weekend event planner

Here are the top 12 things to do in Houston this weekend

Celebrate all the floofers at Doggy Party on the Plaza.

Photo courtesy of Doggy Party on the Plaza

With these fresh fall temps getting no higher than around 84 the entire weekend, it's a great time to be out and about doing virtually anything.

Perfect timing, then, for an outdoor tailgating contest, a massive dog party on the plaza, and a massive food festival featuring some top-tier chefs.

Enjoy the weather, H-Town. Here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, September 23

The Houston Seminar presents A House and a Home: Reckoning with Racial Disparity in Property Ownership
For the next three Thursdays, this virtual event will have guest speakers helping viewers understand the legacy and cost of land inequality and why it matters to all of us. First out the gate will be Andrea Roberts, an urban planner who researches intentional communities built by Black people. Her experience in community development under Houston mayors Bill White and Annise Parker inform her efforts to move disappearing African-American communities—facing sprawl, gentrification and resource extraction—from the margin to the center of public discourse. 5:30 pm.

Asia Society Texas presents After the Fall: Ben Rhodes on the Rise of Nationalism Across the Globe
Ben Rhodes, national security expert and former White House aide to President Barack Obama, will discuss his new book, which focuses on the rise of nationalism around the globe, with a particular look at Asia. Informed by his travels around the globe, meeting with politicians, activists and dissidents confronting the same nationalism and authoritarianism experienced recently in the United States, Rhodes will share lessons the U.S. should learn in addressing nationalism’s root causes and effects. 6 pm.

Echoes of DeLuxe Art Show
A key part of the legacy of the DeLuxe Art Show (which happened 50 years ago) is the continued practice and expansion of Black modernism, breaking from forms and inventing new ones. These themes are represented in the program for this virtual, two-night event, including the documentary Time, directed by Garrett Bradley, the daughter of DeLuxe Art show curator Peter Bradley; and Stefani Saintonge’s F*cked Like A Star, part of a free virtual program with three short films representing 5th Ward, Black Invention, and Modernism. 7:30 pm.

Friday, September 24

Manhattan Short Film Festival
The 24th Annual Manhattan Short Film Festival is a worldwide event taking place in over 400 venues across six continents, the only event of its kind. Going down locally this Friday and Saturday at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Brown Auditorium Theater, the final 10 films screen simultaneously across the world during a one-week period, with the Best Film and Best Actor awards determined by ballots cast by the audiences in each participating venue. By virtue of their selection by Manhattan Short, each short film is automatically Oscar-qualified. 7 pm.

Social Movement Contemporary Dance presents Power to the People
Through three world premieres, this live performance embodies the freedom from external control or influence. "The Culture" takes ownership of the now-global, hip-hop phenomenon through expression of hip-hop’s five pillars — breakdancing, MCing, DJing, graffiti and knowledge. In "Autonomy," artistic director Elijah Alhadji Gibson celebrates the strength, power and perseverance of all women, through a series of solos. To close the show, "We The People" conveys his observations of what happens when people’s daily lives are interrupted by the world's harsh realities and they begin to demand change. 7:30 pm.

Houston Symphony presents The Artistry of Augustin Hadelich
Amazing artistry and exciting new discoveries are all in store in these concerts, featuring Grammy Award-winning violinist Augustin Hadelich. The concerts begin with Bach’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe, spotlighting principal oboe Jonathan Fischer. Then, Hadelich performs Shostakovich’s Sonata for Violin, Percussion and Strings and the Prelude from Bach’s Partita No. 2. To close, Hadelich shares a concerto by Joseph Boulogne, the son of a slave who went on to become one of the most important violinists in Paris. The Saturday performance will be available to livestream. 8 pm (2:30 pm Sunday).

Saturday, September 25

Bobcat Teddy's 1st Annual Tailgating Competition
If you love Bobcat Teddy's cook-offs, then you'll love this new competition, benefitting the Southern Smoke Foundation. Teams will be battling it out for the best tailgating team in town. First place will win $500, while second place will receive a $250 gift card to Texas Star Grill Shop. Come out for a fun-filled day of college football, taste some great grub, and watch your favorite teams compete. $7 will allow all patrons to taste and vote on their favorite tailgate team. Represent your alma mater, company, or yourself. Noon.

Houston PetTalk Magazine presents Doggy Party on the Plaza
This annual, fun-filled family day includes loads of activities, raffles, vendor sales, games, contests, and the Annual Doggy Party “Rescue Me” Parade. The event will feature shopping, food, games, artists, face painting, and more. Make sure you and your pooch come dressed to impress for this year’s Doggie Costume Contest — with prizes from Kendra Scott. Guests can rub noses with celebrity guests, get their photo taken in the free pet photo booth, have their face painted, enter giveaways for fabulous prizes, and more. Noon.

