One of the unfortunate bits of collateral damage associated with the closing of Dr. Dremo's was that the Washington Psychotronic Film Society was rendered homeless as well. WPFS has been in operation in the D.C. area for 20 years now, and housed their weekly screenings of eclectic films at Dremo's since 2000. For my own part, I can remember discovering them around that time, as I was a frequent visitor to the downstairs pool room at Dremo's, and one night we showed up to discover a low-budget Asian sci-fi film playing in the background. Getting loaded while playing pool and keeping half an eye on whatever cracked piece of cinema WPFS had going on during the week became a favorite pastime. It was disappointing to see them go on indefinite hiatus along with Dremo's after the taphouse's doors closed in January.

Luckily, WPFS has secured new digs, this time in the form of the Old Arlington Grill, the new restaurant attached to the Arlington Cinema 'n' Drafthouse. So no more pool, but you can still get loaded and grab some bar food while watching the movies. We haven't sampled the fare at the Grill yet, though we hope it's an improvement over the lackluster cuisine the Drafthouse has been offering for years (and which has always been one of the few negatives about movies there, along with the servers inevitably hounding you for payment right at a movie's climax). But regardless, it's good news that the society will be able to resume their screenings of, as they describe their programming, "...independent, cutting-edge, student, experimental, anime, off-beat, underground, obscure, super-8, low-budget, classic, forgotten, must-see, and just about anything on film."

Screenings resume next week on Wednesday, March 26; at the moment, the WPFS site says Tuesday, March 26, which is obviously incorrect, so we'll go with the schedule on the Cinema 'n' Drafthouse site. First up is The Dungeonmaster, a classic of bad '80s fantasy filmmaking that you may have picked up at your local suburban Blockbuster purely on the basis of the title if you were a huge geek in the late 80s who might have carried around a 12-sided die in your pocket, you know, just in case. Not that we know anyone like that. Highlights for the month after that include Bette Davis in an eyepatch, the king of spoof cinema, the first (and best?) in a long line of Lynchian nightmares, and a kung-fu fighting cat. Yes, a kung-fu fighting cat. Oh, WPFS, how we've missed you.

A sidenote while on the subject of the Cinema 'n' Drafthouse and trashy entertainment. Arch Campbell, current WJLA entertainment reporter, former longstanding NBC4 movie guru, bane of Patton Oswalt and lovers of good movies everywhere, is, incredibly, hosting the first in a monthly series of variety shows there on Friday night. Each show opens with a wine-tasting (we're thinking alcohol may be a necessary accessory here), a comic, and then 50 minutes of "acts" hand-picked by Arch himself. This Friday's show includes an appearance by Mona Shaw, the sweet little 75-year-old lady who you may remember from her violent rampage through a Manassas Comcast office last fall. We can only assume they're going to give her a hammer and some old TVs and let her go to town.

WPFS movies are free, but they do suggest a $2 donation (they're a non-profit organization). Arch Campbell's Variety Show, on the other hand, will cost you $15.