Originally planned after 2001: A Space Odyssey and sandwiched between A Clockwork Orange and The Shining, Barry Lyndon seemed a huge thematic and stylistic departure for director Stanley Kubrick. So much so that although critically well received -- winning four Oscars, more than of any of Kubrick's other films -- it flopped with audiences on release in 1975. A period piece, based on a William Makepeace Thackeray novel (which in turn was based on the true story of Andrew Stoney), the film features Ryan O'Neal as Redmond Barry, 18th century world-class social climber. A poor Irish lad, he's bright, seductive, impeccably dressed, absolutely charming and an amoral rotten-to-the-core self-serving chancer. Long and slow paced, the film follows Redmond as he eventually rises to become Barry Lyndon with a kind of cool, distancing style, emotionally removed and allowing the viewer to judge his ruthless methods for themselves. Beautifully shot, the film remains iconic to cinematographers for its pioneering methods of shooting in natural light and candlelit interiors -- to the rest of us it is a gorgeous feast for the eyes, like a painting come to life.

NB: Barry Lyndon screens at the BFI Southbank till 17/03. This extended run is part of the BFI's two-part Stanley Kubrick retrospective (30/01 till 17/03). Also of note is the release of Revelutionary Road (30/01) and the Satajit Ray retrospective at the Barbican (01/02 till 22/02).

A stark set with a bright lantern moon morphs into an eerie fairyland, inhabited by luminescent orbs and a haunting fairy chorus. Far from being simply pretty, A Midsummer Night's Dream tips an appropriate nod to the grotesque, as ragged fairies gleefully behead their doll counterparts, and a vastly silhouetted Oberon (Peter de Jersey) dwarfs the landscape. A preternatural puppet changeling, uncannily manipulated by the fairy ensemble, hints at a latent magical malevolence. Despite its sumptuousness, a rough sense of poverty pervades this paradoxical production, as a cynical Puck (Mark Hadfield) whirls across the stage in a shopping trolley, and the mechanicals rehearse under a bare lightbulb. Highlighting the gender struggle for power and identity that underlies A Midsummer Night's Dream, Kathryn Drysdale (Hermia) and Natalie Walter (Helena) oscillate mercilessly between nauseous femininity and growling belligerence. At the other end of the scale, Pyramus And Thisbe is a glorious spectacle of over-acting, spanning Greek tragedy to the oddest of chorus lines. This is a bewitching production. Despite its clever complexity, however, the real beauty of this performance is that it never fails to laugh at itself.

NB: runs till 07/02.

Buzzed-in to The approach's slightly up-tight W1 gallery, round the corner from the BBC's Broadcasting House, it's hard not to be a bit intimidated by Philip Allen's intense new oils. Each one looks like part of the cruddy, painterly chaos of Bacon's Reece Mews studio, that Allen has scraped away at to reveal magical hieroglyphs underneath. A strip of 3D white noise remains at the top and bottom, but between these borders looms a hallucinatory mixture of language, figuration and geometry. It feels like a glimpse of the true order of things. Perhaps this is what the inside of God's head would look like (if he existed, if he had a head, etc etc). It's indecipherable but clearly full of arcane meaning. There's cartoony drawing that owes something to Guston and a sexy Twombly-ish paint treatment. Are these maps for reading real life? The financial markets? Our inner monologues? It's something fundamental anyway. We like the show's title (Sloppy cuts no ice), in times of softening job-markets it's a good maxim for staying ahead of the curve. Closing soon so don't miss out.

NB: runs till 31/01.

Putting aside any accusations of nepotism, we're big fans of entrepreneurial spirit at KultureFlash HQ, so it's handclaps all round for contributors John Power and Tony Poland for dipping their pinky toes in the murky world of the record industry by starting up Hot Pockets, their own label. Having spent the best part of three years helping to destroy the music industry with buff hype mp3 blog Slutty Fringe, read by the great and the good, starting a record label can be seen as the next logical step. The debut release, penciled in for Valentine's Day, is shrouded in several layers of secrecy, perhaps to stave off any potential law suits, but Team Slutty Fringe are marking this momentous occasion with a Hot Pockets release party at newly tarted up Brixton boozer Ivan's Retreat this Friday. Eschewing any notions of special guests that might steal the spotlight from their hard work, John and Tony will be manning the decks all night armed to the teeth with hot tracks that won't see the light of day for several months, as befits any mp3 blogger worth their salt.

