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.

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

I'm a sucker for Marvel and I'd watch anything they make. Those terrible movies with Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garden and whoever played the Punisher are the proof.  What I'm trying to say is that's pretty obvious I was excited for Thor: Ragnarok. However, this time there wasn't just the fact that it's an MCU flick, but especially the fact that Taika Waititi directed it. Last year, he left me speechless, in a very good way, with Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and that's the real reason why I was really looking forward to seeing this. And once again he left me speechless. This indeed is the most entertaining, exciting and fun Marvel film since Deadpool.

Set after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron and picking up when Thor: Dark World left, first Thor (Chris Hemsworth) finds out that his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has taken over Asgard; then a new menace arrives, Hela (Cate Blanchett), the ruthless goddess of death who wants to steal the throne and rule Asgard, he gets imprisoned on the other side of the universe and finds himself in a deadly gladiator contest where he has to face an old friend of his, the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), in order to survive and save Asgard.

It's a rather simple plot, a little predictable at times and it doesn't always make a lot of sense but it does have a few aces in the hole and the pace is just perfect which makes it very compelling.

And that's because of the direction Thor: Ragnarok took. Instead of being another dark-toned family drama like the previous Thor movies, Waititi's film relies more (like only) on humour. I'm sure many will complain about this, maybe saying that the dark tones were the only thing separating the Thor movies from the rest of the Marvel movies that all look the same (DC fanboys are so going to say this), but it works here. The humour is spot on (very close to Deadpool's): the jokes never feel forced and there are plenty of funny moments. This film is basically like a buddy-superhero movie with some sibling rivalry.

All that comedy though kind of throws away Thor's development achieved with the previous movies. Thor isn't indeed the serious God anymore, but he a funny guy. But this change is more than welcomed as Chris Hemsworth does comedy way better than drama. Seriously, I had no idea he could be so funny. The reason why I liked this Thor better though is that for the first time the God of Thunder is shown in all of his strength. Without the hammer.

The humour isn't the only charming side of Thor: Ragnarok. The visuals are just as charming, which makes of this one of the most beautiful to look at Marvel movies. The film is an explosion of vibrant colours, the photography and editing are stylish and the locations are just stunning. The CGI could have been better though. While it's great during the action, sometimes the background looks a little flat.

Just like the characters since there's no development whatsoever in here. I'm still trying to understand what the writers were trying to do with Hela's henchman played by Karl Urban. That character was such a mess. It's not like Tessa Thompson's alcoholic Valkyrie was that better. Or Cate Blanchett's Hela. Blanchett is very charismatic and her presence is just perfect for Hela, but the character itself wasn't that strong which is pretty common with Marvel. She did get more screen time than most Marvel villains though.

Worth of a mention are Benedict Cumberbatch who reprises his role of Doctor Stranger and Jeff Goldblum who plays Grandmaster, the host of that gladiator contest I mentioned above. The first has a hilarious cameo at the beginning of the film, the latter, although his performance reminded a lot of Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, is very amusing.