Eagle vs Shark (2007)
Directed by Taika Waititi
Love blossoms for Lily over double Meaty Boy burgers at mid-day when uber-computer nerd Jarrod comes in and leaves with free extra large fries. After gatecrashing Jarrod's party and proving her skills on the game console, Lily goes down to Jarrod's home town with him so he can settle an old score with a past school bully.
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What critics compared Eagle vs Shark to
On the other hand, his kid-ont-the-run spectacle “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” was a little too mawkish for my taste and “Eagle vs. Shark” was a “Napoleon Dynamite” wannabe that came perilously close to being even more obnoxious and irritating than its inspiration.
If Two Cars, One Night represents what’s best about Waititi’s approach, his 2007 feature debut Eagle vs Shark mostly occupies the other end of the spectrum.
…movies that weave comedy and tragedy together) about a lonely and misfit protagonist, in the vein of Waititi's Kiwi films like Eagle vs Shark and Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
From his early New Zealand films such as Eagle vs Shark (2007), through his inspired comedy about inept vampires What We Do in the Shadows (2014), even in Thor: Ragnarok (2017), where he voiced a dorky talking rock pile, Waititi has been interested in likeable, sheepish misfits, and the hero of Jojo Rabbit is absolutely cut from this cloth.
Hablo, claro, de la comedia romántica incómodamente geek Eagle vs Shark (2007); hablo de Boy (2010), un fascinante coming of age de alocada inspiración twainesca; What we do in the Shadows (2 014), un falso documental genial sobre vampiros adolescentes; y Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), una cinta para enamorarse nuevamente de Sam Neil como viejito gruñón en los parajes perdidos de Nueva Zelandia.
"Boy" and "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" are the obvious examples, but the themes of an outsider coming to learn where they belong in the world are felt throughout his other films like "What We Do in the Shadows," "Eagle vs Shark," and even "Thor: Ragnarok."
Early moments from The Peanut Butter Falcon — and indeed its title— could be grafted straight from an early Taika Waititi comedy circa Boy or Eagle Vs Shark .
Throw in some coping skills training for good measure, with some twists and turns along the way, and you’ve got yourself a right mediocre film that sounds like it was birthed in a room full of lazy studio execs looking to make a quick return, but in the hands of ridiculously gifted New Zealand writer/director Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows, Eagle vs Shark), Hunt for the Wilderpeople transcends its formulaic roots to become one of the funniest films of the year so far.
It follows in the footsteps of the cringeworthy glory of Eagle Vs Shark; laughing until your insides hurt with What We Do in Shadows; and Boy – a work of such blinding perfection that it’s difficult even to comprehend.
Waititi (“What We Do in the Shadows,” “Boy,” “Eagle vs. Shark”) goes broad quite often, but the film holds its singular tone.
Writer-director Taika Waititi specializes—or at least has to date—in the charmingly goofy, like last year’s vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows, the rom com Eagle vs Shark, and the coming-of-age comedy-drama Boy.
Writer-director Taika Waititi worked on the Conchords television show, as well as creating breakout cinema hits like Eagle vs Shark , Boy and What We Do in the Shadows ; his latest, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, is an offbeat story of mismatched friendship that fuses character comedy with heartfelt sentiment.
Written and directed by old pals Taika Waititi (Eagle vs Shark, Boy) and Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords), Shadows taps a fresh vein of humor to transfuse the horrific and the mundane.
But for everything that it gets right, “What We Do in the Shadows” suffers from the same problems as Waititi and Clement’s last collaboration, the geek-chic rom-com “ Eagle vs. Shark ” – specifically, the concept feels like it’s been stretched well beyond its limits, despite the brisk 85-minute runtime.
" What We Do in the Shadows " is a fake vampire documentary by Jemaine Clement ("Flight of the Conchords") and Taika Waititi ("Green Lantern," "Eagle vs Shark").
That blood would most notably belong to writer-director-stars Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, the New Zealanders responsible for film gems like “Eagle vs. Shark” and “Boy” and the HBO series “Flight of the Conchords.”
Co-directed, co-written and co-starring Jermaine Clement and Taika Waititi (Eagle vs Shark and TV’s Flight of the Conchords), it follows a reality TV format, MTV’s Real World meets Hammer Horror.
Add to this list What We Do in the Shadows, a riotously funny vampire comedy from New Zealanders Jemaine Clement (HBO's Flight of the Conchords) and Taika Waititi (writer-director of Boy and Eagle vs Shark ) that opens Friday at Music Box.