jakobnicholas Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 (To be out in late December or January) http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/grantorino/ His character from "Gran Torino" is Walt Kowalski, a racist Korean War veteran whose prized possession is a classic car that catches the eye of local gangs in his Detroit neighborhood. One of the troubled kids who covets the vehicle is from a family of Hmong immigrant neighbors, whom Kowalski has long resented. Eastwood is still finishing the movie, but it already is regarded as a stealth Oscar contender given his track record of "Mystic River," "Million Dollar Baby" and "Letters From Iwo Jima." The trailer for "Gran Torino" can be seen this weekend before Eastwood's "Changeling." The story of "Gran Torino" comes down to two objects (three if you count the scowl): his 1972 Ford muscle car and the M-1 rifle in his hands. "That's the weapon he has had left over since being in the service," he says. "And the same weapon I had when I was in the Army." Eastwood served during the Korean War, and though he wasn't in combat, he says: "I still know how to operate it. Apart from that parallel, Eastwood has little in common with Kowalski. "He worked on the line in the Ford plant and retired and had this one car he bought himself. It's sort of a symbol of his days with the Ford plant. The M-1 is sort of a symbol of his days in the military. He's clinging to the memory of the war. ... some of (the memories) are not as pleasant as others. That helps make him even tougher to get along with." Newcomer Bee Vang, a 17-year-old Hmong American, was cast as the neighbor boy who strikes up a mutually reluctant relationship with Walt. "The old guy," as Eastwood calls his character, ends up confronting prejudices that have isolated him. "It's got a lot of twists and turns in the story," indicating some darker moments. "It also has some good laughs." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Million Dollar Baby was so awful it turned me off to anything Eastwood's done since. It doesn't sound like this one will change that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 1972? Odd choice - that is about on the cusp of the malaise era. On AMC this Saturday, they are going to show Eastwood movies all day. My favorites: Unforgiven Pale Rider The Outlaw Josey Wales The Eiger SanctionThunderbolt and Lightfoot High Plains Drifter Joe Kidd Play Misty for Me The Beguiled Kelly's Heroes Two Mules for Sister Sara Coogan's Bluff Hang 'Em High The Good, the Bad and the Ugly For a Few Dollars More Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakobnicholas Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 Didn't see Million Dollar Baby. Mystic River is amazing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakobnicholas Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 1972?My favorites: Unforgiven Pale Rider The Outlaw Josey Wales The Eiger SanctionThunderbolt and Lightfoot High Plains Drifter Joe Kidd Play Misty for Me The Beguiled Kelly's Heroes Two Mules for Sister Sara Coogan's Bluff Hang 'Em High The Good, the Bad and the Ugly For a Few Dollars More I agree with those. But I'd include Dirty Hairy. His character in Gran Torino looks to have a little Dirty Hairy in him. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OOO Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I think I saw a twilight zone where a racist WWII veteran has a sword he took from the war, and then ends up getting killed by a Japanese guy who then commits suicide. something like that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I think I saw a twilight zone where a racist WWII veteran has a sword he took from the war, and then ends up getting killed by a Japanese guy who then commits suicide. something like that. The Encounter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 My grandma had a Gran(dma) Torino. After she passed, we got the car. Brown, with the 351 V-8, which I wanted to take out of that car and drop into my '66 Mustang as part of a project to make it a Deathmobile. I was going to paint it deep, deep metallic purple, get a chrome skull shift knob and never take it out during the day. Anyway, the G. Torino on the hood had the letters "F-O-R-D," each its own separate entity with its own hole. For some reason, a mechanic one time (or it might have been me on drugs) rearranged the letters so it was "F-R-O-D," so the car was thenceforth called "the Frod." Thing was beast to drive - one tap of the pedal and you would be going 80, with really mushy power steering. Never did get to take the engine out - both the Mustang and the Frod got sold off in like 1986.As far as the movie goes, sounds like something I don't need to see, as I am not a racist. I already KNOW racism is bad. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimmyjimmy Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 True Story: When I was a little guy around ten yrs old, which would put us around the 1977 time frame, there was a man in our neighborhood who had one of these cars. His was light blue with black stripes/accents. Kind of a frail looking scrawny fellow, buried deep in that bucket seat in his ubiquitous white tee shirt. He lived in a very small house about four doors down from us along with his wife and son. The boy was probably five or six years old. He seemed quiet and detached, she was pretty and gregarious. I don't recall much about their son actually. He shot and killed his wife with a shotgun as she stood at the front door, inside their living room. I recall the adults whispered conversations afterward alluding to the son having witnessed the murder. Some time passed. How long I can't say. Their house had been emptied and sat vacant. The car disappeared. Then returned. Apparently sold off after the man was convicted and jailed. Someone in my section of town had bought it and started cruising around in it. I remember seeing it drive past often, always associating it with it's original owner and the way that slight man had piloted it slowly down our street and it never failed to leave me feeling a little un-nerved. So...basically I'm gonna skip this flick! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakobnicholas Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 As far as the movie goes, sounds like something I don't need to see, as I am not a racist. I already KNOW racism is bad. You're joking, right? If you watch the trailer, it's obvious that Eastwood's character has a change with how he thinks of others. Looks like it could be quite powerful. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 You're joking, right? If you watch the trailer, it's obvious that Eastwood's character has a change with how he thinks of others. Looks like it could be quite powerful.No. Really, I do know racism is bad. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakobnicholas Posted December 5, 2008 Author Share Posted December 5, 2008 An early review is on Variety.com. I skipped over some it, because it might have spoilers. But here's a few paragraphs that generally sum up what the reviewer thinks of the film: At 78, perhaps the only actor in the history of American cinema to convincingly kick the butt of a guy 60 years his junior, the hard-headed, snarly mouthed Clint Eastwood of the 1970s comes growling back to life in "Gran Torino." Centered on a cantankerous curmudgeon who can fairly be described as Archie Bunker fully loaded (with beer and guns), the actor-director's second release of the season is his most stripped-down, unadorned picture in many a year, even as it continues his long preoccupation with race in American society. Highlighted by the star's vastly entertaining performance, this funny, broad but ultimately serious-minded drama about an old-timer driven to put things right in his deteriorating neighborhood looks to be a big audience-pleaser with mainstream viewers of all ages. In his first screen appearance since 2004's Million Dollar Baby, Eastwood revives memories of some of his earlier working-class characters; Korean War vet Walt Kowalski suggests a version of what Dirty Harry might have been like at this age, and there are elements as well of the narrow-minded, authority-driven figures in The Gauntlet and Heartbreak Ridge, as well as those films' humble settings and plain aesthetics. His wife freshly in her grave and his two sons' upscale families uncomfortable around him, Kowalski has impeccably maintained his modest suburban Detroit home while every other house nearby has gone to seed. A lifelong auto worker after his Army stint, Kowalski has seen his contemporaries die off or move on, replaced by immigrants and assorted ethnics he despises. His racist mutterings, which employ every imaginable epithet for Asians, are blunt and nasty, but Eastwood grunts them out in an over-the-top way that provokes laughs, and his targets are no less sparing of him. Eastwood's initial vocal rasp moderates over time, just as his character softens toward the seeming aliens who surround him. There is probably no leading Hollywood actor with less ham in him than Eastwood -- just compare him to Jack Nicholson or Al Pacino, for starters -- but by his standards, this is a real barn-burner; grumbling under his breath or merely looking askance at the perceived lowlifes that litter his existence, Eastwood clearly relishes this role and conveys his delight to the audience, to great satisfaction all around. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 After watching this trailer, I am reminded somewhat of Death Wish: Gran Torino - trailer Eastwood: Unknown 'Gran Torino' cast 'a chance' By ALICIA QUARLES, AP Entertainment Writer Alicia Quarles, Ap Entertainment Writer Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakobnicholas Posted January 19, 2009 Author Share Posted January 19, 2009 Saw this movie over the weekend. Really impressive movie by Eastwood. Despite his character being a grumpy old guy who throws out racial slurs to his Korean neighbors, he somehow is a bit likeable at first, then even more so as tries to loosen up and be friendly with his nieghbors. Before long, you like Walt Kowalski and are rooting for him, as for his teenage friend who unintentionally gets involved in gang troubles. The movie had some layers....a movie that can be talked about and make you think about things afterwards. I'm hoping it gets an Oscar nomination. I think it has a decent chance. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mastershake Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Million Dollar Baby was so awful it turned me off to anything Eastwood's done since. It doesn't sound like this one will change that.wtf? that movie was amazing Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 wtf? that movie was amazingI could barely stay focused. Bored me to tears. What can I say. Gran Torino was more classic Eastwood for me - Heartbreak Ridge, Dirty Harry style. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Smith Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I could barely stay focused. Bored me to tears. What can I say. Gran Torino was more classic Eastwood for me - Heartbreak Ridge, Dirty Harry style. Heartbreak Ridge is awful unwatchable for me. It seemed to be made strickly as a money maker with little else going for it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Heartbreak Ridge is awful unwatchable for me. It seemed to be made strickly as a money maker with little else going for it.It's not great by any means, but Heartbreak Ridge is a truer sample of Eastwood's oeuvre than the parade of Oscar nominees he's trotted out up to Gran Torino, though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakobnicholas Posted January 19, 2009 Author Share Posted January 19, 2009 I agree that Heartbreak Ridge is farily represtentative of the Eastwood persona in movies. But the original Dirty Harry is how I think of the old Eastwood. Dirty Harry's a pretty damned good movie. My favorite Eastwood-directed movie is Mystic River. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mastershake Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I could barely stay focused. Bored me to tears. What can I say. Gran Torino was more classic Eastwood for me - Heartbreak Ridge, Dirty Harry style.i cried too, but not from being bored. "do me like that dog boss, do me like that dog" [paraphrased] Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 It's not great by any means, but Heartbreak Ridge is a truer sample of Eastwood's oeuvre than the parade of Oscar nominees he's trotted out up to Gran Torino, though.I don't think his recent output is all that different from everything else--they certainly cover familiar themes and ideas, albeit in new formats. Besides, what's wrong with mixing it up? Is an artist not being "true" if they veer away, over time, from their established persona? In my view, what would be false is if Eastwood allowed himself to be boxed-in by preconceptions the audience might have. Million Dollar Baby might be miles away from, say, The Outlaw Josey Wales, but I'm not sure that makes it any less Eastwood-y. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I meant 'truer' to be taken as 'more indicative' - nothing to do with truth in art. Sorry to talk ungoodly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I meant 'truer' to be taken as 'more indicative' - nothing to do with truth in art. Sorry to talk ungoodly. Gotcha. But even so, when we look at Eastwood's entire CV, there's plenty that fits the "Dirty Harry" mold but nearly as many projects that try something different. I'm not sure it's still fair, all these years on, to say that persona is the only enduring association of his career. (I say this as someone who thinks Eastwood the director has only become better, and more interesting, with age.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ThisIsNowhere Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Heh, I thought it was great. I already had high expectations for this movie after watching the trailer and reading reviews for it but this movie blew those expectations away. If you haven't seen it you owe it to yourself to see this movie. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ikol Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 i cried too, but not from being bored. "do me like that dog boss, do me like that dog" [paraphrased] Depending on how that was interpreted, you might have been crying from laughter. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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