weekend event planner

Here are the top 8 things to do in Houston this weekend

With Wednesday being the Fourth of July, many of you have begun your weekend, called in sick or are lagging behind in their work duties.

For those of you adult Ferris Buellers who are looking for things to do while playing hooky from your jobs, as always, we're here to help with a rundown of weekend happenings.

Thursday, July 5

Drag divas Lady Shamu and Tatiana's weekly comedy revue

RuPaul’s Drag Race may have wrapped up its latest season, but there is a place right here where you can get a weekly dose of epic, cross-dressing camp. Since last month, drag performers Tatiana Mala-Nina and Lady Shamu have been hosting a night of entertainment, aptly called Shenanigans with Lady Shamu & Tatiana. This mix of high drag and comedy says it's “proud to be the shame of the neighborhood every Thursday night.” You can also get 50-cent boneless wings, $2 shot specials, and $5 frozen margaritas — so it’s fabulous all around! 7-10 pm.

Friday, July 6

Celebrate National Fried Chicken Day at Lucille’s
Friday is officially National Fried Chicken Day, and you could celebrate this occasion like our own Ken Hoffman by heading to Popeyes or KFC or Frenchy’s or Louisiana Fried Chicken — or even Hartz Chicken Buffet if you're outside the loop. Or, you could attend Lucille’s in the Museum District and feast on the family-style dinner the restaurant has planned. For $50, you’ll get a three-course meal that includes Thai fried chicken, Nashville hot fried chicken and mustard jalapeno battered chicken, as well as sides and beverages. 4-10 pm.

Get to know Fantastic Negrito at Cactus Music
His name is Xavier Dphrepaulezz, but since he knows people will probably never pronounce his last name right, he refers to himself as Fantastic Negrito. Once upon a time, the soulful rocker only went by his first name, back when he released a major-studio album called X Factor. In 2016, he introduced his new handle on The Last Days of Oakland — an obvious nod to his Bay Area roots. He’s currently on tour, promoting his latest album Please Don’t Be Dead. (He’ll be at House of Blues at 6:30 pm). But if you want to ask him where he got his name, catch him at Cactus first. 5:30 pm.

Enjoy Elvis at this month's Giving Spirits Concert
Every month, usually on a Friday, Sugar Land Town Square puts on an event called the Giving Spirits Concert, an evening of music benefitting a local charity or non-profit organization. This month, the beneficiary is Nora's Home, known as a haven for organ failure and transplant patients receiving care in the Texas Medical Center. And who's the headliner for this month's show? Why, it's professional Elvis Presley impersonator Vince King, who will cover every high of the King's career in his tribute. 7:30 pm.

Saturday, July 7

Jam out at the Majic 102.1 Summer Block Party
During last year’s inaugural, Majic 102.1 Summer Block Party, there was a melding of ’90s and 2000s artists, as neo-soul star Jill Scott shared the stage with Bell Biv Devoe, SWV, and Brandy. This year, some major, sexy hitters in the current, contemporary R & B scene will be taking the stage. First off, we have Miguel, ready to tell ladies he wants them to “Come Through and Chill.” Then, there’s Tank, whose latest, smoldering single “Can We” continues to be a heavy-rotation radio favorite. And there’s Ne-Yo, who just dropped his new album Good Man. Oh, Fantasia will be around too. 6 pm.

Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy plays video-game music at Jones Hall
This weekend, the Houston Symphony continues its mission of showing it’s not the usual, stodgy, run-of-the-mill symphony orchestra by playing — video-game music! That’s right: the symphony will perform music from the famed video-game series, composed by Japanese video-game composer Nobuo Uematsu, all while screen images from game developer Square Enix play over the orchestra. So, you could very well see the high-falutin' crowd mingling with the hardcore gamers in the audience — and that’s worth the price of admission right there. 7:30 pm.

