NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTIES

The 14 best ways to party on New Year's Eve in Houston

Ring in 2021 with these hot Houston happenings.

Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel

Many Houstonians are looking forward to celebrating New Year's Eve in style. We also know there are those cautious souls who would much prefer to stay at home — because, you know, we're still in the middle of a pandemic.

This year, we decided to round up a baker's dozen of NYE events — some of them will be virtual, some of them will be out in the open.

Aerosol Warfare
Catch an online event where artists and creative types can get together and, you know, get creative. They can talk, show, perform, demo, cook, announce, tell a story, suggest a soundtrack, and do whatever before the clock strikes 12. 8:30 pm.

Azura Bar & Lounge
The lounge offers up a large room with amazing music, club lighting and upscale sections for its party. They will also have celebrity DJs, refreshing cocktails, frozen drinks, delicious food, and a midnight champagne toast. 8 pm.

Bar 2200
This spot will host a get-together that will be free with an RSVP. With this one, you got two levels of fun — each level with its own DJ — and the obligatory champagne toast at midnight. You can't get more NYE than that. 8 pm.

The Energy Corridor of Houston Orchestra
ECHO for short has recorded a program of music from the '60s, '70s, and '80s as a goodwill offering to the community in this pandemic time. There will also be a countdown to midnight that will be right on time if viewers begin watching at 10:30 pm.

Four Seasons
The iconic downtown will toast the New Year, with several offerings, including an elegant, four-course prix fixe dinner. Or, reserve a table at Bayou & Bottle for $75 to party all night with choice bourbon. Or, book a room and enjoy 10 percent off your Room Rate, a bottle of champagne, and a New Year’s celebration kit.

The Grand Tuscany Hotel
Get down with a Bollywood-themed shindig. Promoted by Sunil T and the Crazy Masala Crew of local Bollywood station 98.7 FM, this party will have DJ NISH spinning grooves while guests get in on the food stations and the midnight champagne toast. 8 pm.

The Grove (This event has been canceled as of December 29)
Discovery Green's most happening hot spotwill host a glitzy and ritzy bash. It will include all-inclusive bars throughout the property, passed hors d’oeuvres and premium food stations, as well as DJs, live music, party favors and anything you can think of to celebrate in style. Dress to impress at this swanky soiree. 9 pm.

Live Oak Lounge & Grill
Celebrate from sun-up to sundown with "The Midnight Wish NYE," its daytime/nighttime party. Come enjoy food and drink specials all day while listening to DJs doing their thing. No cover with RSVP until 8 pm. 4 pm.

Lumen Lounge
The Upper Kirby club will be the start-off point for "All the Glitters 6," the sixth annual, end-of-the-year block party. We're talking a buffet, full wine bar, complimentary party favors, hookahs, a tented pavilion, 6 DJs, stilt walkers, etc. 8 pm.

Market Street
The Woodlands venue feature a concert with music from The Rick Marcel Band. All entertainment will be featured outdoors in Central Park. Guests are invited to enjoy the music from one of the marked, social-distance circles. 2 pm.

Numbers
The Montrose mainstay will go virtual with its spectacular, available on that gamer-friendly, live-streaming platform Twitch. Don't worry — there will still be music, prizes, and a balloon drop as the long-running club says good riddance to this gawdawful year. 9 pm.

Simple Space HTX
Look for a very lavish soiree where the tickets vary from $35 to $1,100. Mariam Echo will provide live music, while a rotating lineup of DJs will come in with hip-hop, R & B, reggae, soca, etc. 8 pm.

The Westin at the Woodlands
This hotel is offering not only a party above the Woodlands Waterway, but a whole getaway. Say goodbye to this year with live music, champagne at midnight, a room at the Westin and a New Year’s Day brunch for two people. 9 pm.

The Woodlands Resort
Yet another Woodlands inn will host a celebration for families. The spot will have a fun, full day of crafts, karaoke, games and other festivities at the heated Forest Oasis waterpark. There will also be a sparkling cider toast and a beach-ball drop from the waterslide tower at 5:30 pm. 10 am.

holidays

Movie Review

Daniel Craig shines in Queer, an unapologetic tale of love and loss

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTIES

The 14 best ways to party on New Year's Eve in Houston

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Movie Review

Daniel Craig shines in Queer, an unapologetic tale of love and loss

CultureMap Emails Are Awesome
Get Houston intel delivered daily.