Combining hot tubs and classic movies, Hot Tub Cinema is a great option for anyone who’s bored of their local multiplex. Lucky enough to give it a whirl earlier this week, here’s what I liked best about it:

1.    The tubs: Heated to 40 degrees and with optional bubbles, the 20 inflatable tubs hold up to eight people (hot tip: if you like your tub extra-toasty, plump for a small one).

2.    The setting: The pop-up tubs are sited on Shoreditch’s Rockwell Rooftop, an arts and creative hub which enjoys a panoramic city skyline, as well as bags of urban charm and eye-popping graffiti artwork.

3.    The movies: The Summer of Tub kicks off with great British movies including The Full Monty, Withnail & I, Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life and Bridget Jones’s Diary. There are two screens and a surround-sound system so film-goers can hear the dialogue above the bubbles.

4.    The tub-side waiter service: You won’t have to leave the comfort of the hot tub if you fancy a drink as it will be brought to you by friendly and attentive waiters, along with a variety of food, from cinema-style snacks to BBQ fodder, some of which will inevitably end up floating in the tub!

5.    Making friends: You’re half-naked and in a hot tub with a bunch of strangers; if you’re single, this is a great place to meet new people. And if you’re in a couple, Hot Tub Cinema is a good option for a memorable date night.

Hot Tub Cinema is taking place four days a week from Thursday to Sunday for the first two weeks of every month until September. Tickets are £30 per person or £240 for a private tub for up to eight people. For the full programme, click here.

London’s cinemas are offering up another splattering of fearsome films this Halloween, from hammer horror to kitsch comedies. Can you keep the popcorn steady?

St Barnabus Church, Ealing
What could be more chilling than Murnau’s silent Nosferatu (1922) with a live organ accompaniment on Halloween night? Try watching it in a church. Head to St Barnabus Church, Ealing to see this black and white Expressionist classic.

• Nosferatu (1922) Wednesday 31 Oct, Doors 7pm, screening 8.30pm

Prince Charles Cinema
The Prince Charles Cinema is screening Terence Fisher’s classic Dracula (1958), starring Peter Cushing as vampire hunter Van Helsing, and Christopher Lee as the eponymous blood-sucker.

Horror fans can also get their teeth stuck in to a special Halloween double bill of the original The Exorcist (1973) and critically-acclaimed Spanish horror film [REC] – a film crew, an abandoned mental institute and no way out. What could go wrong?

• Dracula (1958): Tuesday 30 Oct 8:45pm
• [REC] (2007) and The Exorcist (1973) Double-Bill: Monday 29 Oct 7pm and 8.45pm

BFI Southbank
As well as Raimi’s breakthrough horror film The Evil Dead (1981), and the longer US cut of Kubrick’s horror masterpiece The Shining (1980), the BFI Southbank is taking a more cerebral approach – and not in the cannibalistic sense.

League of Gentlemen and Sherlock star Mark Gatiss follows up his acclaimed BBC Four series “A History of Horror” with Horror Europa, a feature-length assessment of European horror cinema with an accompanying Q&A session.

• The Evil Dead (1981) Sun 28 Oct, 9pm; Saturday 3 Nov, 4pm; Sunday 4 Nov, 8.40pm
• The Shining (1980) Wed 31 Oct, Fri 2-Fri 16 Nov, various times
• Horror Europa (2012), Sun 28 Oct, 6.15pm

Rio Cinema
Aiming for a few more laughs than frights, the Rio Cinema, Dalston is resurrecting Ghostbusters (1984) for a late night screening the weekend after Halloween. Keep an eye on those marshmallows.

• Ghostbusters (1984) Sat 3 Nov, 11.30pm

Here at VL, we’re fans of both pop-up events and outdoor cinema. So we’re delighted to hear that the two will be combined next year when a floating cinema sets sail in East London!

The Floating Cinema will navigate the waterways of the five Olympic host boroughs in summer 2011.

