The Director of THOR 3

[TheVision]

I like seeing how these indie directors take on big studio productions. They all seem to bring very cool ideas/spins to the characters.

 

[First Avenger]

Except Josh Trank.

 

[JB-the-Hunter]

My main problem with Thor: The Dark World (and a few other Marvel Studios movies I guess) isn't the humor. It's specifically the humor that feels misplaced.

The humor that takes drama away from moments that should be very dramatic, like the defeat or death of any prominent character (especially villains). The humor that makes high-stakes action scenes feel a lot less intense, like the multi-dimensional battle between Thor and Malekith. The humor that straight up doesn't feel like it belongs, like the Mandarin scenes post-twist and in my opinion the dance-off in GotG.

Let me reiterate, I have no problem with humor. In fact, I adore the well-placed humor so much in Marvel's films, but I just wish there was more of that and less of.. not that.

 

[BoredGuy]

I still thought that dance-off was perfect
after like 20 minutes of constant action and tension, it was perfectly timed: it didn't cut short any of the intended emotion of the scenes around it (everybody had a good couple minutes to be sad about Groot), Ronan's actual death was still done in a very serious "badass" way, and goddam if that wasn't the most unique way I've ever seen a supervillain defeated on film.
IM3 was also not so bad

but I agree on TDW's humor, it was ill-timed, but I also thought very little of it was even funny, regardless of timing

 

[JB-the-Hunter]

I still thought that dance-off was perfect
after like 20 minutes of constant action and tension, it was perfectly timed: it didn't cut short any of the intended emotion of the scenes around it (everybody had a good couple minutes to be sad about Groot), Ronan's actual death was still done in a very serious "badass" way, and goddam if that wasn't the most unique way I've ever seen a supervillain defeated on film.
IM3 was also not so bad

but I agree on TDW's humor, it was ill-timed, but I also thought very little of it was even funny, regardless of timing

Agree to disagree then. I feel like the dance off kinda undermined Ronan as a threat. How can someone wielding an Infinity Stone not feel like a threat? I'm not a fan of humorous moments like that happening during the climax of superhero films (Unless it's Deadpool). I think climaxes should be thrilling and dramatic. Saving the biggest joke of the movie for the climax never sits well with me. The only time it worked well for me is at the end of Avengers, because the moment was funny, despite both Hulk and Loki being serious. It wasn't humorous in-universe like a dance-off, sliding down a glass window or a terrorist being exposed as goofy british actor. Hulk was pounding and slamming Loki into the ground after Loki gave a rage fueled speech. The moment didn't feel out of place.

 

[BoredGuy]

Idk i don't see how it undermined him, dude was baffled that this terran was dancing when he's about to destroy the planet, distracting him for just a few seconds to give Drax the shot (though I guess Ronan's second "what are you doing?!" could've been swapped for him lifting the hammer about to smash Quill's brains in)
but yeah, atd

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

So... Taika was also Tom in the Reynolds GL? Hopefully he learned about how not to make a mediocre CBM while on the set.

 

[First Avenger]

So... Taika was also Tom in the Reynolds GL? Hopefully he learned about how not to make a mediocre CBM while on the set.

He said he's watching bad movies not to make one.

 

[MbJ]

He had this to say recently.

“Nobody knows what Ragnarok is,” he said. “I started reading about the actual Norse Ragnarok and that’s even more insane than the comics. Crazy! But that’s what I’m going to really concentrate on, really make an effort to change the entire thing. For me, I want to treat this as if it was the first Thor film, so we’re going to redo it. You just have to flip it and freshen it up, like anything. It’s also part of a very well-established universe right now, but that’s why they got me.”

 

[Dr. Evil]

So he's talking about the film, yet Marvel has still not confirmed his hire.

 

[Orba]

A new trailer for his latest film is out.

[YT]n8Xvsjy57X0[/YT]

I like 'What We Do in the Shadows' so it will definitely be interesting to see what he does with Thor.

 

[Ponyboy]

^ Very funny movie. It might even be Taika's best.

His other flicks "Boy" and "What We Do In the Shadows" are also very entertaining. Can't recommend them more.

 

[Moridin]

I just watched Boy. Brilliant. Funny, heartfelt, kind of sad. Has that nostalgic "remember those great times you had as a kid?" vibe but wth a strong undercurrent of being forced to grow up before your time. Loved it, great film.

