Back Talk Lakewood/East Dallas

Movie review: The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight brought in a record-breaking $66.4 million on opening day, and the buzz around the movie hasn’t stopped since. I’ll admit it, that kind of hype lured me to the theater this weekend. And I’m glad it did. Normally I’m not much for action flicks because they tend to lack real plot development or stellar acting—but this one breaks the mold.
Although this film is only one in the line of movies based on the famed Batman comic, it’s not as juvenile as its predecessors. For example, darker tones come in the form of more sinister characters, like the Joker. Heath Ledger plays the infamous Joker and does a standout job. The actor truly disappears into the character, so you just see the Joker in all his brilliant creepiness. And at times, the good guys do bad things, so the line between villains and heroes is blurred somewhat.
Don’t get me wrong, this is still an action flick and it has plenty of climatic fight sequences and special effects to prove it. But unlike most action movies, this one isn’t lacking substance. Personally, when I sit through most action movies, I’m twiddling my thumbs in between the fight scenes. But The Dark Knight is actually entertaining, even between the fight scenes. Overall, I give the movie two thumbs up because it has everything: explosive action, layered characters, topnotch special effects, and solid acting performances—all things that make it well worth the $10. So go ahead, buy into the hype on this one.

Dallas Jazz Orchestra at Lakewood Theater

A little musical entertainment this morning, courtesy of scober2003 at YouTube. The performance was part of the orchestra’s 25th anniversary celebration at the theater. The song? The great Count Basie's “Doodle Oodle.”

Technorati Tags: Lakewood Theater,Dallas Jazz Orchestra

Former Dallas Morning News man's movie delves into the faltering newspaper industry

I hear a lot of talk lately — I hate to admit more often and with a hint of satisfaction around circles of magazine and new media people — about the impending demise of the printed newspaper.

Back Talk's Jeff Siegel, on the contrary, has issued several thoughtful posts on this blog about plunging stock prices at Belo and McClatchy (companies that own The Dallas Morning News and Star Telegram, respectively) with a sense of concern. But that's because he is (in his own words) "an old newspaper guy" who gets it.

Dinner and a movie at the Magnolia and Social House

When you think "dinner and a movie", you tend to imagine them separately. More like, "dinner followed by a movie, with a long drive in between."

But starting July 18, Magnolia Theatre will be collaborating with Social House to create a dinner and a movie experience for its customers. The Social House, which is right across from the Magnolia, will be offering a $50 package that includes two entrees and desserts with two movie tickets for any film of your choice. (This dinner for two doesn't include alcoholic beverages or appetizers, but any entree or dessert can be chosen from the restaurant's usual menu.)

No end date is in sight, so you should be able to take advantage for a while. Of course, if you're looking for a dinner and dining experience, you could always hit Studio Movie Grill and even skip the walk from one venue to the next, but the Magnolia and Social House combo seems a little more appropriate if you're looking for a nice night on the town.

Tolbert's chili resurfaces at Whole Foods and in Grapevine

I'm showing my age here, but a brief in the DMN about X2 Chili being sold at Whole Foods Market made me recall the one-and-only, original Dallas chili-man: Frank X. Tolbert. Tolbert (who died in 1984) was a true bear of a man, tall and lanky and loud and funny and everything I imagined a Texan would be when I was growing up in Minnesota. And in case you didn't know, X2 is Frank's son, as well as an accomplished but eclectic artist, and X2 Chili is a frozen version of what the son cooked up for the father at the downtown Tolbert's Chili Parlor on Main across from El Centro, where those of us who worked at the Morning News back then spent many a lunch and, sometimes, dinner hour.

In fact, the first restaurant I remember eating at when I arrived in Dallas in 1978 was the Tolbert's across from the Melrose Hotel on Cedar Springs at Oak Lawn (there's a Walgreen's there now, and it was a Luby's before). Tolbert's super-serious chili was way too hot for my Yankee tastebuds back then, and that was before I met Frank X. his-own-self at the Morning News, where the guy pretty much had the run of the place. He occasionally wrote a history column, but he seemed to spend most of his time telling stories to youngsters like me when he wasn't holed up with Blackie Sherrod and/or John Anders (also rather elusive but personality-laden columnists at the News back then). Tolbert had a hand in starting up the Original Terlingua International Frank X. Tolbert - Wick Fowler Championship Chili Cookoff, and if you don't want to try the frozen variety, you can get a fresh batch of Tolbert's chili at the remaining Tolbert's in Grapevine, operated by Frank's daughter (and X2's sister) Kathleen.

And I guarantee you that if you click on all of the links in this blog post, you'll have added a mini-history of Dallas and Texas to your party repertoire.

