weekend event planner

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

Cha Wa brings a little NOLA flavor to The Rustic.

Photo courtesy of Cha Wa

We're still deep into Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo-related madness, as Tim McGraw, Zedd, and Zac Brown Band will be the latest artists set to perform at NRG Stadium in the next few days. But, if you don't feel like dealing with all the traffic that comes with seeing a show, there are myriad things happening around the city that are worth checking out.

Thursday, March 7

Mid Main Presents First Thursday
The music, art, and food block party known as Mid Main First Thursday starts up its seventh year, in the heart of Midtown Houston, benefitting and highlighting the vision of the Houston Parks Board. It also showcases the unique creative spirit of the Mid Main Neighborhood, home to a variety of locally owned bars, clubs, restaurants, boutiques, retailers, and Mid Main Lofts (which will have a reception for the First Annual HISD Visual Art Teachers Exhibition at 7 pm). 6-10 pm.

Stacks at Axelrad
If you're a fan of dance parties where the vinyl is flying every which-a-way, let us direct you to this monthly, musical shindig going on at Axelrad. Hosted by veteran DJ Squincy Jones, this open-format dance party welcomes visiting DJs (this month, it's Killem Collective's Joey Flaco and Ichikara IV Valdez) to play anything they want. There will also be a vinyl pop-up shop courtesy of Vinylism and food from Kin Concepts by Chef Evelyn. 8 pm to midnight.

Friday, March 8

Austin Eastciders Rose Launch at Cottonwood Bar
It looks like Austin Eastciders is getting all bougie on us with its newest flavor. This well-rounded cider uses hibiscus and real rose oil for a uniquely light, dry take on rosé. You can taste hints of crisp apple, rose petals, black currant, hibiscus, and tannic, with a lovely sweet cherry and floral aroma. Anyway, there will be a launch party at Cottonwood Bar, complete with live music from Jo Jones. 6 pm.

Wiesn in a Box at Super Happy Fun Land
Well, beer, and pretzels are coming to town, thanks to traveling food truck Wiesn in a Box. One of three food trucks crisscrossing from coast to coast, this decked-out, Bauhaus-style trailer (reimagined as a handcrafted mobile Hofbrau bar) is bringing a unique Oktoberfest vibe complete with cold beer, hot pretzels, and the latest Bavarian beats. It's gonna make a stop at Super Happy Fun Land, as part of the year-long Wunderbar Together: Year of German American Friendship campaign. 8-10 pm.

Saturday, March 9

Second Saturday Labyrinth Walk at Hines Center
Back in the day, we used to know Sarah Gish as the city manager for Landmark Theatres, hipping us media folk to all the independent cinema that was coming to town. These days, Gish runs her own creative firm, aptly named Gish Creative, and is involved with events like this special, meditative get-together. Held every second Saturday of the month, this will include an introduction to the history of labyrinths, an inspirational reading, a group walk and a reflective art project by Gish. 9 am.

On the Rise to Luck Tour at The Rustic
The Luck Reunion music festival (which is headquartered at Willie Nelson’s private property in Luck) is sending three artists to participate in the On the Rise to Luck Tour, which will be happening at three Rustic locations in Texas this weekend. The Houston location will be the final stop, as performers Cha Wa, Katie Pruitt, and Madison Cunningham are scheduled to wow the crowd before they wow the crowd at Luck next Thursday. 7:30-11:30 pm.

Sunday, March 10

Cat Video Fest 2019 at Alamo Drafthouse La Centerra and 14 Pews
We all love cat videos, don't we? Those cute, adorable, silly clips we watch on YouTube when we should be working is always a quick and easy way to perk up someone's day. Now, both Alamo Drafthouse LaCenterra and 14 Pews will be holding film screenings filled with these feline vids. These screenings will also raise money for cats in need through partnerships with local cat charities, animal welfare organizations and shelters to best serve cats in the area. 3 pm, 5 pm, and 7 pm (Pews); 6 pm (Alamo).

Unplugged at Discovery Green
Unplugged at Discovery Green returns for the spring as local, musical acts get together for acoustic concerts on the park's main stage, challenging themselves to rethink and rearrange their songs using only acoustic instruments. The first batch of artists for this month's show include Matt Harlan, Oliver Penn, Little Outfit, Cactus Flowers, and Darwin's Finches. Admission is free, but small donations are encouraged to support the park's free, year-round programming. 5-9 pm.

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Movie Review

New horror movie Faces of Death puts a modern twist on cult classic

Photo courtesy of of IFC Films

Dacre Montgomery in Faces of Death.

True horror fans will likely be familiar with the 1978 cult film Faces of Death, which purported to be a documentary showing real-life killings in gory detail. It didn’t, of course, but that didn’t stop rumors from continuing to spread for decades. Now, almost 50 years and multiple sequels later, comes a new version of Faces of Death, an actual movie that pays homage to the original in interesting ways.

Margot (Barbie Ferreira) works at a YouTube-like company called Kino as a content moderator, flagging videos that violate the company’s policies. This means her job often involves seeing some truly despicable things from all manner of depraved people. One day, though, she comes across a video that seems a little too real, and after seeing more similar videos, she starts to believe they’re genuine murders.

Going against her company NDA, she starts to investigate the videos on her own, which puts her on the radar of Arthur (Dacre Montgomery), who is actually kidnapping people and killing them on camera through methods seen in the original Faces of Death film. It’s not long before Arthur tracks her down, with a plan to make her one of his next victims.

Written and directed by Daniel Goldhaber (How to Blow Up a Pipeline) and co-written by Isa Mazzei, the film is not so much scary as it is creepy, with the occasional gross-out sequence. The idea of having someone emulate the killings in the cult film is a good idea, and pairing it with the modern-day attention economy — in which content creators go to increasing lengths for clicks — is a clever twist on a concept that other films have done.

The film as a whole is a commentary on how social media and video sharing sites have often decided to prioritize profits over the well-being of their users. Margot is shown allowing videos involving violence and sexual assault to stay on the site while nixing ones depicting how to use Narcan or demonstrating putting on a condom on a banana. Josh (Jermaine Fowler), Margot’s boss, is even explicit in the company mandate that outrageous videos drive views.

While Arthur has the makings of a good villain, there are few attempts to make him seem truly diabolical. His kidnappings often seem more spur-of-the-moment than calculated, and even though he has a well thought-out dungeon at home, the house’s location in the suburbs seems to make him vulnerable to easy discovery. Goldhaber and Mazzei leave more than a few unanswered questions along the way that take away from the intensity of the story.

Ferreira is yet another actor from Euphoria who’s capitalizing on her exposure from that show. She plays Margot’s increasing anxiety well, and when the action ratchets up in the final act, she meets the moment in a satisfying way. Montgomery returns to the vibe he had while playing the evil Billy on Stranger Things, and even though his character doesn’t fully live up to his potential, Montgomery sells his evil for all it’s worth.

The new Faces of Death may not be what some are expecting given the reputation of the previous films, but it’s a solid horror/thriller that uses the brand as a launching pad into something different. It doesn’t make much of a dent in the scare department, but it does give its violence and gore a degree of relevance in today’s often desensitized world.

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Faces of Death is now playing in theaters.

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Movie Review

New horror movie Faces of Death puts a modern twist on cult classic