Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.06.2004, Blaðsíða 19

The Day After Tomorrow is that rare beast, a summer blockbuster that has its heart in the right place.
And that despite killing more people (even if offscreen) than any movie since Star Wars, which managed
to do in an entire planet.
by Valur Gunnarsson
Hverfisgata 54
Phone: 551-9000
www.regnboginn.is
PREMIERS:
11. june Eternal Sunshine of
the Spotless Mind
16. june Mean Girls
16. june The Punisher
Still running:
Day After Tomorrow
Kill Bill vol. 2
Jersey Girl
Laugarás
Phone: 553-2075
www.laugarasbio.is
PREMIERS:
11. june Win a Date with Tad
Hamilton
18. june The Punisher
Still running:
Laws of Attraction
Butterfly Effect
Peter Pan
Álfabakka 8
Phone: 587-8900
www.sambio.is
PREMIERS:
11. june Eurotrip
16. june The Ladykillers
16. june Mean Girls
Still running:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban
Troy
Confessions of a Teenage Drama
Queen
Kringlan 4-6
Phone: 588-0800
www.sambio.is
PREMIERS:
11. june Eurotrip
16. june The Ladykillers
16. june Mean Girls
Still running:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban
Troy
Laws of Attraction
Smáralind
Phone: 564-0000
www.smarabio.is
PREMIERS:
11. june Eternal Sunshine of
the Spotless Mind
16. june Mean Girls
16. june The Punisher
Still running:
Day after Tomorrow
Kill Bill vol.2
Jersey Girl
LISTINGS : june 11 - june 24MOVIES :
Hagatorg
Phone: 530-1919
www.haskolabio.is
PREMIERS:
11. june Mors Elling (Elling
2)
16. june The Ladykillers
16. june Mean Girls
Still running:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner
Troy
Van Helsing
Touching the void
LIBERAL AMERICA STRIKES BACK
Although originally from Germany,
director Roland Emmerich has long
made a point of being more Ameri-
can than the Americans. Here, at
least, he is a different kind of Ameri-
can. Whereas Independence Day and
Godzilla´s apparent message was:
Increase military spending, otherwise
we´ll be attacked by space aliens
and large firebreathing dragons, and
The Patriot´s more simple statement
was: Kill the English; here, we get
“stop global warming.” This, then,
is perhaps the first environmental-
ist action film since Steven Seagal´s
On Deadly Ground, where he would
beat up evil oil men before giving
them lectures on environmental
safety. Now, if only someone would
take that approach to the Bush
administration…
The adversary here, though, isn´t the
bad guys. True, there is a vice presi-
dent (who looks like Dick Cheney
on a diet) that doesn´t seem to care
about global warming, but even he
repents before the end rather than
being pickaxed by Dennis Quaid.
And the good guys aren’t bullet-and-
one-liner spewing muscle men. In
fact, they seem verging on the pinko
and the liberal. There are divorcées,
intellectuals and even atheists (who
still appreciate the cultural value of
God) who prevail by their wits rather
than by gunning down bad guys.
Although the major message of the
film is the environmental one, others
creep in. Drop the debt. Be nice to
the third world, we might need them
someday. Snacks and sweets are not
very nutritious. And, although it may
be okay to burn books to keep alive,
there are other uses for books. They
even help you cure diseases. Is all this
something we want our children to
hear?
So even if characterisation is poor
and the plot mostly nonsensical, it´s
a relief to finally be able to enjoy a
major Hollywood blockbuster guilt
free, without feeling that you´re sup-
porting American militarism. And
any film that portrays the weather as
the enemy is bound to strike a chord
with people living in Iceland.
Starship Troopers
From the Rental
The War on Bugs
This sci-fi shoot ´em up, set in a militarist dystopia, now
seems strangely prophetic. Buenos Aires is attacked by
bugs from outer space, leaving untold civilians dead. The
outrage is so great that humanity launches an attack on
the bugs homeland with the aim of exterminating them
all. Meanwhile on the homefront, heretofore innocent
bugs are killed on the streets by pedestrians. The inva-
sion of the bugs’ homeland does not go according to
plan, but when man discovers the inhuman enemy to be
a lot smarter than they thought, they take prisoners who
are then tortured in order to learn more about them.
The society that mankind lives in is hardly inspiring. It
still has the trappings of democracy, but everything´s
centred around the needs of the military, even the right
to vote. People aren´t drafted into the army, but society
pushes them to serve so that they can be all that they can
be.
All the actors are ridiculously beautiful (and can´t act),
so you can´t help thinking director Verhoeven takes glee
in having some of the main characters brains sucked out
(or perhaps that´s just Grapevine). The battle scenes
with the bugs are stunning but the films´ satire seems to
have been lost on most. A good night in, but for God´s
sake avoid the straight to video sequel.
MOVIES THEATREand
Screenings start rougly every two hours, at 18, 20 and 22. However, with films getting ever longer
starting times may vary. There are usually ads and trailers for roughly 15 minutes from announced
starting time. Almost all films have a short interval in the middle.
Look no further for:
Comic books
Graphic Novels
Manga/Anime
Action Figures
Sci-Fi/Fantasy paperbacks
Collectible Card Games
Warhammer
Role-Playing Games
and more...
NEXUS
Hverfisgata 103 (near bus station Hlemmur)
Open mon-sat 12 to 19:30, sun. 13-18
Phones 552 9011 - 5529012
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