finally got around to watching this lastnight. in my opinion one of eastwoods finest roles. reminds me of an uncle i once had. makes you wonder what one would do if involved in a situation such as his. well anyway, great movie

I find myself becoming more and more like Walt Kowalski each and every day.

Excellent movie. I like most anything Clint does but this one was even better.

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Still Running Against the Wind

That's what was strange to me. I'm NOT a big fan of Clint's work. I did like the Dirty Harry films, but I never seen one of his westerns that I really liked enough to own.

I bought Gran Torino after the very first time I saw it.

It just reminds me of me.

I've got to agree that Eastwood has never been better than in this movie. I didn't like him in a lot of his earliest movies where he was just a one-dimensional tough guy/loner. But as he got older, he became a three-dimensional tough guy, and finally in his last several films he has been a completely credible tough guy who is a loner by circumstance rather than intent. He's right there with John Wayne in my estimation.

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David Wilson

Awesome. One of his best roles, ever. Never was a big Eastwood fan but this movie made me one.

Speaking of John Wayne, think about the parallels between "The Shootist" and "Gran Torino". I also very much liked the way both handled the complexity of the lead character. You could sure argue it was the best acting job by either man.

Bob

Absolutely Eastwood at his very best. The character also reminds me of a friend, and old WWII Marine vet, marine aviator.

He walks like him, talks like him, thinks like him, etc.

To bad we are losing this generation of great men.

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G.P. Charlie

As said, Clint was at his best. Strange how his character reminds me of some people I know, unfortunately they are becoming less and less visible.

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Ignored facts still exist.

Watch Unforgiven... This is Clint's best movie!

gutpile charlie. i couldnt have put it any better. we are indeed losing a generation of great men. what a terrible thing.

Every generation loses a great generation. Many of the folks here on this form are our current great generation such as those who served our country, first reponders and pretty much good decent folks.

Today is our future good old days.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Really liked the movie, but not the ending.

I rented this movie tonight. I really liked it. Except the end. I laughed out loud atleast 10 times. It was that I'm embarrassed I just laughed kind of laugh at some of Walt's comments. He spared nobody. But I love Clint Eastwood period. Unforgiven is a top 5 movie for me too.

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I drank what? - Socrates

I kinda consider Gran Torino as the sequel to Heartbreak Ridge.

Now, Now. Let's not get too carried away.

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Georgia On My Mind

The same can be said of life.

I think Eastwood knocked it out of the park in both Unforgiven and Gran Torino. He's old enough to do character parts in incredibly powerful ways, and gnarly enough to make it utterly convincing.

Well I am a huge Clint fan and this one did not disappoint. With the exception of Walt's relationship with his kids, it is a character I can identify with. Even though I am his kids age, I identify with Walt's values and his view of society and life in general. Clint is an amazing actor and director.

Best movie I've seen in a long time!

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Where's my dad's America?

I guess a lot of people were expecting to see a big shootout with Clint left standing on the lawn....I was thinking that also but i also felt how unrealistic that would be against a gang of punks with automatic weapons and cover...the way he ended it was perfect, sacrificing his life for the safety of the kid.

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

Tired of continued ethanol-related problems in my expensive Honda (The choke shaft is phenolic - jams open from swelling due to the ethanol - a common problem - no metal replacement available.) powered lawn mower, I ordered an 'American Classic' push mower (reel type) - $100 on Amazon with free shipping. I used one as a kid, lke many of us did... how hard could it be? My yard is too big, rough, and steep - but I persist. I am sopping wet when I'm half done. I'm also white haired - 61 - and way overweight. After several cuttings, that movie, Gran Torino, became available. I bought it - I'm a Clint Eastwood fan (Bloodwork was sad... he was a bad shot... maybe it was that 'worthless' -TIC- 8-banger?). My young wife watched it with me - laughed her butt off when he cut the grass - said now she understood... called me 'Walt' for a while.

