Gran Torino - Discussion and Grading (Clint Eastwood)

[Dream]

I saw the movie. It was great! Eastwood was wonderful and the audience laughed many times at the funny lines. I really felt Walt's annoyance at his family whenever they were onscreen. They were a bunch of losers. The ending wasn't what I expected but was still satisfying. This movie deserves to do well.

The two kids that played Thao and Sue were pretty good.

 

[firehawk12]

On a podcast I listen to, they say that Eastwood's actions are justified by the Hmong gang being extremely evil with no explanation. It gives his character an out simply because he's not the worst person on screen.

Then the people in the podcast didn't understand the film.

So is there a reason for the gang existing?
Do the film try to explain the social conditions that alienate a visible minority population and in particular, it's youth, and suggest that such conditions in America have lead to disenfranchisement and ultimately to crime?
Does the film suggest that they want the kid to join the gang because the youth feel a need to band together in order to resist homogenization or at the very least racism?

The podcast hosts gave me the impression that the gang is evil for the sake of being evil - like Nazis in WW2 films made by Americans.

I mean, this is the dude who decided to make two films about Iwo Jima, one from each perspective, so I would expect some subtlety from him.

 

[Dream]

So is there a reason for the gang existing?

Next year Eastwood will make another movie showing the POV of the Hmong gang and their battle against Walt the white man.

 

[od0_ital]

Well, I saw it the other night...it was alright, not great or anything. I could have watched a whole movie of Walt & his barber takin' swipes at each other, though.

If this really does turn out to be Eastwood's final role as an actor, I'm okay with it, but it's still a shame.

At least I got to snag a free miniposter at the screenin', and my friends seemed to enjoy it, too.

 

[DarthPipes]

So is there a reason for the gang existing?

Next year Eastwood will make another movie showing the POV of the Hmong gang and their battle against Walt the white man.

Heheh. Maybe they can name that one after the gang's car.

Walt family was annoying. I can't blame him for being disappointed with them. Though you get the idea he might have caused some of that with his sons.

I like the interaction between Walt and the priest too.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Not sure when but I'm planning on seeing this with a couple of friends. Been interested in it since I saw the trailer a couple of weeks ago. I still think that Clint would make a great old Bruce Wayne in a Batman Beyond movie (which I think he was rumored to at the time). Didn't know that this might be his last acting role though...

 

[sidious618]

So is there a reason for the gang existing?
Do the film try to explain the social conditions that alienate a visible minority population and in particular, it's youth, and suggest that such conditions in America have lead to disenfranchisement and ultimately to crime?

You can tell just by the shape that the town is in that this is a part of America that is going down hill. There' fighting among the black, latino and asian gangs.

 

[LutherSloan]

Great movie. I would highly recommend it. Eastwood plays a great character who has a lot of issues, but is still a good guy when it comes down to it.

The only problem I had with the movie was Eastwood's awful choice to have the film end with a song that HE SINGS (and possibly wrote) in the background. IT. WAS. AWFUL! I couldn't help but laugh, it was so bad.

 

[Ward Fowler]

Excellent.
I saw the movie tonight, and it's one of the best I've seen in a while. Do yourself a favor and see this, and avoid spoilers if you can. If this is indeed Eastwood's final role (I hope not), then he is going out on top. Highly recommended.

 

[DarthPipes]

The only problem I had with the movie was Eastwood's awful choice to have the film end with a song that HE SINGS (and possibly wrote) in the background. IT. WAS. AWFUL! I couldn't help but laugh, it was so bad.

Yeah, that was puzzling to say the least. Eastwood's only misfire in the movie.

 

[Ward Fowler]

^ I didn't much care for it myself, but it's such a small thing that it's really not worth mentioning.

 

[Dream]

Gran Torino is the number one movie this weekend!

Seventy-eight-year-old Clint Eastwood continues to be a big draw at the box office -- in fact, he's bigger than ever. The actor-director's latest action-drama, Gran Torino, was No. 1 on the first competitive weekend of 2009, grossing $29 million, according to Sunday's estimates. That's by far the highest single-weekend total of Eastwood's esteemed six-decade Hollywood career. The film has been a hit since it debuted in limited release a month ago; this was its first frame playing wide. Its total domestic sum now stands at $40.1 mil. And, with a CinemaScore grade of A and possible Oscar nominations down the road, Gran Torino seems fueled and ready for a long ride through theaters.

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2009/01/borept-torino.html

 

[Captain Craig]

My grade: EXCELLENT

I really liked this movie. If its Clints last acting role then he went out well imo.

 

[DarthPipes]

I'm glad the film did well. It's a testament to Eastwood that he can still pack them in at the age of seventy-eight. I read that 52% of the audience was women...rare for an Eastwood film.

 

[zakfa]

Eastwood can still bring it! I was surprised at how funny the movie is at times.

 

[backstept]

100% voted excellent so far?
wow! I must see this movie!

 

[CaptainCanada]

This movie made a surprisingly compelling case for Eastwood as the star of a buddy comedy; he's like the straightest straight man you'll ever find.

Excellent, excellent movie. Only complaints would be that I thougth Walt's family were a bit cartoonishly shallow (the parents would have insisted on a reasonable dress code for a funeral, at least), and the really overused Christ pose at the end (I like symbolism, but whenever they do that it just totally takes me out of the film).

One would never have thought of Clint Eastwood as the herald of a multicultural America (though that's kind of the point of the film, I suppose).

I would've liked to have seen a bit more of Sue after her assault; the actress playing her was really good.

 

[BenRoethig]

Wow, that just might have been Eastwood's best film. He took the both the modern actors and directors to school.

 

[Aragorn]

I just saw this movie (had to wait for the Deep Discount/DVD Planet 25% off sale to get the Blu-ray), so that's why I'm resurrecting this thread from the dead.

Anyway, I thought it was a really good movie, even though in terms of Walt's story arc, it's nothing new. I guess showing a lot of a culture that most people probably don't know anything about gave the move some more weight. Part of me wanted him to go Dirty Harry on the gangbangers' asses, but when I saw him getting fitted for the suit I knew where it was going.

Though I don't understand why the neighbors would keep their mouths shut when the drive by happened but are later open witnesses to Walt's murder. Because he gained their respect?

A lot of the movie rested on Sue and Thao's shoulders. The actors were hit and miss, nailing some scenes but Sue especially looked like she was reading her lines for the first time in a couple scenes.

On a side note, what's really funny is that when this movie was announced, no one knew what it was about, but Ain't It Cool News posted a "scoop" from an someone that this was another Dirty Harry movie.