one giant leap

All the out-of-this-world Houston events to celebrate Apollo 11's 50th anniversary

"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed,” so spoke Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969, as he and Buzz Aldrin touched down on the moon. Fifty years later, if any place is going to throw a city-wide, ultimate (yet educational) party for when humans first reached the moon, it’s going to be Houston. In fact, some of us (looking at you, Houston Museum of Natural Science) have been celebrating for months now.

If you're looking to take a giant leap into space history, we've found the best cultural and scientific celebrations to launch you into lunar anniversary orbit.

Out-of-This-World Lunar Exhibitions at Houston Museum of Natural Science (ongoing)
HMNS has been celebrating moon exploration since April, with the giant lunar sculpture Moon by Luke Jerram, a new Burke Baker Planetarium show, To Defy Gravity, and a virtual reality experience, Destination Moon. They’ve also recently added a new installation recreating the Sea of Tranquility, where the astronauts of Apollo 11 landed. And now showing in the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre is the documentary Apollo 11: First Steps, showcasing never-before-seen 70mm footage and newly discovered audio recordings of the mission.

NASA Tram Tours featuring the Apollo Mission Control Center at Space Center Houston (ongoing)
Just in time for all the Apollo 11 celebrations, Space Center Houston has restored the Apollo Mission Control room, a national historic landmark. The room, used during the Gemini, Apollo, and Shuttle eras, underwent restoration beginning in July 2017. Now reopened, guests will see the restored flight control consoles with their screens displaying data used during the Apollo 11 mission. The five large screens across the front of the room have been reactivated with projections to recreate the exact images seen during the Apollo 11 mission. This spectacular look into space history is included on the NASA Tram Tours and Level 9 VIP Tours.

Moon Walk from Buffalo Bayou Partnership and HMNS (July 16)
Guided by the full moon, take an educational “moon walk” along the Buffalo Bayou trails with an HMNS astronomer, who will be under the glow of a full moon. The moon has some radiant help in guiding your way as the signature Lunar Cycle Lighting along the bayou will all be white in sync with the full moon.

Armstrongfilm screening at Space Center Houston (July 18)
For this Apollo anniversary, Space Center Houston has a special addition to their Space on Screen series, which gives film and space buffs the opportunity to see documentaries and classic space films in the center of the five-story-tall Space Center Theater, one of the largest 4K theaters in Texas. See this feature-length documentary profiling the life of astronaut Neil Armstrong. The film introduces us to the real dynamic man, not just the first-man-on-the-moon myth.

Shooting the Moon: Photographs from the Museum’s Collection 50 Years after Apollo 11 at the Museum of Fine Arts (July 20–September 2)
The MFAH has been collecting space art for about as long as the U.S has been launching humans into space, and so the Apollo 11 anniversary is the perfect time to ponder when imagination, art, history, and science meet. The exhibition features 40 photographs ranging from documentary images of NASA’s mission to the moon to Ansel  Adams’s Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico.

The Day We Walked on the Moon film screening and panel discussion at the Health Museum (July 20)
This new Smithsonian Channel documentary takes viewers inside to the scenes right into mission control and the spacecraft, thanks to remastered footage and interviews with those who were there. Following this special screening, the Health Museum will bring together a panel of experts to discuss space health and medicine. The Health, Moon and Beyond features Dr. David Hilmers, a former NASA astronaut and current professor in the internal medicine department at Baylor College of Medicine; Dr. Robert Satcher, a former NASA astronaut and current oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center; Dr. Dorit Donoviel, director of TRISH at Baylor College of Medicine; and Dr. Jeffery Sutton, director of the Center for Space Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.

Apollo Day at the George Observatory in Brazos Bend State Park (July 20)
What better way to remember the moon landing than getting a telescopic space view. If you’re looking to commune with nature and alligators as you celebrate humanity’s walk on the moon, head out to Fort Bend for a day filled with speakers and stellar activities, and stay for an evening putting eyes to the telescopes viewing planets and deep-space objects.

A Giant Leap at Discovery Green (July 20)
For the ultimate free moon party, go downtown to Discovery Green for a night featuring pretty much everything but the moon sink. See a paratrooper landing by the U.S. Army Golden Knights, the United States Army’s official aerial parachute demonstration team. Explore interactive exhibits from NASA’s Johnson Space Center and the Lone Star Flight Museum. Pick up the book American Moonshot and meet its author, Douglas Brinkley.

