Movie: Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood [Archive]

beachreader

01-07-2009, 06:50 AM

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: beekeeper;1819833 (Post Number)

I went to see this film yesterday, 10:30 am, thinking I'd have the theater to myself. It was packed, and from talking to others in line when buying tickets, I found out it was sold out Friday and all day Saturday.

This is SUCH a good film ... probably one of the best I've seen in a couple years. The language is hard to hear, but at the same time ... funny. You laugh, and feel a little bad while you are laughing.

I completely fell in love with the neighbors, as well as Walt (Eastwood).

Definitely 2 huge thumbs up!

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This is such a good movie...soooo many awwwww moments, laugh out loud moments and tears.

I loved this movie, loved walt, loved daisy(his dog), the neighbor family, loved so many things about it.

I have to try and find a situation where I can use the phrase Miss Yum-Yum..... I think that I will try and think of a way to use it with my son....it will crack him up.

Jules

01-07-2009, 07:31 AM

My husband desperately wants to see this movie.....

beachreader

01-07-2009, 07:36 AM

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: Jules;1820208 (Post Number)

My husband desperately wants to see this movie.....

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Jules, I think that you will really like it too. Wait till you see it!! Soooo good

Jules

01-07-2009, 07:42 AM

As soon as we get a weekend free (babysitter-wise), that's #1 on our To Do list....

beekeeper

01-07-2009, 10:26 AM

I loved the Miss Yum Yum parts too Beachreader! I can't remember the first name ... but when Walt was talking to Tao in the Neighbors Basement (at that party), telling him that " xxxx, Ding Dong and Charlie Chan are going after your girl" ... I laughed out loud! Some of the things he said were so funny, but awkward ... not sure if you should laugh or not.

I really can't think of a movie in the past couple years that was this good! SOOOO good!

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: beachreader;1820196 (Post Number)

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: beekeeper;1819833 (Post Number)

I went to see this film yesterday, 10:30 am, thinking I'd have the theater to myself. It was packed, and from talking to others in line when buying tickets, I found out it was sold out Friday and all day Saturday.

This is SUCH a good film ... probably one of the best I've seen in a couple years. The language is hard to hear, but at the same time ... funny. You laugh, and feel a little bad while you are laughing.

I completely fell in love with the neighbors, as well as Walt (Eastwood).

Definitely 2 huge thumbs up!

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This is such a good movie...soooo many awwwww moments, laugh out loud moments and tears.

I loved this movie, loved walt, loved daisy(his dog), the neighbor family, loved so many things about it.

I have to try and find a situation where I can use the phrase Miss Yum-Yum..... I think that I will try and think of a way to use it with my son....it will crack him up.

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lavender

01-07-2009, 03:33 PM

Clint has the golden touch, I would love to see this movie.

Jules

01-08-2009, 04:09 AM

I think we are going to try to go see it this weekend. : )

beachreader

01-11-2009, 05:44 PM

From Perezhilton.com

Old school Hollywood beat the new kids this weekend!

Clint Eastwood's critically-acclaimed new film, Gran Torino, is this weekend's #1 movie at the U.S. box office. The flick pulled in a nice $29 million for the studio.

The old dog still has box office juice!

The Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson chick flick, Bride Wars, made $21.5 million and placed a respectable second.

Rounding out the top three is the horror movie, Unborn. The Universal movie made $21.1 million and just missed #2 by a few points.

Eastwood has said that Gran Torino will be the last film he acts in.

So catch it while you can!

beachreader

01-12-2009, 05:20 AM

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: Jules;1820426 (Post Number)

I think we are going to try to go see it this weekend. : )

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Did you and your husband get to gi see Gran Torino this weekend?

Jules

01-12-2009, 05:24 AM

No, we had to take a road trip to Duncan, OK...

My 86 year old grampa isnt doing well...he has pneumonia in his left lung....

