Since its release in 1982, Tron has lived at least three or four lives.  The first was as an attempt to cash in on the craze for arcade games; the second was as the (then) pinnacle of computer generated design; the third was after a re-evaluation of early '80s retro fashion and its fourth incarnation is through what could be called Son of Tron, but will be in cinemas as Tron Legacy.

Don't worry about plot, what you're getting from this film is a throwback to one of the most iconic films ever made.  Jeff Bridges (reborn as Hollywood's cult-hero leading man du jour since his titular (?  Perhaps) turn in The Big Lebowski), mind-bendingly special effects - think neon blues and reds against a backdrop of the deepest black - and a synth-prog-europop-dance soundtrack by everyone's favourite faceless boppers Daft Punk.  Best of all?  It's the fantasy world that 3-D film was made for.  Frankly, don't we all just want to see those motorcycles in action again?

As they state with pride, no two performances by Rambert Dance Company are the same.  As they undertake a national tour of their latest work, Awakenings, based on the true story documented in the eponymous book by Dr. Oliver Sacks (once adapted into a Major Hollywood Motion Picture Event starring Robert De Niro and Robin Williams), you wonder how this helps the dancers and the choreographers adapt to the atmosphere of each city and each audience, the weather that they bring with them and news of the day.

Awakenings documents through contemporary dance 'the sleeping sickness', where in the early twentieth century, a significant number of people across the world fell victim to a neurological disorder that left them in a state of paralytic slumber.  Their subsequent awakenings drew some extraordinary responses.

'Wait - you mean to tell me that this is a dance piece about being paralysed?'  Yes, okay, that sounds off but the inherent movement of minds that are alive and re-learning how to move beyond the awakenings anchor this piece, and a beautifully heartbreaking piece it is.

Rambert this week were made recipients of a £7million grant to develop a new state-of-the-art HQ.   Strange, perhaps, given the extent of the cuts at the current time?  No.  Not if it's for Rambert.

It's difficult to believe that this show at Ikon is the first retrospective exhibition on the work of Len Lye.  Best known for his experimental, colour and movement-based films Lye was particularly interested in promoting movement as core to the language of art.  His experiments with kinetic sculpture are the perfect example of this but his passion was for film.

A person obsessed with inclusivity (in all aspects, he was once expelled by the New Zealand colonial administration for living within an indigenous community), it was this inclusivity which led to him to mixing traditional and new media; in fact he would refer to his kinetic sculptures as 'tangible motion sculptures', an oddly-phrased sentence but one that makes sense when broken down word-by-word.

But let's forget about intellectualising Len's work.  At the end of the day (and we can be clear that his films are not always exactly audience-friendly) his films are fun.  They're bright, they're colourful, they're full of movement and precision.  His own personal philosophy was 'Individual Happiness Now' and the possibility of the best in human experience for all!  It's a long step away from all this modern, white cube, conceptual art nonsense any day of the week...Hey, at least he might have said so.

This is a thoughtful and engaging exhibition, curated by the Tyler Cann, who oversees the Len Lye Collection at Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Zealand, and is sure to be one of the best out-of-London exhibitions of the year.

The Body Electric, Len Lye is at Ikon until 13 February, 2011.

images from Rainbow Dance (1936), Len Lye.  copyright British Post Office/Len Lye Foundation/British Film Institute.