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    Weekend events calendar

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

    Eric Sandler
    Clifford Pugh
    Oct 25, 2017 | 1:19 pm

    It's that time of the year, so it's no surprise that this edition of the weekend's top events has a Halloween theme. But, in between trick-or-treat partygoing and watching the Astros and Dodgers go head-to-head in the World Series at Minute Maid Park, there are also some musical acts, food events, and festivals you won't want to miss.

    For more options, check out the full CultureMap Events Calendar. And we've also compiled a list of top Halloween parties and crawls, which you can access here.

    Death by Chocolate
    Thursday, October 26

    The Morales Funeral Home is the place for chocoholics at the 4th Annual Death by Chocolate Dessert Party. Among the delicacies: A chocolate fountain, chocolate martinis, and a wide variety of chocolates and desserts provided by Michael’s Cookie Jar, Village Bakery, and other sweet shops, as well as lite bites from El Tiempo and El Burro & the Bull. Other activities include a silent auction, music, Day of the Dead face painting, and a coffin photo booth — all to benefit SER-Jobs for Progress Hurricane Relief Fund. (6-9 pm; tickets: $45)
    2901 Canal Street

    Musical Trick-or-Treat
    Thursday, October 26
    River Oaks Chamber Orchestra hosts a progressive salon at the Heritage Society at Sam Houston Park. Small groups will travel to four homes on the historic property to hear a short piece by one ROCO musician at each location. It'll be music to your ears. (Reception at 5:30 pm, tour at 6:30 pm; tickets: $45)
    1110 Bagby St.; 713-655-1912

    Original Zombies
    Friday, October 27 through Sunday, October 29
    The godfather of all zombie movies, Night of the Living Dead, will be shown all weekend at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in a restored print, scanned from the original camera negative and supervised by its director George Romero. His first feature remains a landmark of the modern horror film and has gained a huge cult following. (9 pm Friday and Saturday, 2 pm Sunday; tickets: $7-$9)
    1001 Bissonnet; 713-639-7300

    Psycho Music
    Friday, October 27
    View the Hitchcock masterpiece, including Janet Leigh's infamous shower scene, at Jones Hall as the Houston Symphony performs Bernard Herrmann’s iconic, bone-chilling score to Psycho in its entirety, under the direction of conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong. Feel free to scream. (7:30 pm; tickets: $35-$125)
    615 Louisiana St.; 713-227-3974

    Get Lucky
    Friday, October 27

    Celebrate Asian cuisine at the LUCKYRICE festival. Hosted by Top Chef and James Beard Award winner Paul Qui, this event at The Astorian features bites from 13 top restaurants including Aqui, Uchi, Underbelly, Ramen Tatsu-ya, and Mala Sichuan Bistro paired with beer and cocktails. Proceeds will benefit the Houston Food Bank. (7 pm for VIP, 8-10 pm for General Admission; tickets: $88-$150)
    2500 Summer St.

    All-American Road Show
    Friday, October 27
    Country star Chris Stapleton brings his all-American Road Show to the Cynthia Mitchell Woods Pavilion, with special guests Marty Stuart and and Brent Cobb. Expect hits from Stapleton's album, From a Room: Volume 1, his first new music since 2015’s breakthrough double-platinum solo debut, Traveller. (7 pm; tickets: $44-$104+)
    2005 Lake Robbins Dr., The Woodlands; 281-363-3300

    Over the Hump
    Saturday, October 28
    Why travel to Cairo, when you can esperience a touch of Egypt in Houston? The second annual Egyptian Festival at Discovery Green includes camel rides, belly dancing performances and lessons, local singer Jabour Balka and other entertainers, with imported Egyptian papyrus, art and merchandise, as well as Middle Eastern delicacies for sale. Proceeds benefit Crime-Stoppers of Houston, St. Jude’s, Soaring Kidz, Houston PetSet, and Friends of Egyptian Children with Cancer. (11 am - 9 pm; tickets: $10 adults, children 12 and under free)
    1500 McKinney St.; 713-400-7336

    Skate On
    Saturday, October 28
    Rescheduled from February due to renovation of the Lee & Joe Jamail Skatepark, Skatestock V features the opportunity to mingle with skateboarding legends, hear live music from four great bands, view mural art, and bid on art-designed skaters' helmets in a silent auction. All Houston skaters in need will receive a free helmet, while supplies last. An after-party will take place from 7 - 10 pm at 8th Wonder Brewery. (1-5 pm; free)
    103 Sabine St.; 281-658-4762

