weekend event planner

Here are the top 14 things to do in Houston this weekend

UH's Houston Shakespeare Festival returns to Miller Outdoor Theatre this weekend.

Photo courtesy of University of Houston’s School of Theatre & Dance

This weekend marks major national news from some hometown icons, as our Queen Beyoncé drops her highly anticipated new album Renaissance, and our hip-hop icon Bun B showcases his Trill Burgers on a Good Morning America faceoff.

Meanwhile, families can enjoy a Disney singalong treat or free outdoor Shakespeare, while kids young and old can celebrate bro culture with the internet's masters of over-the-top stunts (who happen to be mostly made up of Aggies). A hilarious Canadian comic comes to town, a brewery celebrates X-Mas in July, and a famed international movie composer takes the stage.

Enjoy, here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, July 28

Disney Concerts presents Encanto: The Sing-Along Film Concert Tour
The Oscar-winning Disney film comes to life in a concert event, featuring the entire, feature-length film and an on-stage band celebrating all hit songs from the beloved soundtrack. The soundtrack features eight original songs (including that dang song about Bruno!) by Academy Award-nominated, Tony and Grammy-winning songwriter/composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, with an original score by Academy Award-nominated composer Germaine Franco. 7:30 pm.

The Secret Group presents Alingon Mitra
SNL rising star Sarah Sherman was supposed to perform at the Secret Group on this evening. Unfortunately, she had to postpone her Texas dates. Thankfully, the Group found someone to step in: New York stand-up/comedy writer Alingon Mitra. He has written for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and was also staffed on Adam Ruins Everything. He has also done stand-up on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Conan, and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. 8 pm.

University of Houston presents Houston Shakespeare Festival: King Lear
The Houston Shakespeare Festival (HSF) returns to Miller Outdoor Theatre this summer with performances of King Lear and Cymbeline, through Saturday August 6. Lear, the more serious of the two plays, presents the story of an aging king. In dividing his estate, he disowns the wrong child. Family loyalty, betrayal, and madness set the stage for the grand tragedy of this play — the first, Houston Shakespeare Festival production of this enthralling masterpiece in over 20 years. 8:15 pm.

Friday, July 29

Both Sides of the Blade at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
In the latest from French filmmaker Claire Denis (who won Best Director at the 2022 Berlin International Film Festival for this film), Juliette Binoche stars as a woman who finds her life spiraling out of control when she becomes involved in a passionate love triangle with her longtime partner (Vincent Lindon) and his best friend (Grégoire Colin), who is also her former lover. And don't forget to stay for the credits! 7 pm (2 pm Saturday; 5 pm Sunday).

Dude Perfect: That's Happy
Dude Perfect comes to Houston as part of their That's Happy tour. Fans will see the Dudes compete in even bigger battles, tell their totally LOL stories, and get a little messy in the process. The tour will feature some of the most popular segments from their award-winning “Overtime” series, like Cool not Cool and Wheel Unfortunate with Ned Forrester, and new fan-favorite segments like Get Crafty and Top 10 are in the works as well. 7 pm.

Russian Cultural Center - Our Texas presents “The Airy Vernissage” opening reception
Natalia Arnett (Urban) found her passion in watercolors when she was 42 years old. After she moved to Houston, she discovered an old present from her mother – the box of watercolors. The perfect rainy day outside inspired Natalia to open that box and create her first still-life painting. Natalia believes that inspiration can be found anywhere, and even the most ordinary subject can become an inspiration. Through Wednesday, August 31. 7 pm.

713 Music Hall presents Kurtis Conner
Canadian comic Kurtis Conner is embarking on his most ambitious solo tour yet. A sell-out performer, podcaster, and global YouTube sensation, Conner is bringing his freshest, funniest material yet to the stage. After studying comedy writing and performance in Toronto, Conner quickly found an audience on Vine, later migrating to YouTube and growing that audience to over 3.7 million subscribers worldwide. 8 pm.

Saturday, July 30

The Energy Corridor District presents Market at Grisby
The Energy Corridor District is hosting its first-ever Market at Grisby. The event will feature a signature artisan market presented by the Your Neighborhood Farmers Market Association, live music with Josie Arias, gift card giveaways to one of the five Grisby restaurants, and so much more. The market will feature some jewelry, artisan crafts, handcrafted soaps and oils, etc. Parking will be available across from Watson's House of Ales and in other Grisby parking lots. 10:30 am.

Saison Doug Release - Doggie Day at Lone Pint
Join Lone Pint Brewery for the release of its Saison Doug Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale, which will also honor our four-legged friends. Come out for a day of live music (Ryan Pinnick and Sugar Ball Express will be performing), pet-friendly vendors, and beer. Tropicalia Bistro and Rolling Smoke BBQ will be the food trucks on hand, and part of the Farmhouse Ale proceeds will be donated to the Boston Terrier Rescue Group of Greater Houston. Noon.

14 Pews presents The Tin Drum
Oskar is born in Germany in 1924 with an advanced intellect. Repulsed by the hypocrisy of adults and the irresponsibility of society, he refuses to grow older after his third birthday. Volker Schlöndorff’s visionary 1979 adaptation of Nobel laureate Günter Grass’s acclaimed novel, characterized by surreal imagery, arresting eroticism, and clear-eyed satire, earned the Palme d’Or at Cannes and the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film. 7 pm.

