IT'S SWEET WHEN KIWI GEEKS MATE ... AND ATTACK.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic Napoleon Dynamite  This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling.You can assist by [ editing it] now. goes to New Zealand New Zealand (zē`lənd), island country (2005 est. pop. 4,035,000), 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellington; the largest city and leading port is Auckland. in the precious nerd comedy "Eagle vs Shark," a movie that, in its static presentation and gangly gan·gly adj. gan·gli·er, gan·gli·est Gangling. [Alteration of gangling.] Adj. 1. , geek A technically oriented person. It has typically implied a "nerdy" or "weird" personality, someone with limited social skills who likes to tinker with scientific or high-tech projects. The origin of the term dates back to the late 1800s. characters, bears such a resemblance to Jared Hess' underdog hit that -- gosh! -- you'd think that Hess might need to have his attorneys go after a royalty check or two. Kiwi writer-director Taika Waititi does bring a tad more empathy to the material, though it's still easy to see every character existing simply for the sake of derision. "Dynamite" was definitely funnier, if, for no other reason, than its absence of Waititi's twee stop-motion animation The original technique used to create an animated sequence. Each frame is created and photographed (or digitized) independently. Contrast with computer animation. See claymation. sequences that do indeed stop the movie dead in its tracks whenever they appear. The title refers to the costumes that misfits Lily (Loren Horsley) and the badly bespectacled Jarrod (Jemaine Clement) are wearing when they meet at a party. Lily works the counter at Meaty Boy, where video game clerk Jarrod often dines. She fancies him, and once she demonstrates her skills severing heads and spinal cords in violent video games, Jarrod is smitten -- as much as the self-absorbed Jarrod can be. "Do you want to have sex?" he asks, doing his best imitation of a robot. "Yup," Lily replies. Their costumes -- or at least part of them, one supposes, remain on during the act's quick climax. Anyone but the naive Lily would realize that Jarrod isn't the eagle-man of her dreams, but it takes a road trip to Jarrod's hometown for this to gradually, painfully dawn on her. There, Lily meets Jarrod's dysfunctional family dysfunctional family Psychology A family with multiple 'internal'–eg sibling rivalries, parent-child– conflicts, domestic violence, mental illness, single parenthood, or 'external'–eg alcohol or drug abuse, extramarital affairs, gambling, , rummages through the skeletons in the clan's closet and watches her beloved train for his mission -- killing his high school nemesis. The more we see of Jarrod, the more we sympathize with the sweet Lily, making the nature of the movie's feel-good conclusion debatable. Waititi does explain Jarrod's antisocial antisocial /an·ti·so·cial/ (-so´sh'l) 1. denoting behavior that violates the rights of others, societal mores, or the law. 2. denoting the specific personality traits seen in antisocial personality disorder. behavior, showing his gnawing need for approval. Fine. But Lily is one shark who should realize there are plenty of other fish in the sea. Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp@dailynews.com EAGLE VS SHARK - Two and one half stars (R: language, some sexuality) Starring: Loren Horsley, Jemaine Clement. Director: Taika Waititi. Running time: 1 hr. 27 min. Playing: Landmark's Westside Pavilion in West Los Angeles
In a nutshell: Geek love is sweeeeeeeeeeeeet in a Napoleon Dynamite kind of way. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Loren Horsley and Jemaine Clement bond over their nerdiness in "Eagle vs Shark." |
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