[doug s.]

i saw this, and i thought it was wery nice.  but outstanding?  best ever?    huh?  and, while i also enjoyed slumdog millionaire, i cannot for the life of me figure out what all the fuss is, over this movie.  an extremely predictable, ho-hum, if still entertaining flick.

now realize, i stopped going to movies about 35 years ago, and only in the past year or two have started seeing movies again, thanks to a domestic associate who loves them.  so, mebbe i don't know what is supposed to be a good movie?  but, most of the best flicks i have seen over the past coupla years are obscure foreign films at home from netflix...

ymmv,

doug s.

[2bigears]

  what you were entertained with was all Clint,this is and always will be his style.GB&U and the likes,scripts written on the back of a dinner napkin,and lottsa 'Looks',,,,this is Clint. old school,but made me cry at the end of the movie.hats off for the old master.

[Bigfish]

My wife and I rented this one from BB and watched it last night.  I enjoyed Clint in this role and both of us thought it was a very good, not great movie.  It is definitely worth renting and I would rate it between 3 and 3.5 stars out of 5.

Ken

[Tyson]

This movie was very, very funny.  I love that him being such an unapologetic racist is one of the things that let people move past the issue of race in order to get at the quality of the individual person.  If you notice, he "hates" his neighbors, but realizes that he actually has a lot in common with them, especially in regard to their respect for family, elders, tradition, and generally being decent humans.  This is much less racist behavior than the white person in the suburbs that crosses the street when they see a black person approach them. 

Anyway, I liked it a lot, and thought it was a beautiful send-off to the tough-as-nails loner characters that Clint Eastwood has made a career playing.

[Browntrout]

I really enjoyed this movie too. If everyone was like Clint then there would be no need for anyone to be like him.
  The singing at the end, how come I'm the first to mention the singing, great stuff, if I ever become a movie star all my films would end with me singing you out of the theatre.

[launche]

Finally saw this one and it was worth the wait.  A very good story and movie. Clint plays and directs it well and it was not overblown. 

[PhilNYC]

Finally saw this last night.  Loved the story, thought Clint was great.  BUT...I thought the acting by just about everyone except Clint was horrible....

[launche]

Finally saw this last night.  Loved the story, thought Clint was great.  BUT...I thought the acting by just about everyone except Clint was horrible....

I too noticed some subpar moments with some characters in some scenes but I figured maybe these are first time or fresh actors and gave them the benefit of the doubt.  on the flip side these so-so acting moments also helped me to view them as real people if that makes sense. It would be interesting to know the story behind the casting.

[rahimlee54]

I saw it a couple of weeks ago, and I thought it was pretty good.  I didnt really pay attention to the acting to notice if it was good or bad, but since I have never heard of any of these people probably their first big gig.  This was my first Clint Eastwood film and I thought it was pretty good.

[PhilNYC]

Here's an article on the casting choices for this film:

http://www.asianweek.com/2008/10/03/eastwoods-next-film-features-hmong-american-cast-exclusive-interviews-from-the-set-of-gran-torino/

"After holding open casting calls attended by hundreds of Hmong in the communities of Saint Paul, Fresno and Detroit, Eastwood settled on ten Hmong leads and supporting players, all but one of whom are first-time actors. Hmong crew, cultural consultants and dozens of extras were also hired."

Props to Eastwood for hiring people from the local communities to work on this film...

[launche]

Props to Eastwood for hiring people from the local communities to work on this film...

I figured that to be the case (it had that feel) and I respect and appreciate Clint and the movie even more so now.

Thanks Phil.

[Bemopti123]

Did anyone feel that Eastwood's character personality change in the movie to be a little too abrupt?  I feel that is was the downfall of the movie format in itself trying to portray a change that might take years squeezed in what it seem a couple of weeks/months. 

Yes, some of dialogue delivery between the characters was a little too stiff, much how someone already mentioned, it was the effect of using a novice cast. 

