weekend event planner

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

Bun B (center) hosts Houston's hottest food event Thursday.

Photo by Jacob Power

If you're in the mood for some fine, culinary delights, this weekend will not disappoint.

First off, the CultureMap Houston Tastemaker Awards, CultureMap's signature, in-person tasting event and awards ceremony, will be going down at Silver Street Studios on Thursday night.

And since Sunday is National Wine & Cheese Day, Mutiny Wine Room will be offering up a tasting of four goat cheeses of different ages paired with a different wine for each cheese. The special flight of wine and cheese will be available Saturday and Sunday for $37.

Aside from the city's hottest food awards event and tasty Sunday offerings, look for hilarious comedians, an engaging art opening, a hot wine festival, geeky comic fun, and a gripping play. Here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, July 22

Rothko Chapel presents Our Moral Obligation: Ensuring the Dignity of All
Rothko Chapel will present its first virtual lecture in their Beyond the Rhetoric: Civil Rights & Our Shared Responsibility summer lecture series, featuring the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, president and senior lecturer for Repairers of the Breach and co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign. In this virtual conversation, Barber will address his perspectives on civil rights in the United States through a moral and faith-based lens. 6 pm.

Improv Houston presents Mark Normand
If you've never heard of Mark Normand, you gotta check him out this weekend. Through his relentlessly punchy writing and expert delivery, he's quickly becoming one of the most talked-about comedians on the scene. He recently self-released a one-hour special, Out To Lunch, on YouTube. A veteran of the late-night shows, Normand also has his own podcast, Tuesdays with Stories. 8 pm (7:30 and 9:45 pm Friday; 9:30 pm Saturday).

Friday, July 23

Galactic Events presents Comic Conroe
Y'all had Comicpalooza last weekend — now here comes another geekfest! Comic Conroe will be the first-ever comic convention in North Houston, gathering comic, anime, and sci-fi fans for an exciting and star-studded event. The weekend features over 5,000 square feet of panels and workshops, celebrity autographs, vendors, cosplay meet-ups and costume contests, and an open area for gaming. Celebrity guests will include Kevin Sorbo and Booker T, among others. Noon (9 am Saturday and 10 am Sunday).

A.D. Players presents 18 Birthdays
Starring Jennifer and Kevin Dean and written by Apollo 8 playwright Jayme McGhan, 18 Birthdays follows one evening with Ben and Viv, a married couple waiting to adopt and processing through the what-might-have-beens. This original play explores the complexity of marriage, loss, love, redemption, and God's ability to bring hope to broken places. The production will be available to stream at any time through Friday, August 6. 7 pm.

Miller Outdoor Theatre presents Live in Central Park Revisited: James Taylor
The transcendent harmonies of Lee Lessack and Johnny Rodgers pay homage to the unique artistry and indelible music of James Taylor. Guests can relive the incredible moment in 1979 when the renowned Taylor played live in Central Park. Favorites like “Carolina in My Mind,” “Walking Man,” and “Sweet Baby James” will all be rendered by Lessack and Rodgers. All we hope is that they better do our favorite JT song! 8:30 pm.

Saturday, July 24

2021 Houston Trap Wine Fest
Trap Wine Fest is back for its third year and this is gonna be the best one yet. They will be turning Grooves Restaurant & Lounge and the entire block into the livest wine festival you'll ever see. Entertain your classy and rachet sides at one fun-filled event. With 20 different wines to sip, Houston's top DJs in the mix playing all the trap hits, trendy local chefs, games and activities, you know its about to go down. 3 pm.

Caldera Music + Art Experience at East End Backyard
Caldera (not to be confused with the jazz fusion band from the '70s) is a music and arts festival in the heart of east downtown (aka EaDo) Houston. It takes place annually in the month of July under a full moon. This year, the Work in Progress Movement is presenting five local bands and six graphic artists at this primarily outdoor event, complete with food trucks and two fully stocked and staffed bars. Proceeds from this event will benefit the Houston chapter of Mental Health America. 3:30 pm.

