weekend event planner

Here are the top 15 things to do in Houston this weekend

Cheer Live 2022 tumbles into Smart Financial Centre.

Photo courtesy of LiveNation

This weekend will most likely see fever-degree temps that surpass past 100. While many will opt to stay indoors, a hot summer music fest and neon water park party await those who venture out. Other fun includes a fancy wine party, a celebration of all things space travel plus concerts, a chance to cheer on a live-action Netflix series performance, and a Sunday seafood party.

Enjoy; here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, June 9

Guard and Grace presents Pink and White Party
The annual Pink and White Party is where lavish meets outrageous. Think flamingos, pink and white derby-style attire, and more than 40 pink and white wines to tickle guests' fancy, accompanied by food stations and passed hors d'oeuvres prepared by Guard and Grace's chefs. A portion of the proceeds provides a scholarship in wine for a local, budding hospitality professional at the Texas School of Wine. 3 pm.

Sonia Flores presents "Ascendants From the Future"
"Ascendants from the Future" is a celestial macramé installation host to experimental music and performance. Created by Sonia Flores and team, the nebula-like structure is inspired in part by the music of Sun Ra, the exploration of Spirit, the beauty and vastness of outer space and Flores' own personal defining of the artistic movement known as "Indigenous Futurism." Each Thursday for the month of June will showcase a musical act/performance. 7 pm.

Improv Houston presents Tony Roberts
Coming to Houston for a two-night stint, Detroit comic Tony Roberts has been blessed with the coveted honor of being the “comedian's comedian.” His hilarious and refreshing, energetic comedy style has granted him respect and created a huge demand for him on the comedy circuit. Legendary comedian and sitcom director David Steinberg acclaimed Roberts as “a breakout talent” after witnessing his stand-up, eventually casting him as the lead in a series of Burger King commercials he directed. 7:30 pm.

Friday, June 10

Space Center Houston presents Moon2Mars Festival
This three-day festival will provide an up-close look at some of the space technology people will need to go to the Moon and Mars, like rovers, spacesuits, landers, and more. Guests can experience indoor and outdoor programming, panel discussions led by space experts, immersive learning opportunities, and food and beverage offerings from Wolfgang Puck Catering. There will also be live music on the big stage throughout the days and evenings from Katie Toupin, American Authors, and Shaed. 9 am.

Reeves Art + Design presents "Reeves Art x Design" opening reception
In this group show, a roster of contemporary Texas artists will explore furniture and craftsmanship as an extension of the art-making process. Each artist presents a uniquely designed furniture piece that is either custom painted or designed from scratch. Through this collaborative effort, Reeves Art + Design looks to blur the line between fine art and function, highlighting the variety of ways that art can be incorporated into furniture design. On display through Saturday, July 9. 4 pm.

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant at MFAH
Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s unforgettable 1972 melodrama (shown in glorious 35mm!) is an unforgiving dissection of the imbalanced relationship between a haughty fashion designer (Margit Carstensen) and a beautiful but icy ingenue (Hanna Schygulla). Based on the filmmaker’s own desperate obsession with a young actor, this film features exquisitely claustrophobic cinematography and full-throttle performances by an all-female cast. 7 pm.

Cheer Live 2022
The Cheer Live tour will break new ground with a live performance featuring athletes from the Emmy-winning, Netflix docuseries. The athletes will present an electrifying exhibition of never-before-seen stunts and stage performances. Without the restraints of score cards, judges, and time limits, Cheer Live will transform the nail-biting sport of competitive cheerleading into an athletic event staged with the production value of a live concert. 7:30 pm.

Houston Symphony presents Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 in Concert
The Harry Potter Film Concert Series returns with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 in Concert, the second-to-last film in the Harry Potter series. John Beal will conduct the Houston Symphony in performing Alexandre Desplat’s score live from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 while the entire film plays in high-definition on a 40-foot screen. Show continues Saturday. 7:30 pm.

Saturday, June 11

Heads and Tails presents Houston Crawfish Festival
The Houston Crawfish Festival will close out the 2022 crawfish season with a family-friendly event. Attendees will get a chance to taste Heads & Tails's infamous Boss Sauce. This event will include multiple vendors, live music, and crawfish perfected and curated by chef Roy Burks. Heads & Tails, Toque Event Space, SOPO (Sushi on Post Oak), Ducky McSchwenny’s and Bovine & Barley have partnered together to donate a percentage of total ticket sales to Children at Risk. Noon.

Bobcat Teddy’s Battle of the Seltzers
Bobcat Teddy’s Ice House is kicking off the summer season by hosting a Battle of the Seltzers competition. Seltzer brewers will set up and sample out some of their best seltzers for you. For $20, you'll receive a wristband that will set you up to sample all the seltzers and receive fun swag from the participants. Stay cool and enjoy the best seltzers in town along with live music, water slides and luau fun. 2 pm.

