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.

The Houston Museum of African American Culture hosts an Eat. Drink.Art. fashion show.

Houston Museum of African American Culture presents Eat.Drink.Art. Fashion Show

Photo courtesy of Houston Museum of African American Culture

The Houston Museum of African American Culture hosts an Eat. Drink.Art. fashion show.

event-planner

Movie Review

The Rock takes dramatic turn as MMA star in The Smashing Machine

Photo courtesy of A24

Dwayne Johnson in The Smashing Machine.

For almost 25 years, Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) has tried to make himself into a movie star, with mixed results. While his leading-man roles did okay, his biggest successes have been as part of franchises like Fast & Furious, Jumanji, and Moana, none of which were entirely on his broad shoulders. Having possibly exhausted his attempts at appealing to broad audiences, he’s finally decided to test out his dramatic acting abilities in The Smashing Machine.

Johnson plays Mark Kerr, a mixed martial arts champion who was at the forefront of the Ultimate Fighting Championship when it first started to get popular in the late 1990s. The film follows Kerr as he competes in the UFC and also the Pride Fighting Championship, a series of competitions in Japan. Kerr is joined at almost every step by his girlfriend, Dawn Staples (Emily Blunt), with whom he has a somewhat volatile relationship.

Kerr is helped along the way by fellow fighter Mark Coleman (Ryan Bader) and coach Bas Rutten (playing himself). His desire to stay on top and stay ahead of the pain that results from the notoriously brutal sport leads him down the path of steroids and opioids, a combination that affects his mind along with his body.

Written and directed by Benny Safdie, the film is bafflingly boring considering the sport it’s depicting. While it’s clear Safdie has a big appreciation for mixed martial arts, that love doesn’t come through in the fight scenes, which are often confusing and static. He also does a poor job of getting across why the film is focused on Kerr, whose dominance - he started off his career with 11 straight wins - is not really on display. In fact, he often comes across as shockingly soft for such a big man.

Johnson layers on makeup to make himself slightly unrecognizable, although it’s a little odd to go to that effort and still look nothing like the actual Kerr. He’s significantly bulked up, even more than he has been for the WWE or action roles, which gives him a hulking physicality that sells at least that part of the character. But it also turns him into a lumbering oaf, a trait that takes away from Kerr’s supposed athleticism.

Safdie and his team make other odd choices that prevent the film from being successful. Staples is the classic wet blanket girlfriend in a sports movie, a character who only seems to exist to drag the male star down. The depiction of Kerr and Staples’ relationship is overwrought to the point of exhaustion. The score by Nala Sinephro is also overbearing, used to match the action exactly in some scenes and cranked up in others in a way that makes the music the focus instead of being complementary to the story.

Johnson, whose charms have been evident in most of his mainstream roles, can never seem to get a handle on how to play Kerr. He makes Kerr appear both intimidating and weak at the same time, never fully inhabiting the fighter’s persona. Blunt is done no favors by her stereotypical role, and unfortunately she is unable to elevate it. Bader, an MMA fighter making his acting debut, does so well in his supporting part that you could make the argument he should have played Kerr instead.

The Smashing Machine is being hyped as an Oscar vehicle for Johnson, but neither he nor the way Safdie tells the story makes the case that his performance should be considered one of the best of the year. Mark Kerr might have been an impressive fighter in his heyday, but the film about his life does little to get that idea across to anyone who didn’t personally witness him in action.

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The Smashing Machine opens in theaters on October 3.

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