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    weekend event planner

    Here are the top 10 things to do in Houston this weekend

    Craig Lindsey
    Sep 25, 2019 | 4:47 pm
    Level: Rooftop Silent Disco
    Turn the beats up (quietly) with Silent Disco.
    Photo courtesy of The Houston Downtown Management District and The Department of Dance

    We are moving on from — and trying to rebuild after — that tropical menace known as Imelda, and it looks like the weather will be kind to us this weekend. As the temps cool, it's time to emerge and enjoy weekend with these fun offerings.

    Thursday, September 26

    Spring Awakening: The Spotlight Series at St. Luke's United Methodist Church
    Theatre Under the Stars is doing a periodic event known as The Spotlight Series. This free event will take you behind the scenes of our productions. You'll also meet the creative team and cast members from the show, as well as experience live performances in an intimate setting. First up is a toned-down version of the Grammy and Tony-winning rock musical Spring Awakening. Watch as they take a different approach with the subject matter, in order to create a safe space both in the rehearsal room and on stage for the actors. 6:30 pm.

    RYDE for a Reason Benefit and Silent Auction at The Astorian
    RYDE prides itself on being a premium, indoor-cycling experience, where participants cycle to "the beat of the music for forty-five minutes while toning your core, back, arms and legs." This weekend, RYDE will throw this event to benefit United Against Human Trafficking. Guests will enjoy live music, a DJ, food from Wolfgang Puck, and more. Following the kickoff party, an indoor cycling event will take place on Saturday, with five cycling classes from 8 am to 2 pm at RYDE. Tickets are $75. 7-11 pm.

    Friday, September 27

    Fall Exhibitions Opening at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
    The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft will be celebrating the opening of two fall exhibitions, OBJECTS: REDUX–How 50 Years Made Craft Contemporary, a seminal exhibition of American craft that debuted at the Smithsonian National Collection of Fine Arts in 1969, and Nathalie Miebach: The Water Line, a solo exhibition by the contemporary basket weaver and sculptor. The evening will also feature open studios by the current resident artists, and beer will be generously provided by Buffalo Bayou. 5:30-8 pm.

    Homemade Hope Home is Where the Heart Is Gala at The Ballroom at Bayou Place
    Homemade Hope, a 501(c)(3) that provides hands-on cooking classes, holiday celebrations and field trips for children living in Houston-area homeless shelters, is throwing this very special gala. Guests will enjoy cocktails, dinner, a live and silent auction, dancing, and more. Former KHOU anchor Lily Jang will be the emcee, and DJ Kalkutta is flying in from NYC to play the event. Tickets prices range from $250 to $20,000. All guests will receive complimentary tickets to the afterparty. 7 pm.

    Nosferatu at Alamo Drafthouse LaCenterra
    Since October and Halloween are around the corner, expect a lot of multiplexes and revival houses to do screenings of Nosferatu, F. W. Murnau's eternally creepy vampire movie from 1922. Alamo Drafthouse in Katy will be the first out of the gate with a screening this weekend, featuring live music from The Invisible Czars. This is actually the first stop on a fall tour, where they will be doing live scores of Nosferatu and The Phantom of the Opera in venues all over the country. (They'll be back here for Phantom in November.) 7:45 pm.

    Saturday, September 28

    Goat Yoga at Armadillo Palace
    Armadillo Palace, Goode Company’s flagship restaurant, has a massive backyard constructed in homage to all things Texas. So, it's the right kind of place for a good ol' goat yoga session. Some 20 baby goats will wander around, nuzzling guests and hopping on some downward dog-posed backs for a spiritual fusion of exercise and nature. Afterwards, sip on the new summer cocktail list or grab lunch with your new goat yoga friends. This class is designed for beginners, but all experience levels are welcome. 10:30 am to noon.

    ScaryDad Horror Convention at Crowne Plaza Houston Galleria
    How did we just find out about the ScaryDad Horror Convention, which is now in its third year? The two-day convention not only has exhibitors, cosplayers, a costume contest, and DIY workshops on turning your house into a haunt, it also features professional Houston-based writers and filmmakers giving panels and workshops on how to write and sell your horror novel or film and how to distribute horror movies. Also, new this year are discussion panels and interactive demonstrations with top-notch programming. 11 am.

    LEVEL: Rooftop Silent Disco at GreenStreet Garage
    In this 21-and-up event, the rooftop of the GreenStreet Garage will transform into downtown Houston’s largest — and quietest — dance floor. People will be given special headphones, which they can use to tune into one of three channels broadcasting music spun live. A selection of local DJs will open, with DJ Charles Feelgood headlining. The evening will also feature immersive art installations from Fifth World Collective, light bites from Umbrella Fellas and an illuminated lounge for partiers to rest with a view of the skyline. 9 pm.

