Our independent cinema reviews begin in London’s East End: The Rio in Dalston, Hackney.
The single screen is a decent size, with a capacity of 400 comfy seats. For those with long limbs, the leg room is good and the spacing means short people get a decent view. The concessions stand has a good, wide selection including Monmouth coffee, a whole host of Twinings tea and a range of beer, wine and cider. On the snack side, there are (at least) three different types of popcorn, ice cream and a lot of chocolate.
There tends to be one or two recent releases, combining the (usually well-reviewed) mainstream with arthouse. On Sundays, they have double bill matinees – recently these have been a Geoffrey Rush pair and a selection from the Fringe! Gay Film Festival.
The Rio manage to balance their approach to catering for the newer artsy crowd and the longer-established Hackney residents, including the elderly and young families. The staff are pleasant and despite only one screen, the film choices are well-judged. Overall, The Rio is a local’s cinema: a comfortable place to go for an evening with the reasonable expectation of being entertained.
| AUSTERITY BRITAIN BOX (more info) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Despite its size, Hackney doesn’t have much in the way of chain cinemas so for the purposes of comparison, the closest large cinema is probably the Vue Islington – about 20 minutes on the number 38 bus away | ||
| Rio | Vue | |
| Single adult ticket: | £9.00 | £10.75 |
| Booking fee: | £0.50 | £0.70 |
| Medium* Popcorn: | £2.00 (Butterkist £1.30) | £3.20 |
| Medium* Soft Drink: | £2.20 | £3.25 |
| Bottle of Peroni (330ml): | £2.50 | £4.20 |
| *For medium, read whatever is the middle of the three sizes. | ||
| Special Deals This may not be our demographic but especially for the over 60s, there are free Classic Matinees one Wednesday a month. These also have an interval, with tea and cake!Under 60s also welcome at usual matinee prices (£7). I do not know if the cake will be shared. |
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If you’re planning a trip to the Rio this week, they’re showing Little White Lies, A Turtle’s Tale, Rango and Shogun Assassin.
The Sunday Double is from Japanese Director Tetsuya Nakashima: Memories of Matsuko and +Confessions.
See the Rio diary for more details.
Mild Concern 