Gran Torino

The previews looked good. I am waiting for the DVD. The Mrs hates Clint, so I'll watch it at home instead of venturing to the Kino alone.

It's a great movie...

I went with my brother to see it a few weeks ago. I enjoyed it, he didn't. Some of the acting of the other characters was ok. Clint was Clint. Especially in a church scene when his grandkids come in acting a little unChristian. He just glares at them with a little growl thrown in. But overall, I liked it and thought it was good. It was filmed in Detroit, not all that far from where I live so, that was nice. It's definitely worth seeing.

I heard it was good so i'll buy the DvD someitme after it comes out.

For me, I was not disappointed. The wife loved it also. I have yet to hear any of my friends down it. So, go see it. Chances are good you'll enjoy it also.

Mark

Did anyone see any similarities between this (presumably Clint's last role) and The Shootist? I saw the film twice, the first time while traveling with my 20 year old son, then about a week later, with my wife. I really enjoyed it both times (and so did my son and wife). I was struck by some similarities - although now I hesitate to say, not wanting to ruin it for DukePilgrim (or anyone else who hasn't seen it).

So maybe, if we want to talk about it, I could alter the title of the thread to reflect that there may be some spoilers. What do you think?

Jim (aka Chester )

Been dying to see it, but haven't had the time... Hope to see it next weekend. May have to buy the DVD instead.

This is a good film, Clint defiently borrowed some ideas from "The Shootist," "Gran Torino" however, is much inferior to that great movie.

I've heard there were a lot of comparisons with The Shootist. At least he borrowed from the best!

Here's a copy of a post from one of the moderators on our forum. (www.wildwestforum.com.) He is a Western author and a great historian:

Re: What was the last non-western movie or tv you saw or currently watching
« Reply #169 on: February 05, 2009, 05:36:29 AM »
Quote Modify Remove Split Topic
Gran Torino finally came to our town and we went and saw it tonight. We thought it was very good overall. On a strictly personal level of the star's career, the ending reminded me so much of John Wayne's last movie, The Shootist. Clint has died before in the movies (Beguiled, for example), as did John, but if this was Clint's last film as an actor, he went out in style.

Gran Torino and The Shootist:

Both characters had lung cancer (John's was for real, though. Hmm, is Clint's?)
Both were old and cynical.
Both allowed themselves to become attached to a female and a young boy headed down the wrong road.
Both got involved with his new friends' problems.
Both knew they were dying, and sacrificed themselves for a principle.
Both went down in a last scene of violence and gunfire, although John was shooting back.

There was also a lot of humor in Gran Torino, and I say again that we enjoyed the hell out of it. Just another opinion.

Post created by Chuck Lewis: aka: Dust Devil

I loved this movie. I haven't laughed that hard at a movie in a long time.

Quote from Duke_Wayne

I've heard there were a lot of comparisons with The Shootist. At least he borrowed from the best!

Here's a copy of a post from one of the moderators on our forum. (www.wildwestforum.com.) He is a Western author and a great historian:

Re: What was the last non-western movie or tv you saw or currently watching
« Reply #169 on: February 05, 2009, 05:36:29 AM »
Quote Modify Remove Split Topic
Gran Torino finally came to our town and we went and saw it tonight. We thought it was very good overall. On a strictly personal level of the star's career, the ending reminded me so much of John Wayne's last movie, The Shootist. Clint has died before in the movies (Beguiled, for example), as did John, but if this was Clint's last film as an actor, he went out in style.

Gran Torino and The Shootist:

Both characters had lung cancer (John's was for real, though. Hmm, is Clint's?)
Both were old and cynical.
Both allowed themselves to become attached to a female and a young boy headed down the wrong road.
Both got involved with his new friends' problems.
Both knew they were dying, and sacrificed themselves for a principle.
Both went down in a last scene of violence and gunfire, although John was shooting back.

There was also a lot of humor in Gran Torino, and I say again that we enjoyed the hell out of it. Just another opinion.

Post created by Chuck Lewis: aka: Dust Devil

Display More

John gives his horse to Gillum, Clint gives his car to to the kid.

Both John and Clint have a haircut, shave and bath before going to their showdowns.

I want to see it so bad, but doing some checking around online I found that the Profanity level is almost outrageous. Also how graphic is the violence? Are we talking Rambo (2008) bad or maybe closer to Commando (1985)?
Could I get some accurate feedback on this?

here is my source
http://www.kids-in-mind.com/g/grantorino.htm

Quote from Lt. Brannigan

I found that the Profanity level is almost outrageous.

Unfortunately, profanity is present in not only most movies nowadays but even many TV programs. As a military retiree, I've heard it all at one time or another but even I get sick of watching movies where about every third word starts with "F".

The wife and I kept five grandkids during their spring break last week. I have an extensive film library so it was no problem keeping them entertained. One of the 12-year-old grandsons wanted to watch the movie "Stop-Loss", which contains profaniity of the worst kind but which, IMO, is a very good movie. After talking it over with the wife, I told him he could watch it, since I'm sure he's heard every cuss word there is in school anyway.

Unless kids are home schooled, you can almost bet money they've heard plenty of dirty language.

Hey, it's on the way, folks.

Quote from Lt. Brannigan

I want to see it so bad, but doing some checking around online I found that the Profanity level is almost outrageous. Also how graphic is the violence? Are we talking Rambo (2008) bad or maybe closer to Commando (1985)?
Could I get some accurate feedback on this?

here is my source
http://www.kids-in-mind.com/g/grantorino.htm

Unfortunately, there's quite a bit of profanity in Gran Torino. Including what I don't like, the use of Jesus Christ name, even by the Catholic priest character. The violence isn't much. A couple of beatings and a couple of shootouts but, not overwhelming.

There was quite a bit of profanity, including misuse of the Lord's name, as WaynamoJim indicated. The violence was not over the top, IMO, but somewhat graphic.

I usually stay away from movies like that, but I admit my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to tough it out. It was a good movie, not necessarily one that I would watch over and over, and definitely NOT one I would let my kids watch.

A site I check when deciding if I want to spend my hard-earned money on a movie ticket is http://www.pluggedinonline.com. It has saved me TONS of money! I have also used Kids-in-Mind as well.

Mrs. C

Mrs. C, that website is awesome. It's just what I was looking for. Thank you so much for that site. and for your input on the movie.

Also many thanks to WaynamoJim for his valued input.

Well, I just watched Gran Torino, and I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed. Although I liked the film for the most part (and it definitely is a remake, albeit updated, of The Shootist), I hated the ending. It's like Walt (Clint's role) just gives up. The bad guys win! What a crappy ending! I wanted to see the good guys win! Yes, I recognized the anti-violence message, the "violence isn't the way" message, but just letting the gang bangers go to prison, even for life, isn't beating them. It's letting them win, and Walt dies for nothing. I worked in corrections for 23 years, and believe me, gang bangers just get worse when they're locked up, and they still have influence on the streets when they're locked up. In real life, the gang leader would simply have sent out a coded message to someone on the streets and he would have had Thou and/or his family, as well as the witnesses and their families either beaten, threatened, harassed, or killed outright. Although I may sound cold hearted, after 23 years of dealing with these animals (they are NOT people, not even human), I have come to realize and understand that they are nothing more than cockroaches, and the only way to deal with them effectively is to deal with them as you would a hive of roaches.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.