Watch Ellen Page and Drew Barrymore’s Whip It at Landmark River Oaks
Recently, the Houston Chronicle compiled a list of the 50 greatest Texas movies of all time, and while they range from the obvious (The Last Picture Show) to the obscure (Upstream Color), there are some under-appreciated gems that didn't make the cut. One movie that wasn’t on the list is this little-seen 2009 dramedy, Whip It, which is also this weekend’s midnight movie at Landmark River Oaks. In the only film directed by Drew Barrymore (who co-stars), Ellen Page stars as a small-town Texas girl whose rebels against her domineering mother by joining an all-girl, roller-derby team. Midnight.

Sunday, July 8

Nail some strikes with George Springer at his 4th Annual All-Star Bowling Benefit
In 2015, Houston Astros hero George Springer started the First Annual George Springer Bowling Benefit, where he, pro athletes and celebrity friends mingled with folks before hitting the lanes of Lucky Stroke Houston for a night of bowling to benefit The Stuttering Association for the Young, which he is a spokesperson. Three years later, Springer (who is now a World Series Champion and MVP) is still repping for SAY by inviting people to join him in knocking down some pins and raising money for his George Springer Kids Fund, which sends children who stutter to Camp SAY. 7 pm.

Nail some strikes with hometown hero George Springer.

Courtesy photo

Nail some strikes with hometown hero George Springer.

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Movie Review

Steven Spielberg captivates with new aliens drama Disclosure Day

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment

Tommy Martinez, Emily Blunt, and Josh O'Connor in Disclosure Day.

With the release of Disclosure Day, Steven Spielberg has now directed 17 feature films over 26 years in the 21st century, the exact same number over the exact same period of time he did in the 20th century. The first half of his career was mostly defined by his blockbuster films, while the second half has seen him exploring a lot more serious material. Disclosure Day marries the two for an experience only he could deliver.

The film starts in medias res, as Dr. Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) is being pursued by Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth) and a team of henchmen for stealing intellectual property from Wardex, a government contractor for which he works. As the audience gradually discovers, Daniel is a cyber-security programmer who has discovered evidence of alien life in the company’s servers. He and others within the company, including Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo), are determined to release the information to the public.

Concurrently, television meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) starts experiencing weird things, including the ability to speak multiple languages and read people’s minds. Without either of them actively trying to seek each other out, Daniel and Margaret are set on a path to meet, with Scanlon (with the help of a mysterious alien device) trying to track their every move.

Directed by Spielberg and written by David Koepp, the film is an almost even mix between classic Spielberg wonder and a deep story about what it is to be human. By starting the film in the middle of the story, Spielberg immediately ramps up the excitement level. While the movie has relatively little action, that sequence and a few others deliver the type of propulsiveness for which Spielberg is revered, keeping the 145-minute film moving at a brisk pace.

Of the different types of alien movies Spielberg has made over the years, this one is closer to Close Encounters of the Third Kind than E.T. The story ponders the ethical, religious, political, and sociological effects that revealing the existence of aliens could have on the world. The debates had by various characters purposefully take the film out of being a sheer popcorn flick, forcing the audience to grapple with issues that they may have never considered before.

Unlike some other Spielberg films, he and Koepp don’t hold the audience’s collective hand throughout the story. There are a lot of times when viewers have to use context clues to understand exactly what is happening. That especially goes for an extremely important aspect of the world in which the story takes place that could pass you by if you’re only paying attention to the main characters’ dialogue. Spielberg’s using only subtle allusions for an element which would be the main focus of most other films is a fascinating choice.

O’Connor (Wake Up Dead Man, Challengers) has that everyman quality that a story like this needs. It always feels like it's him against the world, and does a terrific job of exuding both confidence and fear. Blunt delivers a fantastic performance, switching between confusion and composure with ease. Firth makes for a solid villain, and the story is helped by great turns from Domingo and Eve Hewson.

The idea that the nearly 80-year-old Steven Spielberg is still making blockbuster-style movies over 50 years after he made Jaws is astonishing, and the fact that he still knows how to make them work is even more impressive. Disclosure Day may not be the type of alien movie many were expecting, but it’s another high water mark in a career that has been full of them.

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Disclosure Day opens in theaters on June 12.

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