I was already a fan of What We Do in the Shadows, I've yet to see Eagle vs Shark (which I will check out ASAP), but now I'm very much looking forward to Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

Waititi is one of Marvels most interesting directorial picks, I'm massively curious to see what he does with Thor.

 

[Endeavor]

I watched What We Do In The Shadows and it was okay.
Not my cup of tea humor-wise, but it wasn't a bad film.

I trust that if Marvel picked him he'll do alright though.

 

[Silvermoth]

Okay I saw hunt for the wilderpeople last night and I think we're in for a treat! Maybe he could even be comparable to the russos!

Anyway, I hope some of the cast move over to Thor with him especially Rachel house who would have made an epic Valkyrie if tessa hadn't already got that role (no harm no foul though because I bet tessa will be incredible)

(Rachel is the one on the right obviously)

 

[Mjölnir]

Hunt for the Wilderpeople seems to have gone over very well with critics before it's release in the US. 100% on RT after 44 reviews.

 

[Endeavor]

http://mcuexchange.com/taika-waititi-was-initially-apprehensive-about-tackling-thor-ragnarok/

 

[MbJ]

He had this to say about the comedy.

“It’s not gonna be like that, mate,” Waititi laughs. “I’m sorry! It’s not like broad, stupid comedy, like suddenly, ah! We’re going to do Dumb and Dumber with Thor! It’s easygoing, human comedy. It’s human humor.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...-supervillain.html?via=desktop&source=twitter

 

[First Avenger]

http://www.indiewire.com/2016/06/th...-marvel-hunt-for-the-wilderpeople-1201690920/

Really interesting piece on all things Waititi.

 

[Moridin]

Hunt for the Wilderpeople seems to have gone over very well with critics before it's release in the US. 100% on RT after 44 reviews.

Ah yes, that reminds me to remind any Americans here, Wilderpeople actually comes out this weekend in the States, so go check it out!

 

[Vchipp]

So... Taika was also Tom in the Reynolds GL? Hopefully he learned about how not to make a mediocre CBM while on the set.

I was shocked that was him. He's "jumping ship" in a big way.

 

[Finarfiniel]

I was shocked that was him. He's "jumping ship" in a big way.

Not really. Playing a small supporting role in a DC movie and then five years later directing a Marvel movie doesn't really equate to jumping ship in a 'big way', it's hardly like he was a major part of the DC cinematic landscape.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople has finally been released here in the UK. I've already seen it whilst visiting relatives in the US a couple of months ago but I can't wait to go and see it again, best film of the year IMO. Waititi is simply brilliant.

 

[Mjölnir]

I finally got to see Hunt for the Wilderpeople and it was great. A very nice mix of humor and drama with lots of heart, and it had a unique feel to it. It's not easy to see parallels between this and Ragnarok but it's very easy to see Waititi's talent as a filmmaker.

 

[Moridin]

Wilderpeople isn't being released here

Will have to wait for Blu Ray.

 

[HammerDown]

Really heavy subjects underneath the Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
Taika even acknowledge this article on Twitter.

Spoiler

The colonial critique in Hunt for the Wilderpeople

"I appear this evening as a thief and a robber.
I stole this head, these limbs, this body from my master, and ran off with them." – Frederick Douglass

Humour humbles us and takes us out to the dance. It makes itself useful by functioning as a tool of unconscious analysis that can suspend internal bias, and offer alternative methods of tackling sticky subjects. Director Taiki Waititi knows this. His recent film, Hunt for the Wilderpeople (HFTW), delicately deploys humour to pick at the foundations of the judicial system of New Zealand, where the film is set. Through the experiences of young Māori boy Ricky Baker, and his relationship with his begrudging foster father (or ‘uncle&#8217 Hec, the film examines the impact of the judicial system on the country’s children, particularly Māori youth, and the history of colonisation that continues to perpetuate disconnection and trauma in Te Ao Māori (the Māori world).

Despite the strong sociopolitical undercurrents, the film is not dragged down by didacticism. Waititi is so brilliant at biting satire that the film is funny, heartwarming and doesn’t leave the viewer feeling cynical or hopeless.

