“Critical consensus on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is overwhelmingly negative. But the critics are wrong. Micheal Bay used a squillion dollars and a hundred supercomputers’ worth of CG for a brilliant art movie about the illusory nature of plot.

Oh, and I would warn you that there’ll be spoilers in this review — except that, really, since I still have no idea what actually happened in this movie, I’m not sure how much I can spoil it.

Since the days of Un Chien Andalou and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari filmmakers have reached beyond meaning. But with this summer’s biggest, loudest movie, Michael Bay takes us all the way inside Caligari’s cabinet. And once you enter, you can never emerge again. I saw this movie two days ago, and I’m still living inside it. Things are exploding wherever I look, household appliances are trying to kill me, and bizarre racial stereotypes are shouting at me.

Transformers: ROTF has mostly gotten pretty hideous reviews, but that’s because people don’t understand that this isn’t a movie, in the conventional sense. It’s an assault on the senses, a barrage of crazy imagery. Imagine that you went back in time to the late 1960s and found Terry Gilliam, fresh from doing his weird low-fi collage/animations for Monty Python. You proceeded to inject Gilliam with so many steroids his penis shrank to the size of a hair follicle, and you smushed a dozen tabs of LSD under his tongue. And then you gave him the GDP of a few sub-Saharan countries. Gilliam might have made a movie not unlike this one.”

Read more at http://io9.com/5301898/michael-bay-finally-made-an-art-movie

And unlike many guerrilla drive-in theaters today, this was an actual drive-in: cars lined up and tuned their radio to a specific station to hear the audio. On that night of horror classics, the weather wasn’t perfect, but with everyone warm and snuggled up in their cars it didn’t matter. There should definitely be some more outdoor movies coming up in the near future, so sign up on the mailing list for Hollywood MobMov for notifications. This is guerrilla cinema unlike any other, and these days you don’t get many chances to see cult classics in the outdoors. Don’t miss your opportunity to see these awesome outdoor movies!

Photo Credit: Brad Luttrell/The Commercial Appeal

Light from the screens dances off the roofs of the scattered cars and sound echoes from auto stereo speakers. Summer Drive-In in Memphis, Tennessee is one of the last remaining drive-in movie theaters in the South. But where most of these outdoor movie theaters have dwindled away, Summer Drive-In continues to be one of the more beloved Memphis landmarks, and carries with it a colorful history of outdoor cinema.

James Lloyd has been a Malco Theaters (who owns Summer Drive-In) employee for 43 years, and has a passion for outdoor film.

“I been around the theater business practically all my life,” said Lloyd, who was a 14-year-old Arkansas farm boy when he made his first money at the movies by pushing a popcorn cart between the rows of cars at the old Starvue Drive-In in Blytheville (Memphis Commercial Appeal).

Lloyd was there when the Summer Drive-In first opened, on Sept. 1, 1966. The outdoor movie theater was boasted to be one of the most modern theaters of its time. Back then, drive-ins were huge; it was a part of Americana. They would screen B-movies or second-run films, but people continued to come in droves. They were there for the movie, yes, but there was something undeniably attractive about watching a movie under the stars. Something magical, and unique. Of course, the semi-private romance of the cars drew many a young couple to open air cinemas as well.

Lloyd actually lives at the Summer Drive-In, in a small apartment build alongside the projection room. When drive-ins where in their heyday, it was common to build living quarters alongside the screens, as theater managers usually worked long hours. In those days, outdoor movie theaters were built in huge fields with very little nearby in the way of buildings or lights, and the stars created a sparking canopy over the drive-in.
As we all know, most of the drive-ins that were once so popular have now disappeared. Though there has been some decline in popular interest, a large reason behind the closings was due to rising real estate values. Much of that land has now been turned into malls, housing developments, and swap meets.

For those drive-ins still remaining, changes have been made, but many are for the better. Most now play first-run blockbusters instead of the B-movies they used to play. Today, Lloyd can watch Johnny Depp in “Public Enemies” from one of his apartment windows, and Harry Potter from another. Movie-goers have their choice of popular films with three different outdoor movie screens, and nights with double or even triple-features.
On weekends the Summer Drive-In draws 1,600 cars who utilize FM radios for audio to the films, instead of the old-fashioned speakers that hang on car windows.