ROCO in concert: Bursting at the Seams
Conducted by ROCO’s artistic partner Mei-Ann Chen, this will feature the world premiere of the first movement of Maxime Goulet’s Ice Storm Symphony, Turmoil, telling the story of Canada’s historic, devastating 1998 ice storm, and also features the world premiere of Marcus Maroney’s OK, Goodbye. for flute, viola d’amore and chamber orchestra, inspired by the melting of the Icelandic Okjökull glacier, and highlighting soloists Matt Dane and Christina Jennings. Michael Abels’ Delights & Dances and Domenico Cimarosa’s “Il Maestro di Cappella” Overture complete the program. There will also be a ROCO surprise. 5 pm.

Sunday, September 26

Chef Fest
Houston foodies, assemble. Chef Fest will feature nine Houston chefs (including chefs from Lucille’s Hospitality Group, Tatemo, The Sporting Club, etc.) who will showcase their passion and creativity around local produce while simultaneously raising awareness and proceeds for the Houston Food System Collaborative. Guests will wash down the day's bites with craft cocktails, local beer, and Texas wine while also immersing themselves in add-on tasting and family-friendly cooking experiences. 11 am.

Main Street Theater presents Darwin in Malibu
Malibu, California. The present. One hundred and twenty years after his death, Charles Darwin (aka “the Devil’s Chaplain”) is hanging out at a beach house overlooking the Pacific with a girl young enough to be his daughter. His peace is rudely disrupted when his old friend Thomas Huxley (“the Devil’s Disciple”) washes up on the beach, closely followed by the Bishop of Oxford, Samuel Wilberforce. These three find themselves entangled in an enthralling and thought-provoking comedy about God and science. Running through Sunday, October 24. 3 pm.

Daryl Hall & John Oates in concert with Squeeze and KT Tunstall
“Private Eyes,” “Rich Girl,” “Sara Smile,” “One on One,” “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” — we could honestly spend this entire blurb listing all the classic hits from the legendary Philadelphia duo, the bluest of blue-eyed soul singers. Here are two men who spent most of their careers making sure their invitation to the cookout is always open. Check them out this weekend, where you know they’ll hit you with “She’s Gone,” “Kiss on My List,” “Everytime You Go Away,” and all the faves. 7 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Supergirl fails to take flight in a movie weighed down by grief

Photo courtesy of DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures

Milly Alcock in Supergirl.

Last year's Superman reboot brought a renewed sense of optimism for, if not the concept of the comic book movie, then at least the DC Comics universe. After more than a decade of DC films that felt mostly creatively bankrupt, the leadership of James Gunn gave the story a sense of fun. That included the brief introduction of Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, who’s now getting her own showcase in, naturally, Supergirl.

When we first met her in Superman, Supergirl was in rough shape, arriving at the Fortress of Solitude visibly inebriated. Nothing has changed at the beginning of this film, save for her aimlessly traveling around the universe with her rambunctious dog, Krypto. One of her random stops puts her in the same bar as Ruthye (Eve Ridley), who is looking for help tracking down Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) and a group known as the Brigands after they brutally murdered her family.

Kara is initially loath to offer aid, but when Krem shoots a poison dart into Krypto while escaping, her motivation goes way up, especially since Krem holds the antidote. Kara, with Ruthye doggedly following her, uses every means available to her to find Krem, a journey that is hampered by galaxies having different colored suns than the one that gives her powers, the yellow sun.

Directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Ana Nogueira, the film is a big step back in the fun category, not least because Supergirl is deep in her feelings for much of the film. Her personal trauma, which is detailed in occasional flashbacks, gives a reason for her depression, but fails to land fully. The story seems to want everyone to be sad, as it includes a child trafficking ring and multiple instances of families being murdered.

Milly Alcock and Krypto in Supergirl.Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

To try to counteract that downer material, the filmmakers give Supergirl many opportunities to show off her fighting skills. While still CGI-heavy, the action scenes contain enough of a semblance of reality that they feel exciting. Unfortunately, this is undercut by the inclusion of several slow-motion sequences, giving the impression that the filmmakers didn’t trust the actors to deliver the goods on a consistent basis.

Superman (David Corenswet) makes a handful of appearances in the film, and while his presence is welcome given how well the character came across in the previous movie, it also doesn’t allow Supergirl to become her own person. Almost everything she does is colored by either her cousin or her parents, and since her powers are identical to those of Superman, there is very little that makes her story unique aside from how she’s dealing with the fallout.

Alcock (House of the Dragon, Sirens) gives an appealing performance despite her character being drunk and/or moody most of the time. She definitely sells what Supergirl is going through, so if given a better story in a future film, she’s proven her capability. Schoenaerts makes for a pretty good villain, although he’s aided by a look that includes a face full of studs. Jason Momoa has a memorable supporting role as the bounty hunter Lobo, even if his character doesn’t add much to the story.

While not a full-on disaster, Supergirl does not continue the momentum that Superman started. With a story that’s more concerned with showing audiences death scenes than a hero saving people, the film doesn’t seem to understand the appeal of a character like Supergirl or how to make her someone audiences will return to over and over again.

---

Supergirl is now playing in theaters.

movies film