happy bey-day!

Beyoncé's big birthday: Diana Ross, mom Tina Knowles, and more A-listers toast Houston's queen

Tina Knowles shared this intimate photo of Beyoncé's birthday moment with her children.

Tina Knowles/Instagram

This has been a year of landmark numbers for Houston's queen Beyoncé: a record-breaking 32 Grammy Awards, 20 years since the debut of her red-hot solo album Dangerously in Love, and 42 — the age she turned on Monday, September 4.

Queen Bey, who's in the midst of her Renaissance World Tour (which hits Houston this month), celebrated as a true performer should — onstage. Some 70,000 adoring fans — and a swarm of A-list celebs — packed SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California to watch the pop icon ring in her 42nd.

Diana Ross and 60,000 of the Hive sing Happy Birthday to Beyoncé! #BEYDAYLA #RENAISSANCEWorldTour pic.twitter.com/QIOOzgsyY7
— BEYONCÉ LEGION (@BeyLegion) September 5, 2023

Her SoFi night included a surprise serenade from OG queen Diana Ross, who popped up on stage to sing "Happy Birthday" to her fellow music goddess. The 79-year-old Ross was backed by a who's-who list of stars in the audience, include fellow Houstonian Lizzo, Adele, Katy Perry, Brandy, Chris Rock, Kim Kardashian and family, Heidi Klum, Taraji P. Henson, Tyler Perry, Justin and Hailey Bieber, Zendaya and Tom Holland; and more. Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner's kiss also briefly broke the internet.

Queens and a Duchess sighting

Speaking of queens, a power trio of founding Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland, Kerry Washington, and Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle some royal shine to the shimmering crowd. (Markle was seen dancing with Prince Harry at an earlier show.)

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A post shared by Meghan (fan page) (@_duchess_of_sussex)

What could top a cameo by Diana Ross and Kendrick Lamar, who also jumped onstage? Queen Bey's emotional speech and thank you to her family and friends.

$Beyonc\u00e9 SoFi concert Renaissance Tour$ Beyoncé was radiant on her big birthday gig. Beyoncé/Instagram

“I’m thankful to be alive,” she told the crowd. “I’m thankful to be on stage. I’m thankful to look out and see your faces. I’m thankful to be able to provide a safe space for all of y’all. I’m thankful for music, for the ability to heal myself through music which then heals all of you. I’m thankful for every tear, for every year.”

“I’m thankful for my children. I’m thankful for my husband. I’m thankful for all the sh*t we’ve been through,” she declared. “I’m thankful for my beautiful father, who is here tonight… I’m thankful for my mother, my beautiful queen…” And then, in a nod to her Destiny's Child bandmates: “I’m thankful for Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, LaToya, LaTavia Roberson.”

A moving message from Mom

Queen Mother Tina Knowles, Beyoncé's mentor, role model, fashion designer, and more, offered a moving tribute to Beyoncé on Instagram, including an intimate photo of the megastar blowing out birthday candles with her three children — and a rare glimpse into a pet name for Beyoncé we're guessing only Queen Tina is allowed to use.

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A post shared by Tina Knowles (@mstinaknowles)

“I thank God, for choosing me to be the vessel in which you traveled to get to this world,” Tina Knowles wrote to her daughter.

“You are such rare and precious gift to the world not only as a genius entertainer. You are a gift because of your beautiful generous heart , the love you give. The grace you give , the wisdom that you show. I could go on, and on but every word is true you deserve to have the happiest day ever because you give your heart and soul to the world happy birthday my firstborn snoogams.”

From Dad, with love

Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé's father and the founder of Music World Entertainment, crafted a letter to his daughter that he shared on Linkedin.

“On top of watching your incredible talent displayed in full force on stage, I also see each show bringing people together from all creeds, backgrounds, races, ages and identities,” he wrote. “It’s an incredible sight witnessing complete strangers talk, dance, laugh, and celebrate together at each show with no judgement—just love. Beyoncé you've given the world more than a concert. You have started a movement. Today is your day to dance, laugh and celebrate. Dance to the music that is bringing the whole world together. Laugh with the amazing people around you. Celebrate the lives you have touched, the impact you’ve made, and the amazing person that you are. Happy birthday my daughter.”

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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