With SXSW and spring break on the horizon, Austin is buzzing with things to do. We’ve got the details on the five best events this weekend. For a full list of happenings, visit our events calendar.
Texas Keeper Cider Taproom Opening Party Celebrate the grand opening of Texas Keeper Cider's new taproom with good people and good booze this Saturday. Visit the new digs — located right next to the Texas Keeper Cidery — and enjoy an exclusive tasting of limited-release ciders and wines from Texas and beyond. Guests will also enjoy live music, lawn games, and more.
Long Center presents Carol Burnett Spend an evening with the one-and-only Carol Burnett at the Long Center this Saturday. The pioneering actress visits for an engaging experience where the audience asks the questions. This 90-minute conversation is sure to be unforgettable. Snag your tickets to this intimate event before they’re gone!
Gabriel Iglesias in concert Get a good laugh in Saturday night with comedian Gabriel Iglesias. Best known for his rants on Comedy Central, Iglesias brings his Fluffy Breaks Even! comedy tour to the Frank Erwin Center for one night only.
Bullock Texas State History Museum presents Our Global Kitchen Experience food in a brand-new way at the Bullock Texas State History Museum’s newest exhibit, “Our Global Kitchen.” The highly interactive, multi-media exhibit explores the historical, cultural, and scientific intersection of humans and food. Catch a first look at the opening this weekend.
Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie are patient and doctor in Clayface.
The history of DC Comics in movies has been hit-and-miss, especially when it comes to anything not directly involving Batman or Superman. Over the years, films have been headlined by heroes like Catwoman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Shazam, the Flash, and more, and while some succeeded, none left a lasting mark on moviegoers’ imaginations.
Much like they did with Joker, the powers-that-be behind DC Studios productions are trying to entice viewers with a no-holds-barred story in Clayface. Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) is an A-list movie actor with both critical and commercial appeal. Unfortunately, a night of celebration for his recent Oscar nomination leads to him sleeping with Theresa (Ruby Sear), the girlfriend of Markos Szabo (David Dencik), a prominent mobster in Gotham City. Markos then enacts revenge by taking a razor to Matt’s face.
Desperate to find a way to look like his old self again, Matt seeks out Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie), who’s conducting cutting-edge nanotechnology research that can heal any kind of damage. While the solution works on Matt, it also has the side effect of his body doing unintended things, even morphing into those with whom he comes into contact. After initially struggling with his new body, Matt decides to use his powers to enact revenge on those who’ve done him wrong.
Directed by James Watkins (Speak No Evil) and written by Mike Flanagan (The Life of Chuck) and Hossein Amini, the film is only intermittently entertaining as it tries to sell its ridiculous premise. Right from the start, it seems like the filmmakers have been given a limited budget, as everything from the sets to the CGI to the stilted dialogue feels cheap. For a film coming from a major studio, the whole thing comes off as schlocky and undercooked.
Watkins and his team try to make up for that shoddiness by delivering R-rated thrills like nudity and body horror, but those elements can only distract for so long. Much of the film is spent dealing with Matt’s trauma, and the downbeat nature of his body issues combined with very little action makes the movie not very fun to watch. The film also tries to make hay with more than a doctor-patient bond between Caitlyn — who has a boyfriend on the police force — and Matt, but like the most of the film, it never connects.
It’s not until the final third of the movie that the filmmakers land on the tone they should have been using the whole time. Matt’s ability to transform himself, while illogical and confounding, provides multiple over-the-top, funny moments and some legitimately creative kills. Instead of taking forever to set up Matt/Clayface’s origin story, Watkins and his team should have just cut to the chase and let him loose to see what the character could truly do.
This is the first big role for Welsh actor Harries, and while he’s not exactly magnetic, he proves himself worthy of the lead role. Ackie is also fine, but after several years of trying to advance up the Hollywood ladder, she may be running out of time to show she’s a star. The supporting cast has a couple of familiar faces, but it’s mostly lesser-known actors who do nothing to indicate they deserve bigger showcases.
It’s difficult to imagine any non-DC Comics fans having a strong attachment to the character of Clayface, and the film fails to make the case that he should be a continuing character. The poor quality of almost everything that appears on screen is indicative of the kind of effort and money that was put into the film, and sometimes you really do get what you pay for.
