weekend event planner

Here are the top 9 things to do in Houston this weekend

Southern Smoke Rodney Scott Jonathan Jones

Don't miss Southern Smoke, the food event of the season.

Photo by © Michelle Watson/Catchlightgroup.com

It's National Coffee Day on Saturday, September 29, which means that there will be many spots around Houston giving people sweet deals on java. The Grove will offer half-off, French press pots, served with homemade biscotti, while McDonald's will hook you up with a free breakfast sandwich with the purchase of a medium McCafe drink.

But the real buzz this weekend is all the food events, especially Sunday's Southern Smoke — the hottest Houston food and barbecue festival of the fall. Read on to find out about this one-of-a-kind event that brings the best food talent from around the country to H-Town. As CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler notes, this event promises "a pure appreciation of the best chefs and pitmasters. It's a damn good time." Sold.

That's one way to heat up your weekend. But here are other things happening that'll hopefully get you amped.

Thursday, September 27

Chow down at the 34th Annual Caesar Salad Competition
Caesar salad gets a bad rap. Sure, it's just Romaine lettuce, croutons, shredded Parmesan, and that all-important Caesar dressing. But if you mix that stuff just right (and maybe throw in some chicken strips), you'll have a delicious, healthy meal. Twenty of the area's top chefs will compete to see who can toss the perfect Caesar salad. Be on the lookout for celebrity judge and CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler. 5:30 pm.

David and Michael Cordua's new YUM DMC pop-up dinner series
As of August, David and Michael Cordua, the father-and-son chefs of the Cordua Restaurants group, are no longer part of that company. They are starting fresh with their latest venture, a pop-up dinner series called YUM DMC. Their first one is a five-course dinner that will consist of doughnut holes made with chicken liver mousse and smoked paprika, baklava lamb ribs, sugar cane-filled shrimp, and other goodies. 6:30 pm.

Friday, September 28

Get wowed by master magician/illusionist Eric Jones
Award-winning magician/illusionist Eric Jones will be doing a three-day stint at iPic Houston. This man has traveled far and wide to blow people's minds. He's done TV appearances in 19 countries, has performed for celebs, and was a semifinalist on America's Got Talent. But, try, try, try, to understand, he's a magic man. 6 pm (6 pm and 9 pm Saturday and 1 pm Sunday).

An intimate performance with Zo! and Carmen Rodgers
His name is Lorenzo Ferguson, but Zo! is what they call him. The ever-versatile multi-instrumentalist is a longtime member of the Grammy-nominated, alt-R&B group The Foreign Exchange, but he's also done some wonderful solo joints. This weekend, he and vocalist/longtime collaborator Carmen Rodgers (Dallas's own) will be doing a "Piano and a Microphone" performance. 7-11:30 pm.

Saturday, September 29

Let your dog run amok at Bark in the Park
If you have a dog, you know those darling doggos crave the outdoors. (Evidenced by how when you open up the door to the backyard, they fly out like a dart.) If you're a parent to one of those extroverted critters, Washington on the Brazos will be opening up its state park for a day of free, pet-related activities — but they still gotta be on a leash. 8 am-5 pm.

It's game on at the GTEX 2018 Tabletop Gaming Convention
Tabletop gaming is still a thing, and all those old-school gamers here in H-Town will have a chance to indulge in their favorite pastime by attending this inaugural convention, held on the grounds of the Johnson Space Center. All the proceeds from the Star Wars: Destiny and X-Wing tournaments will go the Peter Mayhew Foundation. (Yes, the man who occupies the Chewbacca suit has his own charity.) 9 am-11 pm.

Sunday, September 30

Try your hand at a cool Mah Jong tournament
Considering how big of a box-office hit Crazy Rich Asians has become, we're shocked Mah Jongg, the ancient, Chinese tile game that several characters play during the movie, hasn't turned into a craze that's sweeping the nation. Nevertheless, if you're interested in playing the game, the Houston Gulf Coast chapter of the JDRF will be hosting a benefit tournament. 8:45 am-3:30 pm.

