Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Donald Seymour This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

grantss 1984. An 11-year old boy, known simply as Boy, lives with his grandmother, brother and four cousins on a farm in rural New Zealand. His mother is dead and his father, Alamein, is in jail. Then Alamein escapes from jail and heads back home, arriving, with two sidekicks, when the grandmother is out for a few days. Boy is grateful for an opportunity to bond with his father, but all Alamein is there for is to find the stolen money he buried...Simple yet warm and funny movie. The second movie directed by Taika Waititi, who went on to direct What We Do In The Shadows, Hunt For The Wilderpeople and Thor: Ragnarok.Starts very well. Very funny in the set-up phase with some interesting characters and relationships and room for great plot and character development. Great scenery and cinematography.The second act continues the good work, initially, and we seem headed for a greatly profound and emotional climax. However, from a point the movie seems to falter, lose direction and drift. It's not dull or unengaging, just directionless and fairly disappointing after the great start.The ending is rather poignant, but still feels incomplete. Overall: very good, largely due to the humour and warmth, but had the potential to be brilliant.One thing: stick around for the end-credits. The Haka version of Michael Jackson's Thriller is brilliant, and funny.

loganholley I don't really know what to say about this one - I watched it because I loved Hunt for the Wilderpeople and wanted to see what other films it's director had done. What I found was a more with a far more serious tone, but also a fairly intriguing plot. Don't get me wrong, this film is very flawed in some regards, but the sum of all its pieces is a decent Comedy/Drama that leans a little more on the latter than other films by this director.I think I should start with the positives. First of all, like I said, the plot is very unique. For the sake of spoilers, I won't tell you that much about it, but it's one of the most interesting I've seen in a while. Then, there are the performances. All of the actors, even in minor roles, played their parts to near perfection. This especially counts towards the main character, Boy (played by James Jolleston), and his dad, played by the director himself, Taika Waititi. Best of all here, as with other films by this director, is the cinematography. There were some shots here that left my jaw dropped because of how beautiful they were. Also, as to be expected by Waititi, the dialog here is really snappy and well written - each of the characters felt somewhat real in a sense.Now, this isn't to say this movie is without flaws. I found that this film has tonal inconsistencies at moments, especially later in the film. Something sad will happen, then will be proceeded with joyful, happy music and a scene that doesn't carry the same dramatic weight as the previous one. Also, the ending. Again, I won't be spoiling anything here, but this has one of the most lackluster, confusing, and downright unfitting endings I've ever seen in a film. Another thing that might get on some people's nerves, although didn't bother me, is that this film isn't as funny as the director's other works. It's a very dramatic piece, so go into it with that mindset.All in all, Boy is a decent dramedy. If you like happy movies and cheery endings, this obviously isn't for you - or, you won't like it a whole lot. It's a short film, but in it's running time, it impresses with a unique plot, great performances, excellent cinematography, and witty dialog that brings characters to life. I'm not going to say it's the best film I've ever seen, or my favorite of all the director's work so far, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. One last thing: if you're somewhat afraid about the 'Not Rated' status this film has... yeah, there's definitely some cursing, sexual references, and a bit of violence in this one. It's not too extreme, but I thought I should point that out for some people.

noelcox I realise that most have rated this movie more highly, but personally I found is unsatisfying, somewhat pretentious, and ultimately boring. There were flashes of humour, but I found the story insufficient to sustain a full-length movie, and the the tone of the movie variable. Perhaps it requires a particular view of rural 1980s New Zealand life - and a subculture of that - to appreciate this trifle of a film.

gavin6942 Set on the east coast of New Zealand in 1984, Boy, an 11-year-old kid and devout Michael Jackson fan, gets a chance to know his father, who has returned to find a bag of money he buried years ago.This is the rise of Taika Waititi in all his glory. Whole "Eagle vs Shark" is a fun, offbeat, quirky romance, and is often compared (both favorably and unfavorably) to "Napoleon Dynamite", it falls short just a bit. It is with "Boy" that we see the greatness Waititi is capable of and would continue with such films as "What We Do in the Shadows" and "Hunt for the Wilderpeople".Exactly how they got away with so much Michael Jackson is beyond me. But I suppose if you don't use the music and just focus on the imagery, you can pass it off as a loving homage or satire. Heck, if I was Jackson, i would have been flattered.