Gran Torino (2008)

If movies like Indiana Jones, Iron Man and The Dark Knight were the thoroughbred hits of 2008, then Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino is the dark horse. This rousing crowd-pleaser is sure to surprise many, through its copious sour humour and pure badassery, while managing to still be an affecting and sombre dramatic entry in Eastwood's long-enduring and wildly successful career in front of and behind the camera.

You know that a movie has something going for it when it can a) pack in so many one-liners you can't bring yourself to remember them after the show from oversaturation of the brain, b) be unboundedly racist yet still never seen exploitative or condescending and c) make a pure, grit- and-nails, grimacing anti-hero, one man army out of a seventy-eight year old man. What is likely to surprise the most number of viewers is how funny this movie really is. Eastwood's direction and line delivery as a diamond-hard antisocial veteran is bang-on, but never makes the film into a farce or embarrassment. This is due in part to the handling of the more touching dramatic moments which anchors the film in reality and reminds us of what is at play, so to speak.

Following the death of his wife, Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) has nothing left but his dog to truly be with. His two sons and their families drift in and out, but Walt's less then cheerful demeanour and their impartiality keeps them in different worlds and in different times. Walt is peppered by visits from Father Janovich (Christopher Carley) of the local church at the request of his late wife to 'keep an eye on him', but has little place for religion on his heavy conscience; about as much time as he has for his new Hmong neighbours that move in next door. That is until the family's youngest son Thao (Bee Vang) begins to be harassed by a local gang who persuade him to steal Walt's prized Gran Torino as initiation. Saving Thao in an ensuing altercation, Walt sweeps the fatherless teen away from the pressures of the criminal life and puts him to work at the request of his mother. Thao and his sister Sue (Ahney Her) befriend Walt in a way, and for a reason none can truly explain.

All of the Hmong actors in Gran Torino are pure novices who have never acted before and this is readily apparent. While a weak link, the film as a whole is so satisfying it is really a moot point as it serves as no thorough determent. The arc of Walt is simple and easy to predict, but then anything but would not work. Many scenes with the cultural clashes are funny and touching as with an unspoken dynamic with the elderly grandmother of the Lor family next door. A number of exchanges between the few remaining people in Walt's life who he still respects such as his barber and a construction worker who gets Thao a job, are nothing short of comic genius and piece the Walt character into a true three- dimensional individual.

With a great song by Jamie Cullum to conclude the film (which stands as a horrendous Oscar snub, equalled only by the additional snub of the Bruce Springsteen Song from The Wrestler), Gran Torino is a pure gem; a film that both draws unexpected laughs, soft smiles and tears from an audience that is happy to oblige, as well as salute a screen legend in another iconic role that proves even at an old age a dark horse can still kick you in the face.

Fmovies: This movie made me laugh and cry at the same time. It deals with both grimy old bastards as well as with more serious matters as racism. Good acting from Clind as well as all his supporting actors and once again Clint has shown that he is capable of making movies that involves both emotions and stereotypes! The "olidish" bitterness of Clint's character and the mix between comedy and drama is just genius. The only criticism of the movie would be that the gang-bangers were pretty and does not correspond very well to all of the reports of gang violence all around the world. But overall I thought this was a great movie with lots of potential for being one of those films that you will actually remember when you visit the video rental store in five years from now.

This is a poignant, beautiful movie, maybe the best film Eastwood has ever done. The characters are fully drawn, believable, and resonate true human emotion. I at first was put off by the idea of seeing a movie about an old racist, but when I saw the numbers of people attending the screenings, I thought there must be something there, so I went to the Arclight in Hollywood, where the theater was packed. Crusty old Kowalski, a Korean war veteran, now living in run down Detroit, hates the Vietnamese immigrants that have moved next door to him. As time goes on, he gets to know them, and the bond that forms is wonderful, and spiritual. There was not a dry eye in the house when the movie ended. I won't give the ending away, but suffice it to say this is a truly wonderful story, one that you will love and tell your friends to see. If you're looking for one of those great movie experiences that so rarely comes along, you'll not find a better film to see than this.

Gran Torino fmovies. seeing the trailer for this film kinda made me expect id be watching Dirty Harry in the suburbs.

What I saw was a bittersweet superbly written, well acted story of humanity and friendship,this film is something that we can all relate to in some way, and isn't Hollywooded up in anyway, the film tells it story without any un needed hidden undertones that so many mainstream directors do to films.

