Latest news with #summerfilms
Times
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Seven of the UK's most magical open-air cinemas
Britain's love of outdoor cinema has been cemented by this summer's higher-than-usual temperatures, with screens popping up in the grounds of stately homes and swimming pools as well as in parks and hotels. Some of them encourage you to bring along picnics and blankets while others have deckchairs or beanbags, plus wood-fired pizza and bars. And you'll be able to experience everything from sing-a-long musical classics to arthouse movies, all of which will be partnered by a very British sense of jeopardy when it comes to the weather forecast. This article contains affiliate links that can earn us revenue Each summer, this hotel puts up a 13ft cinema screen in its garden on the banks of the River Tay, showing films from now until mid-August (£10). Deckchairs are provided alongside Bluetooth headphones. The menu offers pizzas cooked to order, including one with local venison, and loaded fries. Upcoming films include Life of Pi, Being John Malkovich, Inside Out and When Harry Met Sally, while the gentle murmur of the river adds its own soundtrack. Films are open to all and, should you wish to stay, there are seven bedrooms, all decorated with a pleasing Scandi-Scottish charm. Details B&B doubles from £210 ( Many National Trust properties have expansive lawns that lend themselves to open-air events. The Vyne, a 16th-century mansion near Basingstoke, complete with a Tudor chapel, classical porticos and a long gallery, is one of them. This summer, there will be film screenings between July 31 and August 4, including Dirty Dancing, Bridget Jones's Diary and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and guests are welcome to bring their own picnics and chairs (£17; Very nearly as venerable as the Vyne, the Tylney Hall hotel is a 20-minute drive away and has indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts and a wood-panelled restaurant serving traditional, seasonal British B&B doubles from £235 ( The 19th-century Grosvenor Park, in the centre of Chester, features an open-air cinema each summer. The roster of films includes Pretty Woman, Mamma Mia!, True Romance and Wicked and tickets include Bluetooth headphones (£13.50; You can bring your own seating or pay extra for a deckchair. Be savvy and pre-order a wood-fired pizza and retire later to the Boathouse and Riverside Rooms, just next to the park and on the River Dee. It's a great base for exploring Chester's Roman remains and medieval B&B doubles from £154 ( As part of Bradford's City of Culture programming this year, the events organisation Rumpus is organising a series of outdoor screenings. On August 22 and 23, the 1930s Ilkley Lido will be the backdrop to Everybody's Talking about Jamie and Sexy Beast, while Thornton Viaduct will show Grand Budapest Hotel on September 13, all with surprise immersive elements that aim to enhance the experience (£10; A ten-minute drive away from the lido in the village of Ben Rhydding, the Wheatley Arms is a pleasant spot to retreat to B&B doubles from £96 ( • Revealed: 100 Best Places to Stay in the UK for 2025 Every August, Norwich's Cinema City — part of the Picturehouse group — puts on a series of outdoor screenings in the Plantation Gardens (£18.85; The gardens, with gothic follies and serpentine paths, were created in the 1850s from a disused quarry and are a short walk from the city centre. This year's plein-air offerings include the original pilot of Twin Peaks, and the Talking Heads concert Stop Making Sense as well as the outdoor cinema favourite Dirty Dancing. St Giles House, a family-run hotel only a ten-minute walk away, has recently expanded with a new restaurant and a small spa with five treatment B&B doubles from £155 ( Milford Haven's Torch Theatre runs its popular Sunset Cinema at several different venues each year but Cardigan's setting is particularly special. Next to the River Teifi, Cardigan Castle is a melange of medieval ruins, Georgian architecture and a Victorian garden. This August, Torch's programme includes Toy Story, Top Gun and Elvis (£12; shown on a big screen on a lawn within the castle grounds. Ticket holders can bring their own picnic blankets and food. The 12-bedroom Albion hotel, in a handsome stone former warehouse filled with traditional Welsh furnishings, is the coolest place to stay in B&B doubles from £185 ( • 18 of the most beautiful places in England Erudite offerings are matched by the brutalist surroundings of London's most famous post-war housing development at the Barbican's outdoor film festival, running from August 20-31. Surrounded by the city's tower blocks, filmgoers can watch the likes of Palme d'Or-winning Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives from Thailand and Wes Anderson's stop-go animation Fantastic Mr Fox in the Sculpture court (£18; There are food trucks and drinks available from the Conservatory Bar. The newly opened Montcalm Brewery Hotel, in an 18th-century building that once belong to Whitbread, is just around the corner if you want to make a night of B&B doubles from £200 ( Have we missed your favourite? Please share your recommendations in the comments below
