weekend event planner

These are the 14 best things to do in Houston this weekend

As the summer begins to wind down, you can spend this weekend taking in art, theatre, music, comedy, and frozen yogurt.

The weekend kicks off with an art exhibition in The Woodlands. Memorial Hermann Broadway will bring a hit book/movie to the stage, while Night Court puts on a jukebox musical set in a hospital. We’ll have live performances from Acute Inflections, Apollo Chamber Players, The Midnight Papers, and a whole bunch of mariachi crews. A rising SNL star will be doing stand-up at Cullen Performance Hall.

And, at the end of the day, you can get a new fro-yo flavor, thanks to a certain lover girl.

Thursday, August 21

The Woodlands Arts Council presents "Lessons in Expression" opening reception
The Woodlands Arts Council will present an art show dedicated to showcasing the work of local art educators, celebrating the creativity leading art classrooms. “Lessons in Expression” brings together 20 teachers whose commitment to creativity extends beyond their practice into the lives of countless students. As artists and educators, their sense of mission, dedication, and passion reflects their calling to inspire the next generation through artistic expression. Through Thursday, October 23. 6 pm.

Memorial Hermann Broadway at the Hobby Center presents Life of Pi
Based on the novel that sold more than 15 million copies (and was adapted into an Oscar-winning movie), Life of Pi is an epic story of perseverance and hope. After a shipwreck, a 16-year-old boy named Pi survives on a lifeboat with four companions — a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a Royal Bengal tiger. Told with jaw-dropping visuals, world class puppetry, and exquisite stagecraft, Life of Pi creates a breathtaking journey that will leave audiences filled with awe and joy. 7:30 pm (2 and 7:30 pm Saturday; 1:30 and 7 pm Sunday).

Night Court presents Law's Anatomy
Houston Hope Hospital is where lawyers accompany doctors on rounds to observe their patients in the spirit of “transparency.” Night Court's Law’s Anatomy depicts a wacky day in the life of Houston’s medical and legal communities, featuring music from the Bee Gees, Chappell Roan, and more. Proceeds from Night Court benefit Houston area legal charities. Lawyers who attend can claim 2.5 hours of Ethics CLE credit. 7:30 pm (7:30 pm Friday and Saturday).

Friday, August 22

Houston Cinema Arts Society and Southwest Alternate Media Project present Houston Media Conference 2025
The third annual Houston Media Conference will exhibit local and national production companies, equipment rental houses, and features speakers from film, television, digital media, legal, and financial professions to discuss and provide information about the business side of filmmaking. The Houston Media Conference intends to provide an open forum where professionals involved in all aspects of production can meet, greet, and engage with representatives from Houston's film industry. 11 am (9 am Saturday and Sunday).

Acute Inflections present Soulful Sounds in Houston
Acute Inflections is a NYC-based, jazzy R&B duo that’ll bring its unique blend of soulful music and comedy to Houston this weekend. This duo delivers a sound that fans of Erykah Badu and Billie Holiday adore, with a fresh twist of timeless soul and modern charm. They'll be offering complimentary wine and snacks throughout the show, and proceeds from ticket sales support the Renaissance Youth Center, a South Bronx charity empowering inner-city youth through music education. 7 pm.

River Oaks Theatre presents Name of the Game
In the shadow of Chippendales, male exotic dancing in South Central LA thrived from the late 1980s until the early 2000s, with clubs open all week and the dancers becoming local legends. In Name of the Game, we follow the lives of past/current male dancers (and the women who support them) to learn the story of Black male exotic dancing in Southern California, and how it intersects with the origins of hip hop, gang culture, and kung fu assassins. A Q&A with filmmakers and documentary participants follows the screening. 7:15 pm.

Apollo Chamber Players presents With Malice Towards None
Apollo Chamber Players presents a multidisciplinary program reflecting our shared humanity, of art being a force for good in our fractured yet ever-progressing republic. Music selections feature recent Apollo commissions, including With Malice Toward None by Black Vietnam veteran composer J. Kimo Williams. Special guests include electric violinist Tracy Silverman, spoken word poet Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, and members of Houston Ebony Opera Guild and Houston Chamber Choir. 8 pm.

Saturday, August 23

Asia Society Texas presents Happy Birthday, Hung Hsien: Celebrating a Houston Icon
Asia Society Texas will celebrate the 92nd birthday of legendary Houston artist Hung Hsien, whose retrospective "Between Worlds" is currently on view. Living in Houston since 1984, Hsien is one of the most important yet underrepresented contributors to the development of modern ink painting. Guest curator Dr. Tiffany Wai-Ying Beres and Cornell University professor Dr. An-yi Pan will give introductory talks to Hsien's life and work. That will be followed by a reception, complete with cake and other refreshments. 3 pm.

Cactus Music presents The Midnight Papers In-Store Performance & Signing
The Midnight Papers is a garage rock duo – Tiffany Hamilton on guitar and vocals, Tim Richey on drums and vocals – from Houston that is influenced by proto-punk and new wave. Their sound is a combination of fuzzed out, distorted guitar tone, powerful drums, and melodic female lead vocals. Their music is a little bit Pretenders, a little bit The Kills, and a little bit Patti Smith. They’ll do an in-store performance at Cactus Music this weekend, followed by a signing of their recently-released, self-titled debut album. 3 pm.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Hook
Grab your happy thoughts and fly to Neverland in Steven Spielberg’s 1991 fantasy Hook, boasting an incredible cast led by the late, great Robin Williams as workaholic lawyer Peter Banning. Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman) beckons Peter to return to Neverland after his children are kidnapped. With the help of Tinkerbell (Julia Roberts) and the Lost Boys, Peter finds his inner Pan to save his kids and liberate the child in all of us. Albert Rodriguez, MFAH Films administrative and production coordinator, will introduce the film. 5 pm.

