there's a starman

Pop culture titan William Shatner captains Comicpalooza along with star-studded cast

Starman Shatner gets top billing at this year's Comicpalooza.

Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for ReedPop

In one of the most famous sketches in the history of Saturday Night Live, host William Shatner plays himself where — at a Star Trek convention — he screams “get a life!” at the collected assortment of sci-fi minutiae spouting (and all male) dorks.

“It’s just a TV show!” he flusters, before pointing out one audience member: “You — you must be almost 30. Have you ever kissed a girl?” The dejected look on the Spock-eared Jon Lovitz, sadly, answers that question.

How things have changed since 1986. Today, muscled comic book superheroes, swashbuckling space rangers, and sexy, tormented monsters not only drive seemingly all of modern pop culture, but the fanbase net is cast much, much wider.

In Houston, that’s nowhere more obvious that during the annual Comicpalooza weekend. And Captain James Tiberius Kirk himself— the 92-year-old Shatner — has set his beaming coordinates for Houston as this year’s headlining star, May 26-28 at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

One of the largest shows of its kind in the country and billed as "Texas' largest pop culture festival" Comicpalooza — which began in 2008 as a tiny event in the lobby of a movie theater — counted nearly 50,000 attendees last year.

Celebrity signings and meet-and-greets, live podcasts, an Artist’s Alley, interactive demonstrations and shows, live gaming, panel discussions, and cosplay (Iots of incredible cosplay) are big attractions. Of course, most of the real estate is given to vendors selling everything from 1930’s Marvel Comics to original Kenner Star Wars figures (be on lookout for that Double Telescoping Luke Skywalker!) to today’s hottest Funko Pops.

Recently, the show even introduced Fandom Court. That’s where two litigants on opposite sides of an issue stand at podiums and argue their case, which is decided before an actual judge. One such War of Words had two Harry Potter fans quibbling about the topic “Voldemort: Genuinely Evil or Victim of Circumstance?”

Organizers will continue to roll out guests over the next few weeks, but also announced as guests with Shatner were TV’s dreamy and bloodsucking brothers Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries), actor Lou Diamond Phillips, voice actor Christopher Judge, and anime voice over talents Paul Castro Jr., Luci Christian, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Amber Lee Connors, and Jason Douglas. Visiting celeb Karl Urban is sure to draw crowds for his work in Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Thor: Ragnarok, and more.

Comic book guests (the OG genre of fandom) include Steven McNiven, Yanick Paquette, and Frank Cho, along with literature scribes Terry Brooks, Stephen Graham Jones, and Mary Robinette Kowal. They join already-announced guests including Stephen Amell and Rick Gonzalez (Arrow) and Anthony Star (The Boys).

But just like Shock Rocker Alice Cooper in 2022, and the cast of The Mandalorian in 2021 (COVID killed Comicpalooza in 2020, but it came back just like Jason Voorhees), the biggest crowds and lines will likely be for Shatner. Himself the subject of the recent documentary You Can Call Me Bill and whose latest book was Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder.

Sure, most of the questions and interest will be about Star Trek. But don’t forget T.J. Hooker, The Twilight Zone, Miss Congeniality, and the sung/spoken records. (Not even Elton John can touch Shatner’s tuxedoed and cigarette-smoking cool in the video for “Rocket Man.”) The man even makes commercials for the law firm of Smith & Hassler interesting. (His Priceline commercials were gems, too.)

Our hero even pulled a real Captain Kirk, in a boldly-go-where-no men have gone before (well, maybe a few), gravity-free journey on Jeff Bezos’ truly spacey Blue Origin rocket flight.

Given Shatner's headlining appearance and the star-studded cast, it's safe to say this year's Comicpalooza will be a real blast.

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Comicpalooza runs May 26-28 at the George R. Brown Convention Center (1001 Avenida de las Americas). For tickets, VIP information, full schedules, and more, visit www.comicpalooza.com

Movie Review

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck square off in Netflix crime thriller The Rip

Photo by Claire Folger/Netflix

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in The Rip.

For as closely tied together as Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are, it might come as a surprise how few times they’ve led a movie together. They’ve appeared alongside each other in Good Will Hunting, The Last Duel, and Air, but the only time they were on equal footing in a story was Kevin Smith’s Dogma. So the fact that they are the two true stars of the new Netflix movie The Rip makes it a rare opportunity for the longtime friends to square off against each other.

Damon and Affleck play Lt. Dane Dumars and Detective Sgt. J.D Byrne, respectively, the two highest ranking members of a Miami police department squad that specializes in drug and drug money raids. A tragedy to begin the film already has the team — which includes Detectives Mike Ro (Steven Yeun), Numa Baptiste (Teyana Taylor), and Lolo Salazar (Catalina Sandina Moreno) — on edge, with the FBI and DEA breathing down their neck.

Going off a tip, Dumars gathers the team to raid a house in nearby Hialeah that is supposed to have a stash of a relatively small amount of money. But when they get to the house occupied only by Desiree Molina (Sasha Calle), they discover close to $20 million. The team, required by law to count the money on site, must not only fight the urge to skim a little off the top for themselves, but also worry about the Cartel and other agencies that might want a slice of the pie.

Written and directed by Joe Carnahan, the film is a surprisingly effective crime thriller made even better by its high-quality cast, which also includes Kyle Chandler as a DEA agent. The story is designed for the audience to not know who’s trustworthy until the last possible second, and the various twists and turns it takes are well done, with barely a hint of narrative cheating.

Taking place entirely at night, the mood is set right from the start, with the only surprise being that Carnahan didn’t add in rain for extra effect. He keeps things tense with a number of subtle elements, including having the house located in a seemingly deserted cul-de-sac. This allows for the characters to remain on high alert at all times, with anything out of the ordinary — an unexpected noise, a flashing light, etc. — adding to the stress of the situation.

The only element that could have used a bit more of a punch-up is the characterization. The story is set up to cast suspicion on almost everybody, making it tougher to understand exactly what type of person each of them is. As the two leads, more time is spent with Dumars and Byrne, leaving everyone else with slightly underwhelming arcs. It’s to the credit of the actors that everyone else below Damon and Affleck is still compelling.

Damon and Affleck play their sometimes friendly, sometimes adversarial roles well, showing an ease together that’s a result of their friendship and the acting skills they’ve honed over 30+ years. Taylor, an Oscar hopeful for One Battle After Another, and Oscar nominee/Emmy winner Yeun have a pedigree that elevates their supporting roles. Chandler, Moreno, and Calle each get just enough to demonstrate why they were cast in their respective roles.

Damon and Affleck have had their individual ups and downs throughout their careers, but when they choose to work together, the results are usually good-to-great, as they are in The Rip. It’s a different take on a crime thriller that features a story that will keep viewers guessing until the very end.

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The Rip is now streaming on Netflix.

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