weekend event planner

Here are the top 8 things to do in Houston this weekend

Shop for last-minute, vintage gifts at Winter Flea by Night.

Photo by Morris Malakoff, The CKP Group

The holidays are here. And if you need a break from wrapping presents and picking up relatives, these events will help you kick back and recharge your yuletide battery.

Thursday, December 20

Pop-Up Fundraiser at The Marquis II
West University will be getting some pop-up love from The Original Ninfa's on Navigation and Antone's Famous Po' Boys. The restaurants will be hosting a fundraiser, to be held at longtime West U bar The Marquis II. This neighborhood spot closed last week after more than 30 years in business at its current location, citing financial difficulties caused by ongoing street construction, only to be purchased by general manager Al Jara and reopened two days later. All proceeds will go to the bar. 6-9 pm.

Screw Cancer Charity Concert
Another benefit will be going down over at Satellite Bar, a charity concert bluntly called Screw Cancer. This show will feature live performances from LYTA, Atwood, MIEARS, Alii Michele, and Indigo Young. Proceeds and donations will go towards helping the Acevedo Family and their matriarch, Ilayahu, with her fight with stage 4 endometrial endometrioid adenocarcinoma, which is a severe type of stomach and ovarian cancer. 7-11 pm.

Friday, December 21

Hale County This Morning, This Evening at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
In a year that has had many fascinating documentary films, a favorite of ours that definitely deserves more attention will be playing this weekend at the MFAH, as part of its Filming America series. It's basically 76 minutes of filmmaker/photographer RaMell Ross capturing every nook and cranny of Hale County, Alaska, taking the mundane, small-town minutiae of the area’s predominantly black residents and transforming it into arresting visual poetry. We can't recommend it enough. 7 pm.

Rob Baird at The Heights Theater
Described on his press page as "a gambler of wit," Austin-based artist Rob Baird will be in town — opening up for Jack Ingram — to promote his latest album After All, which comes out next month. Recorded to tape in East Nashville, All is a concept album that has been called "a love child of Austin songwriting meeting Nashville collaboration." Rolling Stone has already called his new single "Burning Blue" "heavy new folk-rock" — so dude must be doing something right. 8 pm.

Saturday, December 22

Winter Flea by Night and Skate with Santa at Discovery Green
It's gonna be two scoops of ice, cold fun over at Discovery Green this weekend. First off, we got Winter Flea By Night, the Green Mountain Energy-presented flea market, coming back to the grounds. You can hunt for vintage, handmade, recycled, repurposed and renewed goods, plus enjoy live music and food trucks. Before that, you can get in some skating time — and say what's up to Ol' St. Nick — over at the Skate with Santa event at The ICE outdoor skating rink. 5 pm.

Goodnight Charlie's Honky Tonk Anniversary Party
Goodnight Charlie's is celebrating its one year of business the only way it knows how, with a free, day-long, honky-tonk anniversary party. There will be an anniversary cocktail menu and a roasted pig, which will be used for $1 roast pig and tromp tacos. Of course, there will also be live music from Eric Woodring, William & the Texas Starlight, Garrett T. Capps, Mayeux and Broussard, and Folk Family Revival. 1 pm-1 am.

Sunday, December 23

Festivus at Holler Brewing Co.
Any Seinfeld fans in the house? If you are one, you must know how important the nonexistent holiday known as Festivus is around the (very loud) Constanza household. It's also important over at Holler Brewing Co., since the beer spot will be having its third-annual Festivus celebration. The Festivus pole will be there for people to take photos with, along with the Airing of Grievances and Feats of Strength. More importantly, Festivus MiracAle and spiced Belgian Tripel Festivus MiracAle will be on tap. 3-7 pm.

Need a Break from Your In-Laws Happy Hour
Looking for a respite from the relatives and in-laws this holiday season? Local record rustler DJ Abrahan is here to give you some soothing sounds. He'll be spinning at Little Dipper Bar's recurring All-Vinyl Happy Hour, doing three hours of dark wave, new wave, dance and '80s club classics and basically taking you back to your high school years. As for booze, they'll have $2 Lone Star Beer and $2.50 you-call-it well drinks. 3-6 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Heartfelt movie The Life of Chuck adapts optimistic Stephen King story

Photo courtesy of NEON

Tom Hiddleston in The Life of Chuck.

Just like actors, once a filmmaker becomes known for a certain genre, it can be difficult to escape that pigeonholing. Writer/director Mike Flanagan has worked for 20 years in both film and television, and literally every project he’s done has been related to horror. He’s finally breaking out with The Life of Chuck, which is ironically based on a short story of the same name by Stephen King.

Told in three chapters in reverse order, the film is almost impossible to describe without giving away its magic. The first section centers on Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a teacher grappling, like everyone around him, with what seems to be the world falling apart. He’s comforted to a degree by reuniting with his ex-wife, Felicia (Karen Gillan), but is also baffled by multiple ads touting the retirement of Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) after “39 great years.”

The second section consists of little more than a slightly younger Chuck happening upon Taylor (The Pocket Queen), a drummer busking on a street corner, giving Chuck and a younger woman, Janice (Annalise Basso), the inspiration to start dancing. The final section goes back to the childhood of Chuck (Benjamin Pajak), where he’s raised by his grandparents (Mark Hamill and Mia Sara), discovers dance as an outlet, and wonders about various small mysteries.

Flanagan finds a way to deliver a lot of story with relatively little effort. Using a wry narrator (Nick Offerman), a limited number of locations, and a series of great small performances, he creates an intriguing premise with few straightforward answers. The structure of the film is designed to confuse the viewer until just the right moment, and the revelation forces you to reexamine everything that came before.

The biggest accomplishment by Flanagan is making what are essentially three short films and having each of them resonate equally. The film contains elements of science fiction, although the first section may hit a bit too close to home for some of those watching. All three sections, though, have a heartwarming bent to them that sells their central idea without becoming overly saccharine.

To do so, each of the characters have to connect in a short amount of time. The casting of the film is crucial, and not only does that department succeed with the main roles, but a series of small roles are filled expertly as well. Carl Lumbly as a funeral home owner, David Dastmalchian and Harvey Guillen as parents of students, Matthew Lillard as Marty’s neighbor, Q’orianka Kilcher as Chuck’s wife, and Jacob Tremblay as a teenage Chuck are just a few of the recognizable actors that do yeoman’s work in their brief time on screen.

Hiddleston is only prominently featured in the second chapter, but his performance there and in small glimpses throughout makes a big impression. Ejiofor is given the star turn in the first chapter and he absolutely kills, both in moments by himself and in scenes with Gillan, with whom he has great chemistry. Hamill, making a rare non-voiceover appearance outside of the Star Wars universe, and Sara, in her first notable role in 11 years, are also very memorable in the final chapter.

The Life of Chuck is a film that’s filled with emotion, but the full impact of the story is not felt until the final moments. It has a mysterious journey that is initially frustrating, but the performances keep the film going until it gets to its satisfying payoff.

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The Life of Chuck is now playing in theaters.

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