R$N’s Late Night Flix Picks

R$N's casts an eye on the world of the capital's late night film screens and picks the week/end ahead's highlights….

Here's this weeks late night screenings:

Thursday 23rd February: '26th BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival Preview' (BFI Southbank,18:30)
The festival itself will take place from the 23rd of March til the 1st of April but the nice folks at BFI have put on this preview for free to give film fans a taster of what to expect. There hasn't been much in the way of details of the program yet, but the event page on the BFI website has a picture from Greg Arraki's recent 'Kaboom!' which is well worth catching for it's bombastic and hilarious take on current American teen culture (by way of cheap horror effects). Whilst this is a free event, it is still ticketed, but these can be picked up from BFI Southbank.

Friday 24th February: 'Female Trouble' (Hackney Picturehouse, 23:00)
In the seventies, the creative pairing of John Waters and his leading lady Divine had a string of depraved yet incredibly entertaining underground hits, perhaps most famously with 'Pink Flamingos'. However, the other films from this time are just as worthy of note and Waters repertoire fits the late-night format perfectly. 'Female Trouble' casts Divine as an obese criminal and the film plays as a mock epic of her life, detailing her outlaw ways. Hopefully, the day will soon come when a cinema redistributes Water's 'Polyster', complete with the scratch and sniff cards it was originally intended to feature.

Saturday 25th February: 'Where The Wild Things Are' (Screen on the Green, 10:30)
Ok so this isn't strictly a late night screening (occurring as it does at half ten in the morning). But it's inclusion on this timetable is due to the fact that Jonze's epic may be worth a revisit. Upon release, the critical reception was slightly underwhelmed, perhaps because of the length of the films production coupled with a huge weight of expectation. Film's with this kind of history are always worth a second watch once the critical smog has cleared and even if you remain underwhelmed, no one could be disappointed with the films gorgeous photography and giddily fun set pieces.

Sunday 26th February: 'The Third Man' (Ritzy Picturehouse, 14:50)
If you have never seen Carol Reed's classic, the formula is every bit as flawless as it sounds; Classic American Director at the peak of his abilities/ Sumptuous Vienna Setting, draped in magnificent Noir-lighting, arguably never bettered/ Incredibly charming cameo from Orson Welles/ Script from Graham Greene, one of Britain's greatest crime writer's.
An undisputed classic.

Monday 27th February: 'Never Ending Story'/'Dark Crystal' double bill (Prince Charles, 18:50)
No single cinema caters to the needs of this particular weekly column more than the Prince Charles and this week is no exception. It's double bill season continues to veer wildly from genre to genre, this week focusing on fantasy. This event in particular is worthy of note due to the inclusion of Jim Henson's 'The Dark Crystal', one of the most fearlessly inaccessible children's film ever made. The baddies are too grotesque to hate in a playful way, you actually just don't want to look at their horribly unnatural movements and revolting costumes. Elsewhere, the plot is so drenched in spiritual powers that anything is possible, meaning any character can just learn to fly or return from death at their whim. Completely berserk and therefore unmissable.

Tuesday 28th February: 'Memento' (Prince Charles, 8:45)
What's so refreshing about the Prince Charles Classic Film Season is it's definition of classic: The films included span decades, styles, genres. Similarities lie in the overall quality rather than accolades or reputation. One of the great things about late night screenings is it gives people the opportunity to see former sleeper hits in the cinema, as they probably missed them at the time of their original theatrical release. As Christopher Nolan continues to cement his position as one of our time's great Hollywood directors, more and more people are uncovering his early classic, 'Memento'. Is it high-concept? Arguably, but the director has proven that he can do high-concept with enough conviction and originality to avoid this being a criticism and the film's wry humour gives it a refreshing self awareness. If you've never seen 'Memento', the less you know before watching, the better.

Laurence Turner