weekend event planner

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

Stroll and shop the Heights Mercantile Farmers Market on Sunday.

Photo courtesy of Zulu Creative

Film buffs: In case you haven’t heard, QFest, Houston’s one-and-only LGBTQ+ film festival, will be going virtual this year. From Thursday through Monday, the fest will show six competition feature films, three special feature presentations and various shorts.

Elsewhere, look for some cool art shows, fun flicks at the drive-in, virtual opera, and the first anniversary of a local farmer's market. Here are your best picks for the weekend.

Thursday, September 24

Evolution by Design: Virtual Art & Interior Design Show with Artist Bari Jenks
Artist Bari Jenks has gotten together with Angela Lee (of Evolution by Design) for this virtual art and interior design show. Viewers will have the opportunity to get a first look at Jenks' artwork (available for purchase online), as well as take away a few interior design tips, such as how to design a space around an original art piece, how to use art to personalize a room, how to successfully combine an original piece with stock images, and more. 6:30 pm.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston presents The Great Futures Dinner
The 32nd annual Great Futures Dinner supporting Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston (BGCGH) will be going virtual this year. It will be an evening of celebration and inspiration, as they honor Phillips 66 and The George Foundation for their partnerships with BGCGH. So don your finest stay-at-home gala attire, prepare your snacks, libations, and other tasty things and tune in from the comfort of your own home. 7 pm.

Friday, September 25

Houston Grand Opera presents HGO Digital: Studio Showcase
For those looking to dip their toe in the wonderful world of opera, the Houston Grand Opera will be giving people the opportunity to do so with this virtual event. Young artists (aka tomorrow’s opera stars) have been selected to train in the prestigious HGO Studio, as they perform a variety of scenes from legendary operas (yes, Georges Bizet’s Carmen will make an appearance!) at their new home, the Wortham Theater Center. 7:30 pm.

Guardians of the Galaxy and Batman Returns at the Drive-In at Sawyer Yards
Friday is National Comic Book Day, and the Drive-In at Sawyer Yards will be celebrating with a double feature. First off, we head over to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the outer-space avengers known as Guardians of the Galaxy. After that, go all the way to the early ’90s for Batman Returns, the sequel to Tim Burton’s iconic Batman, where Michael Keaton goes toe-to-toe with Danny DeVito’s Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman. 7:45 pm.

Saturday, September 26

Voter Registration Event at La Grange
Yeah, people need to go and register to vote now more than ever, and La Grange is making sure that happens with this booze-filled event. Drink and dining specials will include $2 blue margaritas, $20 red margaritas and a brand-new menu item, called the Birria Tacos, for $7.50 (originally, they’re $8.50 — but they’re taking a dollar off!). Hopefully, all these items will lure in people who have yet to register, so they can finally be prepared on Election Day. 5 pm.

Amy C. Evans: coronavirus crazy quilt exhibit at Koelsch Gallery
Houston-based artist Amy C. Evans is an artist who apparently has a thing for the comforting joys of food. For her latest work, she has created a COVID-inspired quilt covered with food items. She will debut that new work this weekend, along with signing copies of A Good Meal is Hard to Find: Storied Recipes from the Deep South, a cookbook which she co-authored with Martha Hall Foose. On display through Thursday, October 15. 5 pm.

Sunday, September 27

Donate Life Texas 2nd Chance Run
In light of you know, the pandemic, the 2nd Chance Run is going virtual this year. Hundreds of transplant recipients, donor family members, healthcare professionals and donation advocates will support the nearly 11,000 Texans waiting for a second chance. Participants will run in memory of an organ/tissue donor, to honor a transplant recipient or as a sign of support for an individual. Transplant recipients and living donors also will participate. 7 am.

Heights Mercantile Farmers Market 1st Anniversary Celebration
Heights Mercantile Farmers Market will celebrate its first anniversary with a socially distanced, open-air celebration to support over 40 local farmers, ranchers, chefs, bakers, and community organizations. The anniversary celebration features a dunking booth, giving shoppers an opportunity to support a local charity. DJ Chaney will be spinning tunes from the roof of his retro-themed party van, The Chaney Machine. 9 am.

event-planner

Movie Review

Masters of the Universe reboot mistakes nostalgia for good filmmaking

Photo courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios

Nicholas Galitzine in Masters of the Universe.

Most children who grew up in the '80s were either a fan of or knew about Masters of the Universe. The property, based on a line of toys from Mattel, spawned a popular-if-short-lived animated TV series, comic books, a comic strip, magazines, and a 1987 live action film starring Dolph Lundgren. It is now the latest IP to get a nostalgic reboot in the form of a new blockbuster film.

Nicholas Galitzine stars as Prince Adam of the planet Eternia, who as a child is exiled to Earth to protect the Sword of Power from invaders led by the evil Skeletor (voiced by Jared Leto). Years later, Adam is now working in the human resources department of a generic company, well-versed in corporate speak but disconnected from his heritage other than a never-ending desire to find the sword he lost when he crash-landed on Earth.

Spoiler alert, he recovers the sword and is soon thereafter rescued from Earth by childhood friend Teela (Camila Mendes). Adam’s return to Eternia is less-than-stellar, as the citizens have difficulty believing he’s the long-lost prince, especially because he initially can’t harness the power of the sword. Naturally, he figures it out eventually, leading to a number of face-offs between him and Skeletor’s minions.

Directed by Travis Knight (Bumblebee) and written by a four-person writing team, the film is yet another cynical attempt at exploiting a certain group’s nostalgia without putting any effort into actually making a good movie. The very first scene of the film is a CGI-filled battle between characters that have barely been introduced, much less explained to the audience. For longtime fans, this will be no issue. For everyone else, though, it immediately signals that the filmmakers don’t care about making them care about anyone or anything in the story.

Instead, they substitute actual character development with a campy and self-deprecating vibe that’s in line with the original series. That’s all well and good if the intended audience was solely 50-year-olds, but for a movie that presumably wants to bring in younger audiences, it’s a choice that never fully comes through. Some characters try to be funnier than others, and most of the “jokes” land with a thud since the tone hasn’t been properly established.

Worst of all, there are never any meaningful stakes in the film. Adam is impervious to damage, something that would have been truly funny if commented upon, but instead is just treated as fact for no good reason. Skeletor is not intended to be a fearsome villain, as he often bumbles through scenes or line deliveries, but the lack of a truly terrible enemy keeps the story stuck in neutral. Combined with bloodless PG-13 fight scenes with no sense of realness to them, there is rarely anything about which to get excited.

Galitzine has turned heads as both a gay (Red, White & Royal Blue) and straight (The Idea of You) romantic interest, but he can never find his footing as the leading man here. The film never allows him to develop into a true action hero, so instead he comes across as a pretender most of the time. Mendes is okay, but she, too, isn’t given the opportunity to become much more than a sidekick. Idris Elba is entirely wasted as Teela’s father Duncan. Leto lets loose, which works because he’s the only character without a recognizable face.

There may be a world in which rebooting Masters of the Universe makes sense, but it does not exist when the film that is offered doesn’t even try to appeal to anyone who doesn’t have a deeply ingrained knowledge of the decades-old property. By relying on nostalgia instead of good filmmaking, the film may get good box office returns on opening weekend, but it’s difficult to imagine that it will endure.

---

Masters of the Universe opens in theaters on June 5.

movies film

weekend event planner

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

Houston pizza chef sets opening date for retro-inspired neighborhood joint

Vibrant Mexican food stand opens new restaurant near downtown

Houston's street-style halal favorite takes over 3 former Halal Guys

Movie Review

Masters of the Universe reboot mistakes nostalgia for good filmmaking