If you'd already consigned Basement Jaxx to either the dustbin of history or the obscurity that often follows a binge on mainstream cash-rich projects, this is an unusual chance to catch the turn of the century duo in one of the places they made their name. By the sound of tracks under their latest Nifty moniker, they're also taking a step back from the histrionics of their later work and returning to a neater approach. In that vein they could easily take some inspiration from Simple Records' Will Saul who's also on the bill. His recent track "Zippo" with Mike Monday is, for once, an excellent manifestation of terms like "deep" and "driving" that so many B-list house producers seem to throw around in the vein hope of achieving either. He's certainly got a taste for rhythms that gently tickle and build rather than clobber like most of the identikit "anthems" Basement Jaxx's many heirs were guilty of. So by squeezing these two names along with the Lasermagnetic and Modular folks into a 500-capacity venue, this could be a bona fide chance to remember why UK house exploded in the late '90s as well as getting a good taste of where it's got to so far this century.

The unpredictable mulletover team return to the capital with two heavyweight DJs in tow for another clandestine gathering in Southwark. This time there's no dress theme or abandoned warehouse to find, instead the nomadic party specialists team up with Bristol's Futureboogie promoters for a specially discounted night, which they're topically calling "The Recession Session". Room 1 headliner Anja Schneider has been one of the leading figures in Berlin's globally admired techno scene for over a decade. Her two labels (Mobilee and Leena) have continuously been pushing the genre's sound forward into new directions. However, unlike some of her fellow countrymen, Schneider has always kept the output accessible and danceable. Warming up the decks for her Highness will be Leftroom Records' boss Matt Tolfrey, Kubicle's FB Julian and mulletover's always-popular promoter and sole resident Geddes. Apparently not wanting to be overshadowed at their own 7th Birthday party, the Futureboogie crew have drafted in current it-boy Todd Terje to headline room 2. The Norwegian's official and unofficial disco reworkings of tracks by artists as diverse as Paul Simon, Chaz Jankel and Guns N' Roses have seen his profile meteorically rocket over the last two years, making this the perfect birthday booking.

NB: advance tickets are available via the Resident Advisor and TicketWeb websites.

Kompakt stalwart Justus Kohncke is one of the most revered proponents of modern day kraut discoteria with a penchant for the less obvious -- his debut album consisted of electronic reinterpretations of John Cale and Neil Young. Between working on new material for his next album on Kompakt, Kohncke makes one of his infrequent returns to London nightlife, headlining for Loose, whose parties lean heavily on the current du jour sound of all things disco. Jiscomusic is one of the better edit labels, with releases by Mark E and The Revenge being Phonica best sellers. The man that handpicked these releases, label boss David James, knows his disco and can be expected to drop the latest sounds that will soon be raping the bank accounts of edit loving vinyl addicts. James is joined by one of the international disco beard congoscenti in Danish producer Peter Visti, whose release on Mindless Boogie last year which saw him squeeze the funk out of a Yacht Rock classic by The Lovin' Spoonful was a ever present in most DJs charts. Speaking of Yacht Rock, hirsute honeys the Moustache Mamas are also in the house, fresh from some Time Out word love and ready to take on the aforementioned genre along with disco and pop standards.

Not as widely seen as it deserves to be, Satyajit Ray's cinema is as vital today as it was when he emerged with his debut film Pathar Panchali at Cannes in 1956, winning the Grand Prix. For an affirmative statement of pure narrative skill Ray's Apu Trilogy has few peers. Everything counts in Ray. There is an economy of style he takes from Renoir and the neo-realism of De Sica, telling a story without obviously displaying the technical mastery behind it. The inner life of his characters lights up the screen with an intensity and focus that makes for a rare experience. Always there is sense of musical design. Although very much Bengali, his films constantly find an uplifting universalism, and despite his focus on the downtrodden and the grim there is always time for the wonder of life. In a long career Ray's films span the whole of Indian society -- the village, the urban middle class, the role of women, the complex mix between West and East and tradition and progress. To see Satyajit Ray is to be reminded cinema can rival the power of literature.