He looked ALOT better than I expected, though

beachreader

01-12-2009, 05:31 AM

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: Jules;1821600 (Post Number)

No, we had to take a road trip to Duncan, OK...

My 86 year old grampa isnt doing well...he has pneumonia in his left lung....

He looked ALOT better than I expected, though

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Awwww I am sorry to hear this about your grandpa Jules. I hope that he feels better soon. =(

Jules

01-12-2009, 05:34 AM

Thank you....the pneumonia worries me because of his age...

Monicauf1

01-12-2009, 05:35 AM

Glad to hear that your grandfather is doing better. Mine passed away three years ago and I still miss our weekend talks. I am hoping to go see this movie ( I love Clint Eastwood) this weekend or maybe even Monday- it is a long weekend with the holiday on Monday and I am hoping to get Tuesday off so I can watch the innaugeration- some people that I work with are taking a bus and going, hopefully they will be close enough to see it, but I would rather watch it on tv, they would rather say they were there when Obama was sworn in.

Jules

01-12-2009, 05:42 AM

Agree about the weekend talks.....he was talking to me this weekend about D-Day and the beaches of Normandy....and his fellow soldiers that he saw die, the Germans that he killed, etc....

I was looking through his photos....a really old and worn photo album, photos yellowed by age...

saw pics of Charles De Gaulle...THE one....

We also read letters to and from my grandmother while he was stationed overseas.....that far away look on his face as he was recalling those times for me and my hubby...and we sat there, totally captivated by his voice...his story....and the photos to go along with it.....

Monicauf1

01-12-2009, 05:54 AM

Very cool and exciting that he talked about his time in the service. My grandfather was in WW2 ( the Navy) and was hurt, not seriously, but he never talked about his time overseas, it was not a subject to be discussed or watched on tv with him. His brother who served in the Korean War was a little more open, but not much- both are gone now, but I have always wished that we had a family history. Has he written on the back of the photos with where and dates? If not, try to get that done, after our grandfather died we got a large box of his photoes and none had any information on them, we know they must be family but they were from so long ago we just don't know who they are or what year the picture was taken.

DKLA

01-12-2009, 06:07 AM

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: beekeeper;1819917 (Post Number)

Susan, I want to see Slumdog Millionaire too. It was between that and Gran Torino.

Lavender, I'm not surprised Gran Torino isn't playing in your area. It's only playing in one theater in the entire Denver area ... kind of weird.

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What did you think of Slumdog?

beachreader

01-12-2009, 06:08 AM

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: Jules;1821612 (Post Number)

Agree about the weekend talks.....he was talking to me this weekend about D-Day and the beaches of Normandy....and his fellow soldiers that he saw die, the Germans that he killed, etc....

I was looking through his photos....a really old and worn photo album, photos yellowed by age...

saw pics of Charles De Gaulle...THE one....

We also read letters to and from my grandmother while he was stationed overseas.....that far away look on his face as he was recalling those times for me and my hubby...and we sat there, totally captivated by his voice...his story....and the photos to go along with it.....

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Awww I am so glad that you got to go and spend the day with him. I can tell that he loved it too.

Your post gave me chills.

beachreader

01-12-2009, 06:18 AM

Monica, I never thought about posting dates and names on the backs of photos.

I think that I used to take the time when my oldest was a baby but have stopped.

I am going to have to start going thru pics and add a little something to the backs of each.

We did joke about something similar recently.....on one of the trips to the zoo over the summer we were in the aquarium area. To show how big a particular fish was my husband took a comparison photo of a baby being held up against the glass looking in with the fish almost next to it.

I was looking at the pics on the digital the next day and came to it and joked that someday we would wonder who that baby is and speculate that it is one of our future grandchildren .... and our children would be trying to decide which of them or their children it is.

Never clicked to make a little note on the back of the printed picture saying that it was just a random baby at the zoo used as a comparison to show how big the fish in the pic with her is. lol

Jules

01-12-2009, 06:32 AM

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: beachreader;1821621 (Post Number)

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: Jules;1821612 (Post Number)

Agree about the weekend talks.....he was talking to me this weekend about D-Day and the beaches of Normandy....and his fellow soldiers that he saw die, the Germans that he killed, etc....

