weekend event planner

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

Take a Seuss-tacular journey through nine different, visually stunning Dr. Seuss worlds.

Photo courtesy of The Dr. Seuss Experience

This weekend is, of course, Memorial Day Weekend, which means you’ll probably be outside grilling some burgers on Monday.

Coincidentally, May is National Hamburger Month and Friday is National Hamburger Day. So, you might wanna get the grilling early this weekend, or even head out to a spot where they serve some tasty burgers. (Or you can just stay home and order from the Burger Joint, like everybody else.)

Here are some other things going on this holiday weekend:

Thursday, May 27

A Call to Action: Experiments in Interdisciplinary Performance at Blaffer Art Museum
This free, experimental, interdisciplinary micro-festival is necessary and now, confronting urgent political circumstances with an expansive, performative language.

The survey of performance across dance, theatre, music, spoken word, visual art and trans-disciplinarity is organized by six intrepid guest curators: Aisha Tida Abbassi, Outspoken Bean, Rivkah French, Julia Barbosa Landois, Jake Sandridge and Sixto Wagan. Through June 5. 7 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 28

The Dr. Seuss Experience at George R. Brown Convention Center
This Seuss-tacular sensory spectacle takes guests on a journey through nine different, visually stunning Dr. Seuss worlds.

Visitors can swing among Truffula Trees from The Lorax, make their way through a balloon-filled maze from Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, stroll through towering clovers listening for a Who from Horton Hears a Who!, or join the Circus McGurkus. (9 am Saturday-Sunday. Through Sunday, August 15.).

Sip n’ Shop with Houston Pets Alive Thrift
Urban South - HTX is joining Houston Pets Alive Thrift for a night of brews, light bites, and shopping to support Houston Pets Alive, a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving cats and dogs in Houston from euthanasia.

This event will take place at Houston Pets Alive Thrift on Nottingham Street, complete with a selection of Urban South’s unique beers available for guests to enjoy while they shop. 5 pm.

Houston Symphony presents Find Your Dream: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein
Spend an enchanted evening at Jones Hall as Bank of America POPS Season concludes with beloved songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Charismatic Broadway duo Santino and Jessica Fontana perform favorites from The Sound of Music, Carousel, Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The King and I, and more, with full-orchestra accompaniment by Steven Reineke and the Symphony. The Saturday performance will be live-streamed. 8 pm (2:30 pm Sunday).

Saturday, May 29

Beard Papa's Pearland Grand Opening
Beard Papa’s, the world-famous fresh and natural cream puffs chain, is finally coming to Pearland. With its Japanese origins and cult following, the dessert destination is set to officially open at Pearland Town Center.

On the grand opening day, guests can expect various promos, free gifts for the first 100 people, and various local influencers are scheduled to make appearances as well as neighboring business owners. 11 am.

Dream Big Downtown: The Main Event
In partnership with UP Art Studio and Johnnie Blonde, downtown will host a live-art extravaganza during the Big Walls Big Dreams activation. While mural painting takes place across the city, artists will gather in the Historic District for an epic live-painting event, complete with DJ Gracie Chavez, a Johnnie Walker VIP Tent, a "refresh" stop for cold drinks, and more. (Noon to 8 pm)

Visionary Grind Arts presents "Black Is. - A Reintroduction to Culture Art Show"
Visionary Grind Arts and Hardy & Nance Studios will present this two-day art show, curated by Drék Davis.

The exhibit will feature black artists and spoken word poets as part of a celebration of black creativity and experience. It is an opportunity for artists to reintroduce Black culture to audiences in a way that strays from outdated negative stereotypes, uninformed opinion, and individual bias. 5 pm (Noon).

Cinespace short films at WaterWorks
NASA, Houston Cinema Arts Society, and Buffalo Bayou Partnership collaborate for an evening of music and film at WaterWorks. This free event features curated short films inspired by NASA archive footage and music by DJ Flash Gordon Parks. Bring a chair or blanket for seating and a picnic for dinner, or grab food and drinks from local vendors. 7pm.

