Weekend Event Planner

Here are the top 11 things to do in Houston this weekend

It's the week post-Super Bowl LI and Houston is showing no signs in slowing down with activities. There's plenty for everyone in the family to get into this weekend. Sesame Street Live, Monster Jam, and a premiere performance of To Kill a Mockingbird are just a few of the events on tap.

Here's are our picks for the top 11 events happening in Houston this weekend, but you can always see a full list on our CultureMap Events Calendar.

Thursday, February 9

Sesame Street Live: Elmo Makes Music

Elmo, Abby, Cadabby, Big Bird, and other iconic characters learn to make beautiful music together after they search for their new teacher's missing instruments and discover new ones in this fun children's show. Multiple performances through Sunday at NRG Park.

The 25th Annual Great Grown Up Spelling Bee

Multiple teams of two adults compete against each other in this fun and competitive spelling bee until one emerges victorious — and the Houston Center for Literacy benefits. The night features cocktails, light bites, a dj, and desserts.

Friday, February 10

GoGames360 Houston

Game lovers will flock to The Woodlands all weekend to play hundreds of video games, board games, and physical games from around the world, laser and archery tag, an obstacle course, Lego gallery, dance-a-thon, ping pong, and Hamsterball Soccer. A dance and cheer showcase adds to the fun.

Tapas on the Trails

In advance of Valentine's Day, the popular Tapas on the Trails offers a romantic evening getaway at the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center. Enjoy a softly-lit walk through the Arboretum’s nature sanctuary, pausing along the way to indulge in five delicious courses paired perfectly with carefully selected beers and wines. Guests receive a commemorative glass to take home. The evening ends at the Meadow Deck overlooking our one acre pond and meadow where guests will enjoy sparkling wine, handcrafted desserts, coffee, and the company of an owl. The event takes place Friday and Saturday night.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Oscar Nominees: Animated Short Films

See all of this year's Oscar nominees in the Animated Short Films category, including Borrowed Time, Pearl, Piper, Blind Vaysha, and Pear Cider and Cigarettes, and you'll be ahead of the game when it comes to predicting the winner. On Saturday, the MFAH will present the nominees in the Documentary Short Subject category; a repeat of the Antimated Short Films will take place on Sunday.

STOMP

The Society for the Performing Arts presents the return of this inventive and invigorating stage show that’s part dance, part concert, part theatrical performance, all blended together in one electrifying rhythm that features matchboxes, brooms, garbage cans, Zippo lighters, and more filling the stage. Performances continue all weekend.

Saturday, February 11

Monster Jam

Adults and children alike will have an exciting time watching custom-designed trucks, approximately 12 feet tall and about 12 feet wide, sitting atop 66-inch-tall tires and weighing a minimum of 10,000 pounds, fly up to 130 feet in the distance and up to 35 feet in the air while reaching speeds as high as 100 miles per hour.

Houston Symphony presents Celebrate Asia

Led by Taiwanese-American guest conductor Mei-Ann Chen, the hour-long concert at Houston Baptist University features east Asian folk songs interwoven with popular Western classical music. Select works on the program include Bèo Dạt Mây Trôi, a lush orchestration of a traditional Vietnamese song arranged for orchestra by leading Vietnamese cellist Ngo Hoang Quan; Yuzo Toyama’s Rhapsody for Orchestra, a folk-music travelogue of Japan; and a set of variations on “Arirang,” a folk song often referred to as Korea’s unofficial national anthem. Mongolian violinist Angelo Xiang Yu also joins in the celebration of the musical traditions of Houston's Asian communities.

Beats+BBQ+Brews

Happening the second Saturday of every month at Axelrad Beer Garden from noon until 5 pm, this weekend's edition include beats from DJ Seek, barbecue from Blood Bros. BBQ, including 44 Farms chuck ribs and beef brisket, pork ribs, smoked boudain, and more. And, of course, lots of brews.

Sunday, February 12

To Kill a Mockingbird

A.D. Players kicks off its 50th anniversary season in its brand new theater with Christopher Sergel’s dramatization of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Harper Lee novel. Film and television actor Jason Douglas stars as Atticus Finch with Jemma Kosanke as Scout.

Dashboard Confessional

The rock band will perform hits from their various albums, including The Swiss Army Romance, After the Ending, and The Shade of Poison Trees at House of Blues. Vinyl Theater is the opening act.

We'd love to hear how you enjoyed these events and others happening around the city. Be sure to connect with us on social media.

Dashboard Confessional rocks the House of Blues.

Dashboard Confessional/Facebook

Dashboard Confessional rocks the House of Blues.

event-planner

Movie Review

Supergirl fails to take flight in a movie weighed down by grief

Photo courtesy of DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures

Milly Alcock in Supergirl.

Last year's Superman reboot brought a renewed sense of optimism for, if not the concept of the comic book movie, then at least the DC Comics universe. After more than a decade of DC films that felt mostly creatively bankrupt, the leadership of James Gunn gave the story a sense of fun. That included the brief introduction of Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, who’s now getting her own showcase in, naturally, Supergirl.

When we first met her in Superman, Supergirl was in rough shape, arriving at the Fortress of Solitude visibly inebriated. Nothing has changed at the beginning of this film, save for her aimlessly traveling around the universe with her rambunctious dog, Krypto. One of her random stops puts her in the same bar as Ruthye (Eve Ridley), who is looking for help tracking down Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) and a group known as the Brigands after they brutally murdered her family.

Kara is initially loath to offer aid, but when Krem shoots a poison dart into Krypto while escaping, her motivation goes way up, especially since Krem holds the antidote. Kara, with Ruthye doggedly following her, uses every means available to her to find Krem, a journey that is hampered by galaxies having different colored suns than the one that gives her powers, the yellow sun.

Directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Ana Nogueira, the film is a big step back in the fun category, not least because Supergirl is deep in her feelings for much of the film. Her personal trauma, which is detailed in occasional flashbacks, gives a reason for her depression, but fails to land fully. The story seems to want everyone to be sad, as it includes a child trafficking ring and multiple instances of families being murdered.

Milly Alcock and Krypto in Supergirl.Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

To try to counteract that downer material, the filmmakers give Supergirl many opportunities to show off her fighting skills. While still CGI-heavy, the action scenes contain enough of a semblance of reality that they feel exciting. Unfortunately, this is undercut by the inclusion of several slow-motion sequences, giving the impression that the filmmakers didn’t trust the actors to deliver the goods on a consistent basis.

Superman (David Corenswet) makes a handful of appearances in the film, and while his presence is welcome given how well the character came across in the previous movie, it also doesn’t allow Supergirl to become her own person. Almost everything she does is colored by either her cousin or her parents, and since her powers are identical to those of Superman, there is very little that makes her story unique aside from how she’s dealing with the fallout.

Alcock (House of the Dragon, Sirens) gives an appealing performance despite her character being drunk and/or moody most of the time. She definitely sells what Supergirl is going through, so if given a better story in a future film, she’s proven her capability. Schoenaerts makes for a pretty good villain, although he’s aided by a look that includes a face full of studs. Jason Momoa has a memorable supporting role as the bounty hunter Lobo, even if his character doesn’t add much to the story.

While not a full-on disaster, Supergirl does not continue the momentum that Superman started. With a story that’s more concerned with showing audiences death scenes than a hero saving people, the film doesn’t seem to understand the appeal of a character like Supergirl or how to make her someone audiences will return to over and over again.

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Supergirl is now playing in theaters.

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