Films in a cinema full of stars

Grab your blanket or lawn chair, citronella spray and perhaps a sweater: It’s outdoor movie time!

It’s also yet another city spot’s birthday and in honor of its 25th anniversary, throughout August the Boston Harbor Hotel’s annual Movies By Moonlight series will include films from the year it opened: 1987. That’s right: poufy hair, “Moonstruck” and “Dirty Dancing.”

Every Friday through summer, Movies By Moonlight features classic movies screened right on Rowes Wharf. The best option for a good seat is to grab dinner or drinks on the hotel’s Sea Grille terrace. Otherwise, perch on the steps. What better place to watch “On the Waterfront” (this Friday)?

On Aug. 30, Central Square’s Movie Night happens on University Park Common on Sidney Street and includes entertainment from Improv Boston. You’ll just have to wait to find out what movie will be screened (copyright issues or some such). The Cambridge Arts Council’s Summer in the City program rolls out more movie nights in Inman Square (Aug. 16) and Kendall Square (Aug. 23).

Chinatown’s Films at the Gate now features Kung Fu and classic Chinese-language films with English subtitles at two locations: Thursday and Friday, watch at the original location on Hudson Street, and on Saturday and Sunday, view in the Chinatown Park on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.

There’s also a great lineup of Sunday night movies at the North End’s Christopher Columbus Park — we suggest “Galaxy Quest” (Jul. 29) — and the Hatch Shell’s Friday Family Flicks continue through August. Outdoor movies begin around sunset and all of these screenings are free.

Not so old-school

Go retro with a night at the Wellfleet or Mendon drive-ins. Drive-ins might be a slice of Americana, but these screen new movies using high-tech equipment.

If you go

Cambridge Arts Council Summer in the City

617-349-4380, www2.cambridgema.gov

Christopher Columbus Park

200 Atlantic Ave., Boston

781-639-6002, www.foccp.org

Films at the Gate

Hatch Shell, Storrow Drive, Boston, 617-787-7200

www.filmsatthegate.org

Mendon Drive-In

35 Milford St., Mendon

508-473-4958 www.mendondrivein.com