weekend event planner

Here are the top 12 things to do in Houston this weekend

Millions of Lego bricks make for cuddly animals at Bricklive Houston: Animal Paradise.

Photo courtesy of Brick Live Group Limited

This weekend, baseball fans will be rallying around the Houston Astros as the team looks to close out the series against the Boston Red Sox either Friday or Saturday.

But before and after the games, plenty of happenings are vying for your attention. Look for a limited-edition bourbon party, a night at the symphony, a bike trip around Galveston Bay, cuddly animals made of Lego bricks, or a celebration of chocolate — perfect for Sunday Funday.

Here are your best bests for the weekend.

Thursday, October 21

Bayou & Bottle Bourbon Release Party
This exclusive event will debut Bayou & Bottle’s four-and-a-half-year-old single barrel, picked in partnership with Garrison Brothers master distiller Donnis Todd and Four Seasons Hotel Houston team Tom Segesta (general manager) and Michael Rodriguez (director of food and beverage). This limited, single-barrel release yielded a total of 48 bottles, so bourbon lovers beware. If you would like to taste this creation, this is the only place it will be featured this year. 5 pm.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston presents 33rd Annual Great Futures Dinner
The Great Futures Dinner is the premier annual fundraiser of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston. Included in the festive evening will be the silent and live auctions, the Big Board, pre-event cocktails, a seated dinner and entertainment provided by BGCGH Youth. All proceeds benefit programs of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston to ensure that all Club members are on track for success and great futures. 5:30 pm.

Sicardi | Ayers | Bacino presents Liz Cohen: "The Poet" opening reception
Sicardi | Ayers | Bacino presents the gallery's first solo exhibition for contemporary artist Liz Cohen. Cohen's constructivist installation Him features photographs, collages, weavings, and masks that grew out of the collaborative research project and 12-hour improvisational performative environment produced by the artist in collaboration with her friend Eric Crosley, a poet who began a failed gender reassignment surgery 20 years ago, which "explores the constantly shifting definitions of 'self' of both artist (Cohen) and subject (Crosley)." On display through Saturday, December 18. 6 pm.

Friday, October 22

Bricklive Houston: Animal Paradise
Bricklive Houston: Animal Paradise is Houston's first and only animal safari paradise that will feature animals made out of more than a million bricks. As guests explore the imaginary plains, they'll see an array of life-size, brick-built animals, including breeds of alligators, dolphins, elephants, pandas, giraffes, rhinos, lions, tigers, bears, and more. Through Friday, December 31. 11 am.

Alley Theatre presents 72 Miles to Go…
The play follows one family over a decade as they come of age, fall in love, fight in wars, and fight for each other, against the backdrop of deportation, DACA, and changing immigration laws. The gripping family drama by Hilary Bettis returns to the Alley following development in the 2019 Alley All New Festival and its world premiere Off-Broadway at Roundabout Theatre Company. Through Sunday, November 14. 8 pm (2 and 8 pm Saturday; 2:30 and 7:30 pm Sunday).

Houston Symphony presents Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony
Houston Symphony presents Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony, where audiences will be transported to a world of ancient ruins and windswept Highland beauty, inspired by the composer’s trip to the British Isles. Acclaimed British conductor Jane Glover leads these performances, which also feature music of Ethel Smyth, and Prokofiev’s effervescent Symphony No. 1. Plus, principal bassoon Rian Craypo shines in Variations on an Arietta by Pergolesi. The Saturday performance will be available to livestream. 8 pm (2:30 pm Sunday).

Saturday, October 23

Galveston Bay Foundation presents Bike Around the Bay
Galveston Bay Foundation, a non-profit conservation organization that works to preserve and enhance Galveston Bay as a healthy and productive place for generations to come, will highlight the natural beauty of Galveston Bay during this fully supported, two-day, 175-mile ride. This unique cycling event takes riders in a complete loop around the largest and most productive estuary in Texas. A one-day, 97-mile option is also available. 9 am.

Daughters of the British Empire presents 47th Annual British Bazaar
Over at Arabia Shrine Center Ballroom, this British Bazaar celebrates all things British. Local Anglophiles will enjoy performances from the Houston Highlanders Pipe Band, traditional British food, a pub lunch and afternoon tea service, along with several British-themed vendors. There will also be a raffle featuring 75 door prizes. 10 am.

Levy Park presents the Prelude Concert Series
Families with young children are invited to sing and dance as Levy Park presents this concert series, sponsored by Primrose School at Greenway Plaza and Primrose School of Upper Kirby. For 45 minutes, babies, toddlers, preschoolers and their grown-ups can join in live music classes with a curriculum aimed at nurturing creativity, self-expression and the development of children through a variety of musical styles. 4:30 pm.

