Summer of Movies 2012!

You already know all about where to go to find some of this summer's best concerts in and around NYC, but if you're looking for an outdoor cultural event that's a bit more low key, why not check out one of the plethora of FREE summer movie screenings across the city?

Last night, Bryant Park kicked off its annual Monday evening HBO Summer Film Festival with the 1960 horror classic, "Psycho."  Access the full Monday night schedule here.

On Tuesdays nights, beginning July 10, Red Hook Flicks (you know Red Hook, it's that part of South Brooklyn you never ventured to until Ikea opened up a few years ago) presents a season of "Scary Monsters and Super Freaks," at Valentino Pier, in Brooklyn, against the backdrop of Lady Liberty.  Movies like "The Lost Boys" and "Alien" may have you looking over your shoulder in the dark.

For more movies by the Hudson River, Riverflicks beckons you to visit Pier 63 on Wednesdays beginning July 11, for movies "for grown-ups," such as "Moneyball," and "Crazy, Stupid, Love," or Pier 46 on Friday evenings for family-friendly flicks, like the animated feature-film, "Rango."

Also on Wednesdays, McCarren Park in Williamsburg/Greenpoint will once again host its Summerscreen film festival, beginning July 11, and featuring such classics as "The Princess Bride."

It seems Wednesday evenings are the winners for movie screenings this summer, as the 2012 Outdoor Cinema series at Socrates Sculpture Park, in Long Island City, takes place on hump day as well, and features a film or films from a different country each week.  The festival kicks off on Independence Day with a series of shorts from the United States of America, of course.

On Thursday nights, head to Brooklyn Bridge Park, in Downtown Brooklyn, for the 13th annual Syfy Movies With a View series, beginning July 5 with "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial."

Even the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum gets in on the summer film fun, with free movies on Friday nights.  Nothing but blockbusters such as "Spider-Man" and "Jurassic Park" will suffice for such a grandiose venue as Intrepid.

Embarking on its 10th year, the Central Park Conservatory Film Festival will run for five consecutive evenings, August 21 through August 25, rain or shine, just north of Sheep's Meadow.  Each year movies are chosen based on a specific theme, and this year's theme is "cult classic films."  Showing will be "The Big Lebowski," and "Animal House," among others.

For a daily calendar of all movies playing in NYC parks in particular, check out nycgovparks.org/events.

Some of the festivals I already mentioned in the previous music festivals post, such as River to River and Celebrate Brooklyn, also show movies throughout the summer.  And be sure to stop by the Summer on the Hudson Festival at Riverside Park, an annual arts and culture festival that features changing events daily, including music and film.

Finally, if you want a really different movie experience, and you don't mind paying, every summer the non-profit company, Rooftop Films, screens a series of poignant independent short and feature films in various venues across the boroughs.  Peruse the schedule and movie descriptions here.

**Thanks to contributor, Crystal Gaytan, reference website, gonyc.about.com, and, as usual, search engine google.com, for sources for this post.