Oluwah Akinyemi presents Death, Love, & Meditation
Nigerian-born Houston artist Oluwah Akinyemi will be the latest artist showing off his work at MythoFutuRiddim this weekend. But he'll also be doing a live set sharing the influences and inspirations behind his latest project, which he calls "an original soundtrack of the existential conflicts and victories of humanity." The artist talk will also include the presentation of favorites from previous projects "Phases" and "Vitality." 7 pm.

Sunday, July 31

BuffBrew 11th Annual X-Mas in July
It's time to break out the ugly X-Mas tanks and get this X-Mas in July party started. Join the herd on the third-floor rooftop for Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company's annual mid-year, holiday spectacular. A rooftop ticket includes access to try icy cold treats and special release brews to beat the heat, your own, very merry commemorative glass, a sleighin' live DJ, winter-wonderland photo ops, and more. Noon.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents "Materials of Empire: Colonial Narratives 1700-1860" closing day
This is the last day for this exhibition, which explores objects from the Rienzi Collection that shed light on the links between Europe, Africa, the Americas, and India—- objects that reveal as well as conceal, and places them within the context of entangled legacies and experiences of empire. Exploration, war, scientific expeditions, and religious missions feature prominently in the history of Europe, and these factors fueled an age of discovery in which ships transported explorers, merchants, and migrants from Europe to far-reaching destinations. 12:30 pm.

A.R. Rahman in concert
A two-time Academy Award winner and five-time nominee, A.R. Rahman is mostly known as the man who has redefined contemporary Indian music. Rahman has sold more than 150 million copies of his work, comprising of music from more than 100 film soundtracks and albums across over half a dozen languages, including landmark scores such as Roja, Bombay, Dil Se, Taal, Lagaan, Vandemataram, Jodhaa Akbar, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, and countless more. 7 pm.

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Movie Review

Timothée Chalamet cements star status in new movie Marty Supreme

Courtesy

Timothée Chalamet

In a time when true movie stars seem to be going extinct, Timothée Chalamet has emerged as an exception to the rule. Since 2021 he has headlined blockbusters like the two Dune movies and Wonka, and also earned an Oscar nomination for playing Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown (his second nomination following 2018’s Call Me By Your Name). Now, he’s almost assured to get his third nomination for the stellar new film, Marty Supreme.

Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a world-class table tennis player living in New York. But reducing Marty to his best skill doesn’t do him justice, as he’s also a motormouth schemer who will do almost anything to achieve his dreams. He doesn’t have any qualms about wooing married women like neighbor Rachel (Odessa A’zion) or actress Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), or hiding his true ping pong skills to win money in scams with friends like Wally (Tyler the Creator).

Marty is seemingly on the go the entire movie, whether it’s trying to convince Kay’s millionaire husband Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary) to fund his table tennis ambitions; or trying to track down the dog of Ezra (Abel Ferrara), a man he accidentally injures; or trying to avoid the ire of the boss at the shoe store where he works. Just when you think he might slow down, he’s off to the races on another plan or adventure.

Directed by Josh Safdie and written by Safdie and frequent co-writer Ronald Bronstein, the film is an almost continuous blast of pure energy for 2 ½ hours. So many different things happen over the course of the film that the story defies conventional narratives, and yet the throughline of Marty keeps everything tightly connected. His particular type of brash behavior turns much of the film into a comedy as he does and says things that are both shocking and thrilling.

Another thing that makes the movie sing is the fantastic characterization by Safdie and Bronstein. Almost every person who is given a speaking line in the film has a moment where they pop, which speaks to airtight dialogue that the writers have created. Characters will be introduced and then disappear for long stretches of time, and yet because they make such an impression the first time they’re on screen, it’s easy to pick up their thread right away.

Safdie, as he’s done previously with brother Bennie (Uncut Gems), calls on a host of well-known non-actors or people with interesting faces/vibes to inhabit supporting roles, and to a person they are crucial to the film’s success. O’Leary (of Shark Tank fame), rapper Tyler the Creator, director Ferrara, magician Penn Jillette, and fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi each deliver knockout performances. The relative unknowns who play smaller roles are just as impressive, making each beat of the film feel naturalistic.

Leading the way is the powerhouse performance by Chalamet. For one person to believably play both the famously reserved Dylan and also a firecracker like Marty is astonishing, and this role cements Chalamet’s status as his generation’s movie star. A’zion is a rising star who gets great moments as Marty’s on-again/off-again love interest. Paltrow pops in and out of the film, lighting up the screen every time she appears. Fran Drescher as Marty’s mom and Sandra Bernhard as a neighbor also pay dividends in small roles.

Josh Safdie’s first solo directorial effort is unlike any other movie this year, or maybe even this century. Thanks to its breakneck storytelling, a magnificent performance by Chalamet, and countless intangibles that Safdie employs expertly, the film smacks viewers in the face repeatedly and demands that they come back for more.

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Marty Supreme opens in theaters on December 25.

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