Sort of dubious about the "mercy killing" schtick in his other big movie.
You convinced me Mike, Gran Turino is now on my ‘see it next’ list.
And a belated ‘Welcome to FR’ to you, and Happy New Year!
Best,
MKJ
...he's a republican, and people are surprised he never won an Academy Award
I disagree. The denouement is classic liberalism in action, involving sacrifice (at two or three levels) of the protagonist's self-interest and that of his blood relations, in favor of strangers some of whom don't even speak the language.
It's Moulin Rouge meets The Shootist meets Omega Man. But it's liberal. Eastwood's non-PC demeanor is window dressing, eye candy for the rubes, a step-right-up-and-grab-you-a-big-steaming-hunk-of-liberal-virtue invitation to conservatives to give over and recognize the moral au-thor-i-tye! [</Cartman>] of the liberal message. Clint is America, and his neighbors are Darfur, look at it that way.
you know, I have the very same 72 gran torino in the back yard (it belongs to my kids) and a brace of Garands in the safe. I may put them together to make that cool, dark movie poster, with this old fart holding said M1 in the foreground.
Thanks, hard to tell how long it will be before it will be on DVD, and the nearest movie theaters are 50 miles away in Cody.
Sort of like “ Falling Down”?
His best work was with a monkey as a sidekick.
He's won four Oscars, two each for director and picture. He hasn't won for acting, which I guess is what you meant.
The main thing I came away with was the way Walt lived the main part of his life in contrast with the last part. He shut out his family (other than his recently deceased wife). He shut out any self-examination or any coming to terms with his Korean experiences. He shut out God.
What he had at the beginning of the movie was his dog, a few old buddies who were a lot like him, and his possessions. The song Cat's in the Cradle came to mind when I saw one of his sons say: 'I'm busy now Dad, call me this weekend.' He failed to connect as a father (he admitted this) and spoiled his kids with material goods who then in turn spoiled theirs.
By the end of the movie, he grew enough to have true friends who loved him in return, some sort inner peace (though not Jesus), and a purpose for both his life and possessions. To me as a Christian it was a compelling story of a partial but not total redemption.
Saw it over the weekend and he’s right, it’s a great film. Completely caught me off guard because I was expecting a completely different story line. And he is right...when it was over there was no ‘mass exodous’ to the exit. People stayed in their seats when it was over. You will not waste your money on this (note: there is considerable profanity is parts of the movie)
Outstanding film for all the reasons Mike listed — and more.
A MUST SEE FOR SURE!!
And if you’re NOT moved to tears by the final scene (which solved Walt’s and Tao’s problems), check for a pulse.
Walt was more of a Christian than most of the Christians I know in real life.
It’s Josie Wales meets William Munny in urban Detroit. Excellent entertainment without a hint of political correctness.
Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:
Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of interest.
Obama Says A Baby Is A Punishment
Obama: “If they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.”
I've tried to "regularly read" your articles but they cut off in mid sentence.
It is on my “must see” list.
Here is one that you Netflix subscribers need to put in your queue right away
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
Sophie Scholl a young German girl was executed by guillotine by the Third Reich. She was found guilty of distributing anti-Nazi leaflets at her college campus and for this she was beheaded along with several of the other brave God-fearing people of the “White Rose”, an underground Nazi resistance movement. This is a dramatization of that event, it is a movie that will not leave you and will have you thinking about it for days after viewing. I highly recommend this film. I found myself drawn into this movie like few other movies will do. This is brilliant stuff. The tension becomes almost unbearable. The depiction of Freisler (The judge), which might seem over the top, but is quite consistent with accounts and actual film clips of the trial, maybe even understated. He was diabolical, tyrannical and very hot tempered.
After reading many rave reviews from regular people, I ordered this 2005 movie over the Holidays from Netflix. It was sooooo good, I just had to purchas a copy
Watch the Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjE020YHPkE
The White Rose
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkoJgPkFoDs&feature=related