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.

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Movie Review

Supergirl fails to take flight in a movie weighed down by grief

Photo courtesy of DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures

Milly Alcock in Supergirl.

Last year's Superman reboot brought a renewed sense of optimism for, if not the concept of the comic book movie, then at least the DC Comics universe. After more than a decade of DC films that felt mostly creatively bankrupt, the leadership of James Gunn gave the story a sense of fun. That included the brief introduction of Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, who’s now getting her own showcase in, naturally, Supergirl.

When we first met her in Superman, Supergirl was in rough shape, arriving at the Fortress of Solitude visibly inebriated. Nothing has changed at the beginning of this film, save for her aimlessly traveling around the universe with her rambunctious dog, Krypto. One of her random stops puts her in the same bar as Ruthye (Eve Ridley), who is looking for help tracking down Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) and a group known as the Brigands after they brutally murdered her family.

Kara is initially loath to offer aid, but when Krem shoots a poison dart into Krypto while escaping, her motivation goes way up, especially since Krem holds the antidote. Kara, with Ruthye doggedly following her, uses every means available to her to find Krem, a journey that is hampered by galaxies having different colored suns than the one that gives her powers, the yellow sun.

Directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Ana Nogueira, the film is a big step back in the fun category, not least because Supergirl is deep in her feelings for much of the film. Her personal trauma, which is detailed in occasional flashbacks, gives a reason for her depression, but fails to land fully. The story seems to want everyone to be sad, as it includes a child trafficking ring and multiple instances of families being murdered.

Milly Alcock and Krypto in Supergirl.Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

To try to counteract that downer material, the filmmakers give Supergirl many opportunities to show off her fighting skills. While still CGI-heavy, the action scenes contain enough of a semblance of reality that they feel exciting. Unfortunately, this is undercut by the inclusion of several slow-motion sequences, giving the impression that the filmmakers didn’t trust the actors to deliver the goods on a consistent basis.

Superman (David Corenswet) makes a handful of appearances in the film, and while his presence is welcome given how well the character came across in the previous movie, it also doesn’t allow Supergirl to become her own person. Almost everything she does is colored by either her cousin or her parents, and since her powers are identical to those of Superman, there is very little that makes her story unique aside from how she’s dealing with the fallout.

Alcock (House of the Dragon, Sirens) gives an appealing performance despite her character being drunk and/or moody most of the time. She definitely sells what Supergirl is going through, so if given a better story in a future film, she’s proven her capability. Schoenaerts makes for a pretty good villain, although he’s aided by a look that includes a face full of studs. Jason Momoa has a memorable supporting role as the bounty hunter Lobo, even if his character doesn’t add much to the story.

While not a full-on disaster, Supergirl does not continue the momentum that Superman started. With a story that’s more concerned with showing audiences death scenes than a hero saving people, the film doesn’t seem to understand the appeal of a character like Supergirl or how to make her someone audiences will return to over and over again.

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Supergirl is now playing in theaters.

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