weekend event planner

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

Pay homage to an iconic artist at Frida Festival.

With Astros Opening Day happening on Friday, April 5, a couple of restaurants will be getting in the festive, baseball spirit. Over at B&B Butchers Restaurant, you can have lunch or dinner before the game and enjoy a selection of wagyu hot dogs, including The Ballpark Classic and The Carpetbagger Coney. Meanwhile, at B.B. Lemon, chef Emily Trusler will be grilling all afternoon for a pregame party on the patio.

Of course, there are plenty of other fun events going on this weekend:

Thursday, April 4

The Sade Experience at Henke & Pillot
If you've always been a fan of the smooth, soulful stylings of enigmatic R&B legend Sade Adu, there will be a whole night devoted the woman and her music. A band will be on hand to cover some of her great tunes, while DJ Explicit will also be there to spin all things Sade. They will also have paintings of the beautiful vocalist for purchase, $1,000 worth of giveaways and a complimentary drink for the first 100 guests. Cherish the day. 6-10 pm.

Friday, April 5

Ruth Reichl at Blue Willow Bookshop
Any foodie who knows their way around the kitchen should automatically know who Ruth Reichl is. She's a chef, food writer, and was the editor-in-chief for the now-defunct food magazine Gourmet. (The food-and-movies issue from 2004 still holds a special place in our hearts.) She'll be in town discussing her new memoir Save Me the Plums. Houston Chronicle food critic Alison Cook will join her for the conversation. 7 pm.

Nine at Act Factory
For the next two weekends, Art Factory will present a production of Nine, the Tony-winning Broadway musical that's based on Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical film 8 1/2. Just like that movie, it's about an Italian filmmaker who struggles with an artistic block as his 40th birthday approaches. (The musical was later turned into an all-star, all-over-the-place movie musical in 2009, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, and an assorted cast.) 8 pm (5 pm Sunday).

Frida Festival 2019
It's that time once again to pay tribute to one of the icons of Latino art with the 14th annual festival of all things Frida Kahlo. Things will start off on the right foot with a group art show at Hardy & Nance Studios. Then, on Saturday and Sunday, Discovery Green will continue the festivities with such things as an outdoor market, food trucks, and, yes, a Frida Kahlo lookalike gathering. 6-9 pm. (2-10 pm Saturday; 11 am to 7 pm Sunday).

Saturday, April 6

Midtown Houston presents Art in the Park
For the 12th year in a row, Midtown Houston will bring together the cultural arts and entertainment community for its annual Art in the Park. More than 100 local and regional artists will be at this community fine arts festival, ready to engage in conversations with attendees or sell their unique items. Guests can enjoy the delicious vegan, gluten free, organic, and non-GMO food provided by the Falacos food truck or settle in for some live music. 10 am.

Screen on the Green: The Princess Bride
Last year, some snobby, cinephile folk on Twitter took umbrage with prestige home-video company Criterion Collection releasing a special-edition DVD/Blu-Ray of The Princess Bride, believing it's not that prestigious enough. (Criterion already released laserdisc editions of the film in 1989 and 1997.) There are plenty of fans who would say Rob Reiner's all-star fairy tale is a timeless classic — and they most likely will be checking out this outdoor screening. 8:30 pm.

Frank The Man The Music at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Who doesn't miss Ol' Blue Eyes? Who wishes Francis Albert Sinatra was still around to hit us with those classic swingin' tunes that made him the musical icon he's still seen as today? Well, Bob Anderson, known as "the world's most greatest singing impressionist," will embody the man for this one-night-only performance, the first stop in a tour that's headed to Broadway. This show will be almost 30 years to the month of the Chairman of the Board's last Houston appearance. 8 pm.

Sunday, April 7

Tacos over Texas at The Original Ninfa's
(Update: Due to weather concerns, this event has been rescheduled for May 19.) The Ninfa Laurenzo Scholarship Fund will host its second Tacos over Texas fundraising event at The Original Ninfa’s, once again bringing together top Houston chefs to share their cooking skills in a taco competition honoring the legacy of “Mama Ninfa” Laurenzo. All guests will enjoy unlimited taco samples along with live music by Mariachi Emperadores de Mexico, Andrea Daniela, and DJ Tony Styles, plus a silent auction with prizes. Noon.

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Movie Review

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck square off in Netflix crime thriller The Rip

Photo by Claire Folger/Netflix

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in The Rip.

For as closely tied together as Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are, it might come as a surprise how few times they’ve led a movie together. They’ve appeared alongside each other in Good Will Hunting, The Last Duel, and Air, but the only time they were on equal footing in a story was Kevin Smith’s Dogma. So the fact that they are the two true stars of the new Netflix movie The Rip makes it a rare opportunity for the longtime friends to square off against each other.

Damon and Affleck play Lt. Dane Dumars and Detective Sgt. J.D Byrne, respectively, the two highest ranking members of a Miami police department squad that specializes in drug and drug money raids. A tragedy to begin the film already has the team — which includes Detectives Mike Ro (Steven Yeun), Numa Baptiste (Teyana Taylor), and Lolo Salazar (Catalina Sandina Moreno) — on edge, with the FBI and DEA breathing down their neck.

Going off a tip, Dumars gathers the team to raid a house in nearby Hialeah that is supposed to have a stash of a relatively small amount of money. But when they get to the house occupied only by Desiree Molina (Sasha Calle), they discover close to $20 million. The team, required by law to count the money on site, must not only fight the urge to skim a little off the top for themselves, but also worry about the Cartel and other agencies that might want a slice of the pie.

Written and directed by Joe Carnahan, the film is a surprisingly effective crime thriller made even better by its high-quality cast, which also includes Kyle Chandler as a DEA agent. The story is designed for the audience to not know who’s trustworthy until the last possible second, and the various twists and turns it takes are well done, with barely a hint of narrative cheating.

Taking place entirely at night, the mood is set right from the start, with the only surprise being that Carnahan didn’t add in rain for extra effect. He keeps things tense with a number of subtle elements, including having the house located in a seemingly deserted cul-de-sac. This allows for the characters to remain on high alert at all times, with anything out of the ordinary — an unexpected noise, a flashing light, etc. — adding to the stress of the situation.

The only element that could have used a bit more of a punch-up is the characterization. The story is set up to cast suspicion on almost everybody, making it tougher to understand exactly what type of person each of them is. As the two leads, more time is spent with Dumars and Byrne, leaving everyone else with slightly underwhelming arcs. It’s to the credit of the actors that everyone else below Damon and Affleck is still compelling.

Damon and Affleck play their sometimes friendly, sometimes adversarial roles well, showing an ease together that’s a result of their friendship and the acting skills they’ve honed over 30+ years. Taylor, an Oscar hopeful for One Battle After Another, and Oscar nominee/Emmy winner Yeun have a pedigree that elevates their supporting roles. Chandler, Moreno, and Calle each get just enough to demonstrate why they were cast in their respective roles.

Damon and Affleck have had their individual ups and downs throughout their careers, but when they choose to work together, the results are usually good-to-great, as they are in The Rip. It’s a different take on a crime thriller that features a story that will keep viewers guessing until the very end.

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The Rip is now streaming on Netflix.

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