weekend event planner

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

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents "Electrifying Design: A Century of Lighting"

"Electrifying Design: A Century of Lighting" opens at the MFAH this weekend.

Photo courtesy of Drift

Houston has endured a grueling week and temps not seen in decades. Thousands are without power, water — or in many cases, both. Some areas present challenges such as no electricity and iced-over roads and could be that way for days.

Yet, as the city slowly — very slowly — begins to thaw and reopen, some weekend events are still on for those looking for ways to (understandably) de-stress.

We send our very best wishes to those who are struggling and as a reminder, here are restaurants serving food for dine-in and takeway, grocery stores open, and warming stations ready to help.

And for those willing to venture out, here is some weekend fun that awaits.

Thursday, February 18

UH2U: Exclusively for Everyone - Public Art of the University of Houston System
Join Maria C. Gaztambide, PhD, director and chief curator of Public Art of the University of Houston System, as she discusses one of UH’s and the City of Houston’s most unique, cultural gems. She’ll touch upon Public Art UHS’s storied history, the evolution of its collection and recent projects, including the temporary exhibition Color Field. On view through May 31, the exhibition is the first curated exhibition of outdoor sculptures at UH and among the largest ever presented in Houston. 6:30 pm.

Walter Mosley in conversation with Oline H. Cogdill
This weekend, the beloved mystery bookstore Murder by The Book will have something for all those Easy Rawlins fans out there. Famed novelist Walter Mosley will be discussing Blood Grove, his latest book starring his beloved detective protagonist, for a virtual event. He’ll be in conversation with mystery-fiction reviewer Oline H. Cogdill. You can access the event over at Murder by The Book’s YouTube or Facebook page. 7:30 pm.

Friday, February 19

Youth America Grand Prix 22nd Season 2021 Regional Semi-Finals
As the global pandemic has put the performing arts world largely on pause, Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) – the world’s largest student ballet competition – is moving forward with safely conducting large-scale, live and virtual scholarship auditions to ensure the future of dance. From Friday to Sunday, hundreds of aspiring ballet dancers — ages 9 to 19 — from all over Texas will be at the YAGP ballet scholarship auditions, dancing to win. 9 am.

Foltz Fine Art presents Susu Meyer: "Contemporary Texas Landscapes" opening weekend
On Friday and Saturday, Foltz Fine Art will present the first solo exhibition at the gallery for this Houston-based artist. Meyer captures the beauty and serenity found across the state, from Hill Country rippling waters to West Texas expanses; from lonely country roads to the lush Japanese Gardens at Hermann Park. The exhibition will remain on view by appointment only through March 20. 11 am.

The Garden Theatre presents New Beginnings
New Beginnings, the inaugural cabaret of The Garden Theatre, will feature an eclectic mix of musical theatre and pop music. It will include Houston favorites Seth Cunningham, Daniel Edwards, Natalie Nassar, and Courtlin Parisher. Featured in the piece will be Austin Colburn (on Friday night) and Lauren Salazar (on Saturday night). The cabaret will have extremely limited seating, and will also be presented virtually. 7:30 pm.

Saturday, February 20

Dive Pirates Foundation presents Dive Pirates Ball
Now in its 17th year, the Dive Pirates Ball will be going virtual this time around. Apparently, nothing can stop these folks from getting together with injured veterans, law enforcement, emergency first responders, and others who are medically qualified and physically disabled and celebrating the freedom of adaptive scuba diving. This event will include a keynote speaker, live auction, donations games and a giveaway chance for everyone who registers for the event. 8 pm.

Sunday, February 21

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents "Electrifying Design: A Century of Lighting" opening day
Look for a celebration of lighting devices — innovative, practical, delightful, and fun. The exhibition examines lighting as a transforming force in daily life and in major design movements. Rare and limited-production examples by the world’s leading designers are presented in three sections, organized by theme rather than chronologically. Amplifying the works on view are three large-scale immersive experiences. On display through Sunday, May 16. 12:30 pm.

Girl Scout Cookies and Wine Pairing at the 19th Street Wine Garden
Here’s something you wouldn’t expect would go together nicely. Come and indulge in these timeless cookies, paired with artisan wines from We Olive in the adjacent 19th Street Wine Garden, at this outdoor event. For $25 a pop, you’ll get five different cookies with five, 2-ounce wine tastes. In case of inclement weather, this event will be moved indoors, inside We Olive, while maintaining six feet between tables and other COVID procedures. 1 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Action-packed Kraven the Hunter showcases gritty Marvel antihero

Photo by Jay Maidment

Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Kraven the Hunter.

One of the oddest things about the blockbuster era we live in is that while Disney owns the rights to the majority of Marvel comic book characters, Sony Pictures owns the rights to Spider-Man and any affiliated characters. Since they’re sharing Spider-Man himself with Disney, Sony has been trying to capitalize on those rights by making stand-alone films using niche characters that only comic book fanatics would know.

Having exhausted Venom and whiffed on attempts with Morbius and Madame Web, they’re trying again with Kraven the Hunter. Also known as Sergei Kravinoff, Kraven (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is a self-styled vigilante who, as the film tells it, travels the world exacting vengeance on the truly bad people of the world. He’s the son of Nikolai (Russell Crowe), a hard-edged Russian oligarch, and brother to Dmitri (Fred Hechinger), who is relatively weak compared to the rest of his family.

The origin story has Kraven gaining his animal-like powers - including super-strength, speed, and jumping abilities - as a teenager from a mysterious serum given to him by a girl named Calypso (played as an adult by Ariana DeBose) after he was mauled by a lion. The two maintain a tenuous partnership as adults, with Calypso helping him hunt down other villains like Aleksei Sytsevich (Alessandro Nivola) and The Foreigner (Christopher Abbott).

Directed by J.C. Chandor and written by Richard Wenk, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway, the film looks and feels enormously lazy, something made merely to hold on to potentially valuable intellectual property. Other than the tense family dynamic between the Kravinovs, little makes sense in the story. Kraven has an indecipherable moral code that has him going after poachers - because he’s part lion? - in addition to other high-powered criminals, with no clear goal except to … get back at his father?

The laziness extends to the action scenes, which feature Kraven being mostly impervious to any damage, whether it’s hand-to-hand combat, knives, or guns. The CGI-heavy scenes don’t even allow moviegoers to enjoy an R-rated bloody free-for-all, as all of the blood splatter is computer-generated, too. Since apparently one Spider-Man villain is not enough, three others make appearances with abilities that are under-explained and CGI that is poorly done.

That’s not even counting Calypso, another Spider-Man villain whose purpose in this film is nebulous at best. Her early connection with Kraven is so coincidental as to be laughable, and her continued reasons for helping him as an adult strain credulity as well. The only saving grace of her presence is that the filmmakers don’t try to shoehorn romance into the plot; perhaps they’re saving that for the (inevitable?) sequel.

Taylor-Johnson has had one of the most prolific-yet-anonymous careers in modern Hollywood, with appearances in big films like The Fall Guy, Bullet Train, and Tenet that have made very little impact. Even as the star here, he fails to hold your attention, with the story and visuals doing him no favors. DeBose has followed up her Oscar win for West Side Story with schlock like I.S.S., Argylle, and this, which doesn’t bode well for her career. At least Crowe gets to chew the scenery.

With a contractual inability to mention the name “Spider-Man,” movies like Kraven the Hunter exist in a weird area that forces filmmakers to make up stories for characters to which most people have no attachment. And just like Sony’s previous efforts, it is a very poor way to spend two hours in a movie theater; avoid at all costs.

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Kraven the Hunter opens in theaters on December 13.

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