Day 2 at Club Nomadic

Celebs turn out for magical Bruno Mars concert that has everyone dancing

The stars have arrived in Houston, and they turned out Friday night to see headliner Bruno Mars perform at LIFEWTR/Pepsico’s “Art After Dark Super Bowl 2017 Experience” at traveling nightclub, Club Nomadic.

The red carpet was red hot with celebs galore strutting down the VIP entryway, including Houston-native and Good Morning America co-host Michael Strahan, singer/rapper CeeLo Green, Fox NFL sportscaster Erin Andrews, Dallas Mavericks owner and Shark Tank's Mark Cuban, and John Legend and his supermodel wife Chrissy Teigen.

The normally press-friendly Teigen seemed unusually photo shy, staying off to one end of the red carpet, telling photographers, "no photos," which was seconded by a burly bodyguard. Actor Vince Vaughn was on the same wavelength, skipping the red carpet altogether. CultureMap's intrepid photographer F. Carter Smith captured both anyway.

Legend said he was excited to see Mars, and added that his wife wasn't doing press that evening because she was "just shy."

Green, who was born in Atlanta, said, of course, he is rooting for the Falcons.

There was no shortage of former and current pro athletes with Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller, New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr., Hall of Famers Barry Sanders and Terry Bradshaw, and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, who hails from Katy, in the audience.

The party got started around 10:30 pm when Mars took to the stage in front of a massive sold-out crowd of 9,000. An additional 1,500 tickets were released and purchased after organizers figured the final configuration of the venue a week before the concert would allow in more fans.

In a nod to H-Town, Mars donned a George Springer Houston Astros jersey, while his backup singers/dancers wore a mix of Astros, Rockets and Texans jerseys. "Houston... we're trying to have some fun tonight," he yelled near the beginning of the 90-minute show. "I wanna see everyone moving. I wanna see everyone dancing."

The dynamic performer, who has stage presence to spare, indeed had the audience dancing and singing along as he opened with the title song from his latest album, 24K Magic, and played a set of hit songs including, “Treasure,” “Locked Out of Heaven,” When I Was Your Man," "Grenade,” "Just the Way You Are,” “Marry You,” and his closing song,“Uptown Funk."

Mars also wove bits of songs like Ginuwine’s "Pony" and Michael Jackson’s "Rock With You" into his set throughout the lively evening.

After Mars left the stage, DJ Khaled kept the house rockin’ as he spun tunes until 2:30 am, as many in the crowd stayed around, turning the general admission area into one big dance floor.

Ending on a high note, Saturday is the final night of performances at Club Nomadic. Taylor Swift is set to headline DirectTV's Super Saturday Night, marking her first time performing as part of the Super Bowl festivities.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton.

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Movie Review

Supergirl fails to take flight in a movie weighed down by grief

Photo courtesy of DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures

Milly Alcock in Supergirl.

Last year's Superman reboot brought a renewed sense of optimism for, if not the concept of the comic book movie, then at least the DC Comics universe. After more than a decade of DC films that felt mostly creatively bankrupt, the leadership of James Gunn gave the story a sense of fun. That included the brief introduction of Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, who’s now getting her own showcase in, naturally, Supergirl.

When we first met her in Superman, Supergirl was in rough shape, arriving at the Fortress of Solitude visibly inebriated. Nothing has changed at the beginning of this film, save for her aimlessly traveling around the universe with her rambunctious dog, Krypto. One of her random stops puts her in the same bar as Ruthye (Eve Ridley), who is looking for help tracking down Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) and a group known as the Brigands after they brutally murdered her family.

Kara is initially loath to offer aid, but when Krem shoots a poison dart into Krypto while escaping, her motivation goes way up, especially since Krem holds the antidote. Kara, with Ruthye doggedly following her, uses every means available to her to find Krem, a journey that is hampered by galaxies having different colored suns than the one that gives her powers, the yellow sun.

Directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Ana Nogueira, the film is a big step back in the fun category, not least because Supergirl is deep in her feelings for much of the film. Her personal trauma, which is detailed in occasional flashbacks, gives a reason for her depression, but fails to land fully. The story seems to want everyone to be sad, as it includes a child trafficking ring and multiple instances of families being murdered.

Milly Alcock and Krypto in Supergirl.Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

To try to counteract that downer material, the filmmakers give Supergirl many opportunities to show off her fighting skills. While still CGI-heavy, the action scenes contain enough of a semblance of reality that they feel exciting. Unfortunately, this is undercut by the inclusion of several slow-motion sequences, giving the impression that the filmmakers didn’t trust the actors to deliver the goods on a consistent basis.

Superman (David Corenswet) makes a handful of appearances in the film, and while his presence is welcome given how well the character came across in the previous movie, it also doesn’t allow Supergirl to become her own person. Almost everything she does is colored by either her cousin or her parents, and since her powers are identical to those of Superman, there is very little that makes her story unique aside from how she’s dealing with the fallout.

Alcock (House of the Dragon, Sirens) gives an appealing performance despite her character being drunk and/or moody most of the time. She definitely sells what Supergirl is going through, so if given a better story in a future film, she’s proven her capability. Schoenaerts makes for a pretty good villain, although he’s aided by a look that includes a face full of studs. Jason Momoa has a memorable supporting role as the bounty hunter Lobo, even if his character doesn’t add much to the story.

While not a full-on disaster, Supergirl does not continue the momentum that Superman started. With a story that’s more concerned with showing audiences death scenes than a hero saving people, the film doesn’t seem to understand the appeal of a character like Supergirl or how to make her someone audiences will return to over and over again.

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Supergirl is now playing in theaters.

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