FILM FILM REVIEW First-time director Quips and Denise Di Novi loves bullets fly the ‘messiness’of in excessive female experience. ‘Free Fire.’ Page D2 STARLIVING Page D3 HoustonChronicleLife&Entertainment Houston Chronicle | Friday, April21, 2017 |HoustonChronicle.com and Chron.com @HoustonChron Section D 77 BOOKS TELEVISION Courtesyphoto Dianne K. Salerni is theauthor of the“EighthDay”series. Former teacher writes intriguing fantasies for tweens By Alyson Ward In Dianne K. Salerni’s popular “EighthDay”books, HBO there’s an extra daywedged JuliaLouis-Dreyfus is Selina Meyer in “Veep.” Nowinits sixth season, “Veep” has earned Louis-Dreyfus fiveEmmys. between Wednesdayand Thursday—and mostpeople don’tknowanything about it. Theseriesbegins with 13-year-old JaxAubrey,who Making TV greatagain discovers he has access to the eighthday.Hethen learns there are people trapped in that universe,existing onlyone day What wouldthe commander in chief aweek. Salerni’s booksfor middle- think of these fictional presidents? graders are full of action and mystery, with likable By Ellen Gray characters and some intriguing PHILADELPHIADAILY NEWS connections to the Arthurian legend. She’ll be in Houston efore we elected “Celebrity Apprentice”star Sundaytotalk to young readers Donald J. Trumptothe OvalOffice,TVpresidents as part of Inprint’sCoolBrains! hadonlyJed Bartlet (Martin Sheen)of“TheWest reading series, whichgives kids Wing”tomeasure themselvesagainst. the chance to meet their favorite B It wasn’t much of acontest—onlyDavid authors. Palmer (Dennis Haysbert)of“24” came close —whichmay be Getting insidethe heads of whymostTVpresidents are no longer eventrying to win the her young characters is second popular vote.It’senoughjusttoget our attention. nature to Salerni, because she As HBO’s“Veep”has returned for asixth, side-splittingly taught fourth-and fifth-graders cynical viewoflife insidethe Beltway,wehail JuliaLouis- for 25 years. Those years in the Dreyfus’ (nowformer)PresidentSelina Meyer and other classroom, shesaid, “gavemea currentTVcommanders-in-chief. lot of perspective on howkids CBS PresidentTrump,who knows athingortwo aboutgrabbing ABC behave.” KeithCarradine in focus,probablydoesn’t have time to watchhis fictionalcoun- KieferSutherland in Salerni gotthe idea for the “Madam Secretary” terparts.But what if he did? Here’s what might interesthim. “DesignatedSurvivor” EighthDay series from afamily joke. When her daughters would asktheir dadifthey Selina Meyer American people and Con- could go somewhere or do Actor: JuliaLouis-Dreyfus gress, for lasting onlyashort something,he’dput them Show: “Veep” time in an office to whichshe offysa b ying,“We’ll doiton Wheretofind her: 9:30 wasnever elected. Grunsday.”Grunsdaywas just p.m. Sundays on HBO Whatmight interest (or amade-upnamefor aday that Known for: Inflated ego, annoy) Trump: In “Veep”- didn’t exist, but Salerni started foul mouth, chronic inepti- world, Meyer, not Trump, thinking:WhatifGrunsday tude, and, now, after having wasthe 45th president. (She were real? been rejected by both the Television continuesonD2 Shelaunched her career Young continuesonD3 Author appearance Dianne K. Salerni will discuss the Eighth Dayseries and her other books. When: 3p.m. Sunday Where: Meyerland Performing and VisualArtsMiddleSchool, 10410 Manhattan Showtime Netflix Information: Free;713-521-2026, Elizabeth Marvel in KevinSpaceyin inprinthouston.org “Homeland” Charles A. Appleand KenEllis illustration /Chronicle “House of Cards” NATURE Evelyn’s Park in Bellaire designed for sustainability By MollyGlentzer Picnic children. in thePark During awalk-through Houston has another Wednesday, executive When: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. newurban parkto director Denton Ragland Saturday celebrate this Earth Day. noted importantaspects Where: Evelyn’s Park, Evelyn’s Park,onthe of the parkthatdon’t 4400 Bellaire five-acre site thatonce necessarilymeet the eye Info: Free;281-946-9372, held Teas Nursery, opens right on: This green space evelynspark.org to the public Saturday is anational model for with asampling of the sustainability,hesaid. kinds of activities that and food truckfare. Solar panels atop will activate the newjewel Thebuildingsby the office/event space of Bellaire.Ontap are a Lake-Flatoarchitects building aim to bring mini-farmer’s market, are complete,the mostly the parkanet carbon familyfun and food young plants and trees in zero energy footprint. and beverage offerings SWAGroup’s landscape Amassive storm including picnic boxes design look ready to water runoff system MelissaPhillip /HoustonChronicle from ZelkoConcepts’ new flourishand the log- lies underneath the Evelyn’sPark, whichopens to thepublicSaturday, is locatedonthe siteofthe TheIvy &James cafe, climbing hill and slideare landscape,and water former Teas NurseryinBellaire. wine and beer tastings ready for rambunctious Evelyn’s continuesonD3 KEN HOFFMAN: His column doesnot appear today. DEAR ABBY: Newstudy aims at stopping Alzheimer’s before it starts. PAGE