Gran Torino

[greenbriar]

Very good movie


Eastwood is great

[crimsonblue]

1. Eastwood was great...

The kid that played Tao, not so much. His screaming after being locked downstairs wasn't believable.

[driver8]

2. I liked the movie, but thought the actor who played the priest, sucked.

I work at Warner Bros. and a saw a bunch of the dailies for this movie -- we couldn't believe how bad that guy was!

For the Hmongs, Eastwood used people who never acted before. That was pretty obvious as some of the acting wasn't that great, but I thought they did fine for not having any experience.

I really liked the girl who played Sue - Tao's sister.

[greenbriar]

7. I didn't know that

thats cool

[underpants]

3. Our local hates-everything movie critic didn't take to it well

Eastwood misses the mark this time
http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/entertainment/movies/article/W-GRAN08_20090107-175521/171574/

Coming from the man who most recently made the fascinating "Changeling" and the absolutely masterful "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Gran Torino" is a huge step backward. It's simplistic, obvious and clichéd. And even the acting is not up to par.

In the role, Eastwood sneers a lot and snarls, but the character nearly always seems put on; he doesn't feel real, as if the actor cannot convincingly play a character so foreign to his own thinking. Still, he is far more comfortable in the role than Bee Vang and Ahney Her, who play the teenagers next door. The parts are absolutely vital, and the acting is stiff -- it is possible they were chosen for their ability to speak Hmong.

but he doesn't mind Paul Blart: Mall Cop

‘Mall Cop’ a rare mix: stupid humor, heart
http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/entertainment/movies/article/PAUL17_20090116-213702/180668/

Though it is a comedy with stupid humor, "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" is notable for what it is not.

It is not a film that revels in its infantilism. It is not a film that takes its main character's physical trait -- his obesity -- and turns it into his defining characteristic.

But the film stars and is co-written by Kevin James, and he seems to make the difference. He brings to this stupid comedy something that stupid comedies rarely have: heart.

[Zomby Woof]

4. Very moving (spoilers)

And at times, downright hilarious (Thao in the barbershop, and the next scene describing to his would-be construction foreman the perils of the car repair shop). I though Sue was outstanding, very natural in her role. Eastwood likes spontaneity and naturalness for his actors. Whether working with pros like Sean Penn or Morgan Freeman, or amateurs like the Hmong cast, he often lets the cameras roll, while the actors think it's just a run through.

Next up: A biopic of Mandela, starring his old friend Morgan Freeman in the title role. :thumbsup:

[Redstone]

5. My son said it was terrific. I'll be sure to watch it when it comes out on

DVD, since I can't watch a movie in a theater.

Redstone

[applegrove]

6. I loved it. I loved how each character evolved. Great film making.

[JCMach1]

8. The anti-Dirty Harry movie

liked it alot...