weekend event planner

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

It's Easter Weekend, and while some will be celebrating the season by hunting down colored eggs, brunching, or devouring a giant Easter bun with processed Tastee Cheese, there are some fun events worth checking out:

Thursday, March 29

Avenida Houston’s “Party on the Plaza” kickoff
Avenida Houston’s free concert series known as Party on the Plaza has an amazing lineup of performers for its 2018 spring lineup: Fishbone, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, and The Waxaholics. So, it’s quite interesting that the first artist out the gate is YouTube personality-turned-pop diva Poppy. All we can say about this lady is, um, interesting. It’s best if you just go on YouTube and watch some of her out-there videos if you want a sense of what you’ll be getting. She’ll be at Discovery Green at 6:45 pm.

The Urbane Society's swanky launch party
The Urbane Society is a members-only network geared for all the upscale, plugged-in foodies who like going to sophisticated restaurants and getting their grub on with friends. (Their logo is a dapper-looking gent — with the head of an old-school pepper mill — holding what appears to be a laptop.) The Society is hosting a swanky, pre-launch party at B&B Butchers and Restaurant, where people can learn more about their new app, enjoy light bites, dance to music, and get tipsy at the open bar. It starts at 7:30 pm.

Friday, March 30

All things anime at the George R. Brown
Just when you thought the release of Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Ready Player One was going to be the geekiest thing to happen this weekend, there is also an insane anime convention going on at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Known as Anime Matsuri, this four-day event will actually mark the 12th year the festival has brought in people looking to partake in Japanese animation, games, fashion, cosplay, and so much more. Expect some 300 exhibitors, vendors and artists, as well as more than 800 hours of programming. The event starts at 11 am.

Saturday, March 31

The Houston Food Truck Block Party
You gotta love food trucks. Whether they’re parked outside a sporting event, a public gathering or a nightclub after closing time, these automotive eateries are always around, ready to cook up some delights for hungry, on-the-go folk. Some 20 trucks will be lined up for the Houston Food Truck Block Party, happening on 5610 Richmond Ave. We’re talking Mama Neats Snoballs, Boogies Chicago Style BBQ, Planet Churros, Muddy Water Crawfish, Iced Cupcakery —just oh-so-much damn food to choose from. Things get rolling at noon.

Sing-along to Beauty and the Beast on the Green
It’s that time of year when more outdoor movie screenings on popping up, inviting couples and families to pull out the blankets and lawn chairs and watch a movie under the stars. Bank of America and Taquerias Arandas are presenting a free film series at Discovery Green called Screen on the Green. This weekend’s feature presentation is last year’s global box-office smash Beauty and the Beast. But, this time, it will be an all-new, sing-along version, so everybody can follow the bouncing ball and sing with Bella and them. It starts at 8 pm.

ARKA ART’s The Meet Up art market/disco party
Periodically, Midtown art/event space ARKA ART brings in local vendors who sell clothing, artwork, knickknacks, and more for an evening of art, music and fashion known as The Meet Up. For the latest open-market gathering, there is a theme, and that theme is “A Psychedelic DISCO.” People are welcome to show up wearing vintage threads and shop while DJ crew The Foundation plays funky, retro grooves, and Chris Cisneros of Labels Vintage Streetwear provides some far-out lights and effects. Beverages will also be hand to help you get loosey-goosey. The boogey starts at 6 pm.

Sunday, April 1

The World’s Largest Showcase of Homes
Are you the sort of person that gets all hot and bothered when you look at a fine, scintillating piece of real estate? If you answered yes, David Weekley Homes will be hosting the third-annual, World’s Largest Showcase of Homes in cities across the country, including Houston. All through April, people can visit any model or showcase home and enter for a chance to win prizes, like a smart watch or an electronics package. And Ronald McDonald House Houston will receive a $5 donation for each visitor who registers with a sales consultant.

My First Music Lesson at Discovery Green
If you’re one of those parents who wants your children to get in touch with their musical side — or you just want your kids to be preoccupied with something so they can leave you alone for a damn day — you can take your offspring to My First Music Lesson at Discovery Green. This free, hands-on class is led by professional musicians from talent agency Divisi Strings, whom will teach kids how to play instruments. Children grades 1 through 8 are welcome, and the parents can join in on the fun — or go somewhere and get a beer (we suggest the latter). Events starts at 2 pm.

Weird YouTube sensation Poppy pops up for a performance this weekend.

Courtesy photo

Weird YouTube sensation Poppy pops up for a performance this weekend.

event-planner

Movie Review

Feuding couple fights for survival in dark comedy Over Your Dead Body

Photo courtesy of IFC Films

Jason Segel and Samara Weaving on Over Your Dead Body.

When dysfunctional couples are depicted in movies, about the worst that typically happens is an acrimonious divorce. But in the new comedy/thriller Over Your Dead Body, the husband-and-wife have already gone way past that point by the time they’re introduced to the audience, with their plans leaning toward murder.

Dan (Jason Segel) is a low-level filmmaker relegated to directing pop-up ads, while Lisa (Samara Weaving) is an actor making do in small theater productions. The film finds them heading toward a rare getaway to a remote lake cabin, but it’s clear from the start that the married couple has been at odds for months, if not years. As the film begins, Dan clumsily drops hints at an alibi for his planned murder of Lisa to his ailing dad (Paul Guilfoyle) and others.

His shoddy planning was already sussed out by Lisa, who turns the tables on him when he tries to attack her, revealing a plan of her own. The situation naturally heightens their shared enmity of each other, but their blind hatred turns out to reveal the presence of Pete (Timothy Olyphant) and Todd (Keith Jardine), two escapees from a nearby prison who were helped by guard Allegra (Juliette Lewis). What was once a shared murder plan turns into a fight for survival, forcing Dan and Lisa to work together.

Directed by Jorma Taccone (The Lonely Island) and written by former SNL writers Nick Kocher and Briand McElhaney, the film aims to mine comedy out of darkness. Dan and Lisa’s ire for each other is palpable, and their interactions early in the film are uncomfortable. As the film turns increasingly violent with the introduction of other unsavory characters, most of the humor is derived from the creative ways people are attacked and the ultraviolence that results from them going after each other.

It’s a little tough to get fully invested in the story when the filmmakers throw the audience directly into the plot with almost zero setup. There’s not even a cursory montage of Dan and Lisa being in love, so it’s hard to care a lot about their current hate for each other. Likewise, the presence of the prison guard and escapees is completely random, and the three of them aren’t utilized well in the story despite having a couple of well-known actors portraying them.

The saving grace of the film, though, is the twists and turns it takes in the final act. Everyone on screen is put through the wringer, with each of them suffering multiple injuries or worse. The mayhem becomes so chaotic that it’s almost impossible to tell what’s going to happen next, which slightly makes up for the fact that the story as a whole is lackluster. Even though the audience knows they’re being manipulated, the sequences are entertaining enough to overcome that fact.

The cast as a whole is solid. Segel (How I Met Your Mother, Shrinking) uses his comic sensibility to keep the proceedings light. Weaving (Ready or Not) has done multiple movies in this vein, so she knows how to navigate the comedy/thriller waters. Olyphant feels a little out of place, but he has a presence that elevates his part. Lewis goes a little too manic in her part, and Jardine ably embodies the dumb brute.

The comedy history of Taccone, Segel, and Weaving keeps Over Your Dead Body as a positive experience even when the story doesn’t quite measure up. The film never becomes fully predictable, giving the audience a great dose of pandemonium that lifts it up despite its other faults.

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Over Your Dead Body is now playing in theaters.

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