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    weekend event planner

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

    Craig Lindsey
    Nov 21, 2018 | 12:52 pm
    August Greene
    Supergroup August Greene hits Houston this weekend.
    Photo courtesy of August Greene

    This is a slim calendar this week, mainly because everybody will mostly be at home for Thanksgiving weekend, probably too full to leave the house. (For some, the longest trip will be to the fridge for leftovers.) Nevertheless, there are still some worthwhile things that'll be happening, for those venturing past the Frigidaire.

    Thursday, November 22

    69th Annual H-E-B Thanksgiving Day Parade
    Of course, before the eating commences, folks will line up downtown for the annual, Thanksgiving Day Parade. It all started in 1949, when Santa Claus — or some pudgy guy who looks like him — arrived at Union Houston and rode his sleigh to the downtown Foley's (remember that store?) Now in its 69th year, it's a definite tradition around these parts. So, do your damnedest to get there early for a good spot! 9 am.

    It's Santa Photo Time at Katy Mills
    Katy Mills is getting ready for the holiday season. Holiday hours will be extended for the mall this weekend, with its Black Friday shenanigans kicking off at 6 am. But this weekend also welcomes good' ol Santa Claus — or some portly dude who looks like him — to the shopping center. St. Nick will be available to take photos with families, children with special needs and even your freakin' dog! 6 pm.

    H-Town Thanksgiving
    Local hip-hop heads who who are done eating this Thanksgiving can head over to White Oak Music Hall. That's where a top-notch, Houston rap show will be taking place later that evening. Space City hip-hop's best of the best will all be onstage: Z-Ro, Slim Thug, Paul Wall, Lil Keke, Lil Flip, and Yung Martez. In all likelihood, this show will be just as plentiful and satisfying as the big-ass meal you just ate. 8 pm.

    Friday, November 23

    Flea at Silver Street presents Black Friday Holiday Market
    Chances are, the day after Thanksgiving, department stores, malls and spots like Best Buy and Wal-Mart will be littered with crazy people, hellbent on getting some Black Friday deals. Flea at Silver Street has its own, annual Black Friday extravaganza, but it lasts for the entire weekend and we're sure it won't be just as insane. Guests can visit 100 booths of handmade, vintage, original art, home decor, food, and more inside a 20,000 square warehouse. 10 am.

    War'Hous and Super Happy Incredible Toys present DC vs. Marvel Art Show
    With grumpy old men like Bill Maher going on about how comic books are really nothing but kids' stuff, people need to be reminded just how inspiring and influential comic-book art can be. So, here comes this event, which will have various artists showing and selling DC/Marvel-inspired artwork. There will also be a vendor market, cosplay contests and giveaways from Super Happy Incredible Toys. 6 pm (noon Saturday and Sunday).

    Saturday, November 24

    Saturday Morning Bake Sale with Wayne Mueller
    At Fluff Bake Bar's regular Saturday-morning bake sale, studly restauranteur Wayne Mueller of Louie Mueller Barbecue will be there to rock people's worlds with his fabulous, smoky meats. His signature showstopper is beef ribs on a freshly-baked croissant. While we're still waiting for Mueller to bring a Louie Mueller Barbecue around our parts (he spoke to us about it last year), we'll take this special appearance — along with all the meat he can grill up.

    August Greene in concert
    If you've never heard the name August Greene, you've most likely heard of the men who are in this hip-hop supergroup. First off, there's Oscar-winning, conscious-rapper extraordinaire Common. Then, we have jazz pianist, producer, and hometown boy made good Robert Glasper. Rounding things out is drummer Karriem Riggins, who has also produced good tunes for artists. They'll be in town promoting their debut album, which dropped earlier this year. 7:30 pm.

    Trill Sweater Party: Post Malone vs. Travis Scott
    If you're still on a high from attending last week's inaugural AstroWorld Festival, the House of Blues will have a night of music from that show's two biggest draws — fest creator Travis Scott and Post Malone — and you can show up wearing trill (and tacky) attire. Maybe this event, which also benefits Toys for Tots, will also have tons of Chick-Fil-A, since Scott surprised Malone with that when he performed here last week. 7:30 pm.

    Sunday, November 25

    Cafe Poetes presents Le Petit Marché de Paris
    If you're feeling in the mood for some French stuff this holiday weekend, may we direct you to what contemporary, Parisian-style cafe Cafe Poetes will be doing. It's partnering with Music Doing Good for a one-day, holiday artisan market called Le Petit Marché de Paris. There will be plenty of items on hand, including handmade shoes by Atelier Aliénor, active apparel by Elastique Athletics, jewelry from Morgana, arts and crafts from Mona Loves Gustav, and more. 1 pm.

    Pieces of April at Alamo Drafthouse LaCenterra
    We're kinda surprised Pieces of April hasn't turned into one of those offbeat holiday movies that start getting heavy replays on cable this time of year. This 2003 film stars Katie Holmes as a boho, Lower East Side gal who invites her heavily dysfunctional family (Patricia Clarkson got an Oscar nom for her role as the breast cancer-suffering mom) to her apartment for Thanksgiving. Go see this movie if you want to get away from your fam for a bit. 3:30 pm.

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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.

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