is unloading a new party experience for visitors this summer.
Sixteen shipping containers have been customized specifically for Lagoonfest Texas — opening May 28 — and will be used as bars, a restaurant, an entertainment stage, rooftop party decks, ticket booth, and restrooms to frame a diamond-shaped courtyard. Gone will be the party and event tents.
Container exteriors feature white shiplap and the interiors sport a white and natural wood color theme with black railings, white awnings, and furniture, per a press release.
Visitors can lounge in the plaza amenities during the day and after the sun sets and the lagoon closes, hang out in the courtyard to relax, eat and drink, and enjoy live music.
These containers and new courtyard are part of $2.2 million in enhancements to Lagoonfest Texas, formerly known as the Summer Lagoonfest.
Other improvements include deeper white-sand beaches that triple the amount of available beach; a greater selection of luxury cabanas and seating; more kayaks, stand-up paddle boards and sailboats; and a 185-foot, five-story waterslide.
Also cruising in is a new electric ferry that will transport people to a VIP luxury beach experience, where patrons can enjoy bottle service.
For kids and active types, Lagoonfest Texas also boasts the largest floating obstacle course on a lagoon in the U.S.
Admission for Lagoonfest Texas (which is nestled in the Lago Mar community at 3240 Lago Mar Blvd. in Texas City), starts at $15 for children under age 13 and $20 for those age 13 and older. Children aged two and under are admitted for free. Advance tickets are available online.
In a time when true movie stars seem to be going extinct, Timothée Chalamet has emerged as an exception to the rule. Since 2021 he has headlined blockbusters like the two Dune movies and Wonka, and also earned an Oscar nomination for playing Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown (his second nomination following 2018’s Call Me By Your Name). Now, he’s almost assured to get his third nomination for the stellar new film, Marty Supreme.
Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a world-class table tennis player living in New York. But reducing Marty to his best skill doesn’t do him justice, as he’s also a motormouth schemer who will do almost anything to achieve his dreams. He doesn’t have any qualms about wooing married women like neighbor Rachel (Odessa A’zion) or actress Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), or hiding his true ping pong skills to win money in scams with friends like Wally (Tyler the Creator).
Marty is seemingly on the go the entire movie, whether it’s trying to convince Kay’s millionaire husband Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary) to fund his table tennis ambitions; or trying to track down the dog of Ezra (Abel Ferrara), a man he accidentally injures; or trying to avoid the ire of the boss at the shoe store where he works. Just when you think he might slow down, he’s off to the races on another plan or adventure.
Directed by Josh Safdie and written by Safdie and frequent co-writer Ronald Bronstein, the film is an almost continuous blast of pure energy for 2 ½ hours. So many different things happen over the course of the film that the story defies conventional narratives, and yet the throughline of Marty keeps everything tightly connected. His particular type of brash behavior turns much of the film into a comedy as he does and says things that are both shocking and thrilling.
Another thing that makes the movie sing is the fantastic characterization by Safdie and Bronstein. Almost every person who is given a speaking line in the film has a moment where they pop, which speaks to airtight dialogue that the writers have created. Characters will be introduced and then disappear for long stretches of time, and yet because they make such an impression the first time they’re on screen, it’s easy to pick up their thread right away.
Safdie, as he’s done previously with brother Bennie (Uncut Gems), calls on a host of well-known non-actors or people with interesting faces/vibes to inhabit supporting roles, and to a person they are crucial to the film’s success. O’Leary (of Shark Tank fame), rapper Tyler the Creator, director Ferrara, magician Penn Jillette, and fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi each deliver knockout performances. The relative unknowns who play smaller roles are just as impressive, making each beat of the film feel naturalistic.
Leading the way is the powerhouse performance by Chalamet. For one person to believably play both the famously reserved Dylan and also a firecracker like Marty is astonishing, and this role cements Chalamet’s status as his generation’s movie star. A’zion is a rising star who gets great moments as Marty’s on-again/off-again love interest. Paltrow pops in and out of the film, lighting up the screen every time she appears. Fran Drescher as Marty’s mom and Sandra Bernhard as a neighbor also pay dividends in small roles.
Josh Safdie’s first solo directorial effort is unlike any other movie this year, or maybe even this century. Thanks to its breakneck storytelling, a magnificent performance by Chalamet, and countless intangibles that Safdie employs expertly, the film smacks viewers in the face repeatedly and demands that they come back for more.
