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    weekend event planner

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

    Craig D. Lindsey
    Feb 5, 2025 | 6:30 pm

    Yes, Sunday will be the day where everyone will watch the Super Bowl to either the Chiefs and Eagles go at it once again – or just check out all the expensive commercials.

    Still, lots of fun things are going down in H-Town this weekend: the return of Cirque du Soleil, film screenings that celebrate two recently deceased artists, a home and garden show, an event where you can play with Legos, and live stand-up from the guy who gave us “Whazzup!”

    Thursday, February 6

    Cirque du Soleil: ECHO
    Experience the magic of Cirque du Soleil: ECHO, this 20th Big Top Show where poetry, stagecraft, daring acrobatics, and cutting-edge technology come together to explore the delicate balance between people, animals, and the world we all share. Fueled by the power of invention, the hope of the youth, and the importance of empathy, Cirque du Soleil: ECHO invites the audience to participate in a universe of color, wonder, and infinite possibilities. Through Sunday, March 9. 7:30 pm (3:30 and 7 pm Saturday; 1 and 4:30 pm Sunday).

    Houston Cinema Arts Society presents Claudine
    In this 1974 working-class dramedy, Claudine (Diahann Carroll) is a single mother in New York City who endures an exhausting commute to the suburbs where she works as a maid for wealthy families. She meets Roop (the late James Earl Jones), a charismatic but irresponsible garbage collector. Romance quickly ensues, but Claudine doubts that their relationship is good for her six children. After the screening, college professor/film critic Ralph Nickerson will discuss the evolution of Black cinema. 7:30 pm.

    Punch Line Houston presents Kyle Kinane
    Kyle Kinane is a comedian from Addison, Illinois. As a comedian, he has been on Conan, The Tonight Show, Netflix’s The Standups, and three of his own hour-length specials on Comedy Central. As an actor, he’s been in the Judd Apatow series Love and truTV’s Those Who Can’t. As a voice-over actor, he was the former voice of Comedy Central for eight years and played Bullet on the Netflix series Paradise PD. 7:30 pm (7:30 and 9:45 pm Friday; 7 and 9: 15 pm Saturday).

    Friday, February 7

    Houston Home + Garden Show
    The Houston Home + Garden Show is a place to discover the country's best new renovation ideas, interesting products, and the preeminent resources for home improvement and landscaping. The spring 2025 show will feature HGTV celebrities Lyndsay Lamb and Leslie Davis, Destin Noak (aka the Texas Garden Guy), a plant market presented by PlantCon International, Petopia, food trucks, adoptable furry friends from the Houston Humane Society, and more. 11 am (10 am Saturday; 9 am Sunday).

    Czech Center Museum Houston presents "Forgotten Gateway: Coming to America Through Galveston Island" opening night
    From 1845 to 1924, the Port of Galveston was a major gateway for American immigration. This exhibition is the first of its kind to explore Galveston’s legacy as a port of entry on a national scale. It brings to light the little-known yet rich era of Galveston’s history and its importance to the growth of Texas and the American Midwest. The exhibition highlights enduring themes in the history of immigration including the dangers of the journey, making a life in a new land, navigating bureaucracy, and confronting discrimination. Through Tuesday, April 28. 6 pm.

    Asia Society Texas presents The Big Swim
    The Big Swim celebrates Lunar New Year with a one-act opera. In this retelling of the Jade Emperor and the Great Race — a fable that sets the order of the 12 animals in the zodiac calendar — the animals learn to put aside fierce competition to instead care for and support one another, side by side. The work will be presented as part of its Lunar New Year festivities and will be preceded by activities, including shadow puppets, calligraphy demonstrations, and an original children's dance piece. 6:30 pm (2 pm Saturday and Sunday).

    The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Mulholland Drive
    Revered filmmaker and artist David Lynch passed away last month. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston mourns the loss of this visionary artist and presents one of his most acclaimed films, 2001’s Mulholland Drive, shown in glorious 35mm! This seductive and surreal vision of Los Angeles’s dream factory is a tale of love, jealousy, and revenge that earned Lynch the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival. 7 pm (2 pm Sunday).

    Saturday, February 8

    Brick Fest Live
    Brick Fest Live is all-in on imagination with stations and attractions designed to inspire creativity and play. Families can get hands-on with different brick challenges throughout the event as well as explore community collab builds and master creations from all over the world. The event will feature a Guinness World Record Challenge where visitors can help create a massive floor mosaic. There will also be a Giant Brick Pit where everyone can explore a play area filled with over 200,000 colorful bricks. 9 am (10 am Sunday).

    The Shop Club Houston presents Midday Motors
    The Shop Club Houston and Hagerty Insurance will present Midday Motors, an event that will bring car enthusiasts and brunch lovers together for a one-of-a-kind experience. Midday Motors welcomes vehicles of all makes, models, and years, offering a vibrant showcase of automotive excellence. With more than 250 parking spaces available, attendees will have ample opportunity to explore the diverse lineup of cars and connect with fellow enthusiasts who share their love for the open road. 10 am.

