weekend event planner

Here are the top 8 things to do in Houston this weekend

Even though the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing is already behind us, there are some spots that are still in a spacey, celebratory mood.

Discovery Green’s The Grove has $5 artisanal moon pies and $10 Moonwalk cocktails that will be available through July 27. The luxe moon pies are available in classic and chocolate, and the Moonwalk is made with grapefruit juice, orange liqueur, rose water, and champagne.

As always, here are some events that will add a blast to your weekend.

Thursday, July 25

Klearly Kristen Resort 2020 Fashion Show at Social Graces Social Club
Local jewelry designer Kristen Fenrick will show off some brand-new bling as she hosts her Resort 2020 Fashion Show this weekend. She’ll debut Klearly Kristen Inc., an offshoot of her jewelry brand, designed to assist women by empowering them to create their own financial realities. Fenrick says no woman should ever feel the hopelessness that comes from loss of financial means. Fashion influencer Chris Lavish will make a special appearance. 7-10 pm.

The Catastrophic Theatre’s Speeding Motorcycle at MATCH
For those not in the know, there is a rock opera based on the songs of legendary outsider musician and artist Daniel Johnston. This revival of the 2006 production, directed by Catastrophic’s associate artistic director Tamarie Cooper, reunites much of the original creative team along with an updated script by artistic director Jason Nodler. For the next two weekends, this show promises to take audiences deep into the astounding, hilarious, and heartbreaking world of one of America’s most compelling cult musicians. 7:30 pm (8 pm Friday and Saturday; 2:30 pm Sunday).

Friday, July 26

J.B. Smoove at House of Blues Houston
J.B. Smoove is, quite simply, a damn fool. He's like one of those family members who says and does the most, um, ignant things that'll leave you in a constant state of stitches. He's been doing it for years as Leon, the houseguest who simply refuses to leave Larry David's property, on Curb Your Enthusiasm. He can currently be seen on the big screen, acting as ridiculous as he possibly can in Spider-Man: Far From Home. You can also see him doing stand-up this weekend. 7 pm.

Iyanla Vanzant at Jones Hall
Many of you may know Iyanla Vanzant as one of Oprah Winfrey's longtime homies and the host of Iyanla: Fix My Life on OWN, while some of may know her from this ever-resourceful meme. The celebrity life coach will be making a stop on her Acts of Faith Remix tour. This inspirational and interactive event celebrates the updated 25th anniversary edition of this internationally acclaimed bestseller. 8 pm.

Saturday, July 27

Rock It Baby Rock It Festival Preview at Cactus Music
On Friday and Saturday at the Continental Club, the Rock It Baby Rock It Festival will bring in bands and fans from across Texas and beyond for two nights of contemporary and legendary rockabilly, psychobilly, and old school country music. For those who prefer a daytime taste of this zoot-suit riot of hot rods, hair grease, sharp threads, and vintage tunes, Cactus will have an in-store preview, featuring music from DJ Black Slacks and Tomcat y el Rock N Roll Combo. 1-2:30 pm.

Robby Bennett at the Grand 1894 Opera House
Saturday night is going to be one magical night. Of course, we got Houston’s own Ben Jackson, doing his regular thing at the Four Seasons. But, also, visiting illusionist Robby Bennett will be over in Galveston, performing his spellbinding routines with gripping stories and hilarious anecdotes as narration. Bennett will even take someone from the audience and turn them into a genuine magician in a matter of minutes. This unique blend of fantasy and comedy makes this the kind of performance modern audiences have been waiting for. 7:30 pm.

Sunday, July 28

Matisyahu at White Oak Music Hall
Remember back in the day when Matisyahu was a rising reggae singer/rapper on the scene and he looked like a rabbinical student? These days, dude's out here resembling a beach-bum David Strathairn. Well, he's still around, as he and his band record music, do shows, and keep things respectably irie. He's currently on tour, as part of Slightly Stoopid's How I Spent My Summer Vacation 2019 Tour, along with Tribal Seeds and Hirie. 4:30 pm.

