weekend event planner

Here are the top 8 things to do in Houston this weekend

Colossal "candyfloss constructions meld with a tantalizing taffy twistedness" at Candytopia, opening this weekend.

Photo courtesy of Candytopia

Sunday is Father’s Day, and brand-new fathers might want to check out Treasure Truck, Amazon’s rolling retail experience for new parents, which will make its third stop in Houston on Saturday and Sunday at Silver Street Studios.

On top of that pop-up, here are the top things to do this weekend — which include a colorful anime convention, beer and music bashes, and a candy wonderland.

Thursday, April 13

Anime Matsuri at George R. Brown Convention Center
It's that time again when all the anime lovers in H-Town (and other places) convene to George R. Brown and just swim in the Japanese pop-culture paradise that is Anime Matsuri. The second-largest Japanese pop-culture convention in America is celebrating its 13th year, and they're going all out. There will be over 800 hours of panels, workshops, concerts, a cosplay contest, guests, and Japanese fashion, as well as a performance from kawaii metal group Ladybaby. 4 pm (11:30 am Friday; 9:30 am Saturday and Sunday).

Saint Arnold 25th Anniversary Grand Cru Night at The Ginger Man
The Saint Arnold Brewing Company is having its 25th anniversary this month, and it's celebrating by throwing a bunch of parties all over Texas and Louisiana. This one offers up Saint Arnold's special, 25th Anniversary Grand Cru brew on tap. It's a blend of three bourbon barrel aged beers: Belgian-Style Quadrupel, Russian Imperial Stout, and English-Style Barleywine. So, expect everyone to get messed up after one sip of this. 6 pm.

Friday, June 14

Candytopia Houston
Listen, we know you need to watch your weight and sugar is evil and everything. But there is an actual candy explosion opening this weekend. This candy-coated experiential adventure, where "colossal candyfloss constructions meld with a tantalizing taffy twistedness," features more than one dozen rooms with larger-than-life interactive art installations and full sensory experiences. This confectionery wonderland will be in Houston until September 29. 10 am (11 am Sunday).

A One-Night-Only Dinner at The Wheel Kitchen
Friends and collaborators Hilda Ysusi, owner and executive chef of Broken Barrel, and Thelma Portillo, executive chef and entrepreneur of The Wheel Kitchen, will join forces for a dining experience that melds Broken Barrel’s vibrant approach to global dishes with The Wheel’s modern take on Mediterranean cuisine. The whole thing costs $80, and that includes a Good Night Loving vodka cocktail and Ferrari-Carano wine pairings. 6:30 pm.

Saturday, June 15

147th Annual Juneteenth Celebration at Emancipation Park
Emancipation Park Conservancy (EPC), a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable corporation established to restore, manage and enhance Emancipation Park, will host their 147th Annual Juneteenth Celebration at the park. This free event, which commemorates the freedom of African Americans, will have musical performances, a parade, guided tours, kid-friendly entertainment and education, art displays, complimentary barbecue, vendors, and more. 10 am to 5 pm.

Local Brews, Local Grooves at House of Blues
Beer and live music — is there anything that clearly goes more hand-in-hand? House of Blues will be filling up the venue heavily with both those things this weekend. We're talking over 20 local craft breweries, with more than 40 beers and rare releases, along with 16 local bands and DJs. And let's not forget the brew-inspired, pub food pairings. Sampling wristband ($15) and sampling tickets ($3) are available for purchase at the door and throughout the venue. 3 pm.

Sunday, June 16

John Cusack and Say Anything... at Jones Hall
It was 30 years ago that Cameron Crowe wrote and directed one of the more essential rom-coms, Say Anything..., where smart-ass slacker Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) won over valedictorian Diane Court (Ione Skye) — and future generations of audiences — with a boombox over his head, playing Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes." The Society for the Performing Arts will hold a screening of the movie, along with Cusack himself showing up for a post-screening discussion and Q&A. 4 pm.

Stagecoach at Alamo Drafthouse LaCenterra
The late, great John Ford made many iconic Westerns throughout his career: My Darling Clementine, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Searchers, etc. But his 1939 film Stagecoach is the one that proved that Westerns can be more than pulpy shoot-'em-ups. Starring John Ford in his breakthrough role as the Ringo Kid, this movie is really an ensemble piece, as it follows a group of strangers riding through dangerous Apache territory in the titular mode of travel. 6 pm.

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Movie Review

Star TV producer James L. Brooks stumbles with meandering movie Ella McCay

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Emma Mackey in Ella McCay.

The impact that writer/director/producer James L. Brooks has made on Hollywood cannot be understated. The 85-year-old created The Mary Tyler Moore Show, personally won three Oscars for Terms of Endearment, and was one of the driving forces behind The Simpsons, among many other credits. Now, 15 years after his last movie, he’s back in the directing chair with Ella McCay.

The similarly-named Emma Mackey plays Ella, a 34-year-old lieutenant governor of an unnamed state in 2008 who’s on the verge of becoming governor when Governor Bill (Albert Brooks) gets picked to be a member of the president’s Cabinet. What should be a happy time is sullied by her needy husband, Ryan (Jack Lowden), her agoraphobic brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), and her perpetually-cheating father, Eddie (Woody Harrelson).

Despite the trio of men competing to bring her down, Ella remains an unapologetic optimist, an attitude bolstered by her aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), her assistant Estelle (Julie Kavner), and her police escort, Trooper Nash (Kumail Nanjiani). The film follows her over a few days as she navigates the perils of governing, the distractions her family brings, and the expectations being thrust upon her by many different people.

Brooks, who wrote and directed the film, is all over the place with his storytelling. What at first seems to be a straightforward story about Ella and her various issues soon starts meandering into areas that, while related to Ella, don’t make the film better. Prime among them are her brother and father, who are given a relatively small amount of screentime in comparison to the importance they have in her life. This is compounded by a confounding subplot in which Casey tries to win back his girlfriend, Susan (Ayo Edebiri).

Then there’s the whole political side of the story, which never finds its focus and is stuck in the past. Though it’s never stated explicitly, Ella and Governor Bill appear to be Democrats, especially given a signature program Ella pushes to help mothers in need. But if Brooks was trying to provide an antidote to the current real world politics, he doesn’t succeed, as Ella’s full goals are never clear. He also inexplicably shows her boring her fellow lawmakers to tears, a strange trait to give the person for whom the audience is supposed to be rooting.

What saves the movie from being an all-out train wreck is the performances of Mackey and Curtis. Mackey, best known for the Netflix show Sex Education, has an assured confidence to her that keeps the character interesting and likable even when the story goes downhill. Curtis, who has tended to go over-the-top with her roles in recent years, tones it down, offering a warm place of comfort for Ella to turn to when she needs it. The two complement each other very well and are the best parts of the movie by far.

Brooks puts much more effort into his female actors, including Kavner, who, even though she serves as an unnecessary narrator, gets most of the best laugh lines in the film. Harrelson is capable of playing a great cad, but his character here isn’t fleshed out enough. Fearn is super annoying in his role, and Lowden isn’t much better, although that could be mostly due to what his character is called to do. Were it not for the always-great Brooks and Nanjiani, the movie might be devoid of good male performances.

Brooks has made many great TV shows and movies in his 60+ year career, but Ella McCay is a far cry from his best. The only positive that comes out of it is the boosting of Mackey, who proves herself capable of not only leading a film, but also elevating one that would otherwise be a slog to get through.

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Ella McCay opens in theaters on December 12.

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weekend event planner

Here are the top 8 things to do in Houston this weekend

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Star TV producer James L. Brooks stumbles with meandering movie Ella McCay

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