Ratatouille

The movies under the stars kick into serious overdrive this week. All shows start at 8:30pm unless otherwise noted. For more details on Park District screenings, call 312-742-7529. For details on Northwestern screenings, go to blockmuseum.northwestern.edu. For details on the Chicago Outdoor Film Festival screenings in Grant Park, hit cityofchicago.org.

Thursday 10
The Great Debaters
Dir. Denzel Washington. 2007. PG-13. 126mins. During the Depression, an African-American debate team from a small college goes up against Harvard’s best.
•Amundsen Park, 6200 W. Bloomingdale Ave between Merrimac and Melvina Aves. Bus: 86 Narragansett/Ridgeland•Augusta Park, 4433 W Augusta Blvd between Kostner and Kilbourn. Bus: 66 Chicago, 70 Division.

Surf’s Up
Dirs. Ash Brannon and Chris Buck. 2007. PG. 85mins. It-boy Shia LaBeouf lends his voice as a young surfing penguin. Rad, dude.
Portage Park, 4100 N Long Ave north of Irving Park Rd. Bus: 78 Montrose, 80 Irving Park.

Friday 11
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Dir. Steven Spielberg. 1982. PG. 120mins. Reese’s brings you an alien who takes time out from hailing an intergalactic cab to shill for their product.
Palmer Park, 201 E. 111th St at Indiana Ave. Bus: 34, 111, 119, Pace 353.

Nacho Libre
Dir. Jared Hess. 2006. PG. 92mins. Jack Black plays a young monk who pursues his dream of being a professional wrestler.
Athletic Field Park, 3546 W Addison St between Drake and Central Park Aves. El: Blue to Addison. Bus: 82 Kimball/Homan, 152 Addison. 9pm.

Spider-Man 3
Dir. Sam Raimi. 2007. PG-13. 139mins. It’s amazing that, by the third installment, no one has grown suspicious of Peter Parker’s knack for getting good photos of Spidey and the fact that they’re never in the same place at the same time.
Horan Park, 3035 W Van Buren St at S Albany Ave. El: Blue to Kedzie. Bus: 94 California, 126 Jackson.

Surf’s Up
See Thu 10.
Haas Park, 2402 N Washtenaw Ave at Fullerton. El: Blue to California. Bus: 74 Fullerton.

Saturday 12
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker
Dir. Geoffrey Sax. 2006. PG. 93mins. A teenager takes over the family spying business. “But Dad, I want to be an accountant.”
Senn Playlot Park, 1550 W Elmdale between Greenview Ave and Clark St. Bus: 22 Clark.

“Flags of Steel”
Dir. Mildred Amador. 2008. 30mins. Documentary. Humboldt Park gets its due as a center of Puerto Rican pride. Also on the bill will be a selection of homegrown short films by the students of Roberto Clemente High School.
Humboldt Park Boat House, 1440 N Sacramento Ave north of Division St. Bus: 52 Kedzie/California, 70 Division.

Rear Window
Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. 1954. N/R. 112mins. Stuck in bed with a broken leg, Jimmy Stewart takes up voyeurism.
Oz Park, 2021 N Burling St between Dickens and Webster Aves. Bus: 8, 73, 74.

Monday 14
Bee Movie
Dirs. Steve Hickner and Simon J. Smith. 2007. PG. 90mins. Apparently, the Park District loves them some bee-related humor; they’ve got this flick in heavy rotation all summer.
Chippewa Park, 6748 N Sacramento Ave between North Shore Ave and Pratt Blvd. Bus: 11, 93, 155.

Hairspray
Dir. Adam Shankman. 2007. PG. 117mins. A girl in Baltimore circa 1962 dreams of dancing on a local television show. Nikki Blonsky steals the movie from John Travolta in drag, and that’s not an easy thing to do.
Chase Park, 4701 N Ashland Ave at Leland. Bus: 78, 81, 145.

Transformers
Dir. Michael Bay. 2007. PG-13. 144mins. Shia LeBeouf’s reign of terror over open-air screenings continues in this noisy large-screen product promotion.
Tilton Park, 305 N Kostner Ave between Fulton and Lake Sts. Bus: 20 Madison.

Tuesday 15
All About Eve
Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz. 1950. N/R. 138mins. You’ve gotta love Bette Davis playing a bitchy actress who gets the rug pulled out from under her by a scheming young newcomer.
Grant Park, from Lake Shore Dr to Michigan Ave and Monroe Dr to Balbo Dr. El: Red or Blue to Jackson; Pink, Brown, Green, Purple (rush hrs) to Adams. Bus: 1, 3, X3, 4 (24hrs), X4, 6, 7, 10, 14, 26, 28, 126, 127, 144, 145, 146, 147. 8:57pm.

Flushed Away
Dir. David Bowers. 2006. PG. 85mins. So, there was this other animated rat movie, see, which unlike Ratatouille, didn’t win an Oscar. It gets shown in the parks as a sort of consolation prize (to catch Ratatouille, see Wed 16).
Shabbona Park, 6935 W Addison St at Newland Ave. Bus: 90 Harlem, 152 Addison.

Jaws
Dir. Steven Spielberg. 1975. PG. 124mins. Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw hold a battle of the great hammy performances on a shark-hunting expedition. Roy Scheider referees.
Rainey Park, 4350 W 79th St at Tripp Ave. Bus: 53A, 79, Pace 379.

RV
Dir. Barry Sonnenfeld. 2006. PG. 98mins. Robin Williams plays pater familias taking the wife and kids on a wacky roadtrip. Aggghhh! Robin Williams! Run for your life!
Margate Park, 4921 N Marine Dr between Margate Terr and Ainslie St. El: Red to Argyle. Bus: 135, 136, 144, 146, 151.

Wednesday 16
Chasing the Law
Dir. Rafael Mendoza. 2007. N/R. 90mins. This doc follows the Latino rock band La Ley on its 2005 tour.
Kelvyn Park, 4438 W Wrightwood Ave between Kostner and Kilbourn Aves. Bus: 53, 54, 74, 76, 77 (24hrs).

Flushed Away
See Tue 15.
Wildwood Park, 6950 N Hiawatha Ave between Macalpin and Mendota Aves. Bus: 85A North Central. Pace: 411.

Ratatouille
Dir. Brad Bird. 2007. G. 111mins. The real gourmet chefs of France are revealed to be rats. That matches up with our experience of French chefs.
Norris East Lawn, Northwestern University, 1999 Campus Dr, Evanston. El: Purple to Davis. 9pm.

Shrek the Third
Dirs. Chris Miller and Raman Hui. 2007. PG. 91mins. The green machine deals with fatherhood and tries to persuade Justin Timberlake to take the throne.
Davis Square Park, 4430 S Marshfield Ave between 44th and 45th Sts. Bus: 9 Ashland.