Eastwood is excellent as the hard nosed war vet, and his direction is perfect as always, and supporting cast did there job just fine too

Clint Eastwood was perfect for the role and as director, as he has the knack of taking a story and making a film for the audience to get sucked into the story, and not for critics to pick apart....great film making,

Manohla Dargis writes in the New York Times: "Dirty Harry is back, in a way, in "Gran Torino," not as a character but as a ghostly presence. He hovers in the film, in its themes and high-caliber imagery, and of course most obviously in Mr. Eastwood's face. It is a monumental face now, so puckered and pleated that it no longer looks merely weathered, as it has for decades, but seems closer to petrified wood. Words like flinty and steely come to mind, adjectives that Mr. Eastwood ... expressively embodies with his usual lack of fuss and a number of growls." More praise for Eastwood comes from Joe Morgenstern in the Wall Street Journal, who comments: "No one makes movies like Gran Torino any more, and more's the pity. This one, with Clint Eastwood as director and star, is concerned with honor and atonement, with rough justice and the family of man. It raises irascibility to the level of folk art, takes unapologetic time-outs for unfashionable moral debates, revives acting conventions that haven't been in fashion for half a century and keeps you watching every frame as Mr. Eastwood snarls, glowers, mutters, growls and grins his way through the performance of a lifetime." Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News remarks that "it's clearly a career-capping work." Kenneth Turan in The Los Angeles Times writes that the movie "is impossible to imagine without the actor in the title role. The notion of a 78-year-old action hero may sound like a contradiction in terms, but Eastwood brings it off, even if his toughness is as much verbal as physical. Even at 78, Eastwood can make 'Get off my lawn' sound as menacing as 'Make my day,' and when he says 'I blow a hole in your face and sleep like a baby,' he sounds as if he means it."

There are at least four reason why I like this film: 1. Clint Eastwood shows that the character he is playing is willing to serve in a war-- and die if necessary--to preserve freedom (and he has a medal to prove it), 2. he has grown old and the whole world has changed (and everyone around him seems to indicate--in one way or another--that he is no appreciated or needed), 3. even with a transformation, he demonstrates that people tend to be reactive--rather than responsive--and are slow to change (this is particularly true with bias, discrimination, and prejudice), and 4. that tolerance can lead to understanding (he tries to give tough love, but he becomes softer in his response--instead of his reaction--after giving and receiving genuine love). It seems that everyone around him wants his Gran Torino and everything else he owns, before he even has died, instead of being interested in him. He lives in a community that is transformation, and he knows absolutely nothing about culture, diversity, ethnicity, race, or sexual orientation. He does know about aging, however (if nowhere else, he learns about it from people's adverse and negative reactions, everywhere around him). He isn't exactly treated with dignity and respect, so why should he treat anyone else with dignity and respect? And, trust must be earned.

If this is Clint Eastwood's last film, I can only say that that his performance, in this stunning film, is what legends are made of. There are some wonderful performances in "Milk" (Sean Penn), "Australia" (Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman), "Changeling" (Angelina Jolie and director Clint Eastwood), and "The Dark Knight" (a riveting performance by "Brokeba

Gran Torino - They don't make them like they used to....

Mr. Eastwood has a knack for storytelling. Instead of being preachy or having an all to obvious agenda, he lets his viewers make up their own minds. His characters don't have a message, they have a life and make no excuses for who they are. In so many subtle and intelligent ways we are allowed to make our own choices. Like with Kowalski in the movie, you are not confronted with a role model hammering home all those "life's important messages", but rather with a movie saying "Look! This is the way it worked out for me. And I think I know a few tricks that might help you, but in the end it's your own life. However, you have to trust me when I say that there are a some things you don't want to see or experience!". Some people will leave this movie entirely untouched, others will certainly be crying their guts out. Not because some people "get it" and others "don't", but because it is a brilliant piece of entertainment reaching out to every viewer in its own specific way.

Eastwood's acting is top notch again, although the years have not been very kind to his voice. The rest of the cast are fine, but one can certainly spot their more amateurish backgrounds here and there which is the main reason why I could not give this one a 10/10.

Apart from that there is little to criticize. It's not an action movie, not a drama movie and certainly not a comedy (even though you get a few laughs out of this one). It's simply a good story about life.....and death.