weekend event planner

Here are the top 12 things to do in Houston this weekend

Get down at a fun weekend bash at East End Backyard.

Whiskey fans, assemble.

The Monsters of Smoke Tour — created by Ardbeg, the Ultimate Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky — will hit locations in and around the city, dispensing drams to smoky whisky lovers.

Even more spirited affairs (sorry) await you this weekend. Look for a long-running Houston film fest, a hilarious Wayans brother's Houston stop, a spacey bar opening, a pet-themed market, and more. Here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, April 22

Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival
The 54th annual Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival will not only be happening this year — it will be going down at its usual venue: Cinemark Memorial City. The fest will be keeping things brief this time around. It'll kick off on Thursday night with the opening night film, the action/adventure Narco Sub. Then, it will go on through Sunday, showcasing almost 40 features and a variety of short films. For more information on films and showtimes, go here. 7:05 pm.

Marlon Wayans at Improv Houston
As someone who was born into a family of funny people, a family that made sure many of their relatives make it in the comedy biz, Marlon Wayans has been surprisingly spending his middle-aged years proving he's funny on the mic. Much like his older brother/The Wayans Bros. co-star Shawn, Wayans has been doing stand-up for a long while now, even dropping a Netflix special, Marlon Wayans: Woke-ish, a few years back. Catch him all this weekend at the Improv. 7:30 and 9:45 (7 pm Saturday and Sunday; 9:30 pm Sunday).

Friday, April 23

Space Cowboy Grand Opening
Located inside the Heights House Hotel, Space Cowboy is a vibrant, colorful, and quirky hotel bar with tropical drinks and island food. It features a 1,500-square-foot interior with 35 seats, including eight seats at a wraparound bar. Outside, the property boasts a 2,000-square-foot patio and green space adjacent to the hotel pool. Signature drinks on the opening menu include the Banana Hammock with Tempus Fugit Creme De Banane and Cream Fortress with aguardiente, mango, kiwi, coconut and boba, among others. 4 pm.

Donkeemom and Donkeeboy presents Donkeeshow at East End Backyard
Alex Roman Jr. (Donkeeboy) and Sylvia Roman (Donkeemom) are bringing back their popular Donkeeshow this weekend. The two-day experience will feature an exclusive art exhibition, an artist panel, a craft vendor market, and more — taking visitors on a journey inside the minds of two of Houston's most celebrated artists. It kicks off on Friday night with the Artist Talk and Tacos panel. The next day will have breakfast sandwiches, art installations, a piñata, the grand opening of the Donkeeshop, and more fun. 6 pm (Noon Saturday).

Houston Arboretum presents Alfresco Gala: A Roving Dinner at the Houston Arboretum
This year marks the completion of the Houston Arboretum’s transformational Master Plan. To celebrate the moment, and to ensure safety for those who attend, the annual Alfresco Gala will be held along the Arboretum’s renovated trails and restored landscape as a roving dinner experience. Guests will enjoy delectable gourmet food and fine wines as they stroll in small groups under the evening sky. Guests can also choose to support the event with a take-home basket. 6 pm.

Nubia Lounge & Bar Soft Opening
New Third Ward hotspot Nubia Lounge & Bar is going to have a lovely, little soft opening this weekend. While details are kinda slim, there will be music provided by DJ AKT and the Soul Control crew of DJ Anarchy and DJ Elevated. There will also be small bites, libations, palm wine (whatever that is), and hookahs ready to get smoked up. So, it seems like this will be the new place for the grown-and-sexy folk to hang out and chill whenever they're near 288. 8 pm.

Saturday, April 24

Easter Seals Greater Houston presents Walk With Me Houston
For its special ten-year anniversary, Walk With Me is going hybrid to stay true to Easter Seals Greater Houston’s mission of providing inclusive means of participation for all. Participants can choose their own route near their home or join the main event at the Houston Zoo. This non-competitive 5K (or shorter Family Fun Walk) benefits Easter Seals Greater Houston, which provides services for people of all ages with all types of disabilities. 8 am.

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention presents Out of the Darkness Drive-Through Event
Over at Moonstruck Drive-In Cinema, The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will present this drive-through event, a chance for people to remind those who need it how much they are still needed. Guests can pick up their 2021 Out of the Darkness Walk shirt, community-resource swag bag, AFSP honor beads and merch and view the memorial. Participants/teams are encouraged to decorate their vehicles to show hope to the community. 10 am.

