Clint Eastwood's Next is Gran Torino

[TNC9852002]

I think it's simply in the mindsets of the viewers that say whether or not a director or a writer is forcibly trying to make a movie Oscar worthy just because they know how to put together a very intimate and well acted dramatic piece.

I can't imagine any director starting off on a project saying, "Ok my fellow minions, let's take the next Oscars by storm!! [evil laugh]"

-TNC

 

[FaT_tONle]

I saw this this afternoon... man was the kid's acting horrid... I mean it was vintage Eastwood but everything else sucked...

 

[Matt]

i agree...

i havent seen any of his previous films simply because they look like they're trying 100% to get an oscar.

watched a bit of million dollar baby and didnt feel like watching the rest.

this movie though, was very entertaining.

It had the heart of new Eastwood with the suspense and bad assery of vintage Eastwood.

 

[TNC9852002]

Toad/Tao/Bee Vang's acting was good for most of the movie, but there were just a handful of scenes where he really needed to deliver and he really fell short.

I guess next time, Eastwood won't be so easy on his actors, even if they're legitimate actors. That's the cushion people have been trying to give them. They're real Hmung actors, so, I guess they can get away with some of the shortcomings on the acting.

It's still one of those types of drama/comedy type films that you can watch over and over again. I gave it a 8.5/10

-TNC

 

[Superark]

I'm not a big fan of Clint Eastwood's later works. Most of them are pretentious Oscar bait. Yet some how this movie turned out to be my favorite of the year. Great movie

Likewise! Although I still have a couple to see from 2008, but I doubt they'll top this

 

[Octoberist]

Very good movie, but I was a little disapointed. Like others have said, the supporting actors were weak.

Tau in particular was terrible. The part where

Spoiler

he is locked in Eastwood's basement while Eastwood goes off to confront the gang and he's crying/screaming

is some of the worst, most unconvincing acting I've ever seen. My friends and I were laughing.

It was an awful scene.

 

[WeaponXProject]

I loved this film. Can anyone who's seen some of the other Oscar contender's (Milk, Frost/Nixon, etc) give me a comparison in terms of quality? I enjoyed this as much as I did Benjamin Button.

It's not even close to contending for Best Picture next to Frost/Nixon, Revolutionary Road, Milk or Slumdog Millionaire.

 

[The_Vision]

Not out till Febuary in the UK.

 

[Figs]

Saw this last night and like it alot.

I wasn't annoyed by the asian actors as much as everyone else i guess, although that scene where the kid is in the basement was about as bad as everyone had said.

Only real thing that kind of bugged me was the ending. I guess from all the hype of everyone saying this film is vintage Eastwood I was expecting him to go to town on the gangbangers.

I understood why he

Spoiler

let them kill him with the witnesses watching

, it went in hand with what he was trying to tell Tau(I think that's the kids name)how horrible it is to take another man's life.

Although I liked it for being a bit different in the end, I still would have liked to see Eastwood open up a can of whoop ass.

 

[Superfreak]

brilliance in this movie. Loved it.

 

[Superfreak]

Love the flick, like a what if: Gunny Highway had some *****e bag kids, resulting in even larger *****e bag grand children, put him in retirement in a ghetto, and let the chaos begin.

 

[Sebastos]

Eastwood's still got it.

 

[Rac]

I saw this this afternoon... man was the kid's acting horrid... I mean it was vintage Eastwood but everything else sucked...

Yeah. Eastwood was the only one who could act. Everyone else were horrible. Some were decent, like the girl.

But, uh, 2/5 from me. One for the movie and one for Clint's character. The acting ruined the movie for me.

 

[Lex Luthor]

Eastwood is what made me want to watch this, and it's also because of him that I enjoyed the hell out of this film.

 

[Dark Knight 66]

Edit

 

[Nirvana]

Just got back from watching this. I loved it. I'll definitely be getting this on DVD.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

This film kicked ass! 9.5/10

 

[CBGB]

I really, really liked this movie. I agree with the fact that some of the acting was horrendous, but I learned to deal with it, and I enjoyed it.

 

[The Dark Defender]

Haven't seen much of Eastwood's work, I thought Mystic River was just a horrendous, tedious piece of oscar bait trash, but I loved this movie with a passion. Incredibly moving and loaded with terrific character driven humor. It definitely has me wanting to check out more of his older films.

 

[TheFuture]

Walt Kowalski is certainly one of the more complex screen characters in recent memory. Not until the penultimate scene where the Korean War veteran explains what it is like to kill a man do we get a clear picture of who Walt Kowalski is. For all his racist bravado throughout the film, Kowalski is in reality a man guilt ridden about the deeds he committed in combat. It never leaves him he tells his young friend. I think a lot of Walt's racist persona is a facade for the turmoil that is within him and the true beauty of the character is at its' brightest when he shares warm interactions with the people he supposedly has "contempt" for. On viewing his friendships with Thao and Sue I find it difficult to see this man as a truly hate filled bigot.

Gran Torino is simply a well crafted film with perfect pacing and a film which resists any cliches. How Walt lets down his guard and garners a soft spot for the people he is meant to hate is adequately believable. How so? Because when he sees young Thao and Sue he sees himself; two young kids without any great advantages in life trying to find their own way mirrors Walt's hard grafting, working for Ford for most of his life. When Walt sees the spoilt and sheltered life his own children and grandchildren abide by he cannot help but be drawn to his Hmong neighbours.

That's what I loved about this film. It perfectly tackles themes of race, age and society within a distinct realm of reality, which is reinforced by the very clever and powerful ending.

4.5/5 for me. It's a real shame this film missed the Oscar deadline because I could see it cleaning up this year. Lets hope Gran Torino gets its' deserved recognition at next years Oscars.

 

[Darkness Falls]

The Film kicked major ass
saw it twice in the past fortnight

good storyline,
it had great acting (mainly by eastwood)

It made me laugh
and cry, such great emotional acting from eastwood towards the final act

the thugs were so easy to hate in this movie, especially the fat kid eastwood beats the hell out of, and the leader

Eastwood has still got it
he makes "get off my lawn" sound as intimidating as "go ahead make my day" from his dirty harry days

This film gets a solid 10 from me

i will admit thao's acting when he's locked in the basement was pehaps the worst angy acting I've ever seen

 

[Carmine Falcone]

Alot of people say that the bad acting of the supporting cast ruined the movie for them, I hate bad acting aswell, and it can really take me out of a movie, but with this one, I thought Clint made up for that for a 100%. It's quite extraordinary that I feel that way, but it proves once again how ****ing good Clint really is. He's probably one of my all-time favorite actors.

 

[gwynplaine]

Great film.

 

[Nivek]

I still have not seen this yet...

 

[Watson]

Haven't seen much of Eastwood's work, I thought Mystic River was just a horrendous, tedious piece of oscar bait trash, but I loved this movie with a passion. Incredibly moving and loaded with terrific character driven humor. It definitely has me wanting to check out more of his older films.

Rent Unforgiven. You will not be disapointed