.

Arts Fifth Avenue presents Strictly Sinatra
Local crooner Ken Nelson will present Strictly Sinatra, an evening of Sinatra classics in honor of Arts Fifth Avenue's 20 years of programming, and on the occasion of Ol' Blue Eye's 106th birthday. Admission to the event includes a full Italian dinner, wine, and birthday cake.

Texas Ballet Theater presents The Nutcracker at Bass Performance Hall, December 10-26.

Photo by Amitava Sarkar

Texas Ballet Theater presents The Nutcracker at Bass Performance Hall, December 10-26.

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Movie Review

Lord of the Rings sequel takes anime route on nostalgia trip

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Hèra (Gaia Wise) in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

The Peter Jackson-led Lord of the Rings movie trilogy in the early 21st century was such a smashing success that people have been trying to recreate that magic for a long time. First came the ill-conceived The Hobbittrilogy, which made lots of money despite mostly poor reviews. The recent Amazon TV series, The Rings of Power, has gotten generally good reviews, but doesn’t seem to hold a place in the wider pop culture consciousness.

And now comes The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, an anime-style film that seems like an attempt at both reclaiming the world in animated form from the weird 1978 film, and a nostalgia play for fans of the original series. Set 200 years before the events in J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, it nonetheless takes place in two very familiar locations that are recreated to appear exactly like they looked in Jackson’s films.

The story centers around Hèra (voiced by Gaia Wise), the only daughter of King Helm (Brian Cox) of Rohan. An early conflict with Lord Freca (Shaun Dooley) leads Freca’s son, Wulf (Luca Pasqualino), to develop a deep grudge against Helm and his family. Wulf pursues that ill will for years, eventually driving his foes into a fortress in a valley to make a final stand against his aggression.

Based on information found in the appendices of Tolkien’s novels, this is the rare instance when choosing to use animation holds back the creativity of a film. Typically, animation allows filmmakers to do things that wouldn’t be possible in the real world, but director Kenji Kamiyama and his team seem beholden to the look of Jackson’s films. While the animation itself is great, it doesn’t offer the fluidity of live action, and so the action scenes are often stilted and flat.

The story itself is not very compelling, as a quartet of screenwriters have concocted a plot that relies on revenge and heroism tropes that allow the audience to predict almost everything that happens. There are a few surprises to be had, but as the conflict revolves around a strong-willed female and her unwillingness to be told whom to marry, it’s generally clear how the story will be resolved, with only the specific details left to be discovered.

It also would have been great if the film weren’t so dependent on nostalgia for the original films. The two main locations are ones that played a big part in set pieces from those films, and their usage here doesn’t measure up favorably. Eowyn (Miranda Otto) serves as narrator, and other characters/actors from the original trilogy also make appearances, leaving little room for this film to establish itself on its own terms.

The majesty of the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, with its New Zealand vistas and incomparable visuals created by Wētā Workshop, set a high bar that none of the subsequent projects have been able to meet. The War of the Rohirrim is a competently-made film, but it doesn’t hold up to scrutiny with the Oscar-quality work of 20+ years prior.

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The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim opens in theaters on December 13.

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