CTV News
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Grand Theatre launches film series featuring summer classics
The Grand Theatre, the oldest performing arts centre in western Canada, is hosting a summer film series featuring such classics as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Grease, Casablanca and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Grand Theatre is turning going out to the movies back into a special occasion this summer. Starting July 11, the folks who program the oldest performing arts venue in western Canada will be screening a classic every Friday night, beginning with one of the all-time favourite summer blockbusters, Raiders of the Lost Ark. Movie Nights at The Grand The Grand in downtown Calgary is hosting a summer classics movie series (Courtesy The Grand) On July 18, it will be Barbarella, featuring Jane Fonda is a sci-fi film from the 1960s unlike any other. On July 25, they'll screen the legendary Casablanca, the 1942 Oscar-winning classic that made Humphrey Bogart a movie legend. On August 8, they'll feature Grease followed on Aug. 15 by John Hughes' Pretty in Pink. On Aug. 22, it will be the movie version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, on Aug. 29 they'll screen Scream and on Sept. 9, the summer series will conclude with Practical Magic. Raiders of the Lost Ark Raiders of the Lost Ark screens July 11 at the Grand in Calgary. (Courtesy The Grand) Tickets are $15. There's a full bar, snacks, air conditioning and a 15 per cent discount if you use the code SUMMER15 when you book tickets at 'Whether you're reliving a favourite or discovering a classic for the first time, The Grand is the perfect place to enjoy summer nostalgia in style,' said executive director Erynn Lyster, in a media release. 'It's more than just a movie night - it's a cultural experience in Calgary's most iconic theatre.' The Grand in Calgary The Grand was built in 1912 by Senator James Lougheed and his wife Belle next door to the Lougheed Building, because they knew a thriving metropolis of 50,000 people needed a performing arts venue that attracted people like The Marx Brothers, Fred Astaire and Ethel Barrymore. (Courtesy The Grand) Built in 1912 by Senator James Lougheed and his wife Belle, the Grand has hosted everyone from Fred Astaire to Sarah Bernhardt to the Marx Brothers to legendary performance artist Lori Anderson, to Canadian dance legend Crystal Pite to American play Young Jean Lee to Calgary's own award-winning Old Trout Puppet Workshop.
Globe and Mail
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
The best summer movies of all time, according to our readers
To ring in the summer movie season, The Globe's film editor Barry Hertz put together a list of the 25 best summer films ever made, sure to get hearts pumping and bring a little bit of that movie magic back. But everyone has their favourite, and inevitably he missed some beloved flicks. From blockbusters to rom coms, you shared your favourite picks that didn't make our initial list. Here are some highlights, in our readers' own words. This is Spinal Tap, 1984: 'The Summer Movie has something especially to do with the Drive-in, so an honorable mention for the last drive-in movie I saw in a small upstate town's only surviving one, circa 1984. This is Spinal Tap may be the capstone for all the cheesy flicks that were fodder for that style venue, something to not see while you're working your best American Graffiti moves. Couldn't avoid it though, oh the horror!' - Chris Boeree, Las Vegas The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, 1968: 'Starring a fastidious deaf-mute brilliantly played by Alan Arkin and sweet, gawky Sondra Locke as a teen in the small-town South to whom he becomes a sounding board, (platonic) consoler in the storms of one adolescent summer, and – too late, she realizes – her first love. From a work by Carson McCullers, it opened in summer 1968. Poignant, funny and brilliantly acted (Arkin was nominated for a best actor Oscar), the movie's finale had my best friend and me, aged 15, sobbing uncontrollably in our seats for 15 minutes after the credits.' - Janet Gottlieb, Toronto Jaws, 1975: 'The movie captures horror so well, because while it comforts you in a setting of summer bliss, something terrifying lurks under the surface. It's my favourite summer movie and a classic!' - Victoria Hatt, Ottawa Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986: 'This is one I watch almost every summer, and have for decades. 