*** Official GRAN TORINO Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[DavidPla]

Gran Torino Trailer

"Get off my lawn."

Apple - Trailers - Gran Torino

 

[ZacharyTait]

Now we know who did the ADR for Christian Bale in BB and TDK.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "Gran Torino". Please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.

All HTF member film reviews of "Gran Torino" should be posted to the Official Review Thread.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.


Crawdaddy

 

[Michael Reuben]

The brilliant thing about that trailer is how it leaves out so much of the movie -- most of it, really. There's still a whole story to discover when you get to the theater.

 

[Robert Crawford]

That's great to hear as I have high expectations for this film.





Crawdaddy

 

[Michael Reuben]

I see that even a lot of the favorable reviews (and most are favorable) are calling it a "minor" Eastwood film. The more I think about it, the less I think that's accurate. Without knowing what else Eastwood may yet achieve, I still think Gran Torino ranks with Unforgiven and Letters from Iwo Jima as an unsparing and unsentimental meditation on the uses and costs of violence.

And on top of all that, the damn thing is funny.

 

[mattCR]

Michael-

I agree with you and I don't think I'd describe it as a minor Eastwood film. It's damn funny, but it's so damn well written that you just feel absolutely sucked into it. This is easily one of my top films of the year.

I will tell you, the very end of this film is DAMNED rewarding.

 

[Jose Martinez]

I want to see this movie now!!!!! I cannot wait much longer...

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'll be in Detroit area today and will be watching this film along with "Doubt", this Christmas Day. My Christmas Day tradition of going to the movies goes back to watching "The Towering Inferno" in the 1974 time frame.






Crawdaddy

 

[Michael Reuben]

Both excellent choices, Crawdaddy. I'm still not sure how I feel about Doubt, but that's because I love the play, and the movie is very different, even though it was John Patrick Shanley who adapted his own play and directed the film.

 

[Brian.L]

I swear I'm the only person who doesn't like this film at all. It felt like a *more* heavy-handed "Crash" (which is hard to do), with kids that give even more stilted performances than Brendan Frasier or Sandra Bullock. For his part, Clint gamely spouts every racial epithet in the book (except the n-word, for no apparent reason) which doesn't really have any kind of impact after the eighteenth time. I enjoyed seeing Clint growl at his midriff-exposing granddaughters and such, but to me this is worse than "Space Cowboys".

 

[Robert Crawford]

Michael,
I was laughing throughout the film and though it's a rather poignant story, I couldn't help myself. Eastwood's character reminded me so much of actual people I knew early in my career about 30 odd years ago. Sure, they had racist views and shared them quite often with me, but they took care of me while I learned the manufacturing floor as a young supervisor. They gave me a lot of shit, but would never put me in a position in which my boss could criticize me about my work performance and they taught me well. Many of them were war veterans like Kowalski with their war experiences being WWII, Korea and even Vietnam for a few of the younger ones. In their lives, they've seen and experienced some horrible things that branded them forever.

Anyhow, excellent movie and one that I'm going to see again.






Crawdaddy

 

[Robert Crawford]

For some reasons, I think this film has reasonated more with the general public than with the critics or Hollywood folks. I think it will be underappreciated by the latter while the former will think more highly of it and the work Eastwood accomplished with this film and its actors. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think Hollywood is going to give Eastwood another acting nomination for this film.





Crawdaddy

 

[Patrick Sun]

It's mainly because there are about 7-8 solid "Best Actor" worthy performances this year, and Eastwood may come in 6th or 7th in the nomination balloting.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Considering they gave a film like CRASH the Best Picture award, I doubt these same people are going to pay tribute to a film or character like this.

I posted my review in the TRACK thread but I took my girlfriend to see this last night and I'm still shocked at how much she loved the movie. Afterwards she even asked if we could go see it again AND she ordered the soundtrack when she got home. She isn't the type to watch that many movies and she only went to watch this because I wanted to go. She always bragged that she didn't cry at movies but she certainly did here. I was really shocked at how it went over with her as well as the crowd of people I watched it with.

As for the film's success, there are several thoughts that come to mind. I don't think people watching the film share ALL of Eastwood's characters thoughts but I do think a lot of people are sick of gangs and their ilk taking over neighborhoods. I think these same people like seeing someone like Eastwood clean up the streets so to speak. In interviews Eastwood has called American's soft so you have to wonder if he feels the world needs old timers like Walt. He has called American's too politically correct, which this film certainly isn't. Once again, I don't see anyone watching this movie walking out and putting Walt down for his racial views. If you go to other boards there's more of an outcry on people supporting this film and character. I think these people are going to share the same opinions as many Oscar voters, which is a shame. I hope the film and Eastwood get credit but I don't see it happening.

I also wonder how many people are walking into this film expecting to see a Dirty Harry movie. While waiting for the movie to start yesterday I heard at least three people mention something along the lines that they never thought Eastwood would do another Dirty Harry movie. Even a news broadcast here linked the film up to another Dirty Harry movie. I know early rumors got out that this would be the sixth film so perhaps that has something to do with the film's draw.

Either way, I'm happy that something "smart" and for adults won the box office over the "dumbing down of America" as Eastwood would say.

 

[Michael Reuben]

When I first saw the trailer, I thought it was one of the cleverest pieces of marketing I'd seen in years, because (a) it looked like a Dirty Harry-type film, but (b) I knew it couldn't possibly be one. Ever since Unforgiven, it's been clear from both the work and his comments in interviews that Eastwood's views on violence have become more thoughtful and nuanced, and you see that throughout Gran Torino.

In real life, anyone who can do what Harry Callahan does and walk away with no aftereffects would have to be a sociopath. Walt Kowalski is a real person, and he's paid a life-long price for the violence he committed as a young man. We see it in the wreckage of his family life.

The only thing that's ever bothered me about Unforgiven is that, after two hours of showing you the awfulness and tawdriness of violence, it concludes with the visceral satisfaction of Eastwood's William Munny inflicting extreme violence on a group of scumbugs who deserve it (all the while proclaiming, "Deserve's got nothing to do with it!"). Gran Torino appears to be leading you down the path to that same satisfaction, but then it pulls the rug out from under you.

Where in the film did your girlfriend start crying? I know I found the concluding church service very moving, but also utterly unsentimental. A rare achivement. (Kudos to Christopher Carley, who plays Father Janovich, for how he handled that scene.)

 

[TravisR]

It also probably isn't Eastwood's favor that he's been nominated or won multiple times in the last decade.

 

[Patrick Sun]

For Best Actor? He's an Academy favorite (and has directed multiple Oscar winning acting performances), but we'll see how the balloting goes.

 

[Holadem]

I hope you're right... I loved the movie but as far as acting goes, it's Clint Eastwood being Clint Eastwood. We've seen this character many times (the cranky ole timer with a heavy past), and that's actually the greatest thing about the movie: It continues the deconstruction of Clint Eastwood ['s characters] which began since Unforgiven.

--
H

 

[Edwin-S]

I haven't seen it yet, but I don't get how anyone could think that this was a new "Dirty Harry" film. To me, the trailer just shows that the main character is some old, racist curmudgeon who doesn't want anything to do with neighbors, especially Asian ones.