A revolutionary, British dart-focused restaurant/bar/event venue is flying into a buzzy Houston mixed-use development. The bustling Allen Parkway corridor project Regent Square will welcome Flight Club, the immersive pub making waves in the U.K. and here in the U.S.
This is the first Texas Flight Club outpost, set to open late 2021. (The venue boasts a popular presence in Chicago.)
Visitors should expect a decidedly retro Brit vibe, with plush booths, semi-private gaming areas, vibrant vintage signage and decor, and a ubiquitous red phone booth in an 8,500-square-foot space.
Press materials promise a “unique social gaming experience through specially designed technology and spacious set-up,” as well as an eclectic bar program led by award-winning Peter Vestinos, plus a menu curated by acclaimed Chicago Chef Rich Gresh.
Oh, and the darts and games. Pub games and darts are central here; the space can accommodate groups of six to 400. More than 160 million darts have been thrown by some 2 million people globally since the venue launched in October 2015, per the company.
“Houston is an incredibly diverse city with vibrant food and drink scene–we are so thrilled that our first Texas location will be in this market,” said Alan Cichon, U.S. president of ownership company, State of Play. “Houston has shown the world time and time again how resilient it is, and we cannot wait to be a part of the fabric that makes up the Houston culture.”
Adding a little note that he gets it, Cichon noted, “everything is bigger in Texas, including our concept.”
Flight Club promises a vibrant, festive atmosphere.
Photo courtesy of Flight Club
Flight Club promises a vibrant, festive atmosphere.
Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie are patient and doctor in Clayface.
The history of DC Comics in movies has been hit-and-miss, especially when it comes to anything not directly involving Batman or Superman. Over the years, films have been headlined by heroes like Catwoman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Shazam, the Flash, and more, and while some succeeded, none left a lasting mark on moviegoers’ imaginations.
Much like they did with Joker, the powers-that-be behind DC Studios productions are trying to entice viewers with a no-holds-barred story in Clayface. Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) is an A-list movie actor with both critical and commercial appeal. Unfortunately, a night of celebration for his recent Oscar nomination leads to him sleeping with Theresa (Ruby Sear), the girlfriend of Markos Szabo (David Dencik), a prominent mobster in Gotham City. Markos then enacts revenge by taking a razor to Matt’s face.
Desperate to find a way to look like his old self again, Matt seeks out Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie), who’s conducting cutting-edge nanotechnology research that can heal any kind of damage. While the solution works on Matt, it also has the side effect of his body doing unintended things, even morphing into those with whom he comes into contact. After initially struggling with his new body, Matt decides to use his powers to enact revenge on those who’ve done him wrong.
Directed by James Watkins (Speak No Evil) and written by Mike Flanagan (The Life of Chuck) and Hossein Amini, the film is only intermittently entertaining as it tries to sell its ridiculous premise. Right from the start, it seems like the filmmakers have been given a limited budget, as everything from the sets to the CGI to the stilted dialogue feels cheap. For a film coming from a major studio, the whole thing comes off as schlocky and undercooked.
Watkins and his team try to make up for that shoddiness by delivering R-rated thrills like nudity and body horror, but those elements can only distract for so long. Much of the film is spent dealing with Matt’s trauma, and the downbeat nature of his body issues combined with very little action makes the movie not very fun to watch. The film also tries to make hay with more than a doctor-patient bond between Caitlyn — who has a boyfriend on the police force — and Matt, but like the most of the film, it never connects.
It’s not until the final third of the movie that the filmmakers land on the tone they should have been using the whole time. Matt’s ability to transform himself, while illogical and confounding, provides multiple over-the-top, funny moments and some legitimately creative kills. Instead of taking forever to set up Matt/Clayface’s origin story, Watkins and his team should have just cut to the chase and let him loose to see what the character could truly do.
This is the first big role for Welsh actor Harries, and while he’s not exactly magnetic, he proves himself worthy of the lead role. Ackie is also fine, but after several years of trying to advance up the Hollywood ladder, she may be running out of time to show she’s a star. The supporting cast has a couple of familiar faces, but it’s mostly lesser-known actors who do nothing to indicate they deserve bigger showcases.
It’s difficult to imagine any non-DC Comics fans having a strong attachment to the character of Clayface, and the film fails to make the case that he should be a continuing character. The poor quality of almost everything that appears on screen is indicative of the kind of effort and money that was put into the film, and sometimes you really do get what you pay for.