    International Voices Houston presents Arte Puro
    International Voices Houston presents Arte Puro, an organization with the mission to bring Hispanic music and art to the stage through musical fusion and artistic collaboration. This show will feature Artists-in-Residence Cecilia Duarte (mezzo soprano) and Jesús Pacheco (percussion), in collaboration with International Voices Houston musicians, performing a special recital celebrating Hispanic culture and music, including works by Manuel de Falla, Alberto Ginastera, Manuel Ponce, Javier Busto, and more. 7 pm.

    Martin Lawrence: Y’all Know What It Is! Tour
    Comedy legend Martin Lawrence comes to Houston as part of his first comedy tour since 2016. The Y’all Know What It Is! tour is an all-new stand-up show and fresh one-hour set where Lawrence, the man who assumed such memorable characters as Sheneneh, Tyrone, and Dragonfly Jones on his beloved Fox sitcom Martin, brings the real talk and finds the funny in everything from family to culture as only he can. He'll be joined by fellow comedians Rickey Smiley, Adele Givens, and Benji Brown. 8 pm.

    Sunday, February 9

    The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts presents Relaxed and Sensory Inclusive Performance: Orígenes: Voice and Percussion Through the Ages
    The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, in partnership with Ars Lyrica Houston, presents a sensory inclusive performance of Orígenes: Voice and Percussion Through the Ages, an exploration of Spanish and Latin American musical traditions, Relaxed and sensory inclusive performances offer a welcoming environment for individuals with sensory differences and their families to enjoy and include adjustments like modified lighting in audience spaces, designated quiet and activity areas in the lobby, sensory supports, trained volunteers, and more. 1 pm.

    PlazAmericas presents “San Valentin” Valentine’s Day Celebration
    PlazAmericas will celebrate Valentine’s Day early this weekend. Experience Chinelos Morelenses, a traditional dance with costumed dancers and popular in the Mexican state of Morelos, in addition to a folklórico performance (aka the traditional folk dance of Mexico). Additionally, Mariachi Perla Tapatía will perform festive and traditional Mexican music and The Milto Show will showcase a comedic performance. Fun giveaways and contests will take place throughout the event, which is free and open to the public. All ages are welcome. 1 pm.

    Theatre Under the Stars presents Mean Girls
    Sunday will be the last day for Theatre Under the Stars’ run of Mean Girls, the Broadway musical based on the 2004 high-school comedy that made a star out of Lindsay Lohan and was written by Tina Fey, who also wrote the book for this musical. Fey collaborated with several vets in adapting her movie to the stage, including composer/husband Jeff Richmond, lyricist Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde), and original director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon). 2 pm.

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    Movie Review

    Meta-comedy remake Anaconda coils itself into an unfunny mess

    Alex Bentley
    Dec 26, 2025 | 2:30 pm
    Jack Black and Paul Rudd in Anaconda
    Photo by Matt Grace
    Jack Black and Paul Rudd in Anaconda.

    In Hollywood’s never-ending quest to take advantage of existing intellectual property, seemingly no older movie is off limits, even if the original was not well-regarded. That’s certainly the case with 1997’s Anaconda, which is best known for being a lesser entry on the filmography of Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez, as well as some horrendous accent work by Jon Voight.

    The idea behind the new meta-sequel Anaconda is arguably a good one. Four friends — Doug (Jack Black), Griff (Paul Rudd), Claire (Thandiwe Newton), and Kenny (Steve Zahn) — who made homemade movies when they were teenagers decide to remake Anaconda on a shoestring budget. Egged on by Griff, an actor who can’t catch a break, the four of them pull together enough money to fly down to Brazil, hire a boat, and film a script written by Doug.

    Naturally, almost nothing goes as planned in the Amazon, including losing their trained snake and running headlong into a criminal enterprise. Soon enough, everything else takes second place to the presence of a giant anaconda that is stalking them and anyone else who crosses its path.

    Written and directed by Tom Gormican, with help from co-writer Kevin Etten, the film is designed to be an outrageous comedy peppered with laugh-out-loud moments that cover up the fact that there’s really no story. That would be all well and good … if anything the film had to offer was truly funny. Only a few scenes elicit any honest laughter, and so instead the audience is fed half-baked jokes, a story with no focus, and actors who ham it up to get any kind of reaction.

    The biggest problem is that the meta-ness of the film goes too far. None of the core four characters possess any interesting traits, and their blandness is transferred over to the actors playing them. And so even as they face some harrowing situations or ones that could be funny, it’s difficult to care about anything they do since the filmmakers never make the basic effort of making the audience care about them.

    It’s weird to say in a movie called Anaconda, but it becomes much too focused on the snake in the second half of the film. If the goal is to be a straight-up comedy, then everything up to and including the snake attacks should be serving that objective. But most of the time the attacks are either random or moments when the characters are already scared, and so any humor that could be mined all but disappears.

    Black and Rudd are comedy all-stars who can typically be counted on to elevate even subpar material. That’s not the case here, as each only scores on a few occasions, with Black’s physicality being the funniest thing in the movie. Newton is not a good fit with this type of movie, and she isn’t done any favors by some seriously bad wigs. Zahn used to be the go-to guy for funny sidekicks, but he brings little to the table in this role.

    Any attempt at rebooting/remaking an old piece of IP should make a concerted effort to differentiate itself from the original, and in that way, the new Anaconda succeeds. Unfortunately, that’s its only success, as the filmmakers can never find the right balance to turn it into the bawdy comedy they seemed to want.

    ---

    Anaconda is now playing in theaters.

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