Update for 2010: Click here:
2009: Set your DeLorean to Nov. 5, 1955, and power up your flux capacitor with 1.21 gigawatts because White Rock is heading Back to the Future!
The 1985 comic blockbuster, starring Burnaby’s own Michael J. Fox as time traveling, electric guitar-wielding skateboard enthusiast Marty McFly, is one of four family-friendly films lighting up a giant movie screen in White Rock this summer as part of the Prospera Great Outdoors Film Festival.
After a lengthy lead-up, the 2009 line-up has – finally – been announced, allowing local movie lovers to plan their summer accordingly.
The free summer series is presented on a gigantic, three storey-high movie screen set up at various outdoor locations around town.
Along with the ’80s time-travel comedy classic, Back to the Future, the festival will bring two of the year’s biggest animated films to White Rock, Pixar’s imaginative, heart-rending Up, and Monsters vs Aliens, DreamWorks’ somewhat gimmicky but action-packed sci-fi spoof about a monster-woman caught up in a desperate bid to save planet Earth from invading space robots.The final outdoor movie is a sing-along version of 2008’s Mamma Mia! The Movie, the ABBA-inspired musical.
First up is Monsters vs Aliens, Saturday July 11 at West Beach. Film critic Roger Ebert gave it two stars, saying kids will probably like it. No word if it will be presented in 3-D, but there’s plenty of star-power on board to keep kiddies and their parents amused: Reese Whitherspoon, Seth Rogen, Rainn Wilson, Paul Rudd and Stephen Colbert are listed among the movie’s voices.
Next is Back to the Future Friday July 31 at Semiahmoo Park. Everyone’s seen this, but as the first and best of the Back to the Future franchise, it still holds up. Great comic performances by Fox and the rest of the cast, particularly the rubber-faced Christopher Lloyd as the goofy, scattered and slightly manic genius, Doc Brown, and Lea Thompson and Crispin “your density” Glover as Marty’s woefully mismatched parents.
It’s a pity the titles and film schedule were announced so late; I’m sure many of us have already been forced to commit to our summer travel plans.
Regrettably, I’m going to be out of town for Up at Central Plaza Saturday Aug. 15, a wonderful, emotionally-resonant, kaleidoscope of a movie I saw on the big screen a few weeks ago and would love to see again.
Up, directed and co-written by the guy who did Monsters Inc., is another winner from Pixar (Wall-E). It’s a story about the helium balloon-assisted travels of a cranky old curmudgeon (Ed Asner) and a 7-year-old stowaway, Russell (Jordan Nagai), who make their way to South America to fulfill a long lost dream. Funny, adventurous and sweet; but remember to bring your hankies, though, (sniff).
I haven’t seen Mamma Mia! The Movie, but everyone loves ABBA, and who can resist a genuine sing-along? It’s showing Aug. 29 at Five Corners. The movie stars Meryl Streep and fictional screen exes Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgard. Can’t wait.
If you’ve never gone to the outdoor film festival, what are you waiting for?
For one thing, it’s free. Most outdoor film festivals – I’m thinking of Whistlers‘ in particular – charge admittance. And they don’t usually offer such broad, crowd-pleasing fare. (No subtitles here.)
It’s just plain fun watching a movie outside in a parking lot, at the beach or in a park. Sure, you gotta bring your own lawn chairs or blankets, and you really do need to bundle up – White Rock gets chilly after dark.
But when else would you ever be able to get the chance to belt out all your favourite tunes from The Blues Brothers (1980) along with a crowd of strangers? And breathe in the cold, salty sea air – while dozens of goofy little kids (hyper ‘cos they get to stay up late) bop and dance around during the film’s showstopper performances by the likes of Cab Calloway, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and the immortal Ray Charles? It’s enough to make you want to spring backwards doing handstands down the aisles at church.
The festival’s only been going for a few years, but the organizers seem to know how to pick their classics.
The first year I remember watching Jaws right next to the fabled White Rock itself, just steps from the ocean shore.
I missed American Graffiti that summer, but it was supposed to have played at Five Corners – home to a genuine 1950s-style diner, the Five Corners Cafe.
Other titles have been simply irresistible just on the strength of the movie alone. What a gas seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) on a real movie screen after all these years.
This summer’s movie picks may not reach those same heights, but I will try to see at least one or two of the films, if I can. So should you.
What time do they begin.
Dusk? 9:30 or earlier?
I don’t know – this post is from LAST summer, 2009. Not sure if the White Rock BIA is going to do outdoor movies this again for 2010.