Weekend event planner

Here are the top 10 things to do in Houston this weekend

The weekend is almost here, and we’re ready to hit the town. From a happy hour social hosted by your favorite digital lifestyle platform — CultureMap (duh) — to some amazing concerts and lively family-fun happenings, we’ve put together a list of can’t-miss events so that you won’t have a single dull moment from Thursday straight through to Sunday. Read on for the top 10 best things to do in Houston this weekend.

For more options, check out the full CultureMap Events Calendar.

Get social
Thursday, May 18
Don't miss CultureMap’s summer social for young professionals at River Oaks luxury apartment community, Marq 31. Lifestyle blogger Natalie Harms of It's Not Hou It's Me will give tips on how to host the perfect summer picnic, while several boutiques including Baanou, Kissue, and Stag Provisions will offer up summer essentials for sale. Enjoy refreshing sips by Casamigos Tequila and Saint Arnold Brewing Company, popsicles by Kicpops, and spins by DJ Bizonee. Proceeds benefit Memorial Park Conservancy. (6-8 pm; tickets: $20 per person)
3131 Timmons Ln.

Supermodel alert
Friday, May 19
Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Ashley Graham heads to Barnes and Noble in River Oaks for a signing session of her memoir, A New Model: What Confidence, Beauty and Power Really Look Like. (6 pm; tickets; free entry)
2030 W. Gray St.; 713-522-8571

Whiskey river
Friday, May 19
Sample a large roster of whiskies and fine spirits at the second annual whiskey social. Your ticket also gets you entry to master classes led by brand ambassadors and hors d’oeuvres. (6 pm; tickets: $75 per person)
2401 W. Bellfort Blvd.; 713-899-9321

Fun for kids
Saturday, May 20-Sunday, May 21
The Houston Texans, Texas Children’s Hospital, and Kids Triathlon, Inc. team up to host the 2017 Houston Texans Kids Triathlon at NRG Stadium, featuring interactive triathlon expos and racing fun (6 am; tickets: $50-$60 per person)
8400 Kirby Dr.; 904-448-2114

Discover downtown
Saturday, May 20
Learn about downtown’s public art and architecture from the experts as Architecture Center Houston and AIA Houston host a tour including stops along Market Square Park, Buffalo Bayou, and areas West of Main St. (10 am; tickets: $5 per person for AIA Houston members and $10 per person for nonmembers)
Market Square Park at Travis St. and Congress Ave.; 713-520-0155

Like a boss
Saturday, May 20
Paul Wall, Slim Thug, Z-Ro, Lil Keke, Kirko Bangz, Dice Soho, and more hit the stage at the Space City Liftoff concert at jewelry retailer Johnny Dang & Co. (1 pm; tickets: $30-$150 per person)
6224 Richmond Ave.

The right stuff
Saturday, May 20
New Kids on the Block, 90s teen sensations, bring their The Total Package tour to downtown’s Toyota Center. Paula Abdul and Boyz II Men are also on the bill. (7:30 pm; tickets: floor seats (only) are still available for $249.95 per person)
1510 Polk St.; 713-758-7200

Feast for a good cause
Sunday, May 21
Load up on delicious fare, from smoked Gouda grits (with herb butter, crawfish tails, and smoked chorizo; $8.50) to smoked bacon banana waffles ($7.50 for two), at a special fundraiser brunch at El Burro & the Bull restaurant. All proceeds go towards medical expenses for Norma Brooks, of the highly-acclaimed Brooks’ Place Barbecue in Cypress, who recently suffered a stroke and has been diagnosed with cancer. (11 am-3 pm; tickets: free entry)
1010 Prairie St.; 713- 503-2299

Kiddie art fest
Sunday, May 21
Kid-friendly fun, Texas Children’s Art Festival, held at Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens, presents art-making workshops, a collaborative group art project, interactive games, and live music on the terrace. As well, the first floor of Ima Hogg’s onsite historic house will be open for tours. (1 pm; tickets: free)
6003 Memorial Dr.; 713-800-5345

Nose-to-tail throwdown
Sunday, May 21
At pork-tacular foodie event, Cochon555, five chefs, each given one week to prepare a whole pig, go head-to-head at Hughes Manor in a competition scored by a panel of judges. Sample to eats, plus sips from a handful of winemakers (5 pm; tickets: $125-$200 per person)
2811 Washington Ave.; 201-675-9711

The Texas Children’s Art Festival is fun for the family.

$Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Texas Children\u2019s Art Festival$

Photo courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Texas Children’s Art Festival is fun for the family.

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Movie Review

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 doesn't match the first movie's enthusiasm

Blumhouse

Five Nights at Freddy's 2.

Blumhouse Productions first made their name with the Paranormal Activity series, establishing themselves as a leader in the horror genre thanks to their relatively cheap yet effective movies. In recent years, they’ve added on “soft” horror films like M3GAN and Five Nights at Freddy’s to draw in a younger audience, with both films becoming so successful that each was quickly given a sequel.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 finds Mike (Josh Hutcherson) and his sister Abby (Piper Rubio) still recovering from the events of the first film, with Abby particularly missing her “friends.” Those friends just so happen to be the souls of murdered children who inhabit animatronic characters at the long-defunct Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, children who were abducted and killed by William Afton (Matthew Lillard).

A new threat emerges at another Freddy Fazbear’s location in the form of Charlotte, another murdered child who inhabits a creepy large marionette. Mike, distracted by a possible romance with Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), fails to keep track of Abby, who makes her way to the old pizzeria and inadvertently unleashes Charlotte and her minions on the surrounding town.

Directed by Emma Tammi and written by Scott Cawthon (who also created the video game on which the series is based), the film tries to mix together goofy elements with intense scenes. One particular sequence, in which the security guard for Freddy Fazbear’s lets a group of ghost hunters onto the property, toes the line between soft and hard horror. That and a few others show the potential that the filmmakers had if they had stuck to their guns.

Unfortunately, more often than not they either soft-pedal things that would normally be horrific, or can’t figure out how to properly stage scenes. The sight of animatronic robots wreaking havoc is one that is simultaneously frightening and laughable, and the filmmakers never seem to find the right balance in tone. Every step in the direction of making a truly scary horror film is undercut by another in which the robots fail to live up to their promise.

It doesn’t help that Cawthon gives the cast some extremely wooden dialogue, lines that none of the actors can elevate. What may work in a video game format comes off as stilted when said by actors in a live-action film. The story also loses momentum quickly after the first half hour or so, with Cawthon seemingly content to just have characters move from place to place with no sense of connection between any of the scenes.

Hutcherson (The Hunger Games series), after being the true lead of the first film, is given very little to do in this film, and his effort is equal to his character’s arc. The same goes for Lail, whose character seems to be shoehorned into the story. Rubio is called upon to carry the load for a lot of the movie, and the teenager is not quite up to the task. A brief appearance by Skeet Ulrich seems to be a blatant appeal to Scream fans, but he and Lillard only underscore how limited this film is compared to that franchise.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is better than the first film, but not by much. The filmmakers do a decent job of making the new marionette character into a great villain, but they fail to capitalize on its inherent creepiness. Instead, they fall back on less effective elements, ensuring that the film will be forgettable for anyone other than hardcore Freddy fans.

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Five Nights at Freddy's 2 opens in theaters on December 5.

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