Climb aboard for floating film-screenings, film-related activities and larger outdoor screening events.

The Floating Cinema is part of the Portavilion project, whose pop-up dance tent travelled around London earlier this year.

Artists Nina Pope and Karen Guthrie (known collectively as Somewhere) are developing the event which aims to create a “human blueprint” of London’s waterways and their connections to the Olympic Park and the Games.

We can’t wait to see it.

The Floating Cinema, Jun-Sep 2011

Calling all London cinema buffs! Win a year’s worth of movies at ICA, as well as a family ticket to BFI IMAX and a BFI DVD package.

You’ll get two tickets per month throughout 2011 to use at ICA, which has a unique programme of world cinema, artists’ films, independent documentaries and international film festivals.  Plus there’s all the excitment of BFI IMAX, the UK’s biggest cinema screen! And finally, a load of DVDs to enjoy at home.

To win this fantastic film prize, all you have to do is enter your details here

Tonight is Bonfire Night and there will be fireworks displays happening all over London this evening and tomorrow. Some other happenings you may wish to sample include:

• The Modern Bride Show at ExCeL 5-7 Nov. I’m on bridesmaid duty so this show is ideal
• Natural History Museum Ice Rink had its launch party last night – it’s fantastic and is one of the first Winter Ice Rinks to open in London. Get your skates on! Open until 9 Jan 2011
• Twin Peak Challenge: British athlete Amy Williams, who won Gold at the Winter Olympics this year, takes part in this monster stair-climb. 7 Nov
• Diwali Celebrations across London – join in the Festival of Lights. Events all weekend
  
• London Greek Film Festival kicks off on Monday 8 Nov. Watch some of the best Greek cinema in London.

Japan is about to become big in London. While Londoners have long enjoyed the taste of Japan at numerous restaurants and sushi bars, we’ve been mostly missing out on the kooky-cool of Japanese pop culture. But that’s all about to change, according to Yukiko Takahashi, general manager of the upcoming Hyper Japan event.

“Sushi is so widespread and well-known in London now”, she says, “But Japanese pop culture is the new star. British people like new stuff and they’re really curious about Japan.

“While Japanese [computer] games do really well in the UK, other things such as anime and cosplay haven’t been as big here as they are in France and Germany, for example. But it’s time for London to embrace Japanese culture, big time!”

Hyper Japan is a two-day event in October that’s bringing Manga, cosplay, technology and Japanese street fashion to the heart of happening Shoreditch. The Barbican is also turning Japanese this October, with an exhibition, Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion and a season of Japanese cinema.

Outside work, when she’s homesick Takahashi says she personally enjoys Tomoe restaurant in Marylebone, and visiting Japanese food shops – “they’re a sacred place for us” – such as Atari-ya for fresh sashimi and the Japan Centre on Regent Street. A favourite hidden gem is Adanami Shobo, a second-hand book shop with a karaoke-box behind it.

Takahashi also mentions Camden as a good spot to find touches of Japan in London.  ”Lolita gothic fashion I find really interesting, and it’s got a real connection to the London street fashion of the 1970s – what Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren were doing. “I think London and Japan definitely have a connection when it comes to fashion.”

What are your top tips for Japanese stuff in London? Tell us in the comments below.

• See some of the world’s coolest short films at Rushes Soho Shorts Film Festival. Until 31 Jul
• Buy your dog an ice cream at the Boomerang Pets Party in Regent’s Park. Sat 24 Jul
• Head along to the Barbican for an event-packed Barbican Weekender – two days of music, film, theatre, dance, visual art and spoken word. Sat 24 & Sun 25 Jul
• Attend the Brighter Later all-day event The Boogaloo in Highgate. Vintage clothes, swing dancing a Mexican BBQ and more, all to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Sun 25 Jul
• Check out some fancy footwork outside Harrods department store. Football freestyler and Britain’s Got Talent finalist Jeremy Lynch is attempting to set a new Guinness World Record for the most keepy-uppies with a popitball. 2-6pm, Sat 24 Jul

As the summer weather continues to hold, we at VL Towers are pondering all the lovely things we can do outdoors of an evening. And, following the fun times at the Starlite Urban Drive-In, we can think of nothing better than a visiting one of London’s outdoor or pop-up cinemas.