Across the hallway from the doorway to Lloyd’s apartment is the Summer projection room. Using incredibly bright light bulbs of 6,000 to 7,000 watts each, the projectors “throw” the image hundreds of feet through the air; Screen 3, the most distant (and largest, at 118-by-54 feet), is 730 feet from the booth.

The drive-in originally opened 365 days a year, but is now only open during the summer, and then Fridays and Saturdays the rest of the year. Admission is $7 a person, but kids under 10 are free, so the Summer Drive-In is a popular hot spot for family-friendly entertainment. You see less passionate teenagers and more carloads of kids.

Some outdoor movie attendees are long-time fans. There are people who used to come to the drive-in as teenagers, and now they’re bringing their kids. Others are newer movie-goers. Lloyd’s grandchildren love visiting their Grandpa; Lloyd piles them in his old Buick and they drive a few hundred feet to park in front of a giant screen and watch a movie together.

Clint Pratt, 38, and his daughters, Taylor, 11, and Shea, 8, were making their first trip to the drive-in since the Pratts moved here from Orlando 11 years ago.

“I thought it was closed down,” he said, until he learned differently from a friend. “I think it’s really cool,” said Taylor, sitting on the open tailgate of the family’s Chevrolet S-10 Blazer, parked so the rear of the vehicle faced the screen.

“It’s paying its way,” Lloyd said of the Summer. He said the drive-in is here to stay, despite some efforts by Malco in recent years to sell the land.

Where the theater isolates the viewer to an almost intimate movie-watching experience, outdoor movies thrust the audience into a community experience. Ambient light from streetlights and the moon draws the film and audience into a symbiotic environment. A train passing in the distance becomes part of the background, and the audience around you becomes part of the story.

As the warm summertime weather lingers, outdoor movies continue to pop up under the moonlight. The Hamptons area in New York has a variety of outdoor cinema screenings to offer, from kids movies in the park to evocative art gallery installations.

Outdoor Movies for Family Fun

For free family fun, Southampton Town screens movies in the park each Monday night, at 9pm. The films are always family-fare, for a very cheap night out that’s fun for parents and kids alike.

This Monday you can see “Bedtime Stories” on the Great Lawn in Westhampton Beach. If that is a great location for you, you can look forward to more outdoor films on Aug. 3 and Aug. 17.

The Quogue Wildlife Refuge continues its family film series, “Movies Under the Stars,” on two Wednesdays, August 12 and 19. Admission is $4 per person. For information, visit www.quoguewildliferefuge.com

Modern-Day Drive-In Movies

Though most drive-in the theaters are now dusty relics of the past, many people look upon those old theaters with a fondness. Therefore, there are a few outdoor cinema events taking place around the Hamptons that aim to bring us back to an older time. The Southampton Chamber of Commerce will be holding outdoor cinema screenings to recreate the drive-in experience. At the Elks Grounds in Southampton, there will be room for cars to park and view the film from there, or movie-goers can spread out blankets and chairs to watch the movie outside their cars. The proceeds from the movies will go towards the Chamber’s building expansion fund. On July 23 you can see “Bee Movie”, and “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” will screen on July 28. If you want to watch from your car like the old drive-in days, it’ll cost a whopping $40, and $25 to park away from the screen and watch the movie from a blanket or beach chair –but remember, this is all going towards a good cause! People will start arriving around 7pm and the movie starts at dark. For reservations and more information, visit www.southamptonchamber.com.

Another flashback to the drive in will be presenting the Star Wars original trilogy in 3 separate installments. The first installment, “Star Wars: Episode 4—A New Hope” was shown last night at Maidstone Park in East Hampton. Screenings continue on August 20 (“The Empire Strikes Back”) and September 11 (“Return of the Jedi”). Admission is $10 for adults and $5 per child. Most of the younger generation never got to see these awesome films on the big screen, so this is an outdoor film opportunity you won’t want to miss. Visit www.hamptonsdrivein.com for more information.

