Astrópía

Were this an American movie, the producers would doubtless hope to cast Reese Witherspoon in the lead. It's the story of a bimbo girlfriend who has to fend for herself after her slimeball car-dealership-owning boyfriend is arrested. Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir starts out as a plastic-y trophy and grows into someone cute, warm, and surprisingly capable. It's a trajectory not unlike Legally Blonde, and Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir handles her role as Hildur as convincingly and engagingly as Witherspoon did in her corresponding role.

I don't play role-playing games, or even video games, and my taste in movies tends to the heavier stuff, but I like to praise the rare lightweight upbeat movies that work for me. It's not saccharine, and while Astrotopia (what Netflix calls this movie) is clichéd in the overall arc of the plot, it is relatively fresh in the moment-to-moment of the movie. I'm not big on visual gimmicks, but the scene-fades into comic-book panels are precisely appropriate and an added little delight.

The scenes and characters in the nerdy fantasy store where Hildur finds work were reminiscent of the record store scenes in High Fidelity. Not exactly new territory, but enjoyable in the same way.

Overall the movie had a nice quirky quality without being too darn cute or shoving its upbeat-ness down the viewer's throat. I enjoyed it a lot more than I had expected I would.

Not expecting much of anything when going to the cinema to watch the film Astropia, or Dorks & Damsels, I truly thought I was going to see some kind of a dorky female Schwarzenegger action hero. I was more than slightly overwhelmed by the imagination of the writers. How the world of reality is overtaken by the fantasy of role playing games works quite well. The film is low budget and stands no comparison to Hollywood action films, so don't expect any high-tech computerised scenes. But the love of the actors for this film is obvious, it shines through and that made me happy watching the film. The filmmakers do an excellent job and so do all the actors. Just go see it and have an enjoyable time.

I saw this at FantasticFest 2008. Great LARP'er story, will appeal widely to nerds & geeks of all levels. The movie has the style and pacing of a comic book, even transitions done in panels, which don't feel gimmicky. Much like "Revenge of the Nerds" this film does the "hot model falls in love with a dork" plot, but without coming across as cheesy. Also reminded me of "Clerks" set in a comic store, in Sweden, but it could have been made in the US as far as the story goes (apparently RPG'ers share a common bond the world over). Clever effects and editing, great characters & actors, had me hooked on the first day of the festival. Another film I watched more than once, and holds up well with repeated viewings. Deserves a wide US release.. catch it if you can!

Just saw this film on the Horror and Fantasy Festival in Haapsalu, Estonia. This is a remarkably warm, funny and well executed film and Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir does very good work in her feature film debut as the brainless bimbo, who suddenly faces the need to earn her own living and gets a job as a salesgirl in nerd universe. It's beautifully shot and edited; the actors are very likable and the storyline is interesting and fresh. The film is funny without overly trying to be so and sweet without being cute. This is fun for both adults and children. Heartily recommended. Congratulations to everyone involved.

This is a comedy played for laughs and all you can ask of it is that it is consistently funny and it is exactly that and not very much more. Although it has some fantasy scenes that are well executed, they are taking part in the imagination of the characters and I wanted to see what was really going on as well, but perhaps the film makers knew that this would beggar belief in the outcome of the plot. Ultimately it doesn't matter because the jokes about real people speaking in fantasy parlance and fantasy characters speaking like real people is still very funny as is the concept of educating a superficial bimbo in the ways of "the force" (nerdism). This is the kind of film that I hope Hollywood picks up to be remade with some stars and a more refined script, hopefully making the Icelanders a fortune.