'Long and sweltering July day, absolutely anything can happen' – this sentence could be used to describe the movie. Ferris, Cameron and Sloane take the day off from school and the world is their oyster. They go to a baseball game, they take Cameron's dad's fancy car for a joyride, enjoy a parade and relax by the swimming pool doing absolutely nothing. The movie is totally relatable and there's a certain nostalgia to it, a nostalgia that reminds you of simpler summer days. 'Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it' - just like the summer.' - Chris Kobryn, Kelowna, B.C. Wet Hot American Summer, 2001: 'I love Wet Hot American Summer. It is such a ridiculous movie, and it is like a time capsule of early 2000s up-and-coming comedians before they made it big.' - Rebecca MacDonald, Halifax Rock 'n' Roll High School, 1979: 'Executive production duties were handled by the king of B movies, Roger Corman, and like his entire canon, it's a low-budget romp that borders on brilliance because of its stupidity. Every teen trope is skewered and the level of energy never stops. The first scene with The Ramones, rolling into town in a convertible Cadillac while belting out I Just Wanna Have Something to Do, is one of the best rock videos ever filmed. The soundtrack outside of The Ramones is first rate, too, featuring Devo, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Alice Cooper, Nick Lowe and many more.' - Tom Bimson, Ottawa A Summer Place, 1959: 'Overwrought, hyper anxious, and totally irresistible. Whoever grew up with the theme song knows that it is one of the real sounds of summer. Viva Percy Faith!' - N. Russell, Toronto Booksmart, 2019: 'Literally smart gal-pal movie. Two studious soon-to-be grads with Ivy League aspirations learn that their devotion to studying may not get them ahead of their partying classmates. So with graduation around the corner they do the research.' - Peter Cech, Burnaby, B.C. Run Lola Run, 1998: 'At the time and today, it represents a kinetically visual smorgasbord of 'contagious and impulsive energy' fuelled by a simple dilemma. Toss in crime, love and desperation and you have the recipe, when well-acted, for a great movie, even if it's missing fake sharks, raptors or aliens. Every wrong turn leads to an outcome.' - Chris Sadler, Ontario The Graduate, 1967: 'With Dustin Hoffman as the eponymous anti-hero, Anne Bancroft as Clodia to his Catullus, and an unforgettable Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack. Saw it in the summer of 1967, the year that Canada turned 100 and I turned 21.' - Bill Atkinson, Edmonton My American Cousin, 1985: 'Hard to find, but so, so captures a summer in the Okanagan and the angst of growing up. This is a gem. I try not to watch it too often so it continues to be gold. As I grow older, I continue to find different levels of charm and irony. All Canadians (especially those who have lived in or visited the Okanagan) should watch this.' - Karl Larsen, Kamloops Four Weddings and a Funeral, 1994: 'My absolute favourite movie of all time. Have watched it many times and still laugh and cry at the same scenes. It is one of those rare movies that is well-scripted, not over-acted, and where all the actors have perfect chemistry. Again, it takes me back to when I was in my early thirties and surrounded by a small, but very close group of friends, and all the fun and sadness we shared before we slowly drifted away as life happened.' - Sunita Mehta, Scarborough, Ont. American Graffiti, 1973: 'A celebration of teenage summer, with an end-of-summer and end-of-innocence edge. Fun and bittersweet. Excellent ensemble performance. And what a soundtrack!' - Ken Cruikshank, Hamilton The Pink Panther, 1963: 'My mom is 92, and every summer for the past 62 years we have gone to Round Lake Ontario near Killaloe. Here we stay in a log cabin that has been in the same family for over 150 years. From the very first time you could view a movie on a television – which was likely the advent of Betamax – we watch The Pink Panther movies with Peter Sellers. Everyone laughs uproariously every single time we play them. Inspector Clouseau and his side kick Kato, Chief Inspector Dreyfus and the whole amazing series of running gags, plot twists and wonderful family oriented comedy that graces our movie nights, while the owls hoot, the waves roll in and the moon brightly shines.' - Charles Merredew, Merrickville, Ont. Twister, 1996: 'Though Canadian to the core, my maternal grandmother lived in southern Indiana. My family spent every summer holiday there until I was 19. I have great memories of her farm, and playing with cousins I saw only once a year. Also memorable were the summer storms, and the threat of tornadoes on those sultry, hot summer days. Twister did a terrific job of evoking that time in my life. Turning a weather event into an adventure/thriller film was a stroke of genius. Watching it in the summer, preferably on a steamy day, in the dark, brings back a jumble of childhood memories - Grandma's farm, family potlucks, fireworks, the drive-in, riding my bike, the list goes on. And for that reason Twister deserves to be included.' - Lois Morimoto, St. Catharines, Ont.
