With the 50th anniversary of hip-hop just a few months away, Rooftop Cinema Club Uptown will be celebrating that anniversary early with a special, hip-hop-themed movie night.
Houston's hottest rooftop movie house has partnered with legendary local street artist GONZO247 for a screening of 1992 film Juice on Saturday, June 17.
Ernest Dickerson’s gritty, 1992 crime thriller, starring Omar Epps and the late rap great Tupac Shakur as inner-city friends-turned-enemies, will play on Rooftop’s 24-foot, state-of-the-art LED screen. As always on theme nights, Rooftop will host a special night of music, drinks, and shopping, featuring an eclectic mix of local vendors — in addition to the film
Houston graffiti icon GONZO247 makes a splash with Rooftop Cinema Club.
GONZO247/Facebook
For a little color and as a way to toast this big anniversary, Rooftop will offer an add-on, street art experience with GONZO247 for $15. Ahead of the screening, guests are welcome to select from various pre-cut stencils and an assortment of spray paints to create a personalized masterpiece.
As arguably Texas' most acclaimed street artist, GONZO247 will offer his expert guidance, tricks, and techniques along the way. Consider it an excuse to get some spray paint art hacks from one of the best to do it.
The movie will start at 8 pm. Tickets and more information can be found here.
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Rooftop Cinema and GONZO247 present a screening of Juice on Saturday, June 17 at Rooftop Cinema Club, BLVD Place (1700 Post Oak Blvd.) Tickets and more information can be found online.
Photo courtesy of Illumination & Universal Pictures
Henry and James in Minions & Monsters.
The Despicable Me franchise is one of the most enduring of the 21st century, now reaching its seventh film in the past 16 years with the release of Minions & Monsters. The Minions, which were originally mere sidekicks to the supervillain Gru, have now arguably become the face of the franchise, even more so when they get their own movie.
Minions & Monsters purports to give even more history for the little yellow pill-shaped beings who want nothing more than to serve bad guys. Instead of fan favorites like Kevin, Stuart, and Bob leading the way, this film features James, a Minion who can’t stop causing chaos, and his best friend, Henry (all Minions are voiced by series creator Pierre Coffin).
After a prologue showing the Minions teaming up with various baddies over centuries, the group shows up in early 20th century Hollywood, gaining attention from filmmakers like Max (Christoph Waltz) and producer brothers Frank and Edward (both voiced by Jeff Bridges). They quickly rise up the ranks, with adventures coming to involve actress Debbie (Zoey Deutch), robot Dort (Jesse Eisenberg), and a Cthulhu named Goomi (Trey Parker).
Co-directed by Coffin and Patrick Delage and co-written by Coffin and Brian Lynch, the film is the loosest one of the franchise to date, using a barely-there story as an excuse to have the Minions engage in as much mayhem as possible. The prologue is the most successful part of the film, as they meet a cyclops, wizard, bank robber, and more, with each sequence getting wilder and funnier.
The 90-minute film is just as interested in entertaining kids with its craziness as it is in giving adults references to early film history. Among the films and actors that get shout-outs are the first-ever movie, The Horse in Motion, Georges Méliès’ A Trip to the Moon, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and more. Whether including those historical relics will have kids wanting to seek out the real deals is questionable, but at least it shows the filmmakers know they owe a debt to the greats of the past.
The second half of the film becomes less coherent as the Minions split into different factions. James, Henry, and a hard-of-hearing Minion named Ed go in one direction to make a monster movie, while a larger group led by their antagonist named Dick goes in another. There’s no real purpose to either side’s journey other than to serve up laughs through the Minionese language (which seems to lean toward Spanish, as one scene acknowledges) and their antics.
Anyone purposefully going to a Minions movie likely enjoys Coffin’s performance of each character, each of which is subtly different. The rest of the cast, while star-laden, never truly sounds like the actors portraying them, which is strange when you have distinctive voices like Waltz, Bridges, and Eisenberg. The only people who stand out are Allison Janney as the narrator, Bobby Moynihan, and a cameo by George Lucas.
While Minions & Monsters doesn’t offer up an overly compelling reason for existing, it’s also harmless fun that has the side benefit of exposing kids to bits of film history that they might not have known existed. It also tries something different from the tried-and-true format of previous films, and experimentation should be appreciated even if it’s not fully successful.
Houston graffiti icon GONZO247 makes a splash with Rooftop Cinema Club.
GONZO247/Facebook