Along the same retro-nostalgic lines, classic 80’s movies will be shown at the outdoor amphitheater at the Children’s Museum of the East End (CMEE) in Bridgehampton. The outdoor movies are presented by East Hampton Rotary and Hamptons Drive-In. On July 30 they will screen “Back to the Future”, and August 13 is “Ghostbusters”. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 per child. Movies begin at 8:30 p.m. Visit www.easthamptonrotary.us for more information about these present-day drive-in movie screenings.

If that wasn’t enough 80’s films for you, you can also see “Goonies” on August 11 at “Films on the Lawn”, the outdoor movie series held at The Jewish Center of the Hamptons in East Hampton. This outdoor film will begin at 8pm. Admission is $7 for adults and a $5 suggested donation per child and benefits Camp Karole. Visit http://jcoh.net for more info.

Outdoor Films as Art Installations

Various art galleries and other art venues are including outdoor movies with, or as a part of, their current installations. For example, you can see classic outdoor films at the Silas Marder Gallery in Bridgehampton. They are free each Friday. The films are shown on a beautiful grassy field, spotted with hay bales. The field has a slight slope which is perfect to allow everyone a good view of the screen. Silas Marder has chosen to show classic films in order to give them a proper venue. Classic films are rarely seen anymore, though they are some of the best films ever made.

The 10-week series of classic films is tied together with the theme “Dissent”. Tonight’s film is “Dr. Strangelove”; the following weeks will screen “Some Like it Hot”, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”, and “The French Connection”. More information about the gallery and the beautiful outdoor film venue can be found at www.silasmarder.com.

Also at the Silas Marder Gallery, outdoor films are being utilized in their current art show. A short, animated film depicts a whale swimming through blue waters. “Giganticism”, as it has been named, is screened in the gallery barn. And at the exhibition opening last week they screened a documentary onto the side of a box truck. It was the 1977 documentary film, “The Powers of Ten,” and was very popular with visitors to the gallery. Prior exhibitions have included looping video installed in a hedgerow (“Beasties” by Barry Anderson) and large-scale film or image projections onto the outer walls of the towering barn that contains the gallery. Silas Marder enjoys using film as an art form, and presenting it in unique and unexpected ways, such as the outdoor screenings on various buildings or surfaces.

Another intriguing art gallery incorporating outdoor films is Gallery BelAge in Westhampton. The gallery focuses on work by untrained or amateur artists, providing a venue for art that may not fit into conventional arenas. As a part of this theme, the gallery hosts an outdoor film series called “Outsider Art” in their front courtyard. The indie films are easily visible from Main Street, and draws passerbys to the gallery. Similarly, it draws attention these films which are too obscure to be seen elsewhere. July 25 will screen a short film on East Moriches artist Peter Marbury (1939-2009) made by his son, Sebastian as well as a full-length film, “In the Realms of the Unreal—The Mystery of Henry Darger.” On August 29 you can see “Jean Michel Basquiat: Downtown 81,” a fictitious day-in-the-life of Basquiat that taps into the raw creative energy of the 1970s. Visit www.galeriebelage.com for more info.

The Hamptons certainly seems to be inundated with outdoor movies during this summer season, but don’t let them pass you by. I love seeing art galleries displaying outdoor films in such an unusual and interesting way, and with free movies in the park and retro drive-in movies, there’s something for everyone.

Photo Credit: Mopars in the Mountains

This Saturday a car show and outdoor movie will be held in Cranbrook, British Columbia. It’s going to be a whole flashback to the drive-in days with classic cars and the appropriately-paired outdoor cinema screening of American Graffiti. The car show and outdoor movie on an inflatable screen is presented by Southern Mopar Owners Group (SMOG). The “Mopars in the Mountains” car show has occurred in the past but they are trying to make it even bigger and better than past years.

“Moir Park is a gorgeous spot for a car show,” said Mike Stanko, one of the organizers. “We offer a nice show on a large grassy field with a beautiful view of the mountains. The view is absolutely breathtaking.” (BC Local News).

Here is all the info you need to know:

If you want to show your own classic car, you’ll need to register on Friday at the Lordco parking lot.

From 11am to 4pm on Saturday the car show will take place along with a swap meet.

Afterword, there will be an awards show and $10 dinner.

The drive-in movie begins at 9pm and costs $5 per person, but kids get in free.

