Taika Waititi

What We Do in the Shadows is so absolutely hilarious. Every single episode.

oh shit, thanks for the rec. i love the movie and had no idea they were making a series.

This is the second spin-off series btw (despite the thread title Taika is not significantly involved)

He directed at least two of the 10 episodes and acted in one, so there is that.

yah but not developing or writing or producing

How involved were you in the brainstorming? Did you leave it entirely to Jemaine?

Waititi: I left it to Jemaine and I'd just read drafts and if I had any notes, I'd give suggestions, like character things or location things. When it got to directing the pilot, then I came in. I finished Thor, Thor had come out, then I think I just had a couple of months and then got onto the pilot. The job of making that film was so intense and so involved. I wouldn't have been able to do it. I wasn't able to do anything. The idea was I would secretly write other films while I was doing it, but I just couldn't.

Regardless, it feels very much like the film. Well worth it!

Yeah agreed the whole thing is v consistent

It’s very good and exactly like the movie. The cast is almost as good as the original one which is quite a performance ! Matt Berry is particularly fun. And the series format suits the concept better imo since I loved the movie but it struggled to keep the pace/level over the full length.

Witches/semen routine in the final ep slayed me.

Pretty sure Taika wasn't involved in Wellington Paranormal at all, it was Jemaine and Jackie van Beek.

Plus some additions actually improve on the movie: Guillermo, the female vampire(s), the energy vampire ... The guest stars have been great, too, esp. Berry. I love how all the vampires are neurotic and dorky and weird and traditional and set in their ways but also prone to just hilarious crass outbursts:

“I cannot even speak the name of the vampire that organized that monstrosity.”

"I don’t give a fuck! His name was Mike.”

“Fucking Mike!

Eheh yes Guillermo. Or Gizmo as Berry called him at some point !

I also love how they call Colin Robinson Colinrobinson, all as one word.

Okay so

From "Visionistical" director, Teeka Wachichi, here's a "teezer traylor", for my anti-hate satire, #JojoRabbit, in theaters October 18. @rebelwilson @alfieeallen #ThomasinMcKenzie #RomanGriffinDavis @stephenmerchant #samrockwell #scarlettjohansson @jojorabbitmovie #visionistical pic.twitter.com/8o8X8cyJTD

— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) July 23, 2019

<3

learning that Taika Waititi is Jewish as well as Maori was one of the best moments of my life and also explains his uncommon handsomeness

The film follows a lonely young German boy who concocts an imaginary friend who just so happens to be Adolf Hitler to cope with the bullying from his peers. But things take an interesting turn when he strikes up a real friendship with a very real girl who challenges his beliefs.

yessssssssssssss

Watched the shadow movie and series. Both so funny. The episode where they hit the bars with the baron was amazing. Shots shots shots!

the werewolf rumble is a one-shot gag but amazing windup and probably the biggest laugh in the series

ENBB if you enjoyed both it's probably worth checking out Hunt for the Wilderpeople

looks great

That looks brilliant.

Hunt for the wilder people was such an unexpected pleasure. It did not turn out to be the movie I thought it was. Bother he series and the movie of what we do in the shadows are fantastic too.

Prompted by my seeking the absolutely joyous hunt for the wilderpeople today and for not the first time being reminded that this guy has a knack of making films that actually deliver far and beyond what I expect when I see the trailer.

Joyous, I said

― the kids are alt right (darraghmac), Sunday, 16 October 2016 17:57 (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

if ppl are still sleeping on this movie 30 months after this known-quantity-grouch used "joyous" twice thats an awful mark against them imo

Agreed, we also found it delightful

Hunt for the Wilderpeople so good, Top 5 last year for me

i couldn't stand this, it was so insufferably twee and indie i had to turn it off after about 10 minutes.

― Bein' Sean Bean (LocalGarda), Monday, 27 March 2017 16:02 (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

I like how LG here plays the role of the Sam Neill character and the film stands in for the kid - unfortunately he fails to go on the journey which would redeem both of them.

hee hee

Rogermex - yes. I’m still laughing at “we’re werepeople not swearpeople.”

One of my coworkers is from NZ and said wilderpeople is great. Will watch.

learning that Taika Waititi is Jewish as well as Maori was one of the best moments of my life and also explains his uncommon handsomeness

― president of deluded fruitcakes anonymous (silby), Tuesday, July 23, 2019 12:36 PM (yesterday) bookmark flag link

Yes! I love him.

its almost as if we shpuldnt be offended that some kiwis opinion is worth more than ours

Oh you know that’s not what I meant. Also, lol:

anyway watch it before fri week or im not talkin to u

Lol will do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL4McUzXfFI

I don't know, there are so many things about that that make me want to be on board, but at the same time I would be lying if I said watching that didn't make me a little sick to my stomach.

One huge thing in its favor is recognizing Thomasin McKenzie as the star of Leave No Trace. She was so good in that.

Jojo Rabbit is a good movie

good to hear. it looks great. some reviews were a bit 'meh'. seeing it thursday when it opens here.