Sunday, October 24

The Women’s Fund for Health Education and Resiliency presents 11th Annual Rockin’ Resiliency Luncheon
The Women’s Fund for Health Education and Resiliency, along with Luncheon co-chairs Lara Bell and Aliza Dutt, and honorary chair Edna Meyer-Nelson, will present the 11th Annual Rockin’ Resiliency Luncheon. The afternoon will feature Olympic medalist and world champion boxer Marlen Esparza as the keynote speaker, a silent auction, a baubles and bubbles champagne raffle, and more. 11:30 am.

Emery Entertainment presents An Evening with C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien
An Evening with C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien is a play set in Oxford’s Eagle & Child pub. Aging and legendary authors Tolkien and his great friend Lewis meet for what turns out to be the very last time. They were lions of 20th century British fantasy, giants of a literary genre that reached millions of readers, young and old alike, with mystifying adventures to entertain and deep truths to move people’s hearts. 2 pm.

Cosmic Creature Events presents Melt My Heart: A Celebration of Chocolate
Melt My Heart will feature a special selection of chocolates all made by Cosmic Creature Events, one of Houston’s very own bean-to-bar chocolate makers. A ticket will include a chocolate merch bag, two signature chocolate bars, a sample pack of chocolate tea (five-count package), stickers, BOGO coupon, and access to the chocolate fountain buffet. 3 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Fawning Michael Jackson biopic Michael ignores the singer's complexities

Photo by Glen Wilson

Jaafar Jackson in Michael.

Michael Jackson remains among the most complicated figures in pop culture history. On one hand, he’s responsible for some of the most enduring music of all time, thrilling generations with his voice and dance moves. But his later years were marred by accusations of child sexual abuse and erratic behavior, including his premature death at the age of 50.

So the new biopic Michael is a tough one to judge from a critical standpoint, not least because director Antoine Fuqua and writer John Logan have elided — perhaps temporarily — the thornier parts of Michael’s history. Instead, this film focuses on the 20-year period in which Michael (played as an adult by Michael’s nephew Jaafar Jackson) goes from the prepubescent lead singer of the Jackson 5 to one of the biggest music superstars of all time.

That choice puts an overly sympathetic tint to Michael’s story, as he spends most of that time under the thumb of his domineering father, Joseph (Colman Domingo). Joseph has a vision for Michael and his brothers, and he pushes them hard in a quest to become rich and famous. Even when they achieve that goal, though, Joseph refuses to let up, holding onto Michael even when it’s clear he should go out on his own.

As a reminder of the enormous impact Michael Jackson had on the music industry and world at large, the film is successful. Fuqua and Logan include plenty of music, naturally, but they seem to be most interested in depicting Michael as a human being. They lay it on thick, whether it’s showing him spending time among his family members away from the stage, hanging out with bodyguard Bill Bray (KeiLyn Durrel Jones), or visiting sick kids in hospitals. The message that Michael is a harmless, good person couldn’t be clearer.

The film hints at but doesn’t really explore Michael’s oddities. His obsession with kids literature and movies, especially Peter Pan, are seen as inoffensive quirks, as is his menagerie of animals, including a creepy CGI version of Bubbles the chimp. His arrested development seems to be partially blamed on his parents treating him like a child well into his adulthood, and the resulting fallout is not (yet) addressed.

Many viewers will be most interested in the music sequences, and — save for some repetitive shots of fans fainting at the mere presence of Michael — they are handled well. Whether it’s at home, in the studio, on the set of the “Thriller” video, or at live performances, the film manages to fully get across just what a phenomenon Michael was at his peak. The staging and editing of each scene is dynamic, complementing Michael’s other-worldly abilities well.

If there is one reason to see the film, it is the performance of Jaafar Jackson. Whether he’s capable of doing any other kind of role is undetermined, but his portrayal of his uncle is compelling, as he demonstrates singing, dancing, and acting skills in equal measure. He’s aided by an equally great performance by Domingo, who — with the help of facial prosthetics — overcomes the trope of the bad father. Nia Long and Larenz Tate are also good in smaller roles, but Miles Teller is an odd presence as Michael’s manager.

There are reports that legal complications prevented the filmmakers from using previously-shot scenes delving into accusations against Michael, and there are rumors that a second film will be made about the last 20 years of his life. But that speculation can’t absolve Michael of showing all the positive aspects of Michael Jackson’s life and not even touching any of the negative ones.

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Michael opens in theaters on April 24.

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