Wine and dine at this festive wine-pairing event
Camerata at Paulie's continues to be our favorite place to go, sip on a nice glass of wine and get a taste of another culture in the process. This weekend, the spot is teaming up with Cuchara Restaurant for a wine-pairing event. At this one, you can get wine with the Chiles en Nogada, which consists of the colors of the Mexican flag and is considered to be Mexico's national dish. 4-8 pm.

America's food superstars gather to heat up Southern Smoke
No other Houston food event brings this kind of culinary talent from around the nation. Local food star Chris Shepherd's fundraiser for Multiple Sclerosis will feature white-hot names such as James Beard Award-winning chefs Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue in Austin and Ryan Prewitt of Peche Seafood Grill in New Orleans. Other stars include Daniela Soto-Innes, a New York James Beard Award winner (who got her start in Houston), and Phoenix's Chris Bianco, who's hailed as one of the world's best pizza makers. Simply put, if there's one food event to hit this season, this is it. Line up early for the barbecue and cuisine, and come hungry. 4 pm-8pm.

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Movie Review

Avatar: Fire and Ash returns to Pandora with big action and bold visuals

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Oona Chaplin in Avatar: Fire and Ash.

For a series whose first two films made over $5 billion combined worldwide, Avatar has a curious lack of widespread cultural impact. The films seem to exist in a sort of vacuum, popping up for their run in theaters and then almost as quickly disappearing from the larger movie landscape. The third of five planned movies, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is finally being released three years after its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water.

The new film finds the main duo, human-turned-Na’vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his native Na’vi wife, Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), still living with the water-loving Metkayina clan led by Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis). While Jake and Neytiri still play a big part, the focus shifts significantly to their two surviving children, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), as well as two they’ve essentially adopted, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and Spider (Jack Champion).

Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who lives on in a fabricated Na’vi body, is still looking for revenge on Jake, and he finds help in the form of the Mangkwan Clan (aka the Ash People), led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). Quaritch’s access to human weapons and the Mangkwan’s desire for more power on the moon known as Pandora make them a nice match, and they team up to try to dominate the other tribes.

Aside from the story, the main point of making the films for writer/director James Cameron is showing off his considerable technical filmmaking prowess, and that is on full display right from the start. The characters zoom around both the air and sea on various creatures with which they’ve bonded, providing Cameron and his team with plenty of opportunities to put the audience right there with them. Cameron’s preferred viewing method of 3D makes the experience even more immersive, even if the high frame rate he uses makes some scenes look too realistic for their own good.

The story, as it has been in the first two films, is a mixed bag. Cameron and co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver start off well, having Jake, Neytiri, and their kids continue mourning the death of Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) in the previous film. The struggle for power provides an interesting setup, but Cameron and his team seem to drag out the conflict for much too long. This is the longest Avatar film yet, and you really start to feel it in the back half as the filmmakers add on a bunch of unnecessary elements.

Worse than the elongated story, though, is the hackneyed dialogue that Cameron, Jaffa, and Silver have come up with. Almost every main character is forced to spout lines that diminish the importance of the events around them. The writers seemingly couldn’t resist trying to throw in jokes despite them clashing with the tone of the scenes in which they’re said. Combined with the somewhat goofy nature of the Na’vi themselves (not to mention talking whales), the eye-rolling words detract from any excitement or emotion the story builds up.

A pre-movie behind-the-scenes short film shows how the actors act out every scene in performance capture suits, lending an authenticity to their performances. Still, some performers are better than others, with Saldaña, Worthington, and Lang standing out. It’s more than a little weird having Weaver play a 14-year-old girl, but it works relatively well. Those who actually get to show their real faces are collectively fine, but none of them elevate the film overall.

There are undoubtedly some Avatar superfans for which Fire and Ash will move the larger story forward in significant ways. For anyone else, though, the film is a demonstration of both the good and bad sides of Cameron. As he’s proven for 40 years, his visuals are (almost) beyond reproach, but the lack of a story that sticks with you long after you’ve left the theater keeps the film from being truly memorable.

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Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in theaters on December 19.

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