I was looking through his photos....a really old and worn photo album, photos yellowed by age...

saw pics of Charles De Gaulle...THE one....

We also read letters to and from my grandmother while he was stationed overseas.....that far away look on his face as he was recalling those times for me and my hubby...and we sat there, totally captivated by his voice...his story....and the photos to go along with it.....

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Awww I am so glad that you got to go and spend the day with him. I can tell that he loved it too.

Your post gave me chills.

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Thank you. I know that when he passes, it will be one of the best memories I have of him.

Scoops

01-12-2009, 07:06 AM

Hope your grandfather is doing better Jules....your post about him was so nice. : )

Jules

01-12-2009, 07:15 AM

I hope he's going to get better soon. He's had a rough couple of years....in June of 2006, he slipped off a curb and his femur punctured through the skin.....almost died, but Duncan Regional Hospital saved him....

and then, on my wedding day last year, he slipped in the bathroom and broke his left arm....he was an hour late to my wedding, but he still showed up! Can you believe that? OMG, I was floored....

He lives alone, and always wears his Life-Alert around his neck. My mom goes and visits every weekend, and one of her other two sisters drops in on him at least 3 times a week....

Scoops

01-12-2009, 07:17 AM

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: Jules;1821647 (Post Number)

I hope he's going to get better soon. He's had a rough couple of years....in June of 2006, he slipped off a curb and his femur punctured through the skin.....almost died, but Duncan Regional Hospital saved him....

and then, on my wedding day last year, he slipped in the bathroom and broke his left arm....he was an hour late to my wedding, but he still showed up! Can you believe that? OMG, I was floored....

He lives alone, and always wears his Life-Alert around his neck. My mom goes and visits every weekend, and one of her other two sisters drops in on him at least 3 times a week....

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He sounds like a tough old guy!!! : )

Jules

01-12-2009, 07:18 AM

I love him dearly .

lmroland

01-18-2009, 04:46 AM

Bumping this back up...

Hubby and I watched this movie last night and omg!...we both loved it!!.....I am not much of a movie buff....

Susan

01-18-2009, 10:14 AM

LM,

GMTA! We went to see it last night too....our theatre was packed....was yours?

I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. The over-the-top bigotry/racism on the part of Walt was too hard on me, guess I'm a wimp. It broke my heart to see a character with that much hate. Maybe I was in the wrong frame of mind. Anyway, not bad, just not as great as I expected. Glad you enjoyed.

This is just a technicality but I also felt the Hmong actors weren't up to par....the ones who played Thao and Sue....they seemed to be reading their lines.

Still anxious to see Slumdog Millionaire....one of these days.

beachreader

01-18-2009, 11:25 AM

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: Susan;1824033 (Post Number)

LM,

GMTA! We went to see it last night too....our theatre was packed....was yours?

I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. The over-the-top bigotry/racism on the part of Walt was too hard on me, guess I'm a wimp. It broke my heart to see a character with that much hate. Maybe I was in the wrong frame of mind. Anyway, not bad, just not as great as I expected. Glad you enjoyed.

This is just a technicality but I also felt the Hmong actors weren't up to par....the ones who played Thao and Sue....they seemed to be reading their lines.

Still anxious to see Slumdog Millionaire....one of these days.

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I do not think that many could pull off that part and the over-the-top bigotry/racism but I think that Clint did it. I thought that he did a good job with it and i can not really imagine any one else in that role.

lavender

01-18-2009, 12:02 PM

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: DKLA;1821620 (Post Number)

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: beekeeper;1819917 (Post Number)

Susan, I want to see Slumdog Millionaire too. It was between that and Gran Torino.