I found it pretty remarkable. It's not perfect perfect -- couple of broad moments here and there even in context which were a bit 'hmm' but I half wonder if that has to do with the source novel. But overall, really well done. It has to manage a very careful trick given the decades of cinematic interpretations, especially the broad comedy and the extreme sentimentalizations of the past. And giving nothing away, some excellent music cues throughout, and the final key one was astounding.

Is it ‘Heroes’

Not exactly

You teas

Tease

yeah this movie is excellent. One of the things that kept striking me while watching it, and hit home later when I scoured reviews, several of which are lukewarm and a few of which are absolute pans, is that you don't see satire like this in movies much any more. Having grown up with Python, Mel Brooks, etc, it's nothing for me to see someone doing a funny pisstake on Hitler; but when was the last time anyone did this in a major film? I don't mean to be all 'people are too woke' but I saw my fair share of "this is not a funny subject and therefore this movie is garbage" reviews which is 100% missing the entire point.

Thomasin McKenzie - this girl is excellent in this role. I have to watch Leave no Trace.

She and it are both incredible. That's a really special movie for lots of reasons.

musical cues: these are all really great too, even the obvious one at the end. The opening of the film, with scenes from Triumph of the Will synched to "Komm Gibt Mir Deine Hand" rivals Trainspotting for great use of music and visuals. And I saw at least one review that was absolutely horrified and disgusted by it. FFS.

Taika Waititi really looks like Michael Palin doing Hitler.

Ugh, really? I found most of this film dismal.

Thought this was pretty good. Waititi consistently hilarious as Hitler ("we're having roast unicorn for dinner!"), ScarJo is great, and some v good music cues as Ned noted. Some of the comedy doesn't quite land and in a weird way I wish it was actually funnier/sillier than it turned out to be. It's strange to think how something as objectively terrible as the Benigni movie instantly got Oscar plaudits, but then this gets tut-tutted and swept under the rug as not being reverent enough - dismissed as a comedy in bad taste even though it definitely gets at the horror and violence underlying the premise. Kudos to Waititi for even trying to get this made/expend his industry capital on such an obviously personal and odd project.

benigni was pre internet tbf

looking fwd to this. not sure hes landed a full movie yet but his high points are always great

I will say this: Rebel Wilson is awful in p much everything, including this.

I feel as if I'm through the looking glass.

Enjoyed 2nd episode more than the 1st anyway. Couple of heavy laughs already.
So will go onto rest.

I just finished the season of this, and it was delightful! I will say, the fact that they handle homosexual love without any comment/flinching, just as a completely normal thing, was very refreshing.

Didn't now the guy who did this did People of Earth - liked that too.

It took me a while to finish this as I never felt super compelled to watch the next episode (not a bad thing), but I would also call it delightful. As a long look at the dynamics of masculinity, it deserves at least 10% of the attention Ted Lasso gets.

I haven't seen his earliest films, so this was the most Waititi I've seen on screen (I guess WWDITS was the most previously?) and he was so great, plus I've loved Darby since Conchords, a treat to see them together so much. Lots of other actors were great too, and I really enjoyed the almost stage-life settings. Along with Severance, I count this as a show that benefited from covid filming restrictions to make something unique.

I will be said but not surprised if it doesn't get renewed, but if it does god I hope Lucius isn't actually dead, that was a surprisingly horrid act to nearly end on!

Yeah I really enjoyed the whole ensemble playing the crew. The guy playing Black Pete in particular was killing me with pretty much every line reading. I recognized him from playing various killers and ghouls in assorted crime things over the years, idk if hes done a lot of comedy before but I thought he was really funny.

I'm only about 5 episodes in. I've been watching it with my 10-year old son, which I've questioned a few times the appropriateness of, but he really digs pirates. I agree that the show is very well cast. I also thought Darby was one of the best things about Conchords, and he's hilarious in this.

Show inspired me to pick up the pirate history book Under the Black Flag, and I was delighted to learn that Stede Bonnet was a real figure (idk if its common knowledge but I certainly didnt know about it) and that a surprising number of the details large (his collaboration w/Blackbeard, the "Act of Grace" section) and small (wearing his dressing gown all the time, his onboard library, his crew all thinking Blackbeard was cooler than him) were drawn from history.

I cant find it now but there was a really funny quote in the book from someone who encountered him at sea talking about how he could be always seen on deck just strolling around in beautiful gowns reading a book & not really paying attention to the ship itself.

wow thanks for mentioning that, I had no idea!

Black Pete actor stood out to me too. Hell, I even didn't hate Fred Armisen in this, which is downright miraculous

Ewan Bremner was great in this! I mean he was just playing an insane pirate version of Spud but hey it worked for me.

I normally hate this kind of anachronistic humour, but I love this show.

I gave up most of the way through ep 1, I'll give it another chance.

it's a slow burner. obviously well made but still took me a while to like it.

jojo rabbit was on TV the other week and holey moley, what was he thinking?

God, yeah, absolutely could't stand that. If I hadn't been in the cinema with my mother, I think I would've left halfway through.

REally? I loved that film. Huh.

I get why people diss it but it was still enjoyable to watch, iirc.