Digital Trends
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
5 best HBO Max movies to watch on Memorial Day
Memorial Day occupies its awkward corner at the end of May as a time both to honor our fallen heroes and to celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer. To that end, both war films and summer films are called for to while away the long weekend before we can start preparing our out-of-office emails. Here are five movies on HBO Max worthy of any post-barbecue evening — three movies about summer and two about war. We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+. Recommended Videos Mystic Pizza (1988) Mystic Pizza, the story of three waitresses at a real-life Connecticut eatery the summer before college, does everything movies of this type are supposed to do in creating an impossibly bucolic world: everyone owns waterfront property, it's perpetually a beautiful New England summer, and townies look like Julia Roberts. Also, everyone survives exclusively on pizza, though it is Connecticut-style pizza, which proves you can't have everything. With a script co-written by Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist Alfred Uhry, Mystic Pizza has a pedigree far more prestigious than its (forgive me) cheesy reputation. Stream Mystic Pizza on HBO Max. Seven Samurai (1954) For any other filmmaker, Seven Samurai would be a career-defining masterpiece. For Akira Kurosawa, it was merely an entry in his impossibly illustrious 1950s, alongside Rashomon, Ikiru, and Throne of Blood. Takashi Shimura (also a co-star of Rashomon and Ikiru) leads a band of mercenaries contracted to engage in a great battle to protect a village from bandits. Seven Samurai was made in the rubble of Japan's recovery from World War II, and it is, unmistakably, a war film. It is a portrait of what makes a society both at peace and at war — its organization, discipline, fears, entertainment, and weaknesses — and its selective need for those who can protect it in a crisis, only to discard them once that crisis has passed. Stream Seven Samurai on HBO Max. Aftersun (2022) Aftersun, a Charlotte Wells film loosely based on a summer trip the director took with her own father as a child, feels like a memory. Set at a low-grade beach resort in Turkey, the film follows Wells' counterpart, 11-year-old Sophie (Frankie Corio), and her 30-year-old father, Calum (Paul Mescal). Calum's youth gets him confused for Sophie's brother more than once, and the keen sense that his childhood was interrupted by Sophie's arrival pervades the film. Mescal received his first Oscar nomination for this achingly gorgeous memory play. Stream Aftersun on HBO Max. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) Forty years of British war-making are soaringly summarized in this superb film by the prototypical British wartime filmmakers, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (The Red Shoes). Roger Livesey is Clive Wynne-Candy, who climbs from enlisted man in the Boer War to major general during World War II, guided by a sense of stereotypically English honor that becomes more archaic as the century winds on. There is something unique about the way Powell and Pressburger use Technicolor. Their films, especially this one, have a texture and richness almost nothing can match; one wants to lick them off the screen. Stream The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp on HBO Max. A Tale of Summer (1996) Gaspard (Melvil Poupaud) has a problem. He's waiting patiently by the seaside in the north of France for his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Lena (Aurélia Nolin), but he's also being pursued by Solene (Gwenaëlle Simon) and nursing a will-they-won't-they friendship with waitress Margot (Amanda Langlet). This, if you're curious, is what passes for a problem in France. Éric Rohmer's exquisitely French romance, lazy and contemplative as a perfect summer's day, never ceases to delight as the years go on. Stream A Tale of Summer on HBO Max.
Globe and Mail
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
What is your favourite summer movie? Share your thoughts
We're officially in the summer movie season, where film-loving crowds begin to look for thrills and excitement at the theatre – or when scrolling through their streaming libraries. The Globe's film editor Barry Hertz put together a list of the 25 best summer films ever made, sure to get hearts pumping and bring a little bit of that movie magic back. But everyone has their own favourites. We want to know if we missed your top summer flick, or if you think your favourite movie should have been higher up on the list. Share your thoughts and cherished summer movie memories with us in the form below, or send us an e-mail at audience@