Lavender, I'm not surprised Gran Torino isn't playing in your area. It's only playing in one theater in the entire Denver area ... kind of weird.

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What did you think of Slumdog?

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DK Gran Torino is now playing down at the mall. Due to it's popularity it is finally play here.

It would be a miracle if they show Slumdog too, I doubt it.

The really great pictures usually pass us by.

Monicauf

01-18-2009, 12:06 PM

I am hoping to see Gran Torino tomorrow, not sure but hopefully. $7.50 to go see a movie during the day seems a little expensive but I don't do it all the time. I have some friends who saw slumdog and said the movie was excellent, but that there are some difficult scenes to watch, I doubt I will see this movie, from what I have been told about this movie I would be crying too much....

Susan

01-18-2009, 12:51 PM

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: beachreader;1824038 (Post Number)

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: Susan;1824033 (Post Number)

LM,

GMTA! We went to see it last night too....our theatre was packed....was yours?

I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. The over-the-top bigotry/racism on the part of Walt was too hard on me, guess I'm a wimp. It broke my heart to see a character with that much hate. Maybe I was in the wrong frame of mind. Anyway, not bad, just not as great as I expected. Glad you enjoyed.

This is just a technicality but I also felt the Hmong actors weren't up to par....the ones who played Thao and Sue....they seemed to be reading their lines.

Still anxious to see Slumdog Millionaire....one of these days.

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I do not think that many could pull off that part and the over-the-top bigotry/racism but I think that Clint did it. I thought that he did a good job with it and i can not really imagine any one else in that role.

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Absolutely not passing judgement on Clint's portrayal of Walt. The subject matter just hit me too hard.

beachreader

01-18-2009, 01:34 PM

Oh Susan I know that you weren't. I am sorry if you thought that.

That thought (about who else could have played that role) still must have been in the back on my mind from a discussion that I was having with my husband yesterday.

Scoops

01-19-2009, 06:15 AM

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: Scoops;1819979 (Post Number)

My mother saw it yesterday and she agrees with your review Bee...super movie.

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My mother is still quoting things from this movie....she really thought it was great. I am going to have to make a point to see it on the big screen.

Monicauf

01-19-2009, 06:25 AM

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: beachreader;1821623 (Post Number)

Monica, I never thought about posting dates and names on the backs of photos.

I think that I used to take the time when my oldest was a baby but have stopped.

I am going to have to start going thru pics and add a little something to the backs of each.

We did joke about something similar recently.....on one of the trips to the zoo over the summer we were in the aquarium area. To show how big a particular fish was my husband took a comparison photo of a baby being held up against the glass looking in with the fish almost next to it.

I was looking at the pics on the digital the next day and came to it and joked that someday we would wonder who that baby is and speculate that it is one of our future grandchildren .... and our children would be trying to decide which of them or their children it is.

Never clicked to make a little note on the back of the printed picture saying that it was just a random baby at the zoo used as a comparison to show how big the fish in the pic with her is. lol

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Glad this thread was bumped up, I forgot where we had talked about this subject- I am glad that I said something because now with you sharing your story, maybe some of the people in my granddad's pictures are not family or even friends of the family- they could be strangers LOL Yes, without a name your relatives looking at that picture down the road will be trying to figure out that baby is, someone in the family will decide it looks like so and so in the family....and you and your hubby might have forgotten that you had a random baby as a comparison to the huge fish.....I need to fix some of my pictures too, it is easy to forget or not even think about who and where....we don't want to get rid of our granddad's pictures but we don't know anything since nothing was ever marked on the back. He is no longer with us and when he was he could not remember.

Monicauf

01-19-2009, 06:26 AM

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: Scoops;1824179 (Post Number)

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: Scoops;1819979 (Post Number)

My mother saw it yesterday and she agrees with your review Bee...super movie.

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My mother is still quoting things from this movie....she really thought it was great. I am going to have to make a point to see it on the big screen.

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I am going to see it today at noon, I was going to take care of some business matters, but I can do that later and some of the places I need to call might even be closed today....