Galveston Arts Center presents Heyd Fontenot: "Sacred Order of Eternal Wounds" opening day
Heyd Fontenot is well-known for his stylized and delicate nude portraits. His latest exhibition delves into the myth of American identity to explore the politicized topics of gender, sexuality, queer identity, and what the artist calls "the false-promise of comfort-in-conformity." This exhibition debuts new visual experiments in figuration, illustration, and decoration in a series of mural-scaled paintings. This will be on display through Sunday, July 11. Noon.

Sunday, April 25

APDAT Print Co and Night Shift presents Stop the Hate
Stop the Hate is a hospitality-driven fundraiser bringing awareness towards the hate crimes currently happening in the country. Visitors can participate in denouncing hate, discrimination, racism, bigotry, and xenophobia towards all communities while enjoying the best talents from Houston's hospitality industry and small businesses. One hundred percent of event proceeds will be donated to Stop AAPI Hate/CAA and OCA Greater Houston-Asian Pacific American Advocates. Noon.

The Art Cellar of Houston presents The Parkway Market Days
Regent Square is continuing its calendar of outdoor programming at The Parkway with a pet-themed art market in recognition of Pet Awareness Month. The community (including the four-legged neighbors) is invited to stop by the outdoor activity and event site at the corner of Allen Parkway and Dunlavy, across from Buffalo Bayou Park and The Villas at River Oaks, for a market featuring local vendors and a pastel paint activity, plus pet adoptions with Best Friends in Houston, music, and food. Noon.

Russian Cultural Center "Our Texas" presents Russian Spring Celebration
Russian Cultural Center will present its big annual festival, a chance for Houstonians to celebrate spring in the style of a Russian folk holiday. Guests will have a chance to purchase original, hand-made Russian souvenirs as well as art and craft items from different vendors. The fest will also feature a performance by Austin band the Flying Balalaika Brothers, along with performances from theater Marmelad, a kids' performance from Kido International Pre-School and folk dances by Austin Russian Center. 2 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Rachel McAdams goes feral in Sam Raimi's gory new comedy Send Help

Photo by Brook Rushton

Rachel McAdams in Send Help.

Director Sam Raimi has gone through different phases as a filmmaker, including leading the first Spider-Man trilogy and joining the MCU with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But he first gained notice with the gory and funny Evil Dead movies, a sensibility he’s returning to with his latest film, Send Help.

Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) is a meek and eccentric middle manager at a financial firm that’s just named Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien) as its new nepo CEO. Bradley’s dad had promised Linda a promotion to vice president, but she gets passed over in favor of one of Bradley’s frat buddies, sending her into a mild rage. Still, she gets invited along on a planned business trip to Thailand, during which she hopes to prove her worth.

Unfortunately for most of the passengers on the private plane, it crashes into the ocean, leaving only Linda and Bradley alive on a deserted island. Linda, who has privately developed survival skills, adapts quickly to the forbidding environment, while Bradley tries to revert to bossing her around. But Linda quickly understands the power dynamic has shifted, and she uses this knowledge to try to keep Bradley in line, turning their stranding into a battle of wills.

Directed by Raimi and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, the film is the classic “so bad it’s good” kind of experience. McAdams, inarguably an attractive and charming person, is given stringy hair, an antisocial personality, and quirks like eating tuna fish at her desk to make her as off-putting as possible. Bradley, along with almost everyone else at her office, is stereotyped just as hard in order to set up the twist of fate.

When the action shifts to the island, things get even more over the top. The audience has already been primed for Linda to demonstrate her survival expertise, but the film does way more than just show her making fire. Whether it’s flawlessly building a shelter or hunting a wild boar, everything Linda does is portrayed in a slightly off-kilter manner. Then they turn everything up to 11, indulging in gore that is so unnecessary that you can’t help but laugh.

The filmmakers prove they’re in on the joke the rest of the way, including a variety of preposterous but hilarious scenarios that would cause massive eyerolls if they were actually trying to take the film seriously. While they do a great job of showing Linda’s ability to handle herself in the wild, they also show that she is somehow the only person in the world who could get a glow up after a plane crash and weeks living in nature.

McAdams, an Oscar-nominated actor for Spotlight, is way too high class for a movie like this, which makes her presence here all the more interesting. She is all-in on whatever Raimi wants her to do, and she’s at her most fun when she goes the animalistic route. O’Brien, who was great in the recent Twinless, doesn’t get as much of an opportunity to show his range, but he still proves to be an interesting foil for her.

Were it released in any other month, Send Help might be looked at as bottom of the barrel material. But with the movie year just getting started, it’s easier to forgive its outrageous plot twists and just have fun, especially since Raimi and his team put the rest of the film together so well.

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Send Help opens in theaters on January 30.

movies film