You want to keep those September tickets

Houston Texans' schedule released from Roethlisberger hostage

It's not going to be easy to be a Texan this year.
You want to be at Reliant Stadium in September.

The Houston Texans 2010 football schedule was just released after being held hostage by the Ben Roethlisberger drama for more than a week. And the extra wait was worth it — if you get first dibs on any September games in a ticket-sharing deal with your buddy.

Reliant Stadium will host the two most-anticipated home games of the season in the first three weeks of the season. The Indianapolis Colts and that Peyton Manning character roll into Houston for the season opener for both teams on Sept. 12. Then on Sept. 26, there's just a little intrastate clash with the Dallas Cowboys — or as it will be known in Houston, Scalper's Holiday.

The Texans' schedule is great if you like drama. The San Diego Chargers — another Super Bowl contender — play at Reliant on Nov. 7 and the Tennessee Titans and former University of Texas quarterback Vince Young bring in their run-happy offense on Nov. 28. The schedule doesn't look so great if you're obsessed with seeing the Texans make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. It's a stacked slate.

In the first three weeks of the season alone, Gary Kubiak's team faces off against three of the Top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL — opening against Manning, going to Washington for Donovan McNabb's second home game as Redskin in Week 2 and getting Tony Romo and the Cowboys in Week 3, early when Romo usually plays like a Top 5 QB before ramping down to his yearly playoff choke.

Houston does get two appearances on Monday Night Football (Nov. 1 at the Colts and a Dec. 13 home game against the Ravens) and one on Thursday Night Football (Dec. 2 at the Eagles), but the team still hasn't been deemed worthy of a more prestigious Sunday Night Football spot.

For a team that went 9-7 last year behind Matt Schaub's aerial show, missing the playoffs on the last day of the 2009 regular season, this 2010 slate is a gauntlet. The only thing close to near-sure Ws on the schedule are the games against the Chiefs and Raiders and the two with the Jaguars. Otherwise, it's largely a who's who of the NFL's elite.

Kubiak might wish that the NFL delayed the announcement even longer (you can bet that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was really holding off to see how long he needed to suspend Roethlisberger before allowing the schedules to go out) because the Texans weren't done any favors. Now, with the delayed schedule announcement out of the way (and turned into a TV show like with everything the NFL does these days), Goodell can wait till tomorrow to announce what he's already determined about Big Ben.

Funny, how the Steelers didn't end up with any prime-time games the first four games of the season either. In fact, Pittsburgh plays all five of its prime-time games after Week 7, when a certain quarterback with rape allegation issues is all but sure to be back. By the looks of this schedule, Big Ben is staring at a four-game suspension at minimum and don't be surprised if Goodell makes it as many as five or six games.

The Texans 2010 Schedule:

Sept. 12 — Colts, Noon

Sept. 19 — At the Redskins, 3:15 p.m.

Sept 26 — Cowboys, Noon

Oct. 3 — At the Raiders, 3:05 p.m.

Oct. 10 — Giants, Noon

Oct. 17 — Chiefs, Noon

Oct. 24 — Bye week

Nov. 1 — At the Colts, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 7 — Chargers, Noon

Nov. 14 — At the Jaguars, Noon

Nov. 21 — At the Jets, Noon

Nov. 28 — Titans, Noon

Dec. 2 — At the Eagles, 7:20 p.m.

Dec 13 — Ravens, 7:30 p.m.

Dec 19 — At the Titans, Noon

Dec. 26 — At the Broncos, Noon

Jan. 2 — Jaguars, Noon

unspecified

Movie Review

Billie Eilish takes fans behind the scenes in immersive 3D tour film

Photo by Henry Hwu/courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Billie Eilish in Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft - The Tour Live in 3D.

In 2021, at the tender age of 19, singer Billie Eilish was already the subject of a documentary, The World’s a Little Blurry. At that point, she had only released one album, so the film threatened to feel too early for such treatment. The ensuing five years have only made her a bigger star, though, so in many ways that movie now feels prescient for the person on display in the new concert documentary with the unwieldy title of Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft - The Tour Live in 3D.

Directed by Eilish and blockbuster filmmaker James Cameron, the film takes viewers inside Eilish’s 2024-2025 tour in support of her latest album, 2023’s Hit Me Hard and Soft. Filmed mostly at her series of shows in Manchester, England, the movie is a showcase for Eilish’s music, but it also serves as a smaller exploration of the type of person she is, as well as the impact she has had on her legion of fans.

The draw of the film is the use of Cameron’s beloved 3D technology, which he has employed in each of the three Avatar films. Unlike in those films, where the 3D has the odd effect of making the visuals too realistic for their own good, the technique brings an intimacy to the large-scale show that underscores the unique bond the singer has with her supporters.

Eilish and Cameron go back and forth between performances at the concert to behind-the-scenes sequences, detailing the enormous effort it takes to put on a show like that and how Eilish spends her time getting ready for it. As in The World’s a Little Blurry, this film continues to portray the singer as down-to-Earth, someone who yearns to maintain the connection to her fans that she’s had since she released her first single, “Ocean Eyes,” 10 years ago.

And as the many emotional songs in Eilish’s concert playlist prove, the feeling from the crowd is mutual. While Eilish has multiple bangers like “Bad Guy,” “Therefore I Am,” and the Charli XCX collaboration “Guess,” it’s the sad songs like “Everything I Wanted,” “Happier Than Ever,” and the Oscar-winning Barbie anthem, “What Was I Made For?” that hit the hardest. The depth of feeling emanating from her many sobbing fans singing along to crushing songs cannot be understated.

For audiences of the film, though, it’s the breadth of camera angles and shot choices that make it truly dynamic. There are cameras everywhere, including in the crowd, inside a cube at the center of the stage that rises and descends, following Eilish as she traipses every inch of the long, rectangular stage, and even a small one Eilish uses to bring an extra personal touch to the in-arena screen. Combined, they capture the complete energy of the concert, something that is not always the case in a film of this type.

Eilish has almost as many movies — two — as she does albums — three — which borders on overkill for a singer of her age. But both her music and the movies show her to be a person who knows the responsibility of being a celebrity, someone who understands that her fans are the reason she’s famous at all. Her career may go up or down from here, but it’s clear she’s already made a huge impact on those who love her most.

---

Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft - The Tour Live in 3D opens in theaters on May 8.

movies film

You want to keep those September tickets

Houston Texans' schedule released from Roethlisberger hostage

New restaurant's Astrodome-inspired design is 'unlike anything in Houston'

Prolific Houston pizza chef fires up a new Italian restaurant in River Oaks

Why Yemeni coffeehouses are booming in Houston and across the U.S.

Movie Review

Billie Eilish takes fans behind the scenes in immersive 3D tour film