The Oak Park Arms hosts a popular monthly movie series titled, “View and Review: You Be the Critic” at the retirement community located at 408 S. Oak Park Ave. Hosted by radio announcer Dan Kane and offered to the public at no cost, “Windy City Films” is the theme of the 2013 movie selections.

Chicago’s history of filmmaking is almost as old as the films themselves. Before the rise of Hollywood, Chicago was the central hub for the motion picture industry. In 1895 the first motion picture camera was manufactured, and just two years later former magician William Selig was producing and showing films in Chicago.

Chicago quickly became a leader in the industry in the early 1900s with innovative trailblazers and an interested and supportive public.

Each month at “You be the Critic” a different movie filmed in the Windy City between 1947 and 2000 will be featured and discussed.

“Dan has planned an extraordinary line-up of films,” said Desi Vasquez, social programming director at the Oak Park Arms. “It’s an enjoyable way to learn about Chicago’s movie industry.”

All films are shown at 3:30 p.m. on the first or second Friday of every month in the Terrace Room. The line-up for the year includes:

•    Jan. 11: “Call Northside 777” starring James Steward
•    Feb. 8: “Cooley High” with Glynn Turman and Garret Morris
•    March 8: “Medium Cool” starring Robert Forster and Verna Bloom
•    April 5: “Ordinary People,” Robert Redford’s directorial debut
•    May 10: “Sixteen Candles” starring Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall and Michael Schoeffling
•    June 14: “The Father Clements Story” with Louis Gossett Jr., Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Carroll O’Connor
•    July 12: “The Breakfast Club” directed by John Hughes
•    Aug. 9: “A Family Thing” starring Robert Duvall and James Earl Jones
•    Sept. 6: “The Package” directed by Chicago native Andrew Davis
•    Oct. 4: “Backdraft” starring Kurt Russell and William Baldwin
•    Nov. 8: “The Fugitive” starring Harrison Ford and directed by Andrew Davis
•    Dec. 6: “Return to Me” with David Duchovny and Minnie Driver

“Following each film, Dan leads a discussion that occasionally morphs into a spirited debate,” Vasquez said. “It’s all in good fun.”

The Oak Park Arms is a rental retirement community which provides independent and assisted living apartments and a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month or longer.

See one, or see them all. Each movie is free and open to the public. For more information contact Jill Wagner at 708-386-4040.