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Gran Torino
RTSDaddy2:
I don't disagree totally with the criticisms the movie has received from critics, Ido see the point about some of the acting, et. al...but at the same time I think you're picking at nits.
The ending of the Hmong translation is simple enough: his relationship with Su, who can speak English, now makes her his "translator", as well as his friend. Also, I think you are being unfair to the two actors who play Su and Tao; I agree it was spotty, but think about the fact that this is their first roles and their trying to hold their own against Eastwood. No, they won't win Oscars for it, but personally I thought they did an ok job. The come across as believable to me, and that's enough.
POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT
I didn't like the pastor character in the beginning either, and I found it initially a bit confusing....however, looking back on it, I think he serves a purpose as well....and of course he's nervous! You'd be too if you were staring down some grizzled old war veteran who hasn't been in the church you now parish in years! Remember too, in all probability, this is NOT Walt's pastor; he's a new kid brought in to try and bring hope and faith to a community that appears to be falling apart. However, his job was to watch over Walt, and if one stops and thinks about it for a while, one wonders that if the pastor had NOT kept up his duties if the ending of the movie would have been more "Dirty Harry"esque.
I think so. I think Walt's wife knew that as long as he held that bitterness inside him, he would be more than capable of going down and blowing the high hell out of those asian gang members and thinking nothing of it. It is the pastor's bringing him to peace with himself, however (as well as his coming to peace with the Hmong through his friendships with Su and Tao), that leads to the ending we got....and for my money, it was just jaw dropping. I definitely expected something beyond that.
Going back to the ending, after I got up and moved around a bit this morning, I found myself thinking back to it...and I just can't get it out of my mind. It's such a beautiful, elegant, simple ending....and yet so shocking....it just sticks with you. Again for my money, that's part of what makes it such a great film; it's unforgettable.
Savannah, you're right...this is definitely what made Eastwood Eastwood....I am a die-hard fan of the man. I was introduced to his "macho" films by my "adopted father" who thought Clint could do no wrong....and ate up every one of the Dirty Harry films.
My second dad passed away about 20 years ago, but I coudn't help picturing us sharing Torino together - and while I was never into gangs and stealing, the bond that forms between Clint and Tao reminded me of the precious memories that Bill and I shared together too....it really struck a nerve with me yesterday.
Sorry for such a long post! Anyway, carry on..... :D
DaOld Man:
Took the wife to see it last night.
I liked it. She did too. However we both didnt like the way it ended, but to keep it from being a dirty harry remake, I suppose it ended as best it could.
Still, a great movie. I liked it a lot better than 7 pounds.
Chemixtry:
Watched the movie last night and I really liked it. The young girls acting was a bit stiff but got the job done. My wife thought the stream of ethnic slurs were a bit much but I thought it accurately portrayed how that generation speaks. Have you guys seen the quote from Eastwood about society today -
“My father had a couple of kids at the beginning of the Depression. There was not much employment. Not much welfare. People barely got by. People were tougher then.”
“We live in more of a ---Bad words, bad words, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when saint censors you?--- generation now, where everybody’s become used to saying, “Well, how do we handle it psychologically?” In those days, you just punched the bully back and duked it out. Even if the guy was older and could push you around, at least you were respected for fighting back, and you’d be left alone from then on.”
“I don’t know if I can tell you exactly when the ---Bad words, bad words, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when saint censors you?--- generation started. Maybe when people started asking about the meaning of life.”
danny_galaga:
just saw this today. im in full agreement with rtsdaddy. best movie of the year! which is my only criticism. i cant imagine seeing anything to top it for the reat of the year! i think Ahney her (sue) was great. she was brilliant at showing that 'bridging east with west' attitude. this kind of story is not all that complicated. but the beauty of it is in the telling. the screenplay, directing and acting totally gelled.
this is a 5/5 for me (",)
oh, just noticed. that idiot white 'homeboy', Trey, that was walking Sue home? thats Clints son!
--- Quote ---my score for recent movies you may have seen:
5/5 - Michael Clayton, In Bruges, Gran Torino
4.5/5 - Taken, Iron Man, Reign Over Me
4/5 - Traitor, Bedtime Stories, Sunshine, pineapple express
3.5/5 - 300, Max Payne, You dont mess with the Zohan, Yes Man
3/5 - That new Indiana Jones flick, Disturbia, That new TMNT flick,
2.5/5 - The Love Guru. Note: My 2.5 is probably someone elses 1. Just leaving room for worse!
--- End quote ---
scriptfactory:
--- Quote from: pinballjim on January 26, 2009, 09:43:27 am ---I doubt it's any better than Slumdog Millionaire, but it's certainly got to be better than both Forrest Gump 2 (Benjamin Button) and Doubt. I feel like those two movies owe me 5 hours of my life back.
--- End quote ---
To each their own. I enjoyed Benjamin Button! I especially enjoyed it much more than Doubt. I thought Gran Turino was a decent movie too, but only because of Clint Eastwood. I thought the the acting wasn't bad overall, but some scenes were really poorly acted.
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