Houston

Texas' biggest pop culture convention returns to downtown for a weekend of stars, gaming, and more

Texas' biggest comic pop culture spectacle is back this weekend.

Photo by Ferni Cabello

The stars will be all the way out for this year's Comicpalooza, going down this weekend (Friday, July 15–Sunday, July 17) at George R. Brown Convention Center.

The pop-culture convention has rounded up a premier guest lineup this year. Look for Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks), Terry Crews (White Chicks, America's Got Talent), Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who), Lance Reddick (John Wick, The Wire), Karen Fukuhara (Suicide Squad), Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The X-Files), rock legend Alice Cooper, and a host of others.

Festivities will kick off with the Friday Night Launch, featuring a neon-themed dance party dubbed CP Friday Bash, wrestling matches from Texas All-Star Wrestling, Mario Kart 64 tournaments (always a fave), and more.

Saturday and Sunday, fans will be immersed in the pop-culture festivities the moment they arrive, with live entertainment and engaging activities including chainsaw ice sculpting by Houston-favorite Reverend Butter.

Once indoors, visitors can check out a vast show floor featuring new and returning special attractions, panels, and art-pop-culture finds. As always, there will be a bustling exhibit floor, filled with diverse merchants offering an array of items. Shoppers can wander the aisles of unique finds, rare collectables, and other cool merchandise.

The special attractions are, indeed, off-the-hook. Robotica: A Robotics Experience will host intense battle bot tournaments in the U.S. Navy Battle Zone, featuring robots as big as 250 pounds and as small as 150 grams.

Returning bigger this year, the Itasha Showdown will display more amazing anime and pop-culture-themed cars. Additionally, fans will have the opportunity to participate in mock trials at Fandom Court, where they can state their case to a jury on a wide variety of topics, such as which team would be victorious in a battle royale: The JLA vs. The Avengers?

The Comicpalooza Cosplay Contest on Saturday will display unique, hand-crafted costumes and props based on favorite characters, while young, aspiring cosplayers will be able to showcase their budding talents in the Kid’s Cosplay Contest on Sunday.

Fans can experience witness interviews and lively shows in the Comicpalooza Podcast Program, which hosts sessions throughout the weekend with educational panels, game shows, and live podcasts covering various pop-culture topics.

The Live Art Charity Auction will come alive Saturday evening, where fans will watch and bid on unique pieces of art being created during the event by visiting Comicpalooza artists. Funds raised by the silent auction will go to Fresh Arts, a charity that champions our local art community to succeed in the business of art

On the second floor, fans can visit Cultural Arts Avenue, where guests can explore the Houston community’s history and culture with organizations such as 1940 Air Terminal Museum, The Printing Museum, Project Row Houses, Community Artists’ Collective, Houston Cinema Society, Houston Symphony, and Houston Climate Justice Museum ,and Cultural Center.

Also on the second floor, K-pop performances and demonstrations by local group KLOVR will wow spectators.

Gaming, a huge draw, will continue throughout the weekend on the third floor, joined by celebrity panels, the Neon Realm experience, and other programming.

For the most up-to-date information, including general details, special guests, admission prices, and schedules, visit the official site.

Texas' biggest comic/pop culture spectacle is back this weekend.

Photo by Ferni Cabello

Texas' biggest comic/pop culture spectacle is back this weekend.

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Movie Review

Michelle Pfeiffer visits Houston in new Christmas movie Oh. What. Fun.

Photo courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios

Michelle Pfeiffer in Oh. What. Fun.

Of all the formulaic movie genres, Christmas/holiday movies are among the most predictable. No matter what the problem is that arises between family members, friends, or potential romantic partners, the stories in holiday movies are designed to give viewers a feel-good ending even if the majority of the movie makes you feel pretty bad.

That’s certainly the case in Oh. What. Fun., in which Michelle Pfeiffer plays Claire, an underappreciated mom living in Houston with her inattentive husband, Nick (Denis Leary). As the film begins, her three children are arriving back home for Christmas: The high-strung Channing (Felicity Jones) is married to the milquetoast Doug (Jason Schwartzman); the aloof Taylor (Chloë Grace Moretz) brings home yet another new girlfriend; and the perpetual child Sammy (Dominic Sessa) has just broken up with his girlfriend.

Each of the family members seems to be oblivious to everything Claire does for them, especially when it comes to what she really wants: For them to nominate her to win a trip to see a talk show in L.A. hosted by Zazzy Tims (Eva Longoria). When she accidentally gets left behind on a planned outing to see a show, Claire reaches her breaking point and — in a kind of Home Alone in reverse — she decides to drive across the country to get to the show herself.

Written and directed by Michael Showalter (The Idea of You), and co-written by Chandler Baker (who wrote the short story on which the film is based), the movie never establishes any kind of enjoyable rhythm. Each of the characters, including competitive neighbor Jeanne (Joan Chen), is assigned a character trait that becomes their entire personality, with none of them allowed to evolve into something deeper.

The filmmakers lean hard into the idea that Claire is a person who always puts her family first and receives very little in return, but the evidence presented in the story is sketchy at best. Every situation shown in the film is so superficial that tension barely exists, and the (over)reactions by Claire give her family members few opportunities to make up for their failings.

The most interesting part of the movie comes when Claire actually makes it to the Zazzy Sims show. Even though what happens there is just as unbelievable as anything else presented in the story, Showalter and Baker concoct a scene that allows Claire and others to fully express the central theme of the film, and for a few minutes the movie actually lives up to its title.

Pfeiffer, given her first leading role since 2020’s French Exit, is a somewhat manic presence, and her thick Texas accent and unnecessary voiceover don’t do her any favors. It seems weird to have such a strong supporting cast with almost nothing of substance to do, but almost all of them are wasted, including Danielle Brooks in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo. The lone exception is Longoria, who is a blast in the few scenes she gets.

Oh. What. Fun. is far from the first movie to try and fail at becoming a new holiday classic, but the pedigree of Showalter and the cast make this dismal viewing experience extra disappointing. Ironically, overworked and underappreciated moms deserve a much better story than the one this movie delivers.

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Oh. What. Fun. is now streaming on Prime Video.

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