NB: runs till 22/02. Also of note is the release of Revelutionary Road (30/01) and Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon at the BFI Southbank (30/01 till 17/03).

Last autumn, Wayne McGregor presented his Ignite weekend at the Royal Opera House; now the Southbank Centre invites its own resident choreographer to curate 62C. These events provide a very intelligent way into the work of their curator. For this programme, Rafael Bonachela, who has recently been appointed Artistic Director of Sydney Dance Company, brings together artists from all horizons. All the performances are free and take place in the ballroom of the Royal Festival Hall which means that you don't need to book and can enjoy as much dance as you fancy on both days. On Saturday check out 2008 Place Prize winner Adam Linder performing his solo work, The Perfect Score, to Ravel's Bolero and the recipient of the prestigious 2009 Robin Howard Choreographic Commission Frederick Opoku-Addaie in Bf Starter, a collaborative creation with Jorge Crecis. On Sunday among others, the electrifying Laila Diallo brings The Wayside. 62C also offers the chance to see new dance films including the UK premiere of dancer Theo Clinkard and Canadian filmmaker Mariko Montpetit's new work. So, open yourself to new performance in the relaxed and stylish settings of the Royal Festival Hall.

NB: 62C is performed on both 31/01 and 01/02.

"Gather, gather" as La Winslet would say. Revolutionary Road, rewarded at the Golden Globes, but pretty much snubbed by the Oscars (it's nominated for three gongs, including set design, or some such placatory nod), comes to town; we can finally see if Kate deserved to get so frighteningly hysterical accepting her GG for best actress. Based on Richard Yates' 1961 novel, the film tells the story of Frank (Leo "I've loved you for 13 years!" DiCaprio) and April (Winslet), a perfect couple living the perfect '50s American dream. Or are they? Of course not. They're frustrated, quashed by the suffocating, claustrophobic weight of suburban banality. What happened to their youthful dreams of adventure, exploration, excitement, ambition, hope? Lost in commuting, inane jobs, suburban teas, and domestic sniping. Dare they dream again? Dare they break the mould? Winslet's husband Sam Mendes directs a cataclysmically heartbreaking film of emotional turbulence. This is no easy watch; it's achingly painful, uncomfortable and troubling. The carefully crafted pace, dramatic intensity, stealth horror and exceptional performances make for a shiveringly bleak film that's a searing indictment of living by the rules of conformity and safety.

NB: Revolutionary Road is released in London on 30/01. Also of note is Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon at the BFI Southbank (30/01 till 17/03) and the Satajit Ray retrospective at the Barbican (01/02 till 22/02).

There are some fans of Optic Nerve who believe that it was strongest in its earliest incarnation as the mini-comic that Adrian Tomine produced aged 16, before he went to "corporate" with Drawn And Quarterly. In truth, he has done nothing but become better. Now an even greater draughtsman and story-teller, Tomine is happily filling in that niche of being an Asian-American comics dude, but also busting out of it by telling tales of awkward, alternative youth growing comfortably into their adult selves. It's tough growing up, and though society still has some rites of passage, as years go by they seem more rites than passage. Often drawing from autobiography, Tomine is no Satrapi nor is he a Spiegelman. Visually he has been accused of ripping off Clowes, but in truth Tomine is very much his own artist, as readers of The New Yorker and Esquire, who've caught his clean crisp line drawings, can attest. Less in-your-face than Satrapi and definitely far more gentile than Spiegelman, Tomine's tales of estrangement though touching, are not maudlin. Where he was funny and funky as a teen, he has grown into one of indy comics more compelling voices. Why catch him speak? 'Cause this voice will one day -- like his pal Clowes -- be speaking through a cineplex near you.

NB: Adrian Tomine will be in conversation with author Toby Litt. Also of note is Jeffrey Lewis' lecture on Alan Moore's Watchmen at the ICA on 24/02 (9pm).

Author and new media expert Clay Shirky will be on hand at the ICA to offer valuable insight into his theses examining Internet technologies and the topology of social networks. In his recent book Here Comes Everybody: The Power Of Organizing Without Organizations, Shirky discusses how people unite online to create momentous movements without the use of traditional organizational structures. The contemporary phenomenon of engagement en masse in causes championed via the Internet -- demonstrated so forcefully by Obama's use of the Internet as a campaigning tool, which helped him win the presidency -- is a topical subject. "The Obama Effect" is the latest in a cerebral series of Internet-related topics identified by Shirky since the invention of the World Wide Web in 1993 which have included the philosophical characteristics of WAP, the effects of the British Empire on Internet use of the English language, and the effect of Napster on Internet architecture. This talk by the Nostradamus of the Internet promises to stimulate more predictions about online people power.