You can watch the movie from your car drive-in style, or sit on the grass or bleachers in front of the inflatable screen.

It should be a pretty cool event so be sure to come out, even if you don’t have a spiffy car to show off. American Graffiti is a classic car show film and a good choice for their outdoor movie presentation. From what I understand, the Mopars in the Mountains Car Show has been pretty popular in past years so be sure to get there early to stake out a good spot for the drive in movie.

For updated information, visit www.moparsinthemountains.com.

Photo Credit: The Sag Harbor Express

Nostalgia for movies under the stars has brought about a comeback in outdoor cinema, reports The Sag Harbor Express. Sag Harbor residents wistfully recall memories of visiting local drive-in movie theaters, such as the Whitestone Drive-In, or the Bridgehampton Drive-In. The drive-in theaters have since disappeared, but due to a number of factors, outdoor movies seem to be returning in updated forms.

“There’s nothing like it — you can’t beat it,” says a Smithtown resident who remembers going to many a drive-in. “It was just fabulous. When I was in fourth grade, my parents took us to see ‘Psycho.’ They thought we’d sleep, but we were awake and peeking over the backseat. It’s stayed with me. I took a shower last night and I thought, ‘I didn’t lock the door!’”

One reason outdoor movies may be making a comeback is because the equipment and technology has finally caught up with the demand. Drive-in theaters were often characterized by fuzzy screens and scratchy audio squawking through the window. But outdoor movies -drive in 2.0- can now be shown on giant inflatable screens and projected with theatrical-grade equipment. State-of-the-art audio/visual systems can create an outdoor cinema experience that rivals most multi-plex movie theaters. Though many of the outdoor movies these days are screened in parks or downtown areas with blankets and lawn chairs, some people are still organizing real drive-ins, such as the Southampton Chamber of Commerce drive-in movie night at the Elks Grounds on County Road 39 this month (“Madagascar Escape 2 Africa” is scheduled for July 23). Audio from the movie can be tuned in on an FM radio, although people are welcome to spread out blankets or chairs instead of staying in their cars.

Silas Marder, in Bridgehampton, also screens movies under the stars. “There’s a sense of camaraderie, everyone applauded at the end when we showed ‘The Graduate’ last week.” he says. “There’s something about being outside with the moonlight, the garden — it’s this classic Hamptons experience. People are looking for something real.”

Outdoor Movies in the Sag Harbor, New York Area

Movies at Marder’s
120 Snake Hollow Road, Bridgehampton, 702-2306

“Dr. Strangelove” July 17
“The Adventures of Robin Hood” July 24
“Jules and Jim” July 31
“Some Like it Hot” August 7
“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” August 14
“The French Connection” August 21
“Casablanca” August 28

Southampton Chamber of Commerce “Drive-In Movie”
Southampton Elks Ground, 605 County Road 39A, Southampton

“Madagascar Escape 2 Africa” July 23

Outdoor Movie Night at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons
44 Woods Lane, East Hampton

“Goonies” July 14

‘80s Classics at the Children’s Museum
376 Bridgehampton/Sag Harbor Turnpike, Bridgehampton

“Big” July 9
“Back to the Future” July 30
“Ghostbusters” August 13

Southampton Town’s “Movies in The Park”
Westhampton Beach Great Lawn -Monday, July 20, 8:30 p.m.
Long Beach, Sag Harbor -August 3, 8:30 p.m.
East Quogue’s Village Green -August 17, 8 p.m.

Read full article here: Reeling in Retro

Raleigh Road Outdoor Theatre in nearby Henderson originally opened as the “Moon-Glo” Theatre in 1949. Since that time, the theater has changed ownership several times. The current owners actually obtained the drive-in movie theater through an e-bay auction. They have completely renovated the restrooms, snack shop, and theater. The theater is now the oldest of only seven operating drive-in theaters in North Carolina.

The website tells what movies will be showing this weekend as well as upcoming movie selections. Also on Sat, July 4, Jim Passe will be at the theater at 7:30 performing magic, illusions, mind reading, and classic parlor tricks.

