Rating: 
Summary: A wryly uplifting glimpse into nihilism
Review: "101 Reykjavik" is easily one of the best movies I have seen in quite a while. Based on a novel, the film deftly weaves formulaic comedic conventions with smart existential exploration. Typically Scandinavian humor and serious philosophical ideas (look a bit beyond the overtly "pop" nihilism and you'll find the tenderly absurd story rather enlightening) really make this film a fun way to think about life.
Rating: 
Summary: Modern life
Review: A fantastically concocted farce. A fifties-clad sexually attractive, aimless, partying nerd with horn rimmed glasses and no hindsight is manhandled by his lesbian mother and her hot blooded lover. They teach him to accept his place as father/brother at the bottom of the totem pole in the family.
For viewers/readers not familiar with Icelandic movies, many are made but few appear outside Scandinavia. Iceland has the highest litracy and readership rate in the world, and the highest rate of book publications. Historocally, since settlement by Norwegians (and some Scots) avoiding kingly rule in the 9th century, Icelanders have been a highly literate and democratic society. See the more modern books by Haldor Laxness, e.g., or Snorre Sturlasonn's history of the kings of Norway (written in the 13th century). [...]
Rating:
Summary: Iceland? Who would guess...?
Review: I mean, a movie set in Reykjavik, Iceland???
Well, it's terrific, and filled with some of the most hilarious, memorable lines ever to come from the screen. My personal favorite was: But I've never cheated on my mother before!
101 Reykjavik focuses on the life of a chronic welfare recipient who lives his depressed life with his mother in a small apartment where the bathtub is 3 feet from the kitchen table. Enter: another woman, but both mother and son want her. Sit back, laugh, and enjoy this film of urban angst and aimlessness.
Rating: 
Summary: nothing novel about this movie
Review: I've seen many Foreign Films lately, and I've noticed that most of the ones I've seen are extremely simplistic, and focus the entire story on an average character and his/her daily routines.The problem with this movie is that the main character is an underachiever, and his life is less than entertaining. True, a character's life CAN be boring, but the story can't. A dull life and dreary routine can make for a good movie (i.e "400 Blows"), but for the movie to succeed, it's got to be shown in an entertaining way. I seriously felt swindled out of $20 by the time the credits rolled. There was nothing fresh about this movie at all. The characters were not intriguing to say the least. And just looking at the scenery was sending me to an early nap. And so, visually, this movie also disappointed me: all the audience gets to see of Iceland is the main character's house, a Welfare office, a nightclub, a bazaar, and a few shots of apartment interiors. If there was more scenery in this movie, it didn't leave any memorable impressions. To sum up, I watched this movie for three reasons:
1) to be entertained by the main character's lifestyle
2) to listen to the Icelandic language
3) to get a colorful glimpse of Iceland In conclusion, the only good thing I can say about this movie is that most of it is in Icelandic. That said, I seriously doubt anyone will be enthralled by the movie's story. And people hoping to see Iceland or even just Reykjavik in all its glory will be disappointed by the film's choice of locations. The movie does not do Iceland justice, and it does not do the movie industry justice. At its very best, this movie is less-than-average. Aside from this movie, I've only see one other Icelandic movie, "The Sea." And if you have to pick between "101 Reykjavik" and "The Sea," I definitely recommend the latter.
Rating:
Summary: Northern Cheers
Review: If you like TV serials, you've got to love this movie. But if you can't believe in serials, then you certainly won't get into this one.It's the material for a serial, condensed, but filmed way better. On a general tone of comedy, 101 Reykjavik relates the depressing adventures in a depressing circle of acquaintances of a depressing protagonist, Hlynur, a late-twenties committed loafer who gets most of the lines, in the form of an inner voice-over. Despite all this, Hlynur never becomes believable, he's simply not depressed, just adapted to looking that way. He's the classic serial central character to whom all kinds of things happen but who doesn't evolve through it all, except for the requisite happy end. The same can be said of the other characters (except one), who mainly do walk-on roles. Lola Miracles (Milagros), played by the wonderful Victoria Abril, is not the exception. She just parachutes in as a typical Abril character, unaffected by and unaffecting on the rest of the movie -- just like the other characters, but for once not depressing at all. A typical serial trait is that we have the obligatory ohmygosh-she's-a-lesbian moment (Lola is Hlynur's mother's lover), and since it's so ohmygosh it's carefully telegraphed ahead. We see it coming but Hlynur of course doesn't. The one character who is written in a believable way, as if the author really cared about her as a living person, is Hlynur's girlfriend. But that thread of the serial is only five minutes altogether. For the rest, all you get is the serial's linear collection of arbitrary episodes with reactions from people but no inner development. So, how is this better than a serial in condensed form? The director, Kormakur, has done good work in film school. The framing and cutting are a joy to behold, and they succeed on tough tasks -- most of the film is in tight to ultra-tight interiors (how about 20 people in 100 sq. feet?) and there are also many sex scenes filmed straight-on and imaginatively without an ounce of prurience. ("Everyone's had everybody", as Hlynur comments.) And there's the girlfriend character.