Shop for space haute couture at a special edition of Discovery Green’s Flea by Night. Stargaze with the Houston Astronomical Society, and watch a video message from astronauts currently aboard the International Space Station. And after all that, if you’re ready for space respite, find your place on the lawn for a free screening of the documentary Apollo 11.

Apollo 11 50th Live at Space Center Houston (July 20)
The all-day celebration honoring the past, present, and future of space exploration will feature space-themed activities for the whole family, including NASA Tram Tours to Rocket Park and the Apollo Mission Control Center, speakers, book signings, an outdoor festival, and family STEM zone. The celebration reaches the stratosphere with an evening concert featuring performances by Walk the Moon and Phillip Phillips.

Apollo Night at Minute Maid Park (July 22)
Keep the celebration going as the Houston Astros host an astro-naut themed night. Look to Center Field at the Budweiser Brew House for a replica statue of Neil Armstrong's 1969 spacesuit from the Apollo 11 Mission. Neil’s son Rick Armstrong throws the ceremonial first pitch. And space and Astro fans can explore the NASA Mobile Exhibit and Space Exploration Vehicle during the evening.

Museum of Fine Arts’ Mixed Media Space City Party (August 2)
The MFAH’s summer Mixed Media night, always filled with drinks, dancing, and the best party music, gets a “Space City” makeover. The late-night spectacular brings a special appearance by Bun B with Doc Loc and the Swangers, along with sets by DJ Sun (Soular Productions) and Kay Illah, and exclusive access into the Shooting the Moon and the Ragnar Kjartansson: The Visitors exhibitions.

Discovery Green will screen the documentary Apollo 11 during its A Giant Leap celebration on July 20.

Photo courtesy of Neon

Discovery Green will screen the documentary Apollo 11 during its A Giant Leap celebration on July 20.

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Movie Review

Bold drama Anora takes an unconventional look at romance and rebellion

Photo courtesy of Neon

Mikey Madison in Anora.

Writer/director Sean Baker’s filmography is full of films that aim to show stories not typically seen in mainstream movies, ones that often feel so true to life that they can be tough to watch. His latest film, Anora, is similar to his previous content in some ways, but much different in others.

Anora (Mikey Madison), aka Ani, is a stripper/sex worker who works at a club in Brooklyn. Because she can speak Russian, she is assigned to dance for Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), who she discovers is the son of a Russian oligarch. With an unlimited supply of money, he pays Ani for sex and, enjoying spending time with her, for her to pretend to be his girlfriend for a week.

That week sees them do a lot of wild stuff, most notably an impulsive trip to Las Vegas where they — almost as hastily — decide to get married. Their elopement doesn’t stay secret for long, though, with Ivan’s parents especially upset. A trio of henchmen track them down, enlisted by Ivan’s parents to force them to get the marriage annulled at all costs.

Baker is not your typical storyteller, and so even though the film has three distinct acts, they don’t play out in ways that will be familiar or comfortable for many filmgoers. Much of the first act involves Ani in states of undress, either dancing for customers or having sex with Ivan. Although the “rich guy paying for the company of a sex worker” echoes a film like Pretty Woman, the comparison doesn’t really fit, especially because the immature, video game-playing Ivan is about as far from romance as you can get.

Whatever appeal he might have had disappears in the second half of the film when he’s confronted with his parents’ displeasure. It’s here that Baker seems to play with moviegoer expectations the most. With three goons sent to get Ani and Ivan to take back what they’ve done, it feels like Baker is going to go down the typical mob movie road. Instead, what transpires can only be described as an intense farce, with Ani resisting the trio’s efforts with all her might, causing lots of comedic chaos.

What plays out throughout the film, and especially in the final act, is a disparity of wealth. While Ani being willing to have sex with a rich guy who comes into the club could be viewed in multiple ways, it does hint at her need to make money however she can. Conversely, Ivan spends money with abandon and acts accordingly, like someone who will never have a care in the world. After much frivolity, this imbalance hits like a ton of bricks in the film’s final minutes.

Madison, who’s had small but showy roles in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the reboot of Scream, proves herself to be a star in this role. She owns every part of the performance, from the New York accent to the pole dancing, and she is the fire that keeps the film humming. She is especially important because Russian actor Eydelshteyn is only intermittently effective. Special note goes to Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, and Yura Borisov, the three men who come for Ani and Ivan. Each walks the line between drama and comedy especially well.

Taken at face value, Anora could be viewed as a merely titillating and somewhat shallow film. But Baker doesn’t do anything without a purpose, which is why the subtext of the story gives the film its power, with a bravura performance by Madison to put it over the top.

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Anora is now playing in theaters.

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