He ain't shootin' skeet
The Oscar nominations have been announced and Clint Eastwood’s new film, “Gran Torino,” has been shut out.
I’m not surprised… “Gran Torino” is a direct threat to the liberal view of everything from race relations to inner city gangs and the Second Amendment.
The story revolves around Clint Eastwood’s main character, Walter Kowalski. Imagine George Patton and Rudy Giuliani had a baby – and that baby was an 80-year old Korean war vet with a sore spot for Pabst blue ribbon and the ability to strike fear in the hearts of gangbangers by simply pointing his finger at them and whispering the word “pow.”
In a word, badass.
Eastwood’s Kowalski is a complex and conflicted guy… He owns and uses firearms… He has a strained relationship with his family… He uses racial epithets… He is open minded… He is a mentor and a father figure to his Korean Hmong Lao neighbors… He has no time for religion… He laments the erosion of the inner city… He takes direct action instead of calling the police…
I won’t spoil it for you – just go see the movie. This is the type of film that conservatives should support by going to see it in the theater. Not on Netflix. Pay money to see this now, while it can still make an impact on Hollywood.
Go see Gran Torino.
Rating: 5/5 Cheneys
For those of you who have already seen the movie…
Although it might be easy to think the Korean gangs are the villians of the movie, I would say the real villian is the Baby Boomer generation. Thoughts?
UPDATE: Thanks for the commenters (Watson and Jim Copp) who have pointed out that Walt Kowalski’s neighbors are not Korean. They are Hmong. There is a lengthy scene where this is explained and I completely screwed that up – sorry about that. Apparently, many of the Hmong characters had never acted before – they do an outstanding job, nonetheless.
I also disagree with the notion that the story is slow and undeserving of an Oscar. If you compare it to some recently nominated films, you’ll see that the story, direction and acting are very similar in style and substance.
Put it this way: If Walt Kowalski was an aging hippie who had fled to Canada to avoid going to Vietnam, “Gran Torino” would be the darling of this year’s Oscar nominations.
popcon
I agree with you completely that this was a great movie and one well worth seeing. Though I have not seen several of the movies that were nominated for various awards, I’m not sure I would classify the movie as ‘Oscar worthy’. It seemed a bit patchy at times in the flow of the story. Had it been even better I doubt seriously that would have been nominated, however, for the same reasons your list.
I would like to mention that the neighbors are not Korean. They are Hmong. I believe this particular family came from Laos.
One correction:
The neighbors are Hmong Lao.
Asians know the difference and it is significant.
That said, it was a good movie.
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