What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

I was looking for a perfect movie to review on the first day of the year and it turned out that I've already reviewed all the New Year's Eve movies out there. Or at least the most popular. So I decided to watch something completely different, and I went with Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi's What We Do in the Shadows, a mockumentary horror comedy. And let me say, what a hell of a way to start the new year! 

The film, or rather a documentary crew, follows the everyday life of Viago (Taika Waititi), Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), and Vladislav (Jemaine Clement), three vampire flatmates in Wellington, New Zealand, who struggle with the most mundane things in life like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, overcoming flatmate conflicts, and getting into nightclubs, the latter being quite a serious issue since they need to be invited in order to get in.

The plot is very thin, more like non-existent, actually, as the majority of the film is improvised. The lack of a plot is not an issue with What We Do in the Shadows at all though; in fact, while there’s no story, there is a lot going on, most of it being pretty odd and kind of awkward situations the characters find themselves into whose main purpose is to showcase the disadvantages of being a vampire, and it makes it for quite a journey, a very entertaining and hilarious one.

The characters are wonderfully written. They all are very likeable, funny and serious at the same time, and their introductions are very amusing as they provide to each of the main characters a backstory and help to establish their distinctive personalities. They are quite eccentric and not so realistic characters —they are vampires, after all— and yet we see them as real people, we identify with them and we care about them. Even the supporting characters are lovable, specifically Stu (Stu Rutherford), a human friend with the vampires. 

Madman Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, The Orchard

Clement and Waititi's great writing would be pretty useless if there wasn't a great cast to match it, and What We Do in the Shadows has a wonderful cast that does the script more than justice. Every single actor gives an excellent performance —their deadpan delivery is always on point and so is their timing, and they make the characters believable.

The humour is absolutely brilliant too as it is macabre, unique and genuinely hilarious. The jokes and punchlines always work, and the fighting, whether it's between flying vampires, bates or vampires and werewolves, is hilarious.

Eagle vs Shark (2007)

I loved Hunt for the Wilderpeople and I am now a huge fan of Thor because of Thor: Ragnarok (and Chris Hemsworth, but don't tell Chris Evans I'm cheating on him) so I thought I'd give a chance to Taika Waititi's directorial debut, Eagle vs Shark. 

The film follows Lily (Loren Horsley), a sweet but shy and socially awkward fast food worker who is having a major crush on Jarrod (Jemaine Clement), an arrogant geek who works as a store clerk. She finally gets the opportunity to spend time with him when he kind of invites her to a "dress as your favourite animal" party. They eventually hook up and Jarrod convinces Lily to bring him back to his hometown so that he can get revenge on the bully that picked on him in high school.

The story is very simple as it doesn't have any complex nor complicated plot nor has mind-blowing twists, but it's a very sweet, funny, heartwarming and heartbreaking story about two people, two misfits, who are absolutely perfect for each other. It isn't only an awkward love story though, it is also about family relationship issues —these are handled particularly well, not through dialogue but body language—, self-discovery and self-confidence.

The most charming aspect of the script though isn't the story but the characters. Both the female and male lead are socially inept characters, but it's because of their quirks and awkwardness that you fall in love with them and fell genuinely sad when they drift apart. Lily is the awkward but nice girl next door. She is incredibly sweet, especially when she interacts and bonds with Jarrod's family, and equally likeable, and she also has quite an emotional resilience, which is to be admired. Jarrod is a self-obsessed jerk who cares only about himself, he does whatever he wants and doesn't care if someone —Lily— gets hurt in the process. Despite his negative traits, Lily sees the good in him, even when nobody else does, specifically Jarrod's own family. Eventually, you see the good in him too and, although he's an unlikeable jerk most of the time, you wish they'll end up together in the end. These two are the kind of romantic comedy characters you care so much about to the point you hurt when they break up.

Miramax Films

The acting is also pretty solid. Loren Horsley does very well at playing the shy, awkward, innocent girl and there's something about her —her expressive eyes, maybe, or her crooked smile— that you instantly feel Lily's need to be loved. Ultimately, she is so charming and convincing, you really root for her. Jemaine Clement gives a hilarious performance as Jarrod, the rude, very unsympathetic and pathetic geek.

Clement's performance isn't the only fun part in Eagle vs Shark. The film is indeed filled with a quirky, weird, a bit awkward deadpan humour. It's very enjoyable if you like the kind, and some lines, you will laugh your head off because of how funny they are.

The film also has a beautiful cinematography, some visually striking scenes, a nice soundtrack and, most of all, a wonderful and charming stop-motion animated sequence —some sort of short film that mirrors Lily and Jarrod.

Don Verdean (2015)

As a fan of Sam Rockwell, I decided to check out Don Verdean. The fact that I hadn't heard of the film before seeing it on Rockwell's filmography and that it is considerably new had me thinking that I'd grant myself one and a half hour of suffering. And I was right. 

The film follows Don Verdean (Sam Rockwell), a self-proclaimed Biblical Archaeologist that hunts down religious artefacts to prove that the stories from the Bible are true. When he is hired by a pastor, Lazarus (Danny McBride), to find sacred relics in order to bring more people to his church, Verdean is forced to get creative.

The plot is one of the major problems with Don Verdean. It is far from being interesting and engaging, it doesn't make a lot of sense, it has several uninteresting romantic subplots, and the ending, if you could call it that, is incredibly contrived. It seems like the writers knew they had to end the story but didn't know how and they just wrote something random that makes as much sense as everything else.

The characters too are the result of lazy writing. The film is filled with odd and bizarre characters but unfortunately, the writers didn't make the most of their potential. Their personalities never take over, they aren't as compelling as they should have been and. most importantly, they are not a bit funny.

Neither the cast can fix that as they all give pretty bland performances. Sam Rockwell looks bored from start to finish, hidden behind a beard and terrible clothes. The others are just as bland, Danny McBride and Will Forte being the most disappointing as they fail to make laugh consistently. There's a good chemistry between Rockwell and McBride but it feels like the director, Jared Hess, was not able to capture it.

Lionsgate Premiere

As you probably guessed, Don Verdean is not that funny of a movie and calling it comedy should be a crime. The jokes, a blend of biblical and adolescent jokes, fall flat most of the film, and when they don't they barely make you chuckle.

Unless you really love one of the actors in, whether it's Sam Rockwell, Amy Ryan, Jemaine Clement, Leslie Bob, Will Forte or Danny McBride, my suggestion is that you stay the hell away from this film.