Wonderful character development!

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

The acting in this movie is really good.

As has been stated before this is in effect the story of the relationship between a man and a woman in country New Zealand. It would be kind to describe them as social misfits. However, in reality, they appear to be people, who whilst ostensibly kind, who have very low I.Q's. Their ignorance of life then presents situations and issues. These situations are sometimes dramatic, never comedic, but always pitiful. This is not just the situation with the main characters, but all the supporting roles have the same faults. The creators of this movie are New Zealanders. I do not know if the underlying theme of this movie is a asocial commentary on rural New Zealand. In making that comment it is in no way meant to be offensive to New Zealanders. It is just that any intended statement in the film in that regard is lost on outsiders. I also gain the impression that the film lost its way and did not know what it wanted to be; drama, comedy etc...Unfortunately the film is to depressing and pitiful to watch or enjoy.

Taika Cohen's lo-fi love/hate story resembles Napoleon Dynamite not just in terms of its bad 80s sportswear, unmanageable hair, and blank-faced brand of humour, but also in its recognition of the fact that the central nerd is not a well-meaning loser, but actually bit of a git. Borderline sociopath and self-proclaimed depressive in Jarrod's (Jemaine Clement) case. While this provides the seed for a more soulful film than Jared Hess's minor classic, it also lacks that film's joke quotient. For a quirky sub-90-minuter with minute pretensions, played alongside an animated love story played out by half-eaten fruit, Jarrod is simply too bleak a character. Meanwhile, Lily (Loren Horsley) is too sketchy to win our sympathy; too empty to provide the narrative with anything but a bucket for Jarrod's often wittily written bile. By the time the repetition starts kicking in at about the hour mark, you'll be wishing she'd just walk home.

If you're depressed or feeling blue, this is the movie for you! A story about two nerds falling in love leads to a series of crazy situations. Each one of the characters contains a surprise factor and some of them just are too much! The movie reminds me of "Cashback" in some points but without the stylish soundtrack. This could be considered a typical Sundance movie with a simple script and really good Art Direction ideas on the extreme kitsch side. Sometimes it's possible to feel Douglas Coupland whispering something about the unwanted adult life or Monthy Phiton screaming loud. In the end, a wonderful and creative piece of art!

"Eagle vs Shark" is an awkward romantic comedy. In fact it's probably 80 percent awkward, 10 percent romantic and 10 percent comedy. New Zealand creator Taika Waititi shows us the deadpan humor side of love, a style reminiscent of HBO New Zealander comedy series "Flight of the Conchords," (which stars Jemaine Clement, the lead male in "Eagle") only this is less funny. It's cute and good for a few chuckles, but not funny enough to truly endear us to its main characters, Jarrod and Lily.The film begins on the boy-meets-girl premise, with Lily (Loren Horsley) scoping out a particularly unattractive Jarrod at her place of work, a fast food restaurant. After she's fired for seemingly no good reason, she goes to Jarrod's "dress as your favorite animal" party where she lets him beat her in a video game tournament. The two hook up despite Jarrod's awkward advances and their romance quickly takes them to the town where Jarrod grew up, where he has plans to fight his childhood bully -- and ultimately some inner demons.The shift from focusing on Lily to being about Jarrod coming to terms with some family and self-confidence issues is slightly unexpected. The title gives the impression the two will be at odds and that this will be the main source of conflict, but it ends up being about how Lily, seeking desperately to be swept away by love, hits an obstacle because the apple of her eye is an immature Napoleon Dynamite rip-off. Ultimately, love is never simple or easy, but it works out if it's meant to.Clement, had Napoleon Dynamite never existed, would have come off as quite hilarious in this movie. However, the nunchuks thing has indeed been done, so Jarrod's social inadequacy seems more stale than funny or worthy of sympathy. We do feel bad the way his father ignores him, but he doesn't do anything to really capture our hearts. Neither does Lily, but she comes close. Horsley's pretty green eyes aren't quite enough to hide her underdeveloped loneliness. She's more pitiable than Jarrod, but the deadpan style of the film undercuts our understanding of their emotions. Deadpan works for comedy, but Waititi carries it over into the drama too much, sucking the potential for conflict right out of it. When that happens, the director shoulders more responsibility to convey emotions through images. Waititi's script has a few really nice moments, but much of the symbolism meant to do the job of making us feel is too abstract and forced. The eagle symbolism is over-pushed and the animated apple scenes even more so. It captures the independent spirit of the film, but it's not cleverly worked into the script to make us feel as if it belongs."Eagle vs Shark" is nice, but it's a bit too bland to really get a reaction from its audience. Even though the blandness is meant for humor, a film that clearly has a big heart shouldn't let that style cheat it out of becoming meaningful.