D5 xx Houston Chronicle | HoustonChronicle.com and chron.com | Friday, April 21, 2017 | D3 STAR FILM REVIEW Quips and bullets fly in excessive ‘Free Fire’ By Walter Addiego ‘Free Fire’ Rated R: for strong Fans of the danker violence, pervasive depths of genre movies language, sexual references will feast on “Free Fire,” and drug use a feral exercise in high- Running time: 90 minutes energy moviemaking that xxxx boils down to an extended shootout in a decrepit warehouse. a lot of bleeding people And I do mean extend- crawling on their bellies ed: After a modest set up, and firing at anything wild gunplay fills ybma e that moves. A couple of two-thirds of the film’s assassins later join the 90-minute run time. fray (and who is employ- A comedy and a labor ing them?) and the film of love, the movie is a toys with the constant takeoff on 1970s action possibility of combatants films that’s been stripped switching sides. Ye s, it’s of filler to concentrate on gunplay, but it’s funny pure visceral thrills. The and ghastly at the same director is Britain’s Ben time. Wheatley, a cult figure To forestall audience who often works with burnout, the filmmakers writer Amy Jump (his have inserted a few lulls wife) — their highly idio- A24 in the action. That helps, syncratic output includes Aficionados of wacky ’70s hair and clothing styles will have much to savor with “Free Fire,” starring Brie as do the comic verbal the 2012 bloody black Larson and Sharlto Copley. The film is one long shootout. sallies that accompany the comedy “Sightseers” and gunfire. Still, after a while last year’s “High-Rise,’ we may feel that, OK, based on a dystopian minimum of plots and a a handful of characters on Saville Row. His team sides is armed to the we’ve gotten what Wheat- novel by J.G. Ballard. cast of walking, talking — and it’s a terrific cast includes Armie Ham- teeth. Guess what follows. ley and company are up Certainly the filmmak- action-movie clichés who — played by Brie Larson, mer (with beard and It’s a shootout for the to, but they are pushing ers have soaked up the trade quips and insults Michael Smiley and Sam turtleneck), a ferocious ages, something that on regardless. work of Sam Peckinpah, between volleys of bullets. Riley. Aficionados of Jack Reynor and a former might have been choreo- Quibbling aside, “Free Quentin Tarantino, John It’s the late 1970s wacky ’70s hair and cloth- Black Panther played by graphed by Chuck Jones Fire” mainly works, as an Woo and Martin Scorsese in Boston and an IRA ing styles will have much Babou Ceesay. (Bugs Bunny, etc.) at his indulgence in cinematic (executive producer of operative, Chris (Cillian to savor. There’s bad blood most anarchic — if he had overkill for moviegoers “Free Fire”), past masters Murphy), with a briefcase The sellers are led by between the Reynor and really been into guns. Ev- who realize that some- at depicting over-the-top full of cash wants to pur- Sharlto Copley’s hi- Riley characters. The eryone wants to grab the times too much is just battles with firearms. chase several dozen high- lariously loutish Vern, weaponry Vern brings is cash; almost everyone has enough. Wheatley aims to outdo powered assault weapons. wearing what must be not what was requested. been wounded (mostly them all, employing a Accompanying Chris are the ugliest suit ever made And everyone on both in the limbs), so we see [email protected] Evelyn’s Park in Bellaire promises to be place to celebrate nature Evelyn’s from page D1 features in the master plan could one day recycle storm water for irrigation. Insects and birds already have discovered the food-and- habitat-providing native plants. Saucer magnolia, Eastern redbud and Mexican plum trees bring color and form to the intimate Evelyn’s Memorial Garden, at the park’s southeast corner, wood ferns and sweet viburnum fill the understory. Mexican sycamores, maiden grass, cassian grass and trailing lantana line the big central Event Lawn. Salvia leucantha and butterfly iris grow along A historical marker shares the story of Teas Nursery, which was the Oak Allee, created with 14 founded by horticulturalist Edward Teas in 1910. live oaks donated by Joe Teas. The Forestation Area, which will eventually shield views influencing your mood for of the homes that back up to the rest of the day. Those the park’s north side, has been little ripples in the pond seeded with plains bristlegrass, end up affecting the whole prairie wild rye and inland sea neighborhood.” oats under Montezuma cypress, Ragland wants to see how the sweetgum and Southern community uses the park before magnolia trees. he plans too many activities. Lighting throughout the park Melissa Phillip photos / Houston Chronicle Benches in three styles are is dark-skies compliant. The Ivy & James will open at Evelyn’s Park in May. Chef Jamie scattered across each section of “You won’t see this stadium Zelko eventually will offer cooking classes at the cafe. the park, and the big lawn can from 20 blocks away,” accommodate anything from Ragland said.