weekend event planner

Here are the top 10 things to do in Houston this weekend

Sebastian Maniscalo brings his brand of kooky comedy to town.

This weekend, cosplayers and comic-book will be flocking to Comicpalooza on Saturday and Sunday. Expect downtown Houston to be a straight-up geekapalooza.

However, for those with — shall we say a more "refined" — taste, Sunday is National Caviar Day. Several spots will be taking advantage of this with special caviar-related events, including The Annie Cafe and Bar, Turner's and Uchi Houston. Also, check out our National Caviar Day coverage here.

Also this weekend, look for a local theater's big event, beer-fueled bashes, a bar anniversary party, fun markets, and a red-hot comic coming to town. Here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, July 15

Express Theatre presents Rhyme & Reason
This virtual event will feature music, dance, and performance poetry, presenting Black history from ancient Africa to today. The production features poetry by Houston Poet Laureate Emeritus Deborah DEEP Mouton and members of her slam poetry team, with a special appearance by Lauren Anderson, the world’s first African American prima ballerina, from the Houston Ballet. There will also be a short Q&A with the cast. 10 am.

The Riot Comedy Show presents The Interruption with Tre Tutson
For those who have ever checked out went to LA and checked out The Benson Interruption, where comedian Doug Benson would interject other comics doing their sets on-stage, The Riot Comedy Show has something just like it. A hand-selected lineup of comedians have agreed to be interrupted in the middle of their performance by Tru Tutson, one of the most flippant, unfiltered, abrasive, and hilarious Houston comedians who always gets the last word in with these comics. 7:30 pm.

Friday, July 16

Big Trouble in Little China Watch Party & Beer Release
To celebrate the 35th Anniversary of John Carpenter's wacky 1986 adventure, Eureka Heights is showing the film on their new titan screen. Come early and grab yourself a good seat and pint or a 4-pack of their new Golden Six Shooter Golden Ale. They worked closely with co-star/man of many weapons himself Gerald Okamura on this brew. They will also be giving away autographed items and swag to a few lucky fans in attendance. 7 pm.

Sebastian Maniscalco: Nobody Does This Tour
Along with being perhaps the only comic to have a obsessed fan in E! personality Giuliana Rancic, Sebastian Maniscalco has celebrated heights only a few comedians ever achieve. In addition to his stand-out stand-up career, which has seen him headlines at arenas across the country, he has appeared in movies like Tag, Green Book, and The Irishman. He's now on the road, ready to make a stop in Houston as part of his Nobody Does This tour. 7 pm.

Theatre Southwest presents All in the Timing
All in the Timing is a collection of one-act plays by David Ives. The short plays are almost all comedies, which such titles as Words, Words, Words, Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread, and Variations on the Death of Trotsky. These plays focus mainly on language and wordplay, existentialist perspectives on life and meaning, as well as the complications involved in romantic relationships. This will run through Saturday, July 31. 8 pm. (3 pm Sunday).

Saturday, July 17

Brews & Browse Art Market
Bring the family out to the Ingenious Brewing Co Brewing Company (where they have some monthly events as a night of beer and lobster!) and join them for this new, monthly gathering full of beer, food, art, and handmade fun. They will have a full selection of beer on tap, wine by the glass and bottled soda for sale. GastroCraft will be serving up some delicious grub to satisfy your hunger. And let's not forget all the art vendors that will be selling all their creative stuff. Noon.

Revelry on Richmond 7 Year Anniversary Party
Revelry is going all-in for their seven-year anniversary party this weekend. They'll also be celebrating surviving the COVID-19 pandemic, and want to give thanks to everyone that helped support them. The sports bar will turn into a casino for the night with fun games like blackjack, craps, roulette, and more. They will also be raffling off cool raffle prizes throughout the night, such as Astros tickets, a two-night stay at the Heights House Hotel, a foursome at Houston National Golf Club and much more. 7 pm.

