Weekend Event Planner

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

It's the weekend before Thanksgiving and there's so much happening in Houston that it's a bit difficult to keep this list at 10. Comedienne Amy Schumer taking over the Toyota Center, the Via Colori Street Festival, and the Houston BBQ Throwdown are all a part of the fun happenings. (We admit we had 11 suggestions, but Morrissey canceled his Saturday night concert at the White Oak Music Hall.)

This roundup is just a taste of events going on this weekend, but you can always check out the full list on our CultureMap Events Calendar.

Thursday, November 17

METdance presents Breaking Borders

Breaking Borders, the latest production by the Houston-based dance company, highlights and celebrates the various cultural backgrounds and movement styles that past and present METdance choreographers are inspired by. It features a world premiere by Princess Grace Award winner Rosie Herrera, along with work by Camille A. Brown, Joshua L. Peugh, and Katarzyna Skarpetowska. Performances are also scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

Friday, November 18

Fresh Arts Winter Holiday Arts Market

Art and handmade goods from more than 90 Houston artists will be available for sale at the three-day Winter Holiday Arts Market (WHAM) presented by Fresh Arts. This is a great opportunity to celebrate the amazing local talent we have in the city. WHAM kicks off the weekend with an Ugly Sweater Party on Friday and then carries on with the market for the remainder of the weekend.

Eat. Drink. Art. at the Houston Museum of African American Culture

Eat. Drink. Art. is a series at the Houston Museum of African American Culture that aims to expose artists to tastemakers and art enthusiasts. Ticket purchases benefit programming for the next year at the HMAAC. Guests at this series will also enjoy a fashion show, light bites, drinks, and shop goods from local artists and businesses.

Space: The Final Playground by ROCO

The River Oaks Chamber Orchestra presents Space: The Final Playground, featuring the Texas premiere of "Cosmos" by composer Michael Gibson. Co-commissioned by ROCO, the musical piece is composed in five short movements, each of which are inspired by an element of the Cosmos. WindSync, a Houston wind quintet, will engage in the performance by moving throughout the space while playing. A second performance is on Saturday.

Friday Flicks on the Lawn at GreenStreet

Families, couples, and singles are welcome to bring a blanket and watch a movie on the large screen on The Lawn. This Friday's feature film is Elf and is sure to be a nice way to spend the evening now that cooler temperatures are finally here.

Saturday, November 19

The Great Inflatable Race

The Great Inflatable Race at Sam Houston Park is a fun experience that knows no age limits. Adults and children alike are invited to join this unique fun run full of inflatable obstacles. Be prepared to bump, bounce, and slide throughout the course. What a cool way to get out and interact with new people in the city; think of it as a large scale bounce house.

Via Colori Street Painting Festival

The streets of downtown Houston will once again be transformed by over 200 local and international artists as "A Colorful World" is the theme of the two-day festival. Also take in various food, art and entertainment options (25 performers, including Jessica Meuse from American Idol, on three stages). The festival benefits The Center for Hearing and Speech, whose mission is to help deaf children learn to speak, listen, and hear; a worthy cause to benefit in a creative and expressive festival.

Ghetto Dinner with Anthony Calleo and Adam Doris

Adam Doris (CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Chef of the Year) brings back his Ghetto Dinner pop-up with special guest Anthony Calleo (Pi Pizza) Saturday night at Ladybird's. The menu includes Togarashi Spiced Pork Rib Fried Pie, Fire Dome Roasted Lamb Sandwich with pepronata, Napa slaw, and brown butter aioli as well as a Big Feast Plate — Fire Dome Roasted Free Range Chicken, whole roasted pork hash w/smoked potato and grilled honeycrisp apple, butternut squash with charred rapini salsa verde, smoked pork sausage kolache, and a sanguinaccio doughnut (courtesy of those badasses at Morningstar). The two chefs are shaking things up on the Houston culinary scene and this dinner is a great way to experience their creative abilities.

