Drive-in movies are great. You also have to drive to them and pay to watch. What about free walk-in movies?
This summer, greater Boston hosts a couple dozen great features for free in parks, gardens, and woods. We’ve put together a sampling of a few favorites (and some stuff too bizarre not to mention), but be sure to poke around the websites below for full listings of blockbusters, B-movies, and classics.
“Up,” July 18, the Lot
Come and weep your way through “Up” outdoors and in public. The Lot is a community event space in Dorchester that’s just right for watching a Pixar movie with such an intense opening scene it will make you contemplate life, death, love, and existence during a nice, long cry. The Lot has drinks and snacks available for purchase so your stomach will be satiated even as your soul will be crushed by a kid’s movie whose first few minutes have the heft of a Ingmar Bergman heartbreaker. Best of luck to you. Bring tissues. Or just go to one of the Lot’s less sad free movie nights. lotonthedot.com/movie-nights
“Godzilla 2000,” July 31, Rose Kennedy Greenway
Who’s interested in seeing how the good people at the Coolidge Corner Theater can present this as a Science on Screen offering? Featuring a 60-million-year-old UFO, some Godzilla DNA splicing, and a good old fashioned atomic breath attack, “Godzilla 2000” isn’t exactly a nature documentary. No matter, seeing ’Zilla rampage for free is always a good deal. coolidge.org
“Barbie,” Aug. 8, Boston Landing
Still mad “Barbie” didn’t win Best Picture? Yeah, us too. Thankfully, Boston Landing gets it and skipped booking “Oppenheimer.” Recline on your pink blanket and watch Barbie dance, sing “Closer to Fine,” think about dying, and save the world. Need more of blondes pondering existence and saving things? Boston Landing hosts a “Clueless” showing July 25. instagram.com/boston_landing/
“National Treasure,” Aug. 10, the Pru’s South Garden
Not enough movies feature somebody trying to steal The Declaration of Independence. It’s basically Hollywood’s biggest failing and nobody is talking about it. At least we have Nicolas Cage’s Benjamin Franklin Gates doing his best to pull off the world’s most ridiculous heist in “National Treasure” — think of the movie as an Indiana Jones flick with fewer whips and more Founding Fathers conspiracy theories. Not into people trying to steal The Declaration Of Independence? We can’t see why. But the Pru has you covered with another half dozen free movies. prudentialcenter.com
“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” Aug. 21, Peters Park
The Mayor’s Movie Nights will bring 11 different movies to 11 different parks in August. There are plenty for the kids — “The Little Mermaid” (Aug. 6, Ringer Playground), “Wonka” (Aug. 14, Hynes Playground) — but nothing on the mayor’s calendar can match the wisdom, wit, and wackiness of this John Hughes’ masterpiece. Follow Ferris and friends as they play hooky at a Cubs game, on a float at a parade, and in a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder. Remember, life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. boston.gov
“Friday the 13th” double-feature, Sept. 13, Rocky Woods, Medfield
OK, OK, maybe, just maybe, the Coolidge can pass “Godzilla 2000” off as a science film, but a pair of movies about a hockey-masked, immortal serial killer? Whatever. The idea of “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter” and “Jason X” being co-presented by NASA on an actual Friday the 13th is too deliciously fun to pass up. Yes, NASA will show up via pre-movie presentation by the team at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Yes, “Jason X” is the one in space where Jason gets revived from a cryogenic stasis to — SPOILER — kill everyone. coolidge.org
