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.

event-planner barbecue celebrities

Movie review

Messy Frankenstein movie The Bride! stitches camp and confusion

Photo by Niko Tavernise

Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley in The Bride!.

The story of Dr. Frankenstein and his monster is now over 200 years old, with Mary Shelley’s book having been adapted or referenced in close to 500 films. Less common is the character of The Bride of Frankenstein, which existed in the original text but has more often than not been excised in adaptations. Writer/director Maggie Gyllenhaal has tried to rectify that by giving the character a big showcase in her new film, The Bride!.

Gyllenhaal has reimagined the story as one in which a woman named Ida (Jessie Buckley) becomes possessed by the spirit of Shelley (also Buckley). At the same time, the already-existing Frankenstein’s monster (Christian Bale) approaches Dr. Euphronius (Annette Bening), who specializes in reanimation, with the request to make him a wife. When Ida falls to her death in an “accident” involving her boyfriend (John Magaro), the ideal corpse becomes available.

After Ida’s resurrection, she and the monster become restless being studied by Dr. Euphronius and decide to break out to experience the world. The world, naturally, is not exactly welcoming to them, and soon the couple are on the run for causing mayhem, including a few murders. In hot pursuit are detective Jake Wiles (Peter Sarsgaard) and his assistant, Myrna Mallow (Penélope Cruz), as well as other authorities.

It’s clear that Gyllenhaal wanted to merge the Frankenstein story with Bonnie & Clyde, especially since she sets the film in the mid-1930s. And that wouldn’t have been a bad idea if having the monster and The Bride going on a crime spree was truly the focus of the movie. But most of the time there’s less intentionality in their misdeeds and more confusion, leading to a muddled plot with no clear direction or end goal in mind.

One of the biggest problems is that Gyllenhaal starts the energy of the film at an 11, giving her and everyone else nowhere to go but down. She dabbles in multiple different tones, at times going the straight drama route and other times making what seems like full-on camp. At one point, she even has the monster and the Bride in a dance sequence set to “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” which would be hilarious as an homage to Young Frankenstein if the film weren’t so disjointed.

Most baffling of all is what Gyllenhaal wants from The Bride character. She morphs multiple times over the course of the film, from close to unintelligible at the beginning to rough-and-tumble at the end. There are hints at the lack of control she has over her autonomy, including Shelley’s possession of her and the monster lying to her about her past, but any commentary that Gyllenhaal might be trying to make gets lost amid the oddity of the film as a whole.

Both Buckley and Bale are all-in for their performances, which definitely fall in the “love it or hate it” dichotomy. Each scene is pitched so high that there’s little nuance to either of them, and neither is on par with their previous Oscar-caliber roles. The high-powered supporting cast of Bening, Sarsgaard, Cruz, and Jake Gyllenhaal is watchable based on previous roles, but none of them elevate this particular movie.

Whatever intentions Maggie Gyllenhaal had in making The Bride! are only halfway legible in a film that can never find its tonal footing. There has rarely been subtlety in movies featuring Frankenstein’s monster and related characters, but this one makes all the others seem like stuffy dramas in comparison.

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The Bride! is now playing in theaters.

movies film maggie gyllenhaal annette bening christian bale jessie buckley peter sarsgaard penélope cruz movie review