weekend event planner

Here are the top 15 things to do in Houston this weekend

Celebrate the life and music of George Michael this weekend at House of Blues.

Time to chill this weekend — literally, as the forecast calls for wintry temps. Those out and about will be rewarded by the combo of a massive car and boat show, art openings, a fun Texas-based play, a smarmy visiting comic, hot shows at hot nightclubs, and the celebration of an '80s and '90s musical icon.

Bundle up and enjoy — here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, January 27

2022 Houston Boat Show at NRG Center
For the first time ever, the Houston Auto Show and the Houston Boat Show are getting hitched, bringing land and sea lovers together for one spectacular event. Attendees can experience the latest vehicles, boats and outdoor activities for just one ticket. After realizing the hit the pandemic has brought on inventory in both the automobile and boat industries, the two Houston shows have teamed-up to build the largest event of its kind. Noon (10 am Saturday and Sunday).

Friends of Periwinkle present 10th Annual Hops & Hot Tamales
The Friends of Periwinkle, a membership organization whose mission is to enrich the lives of children, young adults and families challenged by cancer and other life-threatening illnesses, will host a virtual evening of Hops & Hot Tamales benefiting The Periwinkle Foundation. Guests can enjoy food and beverage from Hugo’s Restaurant, conversation with St. Arnold Brewing Co. founder Brock Wagner and H-Town Restaurant Group sommelier Sean Beck, and hear what’s happening at Periwinkle. 6:30 pm.

Alley Theatre presents High School Play: A Nostalgia Fest
It’s senior year in Carrollton, Texas, and Riverside High School's competitive theatre troupe is climbing back to the top from last year's unprecedented loss. When Coaches Dirkson and Blow make a bold choice for the one-act play competition and the community takes issue, friends and rivals duke it out in this uniquely Texan, coming-of-age comedy by Texan playwright Vichet Chum, directed by Houston native Tiffany Nichole Greene. Through Sunday, February 13. 7:30 pm (2:30 and 8 pm Saturday; 2:30 and 7:30 pm Sunday).

Friday, January 28

Crawdaddy Party at Live Oak Bar & Grill
Night Moves Hospitality's family-friendly neighborhood bar in Spring Branch is kicking off crawfish season with Cajun crawfish for $6/pound with all-day drink specials at its 2022 Crawdaddy Party. Libation offerings include $2 Jell-O shots, $4 shot specials, $5 margaritas (frozen or on the rocks), $5 frozen hurricanes, $15 mimosa carafes and a bucket of Montucket (16 oz.) for $15. Featured crawfish add-ons are corn, potatoes, mushrooms and sausage. The complete food menu also will be available. 2 pm.

Moody Center for the Arts presents "Soundwaves: Experimental Strategies in Art + Music" opening reception
This exhibition features works of sculpture, audio, video, painting, and performance, that incorporate both visual and acoustic elements. The works on view explore the generative intersections between sound and visual art, inviting visitors to engage their senses in the exploration of a wide range of themes including perception, memory, and the passage of time, our relationship to technology and the environment, and the struggle for racial justice and social change. 6 pm.

Sicardi Ayers Bacino presents "John Sparagana: Splendid Isolation (Forces at Work)" and "Manuel Espinosa and Luis Tomasello" opening reception
"John Sparagana: Splendid Isolation (Forces at Work)" is a solo exhibition that will take place in the main gallery and is designed by Reto Geiser, associate professor and director of undergraduate studies at the Rice University School of Architecture and founding principal of the Houston-based design practice MG&Co. "Manuel Espinosa and Luis Tomasello" is a group exhibition will take place in the upstairs project room. Through Thursday, March 3. 6 pm.

Tom Segura: I'm Coming Everywhere
Comedian, actor, writer and morning-show prankster Tom Segura brings his I'm Coming Everywhere tour to Houston. Segura is best known for his three Netflix specials, Disgraceful (2018), Mostly Stories (2016), and Completely Normal (2014). He also co-hosts the podcast Your Mom’s House with his wife, comedian Christina Pazsitzky. He also co-hosts the podcast 2 Bears, 1 Cave with his other wife, comedian Bert Kreischer. 7 pm.

Young Bombs at Sekai Night & Day
Sekai Night & Day continues to bring out the EDM superstars. This weekend, Canadian DJ/production duo Young Bombs will be in town, as part of their five-stop, North American tour. For those who don't know these cats, Tristan Nortan and Martin Kottmeier have remixed tunes for The Chainsmokers, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Galantis & more. They've also played numerous festivals, such as Lollapalooza and Ultra Music Fest. 10:30 pm.

Saturday, January 29

"Fly Girls of World War II" at Lone Star Flight Museum
This exhibit tells the inspirational stories of the American women known to history as WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots), who answered the call to service during World War II. (More on the exhibit here.) Visitors will hear the stories of these pioneering pilots and the triumph and perseverance of these heroic ladies. Visitors will also see original WASP World War II uniforms, military artifacts, and learn how these courageous women changed the face of our military. Through Sunday, July 10. 10 am (Noon Sunday).

Mitochondria Gallery presents Sesse Elangwe: "Dawn" opening day
Mitochondria Gallery presents this debut solo exhibition by visual artist Sesse Elangwe, who currently resides in San Antonio. The exhibition features a new body of work presented in the form of figurative paintings. This is the second collaboration between Sesse and Mitochondria Gallery. This body of work is a manifestation of Elangwe's recent migration to his new environment in San Antonio, and his previous life in Buea, Cameroon. Through Thursday, February 10. Noon.

