weekend event planner

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

Jeremy Piven hits the Houston Improv this weekend. (No word on a subsequent entourage.)

As we all know, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott lifted the mask mandate and said that the state is "100 percent open." Understandably, many will proceed with caution.

Fortunately, this weekend offers a mix of virtual and in-person offerings. Stay safe and enjoy the welcome sunshine. Here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, March 4

Houston French Film Festival at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The MFAH's French Film Festival just started on Wednesday and, even though most theaters remain closed, MFAH audiences can still virtually enjoy French films this month (aka the international month of French Culture). Ten films will be shown, including comedies like Quentin Dupieux’s Keep an Eye Out, dramas like Faithful (starring Vincent Lacoste and Vicky Krieps), and other selections that will make you get your je ne sais quoi on. The festival will run through Sunday, March 28. 7 pm.

Asia Society Texas Center presents A Transformed Post-Pandemic World: Conversation With CNN's Fareed Zakaria
Join Asia Society Texas Center for a conversation with renowned journalist Fareed Zakaria on how this pandemic is speeding up history, a glimpse into the world already in the making and how our choices today can affect the future. In his book Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World, Zakaria helps his audience to begin thinking beyond the immediate effects of COVID-19. The virtual event will be moderated by Mustafa Tameez, CEO of Outreach Strategists, and will also be free to the public. 7:30 pm.

Friday, March 5

Aperio presents The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires
Astor Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires is a modern tango masterpiece for a solo violin-and-string orchestra, cast here in a unique arrangement by Leonid Desyatnikov. The concert will be conducted by Aperio’s resident conductor Marlon Chen, featuring Chloé Trevor as violin soloist in a reprise performance from the ensemble’s 2019 Miller Outdoor Theatre concert. An artist talk with Ms. Trevor follows the performance. The concert will be available to stream through Friday, March 12. 7:30 pm

Improv Houston presents Jeremy Piven
We don't know how or when it happened, but Jeremy Piven is a comedian now. The Emmy-winning actor, best known his role as savage Hollywood agent Ari Gold from the HBO show (and eventual movie) Entourage, has been touring comedy clubs for a while now. Judging by what we've seen from past stand-up performances, he'll most likely talk about his junk and/or his experiences in Hollywood and/or his experiences with his junk in Hollywood. 7:30 and 9:45 pm (7 and 9:30 pm Saturday).

Saturday, March 6

Eastside Market Outdoor Pop-Up Shopping Event
This outdoor market returns for another round this weekend. The first Eastside Market (held in January) was such a hit that they decided to make this a recurring event. The stylish event will be held at the Très Chic parking lot, across from Kirby Ice House. Bovine & Barley's Adult Cocktail Truck will be there, as well as other delicious, food truck options. Attendees and vendors must wear masks. 9 am.

Redbud Gallery presents "Ex Libris" opening reception
Redbud Gallery will present a selection of “Ex Libris,” an exhibition of bookplates from the Old and New Worlds. The custom of affixing bookplates to books began in Germany in the mid-15th century. This exhibition will feature creations not made to show ownership of books, but rather the lost art of Ex Libris, designed to show the beauty of classical printmaking techniques. The exhibition will remain on display through Tuesday, March 30. Noon.

Sunday, March 7

Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series: Kazuo Ishiguro
Nobel Laureate Kazuo Ishiguro will give a short reading from his new novel Klara and the Sun, followed by a conversation with fiction writer Jim Shepard. This livestream event, part of the 40th anniversary, 2020/2021 Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series, will be accessible from the Inprint website. Details on how to access the reading will be provided to season subscribers and to those who purchase general admission tickets in the Eventbrite email receipt. 5 pm.

Raya and the Last Dragon at Moonstruck Drive-In Cinema
Do you wanna stick it to all those Star Wars nerds who thought The Last Jedi was trash? Take your ride up to Moonstruck Drive-In Cinema and check out the latest, computer-animated action/adventure/fantasy from the folks at Disney. This movie has Kelly Marie Tran (she of Jedi — who got seriously trolled) starring as a warrior who, along with her pet companion Tuk Tuk, tracks down the last dragon in order to finally stop the force terrorizing her land. 7 pm.

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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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