weekend event planner

Here are the top 10 things to do in Houston this weekend

The Balloons over Horseshoe Bay Festival is a real gas.

Easter Sunday is here. While some of us may go to church or have an Easter bun with Tastee cheese (it's a Jamaican tradition), others may wanna have a good ol' fashioned, Easter egg hunt.

Get your Easter egg hunt on — and also have a special Easter breakfast — at the Rainforest Cafes in Galveston and Katy Mills on Saturday morning. There will also be an Easter basket raffle and goodie bags.

Also on Saturday, it's 420 — so you know there will be people walking around town in a cannabis-induced fog, hungry as hell. Fortunately, two eateries will be hoping to get those folks through their doors with 420-friendly items.

Beaver's will have CBD-infused queso, pizza, Frito pies and sticky bourbon wings, while The Burger Joint will be slinging out stuff like the BS Burger (Angus patty, roasted brussel sprouts and bacon jam smothered in Muenster cheese) and Wake'n Bacon Fries (hand cut fries covered in sausage gravy, crumbled bacon, green onions, and topped with a fried egg).

Meanwhile, here's some more fun to hunt for this weekend.

Thursday, April 18

Dance Salad Festival 2019 at Wortham Center
When something shows up in your inbox called the Dance Salad Festival, it does pique your interest. It turns out this salad has been around for a long time — it's celebrating its 24th anniversary in Houston and the 27th anniversary since its inception in Belgium. The fest promises a gathering of world-class performers. Famous in their own countries, classical and contemporary dancers share the stage to form a mix of movement and compelling choreography. 7:30 pm.

Friday, April 19

7th Annual Balloons Over Horseshoe Bay Festival
Are we the only ones that think of the 5th Dimension's classic song "Up, Up and Away" whenever someone brings up hot-air balloons? We definitely started humming the tune when we were alerted about the 7th Annual Balloons Over Horseshoe Bay Festival happening this weekend. Hot-air balloons from all over the country will be there, just waiting to be taken for a ride. There will also be live music, great food, and more. 6-9 pm (6:30-10 am and 4-10 pm Saturday).

All Roads Lead to Home opening reception at Third Space Gallery
All Roads Lead To Home is the debut solo collection (and accompanying book) of artist/designer/curator/University of Houston Master of Fine Arts candidate Reema. This collection of photography, paintings, prose and poetry focuses on themes of home and memory across multiple platforms and dives into issues of displacement, intersectionality and mental health, all written in non-gendered language. It will run through April 29. 6 pm.

Deep Shadows at Shoeshine Charley's Big Top Lounge
Anytime the A Fistful of Soul DJs get together to pull out the 45s and spin some retro tunes, you know we gotta give them some love. And on the third Friday of every month, these guys head over to midtown and play some oldies, b-sides, rare deep cuts. Whatever you wanna call it, they'll be giving you some old-school soul. So, stop on by, order a Lone Star and groove to the sweet, sweet R&B that'll most likely put a slide in your glide and a dip in your hip. 10 pm-2 am.

Dazed and Confused at Landmark River Oaks
You know it's not a damn coincidence that Dazed & Confused is Landmark River Oaks' midnight movie this weekend, right on the same weekend as 420. So, expect a lot of people to show up to these screenings smelling like a bong. But even if you're not down with the ganja/reefer/sticky-icky-icky, you can still watch Richard Linklater's 1993 debut stoner classic and be amazed at all the future A-listers (Affleck, McConaughey, Zellweger) he got for the movie. 11:59 pm.

Saturday, April 20

Puppies for Breakfast at Market Square Park
The Houston Downtown Management District (Downtown District) is once again bringing this unique outdoor festival back to Market Square Park. The 8th annual, pet-friendly event features more than 50 vendors and artists, the world’s largest dog piñata, a dog costume contest, DJ Ill-set on the ones and twos, a park-wide egg hunt for dogs, and much more. 10 am-2 pm.

Girl Scouts Rock Earth Day at Children's Museum
Earth Day is officially Monday, and the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto will be at Children's Museum of Houston on Saturday, doing what they can for Mother Earth. This is what they got planned: a girl-power parade, water purification and filtration demos, Plum Landing workshops, and other things. Girls who dress in uniform get $2 off admission. 11 am.

The Millennium Tour at Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land
Get ready to be blasted back to the early-to-mid aughts with this throwback concert. Literally every male R & B heartthrob you were listening to on your first iPod is on this tour: B2K, Lloyd, Pretty Ricky, Mario and Bobby "Slow Down" Valentino. For the hip-hop heads, Chingy and the Ying Yang Twins will also be performing. 8 pm.

Rockets Playoff Viewing Party at Brick House Tavern + Tap
Rockets fans can view Game 3 of their opening playoff series against the Utah Jazz over at this Sugar Land spot, where they will also be hit with a lot of bells and whistles. We're talking a Rockets Power Dancers appearance, an appearance by Clutch (the NBA’s favorite mascot), drink specials, 2019 commemorative “Run as One” glassware, games, and giveaways. Playoff merch will also be available for purchase. 9:30 pm.

Sunday, April 21

The Joe Budden Podcast at House of Blues
If you're not aware of The Joe Budden Podcast, you may not be a fan of rap — or hearing one of the most outspoken people in the rap community state his opinions or spill the tea about the rap community. The former Eminem cohort-turned-hip-hop loudmouth has become one of the most popular podcasters in the game. Last summer, his show was often the No. 1 podcast on iTunes’ music podcast chart. Now, all you local fans can see him and his on-air partners live this weekend. 7 pm.

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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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