In Rosita Boisseau's great collection of interviews with contemporary choreographers, she asks Alain Platel what his main obsession is when working, to which he answers "that a human warmth should settle in between the participants". It's safe to say that by "participants" he means the audience as much as the dancers. His work with Les Ballet C de la B is defined by the extraordinary energy and visceral impact achieved through ground and rule-breaking dance-theatre together with consistently explosive musical scores. Platel returns to Sadler's Wells with what sounds almost like a sequel to the astonishing vsprs, again working alongside composer Fabrizio Cassol. Rather than Monteverdi however, this time it's no less than Bach's St Matthew Passion, which forms the conceptual underpinning and musical thread. Played live by the fantastic ensemble Aka Moon, this is apparently not simply an adaptation by Cassol but a whole new story! True to their punk roots, Les Ballet C de la B sweep aside taboo and go straight for the jugular in their treatment of an already shatteringly powerful piece of music.

NB: Pitie! is performed at Sadler's Wells from 05/02 till 07/02. For dance fans make sure you catch Rafael Bonachela curated 62C at the Royal Festival Hall on 31/01 and 02/02.

Where does storytelling stand today? As TV series increasingly go into new dramatic areas how does the older form of the novel deal with the new? As the criterion of realism becomes ever sharper and the dramatic highs most people talk about aren't from novels, are novelists now finding their craft a handmaiden to the art of scriptwriting? Giles Foden, author of The Last King Of Scotland, and Tom Perrotta, The Abstinence Teacher and Little Children, who have both had their work adapted into films, discuss the power of TV narrative, adaptation, and how they respond to the challenge. This should be a stimulating discussion for those interested in how writers like David Simon (The Wire, Generation Kill) and Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon) have shifted focus away from the novel. While many writers, like Jules Furthman and William Faulkner, were somewhat downcast about the merits of script work, its conceptual innovation is now looking more captivating and concrete than the rewards in contemporary fiction.

NB: also of note at the ICA is the Peter Greenaway talk on 09/02 (7pm).

In music we'd call 'em covers, but Tim Lee's not really a cover artist. The musical analogy is not far off though, because like all musicians he is a performer. In fact, ask him, and he'll tell you that he is a performance artist, despite the fact that each performance is mediated via video or photography and sculpture. On display is a sculpture that helped him make the images that "re-imagine" Rodchenko's photographs. Every aspect of the performance is there for you to catch, 'cept of course the performance itself... it's really like catching "Hallelujah" covers performed on YouTube, which is mostly how we get some of our music anyway. From the Steve Martin (yeah, The Jerk) to Rodchenko and Dan Graham (whose pavilion Lee is exhibiting next to) here, and artists like Neil Young and Glenn Gould elsewhere, Lee is plundering western culture for its seminal moments -- at least from his point of view. Steve Martin's idea of a live show consisting of one joke is here truncated into one small moment -- no joke. Lee's work isn't quite a cold strategy; rather it encompasses sampling, self-portraiture, ontological questions about what art can be, and even some jokes. Now we'd like to see him do Bruce Lee next.

NB: runs till 08/02. For another example of re-making culture, be sure to catch Keith Coventry at Haunch of Venison (runs till 31/01).

The question that comes to mind when looking at the uplifting canvases and enchanting photographs of Daan van Golden is: "Why is this his first solo show in Britain"? This could be partly due to the long periods when he stopped producing work. Although van Golden represented his home country of the Netherlands at the Venice Biennale in 1999, the Dutch mostly kept him secret. Van Golden draws influences from a variety of art historical references and life experiences -- a period in Japan, geometric abstraction, minimalism, his daughter, William Morris, '60s culture, nature -- to create a unique oeuvre impossible to pigeonhole. Paintings of a Parakeet motif from a Matisse canvas and reworked in fiery red, then cornflower blue on white, seem fresh as a daisy, yet date back to the '60s. A spindly Giacommetti-esque form receives similar treatment, with vibrant colour dancing on the canvas. Composition With Colour Dots (1964) came decades before the now ubiquitous Hirst spot paintings, and his glossy abstractions way before Turk. Van Golden creates a kind of Wizard Of Oz gingham version of Mondrian, and a pulsating Pollock motif is juxtaposed nicely with a series of energetic photographs of the artist's daughter. A refreshing interpretation of art... and life.

