weekend event planner

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

Sunday Funday comes courtesy of Second Sunday Revival at Market Square Park.

Photo by Morris Malakoff

Thursday is the International Day of Charity. So, if you've been looking to donate to a charity or nonprofit, or do some volunteer work, Houston has many charities you can help out.

As for the weekend, look for a divine drag show, a Spice Girls tribute, and a vintage market. Here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, September 5

Katya: Help Me I'm Dying at Cullen Performance Hall
Fans of RuPaul's Drag Race know that Katya Zamolodchikova is a prominent figure on that show. The drag goddess (aka Brian McCook) was a contestant on the seventh season, as well as the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. It turns out that Katya will be in town for a wild evening of entertainment. Known for doing funny personas and characters (including everybody’s favorite dumpster-living hairdresser Trish), her show promises to be one hilarious night. 8 pm.

Spice Girls Rad City Tribute at Present Company
On the first Thursday of every month, Present Company's Rad City Thursdays (organized by One Night Stand Events, the men behind RTB Event Group) will pay tribute to different iconic artists and moments in their career. (Selena and Madonna will be later this year.) First up, the Spice Girls and their 1996 debut album Spice will be saluted. Come dressed as you are, in Spice Girl glamour or any '90s attire, as DJ Fredster will be jamming all of the '90s guilty pleasures and many more hidden gems. 9 pm to 2 am.

Friday, September 6

Eric Roberson at Henke & Pillot
Eric Roberson is one of the most independent R&B artists out there. For nearly two decades, the man has been dropping music on his own label, Blue Erro Soul, collaborating with such artists as Lalah Hathaway, Marsha Ambrosius and rapper/singer Phonte. He also tours frequently, hitting spots here and abroad. He's currently on tour celebrating the 10th anniversary release of Music Fan First, his sixth studio album. The album was made as a reward to his fans and as a personal reminder that, he too, is a fan of music first. 7-11 pm.

Giselle at Wortham Theater Center
In 1967, Giselle was the first full-length ballet performed by Houston Ballet Foundation, and Houston Ballet is fittingly bringing it back to kick off the 50th anniversary season. Artistic Director Stanton Welch’s version of this iconic ballet has 61 company dancers vying for coveted roles in a production that cost more than $1 million to build. The two-act ballet is filled with stunning creations by Italian designer Roberta Guidi di Bagno, and the music will be brought to life by the Houston Ballet Orchestra. 7 pm (7:30 pm Saturday; 2 pm Sunday).

Saturday, September 7

Zine Fest Houston 2019: Zine Cuisine at Lawndale Art Center
Zine Fest Houston is upon us, and this year brings a culinary theme. This annual event of zine exhibitors in Houston will have two spaces — project and classroom — where you can learn such things as community food and civic activism, youth zine-making, and crafting culinary dyes. There will also be a screening of the short film Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers. Featured food vendors this year include Moon Rooster Food Truck and Somos Semillas Vegan Kitchen. Noon to 6 pm.

Game Theory Expo 2019 at Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake Hotel
Get ready for two days of exciting tabletop gaming, featured guests, panel discussions, local game masters, and company-sponsored, demo groups events at this gathering. (A Friday-night preview begins at 8 pm, kicking off 24-hour gaming for weekend badge holders.) This expo is out to promote tabletop gaming in all its diversity through hosting of local game conventions. And this year’s featured charity is Gnosis Project, which provides economic benefits to partner museums. 9 pm.

Sunday, September 8

Second Sunday Revival: Vintage Vida at Market Square Park
Downtown District closes out its monthly, Second Sunday Revival series this weekend, and they're going out with a vintage bang. For this one, Vida Antigua Vintage and Yoko Vintage present Got Vintage Market, the ultimate retro market. DJ MLE will provide the music as event-goers sip and shop in the all-day shopping extravaganza. OLI.Style will also present a fashion show featuring fabulous vintage looks. Lots of other fun activities will be happening throughout the day. Noon to 5 pm.

BERT at 14 Pews
Bert Long Jr. was a Houston artist who was known as one of the art world's most compelling, creative, and talented artists. In this documentary, director (and Houston Museum of African-American Culture CEO) John Guess tells Long's story, beginning from the cotton fields of Crabb Switch, Texas, and ending up in Rome and Spain. Long's quest for success becomes that of the quintessential American. After this screening, Guess and art chronicler Peter Gershon will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A. 3-4:30 pm.

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Movie Review

Onslaught's brutal mix of horror, action, comedy can't find its footing

Photo courtesy of A24

Adria Arjona in Onslaught.

The most important thing for any movie to establish early on is its tone. No matter the genre, a film needs to make its audience understand how they should feel as the story unfolds so that they’re willing to go along with whatever transpires on screen. A film that doesn't do that, such as the new Onslaught, runs the risk of failing to connect with viewers even if it has some interesting or fun elements to offer.

One of the biggest issues for the movie is that it fails to fully invest in its main character, Celeste (Adriana Arjona). She’s a military veteran who now lives in and manages a desert trailer park, which is filled with a motley crew of offbeat people. She also has a contentious relationship with her ex, who unexpectedly drops off their daughter, Daisy (Blake Kennedy), soon after the film begins.

Celeste has a stash of high-powered weapons, showing she hasn’t left her former career fully behind. Her expertise comes in handy when something goes wrong at a nearby military contractor facility run by Hans Kemmler (Dan Stevens), and a trio of super soldiers escapes into the wild. Trained to kill everyone in their path, it’s not long before they set their glowing eyes on the trailer park.

Directed by Adam Wingard and written by Simon Barrett, the film has elements of horror, action, and comedy, but the filmmakers struggle in finding the right combination of the three. Wingard and Barrett divide the film’s focus between the trailer park and the military facility for a long time at the beginning of the film, and the quirkiness of people at the former mixed with the bold weirdness of the people at the latter keep viewers off balance in a bad way.

Once they finally settle into the main part of the story where the super soldiers go on a rampage, the filmmakers overpromise and underdeliver. The showdown between a seemingly unstoppable group and an angry woman and her band of misfits seems destined to be highly entertaining, but comes off as underwhelming. The sequence is filled with brutality with no meaning and heroics that feel more accidental than purposeful.

The ham-fisted way in which the story plays out is disappointing since the film has a bunch of characters who could have been great if used properly. The trauma of Celeste’s military career and personal life are hinted at, but don’t come into play as much as expected. Hans and his wife Hanna (Rebecca Hall) are completely off-the-wall, but their eccentricities seem to be apropos of nothing. The super soldiers are initially intimidating, but the climactic sequence undercuts them significantly.

Arjona has yet to fully break out despite some good roles in Hit Man and the Disney+ show Andor. She makes for a good lead here, embodying the toughness of a military veteran while still being relatable. Stevens and Hall go all in with their bonkers characters, but the story doesn’t serve them well. Comic relief comes in the form of Reginald VelJohnson and Eric Wareheim, and they do a great job in smaller roles.

A movie like Onslaught is typically one where the audience just turns off their brains and enjoys the carnage. But Wingard and Barrett try a little too hard by throwing in oddball characters that don’t add much to the story, forgetting to pay enough attention to the mechanics of the plot in the process.

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Onslaught opens in theaters on September 4.

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