Initial impressions may border on associations with kitschy, indie movies like Where the Wild Things Are, HFTW hints at something more structural and political – but an understanding of New Zealand’s colonial history, the oppression of Māori and the pervasive inequalities that linger on to this day would prove beneficial to anyone watching the film, and watch it you must.

HFTW’s real-world political critiques occur in small moments throughout the film, but are perhaps most apparent in scenes like the short monologue where Ricky tells Hec why he doesn’t want to go back into foster care: ‘there’s no more homes – just juvy. They don’t care about kids like me, they just moving us around until kids like Amber …’ Amber was Ricky’s best friend who, it is implied, died due to abuse and neglect.

It’s important to consider the relationship between Māori and the prison system, which is institutionally colonial: this system was created to incarcerate Māori who resisted British occupation. In New Zealand, as in many other countries, the primary victims of the prison–industrial complex are Indigenous; indeed, the criminal justice system upholds white supremacy by criminalising and disproportionately arresting, charging and incarcerating Māori. Any examination of the carceral, therefore, must always start with an examination of the legacy and institutionalisation of colonialism. (Note, we use carceral here instead of prison, or ‘criminal justice’. Prison is too specific, whereas carceral describes the broader criminal justice system’ of which prison is a part. It speaks to the idea that the function of prisons is not just located within prison walls but that the punitive mentality that creates prisons is pervasive in wider society.

The treatment of Ricky that Hunt for the Wilderpeople depicts – as a hooligan, a repeat offender, an animal, a threat or danger that must be caught and restrained – is evidence of the ingrained racism that targets young Māori men especially. Despite the claims of Paula (the social worker tasked with ‘hunting’ Ricky down) that ‘no child should be left behind’, her treatment of Ricky does not stem from care and/or a sense of responsibility as much as it shows an exercise of state power and containment. Indeed, Paula’s repetitive refrain echoes the harmful mantra of the Bush administration’s education policies, which standardised learning and exacerbated the ‘school-to-prison’ pipeline. The pipeline is a phenomena in New Zealand as well.

Then there is the way Paula talks about Ricky; for instance, ‘He’s not just a child, he’s a spanner in the works’ – a reflection of the existing colonial mentality in New Zealand, where Māori children are treated as older and less innocent than their Pākehā counterparts. As Angie Han argues, Ricky and Hec ‘are not people so much as problems to be solved.’

Throughout the film Waititi juxtaposes the ‘natural’ and the ’artificial’/institutional/constructed, which can also be called the carceral. Compare the quiet opening scenes of a lone car making its way through lush terrain to the exaggerated chase that comes later. The ridiculousness of army tanks and various militia being deployed against Ricky are, in many ways, slapstick and absurd. Yet it clearly illustrates the us versus them mentality so evident in state power. The wilderness where Ricky and Hec initially retreat to, on the other hand, disarms them, offering protection, healing and guidance.

As it turns out, Ricky and Hec are both victims of the punitive criminal (in)justice system, which claims to bring order, but that is something the protagonists instead find in the bush. The film reveals how the ‘justice’ systems may have the appearance of order and safety from chaos, but actually enacts violence and separation. The continued shifting and removing of Ricky from family to family is evidence of this, in stark contrast to when he encounters a Māori family in his travels and they offer him warmth, acceptance and solidarity. Ricky, clearly traumatised by an uncaring alienating carceral system finds solace in the company of other outsiders, far from the city. This is significant: urbanisation was a violent process for Māori, severing many traditional cultural and social formations. It is not a coincidence that the movie is set deep in the country: the bush is a space where Ricky and Hec are able to reconnect, and find whānau (family), love and redemption.

Critics have called HFTW a ‘mini-masterpiece’ and it’s the expertly travelled paths between these different themes that make it so, and despite exploring the experience of colonialism and the carceral in New Zealand, the film has universal themes. The success of the film in Australia and the US (both settler-colonial states with racialised prison-industrial complexes) makes sense.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople could have been a despairing film, but Waititi’s careful treatment and delivery instead offer alternative ways of seeing. It shows how connection can heal ingrained pain and trauma. The movie is even more admirable when we realise Ricky’s character goes beyond being just an avatar for grief and marginalisation: his salvation represents a quiet dream for a just future.

I guess our director is even smarter and aware than we antecipated.
https://overland.org.au/2016/11/the-colonial-critique-of-hunt-for-the-wilderpeople/