Screen on the Green is over, but there are still options for free outdoor movies as summer winds down. AJC file photo.

Flicks on 5th and Screen on the Green are long done for this summer, but there are still a few places to catch a big, free, outdoor movie.

Atlantic Station’s weekly outdoor film continues through Aug. 27, and Mall of Georgia announced last week that its free concert and movie series was extended by a week. Movies in the Park in Peachtree City will finish on Aug. 6 with “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” at dusk. Flicks on the Bricks in Duluth will show “The Tale of Despereaux” for free at dusk on Aug. 8.

Frankly, these last couple weeks are bringing out the better movies. How can you not love “The Sandlot” and “WALL-E”?!

Are there any other summer movie series still going? Feel free to share your ideas in the comments.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s left in the film series I mentioned.

Movies Under the Stars at Mall of Georgia
Mall of Georgia is …

Continue reading Summer winds down, but free outdoor movies continue »

It’s a rare thing for me to file TV watching under the “to do” category — that’s more Rodney Ho’s gig. But tonight’s showing of the documentary “Prom Night in Mississippi” calls for something different.

Austell resident Natashia McNair is in the documentary "Prom Night in Mississippi." AJC/John Spink

The film, which debuts at 9 p.m. on HBO, tells the story of a prom at Charleston High School in Mississippi. Prom, singular. Until 2008, the school had always held two, one for white students and another for black students. It remained segregated even after actor Morgan Freeman, a Charleston resident, offered to pay for an integrated dance in 1997.

Then teacher Natashia McNair arrived, and helped to organize one integrated prom. Freeman said the offer stood. A film crew led by director Paul Saltzman showed up. Then things got really crazy.

In Monday’s AJC story, “Divided over school prom,” McNair said the school’s first integrated prom was “perfect.” Still, she moved to Georgia …

Continue reading ‘Prom Night’ integration movie features Georgia teacher »

Lines for "Harry Potter" stretched into Mall of Georgia hallways on Tuesday. AJC photo by Jamie Gumbrecht.

If you missed the spectacle of a midnight showing of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” here’s a photo gallery from the Potter crowds at Mall of Georgia.

I wrote about the crowds — who was there, why they came and what costumes they wore — in an earlier blog post, but words might not do it justice.

Can’t get enough? Here are more Potter stories

• “Harry Potter” movie time listings for Atlanta area theaters.
• Reviews from the New York Times and the Orlando Sentinel.
• AJC’s Momania blog wonders if the new Harry Potter movie is too scary for kids?
• Photos from the New York premiere of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”
• The midnight “Harry Potter” showings raked in $22 million, breaking the record set by “Dark Knight.”

For instant updates, follow Jamie on Twitter @insideaccess.

Continue reading PHOTOS: Midnight ‘Harry Potter’ fans at Mall of Georgia »

I was prepared for some kind of wizard-mania on Tuesday night, when “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” opened in theaters, but expected something less.

Not the book parties of a few years ago, or the madness that surrounded the first movie. Last time I’d checked, half of the eight midnight shows at Regal Mall of Georgia planned sold out. Surely the others would be full by the time I slogged up 85 and made it through a mall parking lot so massive one could be lost and not found till the economy improves. Still, I expected something…muted?

No pushing and no weeping that I witnessed, although theater employees said some folks were turned away. The truly dedicated could return for a 3:15 a.m. show. I take that back: the truly dedicated could’ve gotten in line for Juniors Mints and Cokes right around midnight, THEN enjoyed the show. Some attending the midnight shows were in costume and in line by 6 p.m., and they already had tickets.

Tony Montanaro, 19, hasn't read the books, …

Continue reading ‘Harry Potter’ movie a nostalgic, late-night hit for fans »