    Sunday, September 29

    CIGNA Sunday Streets at Washington Avenue
    Now in its sixth year, Cigna Sunday Streets continues to spotlight Houston’s most unique neighborhoods around the city with a focus on promoting alternative transportation, supporting neighborhood economies, and creating a sense of community. For this season, the monthly, free, family-friendly event will start off on Washington Avenue between Studemont and Sabine streets, a popular location in the Arts District with some of the city’s hottest dining destinations. Noon to 4 pm.

    Houston Slavic Heritage Festival at North Side Columbus Club / KC Hall
    It's the 56th annual Houston Slavic Heritage Festival, the unique indoor festival which brings the Slavic community together in a celebration rich in heritage, traditions, food, music, dance, and accomplishments through their cuisines (all the kielbasa you can eat!), custom beers, music, and displays. This one-day fest is an amazing opportunity to get together with the Czech, Croatians, Polish, and Ukrainians for one day, in one place and be enveloped by the rich traditions of the Slavs. Noon to 6 pm.

    event-planner
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    Movie Review

    Star TV producer James L. Brooks stumbles with meandering movie Ella McCay

    Alex Bentley
    Dec 12, 2025 | 2:30 pm
    Emma Mackey in Ella McCay
    Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios
    Emma Mackey in Ella McCay.

    The impact that writer/director/producer James L. Brooks has made on Hollywood cannot be understated. The 85-year-old created The Mary Tyler Moore Show, personally won three Oscars for Terms of Endearment, and was one of the driving forces behind The Simpsons, among many other credits. Now, 15 years after his last movie, he’s back in the directing chair with Ella McCay.

    The similarly-named Emma Mackey plays Ella, a 34-year-old lieutenant governor of an unnamed state in 2008 who’s on the verge of becoming governor when Governor Bill (Albert Brooks) gets picked to be a member of the president’s Cabinet. What should be a happy time is sullied by her needy husband, Ryan (Jack Lowden), her agoraphobic brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), and her perpetually-cheating father, Eddie (Woody Harrelson).

    Despite the trio of men competing to bring her down, Ella remains an unapologetic optimist, an attitude bolstered by her aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), her assistant Estelle (Julie Kavner), and her police escort, Trooper Nash (Kumail Nanjiani). The film follows her over a few days as she navigates the perils of governing, the distractions her family brings, and the expectations being thrust upon her by many different people.

    Brooks, who wrote and directed the film, is all over the place with his storytelling. What at first seems to be a straightforward story about Ella and her various issues soon starts meandering into areas that, while related to Ella, don’t make the film better. Prime among them are her brother and father, who are given a relatively small amount of screentime in comparison to the importance they have in her life. This is compounded by a confounding subplot in which Casey tries to win back his girlfriend, Susan (Ayo Edebiri).

    Then there’s the whole political side of the story, which never finds its focus and is stuck in the past. Though it’s never stated explicitly, Ella and Governor Bill appear to be Democrats, especially given a signature program Ella pushes to help mothers in need. But if Brooks was trying to provide an antidote to the current real world politics, he doesn’t succeed, as Ella’s full goals are never clear. He also inexplicably shows her boring her fellow lawmakers to tears, a strange trait to give the person for whom the audience is supposed to be rooting.

    What saves the movie from being an all-out train wreck is the performances of Mackey and Curtis. Mackey, best known for the Netflix show Sex Education, has an assured confidence to her that keeps the character interesting and likable even when the story goes downhill. Curtis, who has tended to go over-the-top with her roles in recent years, tones it down, offering a warm place of comfort for Ella to turn to when she needs it. The two complement each other very well and are the best parts of the movie by far.

    Brooks puts much more effort into his female actors, including Kavner, who, even though she serves as an unnecessary narrator, gets most of the best laugh lines in the film. Harrelson is capable of playing a great cad, but his character here isn’t fleshed out enough. Fearn is super annoying in his role, and Lowden isn’t much better, although that could be mostly due to what his character is called to do. Were it not for the always-great Brooks and Nanjiani, the movie might be devoid of good male performances.

    Brooks has made many great TV shows and movies in his 60+ year career, but Ella McCay is a far cry from his best. The only positive that comes out of it is the boosting of Mackey, who proves herself capable of not only leading a film, but also elevating one that would otherwise be a slog to get through.

    ---

    Ella McCay opens in theaters on December 12.

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