Scoops

01-19-2009, 06:39 AM

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: Monicauf;1824188 (Post Number)

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: Scoops;1824179 (Post Number)

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: Scoops;1819979 (Post Number)

My mother saw it yesterday and she agrees with your review Bee...super movie.

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My mother is still quoting things from this movie....she really thought it was great. I am going to have to make a point to see it on the big screen.

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I am going to see it today at noon, I was going to take care of some business matters, but I can do that later and some of the places I need to call might even be closed today....

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We are seeing Mall Cop today...I will let you know how it is....it was filmed here in MA at the Burlington Mall....not near me, but we do go there on occasion because it has a Rainforest Cafe., and a Nordstroms.

Monicauf

01-19-2009, 06:44 AM

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: Scoops;1824200 (Post Number)

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We are seeing Mall Cop today...I will let you know how it is....it was filmed here in MA at the Burlington Mall....not near me, but we do go there on occasion because it has a Rainforest Cafe., and a Nordstroms.

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Is that movie for children? My sister and BIL treats Nicholas to a movie if he does well in school so I try to help out when I hear of good movies for children. Very cool that it is filmed in your area, and a Rainforest Cafe sounds really good. I am not much of a shopper so I am sure I have never gone to Nordstroms....I know weird.....have fun, looking forward to the review

Scoops

01-19-2009, 06:51 AM

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: Monicauf;1824204 (Post Number)

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: Scoops;1824200 (Post Number)

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We are seeing Mall Cop today...I will let you know how it is....it was filmed here in MA at the Burlington Mall....not near me, but we do go there on occasion because it has a Rainforest Cafe., and a Nordstroms.

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Is that movie for children? My sister and BIL treats Nicholas to a movie if he does well in school so I try to help out when I hear of good movies for children. Very cool that it is filmed in your area, and a Rainforest Cafe sounds really good. I am not much of a shopper so I am sure I have never gone to Nordstroms....I know weird.....have fun, looking forward to the review

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It's for kids..yeah....the yahoo posters gave it a B+...the critics give it a C...it's PG...so I am hoping it's ok...going to that site Susan told me about Kidsinmind...to be sure.

Bedtime Stories was great if you want a good younger kids movie...Hotel for Dogs is supposed to be really cute too.

Scoops

01-19-2009, 06:57 AM

Paul Blart Mall Cop....looks ok for 12 year olds. I think most of this would go right over younger kid's heads. it's mild compared to even tv, so I think we are oK. lol

SEX/NUDITY 3 on a scale of 10 - A man and a woman kiss and hold hands.
► A man and a woman fight in a store, the woman's shirt is pulled up and we see her bare back, abdomen and bra
. An animated woman in a video game is shown wearing a low-cut top and a short skirt that reveal cleavage and bare legs. A woman wears fishnet stockings and a short skirt.
► A bare-chested young man talks to a man on the telephone about his girlfriend and that she makes him "feel alive" and that she has "sexy feet." A man offers a woman a ride on his Segway scooter, she touches his hands and they look at each other. A man and a woman talk and flirt. A man watches with admiration a security video of a woman working in a mall.
► We see a video of a man making somewhat suggestive gestures with the handle of his Segway scooter by dancing with it. An inebriated man plays with another man's ear, and then feeds him fruit.
► A man asks a woman if while he was drunk he tried to make out with her purse. A man says, "I'm having love sweats" while looking at a woman on a security video. A song playing as a ring tone has lyrics that include "You want to chew on my bubble gum."

PROFANITY 3 - 4 sexual references, 6 anatomical terms, 4 mild obscenities, name-calling (fat, idiot, loser, pathetic), 8 religious exclamations. [profanity glossary]

SUBSTANCE USE - People drink alcohol in a bar and one man is shown drunk after guzzling numerous Margaritas.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Hypoglycemia, success, failure, child abandonment, single parenting, illegal immigrants, disappointment, Bonnie & Clyde, loneliness, love, online dating, robbery, malls.

