5 streaming movies perfect for your outdoor summer party

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SALT LAKE CITY — As the little ones begin heading off to school and workmates remind you of their coming fantasy football league, it's becoming clear the final days of summer are upon us.

Before long, Count Chocula will be on grocery store shelves and standard apparel will include long sleeve shirts and lint-magnetic sweaters. But before you rush into celebrating pumpkin spice season, why not fire up the grill for one last summer get-together? To help out with the entertainment, we've come up with five movies streaming on either Netflix or Amazon Prime for the perfect for outdoor viewing experience.

Batman (1966) — Amazon Prime

What weighs six ounces, sits in a tree and is very dangerous? If you answered "a sparrow with a machine gun," you understand why the Adam West and Burt Ward Batman adventure is exactly the movie for your summer party. If you're in the right mood, this movie is still genuinely funny for grown-ups while also doubling as a bright and colorful superhero movie for the kids — though I still get a bit choked up thinking of that porpoise giving its life for the dynamic duo.

Roman Holiday — Netflix, Amazon Prime

While true black-and-white films are risky for a general gathering, there's a good chance "Roman Holiday" will win over any skeptics. Not only is it an adorable princess movie, it's a classic romantic comedy starring two of Hollywood's most beloved legends.

As an interesting side note, you can tell your guests this is the only movie Audrey Hepburn won an Academy Award for, although you'll need to quickly add that she was presented a humanitarian Oscar posthumously in 1993. Once you bring up that side note, however, you'll probably want to add that she should have won the Academy Award for "The Nun's Story" in 1960, but then you're kind of just rambling, and someone will inevitably bring up "Room at the Top" and you'll start arguing and you'll wish you'd forgotten the random trivia entirely and just let the movie speak for itself. But no, really, Hepburn should've won in 1960.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off — Netflix

At this point, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" is practically an educational movie, isn't it? People drop the "Bueller? Bueller?" line without having any idea where it came from, and your summer party is the perfect place to introduce guests to the source material.

Still the role Matthew Broderick is most recognized for, "Day Off" is just vapid fun for a mindless afternoon. And as a bonus, you'll get to listen to that Yello song at 103 minutes.

Hook — Netflix, Amazon Prime

Let's be honest, "Hook" may not be a perfect movie, but it still might be the perfect movie for your summer outdoor movie party.

"Hook" is a big, bright, practical-effect-driven adventure that enjoys some inspired casting. As we gear up for Joe Wright's take on the classic characters this October, remind your party guests of a time when 3-D wasn't a necessary addition for any film with a flying sequence.

James and the Giant Peach — Netflix

There are gobs of animated films streaming on both Netflix and Amazon Prime right now, including "How to Train your Dragon 2," the complete Wallace and Gromit collection and Disney's "Robin Hood." These are all great choices for your party, but for our list we're going to suggest "James and the Giant Peach," if only to bring it to your attention.

Directed by Henry Selick, the stop motion and live-action crossover never really gathered the audience some of Selick's other works enjoyed like "The Nightmare Before Christmas," which is also streaming on Netflix. However, the exaggerated art design mixed with Roald Dahl's fantastical story about an orphan and his magic peach generated a smaller and just as dedicated fanbase, of which you may be one viewing away from joining. If you don't end up liking it, at least you saw that amazing Jack Skellington cameo.


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About the Author: Travis Poppleton ----------------------------------

Travis Poppleton has been covering movie news, film reviews and live events for Deseret News and KSL.com since 2010 and co-hosts the FlixJunkies podcast. You can contact him at tspoppleton@gmail.com.

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