Globe-trotting television host Samantha Brown returns to Houston in Season 5 of her Emmy winning PBS series Samantha Brown’s Places to Love. Focused exclusively on domestic destinations, the Bayou City will be featured in the fourth of the season's eight episodes.
“Traveling again to shoot Season 5 as people were emerging from social isolation truly reinforced for me the meaning of travel and our deep need for it, a journey for me that was as personal and joyful as I hope it will be for viewers," Brown said in a statement. “This season it was important to me to introduce my audience to the people who are changing and enriching each destination, and connect with them in the places they love and call home.”
Filmed in July, Brown blitzes through a number of locations across Houston. Viewers will watch her dine at Kenny & Ziggy's and Blood Bros. BBQ. She tours NASA with astronaut Dr. Anna Lee Fisher, the first mother in space.
Other destinations include island-themed bar White Rhino, the Fourth Ward's historic Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, and the stunning BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir. The episode ends on a lighthearted note as Brown goes rollerskating with Kam Franklin, lead singer of popular Houston band The Suffers.
Previously, Brown visited Houston during season one of Places to Love. That episode featured a cooking segment with James Beard Award winner Hugo Ortega and a performance by The Suffers.
Season 5 begins in Ashville, North Carolina and continues with stops in Cape May, New Jersey; New York’s Genesee River Valley; Louisville, Kentucky; Colorado Springs, Colorado; San Antonio, and Boston. Episode four is scheduled for January 29, but viewers should check local listings to confirm.
In a time when true movie stars seem to be going extinct, Timothée Chalamet has emerged as an exception to the rule. Since 2021 he has headlined blockbusters like the two Dune movies and Wonka, and also earned an Oscar nomination for playing Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown (his second nomination following 2018’s Call Me By Your Name). Now, he’s almost assured to get his third nomination for the stellar new film, Marty Supreme.
Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a world-class table tennis player living in New York. But reducing Marty to his best skill doesn’t do him justice, as he’s also a motormouth schemer who will do almost anything to achieve his dreams. He doesn’t have any qualms about wooing married women like neighbor Rachel (Odessa A’zion) or actress Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), or hiding his true ping pong skills to win money in scams with friends like Wally (Tyler the Creator).
Marty is seemingly on the go the entire movie, whether it’s trying to convince Kay’s millionaire husband Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary) to fund his table tennis ambitions; or trying to track down the dog of Ezra (Abel Ferrara), a man he accidentally injures; or trying to avoid the ire of the boss at the shoe store where he works. Just when you think he might slow down, he’s off to the races on another plan or adventure.
Directed by Josh Safdie and written by Safdie and frequent co-writer Ronald Bronstein, the film is an almost continuous blast of pure energy for 2 ½ hours. So many different things happen over the course of the film that the story defies conventional narratives, and yet the throughline of Marty keeps everything tightly connected. His particular type of brash behavior turns much of the film into a comedy as he does and says things that are both shocking and thrilling.
Another thing that makes the movie sing is the fantastic characterization by Safdie and Bronstein. Almost every person who is given a speaking line in the film has a moment where they pop, which speaks to airtight dialogue that the writers have created. Characters will be introduced and then disappear for long stretches of time, and yet because they make such an impression the first time they’re on screen, it’s easy to pick up their thread right away.
Safdie, as he’s done previously with brother Bennie (Uncut Gems), calls on a host of well-known non-actors or people with interesting faces/vibes to inhabit supporting roles, and to a person they are crucial to the film’s success. O’Leary (of Shark Tank fame), rapper Tyler the Creator, director Ferrara, magician Penn Jillette, and fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi each deliver knockout performances. The relative unknowns who play smaller roles are just as impressive, making each beat of the film feel naturalistic.
Leading the way is the powerhouse performance by Chalamet. For one person to believably play both the famously reserved Dylan and also a firecracker like Marty is astonishing, and this role cements Chalamet’s status as his generation’s movie star. A’zion is a rising star who gets great moments as Marty’s on-again/off-again love interest. Paltrow pops in and out of the film, lighting up the screen every time she appears. Fran Drescher as Marty’s mom and Sandra Bernhard as a neighbor also pay dividends in small roles.
Josh Safdie’s first solo directorial effort is unlike any other movie this year, or maybe even this century. Thanks to its breakneck storytelling, a magnificent performance by Chalamet, and countless intangibles that Safdie employs expertly, the film smacks viewers in the face repeatedly and demands that they come back for more.
