Astrópía

I was really looking forward to this movie, since I did enjoy The Guild web series. Unfortunately, this movie is made very amateurishly, almost as if it was written by a high school student. I found myself fast forwarding to the LRPG parts after about 45 minutes of boring superfluous exposition. It wastes too much time on the character development. Normally, I do prefer it, but in this instance, it just seems to be used as a means to make the movie longer than it needs to be. The story is basically a revenge of the nerds type movie, with a few funny scenes but overall kind of harsh on the audience it's meant to entertain.

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.

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!

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.

The most underrated Icelandic film. A completely neglected genre of comedy action adventure film. It's Legally blond meets Shawshank redemption with a touch of very refreshing imagination-to-reality style of fantasy role playing sequences. Don't let the negative reviews fool you. The film is perfectly fine for what it is. It's a light hearted comedy they doesn't take itself too seriously.