The Grogan Gallery Grand Opening Reception
We don't know if you've heard, but Jack Rabbit Gallery now goes by the Grogan Gallery. (We're assuming the new title comes from the gallery's founder, Jodi Groganto.) The gallery is delighted to welcome guests to their new location in the Houston Design District. The reception will be held this Saturday at 7800 Washington Ave., featuring both new and familiar works from the gallery’s represented artists. 6 pm.

Sunday, July 25

Basketmouth at Ebony House of Vibes Houston
Who is ready for Basketmouth? You don't know who the hell is Basketmouth, you say? Why, Basketmouth (real name: Bright Okpocha) is one of the most popular comedians in Nigeria. In fact, when he was in Houston in 2015, former mayor Annise Parker declared July 17 as Basketmouth Day in Houston. This was for his "commitment on bringing our community together through comedy." He will be back in Texas this weekend, performing in Dallas on Saturday and Houston this Sunday. 4 pm.

Two Headed Dog Anniversary Market
For the second event in its anniversary week, beloved Midtown watering hole Two Headed Dog is bringing their monthly market back with a little of everything. Check out the vendors: Janglin' Jack with the vintage goods; Backseat Love with the amazing illustrative wares; Feral Boy with its custom knives; MiddyMade with the apothecary. As always, parking in lot is free for patrons — just tell the attendant. Also, plenty of parking down Fannin. 4 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Rachel McAdams goes feral in Sam Raimi's gory new comedy Send Help

Photo by Brook Rushton

Rachel McAdams in Send Help.

Director Sam Raimi has gone through different phases as a filmmaker, including leading the first Spider-Man trilogy and joining the MCU with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But he first gained notice with the gory and funny Evil Dead movies, a sensibility he’s returning to with his latest film, Send Help.

Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) is a meek and eccentric middle manager at a financial firm that’s just named Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien) as its new nepo CEO. Bradley’s dad had promised Linda a promotion to vice president, but she gets passed over in favor of one of Bradley’s frat buddies, sending her into a mild rage. Still, she gets invited along on a planned business trip to Thailand, during which she hopes to prove her worth.

Unfortunately for most of the passengers on the private plane, it crashes into the ocean, leaving only Linda and Bradley alive on a deserted island. Linda, who has privately developed survival skills, adapts quickly to the forbidding environment, while Bradley tries to revert to bossing her around. But Linda quickly understands the power dynamic has shifted, and she uses this knowledge to try to keep Bradley in line, turning their stranding into a battle of wills.

Directed by Raimi and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, the film is the classic “so bad it’s good” kind of experience. McAdams, inarguably an attractive and charming person, is given stringy hair, an antisocial personality, and quirks like eating tuna fish at her desk to make her as off-putting as possible. Bradley, along with almost everyone else at her office, is stereotyped just as hard in order to set up the twist of fate.

When the action shifts to the island, things get even more over the top. The audience has already been primed for Linda to demonstrate her survival expertise, but the film does way more than just show her making fire. Whether it’s flawlessly building a shelter or hunting a wild boar, everything Linda does is portrayed in a slightly off-kilter manner. Then they turn everything up to 11, indulging in gore that is so unnecessary that you can’t help but laugh.

The filmmakers prove they’re in on the joke the rest of the way, including a variety of preposterous but hilarious scenarios that would cause massive eyerolls if they were actually trying to take the film seriously. While they do a great job of showing Linda’s ability to handle herself in the wild, they also show that she is somehow the only person in the world who could get a glow up after a plane crash and weeks living in nature.

McAdams, an Oscar-nominated actor for Spotlight, is way too high class for a movie like this, which makes her presence here all the more interesting. She is all-in on whatever Raimi wants her to do, and she’s at her most fun when she goes the animalistic route. O’Brien, who was great in the recent Twinless, doesn’t get as much of an opportunity to show his range, but he still proves to be an interesting foil for her.

Were it released in any other month, Send Help might be looked at as bottom of the barrel material. But with the movie year just getting started, it’s easier to forgive its outrageous plot twists and just have fun, especially since Raimi and his team put the rest of the film together so well.

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Send Help opens in theaters on January 30.

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