Source: “Activity for July 4th-outdoor theater” by Amy Pegram -Raleigh Examiner. Read full article at: http://www.examiner.com/x-14154-Raleigh-Infertility–Miscarriage-Examiner~y2009m7d2-July-4-activity.

But ask any longtime Aurora or Naperville resident about the giant-screen outdoor theater on the north side of East New York Street just west of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Co. tracks from the mid-1960s to the late 1980s, and their stories unfold like chapters in a book.

John Phillip Chuck visited the drive-in during its early days, when it was called the Tee and See. The clever name matched the theater owners’ entrepreneurial creativity. Families came early to play the par 3 golf course while waiting for sunset.

When it finally got dark — and that it did because there was no other development on the country road — they headed back to their cars to watch the latest film, listening to audio from individual speakers attached to posts for each parking space.

Years later, when use of the golf course dropped off, theater owners closed it and renamed the place the Skylark. It still was a popular venue for families, who parked in the front so their children could enjoy the swing set under the screen.

But it also brought in teenagers like Bob Johnson, who loved the theater so much he didn’t mind his high school job of picking up its empty beer bottles, soda cups and popcorn boxes every weekend.

Johnson, 56, was at the Skylark the night Apollo 11 landed on the moon in 1969.

He remembers the way theater managers stopped the movie to play live radio coverage over the loudspeakers. After Neil Armstrong’s quote about “one giant leap for mankind,” moviegoers burst into an impromptu rendition of “Fly Me to the Moon,” he said.

“I remember sitting up there and looking at the moon and thinking, My gosh — there’s somebody up there right now!” said Johnson, who now lives in Eau Claire, Wis.

Years later, in the mid- to late ’70s, Chris Barry and his friends from Geneva would pack a cooler full of Pabst Blue Ribbon long-neck beer bottles and drive a half-hour to the theater in his green 1970 Chevrolet Nova. Barry and his friends loved the Skylark because it played horror films and action flicks with titles such as “They Call Her One Eye,” “Rabid” and “Devil Times Five.”

Barry, who now lives in Naperville, laughs recalling how he and his friends used to stop the car just down the street from the theater so friends could climb into the trunk. After the driver and passenger had paid for just two tickets, the others would resurface.

“You’d pay for like two people going in and then five guys would pop out of the trunk,” said Barry, who added that they did get caught once, and they gladly paid the owners instead of leaving. “The movies were too good to leave.”

Though the Skylark theater was beloved by its many regulars, interest in it and other drive-ins began to wane as indoor movie theaters evolved into the multiscreen cinemas we know today. The 20 drive-in theaters around the Chicago area during outdoor movies’ prime had shrunk to seven by 1987, according to Tribune archives.

The Skylark stopped showing movies in the late 1980s, but owners left up the screen and speakers, which became a popular target for graffiti and vandalism. Though the property was technically unincorporated Naperville Township and unincorporated DuPage County, passersby frequently complained to Aurora officials about the eyesore.

City officials worked with the owners to repaint the screen several times before they eventually sold the land, said Mark Anderson, assistant director of Aurora’s Department of Neighborhood Standards.

Years after he had visited the Tee and See as a kid, Chuck returned to the old drive-in property as an attorney at Dommermuth, Brestal, Cobine and West in Naperville. At the request of clients, he oversaw the property’s annexation into the City of Aurora.

The first buyer paid to remove the theater’s paving, fencing and speaker boxes, Anderson said. Around 2002 that buyer sold to a developer, Pulte Homes, which began building townhouses, Chuck said.

Today, the former Skylark property is the Madison Park townhouse development, which has several hundred units and little trace of its cinematic past, Anderson said.

No matter. Bob Johnson kept the picture of Skylark so fresh in his head that he and his wife took their own children to drive-in movies when they started their family.

“They had a great time, just like we did,” Johnson said.

When Barry buys a DVD of a movie at Best Buy, he still thinks of the Skylark and all the great non-mainstream movies he was able to see on the big screen when he was a teen. These days, when he goes to the movies, it’s usually with his wife, and they go to the giant Cineplex theaters.

And on the way there, she stays in the passenger seat.

Source: “Flashback to drive-in’s heyday” by Vikki Ortiz -The Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-wht-skylark-w-zone-19-jun19,0,1554735.column.