weekend event planner

Here are the top 14 things to do in Houston this weekend

Top Chef judges Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons

Catch the premiere of Top Chef on Thursday.

Photo by Stephanie Diani/Bravo

This weekend is all about reality — TV that is — as Top Chef debuts with Houston-centric episodes and Dancing with the Stars comes to town. Speaking of stars, don't miss Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in Concert, a screening paired with a Houston Symphony performance.

Crooner Maxwell hits H-Town and a sundae Funday is a sweet way to end the fun. Here are your best bets for your weekend.

Thursday, March 3

Official Top Chef Houston Watch Party
Guests are invited to watch the season premiere of Top Chef Houston alongside notable local chefs, who have assisted in shaping the city’s culinary community. The free public event will feature music by DJ (and co-owner of Blood Bros. BBQ) Robin Wong, and guest appearances by Houston artists David Maldonado, who created the series’ Houston logo, and GONZO247, who designed the show’s production set. 5:30 pm.

Rock Cats Rescue presents The Amazing Acro-Cats
The Amazing Acro-cats (featuring Tuna and the Rock Cats) are a troupe of rescued house cats. This two-hour "purrformance" features talented felines rolling on balls, riding skateboards, jumping through hoops, and more. The finale is the only all-cat band in the world. The current band lineup features St. Clawed on guitar, Bowie on drums, Nue on keyboard, and four new members: Ahi on woodblocks and Albacore on cowbell, Roux on trumpet, and Oz on saxophone. There's even a chicken — Cluck Norris — rockin' the tambourine. 7 pm.

Venardos Circus
This unique, Broadway-style circus, created by former Ringling Bros. ringmaster Kevin Venardos, wraps animal-free circus acts into a format dubbed “The American Circus with the heart of a Broadway Show.” Guests can expect to be transported back in time to a centuries-old tradition, but one that has been reinvented for the next generation. With an assortment of aerialists, acrobats, juggling, etc., this experience will entertain both adults and kids alike. Through Sunday, March 13. 7 pm (1, 4 and 7 pm Saturday; 1 and 4 pm Sunday).

Friday, March 4

United Way presents Women Who Rock
This fundraiser event salutes extraordinary parents in our community and empowers them to continue their education through the Women Who Rock Child Care Scholarship. This year’s keynote speaker, business and life coach Retha Nichole, will further explore this year's theme, "One Woman Can Make a Difference, Together We Can Rock the World." The scholarship underwrites child care for deserving young parents who are committed to continuing their education after completing high school. 11:30 am.

Maxwell in concert with Anthony Hamilton and Joe
Get ready for a night of three soul-singing men, hitting audiences with wall-to-wall, seductive, sexy music. First, we have headliner Maxwell, the smooth, silky singer who gave us the baby-making classic Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite over 25 years ago. As for the opening acts, veteran crooners Anthony Hamilton (who held his own alongside Musiq Soulchild during that Valentine's Day Verzuz a couple weeks back) and Joe will get things all nice and moist at the top of the show. 7 pm.

Dancing with the Stars: Live
This onstage extravaganza will feature favorite dancers from the hit ABC show, as well as special guest star Kaitlyn Bristowe. The all-new production will feature fan-favorite routines from the TV series and new numbers choreographed just for the live audiences. The show will showcase the professional dancers in a brand-new production showcasing every type of dance style, ranging from tango to foxtrot, cha-cha to waltz — and everything in between. 8 pm.

Houston Symphony presents Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in Concert
The battle between good and evil rages on in the final chapter of the original Star Wars trilogy. Luke, Leia, Han, and the whole Rebel Alliance seek to destroy the Death Star and face a final showdown with Darth Vader and the Emperor. Audiences will feel the full splendor and Force of John Williams’s incredible score — from 20th Century Fox fanfare to closing credits _ as the Houston Symphony accompanies the movie, live. 8 pm (2:30 and 8 pm Saturday; 2:30 pm Sunday).

Saturday, March 5

The Super Happy Toy Show and Art Market

Back by popular demand, the biggest toy event of the year returns, and there's only one toy store that could pull it off -- Super Happy Incredible Toys! This event will be an entire weekend filled with two full days of fun, excitement, toys and beer. This all-ages event will showcase some of the best toy vendors and most talented artisans with many opportunities to purchase from both. Taps will be flowing as well, so enjoy your favorite Saint Arnold's beverage while you shop. 11 am.

Archway Gallery presents Larry Garmezy: "Stuck" opening reception
Larry Garmezy is one quirky photographer. A retired geologist, he’s spent his life as a photographer inspired -- by nature’s beauty and his unique, digital, photographic techniques -- are quite stunning. But what does a photographer do when his muse is taken away? Garmezy’s show is a unique, often playful, chronicle of a disrupted life, a deserted downtown, and how stuck we, as individuals, remain as our society ripples and shifts. Through Thursday, March 31. 5 pm.

Redbud Gallery presents Darden Smith: "Western Skies" opening reception
Redbud Gallery presents this exhibition by Austin-based artist Darden Smith. Smith’s multi-media practice spans photography, drawing, illustration, video, songs, essays, and performance. He seeks to find the humor in the mundane, the beauty in the rubble and the grace of the overlooked detail in order to translate what he sees into something new. As a songwriter, Smith is rooted in the Texas traditions, and as such, the power of story is prevalent in his works. Through Thursday, March 29. 6 pm.

