Matt Damon plays Tom Ripley, a bisexual psychopath in The Talented Mr. Ripley, which screens on Friday at the Market Square Park as part of the Alamo Drafthouse Rolling Road Show series. Jude Law is his target, Dickie, with Gwyneth Paltrow as Marge, Dickie's girlfriend.
Writer/director Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) guides the trio through a complicated plot in which Ripley, a men's room attendant and sometime con man, befriends Dickie, a rich playboy. As the two grow closer, Ripley decides it's not enough to live on the fringes of Dickie's social circle. No, he'd rather be Dickie. Ripley discharges the real Dickie and assumes his identity. There are a few problems with his plan, including Dickie's suspicious and relentless girlfriend, who is determined to unmask Ripley. It's a tangled knot, with Ripley an unknowable and unforgettable character that both attracts and repels viewers.
See The Talented Mr. Ripley at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Market Square Park, 300 Travis. For information, visit the Alamo Drafthouse website or call 713-650-3022.
Some 20 authors of young-adult and tween books come together for the Second Annual Tweens Read Book Festival on Saturday. Heather Brewer, author of The Slayer Chronicles series, The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series and various stand-alone titles. Blue Willow Bookshop sponsors the festival, which also features appearances and readings by teen faves Diana Lopez, Geoff Rodkey and W. H. Beck.
The Second Annual Tweens Read Book Festival is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Bobby Shaw Middle School, 1201 Houston Ave., in Pasadena. For information, visit the festival's website.
Art exhibits don't usually include pieces made from pulled-sugar, but the artists in the group show "In Residence 2011" aren't interested in what's usual; they're interested in what's new, what's next. And what's next is them. The show's eight participants, each of whom began residence at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft last year, are among the best and brightest emerging artists in the region and we suggest a visit to the exhibit on Sunday.
Celia Butler makes mixed-media pieces, combining objects made of pulled-sugar with fashion photography in works such as Sugar Gloss (seen to the right), which shows a woman's neck adorned by an oversize amber-colored bow. Her work challenges society's stereotypical idea of female beauty.
There's an opening reception with the artists 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Friday, October 19. Regular viewing hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Through December 23. Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, 4848 Main. For information, visit the center's website or call 713-529-4848.