Acadia Bar & Grill Food Trailer Grand Opening/Photo Shoot
Acadia Bar and Grill will be having the grand opening of its new food trailer this weekend. The spot will be expanding its food menu, serving up fresh, real street tacos, burgers, burritos, quesadillas and much more. Locals are invited to eat, drink and have a chance to be in Acadia's upcoming commercial/ad. They will also be launching on Uber Eats, GrubHub and Doordash, as well as providing alcohol to go. 6:30 pm.

The Wheel Workers Video Release Show at White Oak Music Hall
Texas-based, underground indie music collective The Wheel Workers will host the music video release show for their latest single, “S.O.S." (from their upcoming album Harbor) this weekend. The group released the single “S.O.S.” in October 2020 ahead of the presidential election to “seek out new life and new civilizations, and boldly request intelligent alien life among the stars to help humanity out of the mess we’ve created for ourselves.” 8:30 pm.

Sunday, January 30

Houston Chamber Choir presents Hear the Future
Each year, the Houston Chamber Choir invites three outstanding school choirs from the Greater Houston area to participate in its annual invitational choral festival, now celebrating its 22nd year. This year will feature the Parker Elementary School Advanced Chorus, directed by Marianna Parnas-Simpson (Houston ISD); the North Shore Middle School Choir under the direction of Erin Huston (Galena Park ISD); and the Cy-Fair Chorale conducted by Nicholas Likos (Cypress-Fairbanks ISD). 4 pm.

The Life and Music of George Michael
This brand-new, immersive concert-style show chronicles the journey George Michael had with music and his fans. The show captures the performance and sound of George Michael with staging and lighting while telling his story through early music hits from Wham! and his illustrious solo career. The show will feature hits like "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go," "Freedom," "Faith," "Careless Whisper," "Father Figure," and many more. 7 pm.

Musica Tra Amici presents String Quartets by Mozart and Brahms
Musica Tra Amici (Music Among Friends) will have their first concert of 2022. For this chamber music concert, artistic director and Houston Symphony co-concertmaster, Eric Halen, will be joined by his Houston Symphony colleagues, violinist Tong Yan, violist Sheldon Person, and principal cellist Brinton Avril Smith, in an intimate performance of Mozart String Quartet in E flat major, K. 428, and Brahms String Quartet in A minor, opus 51 #2. This concert will both be an in-person and livestream event. 7 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Dark satire Digger could bring an Oscar nomination for star Tom Cruise

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Tom Cruise in Digger.

For most of the 21st century, and especially the last 15 years, Tom Cruise has been a “movie star” rather than an “actor.” That’s not to say he’s a bad actor, but rather that his focus has been on making blockbuster movies where his unique ability to go all-in on action supersedes any need for introspection. Now perhaps past his action movie days, he’s giving full-on acting another try in Digger.

Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, an eccentric oil baron whose current project is drilling for oil in Greenland. Turns out that’s a bad idea in multiple ways, most significantly when an explosion at the site manages to calve an ice shelf five times the size of Boston. That humongous piece of ice then starts on an inevitable collision course with mainland Europe, where it is predicted that there will be hundreds of thousands of deaths and uncountable property damage from the ensuing tsunami.

That sounds bleak, and it is, but the film plays the scenario for laughs thanks to over-the-top characters like Digger, his sister Emma (Sandra Hüller), U.S. President Compson (John Goodman), and the unnamed Vice President (Michael Stuhlbarg). As those people and others try to spin the disaster of epic proportions, others like the scientist Ganesh (Riz Ahmed) try to get the leaders to see reason or to take responsibility for their actions.

Written and directed by Alejandro Iñárritu and co-written by three others, the film has more than a few surprises in store, including one big one that will go unspoiled here. Suffice it to say that for anyone who might be put off by how Cruise (who seems to be channeling his Les Grossman character from Tropic Thunder) and others are acting in the trailers for the film may change their minds about the performances after actually having seen the complete product.

What can be said is that the film is a wild, wacky, and occasionally disorienting experience that also doubles as a cogent critique of the governments and corporations responsible for climate change and unchecked capitalism. Digger is a motormouth who often cuts off people with relevant information to impart, having already determined that he knows all he needs to know about a certain topic. He’s stuck in his ways in many respects, including trying to keep alive a 20-year-old cat that clearly wants to die.

Once the full scope of the story is revealed, it becomes easier to understand what Iñárritu and Cruise are trying to accomplish with the film. It has some similarities to Stanley Kubrick’s dark satire Dr. Strangelove, but it also tries to stay grounded in certain ways. The push-and-pull between those who only seem to be out for themselves and those who want to get to the truth of the matter is played out on different fronts throughout the film. Not all of it lands, but enough does to not make the film seem completely unhinged.

Cruise has been nominated for three Oscars, and it’s clear he’s aiming for a fourth nod with this performance. He does his best to sell every quirk and aspect of the character, epitomized by a gonzo speech that utilizes every mental and physical skill he can muster. The supporting actors are hit-and-miss, but Ahmed comes off the best as a person serving as Digger’s moral conscience. He’s an antidote to Cruise’s mania, but then turns it up to 11 when needed.

Not everything is as it seems in Digger, and the out-there approach by Iñárritu and his team falls into the love-it-or-hate-it dichotomy that applies to many of his films. The very fact that everyone involved was willing to dedicate their whole selves to such an off-the-wall concept makes it deserving of attention, even if not everything is a success.

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Digger opens in theaters on October 2.

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