weekend event planner

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

Raise a glass at Houston Cocktail Fest.

While the weather has been a wet one this week, hopefully that won’t stop you from attending the George Floyd Remembrance Walk this Saturday morning. Organized by The Brothers of Jack Yates, this two-hour walk will start at McGregor Park and end at Jack Yates High School, and all social clubs — Greek organizations, motorcycle riders, school bands, line dancers, etc. — are invited to tag along.

As always, there are other events for those who aren’t afraid to go out and get a bit damp. Such as:

Thursday, May 20

People Against Leigh Syndrome presents Green Out for PALS
Goode’s Armadillo Palace will be the location for this annual fundraiser — also known as Green Out for PALS — chaired by Rosie Murphy and Peyton Jones. Guests will enjoy food and libations from Goode Company, while helping to fund research and clinical care for Leigh syndrome, pediatric-onset, progressive, and fatal neurological disease closely linked to Parkinson's Disease. 6:30 pm.

The Parkway at Regent Square presents Cinematic Throwbacks
Regent Square is expanding its calendar of outdoor programming at The Parkway with Cinematic Throwbacks. The moonlit movie event will feature campy classics on a giant inflatable screen. The evening will be BYOC (bring your own chair), with Bovine & Barley’s Adult Ice Cream Truck on site selling concessions for noshing. May’s throwback film, the 2001 comedy Zoolander, with Ben Stiller flashing that blue-steel look as a bumbling male model. 8 pm.

Friday, May 21

The Menil Collection presents "Dream Monuments: Drawing in the 1960s and 1970s" opening day
The Menil Collection will present this exhibition, which features drawings that challenge the conventional idea of the monument as a permanent, grand or commemorative form. The exhibition takes its inspiration from the unrealized “Dream Monuments,” planned by the Menil Collection’s founders Dominique and John de Menil. This will remain on display through Sunday, September 19. 11 am.

MECA Performing Arts Series presents From Buenos Aires to New York
MECA’s Performing Arts Series presents this benefit concert, which will celebrate Latin American melodies performed by world-renowned pianist and MECA alum Alejandro Vela. Praised for his power to carry an audience away by creating an atmosphere of mystery and sensuous beauty, Vela is a pianist of northern Mexican origin, now performing in concert halls and orchestras worldwide. 8 pm.

Houston Cocktail Fest
Houston Cocktail Fest is back and ready to celebrate the art of the cocktail, showcasing some of Houston’s favorite mixologists as they put their skills to the test. Signature recipes are offered to consumers, with a “people’s choice” cocktail awarded to the evening’s best recipe. Consumers can experience the joy of these cocktails along with reveling in an atmosphere that celebrates the finest mixologists in Houston. 9 pm.

Saturday, May 22

Tropical Summer Party at Parkview Terrace
As part of the Marriott Marquis Houston’s seasonal "Parkview Terrace Presents" series, locals are invited to enjoy rooftop season with elevated entertainment and pool party programming on the sixth floor all summer long. Things will kick off with this inaugural party, featuring music from DJ Athenz, tropical leis & Instagrammable scenes, Bacardi giveaways and access to the infamous, Texas-shaped lazy river. 1 pm.

Social Bud Garden with Highway Vodka
Social Beer Garden will be hosting this event with Highway Vodka, which will be serving two special cocktails on site. The Liquid Marijuana, with vodka, melon, coconut, blue curacao, pineapple and ginger beer; and the Pink Lady, with vodka, aperol, St. Germain, peychaud bitters, fresh lemon juice and sparkling rose. There will also be a smoke lounge, CBD products and food by Funnelocity, Nelson Cheese Steaks & Captain Ceviche. 4 pm.

Weekend Smokehouse Series at Woodshed Smokehouse
The Levy Park smokehouse concept by celebrity chef Tim Love is kicking off a free, summer concert series this weekend with live music on Saturday and Sunday evening. John Egan will perform an acoustic solo set on Saturday, and Dustry Neuman will perform an acoustic solo set on Sunday. The concert series will continue all summer on Saturday and Sunday nights, weather permitting. 6:30 pm.