NB: runs till 08/02.

An exhibition that could make you laugh out loud, sneer with scepticism and shift uncomfortably all at once, Jonathan Meese's CASINOZ BABYMETABOLISMN (Put DR. NO'S MONEY in your mouth, Baby) at Modern Art is a rich mess. On the walls are new large-scale works on black canvas, layering colourful strokes of paint, Scarlett Johansson's eyeless face cut from magazines, blow-up dolls and million mark notes from a hyper-inflated 1930s Germany. These paintings, overlaid with thick acrylic, embalm Meese's preoccupations with fascism, genitalia, consumption and art. The artist's presence is inscribed on the walls of the gallery with hand written scrawl, more Johansson cut-outs and photographs of himself. Two darkly comical video works in opposite corners of one room play on small monitors found amongst the arranged debris of colourful military paraphernalia, plastic masks and crude hobby-horse sculptures. In contrast to the colourful mayhem, but carrying further themes of dictatorship in art (or the art of dictatorship) are a series of bronze busts. Despotic and deformed, these sculptures are strangely beautiful, with a commanding presence that brings some kind of order to the chaos.

NB: runs till 14/02.

Roni Horn is fascinated by the Icelandic landscape: the artist finds solitude there, which allows her to explore nature's infinite capacity for change in sculptures, works on paper and photography. Language forms a vital component of her practice: words underpin drawings and books offer a rich analogue to the individual experience of the environment. In recent works, the ubiquitous substance of water provides a means of self-reflection. Horn's installation at the University of Akureyri, Some Thames (2000), comprises 80 photos of water dispersed throughout the university's public spaces, tracing the ebb and flow of students, and the evolution of learning. In 2007, she began an international commission for Artangel called Vatnasafn/Library of Water, based in a community centre in the small town of Stykkisholmur and accompanied by the illustrated book Weather Reports You. It continues to be a resource for the local community, collecting stories and facilitating creativity as the glacial ice melts. Artangel co-director James Lingwood and modern art historian Briony Fer join Horn to discuss her sculptural language and relationship to the environment in this talk chaired by Tate Curator Mark Godfrey.

NB: not many spaces remain for this talk so buy your tickets here. This event has been programmed in conjunction with Tate Modern's Roni Horn AKA Roni Horn exhibition, which runs from 25/02 till 25/05.

In their latest film, Danish collective Superflex -- who have also turned their hands to large-scale installations and process-based projects -- flood a full scale replica of a Macdonald's; subtle it ain't, but it sure makes for compelling viewing. The opening shots pan across eerily deserted counters and tabletops, a Marie Celeste of consumer capitalism, and when the water starts to flow in under the door it does so swiftly and with an air of gleeful menace. It surges about the feet of a giant plastic Ronald MacDonald statue, gradually toppling him until he bobs in the water like a fast food Ozymandius; as the water level rises, it acquires a scummy wrack of drink cups, straws, burger boxes and bloated chips. Like Superflex's first foray into film, Burning Car (2008), made in response to the civil unrest in Paris and Copenhagen during 2007, Flooded Macdonald's straddles the disparate genres of disaster movie, documentary, film art and political statement. With beautiful camera work and an atmospheric soundtrack (humming food units and glooping water), Flooded Macdonald's builds to a deeply depressing evocation of consumption at a dead end, the threat of climate change, and the vulnerability of human creation.

NB: runs till 01/03. On 05/02 (7pm) catch Rasmus Nielsen of Superflex along with lawyer, writer and curator Daniel McClean when they discuss issues of artists' copyright in the collective's work and more broadly.

KultureFlash is a free, weekly newsletter covering contemporary culture in and around London. Each week we track down some of the more unusual and interesting events taking place in the capital and deliver them straight to your inbox. Featuring art, gigs, films, talks, clubs and more -- we are committed to bringing you an eclectic mix of the most stimulating events in London.

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