Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

Want to see something fresh and original, heartwarming but also substantial - this movie is for you. Its director has such a unique tone, and his talent puts New Zealand on the world movie map all over again. Well worth your time, a positive movie, but in a deepest sense there is.

Fmovies: This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. It was excellently developed and had the perfect cast. 10/10 would see again. It had the perfect balance between comedy and drama. I laughed, I cried. Every component of it was thought out in detail and it worked perfectly! Even while it was funny, it had an overall meaning and made you consider different aspects of society. To be entirely honest, when I first heard what it was about, I wasn't interested but it is now one of my favorite movies I've ever seen. Please, if you have the chance to see it, you must. I guarantee you, you won't regret it. There was absolutely no part where I thought "well, this could have been better" or "that could have been excluded", it was so so good. From the cinematography to the cast and script, it was perfect, I couldn't have asked for a better movie.

Taika Waititi's new comedy, set in the New Zealand bush, sees the wacky manhunt of a young orphan, Ricky (Julian Dennison), and his foster uncle Hec (Sam Neil). Following the threat of returning to the public system, Ricky flees his new remote farm home, with his foster uncle tracking him down shortly after deep within the bush. With the authorities believing their disappearance to be kidnapping, both Ricky and Hec quickly become fugitives running from the law.

Waititi's excellent brand of comedy doesn't disappoint, with solid character based humour and genuine laugh out loud moments throughout. If you're a fan of Edgar Wright you're sure to enjoy the visual comedic style of the movie, as well as the levity and frivolity, which isn't too dissimilar to that seen in Wright's cornetto trilogy.

Casting is solid with the partnership between Neil and Dennison producing some excellent chemistry; well balanced by the comical partnership of unrelenting and headstrong child-services worker Paula (Rachel House) and incompetent police officer Andy (Oscar Kightley).

Hunt for the Wilderpeople fmovies. This movie is really good - I have to say I enjoyed it and would probably see it again.

A far more developed example of what Waititi can do as a director and storyteller; the film has examples of pathos, comedy, action, drama, art film, satire, good cinematography and even a few decent VFX shots. His last film, vampire mockumentary "What We Do in the Shadows" was a lot of fun but also a narrative disappointment, despite NZ media committing to expose the film and help generate sales. Something of a misguided indulgence, "Shadows" made the mistake of letting three or four (very) minor indie celebs improvise in digital for many, many hours, then the director tried to create a concrete whole in editing and post. Didn't work. Great intro though.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople focuses on the life of Ricky Baker - a young, overweight, orphaned juvenile offender that idealizes hip hop and creates haiku poetry as a method of externalizing emotional conflict, due to the influence of counseling and therapy sessions. Stuck in New Zealand's sub-par youth welfare system (known for endless governmental restructuring with little or no substantive improvement), Ricky ends up on a rotting farm somewhere in the rural back blocks with foster parents.

The film clearly shows elements of the barren, social realist film of early 80s NZ, but with bigger, better cinematography, and Waititi's indie sense of the quirky and offbeat. "Quirky" can become a meaningless attribution in today's market of indie features where anybody and everybody can have a go at being "quirky" to make up for budget and spectacle, but this film also has real nuance and character development, and a quality cast that seem to get the idea of being a bit "quirky" and "meta" without forgetting that emotional investment is what an audience really needs to feel involved with the story. Rachel House is hilarious. So's the director in an excellent cameo.

Some of the early scenes don't read as naturally as they could, and also Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne's mother in the film is referred to but is never actually seen for unknown reasons. In addition, New Zealanders might complain about the films location improbabilities, but that's been standard practice in US features for years. Cool movie!! Go see it!!

Beautiful story of survival, family and humor, Amazing Cinematography and relatable lovable characters. This film places deep characters and themes in a beautifully visual setting of New Zealand while making it hilariously funny and giving the right amount of action, thought-provoking situations and dialogue to make it a perfect film, Using every possible opportunity to give the audience an emotional and visual pleasure.

The film covers so many aspects of developing emotions while delivering a heart touching laugh your ass off story and never letting the audience either laughing or awing for the story of this cute parent-less fat boy and his journey of running,hiding and surviving though the unique NZ bush and connection to his uncle Heck.

The film allows the audience to leave with the most satisfyingly developed characters and story, while becoming a instant classic and a great showcase of New Zealand as a Country and its potential in the Film Industry.

I consider this to be the best film By Tiki Waititi and there is no wonder why he the writer and director has been chosen to direct the anticipated Thor: Ragnarok of the superhero film genre taking over Hollywood.

James Cameron

While Taika Waititi takes over Hollywood with his next two projects: THOR 3: RAGNORAK (2017) and a sequel to his funniest film to date WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (2014), hysterically entitled WE'RE WOLVES, his latest "little film that could" should put Sam Neil back on the map with a wonderfully gracious performance.

This magical realist New Zealand adventure drops an unloved, rebellious, little fat kid into the wild, wild southwest — and I'm here to say that this was the feel good film of Sundance this year. Luckily writer/director Waititi has held onto his unique dry-humor, which dates back to his debut feature EAGLE VS. SHARK (2007) as well as his underrated second film BOY (2010). But this krazy kids flick is not just satisfied with referencing all of the 1980s films its creator grew up loving: The movie itself is an actual throwback to the kind of children's fare that were laced with some very heavy adult issues like Walter Murch's RETURN TO OZ (1985) and Nicolas Roeg's THE WiTCHES (1990). Make sure to catch this truly loving film upon its initial theatrical release. It's the kind of experience that you'll be talking about years from now, perhaps even sharing with children of your own.