Community Music Center of Houston presents Family Funk Festival
This funk celebration will be intergenerational, beginning in the 1970s to the present. Some of Houston’s great musicians, including Vivian Mosley and her band The Storm, will perform hits from Parliament, Funkadelic, George Clinton, and others. After intermission, Tweed Smith, a former member of the funk band War, will wow audiences with some of their greatest hits. The uniqueness of this concert is that it includes both classic and new songs in the world of funk. 8:30 pm.

Sunday, July 18

Legacy Community Health presents Mint Julep
For close to 40 years, Legacy has led the fight against HIV, opening its doors to the LGBTQ+ community in 1978 as the Montrose Clinic. Now in its 19th year, this legendary Houston LGBTQ event will honor Jani Lopez, a former Mint Julep chairperson and long-time supporter of Legacy's mission to drive healthy change. The event's integrated approach to care has helped give patients the opportunity to live healthier, more productive lives, and help end the spread of HIV. 10 am.

Cosmic Creature Events presents Solar Summer Food Fest
Located at the back patio of Social Beer Garden HTX, this is a celebration of all things: smoked and savory, spicy and sweet, cheesy and mouthwatering. But, mostly, this is an event made for Houstonians by Houstonians! They will have a plethora of local eats and sweets for you to enjoy. There will be plenty of options to fit every taste and diet. Bring your family and friends. Vegan options available. 6 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Despicable Me sequel Minions & Monsters keeps franchise's goofy vibe

Photo courtesy of Illumination & Universal Pictures

Henry and James in Minions & Monsters.

The Despicable Me franchise is one of the most enduring of the 21st century, now reaching its seventh film in the past 16 years with the release of Minions & Monsters. The Minions, which were originally mere sidekicks to the supervillain Gru, have now arguably become the face of the franchise, even more so when they get their own movie.

Minions & Monsters purports to give even more history for the little yellow pill-shaped beings who want nothing more than to serve bad guys. Instead of fan favorites like Kevin, Stuart, and Bob leading the way, this film features James, a Minion who can’t stop causing chaos, and his best friend, Henry (all Minions are voiced by series creator Pierre Coffin).

After a prologue showing the Minions teaming up with various baddies over centuries, the group shows up in early 20th century Hollywood, gaining attention from filmmakers like Max (Christoph Waltz) and producer brothers Frank and Edward (both voiced by Jeff Bridges). They quickly rise up the ranks, with adventures coming to involve actress Debbie (Zoey Deutch), robot Dort (Jesse Eisenberg), and a Cthulhu named Goomi (Trey Parker).

Co-directed by Coffin and Patrick Delage and co-written by Coffin and Brian Lynch, the film is the loosest one of the franchise to date, using a barely-there story as an excuse to have the Minions engage in as much mayhem as possible. The prologue is the most successful part of the film, as they meet a cyclops, wizard, bank robber, and more, with each sequence getting wilder and funnier.

The 90-minute film is just as interested in entertaining kids with its craziness as it is in giving adults references to early film history. Among the films and actors that get shout-outs are the first-ever movie, The Horse in Motion, Georges Méliès’ A Trip to the Moon, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and more. Whether including those historical relics will have kids wanting to seek out the real deals is questionable, but at least it shows the filmmakers know they owe a debt to the greats of the past.

The second half of the film becomes less coherent as the Minions split into different factions. James, Henry, and a hard-of-hearing Minion named Ed go in one direction to make a monster movie, while a larger group led by their antagonist named Dick goes in another. There’s no real purpose to either side’s journey other than to serve up laughs through the Minionese language (which seems to lean toward Spanish, as one scene acknowledges) and their antics.

Anyone purposefully going to a Minions movie likely enjoys Coffin’s performance of each character, each of which is subtly different. The rest of the cast, while star-laden, never truly sounds like the actors portraying them, which is strange when you have distinctive voices like Waltz, Bridges, and Eisenberg. The only people who stand out are Allison Janney as the narrator, Bobby Moynihan, and a cameo by George Lucas.

While Minions & Monsters doesn’t offer up an overly compelling reason for existing, it’s also harmless fun that has the side benefit of exposing kids to bits of film history that they might not have known existed. It also tries something different from the tried-and-true format of previous films, and experimentation should be appreciated even if it’s not fully successful.

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Minions & Monsters opens in theaters on July 1.

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