Hunt for the Wilderpeople

I am an American who is 56 years old and have over 350 DVDs in my movie collection. My greatest films include Lawrence of Arabia, The Seven Samurai, The Exorcist, Citizen Kane, and The Godfather.Hunt for the Wilderpeople is hands down one of the best films I have ever watched and any further comment is superfluous.

Pretty much my favorite movie this year. The synopses does it wrong, best to watch the trailer if your interested. My roommate was about to walk out of the living room since the synopses made it seem like a indie depressing romp, and then the move started and we watched the whole thing laughing our asses off. Good teen movie or older, most of the humor will go right over a little person head, but it's hilarious and strangely heart warming.

A new setting (the New Zealand bush) and witty writing refreshes a tried-and-true scenario (crusty older man, troubled teen). The humor can zing without ever being mean-spirited. Gorgeous scenery and good acting makes watching this film time well spent. The trailer gives a good sense of the film.There are two intense hunting scenes. One is quite short; but the other is a visceral experience of the environment. My wife enjoyed the movie but found the second hunting incident disturbing. I will add that the second scene is not the strong overcoming the weak, but a battle between two strengths.So mostly humorous, there are scenes of real life that underpin the basic plot of this movie and raise the level of meaningfulness.

I have to start by saying that I really enjoy movies about underdogs, and this movie just hit the right spot for me. Let's start out with the filming, this film takes advantage of beautiful landscapes of New Zealand and a collage style piecing together of multiple shots of the same angle, throughout the movie. The style brings out a progression of the story through time, that brings understanding to the journey of young Ricky Baker. I cannot say how much I appreciated this portrayal of time, rather than the time jumps I see in so many other films that can leave the watcher going what happened in between. Adding to the film work, was the amazing chemistry of the actors. From the opening scene of social worker, Rachel House, turning over Ricky, to the interactions between Sam Neill and Rima Te Wiata, with Julian Dennison which bring you into the life of a foster kid, and those on the outskirts of society, were excellent. I do not want to spoil any parts of the film but there are a couple twists and turns along the way, that are well worth the ride. If you are looking for a movie that is a bit different, with an interesting story, I cannot recommend this movie enough!

This is one of my favorite movies and it is family friendly too. If you have kids that are sensitive to real-life issues like losing loved ones or death in general then it may be a bit heavy for them, but if they are growing and it is time to introduce these topics, then this movie can help show the positivity that comes from recovering from such occurrences. It is a powerful and funny film that is especially welcoming to those children who have been forced to grow up a little bit too fast but are still just little kids at heart.

I believe Taika has evolved beyond the issues I have with this movie, but for Wilderpeople, he falls into two unfortunate tropes. Pros and cons below with mild spoilers in the cons.Pros:-Writing, acting, scenery, pacing- just amazing. Magestical even. So dang good.-One of the dog actors (wilderdogs) is a rescue mutt, which means a heck of a lot to me. So happy with this representation.-Beautifully, but pointedly speaks towards some of the failings of the foster care system. And seen through the eyes of a 13 year old is even more brilliant.Cons:-He fridges one of the female characters. Introduces her- you fall in love with her- and then when he kills her off you realize she was only there to further the plot of the male characters. Taika- you're better than this.-There's a dog versus boar scene which really didn't need to happen and is the reason I cannot recommend this without Warnings. If you want to watch this movie but, like I do, have Old Yeller PTSD, skip from the 1hr 4 min mark, to the 1 hr 8 min mark.Also, yes, there's some visual hunting/killing in the movie which I had no issue with, but if that's not your jam, be prepared.

Humor, adventureThis movie has got it allJust watch it, okay?I find that movies with a little mystery often bring out the best surprises. So do yourself a favor and stop reading reviews, trust the ratings and go discover this movie for yourself. It's pretty majestical.

This was a great movie. I'm looking forward to watching it again. It's a hilarious, yet touching, story of redemption for both of the main characters. The plot is a bit campy, but acted and edited so well, it kept the flow going. It played like a story that had to be true because it was too crazy to be made up.

