Join The "Hunt For The Wilderpeople" !

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

Rated PG-13


Starring Sam Neill,  Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata, Rachel House,

Directed by Taika Waititi

The Story:

Ricky (Dennison) is a foster kid who has bounced from home to home throughout New Zealand. He's pretty much facing his last chance when he arrives at the farm of Bella (Wiata) and Hec (Neill). Over time, he begins to think of the place as home, but then, tragedy strikes and rather than facing being taken away again, he decides to make his way through the bush and survive on his own. Soon the subject of a manhunt, Ricky and Hec must stay ahead of the law to keep their names clear.

This is an offbeat buddy road movie meets coming of age story mashed up into the beautiful New Zealand countryside.

It's fun, it's touching, it's definitely worth watching.

Sam Neill is his usual gruff persona, think of him as an older, maybe less wise, Dr. Grant from Jurassic Park.

Dennison is such a likeable character, and while this may not be his first role, it is likely the one that will help propel his career forward.

Finally, the director is once again hitting me with an end of the year contender for most entertaining films of the year.

He scored last year with What We Do In The Shadows, and he's been tapped for Thor: Ragnarok next year.

If he brings his light touch to the Marvel Universe, I think fans will find the third Thor outing to be the best one yet, and Waititi will hit this list 3 years in a row.

Final Grade: B+