One bad foster-home experience away from a juvenile detention center, a surly orphan (Julian Dennison) is sent from the city to live with an older couple in rural New Zealand. The wife (Rima Te Wiata) is warm and welcoming, but her husband (Sam Neill) is distant and irascible. Foster father and ward, however, are forced to rely on and trust one another when misfortune drives them into the dense and treacherous bush country. Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a hugely crowd-pleasing adventure comedy by talented Kiwi director Taika Waititi, whose prior credits include What We Do in the Shadows and several episodes of Flight of the Conchords. Neill, bearded with a thousand-yard stare, and lively newcomer Dennison expertly play with and subvert their archetypal characters (the brusque outdoorsman, the secretly wounded orphan with a tough exterior), and they share a bright chemistry. And the film navigates wild tonal shifts—from violent action to over-the-top farce to piercing pathos—with exceptional ease. I hope Waititi's light touch and madcap vision survive a change in scenery and a vast budgetary expansion because his next release is Disney and Marvel's third Thor film.

A-

**** / ***** (B)

A wonderful offbeat movie. Its unique pacing and weirdness makes it one of the most refreshing viewings in quite some time. The two leads are great and their characters work crazy well playing off each other.

The only thing I didn't like is that at times it goes too much into Wes Anderson territory (social worker, Psycho Sam...). I'd love if it was just slightly more real in some chapters as opposed to being a bit more fantastical. I don't think the movie would lose anything, it would only make it more cohesive and relatable.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

This is a great film. So funny, and charming, and awesome, and with a brilliant score. This is much better than What We Do in the Shadows, though I appreciate both. I had a great time watching it, and it features two of the biggest laughs of 2016 for me. Sam Neill is terrific and the boy, Julian Dennison, is so good and puts American young actors to shame, really. Taika Waititi is one to continue watching.

A