7.05.2010

182: Gran Torino

Gran Torino (R) - 2008 - Runtime: 116 minutes
Starring: Clint Eastwood
Director: Clint Eastwood

I will admit that I'm not a huge Eastwood fan. I don't get a raging boner whenever I hear news of his new movie that seems to come out every year. Seriously, this guy is the Bob Barker of directors. But when your dad recommends a movie, you are kind of obligated to watch it. Unless your dad has a proven track record of having bad taste - which I won't say that about my dad. But his choice in movies, is ummm, well, unique. So with much hesitation (I rented this three times before actually sitting down to watch it!), I popped this one in. And while it wasn't as depressing or awful as I thought, it still wasn't as good a movie as I heard practically every customer rave when it came out last year.

Walt is an old man. A veteran of the Korean war and has just seen the passing of his old lady. He hates everyone and his only companion is an old mangy dog and his mint condition Gran Torino. Of course, some Asian immigrants move in next door and cause all sorts of ruckus and soon, Walt finds his cold little heart melting just a tad. I will admit, the story did get to me at the end - I teared up a bit. But man, some of the dialogue and acting was just plain awful! The worst example was the priest, barely pushing 14? Well, he looked not much older than that. His lines were delivered so dead pan and flat that I wondered if he had trouble memorizing the lines and was solely just concentrating on the next word, instead of ya know, acting! It was so bad - and the dialogue! Dreadful! Let me give you an example: [Walt's smoking] "You should quit. Those things are bad for you. "
Walt Kowalski: "Yeah? So's being in a gang." And Walt is almost too racist to exist, it's like Eastwood is daring us to call him out on it. But of course, the man's just a sweetie pie in the end and it shows. But to me, that's the worst part about the movie - it ends up parodying itself in the end. The characters aren't worth a damn and they don't seem believable.

I don't consider myself an authority about Eastwood, but from what I gather he seems to be playing the same character over and over again! It's too bad, because he's a good actor, I just don't see much range. Oh well, just skip this one!

Rating: Not Worth Paying For!

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