You can win this car

DallasCrowd.com, a site launched six months ago by Dallasite Bruce Taylor, is giving away this sweet enviro-friendly KANDI CoCo on Christmas Eve — enter by logging on to DallasCrowd.com and signing up for their weekly newsletter. If you want a pre-drawing close encounter with this identifiable driving object, here are a few DallasCrowd.com-sponsored events at which it will make a special appearance:

Big Mango Trading Company: Free yoga classes

Need to relax and unwind? Big Mango Trading Company, owned by neighbors Jaime and Lori Smith, is now offering free hatha yoga every second and fourth Saturday of the month at 9 a.m. (the next one takes place Saturday, July 26).

The low-impact relaxation is taught by Julie Hanson of the Wellness Collective. The yoga classes are small and catered toward everyone (for those of you who have not tried it), and all you have to do is show up with a mat or towel (which everyone has) and eager to relax your mind and body.

Big Mango Trading Company is located at 1130 N. Industrial Blvd. For more information call 214.752.4755 or visit bigmangotrading.com.

HAZE the movie: aims to warn students against binge drinking

It sounds like a beefed-up Real World episode, only with all-too real and tragic consequences, Haze, a documentary presented by The Gordie Foundation will premiere regionally at SMU Sept. 4. Why am I writing about this so far in advance you might ask ... because there are only 50 tickets available to the public. Tickets are free but will not be available for long.

Delving into the issues surrounding the college drinking culture in America, the feature-length film examines the life and death of college freshman Gordie Bailey, whose deadly fraternity initiation ceremony at the University of Colorado gained national media attention in 2004.

Bailey's parents will be in attendance to address the audience — they say they hope the screening and the documentary "will help prevent further tragedies like Gordie’s death and make college campuses a safer place for youth across the country."

50 tickets are available to the general public and will be given out on a first come, first served basis. To reserve tickets, please call The Gordie Foundation no later than August 29th at 214-823-0235, or email contactus@gordie.org.

Movie review: Hellboy II

Yesterday, I was coaxed into seeing Hellboy II. I say coaxed because I’m honestly not the action-blockbuster type. In fact, I haven’t even seen the first Hellboy, but I decided to go out on a limb to see this flick, in part, because I enjoyed Guillermo Del Toro’s work on Pan’s Labyrinth. It was whimsical, yet dark—and fantastic, yet mature.
A few minutes into this movie, however, I realized this was no Pan’s Labyrinth. The movie is based on the Dark Horse comic—but in a nutshell, the plot is centered on an evil forest elf prince who wages war on present day humans—and our only saving grace is a group of supernatural creatures protected by a secret government agency.
It sounds good enough for two hours of entertainment. And in some ways, it is. There are some cool special effects and decent action sequences peppered in. But there are also some nauseatingly sappy love scenes, and the writing is painfully cliché. My personal favorite (this is not the climax, but heads up: minor spoiler alert here) was when the main hero is fighting off a monster the size of an office building. Naturally, he has to save a baby during all of this. So, with swaddled babe in tow, he scales a wall. The monster’s roar eventually startles the infant, to which the hero replies something classic along the lines of “Now you woke the baby,” and proceeds to shoot the monster dead.
In spite its shortcomings, one thing that can’t be denied is Del Toro’s creative genius here. There are creatures so intriguingly eerie, you wonder how one person could dream them all up. That said, it’s not enough to sustain the entire movie. In a few months, pick it up at the video store or add it to your Netflix lineup––at most, it’s good for a onetime rental, but don’t waste your gas or $10 on seeing it now.

King Tut roadshow: Not enough class for Dallas and the DMA?

There's an interesting story in Sunday's DMN about the upcoming King Tut artifact exhibit, which is being held downtown October through May at the Dallas Museum of Art. Not being a big-time art aficionado, it was interesting to read the point-counterpoint of the article, which can be summed up pretty clearly. One side believes that having a high-profile exhibit such as King Tut will bring up to one million visitors downtown to the DMA, many of whom have never visited the museum, hopefully expanding the museum's reach into the community and paving the way for future growth. The other side believes that the carnival-barker atmosphere surrounding the Tut exhibit (remember, these are serious art people debating this issue, so carnival-barker is a relative term here) isn't worthy of a serious museum like the DMN, and the people who agreed to put the show on there should have their heads (and presumably their art credentials) examined.

I saw the last Tut show when it visited Dallas, and the pieces were amazing to see in person. Since that time, we had the good fortune to see thousands of additional Tut pieces at the national museum in Cairo, Egypt; there's something about the boy king that just makes people flock to see his retinue. I have no doubt the same will happen here in Dallas again this year. More importantly than whether the DMA is "too good" for this exhibit is the traffic the Tut show will bring downtown — just about the time that the new arts district really is taking shape. A chunk of the money for the district came from city taxpayers, who now will get a chance to see what we've paid for up-close-and-personal. That's the real benefit here for Dallas residents.