The cruelest blow... a few weeks back, the 14-15 yr olds coagulating across the street saw me huffing & sweating, 93 F, code orange ozone - me gasping with my asthma, and offered to finish cutting my grass - for free. I must have looked bad. I finished it and went inside, my wife asking me if I was going to weed-eat the yard then. I gave my best Walt impression answer and headed to the shower.

Loved that movie - probably the most appropriate ending... but it was still sad.

Stainz

PS That weed-eater I bought runs on propane... pretty neat - and powerful.

My wife said she wants one of those lawnmowers too. I told her that SHE would push it, because I sure as hell ain't gonna!

Gran Torino is one of the few movies that she liked as much as I did. Who woulda thunk it? She's NEVER seen a Clint Eastwood movie she has liked. Of course, she usually only gives him about 5 minutes. But she absolutely loved Gran Torino for some reason.

I actually figured she would hate it because of all the racial comments used in it.

Man-OCan-O, am I the black sheep on this one. I can't think of any of his movies I did not like in the past but this one neither my wife nor I really liked or enjoyed it. I was all pumped up for it waiting for Netflix to send it. They were back ordered for many weeks, finally because we could not wait my wife rented it from SafeWay. We heard nothing but good for the movie.

It was quite predictable through the entire movie all the way to the very end. OK, there were some pretty funny parts for sure but overall rating I got to give it a "C". An no, I was not hoping for a "shoot out" at the end.

Sorry guys.

Joe

I guess I’m kind of a black sheep too. I liked Gran Torino okay. Pretty good movie, but not one I’d watch over and over. I’ve watched Unforgiven a few times the last couple weeks. I love the movie The Outlaw Josey Wales.

two mules for sister sarah

I liked it when I saw it in the theater, but I watched it again on Blu-Ray and I really cooled on it.

The fact that Clint is such a great actor made it glaringly obvious the Hmongs couldn't act a bit. They sounded like they were reading off cue cards. They were just awful.

I think they wimped out by using 20 different epithets for asians, but used spook instead of the obvious one for the black guys.

Not only did I see the ending coming a mile away, it was stupid. The ganstas would have been out the back door, ditched the guns, and clammed up when picked up later. The neighbors would have never testified, and if they did - so what? Its an iffy furtive movement shooting. Manslaughter at best, but most likely a big goose egg.

It was cool seeing Clint with the Garand, though. I hope he does another film, so this one isn't his last.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

Not sure what that means but it sure made me laugh!

Joe

+1 for William Munny

"You better bury Ned right; and don't you be cutting up or otherwise harming no whores, or I'll come back and kill all you sons a b*tches."

JOERM. IT WAS A EASTWOOD CLASSIC WESTERN WITH SHIRLY MCLAINE. i thought it was entertaining. i could see why it would make you laugh if not knowing what it was.

Oh, now it's not so funny after all. I thought you were making fun of us two black sheep who thought the movie was below standard.

I'll be sure and rent the two mules for sister sarah.

Joe

It's a great movie also.
We just had a marathon on TV of probably all his older movies. It was great!

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Still Running Against the Wind

Stainz, don't you just LOVE yardwork in Alabama in the summertime?

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MARK

I watched the movie last week. Well, it's a buddystory with some racism-themes. But all in all is the story very weak and not very logical.

Mr. Eastwood did a great job as an actor. The rest is sterotypic.
Only the girl stands a bit over the rest.

Swissman

Get off my grass!

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

Excellent movie, truly excellent. Right up there with Unforgiven. The ending is, yeah, sure, dissapointing, but it is an excellent, appropriate ending as well, whereby Clint shows the maturity and intelligence of his character, Walt, and his icey cool courage. Not a comic book ending.

One of the things I liked is that while Walt uses lots of language that is un PC, racial epithets and such, he is in fact a fair guy who doesn't care about race. (He just insults everybody equally, including his barber bud. Ain't no big deal. No need to cry or call your congessman!) He cares about character.

