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Author Topic: Gran Torino  (Read 1853 times)

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RTSDaddy2

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Gran Torino
« on: January 10, 2009, 06:27:12 pm »
It's real simple...  BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR.  See it, enjoy it, share it.  It's marvelous.  Eastwood proves again why at his age he's still a top draw....and there are a bunch of young guys out there acting now that wish they were HALF the actor he is.

 :cheers:  :cheers: :applaud: :applaud: :applaud: :applaud: :applaud: :applaud:

 :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:

somunny

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Re: Gran Torino
« Reply #1 on: January 10, 2009, 07:46:54 pm »
I agree that the movie was excellent but, aside from Eastwood, the acting was spotty at best (uncomfortably bad at times, even).  Bottom line - go see Clint's swan song.  It's great.

AtomSmasher

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Re: Gran Torino
« Reply #2 on: January 10, 2009, 08:07:35 pm »
Everytime I hear about this movie it makes me think of this re-edited version of the trailer

Clint Eastwood in The Growler
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/8c13a8882a/clint-eastwood-in-the-growler-from-trailermash

hypernova

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Re: Gran Torino
« Reply #3 on: January 10, 2009, 08:45:14 pm »
So I'm not the only one who noticed that's all he does in the previews.
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SavannahLion

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Re: Gran Torino
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2009, 04:12:03 am »
My GF and I saw it tonight as a double feature with Seven Pounds.

Eastwood himself is really good in this movie, I see hints of what made Eastwood Eastwood. A small touch of Dirty Harry in there. I was surprised when I realized just how old he is now.

The rest of the actors... well... the worst has to be that damn preacher. There's a scene where he's trying to convince Eastwood's character to go to confession (one of many) and they're talking about life and death. The whole time, you can tell that idiot had no idea what to do with his hands so they're just swinging by his sides or stuffed in his pockets. It wasn't a very natural pose for that kind of scene. The bar scene could've been reworked.

The rest of the supporting cast was just as spotty. A really odd scene in the basement between a girl and Eastwood. There were a couple of time hiccups. And I counted at least one continuity break.

About half way through the movie, I think their budget ran kind of short because the translations for the Hmong stopped. They missed out on a pretty good source for deepening the storyline by cutting that off like that.

Really the best thing about this movie is Eastwood himself. Anything dealing with the supporting cast is kind of spotty.

RTSDaddy2

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Re: Gran Torino
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2009, 08:38:54 am »
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

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Re: Gran Torino
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2009, 02:52:40 pm »
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.

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Re: Gran Torino
« Reply #7 on: January 11, 2009, 03:59:06 pm »
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.”
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danny_galaga

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Re: Gran Torino
« Reply #8 on: January 26, 2009, 03:11:39 am »
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!

« Last Edit: January 26, 2009, 03:17:46 am by danny_galaga »


ROUGHING UP THE SUSPECT SINCE 1981

scriptfactory

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Re: Gran Torino
« Reply #9 on: January 26, 2009, 10:18:23 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.



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.

SavannahLion

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Re: Gran Torino
« Reply #10 on: January 27, 2009, 03:02:20 am »
IRT RTSDaddy2

Thinking back on your response and the movie itself, I'm beginning to see what you mean. I still think the change in translation is a too jarring. However, it might be because I'm far more sensitive to having CC and subtitles since I use them so extensively. All our TV's have them enabled by default and it irritates me when the Stereo and one of our DVD players filters the damn CC signal out.  :angry:

So when a movie uses subtitles as part of the movie itself, it's far more noticeable when it disappears.

As for the rest of your points on acting, I'll have to grudgingly admit to your points. ;)