Bee Movie

Our theme of the week is bees. Seriously, Bee Movie is like an unwelcome insect swarm at the proverbial picnic this week. Thank heavens, there are a lot of other options for screenings in a natural setting. 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 17
Bee Movie
Dirs. Steve Hickner and Simon J. Smith. 2007. PG. 90mins. As this animated flick’s lead-voicer Jerry Seinfeld might say, “What’s the deal with the Park District and this movie?” They screen it somewhere in the city, like, every freakin’ day.
O’Hallaren Park, 8335 S Honore St between Wood St and Wolcott Ave. Bus: 9 Ashland, 79 79th.

Happily N’Ever After
Dirs. Paul Bolger and Yvette Kaplan. 2006. PG. 87mins. An evil queen leads a baddie rebellion in a fairy-tale land.
Mayfair Park, 4550 W Sunnyside Ave between Kolmar and Kilbourn Aves. El: Blue to Montrose. Bus: 78, 81.

Pride
Dir. Sunu Gonera. 2007. PG. 104mins. No, the title is neither a reference to the U2 song nor a nod to gay pride. A former pro swimmer inspires young men in Philadelphia’s impoverished neighborhoods to better themselves through swimming.
Moran Playground Park, 5727 S Racine Ave between 57th and 58th Sts. Bus: 44, 55, 59.

Friday 18
Bee Movie
See Thu 17.
Commercial Club Playground, 1845 W Rice St between Wood St and Wolcott Ave. Bus: 50 Damen, 66 Chicago.

Carmen: A Hip Hopera
Dir. Robert Townsend. 2001. PG-13. 88mins. We’re frankly skeptical about these reshapings of the classics in contemporary language (ahem, Funk It Up About Nuthin’), but in case it matters to you, this rehash of Bizet stars Beyoncé Knowles as the passionate seductress.
West Pullman Park, 401 W 123rd St at Steward Ave. Metra: Elec Main to Stewart Ridge. Bus: 8A, 34, 95, 119, Pace 353.

TMNT
Dir. Kevin Munroe. 2007. PG. 87mins. Those ninja turtles get a digitally animated restart, leading to uncounted high-kick-related injuries among eight-year-old boys.
Bell Park, 3020 N Oak Park Ave at Wellington Ave. Bus: 76 Diversey, 77 Belmont (24hrs).

Saturday 19
Bee Movie
See Thu 17.
Dvorak Park, 1119 W Cullerton St between Carpenter and May Sts. Bus: 8 Halsted, 21 Cermak.

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. Apparently, Shrek never listened to Justified; throne already taken.
Gross Park, 2708 W Lawrence Ave at Washtenaw Ave. El: Brown to Rockwell. Bus: 81 Lawrence.

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
Dir. Jay Russell. 2007. PG. 112mins. A kid living near Loch Ness finds a strange egg that hatches into…well, you can probably work that out.
Peterson Park, 5801 N Pulaski at Ardmore Ave. Bus: 53 Pulaski, 84 Peterson.

Sunday 20
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.

Ghost Busters
Dir. Ivan Reitman. 1984. PG. 105mins. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis battle the downward slide of their careers…or a variety of ghosts. We’re a bit hazy on that point.
Churchill Field Park, 1825 N Damen Ave between Willow and Churchill Aves. El: Blue to Damen. Bus: 50, 56, 72.

Bee Movie
See Sat 19.
Beverly Park, 2460 W 102nd St at Artesian Ave. Bus: CX49 Western Express, 103 W 103rd.

Monday 21
Bee Movie
See Thu 17.
Hollywood Park, 3312 W Thorndale Ave between Spalding and Kimball Aves. Bus: 82 Kimball Homan, 84 Peterson.

The Birds
Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. 1963. PG-13. 119mins. Our fine-feathered friends turn out to be, well, not such good friends, what with attacking Tippi Hedren and all.
South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S South Shore Dr at 71st St. Bus: 6 Jackson Park Exp, 71 71st/South Shore.

Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married?
Dir. Tyler Perry. 2007. PG-13. 113mins. Four marriages are tested during a vacation.
Rainbow Park and Beach, 3111 E 77th St between South Shore Dr and the lake. Bus: 3 King Drive, 79 79th St (24hrs).

Tuesday 22
Bee Movie
See Thu 17.
•Mann Park, 3035 E 130th St between Carondolet and Exchange Aves. Bus: 30 South Chicago, Pace 355.•Wrightwood Park, 2534 N Greenview Ave at Lill Ave. Bus: 9, 74, 76.

Dreamgirls
Dir. Bill Condon. 2006. PG-13. 131mins. A trio of soul singers attain stardom but definitely not immunity to heartbreak.
Park No. 511, 630 N Kingsbury at W Ontario St. El: Brown to Merchandise Mart, Blue to Clark/Lake. Bus: 8, 56, 65, 123.

The Odd Couple
Dir. Gene Saks. 1968. N/R. 138mins. Before Tony Randall and Jack Klugman made the roles their own on television, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau did a solid film version of Neil Simon’s play about roommates Felix the neat freak and Oscar the slob.
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, 144, 145, 146, 147. 8:51pm.

Wednesday 23
Feel the Noise
Dir. Alejandro Chomski. 2007. PG-13. 86mins. Girls, rock your boys. No, wait, this isn’t about Quiet Riot; it’s about an aspiring rapper. Well, you can still feel the noise and even rock your boys, if you like. We won’t tell.
LeClaire Courts/Hearst Community, 5120 W 44th St between LeClaire and Leamington Aves. Bus: 54B South Cicero.

Nanny McPhee
Dir. Kirk Jones. 2005. PG. 97mins. Emma Thompson plays a magical nanny who uses her powers to keep bratty kids in line.
Mandrake Park, 900 E Pershing Road at Ellis Ave. Bus: 4 Cottage Grove (24hrs), 39 Pershing Road.

Shrek the Third
See Sat 19.
Lorraine Dixon Park, 8701 S Dauphin Ave at 87th St. 4 Cottage Grove, 87 87th.

Soylent Green
Dir. Richard Fleischer. 1973. PG. 97mins. Charlton Heston lives in dystopic 2022, at which point we’ve resorted to eating (Spoiler alert!) the titular foodstuff. Hmm…So, not as much of a spoiler as we had originally anticipated.
Norris East Lawn, Northwestern University, 1999 Campus Dr, Evanston. El: Purple to Davis. 9pm.