Opera Leggera presents She's Like A Song - A New Orleans Style Evening of Jazz
Opera Leggera will present an intimate evening of jazz in honor of International Women's Day. Performed by Houston's jazz musicians and singers, this performance will showcase a diverse repertoire of jazz works and internationally recognized, musical compositions written about, composed by, or made famous by renowned women. Ermelinda Cuellar will pay tribute to the great women of song, including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Billie Holiday, among others. 7 pm.

Sunday, March 6

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents "Dawoud Bey: An American Project" opening day
Photographer Dawoud Bey portrays communities and histories that have been underrepresented or even unseen. From portraits in Harlem to nocturnal landscapes, classic street photography to large-scale studio portraits, his images combine an ethical imperative with an unparalleled mastery of his medium. This exhibit spans the breadth of Bey’s career through nearly 90 works, from the 1970s to the present. Through Monday, May 30. 12:30 pm.

Sundae Funday Anniversary Party
SweetCup Gelato will be hosting a 10-year celebration party at their gelato shop on Montrose Blvd. A timed "Cone Contest" will take place at 4:30 pm and the person who can hold and eat 6 scoops on top of a cone the fastest will win 10 pints. The party will also feature limited-edition, RodeoHouston flavors. SweetCup will also be donating 10 percent of proceeds to Second Servings of Houston to support the nonprofit’s mission to fight hunger and end food waste in Houston. 3 pm.

Musica Tra Amici presents Franz Schubert’s Piano Trio #1 in B flat major D898
For this event, violinist Eric Halen and cellist Brinton Averil, two of Houston Symphony's most beloved musicians, will be performing with California-based pianist Ayke Agus. They will perform Franz Schubert's beautiful B flat major trio, considered one of the greatest gems of the trio literature, and several delectable and fun, short pieces by Franz Kreisler and Jascha Heifetz, which are a particular specialty of Dr. Agus. 7 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Sheriff Bob Odenkirk is back in over-the-top new action movie 'Normal'

Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Bob Odenkirk in Normal.

Screenwriter Derek Kolstad, who wrote the first three John Wick movies, has essentially had a blank check to do what he wants in the movie landscape since 2014. In recent years that has meant writing the action series Nobody for Bob Odenkirk, who has turned from a comedian into an unlikely action star in his sixties. Kolstad and Odenkirk are teaming up again in Normal.

A film that tries to evoke Fargo in multiple ways, Normal finds Ulysses Richardson (Odenkirk) serving as a temporary sheriff for the small town of Normal, Minnesota after the previous sheriff died. Knowing he’s just a steward until a new sheriff is elected, Ulysses takes a live-and-let-live approach to the job, letting the deputies (Ryan Allen and Billy MacLellan) do the grunt work and trying to stay out of everyone’s way, including Mayor Kibner (Henry Winkler).

A bank robbery attempt by two non-citizens upsets his best-laid plans in more ways than he can imagine. Not only is he forced to confront a crime not often seen in a town like Normal, but the robbery uncovers secrets that turn the film into an all-out bloodbath. Soon, almost everyone in town becomes involved in what comes to resemble a war, along with — you guessed it — Yakuza henchmen from Japan.

Directed by Ben Wheatley and written by Kolstad, the film is a slight twist on the everyman-turned-hero character Odenkirk played in the two Nobody films. While Ulysses is in law enforcement, he prefers to use words instead of weapons, and it’s only when he’s pushed to the brink that he crosses that line. Naturally, his skills are beyond what anyone would expect of him, allowing him to match up well with people half his age.

The film is not a comedy in the traditional sense, but instead aims for laughs by catching the audience off-guard with its ultraviolence. Some characters are dispatched in shockingly unexpected ways, with one of the only natural reactions to the jarring nature of their deaths being laughter. That’s not necessarily the case for other killings, which range from blasé to sadistic, and the only reason they count as entertainment is because the filmmakers have primed the audience to accept them as such.

After a relatively solid setup, where Wheatley and Kolstad seem to take their time getting to know the main characters, the second half of the film is pure action that dispenses with good storytelling. Like many action movies, there are double crosses, surprise revelations, and more, but the filmmakers don’t seem to care about making sense of any character arcs. All they care about is delivering mayhem, and they succeed on that front.

Odenkirk has perfected the mild-yet-intimidating nature of his action characters, and it is satisfying to see him get the better of those who have done him wrong. He doesn’t run or jump like fellow 63-year-old Tom Cruise, but — with the help of fast-paced editing — he still makes for a credible action hero. The only other actors of any note in the film are Winkler, who’s a nice presence with his sardonic personality, and Lena Headey, whose small role doesn't match up with her experience.

You have to have a certain mindset to enjoy a film like Normal, but if you can abide its over-the-top bloodiness, it’s a serviceable action film. Few would have expected Odenkirk to take on these kinds of roles at this late stage of his career, but he’s making the most of his opportunities.

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Normal opens in theaters on April 17.

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