Rating:
Summary: Icelandic tale of layabout's woes
Review: In the amusing film, "101 Reykjavik" Hlynur is a 30-ish male still living at home with his single mum. Hlynur is happily unemployed and would much rather not think about getting a job. He spends his evenings down at the local pub, parties a great deal with his strange friends, and basically slides away from any sort of commitment. Hlynur also has some sexual problems--but this does not discourage a rather determined girl who pursues him in spite of his low interest. Hlynur obviously has some serious problems. His life is an existence--a substitution for the real thing. He even expresses a desire to watch fireworks from the television set rather than from his own balcony. Hlynur's life begins to change when his mum brings home Lola (a Spanish Flamenco teacher) for the Christmas holidays. When Hlynur's mum leaves, Lola and Hlynur are thrown together, and after a night of heavy drinking, well....one thing leads to another. Unfortunately, Lola is a lesbian--and she's Hlynur's mother's lover. This creates an odd love triangle and a moral dilemma for Hlynur. The film was really at its rather original best with the character of Hlynur. He is simultaneously interesting, infuriating, and amusing. Some of the scenes at the parties, the annual family Christmas reunion, and in the pub were very witty--and the narration from Hlynur as he describes the flesh market community in the pub is nothing less than brilliant. The originality and sharp wit of these scenes really made me want to read the book the film is based on. Also the cinematography was marvellous--the stark beauty of Iceland was conveyed in its harsh climate and unforgiving landscape. I haven't seen many films set in Iceland, and just the photography alone made the film worth watching. The climate is part of the culture--the implication is inescapable. Victoria Abril is one of my favourite actresses, but this was not her best role. In many ways she was simply a caricature of the passionate, free-spirited lesbian, and the character of Lola was rather flat. This was a bit problematic as Lola is the catalyst for change in this film. However, "101 Reykjavik" is quite entertaining and a pleasant discovery. There is some nudity--male and female, and due to the very adult themes, this is not one for the kiddies--displacedhuman.
Rating:
Summary: Ok movie about Icelandic life
Review: See this film only if you want a picture of how miserable, cold, depressing Iceland affects a loser of 30 who lives with his single mother, scams the unemployment office, and sits around surfing porn. It's hard to like his character, and moreso to understand why 3 beautiful women go to great pains to make him happy. Far from being a "looker," he gets 2 of them pregnant (one of which is his mother's lesbian lover). The best part of the movie is his other loser friends, young drunk life in Iceland, and Victoria Avril, the sexy Lola. Be sure to see her in the fantastic Pedro Almadovar films ("All about my mother, High Heels, Tie me up, tie me down).
Rating:
Summary: The adventures of a slacker
Review: Set in the Icelandic capital 101 REYKJAVIK follows the life of underachiever and slacker Hlynur: he's unemployed, in his 30's, and still lives at home with his mother. What's more, he has absolutely no ambitions for his life, hardly gets up before noon, and loves porn. He certainly didn't have good role models; his absent father is a drunk and his mother smokes hash with him. At first I don't have any sympathy for Hlynur, but there's something about his interactions with the other characters that kept me engaged to keep watching. There are indeed some very funny scenes that certainly made me laugh out loud. As the story progressed I couldn't help but be drawn into Hlynur's predicaments, pathetic as they seem. Though most scenes were filmed indoors the cinematography of Reykjavik and the surrounding areas was gorgeous. This film was entertaining and funny. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Quirky, funny, charming
Review: Somehow, even the spaced out layabouts of Iceland are appealing in this film, set in the dark months of Reykjavik's winter. The main character, Hlynur, lives with his mother, provides the hash, does nothing. "What kind of nothing?" Hlynur's mother's girlfriend asks,and he replies, "The nothing kind."
Nothing much happens in the film either, but it's an interesting nothing, with a good soundtrack and curious images of the bleak winter streets and the bohemian cafes and bars of 101 Reykjavik. If you've been there, it's also fun to spot the places you know.
Mostly it's subtitles, but quite a bit of the film is in English. The sound quality seemed particularly good to me.
Rating:
Summary: A Funny, Warm-hearted look at a cold, cold place...
Review: The coolest movie of the year. Great soundtrack, hilarious black-comedy storyline. A birds-eye view into that little place on earth called Reykjavik, Iceland... The anti-hero protagonist is the King of Slackers who is about to have his lazy/habitual way of life disrupted, with hilarious results! This film is destined to become a sort of cult classic for disaffected youth, who somewhere inside them have the seed for a great future... and it could grow... even in a cold, cold place... check this movie out, you won't be disappointed.
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