Luna cinema, 18th September

The number of outdoor cinema screenings are legion these days. There’s the grand Somerset House affair (cold and uncomfortable unless you bring blankets or even sleeping bags [yes, some people did this]), there’s the Rooftop Cinema Club with deckchairs and blankets provided. There’s Backyard Cinema, which gives you a choice of deckchair or beanbag, and this summer Everyman even got in on the act with Street Feast, projecting films by Battersea Power Station. You can also watch movies al fresco with Scoop, and the Nomad cinema. And, finally (almost) there’s Luna Cinema. 

They have a few places where they set up shop, places that are a little more unusual. Such as Brockwell Lido, which is where I watched The Goonies the other week. A normal ticket gets you a stake on the poolside, and it’s up to you to bring something comfortable to sit on. But if you stump up for the premium ticket, you get to watch the move ON... THE... WATER! Yes! Very exciting. You get your own little two-person inflatable dinghy to get comfy in. It’s actually a wonderfully cosy way to watch a movie, bobbing about on the water and drifting a little when other people move around in their dinghies and make waves. Don’t worry – you don’t drift very far. Each dinghy is still moored to the side and you aren’t allowed to row out to the very middle of the pool (unfortunately).

More unfortunately for us, we (and by ‘we’, I mean my friend) got there after the movie started so we were left to our own devices to actually get into our vessel. This I did not do with much aplomb and we came perilously close to capsizing. Instead it just meant that a bunch of water got in and soaked my dress completely down one side, which I didn’t realize until the end of the movie. Travelling all the way back to East London with wet clothes wasn’t that fun.

The venue of Brockwell Lido meant that the café was on hand to provide food – the usual stuff: pulled pork and what have you, and there was wine, beer and cider on sale as well, though I’d had quite a big night before so had a mere bottle of water.

It gets chilly on the water so I was pleased I’d packed a blanket; even though it was a very warm night, by 9pm I was huddled into it. 

For novelty value this one was hard to beat, and they clearly have excellent taste in films. Recommended. 

Backyard Cinema, 24th July

I first heard about Backyard Cinema when they got in touch with me via twitter to tell me of their existence. They were barely a twinkle in their organiser's eye but I put it on my List as I liked the idea of a cinema with a casual, let's-get-all-our-friends-together vibe. And back then their events were pretty low key. Now they've got bean bags, deckchairs and street food partnerships - the whole shebang! For their latest instalment they've encamped at Camden Lock market where Honest burgers are serving from a stall outside their actual venue, and they have Brewdog on the bar (and slushie cocktails) so you don't have to settle for just popcorn. Though they have that too at only £1 a bag. (Contrast with the Everyman Power of Summer where they’re selling it for £3!)

The movie we went to see was The Lego Movie. We got down there pretty early and I did get an Honest Burger but not from the dedicated Backyard Cinema stall. It was my first - Stephen has been a fan for a while but whenever we popped by one, it was always too busy. You may realise I don't eat actual burgers - I had the chicken version. And it came as standard with their famous rosemary fries. I imagine substantial chips wouldn't get overwhelmed by the salt and rosemary but my portion was full of the scraps at the end of a batch so I found them a little too seasoned. 

We then hung around waiting for the cinema to be built. That's right. When we got there, there wasn't anything - just a hole in a black curtain where the screen would go and some supine deck chairs. It was quite fun to watch it take shape around us - the bean bags were dragged out and the deck chairs were erected. It did mean that we were so early, we completely missed the box office where you had to get your ticket scanned in exchange for a movie pass. It was only when we were about to go in, that they said we needed to get it exchanged, but thankfully they said I wouldn’t have to queue from the back once I did. Must admit, that seemed a bit pointless - not sure why the usherettes couldn't just scan your printout. 

Anyway, we had grabbed a drink from the bar (an absolutely amazing Paloma slushie in honour of National Tequila Day) and waited while the queue to get in to the seats formed. Finally we were allowed in! We had already made the big decision: bean bag or deck chair? Knowing from experience with the Rooftop Film Cinema that deck chairs are way cool and comfortable, we did that and made a beeline for the area we had already picked out as well. They have blankets to hire for when the temperature cools (it will, even if it's warm in the day) and they have ushers/usherettes that will bring you drinks and food pretty much throughout the film which is a nice touch.

Before the main feature, they play some shorts, all of which were pretty cool, but especially the one called Pockets. Check it out.

And then we just settled in and enjoyed the movie. Which was fab. On the whole I would say this was a pretty good movie experience, definitely more enjoyable (though far less grand) than Somerset House, and on a par with Rooftop Film Club (though missing the views). They also have a good mix of 'cult' films that everyone loves (but has probably seen a dozen times) and newer releases like the Lego Movie, or Silver Linings Playbook, for people who want to see something they haven't seen before.