Author: Valur Gunnarsson
BREIÐAFJÖRÐUR: THE ICELANDIC MEDITERRANEAN?
I got onboard the Særún. Our first stop was at a rock inhabited by a colony of puffins. The catamaran…
Stykkishólmur after dark
The first thing I did upon arrival in Stykkishólmur was in fact not head straight for the bar, but go…
THE GRAPES OF VAÐI
by Valur Gunnarsson and Robert Jackson
by Valur Gunnarsson In the 1930s, dust storms swept the southern plains of the United States. The “Black Blizzards,” as…
THE FINE ART OF FINNISH MELANCHOLY
And despite Icelands latitude being right in the centre of Finland, the climate is somewhat different. Whereas Finns have to…
KING ARTHUR COMES ALIVE
Adding Jerry Bruckheimer to the mix does not brighten the prospects. It is surprising that these three decided to film…
SPIDERMAN 2: A SOAP OPERA FOR BOYS
Where the first Spider-Man works best is when Peter Parker is discovering his powers. Somehow, it manages to capture the…
THE FAROE ISLANDS FROM QUAINT TO COOL
The last time I was in the Faroes, five years ago, there was only one fast food place in the…
THE MUSK OX: NOT AS STUPID AS IT SEEMS?
The town has around 500 inhabitants, almost all of whom work at the airport. The area was uninhabited until World…
Around the world in 90 minutes
Here he plays globe trotter and betting man Phileas Fogg. There´s something very romantic about the 19th Century, when there…
The Grumpies Man in Dublin
The longhaired man paced back and forth. He had been there when I arrived earlier during the day to pick…
AFTER THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILISATION
When I moved back to Iceland in 1990, it seemed the scene was still living in the shadow of Rokk…
THE FUTURE´S SO WHITE
This year, though, the weather was sunny if not calm. The rays fell down as the wind blew the flags…
Standing Still
Name? Birgir Örn Thoroddsen Where are you from? Err…. I’m from the City of Árbær. What are you doing? I’m…
CAN A BROKEN RELATIONSHIP BE SALVAGED?
Most of the film is set within the mind of the protagonist, played by Jim Carrey, on the night the…
TROUBLE IN PARADISE
At our party two weeks ago I spoke to a Bulgarian girl who said that the reason she initially wanted…
The Day After Tomorrow
Although originally from Germany, director Roland Emmerich has long made a point of being more American than the Americans. Here,…
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON
So when he entered the studio again at the end of the year, he had a lot to live up…
WHOSE INDEPENDENCE?
This will be the version we´ll be hearing on the 17th of June, when Iceland celebrates its 60th anniversary as…
THE PETER PAN GENERATION
In the meantime, leaving the readership in the hands of the perpetually feuding giants of media, members of Grapevine have…
LONDON
The Greater London Metropolis spreads out below as far as the eye can see as the plane descends from the…
Birth of a Notion
Things have changed. Mostly for the worse, but occasionally for the better. An instance of the latter could be seen…
ICELAND VS. THE WORLD
EU or not EU. That is the question. Or, at least, it should be. For some reason, it is barely…
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN:THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL
The words “Jerry” and “Bruckheimer” on the screen seldom bode well. Nor does a film based on a ride in…
THE CORONATION OF POPPEA
Hindus maintain that you should dedicate yourself to your spouse, and then when grey hair starts setting in, you should…
OBSCURED BY CLOUDS
If Iceland is, as it often seems, in the middle of nowhere, then the top of a glacier in Iceland…