Originally Posted By RoadTrip Wow!! I saw Gran Torino this evening and it was awesome. A local reviewer called it "As close to a perfectly made movie as I've ever seen". That may have been a bit of an exaggeration, but not much. It was interesting to see The Dark Knight for the first time just a week or so before seeing Gran Torino. For all the talk about Dark Night and how it wonderfully explored the fine line between good an evil; Eastwood has made a movie doing much the same thing that is superior in every way. The man is a genius.
Originally Posted By Spooky Ghost I got dragged to see this tonight by some friends despite my constant protests, but much to my dismay I actualy liked it. It was a perfectly fun thriller. I don't think Eastwood intended the film to be QUITE so comedic, but for the most part it worked. I don't think the movie explored any blurred line between good and evil. Perhaps the nature of vigelante justice in the final few scenes, but beyond that it didn't really seem to be exploring any sort of bigger issue... in fact I really liked that the film didn't even try really, I would have hated the film to try to justify or explore Walt's racism, I think that would have cheapened the experience. I like that Eastwood finally made a film that didn't take itself quite so dreadfully serious. I liked most of his recent work save his back to back WWII movies and Million Dollar Baby, but most of his filmography has the sense of humor of a funeral home director. It was nice to see him tackle something a little looser. But yeah, a fun, suprising film that really delivered on some popcorny good fun.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 wow -- some reviews - okay,adding to the list of to do's next weekend...
Originally Posted By kennect Not sure why since I know nothing about it but it is on my "must see" list...Also on that list is Slumdog Millionaire....
Originally Posted By BlueDevilSF I dunno. It looked awfully clichéd to me in the trailer: Kid: "What's it like to kill someone?" Clint, growling: "You don't wanna know." I think this one will be a rental for me.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Oh come on BDSF, you know you want to see it. I have not seen it either but I'm all for old school vs. new school, "let's all shoot at each other and cuss a lot." I'm sure I'll like it, if not I can always go see "Hotel for Dogs" that my kids have been begging to go see.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<I dunno. It looked awfully clichéd to me in the trailer:>> It maybe is at times, but overall it is an extremely powerful movie about a man coming to terms with and atoning for past actions that haunt him decades later.
Originally Posted By charming husband Chalk me up to one of those that didn't want to see this movie at all. I did and it was a GREAT movie-one of the best that I have seen in a very long time. I have seen this movie now 3 different times with different people. There was not a time that the theatre was not full and that the audience was not laughing and enjoying the movie.
Originally Posted By cstephens I really enjoyed the movie. It hit a lot of different emotions during the course of the film. The acting was really stellar all around - they did a great job of casting first-timers. And yeah, pretty darn funny. /cs <a href="http://colddeadfish.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://colddeadfish.blogspot.com/</a>
Originally Posted By oc_dean Saw it tonight. Just amazed! I was worried Clint was going to sound like Christian Bale as Batman .. but it wasn't as bad. I held back from seeing it for a little while. His films of late tend to be a little too "heavy" and depressing. But this one struck way more chords in me, than Million Dollar Baby, which is a "once only" film for me. This one? I'll be seeing it again. This is one of his finest.
Originally Posted By WorldDisney Wow, all the praise, maybe I will go. I have to go along with another poster who said it looked very cliched and predictable. From the trailers, it doesnt look like anything new or original. And yet, I keep hearing all this praise for it. Is it something we are missing we dont from the trailer?
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I think a trailer accurately represents a movie less than 50% of the time.
Originally Posted By cstephens To me, there was no way to completely represent this movie in either a one-sheet or a trailer without giving everything away. There are a lot of nuances and moments that I really loved about the movie. Is it ground-breaking in story? No, probably not. Someone else might have seen how it was going to end, and even though I'd accidently read a spoiler that gave away part of the ending, I still didn't guess the rest of it, but then, I'm sometimes like that. The cliched comment I can offer is that it's not the destination that's remarkable in this film - it's the journey. You might be able to figure out where they're going, but it's really amazing to watch them get there. The performances by the various actors is what really made the film for me. /cs
Originally Posted By oc_dean WorldDisney ... there are comedic moments (though, not meant to be) which will have you laughing!
Originally Posted By oc_dean Another notable mention..... Do any of you remember an old TV movie called "Outrage" with Robert Culp? This is one of the most favorite 70s tv movies in my family, (next to Duel with Dennis Weaver.) Not that Clint Eastwood borrowed from it at all ....... but those of you who do remember it, and have not seen Gran Torino ... picture the same premise, but given Eastwood's tremendous skills, even better.
