weekend event planner

Here are the top 13 things to do in Houston this weekend

Enjoy the sunshine and a good cause with Saturday's iWalk for Animals.

Photo by Getty Images

Halloween is behind us and people will most likely be celebrating Dia de los Muertos (aka the Day of the Dead) for most of the weekend. But, if you're looking for other non-holiday-themed happenings, here, as always, is our list. Be sure to take advantage of the friendly weather on Saturday.

Thursday, November 1

Chip Gaines stars in The Spirit of Excellence Gala
Chip Gaines, best known as the co-host of HGTV's Fixer Upper (a duty which he shares with his wife Joanna), will be the keynote speaker at a night of raising funds for and awareness of institutional scholarships. Along with Gaines's speech, there will also be a dinner, the presentation of award recipients, and an auction of experiences, such as a private tour and dinner in three University Museums. 6 pm.

Help out fire-damaged Presidio with Ladybird's pop-up feast
Last weekend, Heights restaurant Presidio was damaged by a fire. In an effort to raise some funds for the employees, sister bar Ladybird's will be holding a pop-up event featuring Presidio's favorite bar bites. What's on the menu? Look for 16-month-aged prosciutto San Daniele, pastured chicken wings, hydroponic bibb salad, coriander-spiced pork ribs, grilled backyard burger, cinnamon crumble coffee cake, and five leches cake. 6:30 pm.

Slurp down oysters for a good cause with Oysters, Brews and Blues
It's oyster season, which means there will be events around the area where you'll be fully able to get your shuck on. Goode Co. Armadillo Palace will be having an oyster-themed event which will also benefit the Coastal Conservation Association's Building Conservation Trust oyster reef building project. There will be plenty of oysters and oyster dishes, as well as live, Texas Gulf Coast roots music from The Mighty Orq. 6:30-9 pm.

Friday, November 2

Enjoy art and the outdoors with the Art @ Discovery Green festival
It's that time again for Discovery Green to throw its third annual Art @ Discovery Green festival. This outdoor fine art and contemporary craft market will feature more than 60 vendors from across the United States. This year’s featured artist is the iconic Houston street artist GONZO247, who will be on-site selling his studio work. The Orange Show will also be around to provide craft activities for all ages. 6-10 pm (10 am-6 pm Saturday; 10 am-5 pm Sunday).

Indulge in a collection of Luchino Visconti films
A two-week retrospective on the films of Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti (aptly titled "Discovering the Passionate Films of Luchino Visconti") kicks off this weekend with a rare, 35mm screening of Bellissima. This 1951 film stars the late, great Italian actress Anna Magnani as a stage mother who gets an education on how the business works. Other films in this program include White Nights, Death in Venice, and historical epic The Leopard. 7 pm (5 pm Sunday).

Dine with the animals at The Houston Zoo's Feast with the Beasts
Now in its thirteenth year, the Houston Zoo's Feast with the Beasts celebration continues to be an event where people can do just that: take in food, beer, and wine while also taking in the fantastic creatures the zoo has on display. Sixty of Houston's finest restaurants will supply the grub, while the zoo will also provide special animal presentations and feedings as well as a live performance by Everclear. 7 pm.

Saturday, November 3

Walk with heart at the 2018 Houston Heart Walk
Believe it or not, you can actually get healthy by just spending most of your days walking. Those of you who are scared off by exercise can just spend 30 minutes to an hour every day just strolling around your neighborhood, and you'll be surprised how slimmer and fitter you'll feel. You can also take part in the 2018 Houston Heart Walk this weekend, where Houstonians will be able to walk to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. 7:30 am.

Memorial Park goes mutty with iWalk for Animals
Saturday's weather already promises to be divine. Perfect time to grab your pooch and head to Memorial Park for the Houston SPCA's 2018 iWalk for Animals. This is a walk and festival that benefits the Houston SPCA's lifesaving programs like adoptions, cruelty investigations, 24-hour injured animal rescue ambulance, foster care, and more. Expect exciting demonstrations, live music, and pet-related vendors. Don't miss the Best Costume and Best Trick contests. 8 am-11:30 am.

Shake it at Latin dance collective Bombon's anniversary celebration
Bombon will be celebrating its eighth anniversary. What's Bombon, you ask? It's a collective of Latin DJs and musicians who integrate traditional Latin vibes with booming basslines and a dash of H-Town's deep-purple aura to make "screwmbia" — aka their signature sound. Since they'll be turning eight(or, as the Latinos like to refer to the number, ocho), Bombon will throw a huge party, right after they're given a Proclamation Day by Mayor Turner. 9 pm-2 am.

Yeah, baby! Alamo Drafthouse LaCenterra presents Austin Powers
It might be hard to convince people these days that Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery is a funny movie. With all the bad impressions of Mike Myers's swinging-spy protagonist we've been bombarded with over the years (not the mention the two, mediocre sequels this movie begat), it's understandable how people who haven't seen it might think it was junk. But, even after 21 years, Austin Powers is still a silly, shagadelic experience. 7:30 pm.

Get lit at the Ann & Stephen Kaufman Jewish Book & Arts Festival
This weekend marks the kickoff of the two-week, 46th annual Ann & Stephen Kaufman Jewish Book & Arts Festival, where wall-to-wall, Jewish authors will be speaking/reading/signing. The first author up on opening night is Nell Scovell, a legendary TV writer (The Simpsons and Late Night with David Letterman are a couple of her credits) who'll be promoting her book, Just the Funny Parts:…And a Few Hard Truths About Sneaking into the Hollywood Boys’ Club. 8 pm.

Sunday, November 4

It's fun and dance in Rice Village with Cigna Sunday Streets
Rice Village will be the latest spot for the monthly, Cigna Sunday Streets series to do its business. For this celebration of health and community, booths and activities will be set up throughout Rice Village inviting the community to get up and be active with family and friends. As for Cigna's booth, it will host several family-friendly activities, such as a photo booth, wellness-themed games, and dance exercises. Noon-4 pm.

Rock out with Karbach Brewing at the Foamhenge 2018 festival
When you have a name like Foamhenge, you know we have to give you a shout-out in this column. Karbach Brewing Company's rock festival has some good bands for its second-annual lineup. Australian hard-rock group Wolfmother headlines the festivities, with April Wine, Red Fang, The Sweet, and Texas Flood rounding out the bill. And, of course, there will be beer. (Our personal fave is Rodeo Clown Double IPA.) 1:30 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

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

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Ella McCay opens in theaters on December 12.

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