Reykjavík Grapevine - 27.06.2003, Qupperneq 15

- the reykjavík grapevine -14 june 27th - july 10th, 2003 - the reykjavík grapevine - 15june 27th - july 10th, 2003
CINEMA LISTINGS
The following cinema listing is for date of publication (June 27th).
Expect some changes in the next two weeks.
t
premiers June 20th
People I Know Premiers June 27th.
Agent Cody Banks 4 and 6 pm.
Anger Management 8 and 10 pm.
Hulk Premiers July 11th.
4, 6, 8 and 10 pm. 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 pm.4, 6, 8 and 10 pm.
Identity 6, 8 and 10 pm.
They 6, 8 and 10 pm.
Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle Premiers July 4th.
Anger Management 5:45, 8 and 10:30 pm.
Agent Cody Banks 3:40, 5:50 and 8 pm.
XMen 10:15 pm.
Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle Premiers July 4th.
4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 pm.
Smáralind phone: 564 0000 www. smarabio.is Hverfi sgata 54 phone: 551 9000 Laugarás phone: 553 2075
4, 6, 8 and 10 pm.
You will hardly fi nd an Icelander who is
not a cinema buff. The reason for this
is perhaps simple. In a country where
it seems to be almost completely dark
half the year, and the climate is not
conducive to outdoor activities, there
simply isn’t much else to do. Hence
fi lms are often a good conversation
starter, and debates are rife (is Godfa-
ther Part I better than Part II, what was
in that suitcase in Pulp Fiction, what
the hell was George Lucas thinking
when he made The Phantom Menace,
etc). Long winter nights can be spent
settling questions such as “did Antho-
ny Hopkins deserve the Oscar for best
leading actor in Silence of the Lambs,
even though he didn’t get that much
screen time?” with the aid of a stop
watch (his performance comes in at
just under half an hour in total).
There are a lot of cinemas in
Reykjavík (per head, of course) and
almost all of them have recently been
renovated, so they usually have rather
comfortable seats and good sound
systems. However, as can be deter-
mined from a glance at the programs,
the large majority of the fi lms on offer
are American mainstream fare, and
a lot are shown in multiple cinemas,
so you have a considerable choice
of viewing locations, and somewhat
less choice in the fi lms you watch.
Fortunately, there are reasonably
frequent fi lm festivals which give you
the chance to see fi lms from farther
afi eld.
One curiosity about cinemas here is
the break. The reason for this is that
it used to be necessary in order to
change the reels. Long after longer
reels made this irrelevant, the break
is still retained in this country. The
reason for this is probably that it
encourages popcorn sales, but it is
also a nice opportunity to light up a
fag and discuss the fi rst half with the
people you came with, although some
people fi nd that it ruins the fl ow of the
fi lm. Which of course is a cause for
debate.
VG
POPCORN AND CINEMATIC DEBATES
DURING THE BREAK