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

Resident Evil reboot delivers blood, guts, and big laughs for horror fans

Photo by Dušan Martinček

Austin Abrams in Resident Evil.

In just two films (Barbarian and Weapons), writer/director Zach Cregger has established himself as one of the top horror filmmakers working today. His unique methodology involves taking audiences down familiar pathways before veering off into unexpected areas that feature copious amounts of gore and comically bizarre visuals.

His new film, Resident Evil, plays out in much the same way, resulting in something starkly different from the previous action-heavy films based on the video game series. Bryan (Austin Abrams) is a courier tasked with bringing special deliveries like organs to hospitals. After one delivery, he gets roped in to making another to the distant location of Raccoon City, a mission he accepts despite being ill-prepared for the journey.

Traveling down a snowy and icy road, Bryan gets waylaid after accidentally hitting a woman crossing the road. His attempt to save her jump starts a series of adventures in which he tries his best to survive in the face of an onslaught of numerous zombie-like people and creatures. All the while, Bryan is hellbent on completing his delivery at all costs.

Cregger, who co-wrote the film with Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 4), is in complete command of the tone of the movie from minute one. Leaning into his comedy background, Cregger aims for humor first, with both horror and non-horror moments eliciting laughs. One of the biggest pleasures of the film is the way Bryan — who more often than not is by himself — mutters incredulously after experiencing yet another unbelievable incident. His reactions feel close to how a real person would be acting in such an extreme situation, giving the audience a dose of needed relief.

The episodic nature of the story also allows the film to play out like a video game without it ever feeling stilted. Every scene is like a new level of the game for Bryan as he faces increasingly difficult situations and monsters along the way. He gets some help from characters played by Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser, and Zach Cherry, but he’s mostly on his own, figuring out how to use guns and improvising ways to avoid or attack opponents.

What Cregger seems to understand better than most filmmakers who have adapted video games into films is how to pay tribute to the series without becoming too much about fan service. There are references aplenty to the different games, but the movie works just as well even if you’ve never played a single second. There is no shortage of tense situations, blood-soaked scenes, and outrageous imagery — and Cregger knows how to stage all of it to maximum effect.

Abrams is dynamite in the film, using understated line readings to make Bryan both funny and relatable. After being on the verge of breaking out for years, Abrams just might do so with this and the upcoming Whalefall. The appearances by Reis, Hauser, Cherry, Johnno Wilson, and others don’t last long, but each does a great job in helping the film keep the story going.

Cregger is now three-for-three in his young career, making films that both pay tribute to and subvert horror conventions at the same time. Resident Evil is a blast for fans of the genre, featuring a great lead character, a slew of memorable moments, and indelible visuals that might haunt your dreams.

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Resident Evil opens in theaters on September 18.

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