H-Town Memorial Day Mayhem
Hip-hop heads will be getting some good live music on this day. Not only will rapper/longtime Seinfeld fan Wale be in town for this party, there is also this rap-a-thon, happening over at Toyota Center.

The superstar lineup includes Lil Durk, 2 Chainz, Trae Tha Truth, DJ Mr. Rogers, Yung Bleu, Coi LeRay, Mooski, Erica Banks, Stunna Bam, and Houston’s Loud Muzik artists Art of Ratchet. 8 pm.

Sunday, May 30

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Ernesto Neto: "SunForceOceanLife"
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s summer series of grand-scale, immersive exhibitions continues with this major commission, by renowned Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto, that transforms Cullinan Hall into a suspended walkway.

When visitors enter the epic sculptural work, they can explore a complex labyrinth of interactive pathways, all while suspended in mid-air. Through Sunday, September 26. 12:30 pm.

Market Street presents Memorial Day Weekend Concert
This Memorial Day Weekend, Market Street invites guests to kick back, relax and get in the groove with some live music. Top-40 hits will be performed by the popular group Rapture.

Guests are invited to bring blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy the concert in Central Park. The many restaurant patios surrounding Central Park are a perfect place to dine alfresco while enjoying the live music that’ll be popping off. 4 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

New thriller Crime 101 majors in cool with Hemsworth at the wheel

Photo courtesy of Amazon Content Services

Chris Hemsworth in Crime 101.

The career of actor Chris Hemsworth is a curious one, as it feels like he’s a huge star (mostly from playing Thor in Marvel movies) and not at the same time, with most of the non-MCU movies featuring him in a lead role failing to become big successes. But he still has a certain presence about him, which is why he’s being given another chance to prove his star power in the new thriller, Crime 101.

Hemsworth plays Davis, a talented thief who knows how to get what he wants without resorting to violence. When a job early in the movie turns slightly sideways, it makes him think twice about working with his handler (Nick Nolte), who seems to prefer someone with a stronger touch, like the up-and-coming Ormon (Barry Keoghan).

Davis is the main character, but two others who come into his orbit get their own subplots. Lou (Mark Ruffalo) is a slightly schlubby LAPD detective who’s convinced he knows the pattern of an unknown thief that likes to hit places close to Highway 101. Sharon (Halle Berry) works for a high-end insurance agency known for working with ultra-wealthy clients, the types who might be a great target for a thief like Davis.

Written and directed by Bart Layton, the film has a decent propulsion to it that comes with most crime thrillers. Davis and Ormon represent the yin and the yang of criminal approaches, and and it’s interesting to see the juxtaposition between the two as their simmering rivalry heats up over the course of the film. When the film commits to actually showing its crimes, it has an excitement that’s worth watching.

Unfortunately, Layton displays a real lack of focus, taking the audience into subplots with each of the three main characters that prove unnecessarily distracting. Lou’s marriage problems may explain his disheveled appearance, but there’s no need to see him deal with them with wife Angie (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Sharon’s troubles with her male-dominated company prove slightly pivotal, but still don’t merit the time put into exploring them.

The most baffling subplot is Davis pursuing a relationship with Maya (Monica Barbaro), a woman he randomly meets. At different points in the movie, including many of his interactions with Maya, Davis seems like the most uncomfortable, antisocial person in the world. And yet he somehow morphs into a suave smooth-talker who’s able to convince anyone to do what he wants at other key points, making it unclear exactly what kind of person he really is.

Hemsworth does relatively well in the lead role, but he’s still missing that certain something to make his character, and therefore the movie, truly compelling. The rest of the cast is fine, too, but each of them seem to be putting in just the minimal amount of effort to make the film watchable. Ruffalo and Barbaro come off the best, but with the talent in the cast (11 Oscar nominations and one win), they could have been used better.

Crime 101 has most of the ingredients to be another great entry in the genre, and it succeeds when it actually decides to deliver on its promise. But too much of the film is spent on things that have no real bearing on plot or character development, leaving the movie in the middle of the pack.

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Crime 101 is now playing in the theaters.

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weekend event planner

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

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