NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTIES

The 12 best ways to party on New Year's Eve in Houston

Look for a bubbly hotel party, David Bowie tributes, and tiki fun this New Year's Eve.

Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel

On the night of December 31, Houston will be swarming with New Year's Eve parties. Here's a rundown of festive gatherings, which include a bubbly hotel party, David Bowie tributes, and tiki fun.

Stay safe — and feel free to party hop and plan your night and your ride sharing.

Belvedere Uptown Park
Courvoisier will present this party, which will have a band on the heated patio and the world-famous DJ Lowdown heating up the upscale lounge. And don't forget about the midnight toast, complete with party favors. 9 pm.

Darwin's Pub
It seems this watering hole is throwing a "Beenies and Bikinis New Year's Eve Party," as people are advised to show up in their swimwear gear since this place will also have hot tubs to lounge in. There will also be $2 Tecate and margaritas and a champagne toast at midnight. 7 pm.

El Big Bad
This spot will be doing its fifth-annual NYE party as part of a neighborhood block party, taking place in downtown Houston’s entertainment district. Come by and have their Unicorn Margarita, made by combining fresh squeezed limes, lemons, agave nectar and 100 percent Blue Weber Tequila and then dropping in a split of Korbel champagne. 8 pm.

Etro Lounge
Ring in the New Year by taking it back all the way to the 1980s with this party. DJ Rice Cube will be spinning all the Reagan-era jams in a special, mega-mix style. If you wanna show up wearing leg warmers, Gloria Vanderbilt jeans, or that jacket Michael Jackson wore in the 'Beat It" video — well, that's up to you. 9 pm.

Five Central
Head over to River Oaks and celebrate New Year's Eve at this location, which has five different venues. The built-in sound system ensures you’ll hear the live DJs' mix of year-ending hits and bangers loud and clear. A full dinner buffet will be ready to serve, and the bar will be open. 8 pm.

Four Seasons Houston
The swanky hotel will host a bubbly party sponsored by Moet & Chandon. Guests are invited to gather in the lobby of "Houston's Living Room" for a complimentary midnight toast, live DJ, music, food and drink specials (including craft cocktails), and specially priced bottles of Moët Imperial Brut for $110. 8 pm.

House of Blues Houston
'Lectric Eye, Houston's premier, David Bowie tribute band, will get in on the NYE shenanigans with a night of glam-rock music. These cats will be performing everything by the British legend, from his Ziggy Stardust days to his Thin White Duke era, right up to when we get to a brand new year. 8 pm.

Lei Low Bar
This spot will be having a "Nectar of the Gods" NYE party, where it will also be paying tribute to beloved, Los Angeles tiki bar Tiki Ti. There will also be a special menu paying tribute to Ray Buhen, the original god of tropical drinks. There is no cover and no reservations, but aloha attire is definitely recommended. 8 pm.

Pour Behavior
This new, cleverly named Midtown venue will have savory complimentary bites from the scratch kitchen and cocktails specially concocted for the occasion. Right before the clock strikes midnight, join in an exciting, live-video wall countdown complete with a complimentary champagne toast, a huge balloon drop, and confetti cannons. 8 pm.

The Houstonian
For an elegant, classic New Year's Eve party, head to The Houstonian for dinner at the upscale restaurant, TRIBUTE. Here you'll find them serving up Pol Roger Brut Reserve Non-Vintage Champagne, a hotel favorite that was also served at the reception following the wedding of His Royal Highness Prince Harry of Wales to Ms. Meghan Markle last year. Dine on specialty items including roasted Maine lobster, grilled Wagyu New York strip, and tri-layer vanilla vodka panna cotta.

The Westin at the Woodlands
The dress code is 1920s cocktail attire for this Roaring '20s extravaganza, complete with live music, small plates, a seafood bar, and a champagne toast at midnight. Start the night in Sorriso Italian Kitchen with bites and pairings, then head upstairs to Como Social Club for rooftop views of the Waterway and a cash bar to welcome in the New Year. 9 pm.

The Woodlands Resort
All you 007 fans might want to check this one out. Place your bets at blackjack, roulette, craps, and Texas Hold ‘Em for your chance to win prizes including a James Bond Blu Ray collection, a 3rd Generation Amazon Echo, a 43-inch 4K TV, Apple Air Pods, a Fire HD Tablet, a Yeti Cooler, and much more. 9 pm.

nightlife drinks

Movie Review

Avatar: Fire and Ash returns to Pandora with big action and bold visuals

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Oona Chaplin in Avatar: Fire and Ash.

For a series whose first two films made over $5 billion combined worldwide, Avatar has a curious lack of widespread cultural impact. The films seem to exist in a sort of vacuum, popping up for their run in theaters and then almost as quickly disappearing from the larger movie landscape. The third of five planned movies, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is finally being released three years after its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water.

The new film finds the main duo, human-turned-Na’vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his native Na’vi wife, Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), still living with the water-loving Metkayina clan led by Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis). While Jake and Neytiri still play a big part, the focus shifts significantly to their two surviving children, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), as well as two they’ve essentially adopted, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and Spider (Jack Champion).

Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who lives on in a fabricated Na’vi body, is still looking for revenge on Jake, and he finds help in the form of the Mangkwan Clan (aka the Ash People), led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). Quaritch’s access to human weapons and the Mangkwan’s desire for more power on the moon known as Pandora make them a nice match, and they team up to try to dominate the other tribes.

Aside from the story, the main point of making the films for writer/director James Cameron is showing off his considerable technical filmmaking prowess, and that is on full display right from the start. The characters zoom around both the air and sea on various creatures with which they’ve bonded, providing Cameron and his team with plenty of opportunities to put the audience right there with them. Cameron’s preferred viewing method of 3D makes the experience even more immersive, even if the high frame rate he uses makes some scenes look too realistic for their own good.

The story, as it has been in the first two films, is a mixed bag. Cameron and co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver start off well, having Jake, Neytiri, and their kids continue mourning the death of Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) in the previous film. The struggle for power provides an interesting setup, but Cameron and his team seem to drag out the conflict for much too long. This is the longest Avatar film yet, and you really start to feel it in the back half as the filmmakers add on a bunch of unnecessary elements.

Worse than the elongated story, though, is the hackneyed dialogue that Cameron, Jaffa, and Silver have come up with. Almost every main character is forced to spout lines that diminish the importance of the events around them. The writers seemingly couldn’t resist trying to throw in jokes despite them clashing with the tone of the scenes in which they’re said. Combined with the somewhat goofy nature of the Na’vi themselves (not to mention talking whales), the eye-rolling words detract from any excitement or emotion the story builds up.

A pre-movie behind-the-scenes short film shows how the actors act out every scene in performance capture suits, lending an authenticity to their performances. Still, some performers are better than others, with Saldaña, Worthington, and Lang standing out. It’s more than a little weird having Weaver play a 14-year-old girl, but it works relatively well. Those who actually get to show their real faces are collectively fine, but none of them elevate the film overall.

There are undoubtedly some Avatar superfans for which Fire and Ash will move the larger story forward in significant ways. For anyone else, though, the film is a demonstration of both the good and bad sides of Cameron. As he’s proven for 40 years, his visuals are (almost) beyond reproach, but the lack of a story that sticks with you long after you’ve left the theater keeps the film from being truly memorable.

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Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in theaters on December 19.

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