I like Clint's style, call it perhaps unapologetic racist etc...  Perhaps we live in a society that is too subconsciously "PC" which in itself might show an artificial attempt at hiding people's real attitudes towards people unlike them.

Million Dollar Baby was a more transcendental movie.  But, Gran Torino is not without its message.

[rahimlee54]

Did anyone feel that Eastwood's character personality change in the movie to be a little too abrupt?  I feel that is was the downfall of the movie format in itself trying to portray a change that might take years squeezed in what it seem a couple of weeks/months. 

Yes, some of dialogue delivery between the characters was a little too stiff, much how someone already mentioned, it was the effect of using a novice cast. 

I like Clint's style, call it perhaps unapologetic racist etc...  Perhaps we live in a society that is too subconsciously "PC" which in itself might show an artificial attempt at hiding people's real attitudes towards people unlike them.

Million Dollar Baby was a more transcendental movie.  But, Gran Torino is not without its message.

Maybe the change was suppose to be quick since he was suppose to have some terminal disease, with not to long to live?

[konut]

Did anyone feel that Eastwood's character personality change in the movie to be a little too abrupt?  I feel that is was the downfall of the movie format in itself trying to portray a change that might take years squeezed in what it seem a couple of weeks/months.

I felt the change was more of an epiphany, best characterized by the scene where the Grandmother and Clint both spit, ie they're not so different. But hey, its a movie, it can't take forever.

 [/quote]I like Clint's style, call it perhaps unapologetic racist etc...  Perhaps we live in a society that is too subconsciously "PC" which in itself might show an artificial attempt at hiding people's real attitudes towards people unlike them.[/quote]
The character is an equal opportunity racist. He doesn't like anybody, including the members of his own family.


[/quote]Million Dollar Baby was a more transcendental movie.  But, Gran Torino is not without its message.
[/quote]
The character saw an opportunity at redemption after years of knee-jerk stereotyping. A noble message indeed.

[PhilNYC]

Did anyone feel that Eastwood's character personality change in the movie to be a little too abrupt?  I feel that is was the downfall of the movie format in itself trying to portray a change that might take years squeezed in what it seem a couple of weeks/months. 

I actually didn't think his personality changed in the film...he had great anger towards the younger generations that showed no respect to their elders, and perhaps wanted to isolate himself a bit after his wife died.  But it was clear that he had friends (eg. the barber, the construction foreman, etc), and his affinity towards the hmong family came when he saw that they were appreciative and respectful...Tao even says at one point "it's cool that you've been around for so long".  All that in contrast to his family, who only really reached out to him when they needed something.  The only inconsistency in this viewpoint is how he treated the minister...and that can be explained by the fact that Walt wasn't a religious man ("I only went to church because my wife wanted me to...")...

[ajzepp]

Did anyone feel that Eastwood's character personality change in the movie to be a little too abrupt?  I feel that is was the downfall of the movie format in itself trying to portray a change that might take years squeezed in what it seem a couple of weeks/months. 

I actually didn't think his personality changed in the film...he had great anger towards the younger generations that showed no respect to their elders, and perhaps wanted to isolate himself a bit after his wife died.  But it was clear that he had friends (eg. the barber, the construction foreman, etc), and his affinity towards the hmong family came when he saw that they were appreciative and respectful...Tao even says at one point "it's cool that you've been around for so long".  All that in contrast to his family, who only really reached out to him when they needed something.  The only inconsistency in this viewpoint is how he treated the minister...and that can be explained by the fact that Walt wasn't a religious man ("I only went to church because my wife wanted me to...")...

Bingo. Well said.

[guest48077]

Great Movie..................... seen it a few times. well acted all around , good story and Clint is really good in this flick. Now excuse me I have to watch UNFORGIVEN NOW.

[PhilNYC]

Btw - here's a list of fun "goofs" in the film:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1205489/goofs

[Browntrout]

Great Movie..................... seen it a few times. well acted all around , good story and Clint is really good in this flick. Now excuse me I have to watch UNFORGIVEN NOW.

That is such a seriously brilliant film. Surely William Money will be unforgiven.