Director Taika Waititi’s offbeat outback adventure movie successfully achieves the difficult balance of combining drama and farce, pathos and comedy in his quirky 2016 film set in New Zealand. This is due mainly to the brilliantly fractious odd-couple performance of its two lead actors. Julian Dennison is a revelation as Ricky Baker, a teenage delinquent raised on hip-hop and rejection (but well versed in haiku and therapy) dumped by child welfare services at a remote farm, while Sam Neil is at his dour lugubrious best as his cantankerous foster uncle. When circumstances conspire to thrust both protagonists to depend on each other they unexpectedly find themselves on the run from the authorities, and despite the overall kooky tone of the movie there are some important observations made about respect, acceptance and loyalty but thankfully not in an overtly sentimental manner. The screenplay is peppered with sharp dialogue and movie references which, combined with stunning cinematography and a delightful musical score, makes this a marvelously entertaining movie to be watched more than once.

For me this film was hindered somewhat by keeping the dialogue inoffensively within the constraints of a “12” rated film (if that was the director's intention), and whilst it is not a “children's/family” film per se it is not a film with realistic and (potentially) offensive language – it is in a neither one nor the other sort of situation. The film centres around “Ricky”. Where he has come from and what he has been through are not realistically portrayed in the film (those constraints again), but this is a drama comedy and so one has to accept perhaps a little poetic license.Having said that, it is the naive innocence of “Ricky” played by Julian Dennison who is in the care of “Hec” played by Sam Neill that leads to some of the comedy in the film.There is though, a lot going for this film, it has a great cast lead by Sam Neill, the acting from all the cast is good, great use of the New Zealand Bush as the backdrop for the film with some great cinematography in what can't have been the easiest situations to photograph, it has a good if somewhat unrealistic story, there are some very funny moments and there is some good music. There's also a number of cinematic references made within the film.I found “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” to be an enjoyable enough film but it is not one that I would go out of my way to watch again too quickly.It is perhaps worth mentioning that some might find certain scenes upsetting where animals are hunted. No doubt not a single animal was hurt in the making of the film – but if you are at all upset by such things then maybe you should not watch it.A light-hearted comedy adventure-drama, and a good feel-good-factor film.There are plenty of extra features on the DVD which are worth a look at.On the DVD (ASIN: B01MXLL1JG) you get:“Hunt for the Wilderpeople” (1 hour 37 minutes)Chapter SelectionSpecial Features:Director's CommentaryFeaturette (3 minutes)Bloopers (2 minutes)Interviews (20 minutes)Behind the Scenes (30 minutes)

The cast is led by Sam Neill OBE, well known for parts in the Jurassic Park stories but has more in depth histor for creating some memorable roles. Hardly recognisable as grumpy Hec, a hill farmer landed with the loose cannon Ricky Baker. Ricky is given to Hec's wife Aunt Bella (deliciously portrayed by Rima Te Wiata) from child services with a history of being "difficult" to place with foster parents. You'll have see the rest for yourselves as to how the story unfolds, but the dire tin, scenery and other characters mean a fast paced wildly improbable yet truly believable story. So many excellent characters, not least Rachel House as Paula from child services. A menacing portrayal fit for a Bond villain. The whole show is won by Julian Dennison and his portrayal of Ricky. Comic timing is perfection. Go for it.

I am so pleased this film exists! Wonderful performances by absolutely everyone, cleverly written, quick witted, great story line, beautiful location and it's all wrapped up with heart warming moments making you more invested in the film and the characters. I also recommend reading the trivia for it on IMBD which gives more insight to this wonderful film. I have bought several copies to gift out because I love it so much! For me, it's a 10/10 film.

Well, it's hardly realistic but it's fun. A nice movie about an unwanted kid in New Zealand who goes on the run with his reluctant "uncle" Some great characters here and some broad comedy, and gave a good impression of the countryside of NZ, in its own way. Also some good action shots and chases etc. and a degree of real pathos. Something for everyone, although I'd say it's basically for teenagers. I liked it.