MESSAGE - With the right motivation, even the most unlikely can succeed.

Monicauf

01-19-2009, 11:22 AM

I saw this movie today at noon, and since it is Monday I was surprised at how many people were there, but then again it is a holiday. The theatre was packed, I was surprised when I pulled up that there was a line to buy tickets, alot of people in line were parents with their children wanting to see Mall cop, but others were like me planning on seeing Gran Torino.

I loved this movie!! It is definitely one of the best I have seen, and no one else could portray the Korean War Vet as well as Clint Eastwood- he was amazing!! I love Clint, and he was just amazing in this movie.

It's absolutely hilarious at times (watch as Kowalski attempts to make a man out of Thao by teaching him how to talk like men do). There are some funny scenes, and sad too, so many different emotions, seeing him come to terms with his demons, seeing him become friends- I don't want to say too much so I don't ruin anything, but it is a must see movie, I could easily see it again.

I got a hotdog for lunch- thank god I put a bottle soda in my purse- the hotdog ( which was not that big) cost $4.00....crazy!!

Scoops

02-02-2009, 08:14 AM

FOX 411
Roger Friedman
2-2-09

Clint Eastwood's $110 Million Revenge

Now that ballots have been mailed to Academy Award voters, here’s a wrinkle in this year’s Oscars. The man Oscar snubbed this year is the only one cleaning up at the box office.

The man would be Clint Eastwood, and his movie, Gran Torino, is a runaway smash hit. I told you when I first saw it in early December that Gran Torino was just terrific, that Eastwood had pulled a fast one on everyone. I also thought he and the movie were headed to Oscar gold. Boy, was I ever wrong!

Warner Bros., for whatever reason, decided to put all their eggs in the Dark Knight basket. Despite lots of other great early reactions on Gran Torino, the studio rolled over and played dead. In fact, it took a whole month — from December 12 to January 9 — before they even went “wide” with Torino.

By that time, the movie had no awards momentum. It was shown so late in the game to reviewers that it missed most top 10 lists. It was also shown with little advance word or preparation to fuddy duddy film groups like the National Board of Review and the Hollywood Foreign Press. They didn’t understand it, didn’t like it, and didn’t “get” it.

But look at Gran Torino now. Producers of the five Oscar nominated Best Pictures would give their best Prada cashmere socks to have box office results like this: $110.5 million so far. About $100 million of that didn’t start coming in until January 9th, either.

For Eastwood, who owns the movie, the box office is his reward, I guess. The production costs came to $33 million, making Gran Torino the most profitable movie with a big star of at least the last year — and then some. I don’t know what the SPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMal costs were, but they couldn’t have been very much. Warner’s did pretty much nada for Gran Torino in New York. If there was a New York premiere, it was held in secret.

What a shame, too: I said from the beginning Gran Torino should have been a Best Picture nominee, and that Eastwood could win Best Actor without a doubt. It should have happened. Re-watching the film over the weekend, I was impressed again with its simplicity and elegance. Torino is many ways as classic a western as Eastwood’s masterwork, Unforgiven.

And here’s this superstar of film working with young Chinese American actors, elevating them, highlighting them. They’re as good as the Indian actors in Slumdog Millionaire, and yet, we know almost nothing about Bee Vang, the excellent young actor who plays Thao, or Ahney Her, as his on screen sister, Sue. Where are there big feature stories, nominations for Best Newcomers, etc? And how about Clint’s son, Scott, who plays Sue’s date, the one who almost gets beaten up by a gang. Wouldn’t that have been a little p.r. peg?

So chalk up Gran Torino as the Lost Movie of 2008-2009, a classic that will wind standing the test of time without any awards. I guarantee you five years from now, this film will be the subject of articles about “Films that Shoulda Been Nominated,” that sort of thing, and everyone will be scratching their heads trying to explain what happened.