What’s Playing in Theatres Right Now?

Translation: Högna Sól Þorkelsdóttir 

After a difficult day of studying, few things are as relaxing as a good movie. In a movie theatre, there are comfy seats which make you forget school for a moment. It’s important to allow yourself such things now and then. Sometimes big movies come to Háskólabíó, which is conveniently located nearby if you want to catch a movie directly after school. 

Due to Covid-19, many movie releases had to be postponed, so some movies are being released now or later this fall. Right now, Wonder Woman ‘84 and The French Dispatch should be hitting theatres. However, WW84 was postponed until Boxing Day, and The French Dispatch has been taken off all release schedules without explanation, and it’s unclear when it will actually arrive on the silver screen. The same can be said about the newest and 25th film about James Bond, No Time to Die. At first, it was postponed from April 2020 to November 2020, and is now slated to open in April 2021, a year after the original release date.

If you enjoy disaster movies…

Gerard Butler in good spirits. ★★★★☆

...then I recommend Greenland. It’s a bit different than other movies of this genre, where the disaster itself plays the leading role. In Greenland, however, the focus is on the human behaviour that takes on many different forms in light of the apocalyptic circumstances people face. The movie’s main character is a structural engineer who tries to get his family to safety. It could be said that the movie is in the same family as 2012 from the year 2009. I won’t go into the scientific accuracy, as it is rarely the focus of such movies. A good sound system and a big screen do a lot for the experience, except for people who are sensitive to unexpected noise.

If you find indie documentaries refreshing…

A journey with elephants and people. ★★★★☆

...I recommend The Hero’s Journey to the Third Pole. In this movie, directed by Anní Ólafsdóttir and well-known author Andri Snær Magnason, viewers gain a certain insight into the minds of bipolar people. The movie centers on Anna Tara Edwards, an Icelandic woman who lives in Nepal and gets the musician Högni Egilsson to come and play at a concert, which is part of raising the public’s awareness about mental illness. The audience also sees interesting footage of the country, as well as old shots from Anna’s life and that of her family. Högni was in charge of the film’s music and it is very fitting. This film is sweet and it makes you think. It must be noted, though, that at times there are flashing lights or fuzzy pictures that move a lot and can cause discomfort or seizures. The author also wonders whether one can criticize the fact that people ride elephants and considers the conditions in which the locals who are working for white people live.



If you enjoy watching films that cause speculation…

Courageous people playing mind games. ★★★★★

...then I recommend Tenet. The director, Christopher Nolan, is best known for the Batman trilogy (2005, 2008, 2012) and Inception (2010). Tenet most resembles Inception, as both of them try to twist time itself, but Tenet is a bit more complex in that aspect. The film is rather long (2 hrs 30 min), but if you get into the story it isn’t too noticeable; the tense music composed by the Swedish Ludwig Göransson helps with that. John David Washington (Denzel's son) plays the main role - a spy who is given a second chance following a failed mission. Robert Pattinson, who has been re-entering mainstream Hollywood recently, is also a good addition as John’s partner. Normal viewers like you and I are more positive towards the movie than some critics, who feel the director is trying too hard and describe the film as all his past works rolled into one. This could be due to the fact that people have high expectations of Nolan, making him an easy target for criticism, or the fact that the actors had to nail some scenes on the first take, as the film the movie was shot on is very expensive, so the acting may seem insincere.



If any of these films interest you, then you, dear reader, should don your coat and go to the cinema! Please respect social distancing and personal preventative measures in relation to Covid-19!