Here are some of the coolest spots to watch film in London this summer:

• Film 4 Summer Screen at Somerset House – London’s most beautiful outdoor cinema. I’m looking forward to seeing Master and Commander! 29 Jul-8 Aug
• Greenwich Film Festival – top films in unexpected locations around Greenwich 15-18 July
• Thursday Film Nights at the Grand Union, Brixton – see Amelie, Austin Powers and Bridget Jones this month
• The Scoop Summer Film season- free films next to City Hall 15 Sep-1 Oct
• BP Summer Screens – opera and ballet streamed live from the Royal Opera House until 13 Jul
• Syon Park House – lends its histroric backdrop to Dirty Dancing, Top Gun, Pretty Woman and more 18-22 Aug
• Drive-in-movies at Alexandra Palace – including Transformers and The Italian Job 12-14 Aug
• Portobello Pop Up Cinema -  forgotten classics and cutting-edge new works under the Westway 10-31 Jul

Have you spotted any more open air cinema events happening in our fair city? Let us know in the comments below!

Witty wartime film Went the Day Well? based on a Graham Greene story returns to the big screen this week and I was lucky enough to see a sneak preview.

The fast-paced thriller, produced by Ealing Studios in 1942 as unofficial propaganda, depicts public concerns during the Second World War in the cheery little village of Bramley End.

Led by the respectable Major Hammond (Basil Sydney), a troop of British soldiers turn up unexpectedly in the quaint village. They are soon immersed within the community, thanks to the help of village gentry Oliver Wilsford (Leslie Banks).

But all is not what it seems, and suspicions are raised over the handwriting of one of the soldiers and a piece of chocolate found in a rucksack – cue village camaraderie, plots and shock tactics.

Banks plays the wily Wilsford with aplomb, while Sydney’s portrayal of Hammond is reminiscent of Sid Lowe’s Captain Mainwaring (Dad’s Army) at his most beguiling.

While hilarious one-liners are thrown in, the story also has surprising sinister and violent moments.

It’s a must-see – if just for the 1940s time acting and filmmaking.

Restored by the British Film Institute the film is re-released on 9 July 2010 at BFI Southbank.

Last night I went to the launch of London’s first-ever drive-in cinema.

Located in a large carpark in the Old Truman Brewery off Brick Lane, the Starlite Drive-In consists of about 20 brand new Volvos parked in front of a big screen for your viewing pleasure.

For the launch, the cars were the stars: we were invited to explore the three types of Volvo provided (a convertible, a sporty 2-door model and a 4×4) – by sitting in the driver’s seat, playing with radio and sun roof controls, and honking the horns (although this was discouraged!). There’s no need to bring your licence though, as all the cars remain stationary and the engines are firmly off. We only saw a short promo film, but tonight and tomorrow cinema-goers will watch Dirty Dancing and Grease.

Catering and entertainment was provided by The Brickhouse nightclub, which backs on to the carpark. There was a brief speech from Damien Barr – the visionary behind the Starlite Drive-in:

“We all grew up with the drive-in dream. But it never happened in Britain because we don’t have the space, the weather, or that car culture. I wanted to update the idea and make it work for an urban, eco-conscious audience and this seemed the perfect way to do it.”

After which, we were treated to 1950s-style performances – retro singers, burlesque and a hula hoop girl.

I’d love to say long live the drive in but Volvo Sarlite Urban Drive-In is open for two nights only in London, before relocating to other spots around the UK.

Let’s hope it returns next year!