Sunday, May 23

Memorial City Farmers & Feel Good Market
This outdoor, experiential shopping event, held next to the new Torchy’s Tacos and Mia’s Table on Gessner Road and Mathewson Lane, will feature more than 50 local farmer and artisan vendors, offering locally curated fresh produce and foods, as well as stylish jewelry, clothing, and gifts. There will also be family-friendly entertainment including face-painting, a balloon artist, acrobatic performances, a DIY succulent bar, music, and more. 10 am.

“As I Am” Art Festival
KNOWAutism Foundation is hosting this free, inaugural festival, which will spotlight the artwork from the students of 12 participating Houston-area schools and nonprofit organizations, representing a different art medium that will be available for purchase. There will also be music, bubble activities, a magician and live performances from the Houston Ballet, The River, Social Motion Skills and much more. 11 am.

event-planner

Movie Review

Denzel Washington brings new spectacle to the Colosseum in Gladiator II

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Paul Mescal in Gladiator II.

There are some films for which making a sequel is natural, and others where a follow-up is wholly unnecessary. Gladiator, which made both tons of money and was named Best Picture at the Oscars, told an impactful stand-alone story that ended with the protagonist dead and no real loose ends. And yet because there’s always more money to be made, here we are 24 years later with Gladiator II.

The lead character this time around is Lucius (Paul Mescal), a general in a North African army who becomes a prisoner of war when the Roman army led by Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) bests him and his troops in battle. Taken back to Rome, he is put in the pool of captured men forced to fight at the Colosseum for the amusement of twin emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracella (Fred Hechinger).

Lucius is controlled by Macrinus (Denzel Washington), an ambitious schemer who bets liberally on his prized fighter and always has an eye to move up in the world. Meanwhile, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), the sister of Emperor Commodus from the first film, is now married to Marcus Acacius and has a unique connection with Lucius that is fairly obvious from the get-go.

Directed once again by Ridley Scott and written by David Scarpa, the film commits a number of sins throughout its 150-minute running time, the most blatant of which is that, aside from a few embellishments, it essentially tells the same story as the first film. Lucius, like Maximus, is a deposed military leader who’s out for revenge on the person who killed his family. Instead of one obnoxious emperor, there are now two. And the only way for Lucius to earn his freedom is to fight his way out.

Stories told in the same world can echo each other and, if done well, overcome those similarities. But Gladiator II is shockingly boring for a purported sword-and-sandals epic. Scott and his team try to introduce new elements to the fights, like a gladiator riding a rhinoceros or a ship battle inside the Colosseum (with sharks!), but most of the sequences are inert with no propulsion to them.

The action fails because none of the relationships in the film amount to much. There are stand-out characters like Macrinus and the twin emperors, but instead of creating antipathy or strong feelings of triumph or defeat, the story just kind of happens without any sense of excitement or importance. Much of that issue lies at the feet of Lucius, who simply doesn’t inspire in the same way that Russell Crowe’s Maximus did.

Mescal is a fine actor who’s done good work in more intimate roles, but he’s not up to the task of being an action star, at least not in this film. Any bombast he shows with the character feels forced, and the story doesn’t give him enough opportunities to counteract that lack. Washington, however, fills up the screen with his charisma, and it’s during his scenes that the film comes closest to being rousing. Quinn and Hechinger are a lot of fun as the twin emperors, but in the end they feel like retreads of Joaquin Phoenix from the original.

Any sequel should have a purpose that sets it apart from what came before, but Scott, Scarpa, and the rest of their team fail in that respect in Gladiator II. It’s a mostly lifeless film that delivers scenes that would be exciting if they had any kind of good story to back them up.

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Gladiator II opens in theaters on November 22.

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