weekend event planner

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

Sip and stroll at Brenner’s on the Bayou’s annual fall wine fest.

Photo courtesy of Brenner's on the Bayou

This weekend sees the triumphant return of The FOMO Factory, and at Alamo Drafthouse LaCenterra, the trendy multiplex is launching a new film festival: Graveyard Fest.

Starting on Thursday, this four-day fest will feature a slew of horror-themed flicks (just in time for Halloween!), including classic chillers (David Cronenberg's Rabid), much-buzzed-about thrillers (Knives and Skin) and, for opening night, a "Twinkie Feast" screening of Zombieland: Double Tap.

Of course, there's plenty more fun on tap for this weekend.

Thursday, October 17

Are You Smarter Than a Breakthrough Student! at Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Education program Breakthrough Houston is looking for folks to test their knowledge in a quiz bowl, with questions taken from Breakthrough’s middle school curriculum. Gow Media CEO, David Gow, and Carla Dawson — the hosts of The Boss and The Gloss show — will serve as quizmasters for the evening.

This features three rounds of trivia, with the top two tables competing against a table of Breakthrough 8th graders for the prize. Guests will enjoy an Oktoberfest menu from the Saint Arnold kitchen, plus plenty of beer and wine. 6-9 pm.

13th Floor Media and Influencer Night Houston
The outfit known as 13th Floor is out here ready to freak people out with this media and influencer night. VIPs will gain access to the main haunt, an axe-throwing class from Sister Axe Throwing Company, escape areas, and a VIP lounge and bar area, sponsored by Devil's River Whiskey. Cameras, cell phones, and other devices will not be permitted inside the haunt without previous coordination. Photography will be welcome outside on the surrounding premises. 7:30 pm.

Friday, October 18

Fandemic Tour on NRG Center
Fandemic is officially upon us, and let us rattle off the stars that'll be at this three-day event: Sebastian Stan, Milo Ventimiglia, The Phelps Twins, Sean Astin, Jon Bernthal, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Tom Hopper, a Buffy reunion, stars from Game of Thrones, The Umbrella Academy, and more. It's an entertainment extravaganza celebrating all things pop culture, gathering celebrities, artists, illustrators, professional and amateur cosplayers, vendors, and exhibitors with programming and panel discussions. 3 pm (10 am Friday and Saturday).

The Network's Annual Erotic Ball at Cle Houston
The Network's Erotic Ball is here for those freaky-sneaky Houstonians who want to get all hanky-spanky for an evening. Now in its tenth year, the ball is a two-night event that embraces all that is adult-oriented, but with a classy and upscale twist. Attendees can enjoy live music, DJs, erotic performers, exotic dancers and wild sideshows, and partake in playful interactive fun. 9 pm (10 pm Saturday).

Saturday, October 19

Brenner's on the Bayou Wine Festival
Wine aficionados are invited to stop and smell the rosé at Brenner’s on the Bayou’s annual fall wine fest. Guests will be able to sip on the exquisite collection from 18 exclusive wineries (J. Lohr Vineyards, Premium Ports, Francis Ford Coppola Winery, and more) and stroll around the scenic grounds.

Live music comes courtesy of the new Blue Bar, and several of Landry’s chefs will be on-hand to prepare and share signature light bites from seven of Houston’s top restaurants to pair with these exceptional wines. 3 pm.

Halloween Edition Silent Disco at 40 Below
The recently revamped underground “Premium Experience” lounge and bar known as 40 Below (located under Revention Music Center) will have a special edition Silent Disco this weekend.

It's Halloween-themed, which means there will be themed drink specials and games and a costume contest with contest-ticket prize packages. Of course, once you get your pair of Quiet Events headphones, you'll get to hear six local DJ’s spinning a mix of EDM, hip-hop, Latin, Top 40, and more. 9 pm.

Sunday, October 20

Cigna Sunday Streets at Spring Branch
This month, Cigna Sunday Streets will be ib Spring Branch, on Mathewson Lane between Gessner Road and Conrad Sauer Drive and Conrad Sauer Drive between Mathewson Lane and Westview Drive. It's also home to the new Conrad Sauer Detention Basin and pedestrian walking trails.

There will be two new additions – the first 250 attendees will receive $10 food vouchers to use with participating vendors and an area for people to try the Instagram-worthy Goat Yoga (yoga practiced in the presence of — and in tandem with — live goats). Noon-4 pm.

Experience Hendrix at Revention Music Center
Now in its second decade, Experience Hendrix celebrates the musical genius of Jimi Hendrix by bringing together a diverse array of extraordinary musicians, ranging from Joe Satriani to Buddy Guy, as well as Jonny Lang, Dweezil Zappa, Eric Johnson, and many others. Billy Cox, bassist for both the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys, anchors the rhythm section. 8 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Dakota Fanning-led The Sun Never Sets needs more direction

Photo courtesy of Independent Film Company

Dakota Fanning in The Sun Never Sets.

The movies of writer/director Joe Swanberg have always been an acquired taste, as he prefers to give his actors a loose framework of a story and let them improvise most of their lines to give the films a more natural feel. Sometimes that approach can yield great results, and sometimes — as in The Sun Never Sets — it can result in addled and maddening storytelling.

Wendy (Dakota Fanning) is in her early 30s and at a crossroads in her life. When a friend announces she’s pregnant, she starts to re-evaluate what she wants, including her two-year relationship with the older Jack (Jake Johnson). Although they love each other, their disagreements on having more children and extracurricular activities call their long-term viability into question.

Jack, not wanting Wendy to settle, encourages her to explore her options where they live — Anchorage, Alaska — telling her he’ll be waiting should she strike out. What he doesn’t expect is that Wendy’s ex-boyfriend, Chuck (Cory Michael Smith), has returned to the city, giving her an attractive alternative. The three engage in a love triangle that proves frustrating and confusing for both the participants and the viewers.

What works best about the film is its location in Alaska, which rarely gets showcased in movies, and even more rarely in the way it is here. The story takes place in warmer months, and Swanberg gives his characters multiple opportunities to be outside, showing off Anchorage’s harbor, surrounding mountains, and seemingly vibrant city life. The subtle but effective way Swanberg frames various scenes makes the landscape enormously appealing.

It’s too bad, then, that the story never measures up to its surroundings. Too often Fanning, Johnson, Smith, and others seem to be grasping for their next line, unsure of what they want their character to do or say next. That lets their scenes mimic real conversations, but you might not realize how much you want scripted dialogue until you see actors trying to come up with their own in the moment.

The larger issue is that there’s no consistency from scene to scene about where the plot is heading. The characters of Wendy, Jack, and Chuck are extremely wishy-washy about their desires, with each of them vacillating back-and-forth in just how much they want to be with each other. Depending on your experience, this may or may not be true to life, but watching it is excruciating and not enjoyable or romantic in the slightest.

As actors, Fanning, Johnson, and Smith are talented and interesting, with each capable of connecting with viewers in different ways. But working in improvisation is a different beast, and only Johnson — who has worked with Swanberg multiple times — seems truly at home. A few others, like Debby Ryan and Anna Konkle, do well in the format and maybe deserved bigger parts.

Swanberg has proven in the past that his method of filmmaking can be insightful and entertaining, but that is not the case here. In The Sun Never Sets, his hands-off approach is a detriment to the flow of the film and the story as a whole, resulting in an experience that is far from what most viewers will want to go through.

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The Sun Never Sets is now playing in select theaters.

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