Staff Picks
It’s the last gasp of the outdoor movie season — don’t you love how dusk comes so much earlier these days? I do! — so it seems appropriate to devote this edition of Staff Picks to cinema under the stars.
Movies at the Mural
At Seattle Center, you can enjoy Jennifer Hudson telling you she’s not going in the 2006 musical “Dreamgirls” (for which Hudson won an Oscar) on Aug. 18, and take one more look at last year’s wistful superhero saga “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” on Aug. 25. Each screening is preceded by a short film made by students at Cornish College of the Arts.
At dusk; Mural Amphitheatre at Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St., Seattle; free; seattlecenter.com
Seattle Opera
Gather on the lawn at Seattle Center to watch a big-screen recorded performance of last season’s opener, “The Elixir of Love,” featuring Andres Acosta and Salome Jicia.
Dusk, Aug. 26; Mural Amphitheatre at Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St, Seattle; free; seattleopera.org
National Nordic Museum
Should you be in need of a movie that screams “autumn,” here’s “Knives Out,” a delightfully goofball hall of mirrors featuring Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer and an excellently sweatered Chris Evans. It’s screening in the NNM parking lot (indoors if it rains); bring a chair.
Aug. 31 at dusk; National Nordic Museum, 2655 N.W. Market St., Seattle; free but registration requested; nordicmuseum.org
Movies at Marymoor
“The Princess Bride” is a pleasure on any occasion and it should be good fun at Marymoor Park in Redmond, where screenings include multiple food trucks and live music before the show. Costumes are encouraged; wear your best Princess Buttercup robes!
Aug. 23 at dusk; Marymoor Park, 6046 W. Lake Sammamish Parkway N.E., Redmond; $10; epiceap.com/movies-at-marymoor
Three Dollar Bill Cinema Outdoor Movies
Two music-filled nights in Seattle parks, courtesy of the presenters of the Seattle Queer Film Festival (coming in October!): The music documentary “Little Richard: I Am Everything” screens Aug. 20 at Alki Playground; a week later, you can sing along with “The Wiz” on Aug. 27 at Volunteer Park.
Aug. 20 at dusk at Alki Playground, 58th Avenue Southwest, Seattle. Aug. 27 at dusk at Volunteer Park, 1247 15th Ave. E., Seattle. Free; threedollarbillcinema.org
Bellevue Downtown Movies in the Park
In Bellevue, two family-friendly events round out the city’s Movies in the Park season: The 1989 sequel “Back to the Future, Part II” screens on Aug. 22, followed by “Hocus Pocus,” reminding us that it’s never too early to start thinking about Halloween, on Aug. 24.
Aug. 22 at dusk at Bellevue Downtown Park, 10201 N.E. Fourth St., Bellevue. Aug. 24 at dusk at Crossroads Park, 16140 N.E. Eighth St., Bellevue. Free; bellevuewa.gov
Center City Cinema
Seattle Parks and Recreation has a few more outdoor screenings on the way. At Freeway Park, there’s the Oscar winner “Everything Everywhere All at Once” on Aug. 18, Jordan Peele’s latest scarefest “Nope” on Aug. 25, and the family comedy “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” on Sept. 8 — all with free popcorn. And Hing Hay Park in the Chinatown International District will host the comedy “Easter Sunday” on Aug. 19 and “Vale Ni Yaloyaio: A Celebration of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Films” on Aug. 26.
Dusk. Freeway Park, 700 Seneca St., Seattle. Hing Hay Park, 423 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle. Free; st.news/center-city-schedule
Rainier Arts Center Cinema Under the Stars
None of us got to see the Oscar-winning Pixar film “Soul” on the big screen — a pandemic casualty, it opened on Disney+ in December 2020 — but now’s your chance. Directed by Pete Docter (“Up,” “Inside Out”), it’s a high-concept charmer, about a jazz musician (voiced by Jamie Foxx) who comes to understand what matters in life. The screening at Columbia Park includes concessions and a raffle for local businesses.
Aug. 19 at dusk; Columbia Park, 4721 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle; free; rainierartscenter.org
Movies by the Tower
This outdoor series at Maple Leaf Park in North Seattle, presented by Scarecrow Video and the Maple Leaf Community Council, will screen the locally made action comedy “The Paper Tigers” on Aug. 19 (complete with a Q&A with director Bao Tran), and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” on Aug. 26. All screenings include live music beginning at 6 p.m., food and trivia contests.
Dusk; Maple Leaf Park, 1020 N.E. 82nd St., Seattle; free; facebook.com/MLTowerMovies
BACK2SCHOOL at SIFF
Finally, just in case it rains (it might! One never knows!) and you feel like going inside: SIFF is presenting a timely series called “BACK2SCHOOL,” featuring 10 irresistible comedies that take us back to school days. The lineup: “School of Rock” (one of my particular favorites, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year), “Heathers,” “Mean Girls,” “Bring It On,” “Legally Blonde,” “The Breakfast Club,” “School Daze,” “10 Things I Hate About You,” “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” and “Booksmart.”
Aug. 25-31; SIFF Cinema Egyptian, 805 E. Pine St., Seattle; individual tickets $14, series pass $65; siff.net
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