Summer Jam HTX
Dubbed “the biggest party in Texas,” the second-annual festival will feature headlining sets from Moneybagg Yo, Latto and Bun B, with two stages and more than 25 performances in a one-day extravaganza. Lil’ Flip, Saucy Santana, Tay Money, R&B artist Tink and Beat King are among the festival’s other top talent. The fest will also highlight Houston artists on the rise, including Bobby Billions, Doeman, Lebra Jolie, and OTB Fastlane. 2 pm.

Neon Night at Typhoon Texas
Families can take a night dive into a world of bright neon colors as Typhoon Texas presents the return of its popular, family-friendly night. As soon as the sun goes down, the west Houston waterpark will be bathed in a collection of brilliant neon colors, from the glowing lights lining its twisting slides to radiant, glowing performers and vivid, neon-lit dance parties and activities for all ages. 6:30 pm.

Sunday, June 12

Summer Seafood Soirée at Hotel ZaZa Memorial City
Open to the public, this soiree will have guests and locals enjoying delicacies such as lobster tails, fish tacos, poke stacks and more, paired with prosecco and beer at the beloved Hotel ZaZa exclusive resort-styled pool deck. Tickets are available with the choice to upgrade to the lavish life, with a cabana package inclusive of 6 f&b tickets, 2 bottles of Veuve Clicquot Yellow label and access to the cabana as well. 2 pm.

Axiom Quartet presents Season Finale: Ravel, Mellits, Mendelssohn
Over at the at the beautiful and reverberant Christ the King Lutheran Church, Axiom Quartet’s season finale presents a couple of string-quartet super hits and a rockstar of modern repertoire: Maurice Ravel's String Quartet in F Major, Mark Mellits' Tapas, and Felix Mendelssohn's String Quartet op. 44 No 2. A wine reception will follow the performance. Tickets are free, but donations are encouraged. 5 pm.

Brit Floyd in concert
Brit Floyd (aka “The World’s Greatest Pink Floyd Show”) returns to the stage to perform its brand new production. The show will include highlights from The Wall, The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Division Bell, as well as a show-stopping, 23-minute "note-for-note" performance of the iconic era-defining song "Echoes," from Pink Floyd’s breakthrough 1971 album, Meddle. 8 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Adrien Brody portrays the immigrant experience in new film The Brutalist

Photo courtesy of A24

Adrien Brody in The Brutalist.

Many filmmakers have taken their stab at making a great American epic, although few have truly succeeded. One of the best in recent memory came just last year with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which wrestled with the world-changing consequences of one man’s unique vision. Writer/director Brady Corbet attempts something similar, albeit with less of a broad impact, in the new film The Brutalist.

Adrien Brody plays the fictional László Tóth, a Hungarian architect who immigrates to the United States in the late 1940s to seek a better life for himself and his family. Working initially with his friend Attila (Alessandro Nivola) at a furniture business, a job redoing the library of the wealthy Harrison Lee Van Buren, Sr. (Guy Pearce) turns into his big break. Impressed with Tóth’s modern style — aka brutalism — Van Buren hires him to design a huge multi-purpose building to honor Van Buren’s late wife.

Tóth’s vision, however, is soon confronted with the reality of financial limitations, interference from Van Buren and others, and, for good measure, good old fashioned bigotry. The long-awaited arrival of his wife, Erzsebet (Felicity Jones), brings added stress, as years of suffering back in Hungary have left her in a wheelchair. As months and years roll by, Tóth’s dream becomes his nightmare.

Corbet, along with co-writer Mona Fastvold, signals his intentions to have the film be a throwback at multiple turns. The film was shot using VistaVision, a format created in 1954 but not used in America since 1961. It also clocks in at a whopping three-and-a-half hours and includes an intermission, a break in the middle of a movie that’s rarely been seen in the past 50 years. With the story spanning decades and the mid-century focus on a very particular style of architecture, much about the film is designed to take the viewer back in time.

In the first half of the film, Corbet intrigues with Tóth’s immigrant experience, which shows that even a man with his talents could only get so far without the help of others. The building of the narrative befits the grand scale that Corbet seems to be going for, the occasional odd detour notwithstanding. The production design, the score by Daniel Blumberg, and the acting all combine to set up what seems destined for an epic second act.

Instead, Corbet almost completely wastes the momentum he had built up. Even as he impresses with the looming building on a hilltop, he includes weird sojourns into Tóth’s drug use, throws in the occasional explicit sex scene for no good reason, and creates conflict out of thin air. The title gradually becomes less literal and more metaphorical, although arguments could be made as to which character it is actually referring.

Brody hasn’t had many notable starring film roles in the past 10 years, but he makes the most of this opportunity. Using a highly credible accent, he takes Tóth through big emotional swings while still remaining relatively subtle in his performance. Pearce is given the bombastic role, and he works extremely well while still giving the role a lot of nuance. Jones seems miscast in her role, though, while supporting actors like Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, and Stacy Martin are hit-and-miss in their parts.

Corbet, making only his third feature film, has an ambition with The Brutalist that is unmistakable. While there are elements of it that match his lofty goals, he too often veers off into territory that makes little storytelling sense. It may look like the latest “great American film,” but he’s mostly just using older techniques to make it feel more impressive than it actually is.

---

The Brutalist opens wide in theaters on January 17.

movies film