Cullen Performance Hall presents Marcello Hernández
Marcello Hernandez will be back in H-Town, doing stand-up at Cullen Performance Hall. The Saturday Night Live castmate has been having a sweet year. The man played a Latin lover so well during the 50th season, he recreated the role at a Sabrina Carpenter show. He’s also heading back to his Miami hometown next month to shoot his first Netflix special. 7 pm.

Sunday, August 24

Yogurtland presents “A Very Laufey Day”
Yogurtland is currently teaming up once again with Grammy-winning jazz sensation Laufey for a limited-time collaboration, just in time for the release of her new album A Matter of Time. In honor of “A Very Laufey Day,” Yogurtland will be serving a Berry Laufey Day Swirl, along with an Icy Blue Laufey Giant Spoon. This limited-edition collectable spoon is the ultimate keepsake for Laufey fans. It’s free with any frozen yogurt purchase at participating locations in Houston, while supplies last. 11 am.

Mariachi Festival
Sunday is the last day you can check out the 2025 Mariachi Festival, which celebrates Hispanic culture and features a variety of mariachi and ballet folklorico performances over three days. Featured groups include Mariachi Imperial de America, Mexico en Danzas Grupo Folklórico, UH Mariachi Pumas, Mariachi 7 Leguas, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Ballet Folklorico, Mariachi Mariposas, Ballet Folklórico South Texas College, and more. 2 pm.

Craft Pita Alex vs. America Anniversary Dinner
In honor of the one-year anniversary of chef Rafael Nasr’s Alex vs. America appearance, Craft Pita’s Buffalo Speedway location will host a special dinner with the dishes featured in the episode. Nasr will feature both the Lebanese bolognese pasta with lamb base, and the grilled shrimp fattoush salad with grilled shrimp with preserved lemon marinade, vinaigrette dressing, fried pita bread, and pomegranate seeds. The dinner will start at $50 and will also feature a wine pairing. Reservations are available online at Resy. 6 pm.

$Marcello Hern\u00e1ndez$

Photo courtesy of Marcello Hernández

SNL cast member Marcello Hernández will perform at the Cullen Performance Hall.

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Movie Review

Onslaught's brutal mix of horror, action, comedy can't find its footing

Photo courtesy of A24

Adria Arjona in Onslaught.

The most important thing for any movie to establish early on is its tone. No matter the genre, a film needs to make its audience understand how they should feel as the story unfolds so that they’re willing to go along with whatever transpires on screen. A film that doesn't do that, such as the new Onslaught, runs the risk of failing to connect with viewers even if it has some interesting or fun elements to offer.

One of the biggest issues for the movie is that it fails to fully invest in its main character, Celeste (Adriana Arjona). She’s a military veteran who now lives in and manages a desert trailer park, which is filled with a motley crew of offbeat people. She also has a contentious relationship with her ex, who unexpectedly drops off their daughter, Daisy (Blake Kennedy), soon after the film begins.

Celeste has a stash of high-powered weapons, showing she hasn’t left her former career fully behind. Her expertise comes in handy when something goes wrong at a nearby military contractor facility run by Hans Kemmler (Dan Stevens), and a trio of super soldiers escapes into the wild. Trained to kill everyone in their path, it’s not long before they set their glowing eyes on the trailer park.

Directed by Adam Wingard and written by Simon Barrett, the film has elements of horror, action, and comedy, but the filmmakers struggle in finding the right combination of the three. Wingard and Barrett divide the film’s focus between the trailer park and the military facility for a long time at the beginning of the film, and the quirkiness of people at the former mixed with the bold weirdness of the people at the latter keep viewers off balance in a bad way.

Once they finally settle into the main part of the story where the super soldiers go on a rampage, the filmmakers overpromise and underdeliver. The showdown between a seemingly unstoppable group and an angry woman and her band of misfits seems destined to be highly entertaining, but comes off as underwhelming. The sequence is filled with brutality with no meaning and heroics that feel more accidental than purposeful.

The ham-fisted way in which the story plays out is disappointing since the film has a bunch of characters who could have been great if used properly. The trauma of Celeste’s military career and personal life are hinted at, but don’t come into play as much as expected. Hans and his wife Hanna (Rebecca Hall) are completely off-the-wall, but their eccentricities seem to be apropos of nothing. The super soldiers are initially intimidating, but the climactic sequence undercuts them significantly.

Arjona has yet to fully break out despite some good roles in Hit Man and the Disney+ show Andor. She makes for a good lead here, embodying the toughness of a military veteran while still being relatable. Stevens and Hall go all in with their bonkers characters, but the story doesn’t serve them well. Comic relief comes in the form of Reginald VelJohnson and Eric Wareheim, and they do a great job in smaller roles.

A movie like Onslaught is typically one where the audience just turns off their brains and enjoys the carnage. But Wingard and Barrett try a little too hard by throwing in oddball characters that don’t add much to the story, forgetting to pay enough attention to the mechanics of the plot in the process.

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Onslaught opens in theaters on September 4.

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