    Day of the Dead Celebration
    Saturday, October 28 and Sunday, October 29
    Get an early start on the popular celebration at the 18th Annual Day of the Dead Festival with performances by MECA Ballet Folklorico, MECA Mariachi, Bayou City Swing, Prema Bhat, Solero Flamenco, Grupo Guemilere, Danza Acteca Taxcayolotl, and more. (11 am - 7 pm; free)
    1900 Kane St.; 713-802-9370

    Shuck Off
    Sunday, October 29

    CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year winner State of Grace will celebrate its second anniversary with live music and an oyster shucking contest featuring Houston chefs such as Graham Laborde (Killen's Restaurants), Ryan Lachaine (Riel), and Erin Smith Feges (Feges BBQ). Attendees can snack on oysters and bites from the kitchen while sipping on drink specials from the cash bar. (4-7 pm; tickets: $35)
    3258 Westheimer Rd.; 832-942-5080

    Skatestock V rolls at Lee & Joe Jamail Skatepark on Saturday afternoon.

    Skatestock V
    Photo courtesy of MRZ
    Skatestock V rolls at Lee & Joe Jamail Skatepark on Saturday afternoon.
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    Movie Review

    Meta-comedy remake Anaconda coils itself into an unfunny mess

    Alex Bentley
    Dec 26, 2025 | 2:30 pm
    Jack Black and Paul Rudd in Anaconda
    Photo by Matt Grace
    Jack Black and Paul Rudd in Anaconda.

    In Hollywood’s never-ending quest to take advantage of existing intellectual property, seemingly no older movie is off limits, even if the original was not well-regarded. That’s certainly the case with 1997’s Anaconda, which is best known for being a lesser entry on the filmography of Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez, as well as some horrendous accent work by Jon Voight.

    The idea behind the new meta-sequel Anaconda is arguably a good one. Four friends — Doug (Jack Black), Griff (Paul Rudd), Claire (Thandiwe Newton), and Kenny (Steve Zahn) — who made homemade movies when they were teenagers decide to remake Anaconda on a shoestring budget. Egged on by Griff, an actor who can’t catch a break, the four of them pull together enough money to fly down to Brazil, hire a boat, and film a script written by Doug.

    Naturally, almost nothing goes as planned in the Amazon, including losing their trained snake and running headlong into a criminal enterprise. Soon enough, everything else takes second place to the presence of a giant anaconda that is stalking them and anyone else who crosses its path.

    Written and directed by Tom Gormican, with help from co-writer Kevin Etten, the film is designed to be an outrageous comedy peppered with laugh-out-loud moments that cover up the fact that there’s really no story. That would be all well and good … if anything the film had to offer was truly funny. Only a few scenes elicit any honest laughter, and so instead the audience is fed half-baked jokes, a story with no focus, and actors who ham it up to get any kind of reaction.

    The biggest problem is that the meta-ness of the film goes too far. None of the core four characters possess any interesting traits, and their blandness is transferred over to the actors playing them. And so even as they face some harrowing situations or ones that could be funny, it’s difficult to care about anything they do since the filmmakers never make the basic effort of making the audience care about them.

    It’s weird to say in a movie called Anaconda, but it becomes much too focused on the snake in the second half of the film. If the goal is to be a straight-up comedy, then everything up to and including the snake attacks should be serving that objective. But most of the time the attacks are either random or moments when the characters are already scared, and so any humor that could be mined all but disappears.

    Black and Rudd are comedy all-stars who can typically be counted on to elevate even subpar material. That’s not the case here, as each only scores on a few occasions, with Black’s physicality being the funniest thing in the movie. Newton is not a good fit with this type of movie, and she isn’t done any favors by some seriously bad wigs. Zahn used to be the go-to guy for funny sidekicks, but he brings little to the table in this role.

    Any attempt at rebooting/remaking an old piece of IP should make a concerted effort to differentiate itself from the original, and in that way, the new Anaconda succeeds. Unfortunately, that’s its only success, as the filmmakers can never find the right balance to turn it into the bawdy comedy they seemed to want.

    ---

    Anaconda is now playing in theaters.

    moviesfilm
    news/entertainment

    most read posts

    French pastry chef picks Houston for U.S. debut and more top stories

    Houston restaurant vet serves up Roman-style eatery in the Hill Country

    Trader Joe's sets Cypress opening date, confirms Bellaire plans

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