Taika Waititi’ - “Jojo Rabbit”

[venom892]

Don't know exactly where this will rank, but it was one of the more enjoyable theater experiences of the year. The entire cast was charming, it was the most I laughed all year and when the gut punches come, they come without softening the blow. Taika has yet to disappoint me.

 

[HammerDown]

I wouldn't say I was let down by the first act, but I just don't think it was as good as the second and third acts and maybe it took some time for this to find its footing or for me to get into it.

It could change on a future rewatch.

I agree with you on this. It definitely takes some adjusting in the beginning.
Yeah the 2nd and particularly the 3rd act is when things really kick into gear. I'm also looking forward to seeing it again.

I feel like I should've seen *THAT* scene coming, but I just wasn't thinking about the possibility and it really punched me in the gut.

I knew of it before hand and it still hit me like a ton of bricks. Just the way the scene plays out is heartbreaking.
It's actually kind of similar to something that happens in "Hunt For The Wilderpeople", just that in this it was much more drastic and impactful.

 

[Asr]

Just came back from this and I loved it, absolutely loved it!

The only other Taika Waititi movie I've seen is Thor Ragnarok (which still felt super Marvel-ized to me), and I had only seen the first theatrical trailer, so I went in with very minimal expectations. And I was totally blown away by it and won over by its charm—when the movie meant to be funny, it was absolutely hilarious, and when it meant to be sad, dramatic, and even scary at points, it was all very effective and genuine. And I loved that it didn't forget to be funny even after that laugh riot of the first act, and that the jokes kept coming throughout the rest of the film.

All of the actors were so, so good in their parts, and I loved the kid actor who played the main character. That kid is totally going to go places as he gets older! He was instantly likeable and adorable, and the relationship with his mom played by ScarJo was just absolutely beautiful.

Loved, loved, loved this film. It had so much heart and charm put into it that pulled me in hook line and sinker. And I also loved the setting of the film which was absolutely brilliant and something I've actually never seen before in any WW2 movies that I've seen (and I've seen my share of them)—placing it in WW2 Germany from the perspective of the Germans, in an unknown town where it felt idyllic and peaceful, and for most of the movie, you actually forget about "evil Germans" and Nazis being bad guys. That was a great twist on a formula where it seems every American-made movie set during WW2 has to show the Nazis (or Germans otherwise) as 1-dimensional villains.

 

[scarlet-witch]

@Asr You should really check out Hunt for the Wilderpeople!

 

[HammerDown]

@Asr You should really check out Hunt for the Wilderpeople!

Yep. HFTWP and Boy are similar to JJR, tackling impactful themes with an absurdist, humorous and heartfelt lens.
@Asr

 

[scarlet-witch]

The only movie I've seen of Taika's that I legitimately didn't like was Eagle vs Shark. Otherwise I've enjoyed all the rest.

 

[HammerDown]

Jojo Rabbit in a nutshell.

 

[HammerDown]

Really smart marketing strategy and well cut actual footage with people's reactions.
"WHAT ARE YOU BURNING?" LOL

 

[HammerDown]

 

[Schlosser85]

It seems exactly the kind of movie he’d approve of.

 

[tzarinna]

I thought the kids were absolutely amazing in this. I saw their Q&A on twitter after viewing the movie, and they're just as awesome off the screen. Looking forward to them killing it on the big screen in their future projects.

 

[HammerDown]

 

[scarlet-witch]

I really want to watch this movie again.

 

[KaijuDude1992]

A really sweet and charming little movie. Fantastic performances from all the young actors in this, especially Roman Griffin Davis and Thomasin McKenzie. Scarlett Johansson was pretty great in this too and Takia was an awesome choice for imaginary Hitler, but holy crap did that shoe scene get me. I definitely wasn't expecting that at all, but it was very effective and definitely an emotional gut punch.

9/10

 

[Batmannerism]

Mel Brooks is a comedy genius - and had the guts to tackle racism by laughing at it. Waititi hits some similar notes here, great to see Brooks giving him props, as today's world is much harder to tackle these topics in than the one Brooks released Blazing Saddles ( one of the funniest films ever made).

 

[CaptainWagner]

FINALLY got to see this after it being one of my most anticipated works of the year, and it was well-worth the wait. Just incredible work on every level. I could go on and on about the cast, which was all brilliant but I really especially highlight how Alfie Allen had about five lines and built such a brilliantly funny character out of that.

Spoiler

Rockwell and Allen here have the greatest movie romance of the year, change my mind

 

[scarlet-witch]

FINALLY got to see this after it being one of my most anticipated works of the year, and it was well-worth the wait. Just incredible work on every level. I could go on and on about the cast, which was all brilliant but I really especially highlight how Alfie Allen had about five lines and built such a brilliantly funny character out of that.

Spoiler

Rockwell and Allen here have the greatest movie romance of the year, change my mind

I laughed so hard at their staring scene.

 

[HammerDown]

 

[HammerDown]

 

[antsman41]

...I think Jo Jo finding his mom might have been the most heartbreaking/beautifully shot scenes all year.

 

[HammerDown]

AFI Awards: 2019's Top Films, TV Programs Honored As Mel Brooks Praises "Terrific" 'Jojo Rabbit'

Mel Brooks, who received a standing ovation before cracking, "It's almost a pleasure to be here," and then thanking AFI for supporting his late wife Anne Bancroft's work on the 1972 film Fatso.

In a major win for Jojo Rabbit, Brooks then went off-script to give a shoutout to that film, which, like Brooks' own 1968 classic The Producers, is a satire about Hitler. "Taika Waititi [Jojo's writer/director] did not ask my permission to use Hitler — neither did Quentin [Tarantino, who was in the room as the writer/director of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood] in [the 2009 film] Inglourious Basterds," Brooks joked before turning serious. "But I want to say, I just saw Jojo Rabbit, and it's really a terrific and eloquent and beautiful picture. Taika, where are you? [People pointed at Waititi] Well, you did a great job. Even as an actor, you were good, which is hard!"

 

[scarlet-witch]

...I think Jo Jo finding his mom might have been the most heartbreaking/beautifully shot scenes all year.

Agreed. In hindsight there were plenty of hints but it still caught me way off guard when it happened.

 

[HammerDown]

 

[HammerDown]

Box Office:

Domestic - 21.6M
International - 9.4M
Worldwide - 31M

Budget - 14M

Jojo Rabbit is well on its way to becoming a solid box office hit for Fox Searchlight and Taika. It just recently opened in Australia and the UK while 80% of the international markets will open throughout January and February.

With the awards chatter surrounding the movie the BO final results should get a significant bump. When all is said and done I would expect the movie to score at the very least around 50M+ WW which would be around 4x it’s original budget.

 

[Silvermoth]

Saw it last night and loved it! It’s so nice every now and then to see a film that’s not obviously designed by markets and franchisees. I loved jojo’s little buddy and rebel wilson is an unlikely scene stealer