It's a disarmingly lovely, big-hearted film, and hilarious in places.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 13, 2017

Even the inevitable flaws of the low-budget production are winning, showcasing as they do the narrative artistry that makes Boy so distinctive amid current factory-written studio productions.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 13, 2012

A simple story of coming of age and the bitter failings of hero worship that succeeds thanks to the impressive skills of its young star.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 12, 2012

Rolleston's winning presence doubtless has much to do with the fact that Boy is a record-breaking hit in its home country, but there's some salt mixed in with the film's sugar.

| Original Score: B | May 3, 2012

"Boy" finds hope, and love, in the oddest corners.

| Original Score: B+ | Apr 27, 2012

Waititi has reached into his past for a story that belongs to him alone.

| Apr 26, 2012

A film like this would have little chance without the right casting, and James Rolleston is so right as Boy, it's difficult to imagine anyone else.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 26, 2012

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Apr 7, 2012

A performer and comedian before becoming a filmmaker, Waititi uses his comic sensibilities to keep Boy from becoming mawkish or clichd. He has created a coming-of-age tale that is truly original.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Apr 6, 2012

Boy is a charmer, a funny and affecting coming-of-age story rendered with heart, and with nuttiness.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 5, 2012

"Boy" is a delightful discovery, a charming little film about fathers, sons, New Zealand and Michael Jackson.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 5, 2012

It's serious stuff, but with a veneer of cheeky comedy.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 30, 2012

"Boy'' rollicks along with bright, sunny style and, for the most part, balances its sadness with invention.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 29, 2012

"Boy," from New Zealand, has its charms, most of them to do with Boy, an 11-year-old pop-culture enthusiast who's obsessed with Michael Jackson and moonwalking.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 22, 2012

It's ... super-exuberant and super-affecting, thanks to the pairing of James Rolleston as the boy of the title and the filmmaker as his father.

| Mar 15, 2012

It's a lovely oddity, and one that will probably hit home for preteen audiences all over the world.

| Original Score: B | Mar 9, 2012

Writer-director and co-star Taika Waititi ("Eagle vs Shark") never builds much momentum for his largely uneventful if sometimes inventive story.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Mar 8, 2012

Boy could have been a twee mush of cuteness and bathos but it's not, in large part because of the outstanding cast of unself-conscious Maori kids.

| Original Score: B+ | Mar 7, 2012

A cross between The 400 Blows and Slumdog Millionaire.

| Mar 5, 2012

The use of flipbook animation and exaggerated fantasy sequences entails a certain logic, but these devices run aground on a fairly limited sense of imagination which fails to make up for the story's essential slightness.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 2, 2012