Sunday, November 20

Houston BBQ Throwdown

CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler is one of the judges for the 2nd Annual Houston BBQ Throwdown at Saint Arnold Brewing Company. Fourteen of Houston's best barbecue spots will serve dishes that aim to show the culinary diversity in the Bayou City and earn top honors. Guests can also vote for the "People Choice" as their favorite of the night. Who's going to win this finger-licking battle?

Amy Schumer at Toyota Center

The Inside Amy Schumer star has taken the entertainment world by storm and created a loyal fan base. Whether it's her take on current events, her award winning show, or hilarious movie roles, Schumer is unapologetically herself. Expect to hear some choice words from the comedienne about the president-elect.

Enjoy the weekend and be sure to share your events experiences with us via social media.

"A Colorful World" at the Via Colori Street Festival on Saturday and Sunday.

Photo by Liem Bui

"A Colorful World" at the Via Colori Street Festival on Saturday and Sunday.

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Movie Review Time

Star-studded cast and Oscar-winning director power dramatic A House of Dynamite

Photo courtesy of Netflix

Rebecca Ferguson in A House of Dynamite.

Director Kathryn Bigelow has had two distinct phases to her feature film career. From the early ‘80s to the early 2000s, she made movies for the masses like Near Dark, Point Break, and K-19: The Widowmaker. But that all changed with the 2008 release of the Iraq War film The Hurt Locker, for which she won the Oscar for Best Director and Best Picture. Every movie of hers since then has leaned hard into real-world drama, including the new A House of Dynamite.

Instead of trying to understand past events, this film imagines a scenario that is still frighteningly real: Nuclear war. As the story begins, it’s discovered that a missile has been fired in the direction of the United States from close to the east coast of Asia where China, Russia, and North Korea connect. The unattributed weapon is at first thought to be a test, but when it continues on a path toward the U.S., people at all different levels of the U.S. government try to figure out how to stop it and what to do if they can’t.

The same story is essentially told three different times, changing the perspective to different officials in multiple locations around the country. They include people at an Army missile defense base in Alaska, led by Major Daniel Gonzalez (Anthony Ramos); the White House Situation Room, led by Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson); a top brass video call featuring General Anthony Brady (Tracy Letts) and Secretary of Defense Reid Baker (Jared Harris); and, naturally, the President of the United States (Idris Elba).

Directed by Bigelow and written by Noah Oppenheim, the film is an extremely tense experience as it juggles the personal and professional lives of many different people. The sense of duty that each one of them feels in serving their country slowly turns inward as they understand that a major American city could be wiped off the map, an event that would almost certainly trigger World War III.

Bigelow and Oppenheim do a fantastic job of serving the bigger stars in the cast, as well as the supporting actors who may not be as well known. A normal film would be able to take more time to establish the various characters, but the intensity of the plot lends extra meaning to every moment, allowing the audience to connect with everyone more quickly. It’s not at all difficult to put yourself in the shoes of those in the film who desperately try to get in touch with loved ones as the threat becomes larger.

Telling the story three times from different perspectives not only allows the audience to understand who all is involved in such a world-changing event, but it also shines a light on the strengths and weaknesses of each department. How accurate the film is to what would happen in real life is debatable, but the film gives off an air of legitimacy in how it depicts the actions of the various players.

Given the structure of the film, there’s no one star, but each of the main actors does a fine job in bringing their characters to life. Ferguson, Letts, Harris, and Elba are the most compelling in their roles, but other people like Jason Clarke, Greta Lee, Malachi Beasley, and Jonah Hauer-King do a lot with their limited time on screen. The cast is so packed that someone like Kaitlyn Dever is given only one small, albeit impactful, scene.

The ending of the film is likely to be divisive, but it only serves to underscore the idea that no one can truly know how to handle an existential threat like nuclear war. The military and the government can simulate and prepare all they want, but it’s only when things go to hell that anyone can tell if they’re able to meet the moment.

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A House of Dynamite is now playing in select theaters. It debuts on Netflix on October 24.

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Movie Review Time

Star-studded cast and Oscar-winning director power dramatic A House of Dynamite