july on the rooftop

Houston's rooftop and drive-in cinema reveals scorching July lineups

This pandemic summer is more horror than comedy, but one Houston-area movie purveyor is doing its best to salvage July entertainment during COVID-19 and social distancing.

Rooftop Cinema Club has unveiled its summer lineup at its original rooftop venue at BLVD Place in Uptown Houston and the popular Drive-In at Sawyer Yards. The new listings extend the summer schedule through August 2. Meanwhile, Sawyer Yards now features $20 “Late Night Date Night” tickets on weekdays.

The movie club will continue to host its $5 Community Screenings for those impacted by COVID-19 and also those in support of Black Lives Matter. All proceeds from its first film every Monday will be donated directly to the Houston Food Bank and to the Black Lives Matter organization, according to a press release.

Guests can check the film program online for the “Community Screening” banner to find those events and book tickets.

Tickets for the Drive-In at Sawyer Yards start at $28 per vehicle, regardless of occupancy. New for July, Rooftop Cinema is offering “Late Night Date Night” tickets for $20 per vehicle (maximum 2 people) for the second screenings on Sunday through Thursday. Guests have the option to bring their own snacks, choose to order concessions from Rooftop Cinema Club, or food from on-site food trucks all done online for a safe, contactless, experience.

Doors open at 7:15 pm, with the first of two showings each night starting at 8:30 pm. Here is the complete July schedule for Sawyer Yards.

July 1 - Shrek; Pretty Woman
July 2 - The Lego Movie; Boyz N the Hood
July 3 - Jurassic Park; The Terminator
July 5 - Grease; Girls Trip
July 6 - The Muppets (Community Screening); Rocketman
July 7 - Toy Story 4; If Beale Street Could Talk
July 8 - Stand By Me; The Shining
July 9 - The Sandlot; Do the Right Thing
July 10 - The Goonies; Friday
July 11 - Jurassic Park; Con Air
July 12 - Poetic Justice
July 13 - Moana (Community Screening); Grease
July 14 - The Breakfast Club; Bridesmaids
July 15 - How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World; A Nightmare on Elm Street
July 16 - The Princess Bride; Knives Out
July 17 - The Lost World: Jurassic Park; Casablanca
July 18 - The Lion King (2019); Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind
July 19 - Grease; Pretty Woman
July 20 - Sister Act (Community Screening); What's Love Got to Do With It
July 21 - The Sandlot; Crazy, Stupid, Love
July 22 - Hocus Pocus; Poltergeist
July 23 - Finding Dory; Grease
July 24 - Friday
July 25 - Love Jones
July 26 - Up; Breakfast at Tiffany's
July 27 - Beauty and The Beast (Community Screening); Purple Rain
July 28 - Grease; Set It Off
July 29 - Friday the 13th
July 30 - Frozen II; Poetic Justice
July 31 - Space Jam; Fight Club
August 1 - The Goonies; Beverly Hills Cop
August 2 - The Sandlot; Dirty Dancing

New for July, Rooftop Cinema at BLVD Place has added a second screening after 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets start at $17 per person for a one-person lounge seat. Tickets for couples, or anyone looking for a roomier loveseat, plus large popcorn, are $24 per person. Student discounts are also available starting at $15.30 per ticket, with valid I.D. required the night of the event.

Here is the full July schedule for the BLVD Place Rooftop venue:

July 6 - Breakfast at Tiffany's
July 7 - Do the Right Thing
July 8 - Hustlers
July 9 - You've Got Mail
July 10 - If Beale Street Could Talk; The Rocky Horror Picture Show
July 11 - Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood; A Nightmare on Elm Street
July 12 - The Breakfast Club
July 13 - Armageddon
July 14 - Jaws
July 15 - The Great Debaters
July 16 - The Notebook (Open Caption)
July 17 - Love Jones; Raising Arizona
July 18 - Grease; The Craft
July 19 - Clueless
July 20 - The Farewell
July 21 - Selena
July 22 - Hustle & Flow
July 23 - Dirty Dancing
July 24 - When Harry Met Sally; The Room
July 25 - The Great Gatsby; Friday the 13th
July 26 - The Wood
July 27 - Sweet Home Alabama
July 28 - The Sandlot
July 29 - Pulp Fiction
July 30 - Grease (Sing-Along)
July 31 - Dazed and Confused; Friday
August 1 - Love and Basketball; Death Becomes Her
August 2 - Pretty Woman (Open Caption)

Drive up and chill at Sawyer Yards.

Photo courtesy of Rooftop Cinema Club

Drive up and chill at Sawyer Yards.

movies

Movie Review

Chris Pratt fights for his innocence in popcorn thriller Mercy

Photo courtesy Amazon Content Services

Chris Pratt in Mercy.

It seems like every other movie set in modern times being released these days includes either a reference to or a plot revolving around artificial intelligence. In the real world, the benefits of the technology compete with its downsides, but when it comes to movies A.I. is almost always seen as a threat, including in the new film Mercy.

The audience is thrown headlong into the slightly futuristic story involving LAPD Detective Chris Raven (Chris Pratt), who finds himself strapped in a chair in a sparse room, being told that he is on trial for killing his wife. Turns out he’s in a court dubbed “Mercy,” which is overseen by an AI judge named Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson). By the rules of the court, Raven has 90 minutes to provide reasonable doubt of his guilt, or he will be executed on the spot.

Raven is in a multi-pronged quandary: Not only does he believe he’s innocent despite a trove of evidence pointing to his guilt, but he’s also the poster boy for the law enforcement side of the equation, having arrested the first man who went to Mercy. Anger and disbelief for Raven turn into acceptance, which then turns into him tapping into his detective skills, scrutinizing every shred of evidence the court provides him in a desperate attempt to save his own life.

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov and written by Marco van Belle, the film is a relatively propulsive thriller despite having a so-so story and even worse acting. The film is told in real time (with a few fudges here and there), so the concept alone of a man trying to prove his innocence in a short amount of time provides good intrigue. Bekmambetov’s use of digital elements as Raven scrolls through files or calls potentially exculpatory witnesses like his partner, Jaq Diallo (Kali Reis), keeps the film visually interesting.

On the other hand, the swift viewing of videos and documents by Raven, not to mention the high degree of cooperation by Judge Maddox, opens up more than a few plot holes. The filmmakers try to explain away a few leaps in logic by having Raven falling off the sobriety wagon the night before, but they can only use that excuse for so long. They also have the AI judge experience technical glitches along the way, errors that seem to point toward a wider conspiracy until they’re completely forgotten.

More than anything, it’s difficult to get over the wooden acting of Pratt and the misuse of other usually reliable actors. Pratt has no real presence, especially when he’s confined to a chair, so any emotion he tries to conjure up comes off as contrived. Ferguson is done no favors by a role that shows only her upper body and has her alternating between robotic and oddly sympathetic. Reis earned an Emmy nomination for True Detective: Night Country, but has little to do here, a fate that also takes out Chris Sullivan as Raven’s AA sponsor.

If you’re okay with turning off your brain for a little while, Mercy can be an enjoyable watch. But if you find yourself scrutinizing why characters make the odd decisions they do, or the wishy-washy way the film approaches AI in general, then you’re likely to find the whole thing lacking.

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Mercy is now playing in theaters.

movies film chris pratt rebecca ferguson movie review