Hmm. Probably appeals more to the older set -- which I feel is increasingly me, by default, if nothing else -- than the younger, I bet.

And, yeah, I know, and admire, guys like that, too. What you see is what you get. Nothin' wrong with that. I prefer it.

My wife is not a Clint Eastwood fan, but she liked this one. I guess it's because there can be no sequels!

Too bad I sold my M1!

I hate that push mower.

Stainz

It wasn't posted here but almost all the Hmong were not actors before this movie. I liked the movie a lot. I bought a copy from the previewed section at the video store for 7.95. Clint reminded me of some the WWII neighbor my dad had. I knew he was a WWII vet but found out after his death he was in the OSS. I wished I had talked to him about this before he was gone.

I couldn't agree more and as I said in an earlier post, I liked the movie a lot.

A good example of how race neutral Walt Kowalski is is the scene where he stops to pick up the Hmong girl about to be assaulted by the bangers. He deals everybody what they deserve, regardless of race. The Asian girl, who has done nothing wrong yet needs help, gets rescued. The groveling white boy, who seems more than willing to throw the girl under the bus, gets called out for sniveling coward he is. The bangers get the choice of letting it go or dying. Each got what they deserved and I like that.

Bob

When I was a kid, we had a neighbor who was a lot like Walt.....crusty, cranky....scared the hell out of us kids in the neighborhood. Once we became teenagers and didn't mind approaching him, he was a really nice guy. He taught some of us how to work on our cars and lawn mowers. He really opened up when we were around. Just goes to show that things aren't as they seem.

Exactly. Thats why I loved this movie. Walt isn't afraid of anything. He confronts evil even when he is greatly outnumbered several times in the movie. He even has a strained relationship with his children, yet steps up and takes care of the neighbor kid who tried to steal his car.

The lines about stacking um 5 high and using them for body bags in Korea and when he pulls up and confronts the bangers harassing the girl are classic.

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I drank what? - Socrates

And, with the possible exception of the girl, none will be. She played well off him.

I finally sat down with my bride and watched Gran Torino. All I can say is WOW! I have always been an Eastwood fan but this movie is in a class by itself. I laughed so much you would have thought it a comedy but one of the most powerful films in recent memory. Eastwood's delivery was uncanny, even for him. If there is anyone out there who hasn't seen this yet, do yourself a favor and watch it!

Gran Torino was a great movie. One of my favorite Eastwood films, up there with Pale Rider, Unforgiven, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and The Good The Bad and The Ugly.

everything clint does is great ..!

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gunnut2u
(Tim)

I didn't like the end either. I guess the fact Eastwoods character was coughing up blood, suggesting he was terminally ill was supposed to justify his ultimate sacrifice. After the arrest of the bangers we're supposed to believe that the gang has no more members to wipe out the family? Must have been the new gang on the block. Clint is on the cover of AARP magazine this month. I like most of the rest of his stuff a lot.

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SOS USA

Agree with all above, great movie. I didn't like the ending though. Eastwood is one of our iconic actor/directors.

the dirty harry movie is a lot of fun, unforgiving is a masterpiece.

Eastwood has said that Gran Torino is the last movie he'll act in. He will continue to write and direct, but as of now, he says no more acting.

Gran Torino was his swan song.

He went out the way he came in. Those of us who loved Gran Torino most likely also revered the Italian Westerns Clint starred in. We also enjoyed the Dirty Harry films.

At least Clint went out with an ode to those of us who enjoy movies when he brandishes a firearm.

Eastwood didn't go out with a Bridges of Madison County film.

The Academy snubbed Eastwood's Gran Torino despite it being a critical and box office success. They lavished Eastwood with nominations and Oscars for his "liberal" pictures.

Good for Clint for going out with a "bang!" He saluted all of us who enjoy his movies when he acts how we "like 'em!"

I have not as yet seen the movie but my wife and I saw the car from

the movie on display at Warner Bros studios in Los Angeles. Clint let the

studio borrow the car for display .

Bob