Lilli flees her home to escape Claudia’s revenge (and her descent into madness) and is befriended by a group of social outcasts rather than dwarves. Once again, Neill knocks it out of the park in a crucial supporting role: a loving, well-meaning, kind-hearted widower trying to keep the two women in his life happy. Weaver is equally spectacular as Claudia, the costumes are gorgeous, and on the whole, it’s a good, bloody reinvention of Snow White that stands in stark contrast to the sanitized Disney version.
Credit:
Roadshow Entertainment
Director Rob Sitch (The Castle) based this 2000 film on actual historical events, albeit taking a few liberties and using fictional characters. The film focuses on the critical role played by Australia’s Parkes Observatory in broadcasting the historical Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. There’s a present-day framing device, but much of the film takes place in 1969, recounting the unexpected challenges placed on the observatory’s intrepid staff as they struggle to fulfill their scheduled stint as the mission’s main receiver.
This is Neill as the likable everyman, in this case, the observatory’s lead scientist, Cliff Buxton, calmly responding to crisis after crisis when everyone around him is losing their cool. The historical details are fudged a bit, but the Parkes Observatory team really did risk their own safety and that of their dish as it was buffeted by 60 mph winds in an unexpected storm, keeping the dish pointed at the Moon so the world could experience the transmitted video footage live. The Dish was Australia’s top-grossing film in 2000 but didn’t get a US theatrical release, which is a shame, but it did place second in the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival that year (beaten by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).
Credit:
Madman Films and Piki Films
Credit:
Madman Films and Piki Films
Hunt for the Wilderpeople remains my favorite of Taika Waititi’s films, a quirky adventure comedy-drama that epitomizes Waititi’s distinctive style as a filmmaker. Neill plays Hector, who reluctantly agrees to foster a young boy named Ricky (Julian Dennison) at his wife, Bella’s (Rima Te Wiata), urging, since the couple is childless. Hector mostly ignores the boy, preferring to go out hunting with his dog, but when Bella dies from a sudden stroke, Ricky tries to fake his own death to avoid going back into the system and runs into the bush. Hector goes after him, hurts his ankle, and the pair are forced to stay in the bush until the injury heals.