Tarnation and Angel at Rice Cinema
The 23rd annual QFest, better known as Houston's international LGBTQ+ film festival, is currently underway, running through this Wednesday. The fest has many special screenings going on around the city, including two at Rice Cinema on Sunday. First, there's Tarnation, the 2004 award-winning, coming-of-age documentary by Houstonian Jonathan Caouette (who will be in attendance). Next, things get a little sleazy with a screening of the 1984 exploitation flick Angel. 5 pm.

Take in a fashion show with a good cause on Thursday.

Klearly Kristen Fashion Show Houston Weekend Events

Photo courtesy of Klearly Kristen

Take in a fashion show with a good cause on Thursday.

event-planner

Movie Review

Fun final act isn't enough to make Clayface DC's next great movie

Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie in Clayface

Photo by Parisa Taghizadeh

Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie are patient and doctor in Clayface.

The history of DC Comics in movies has been hit-and-miss, especially when it comes to anything not directly involving Batman or Superman. Over the years, films have been headlined by heroes like Catwoman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Shazam, the Flash, and more, and while some succeeded, none left a lasting mark on moviegoers’ imaginations.

Much like they did with Joker, the powers-that-be behind DC Studios productions are trying to entice viewers with a no-holds-barred story in Clayface. Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) is an A-list movie actor with both critical and commercial appeal. Unfortunately, a night of celebration for his recent Oscar nomination leads to him sleeping with Theresa (Ruby Sear), the girlfriend of Markos Szabo (David Dencik), a prominent mobster in Gotham City. Markos then enacts revenge by taking a razor to Matt’s face.

Desperate to find a way to look like his old self again, Matt seeks out Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie), who’s conducting cutting-edge nanotechnology research that can heal any kind of damage. While the solution works on Matt, it also has the side effect of his body doing unintended things, even morphing into those with whom he comes into contact. After initially struggling with his new body, Matt decides to use his powers to enact revenge on those who’ve done him wrong.

Directed by James Watkins (Speak No Evil) and written by Mike Flanagan (The Life of Chuck) and Hossein Amini, the film is only intermittently entertaining as it tries to sell its ridiculous premise. Right from the start, it seems like the filmmakers have been given a limited budget, as everything from the sets to the CGI to the stilted dialogue feels cheap. For a film coming from a major studio, the whole thing comes off as schlocky and undercooked.

Watkins and his team try to make up for that shoddiness by delivering R-rated thrills like nudity and body horror, but those elements can only distract for so long. Much of the film is spent dealing with Matt’s trauma, and the downbeat nature of his body issues combined with very little action makes the movie not very fun to watch. The film also tries to make hay with more than a doctor-patient bond between Caitlyn — who has a boyfriend on the police force — and Matt, but like the most of the film, it never connects.

It’s not until the final third of the movie that the filmmakers land on the tone they should have been using the whole time. Matt’s ability to transform himself, while illogical and confounding, provides multiple over-the-top, funny moments and some legitimately creative kills. Instead of taking forever to set up Matt/Clayface’s origin story, Watkins and his team should have just cut to the chase and let him loose to see what the character could truly do.

This is the first big role for Welsh actor Harries, and while he’s not exactly magnetic, he proves himself worthy of the lead role. Ackie is also fine, but after several years of trying to advance up the Hollywood ladder, she may be running out of time to show she’s a star. The supporting cast has a couple of familiar faces, but it’s mostly lesser-known actors who do nothing to indicate they deserve bigger showcases.

It’s difficult to imagine any non-DC Comics fans having a strong attachment to the character of Clayface, and the film fails to make the case that he should be a continuing character. The poor quality of almost everything that appears on screen is indicative of the kind of effort and money that was put into the film, and sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

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Clayface opens in theaters on October 23.

movies film clayface