Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
3/4
"Gran Torino" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 03/18/2012
Misanthropic Korean war veteran Clint Eastwood is dismayed when a Hmong family move in next door but he learns to respect them when they welcome him into their home after seeing off a local gang who threatened their socially dysfunctional son. Touted as Clint's farewell performance, this film can best be described as "Grumpy Old Harry". Unforgiven was the resurrection and deconstruction of an aged Man With No Name, and Walt Kowalski is the same for Harry Callahan and so is a fitting swan song for Eastwood's career. It's format is the extremely formulaic racist-changes-his-ways-when-he-actually-gets-to-spend-time-with-the-object-of-his-derision that will be familiar to anyone who's ever endured an afternoon TV movie, but it is of course Eastwood who raises it above the mundane. His …
Rating of
3.5/4
Get off my lawn!
gideon43 - wrote on 05/27/2010
As he approaches his 80th birthday, film legend Clint Eastwood shows no sign of slowing up, seemingly concentrating on his directorial duties these days, Clint appeared as an actor in only four films in the Noughties ending the decade with one of his finest performances ever.
Playing a cantankerous grizzled veteran of the Korean War, Eastwood is simply magnificent in a tale, which explores racism, old age and redemption.
Gran Torino is a suspenseful and gripping drama tightly plotted and compactly directed by the man himself, more intimate than most of Eastwoods later films, Gran Torino plays like a "Harry Callahan" in retirement kind of movie yet ends as an enthralling character study of a man forced to confront his demons and make peace with himself.
Rating of
3.5/4
Eastwood Makes My Day
Chris Kavan - wrote on 08/19/2009
No one plays a mean, old cuss quite like Clint Eastwood. As a Korean War vet who just lost his wife, and a disdain for just about everything and everyone around him, Walt Kowalski is that old man in every neighborhood who tells kids to get off his yard... only he can back it up with iron instead of just words.
Better yet, he's also an unabashed racist - which is a problem when the rest of your neighborhood happens to be populated by Hmong. Despite his extra-tough exterior, Walt isn't a monster, he isn't evil - he may be a bit pessimistic, but given the circumstances that's understandable.
Ignoring his pleas to be left alone, his Hmong neighbors treat him kind of like a local hero when he scares off the local gang. His even takes his next-door neighbor, Thao under his wing. He still …
Rating of
0.5/4
Clint, you can't sing, and your cast can't act!
Alex - wrote on 06/28/2009
One of the worst acted movies I saw from 2008. Clint Eastwood must have told his fellow cast member's to not act, to make him stand out more. Why were they so baaad at acting. Wow.
The plot is pretty standard, predictable and not really worth a damn. The only character I cared about was Clint Eastwood and the girl that really rescues his soul. Still, I knew the beginning, middle, end and I even knew how it was going to be told.
The only good quality in this film was the direction, which Eastwood never disappoints. He is a very creative director and I do enjoy his style.
Still, I would rather see Clint's last role in a western, in which he kicks serious but. This was his second best movie of the year with Changeling far surpassing it. What dropped it from 2 to 1.5 was his …
Rating of
4/4
Grand Gran Torino
kcvidkid - wrote on 01/31/2009
I loved this movie! I can count it as being among the one or two other movies that were my favorites for the year.
First of all, I understand why the trailers focus on the geriatric Dirty Harry angle: they want people to see it. But that's really a trick; it has so little to do with what I liked about the movie.
"Gran Torino" treads so closely along lines of the familiar, but never falls over. Every time you think something is bound to happen, the outcome surprises.
I've already ruined the movie for my brother by not issuing a spoler alert, so I won't do that again. However, I really don't think you can predict what is going to happen. I simply hoped that Clint, the anti-hero of the story, would end up doing the "right" thing. I guess that depends upon what you would …
Rating of
3/4
Eastwood's Last Film?
Franz Patrick - wrote on 01/10/2009
I honestly thought this movie was going to end up a dud because the previews looked really preachy. But after about fifteen minutes into the film, I really cared for Clint Eastwood’s character even though he’s racist and a very secretive person. I knew he would open up a bit after meeting his Hmong neighbors but I wanted to see his struggles before becoming a better person. Eastwood’s character made me laugh even though he uses every racist Asian term because we are made to understand what he’s been through and how conflicted he is by people who do not look like him. The way he interacted with the Hmongs during a party was done in a bona fide manner, such as when the older women kept putting food on his plate. As part of the Asian community, that rings true whenever there’s a …
Rating of
3/4
A Solid Eastwood Effort, Enough To Tie Me Over.
LeopardExplosion - wrote on 01/09/2009
Clint Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, the typical "I've seen everything" type of Korean War Veteran in Gran Torino, where he slowly befriends his foreign neighbours. People Walt used to curse and spit at slowly become his neighbourhood friends, and decides to right his wrongs and deal with a Korean Gang who have crossed one too many steps too far on his lawn. Eastwood also directs.
Clint Eastwood does a splendid job forming his grizzled war veteran style character, and watching him develop helps you come to appreciate the movie. Though the premise is quite questionable as is the structure and pacing, and the conclusion can be considered shaky, This movie adds up to a hell of a good time. I'll warn you this though. This movie doesn't feel like many other of Clint's films. Gran Torino …
Rating of
4/4
Eastwood as we like him
patjohnson76 - wrote on 12/31/2008
Probably one of the more surprising movies I've seen, and another strong chapter in the later years of Clint Eastwood's career. Gran Torino is the story of Walt, a man stuck in his ways refusing to change and adapt to the world around him. When culture clash and violence find his way to his neighborhood, he eventually finds a way to adapt to the new world and make the most of it.
I was afraid at first that Eastwood was just going to be a stereotypical old man and that eventually he'd see the light and be nice. However, Eastwood turrns in a strong acting performance and his eventual acceptance of the foreign family next door is pretty incredible. Much better than his earlier directional effort of the year Changeling, here he's able to direct a film in a way that suits in best - a …
Rating of
2.5/4
Go ahead punk you've just got punked
BryanFury - wrote on 12/26/2008
I wasn't expecting anything spectacular going into Gran Torino and that's exactly what I got. Clint Eastwood does what he lives for which is great acting/direction all in one film. Besides the fact about the movie being predictable I guess you could say it was alright. I somewhat expected how everything was going to end since the first minute in. Plus the kid who's supposed to be the secondary attraction of this film failed acting wise. There's a scene where he's supposed to be in pain to me looked silly and laughable. Though I definitely give Eastwood the credit he deserves for making a film with a so delicate topic. He should be nominated yet again for the gazillionth time, I’m not sure for a win however. Overall this should be worth to be seen at least once.
