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Clint Eastwood's GRAN TORINO transforms Capone into a Grumpy Old Man!!!
Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
In the end Clint Eastwood's latest directed effort (his second of the year, in case you're counting, after CHANGELING) will be remembered as a minor effort from one of the greatest living American directors. But I can also see GRAN TORINO being a real crowd pleaser, as Clint returns to film acting in a sort of Grumpy Old Bigot Man role that I'm 75 percent sure is supposed to be funny even though the film dives into some fairly serious shit concerning gang violence, rape and the healing power of racism. But in the end, I can't really recommend the film because, outside of Eastwood's performance, the acting in the film is god-awful — strictly amateur hour, after-school special level stuff that I could never get into or get past.
Eastwood plays Korean War vet Walt Kowalski, whose wife has just died. The film opens at her funeral service in the local church, and we immediately see that Walt has little patience for other human beings, even those in his own family. He literally snarls at anyone who pisses him off...which is pretty much everyone. He's mad at two people whispering and smiling during the service; he's mad at the way his granddaughter dresses for the event; he's mad at the young priest (Christopher Carley) who was friendly with Walt's wife and who promised her before she died that he'd check in on Walt to make sure the crotchety bastard was doing alright. Every offer for help, every attempt by his grown kids to move Walt out of the terrible neighborhood where he lives (he is apparently the only white guy still living in the crime-ridden area) is met with something that goes beyond resistance. Walt hates the world and the world responds in kind.
Knowing that Eastwood has previously revisiting types of roles he's played in the past, it was easy to see GRAN TORINO (named for the mint 1972 car that Walt owns and displays proudly for all of the thieving neighbor kids to see) as an update on Eastwood's "Dirty" Harry Calahan role. Only this version of Harry got older than he ever thought he'd live and the streets that he fought so hard to keep clean ended up consuming him and his way of life. What is left is a man bitter at having fought so hard in Korea against the "gooks" only to have them (or a version of them in his eyes) take over the street that he and his wife loved so much. Walt doesn't hesitate to protect himself and his little home with guns galore. He is literally the old man who spouts, "You kids get offa my lawn."
Despite every effort, Walt become friendly with Sue (Ahney Her), the teen girl who lives next door, whom he rescues from being harassed by a group of black gang members (Walt does love to pull out that old chestnut "spook"). Eventually Walk even is somewhat accepted by the girl's family, who are Hmong, an Asian culture from the mountains of China and Southeast Asia who came to America when the dirty commies took over Laos in the mid-'70s (look at me doing my research!). These distinctions between Asian people never really occurred or mattered to Walt (he never even bothers to pronounce "Hmong" correctly), but they invite him to a party, give him beer, and feed him good food, so he enjoys their company.
One day, Sue's brother Thao, a geeky kid who is being tempted by the Hmong street gangs to join their ranks, attempts to steal Walt's Gran Torino. Walt nearly blows the kid's head off. Thao's family is so ashamed of his actions, they essentially offer him to Walt as a servant until he has paid his debt to society in Walt's eyes. Naturally, this master-slave relationship becomes more like mentoring as Walt and the kid become buddies, and Walt teaches the awkward kid not only valuable skills that might help him get a job one day, but also life lessons on how to talk to girls and how to be more of a man. A couple of very funny scenes between Walt, his barber (John Carroll Lynch) and Thao are one of the few genuine highlights of GRAN TORINO, as Walt attempts to show Thao how real men talk to each other.
As I mentioned, what I could never get past with this movie was just how bad most of the acting is. Eastwood seems to be struggling a lot of the time to pull his cast up to his level, and they never really get there. And while there are some extremely funny moments in GRAN TORINO, the abrupt tonal shift when his encounters with the Hmong gang intensify feel forced and pedestrian. Make no mistake, as much as this tale of a lovable racist attempts to be life affirming, this one is R rated for language and some pretty brutal violence.
Every once in a while, I can sit through a film, laugh at its jokes, be impressed with some aspects of it, but ultimately it just never clicks for me. That's GRAN TORINO in a nutshell. I will never complain about seeing Eastwood onscreen, because it's impossible for me not to find him compelling in every way as an actor. I know Eastwood has at least one more movie left in him as a director (THE HUMAN FACTOR with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, set for release next year), but if this is the last film he ever acts in, that would be a true shame. I'd hate to see him end his acting career with a whimper rather than a roar. GRAN TORINO falls short of the standard Eastwood has set for himself and us over the years, and that's a shame.
-- Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com
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+ Expand All
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Lots of movies seen by Capone in the last 30 minutes...
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Clint Eastwood!
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All the actors in the film are Hmong. This is worth noting because Eastwood wanted to accurately portray a Hmong community, and it explains why the acting is "amateur" since very few Hmong-Americans have ever had roles with real screen time. Oh, and the Hmong are not from China, they are from the mountains of Laos (though they did originate in China hundreds of years ago.) I'm fairly enthused for this movie, as the Hmong have always fascinated me (they didn't have currency or a written language until the 1950's, and most came to America having never seen indoor plumbing. Our culture could not have been more alien.) Hopefully knowing the nature of the actors will make me more forgiving, though there's obviously a level of shittiness which no justification can render watchable.
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Hmm. The preview of this really makes me want to see the film, and from what I saw there, the acting didn't look that bad. I'll see it anyway, just to watch Clint be a grumpy bad ass.
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I saw Changeling and Gran Torino within two days of each other and both are great films.
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I'm there Clint's the man
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You are in the minority with your thinking this is a weak role for Eastwood. At least he is doing character driven work with a purpose instead of middling thrillers like he did in the late 90's.
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The poor bastards.
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Dec 19, 2008 9:35:20 AM CST
I have not seen this yet.... but FUCK YOU CAPONE
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
this sounds like a gift from the gods. Clint hasn't made a bad film ever!!!!! His lesser films are other peoples masterpieces. Look at a Perfect World. Costners, and Dern's best film.
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It seems to me like you're trying too hard to buck the trends today. Trying to seem "edgy." Maybe I'm wrong, but your praise of the critically panned "Seven Pounds" and condemnation of the better-reviewed "Yes Man" and now your relative panning of this movie, which everyone else has been raving about...hmm...trying a little too hard to be Devil's Advocate, methinks...
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I also thought the previews showed some good performances but I'm walking into the theater with Magnum Opus' post in mind. I wanna see Eastwood nearly blow a kid's head off.
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I loved the movie, but do agree that apart from Eastwood, the rest of the acting is pretty weak (mainly the teens), but as with all Eastwood movies it's worth a watch despite that minor flaw.
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And to be honest I thought it was a great movie. The acting never distracted me, it was funny in parts and very real in others. It just worked very well for me and I highly recomend this flick.
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will fill seats this Christmas. Could the acting be any worse than the support cast of "Million-Dollar Baby" (outside of Morgan and Hillary, I mean). Given what else is showing--the Spirit looks like a total bomb--I'm going to see Gran Torino. I'm hoping to become Walt when I get to codgerdom.
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Because I really, really loved this. Not once did the acting pull me out of the story. I thought that Clint was outstanding and the story was both funny and incredibly moving. I saw the acting as naturalistic.
This movie is not for everybody and anybody who expects to see Clint's Dirty Harry persona dust of his old .44 and start going gun crazy will be sorely dissapointed. That being said, this is the closeset to a final Callahan swansong as we are ever going to get and is another classic Eastwood performance that we will enjoy again and again over the coming years. -
Clint's best line in the movie (sorry if you consider this a spoiler)
"Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a while you shouldn't have fucked with? That's me." -
Sorry to say (and keep saying) but I want someone to explain to me why Eastwood is so great. I haven't seen a single minute of any movie he's made since and including Unforgiven that I ever wanted to revisit. It's good enough to sit through - kind of like the cinematic equivalent of meat loaf, and made about as quickly from what I understand.
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I am going to assume that that statement, in fact implies "the healing power of overcoming racism". Otherwise, you must be cantankerous old fart Capone.
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Lets face it: We all, all have our Top 5 films. For me the G.B.U. ranks as number 3 right after Raiders and Last of the Mohicans (great film won't argue about it) followed by Kill Bill and Blade Runner. I love Pulp and G.B.U. is great pulp with a truly amazing left turn at the 3rd act where things suddenly veer into the surreal with the great North/South battle in front of the cemetery they have been looking for. That movie is so frakking amazing, impossible to hold all the great moments in your head so requires repeat viewing, Blondie (Clint) is 'the good' but far from it really and Tuco is hands down the greatest 'supporting character' cinema has ever seen 'If your going to shoot, shoot, don't talk'. So while I agree that Unforgiven is fine but hardly worthy of being what he is MOST remembered for, and I think the Dirty Harry films are pretty ass frankly, The G.B.U and Outlaw Josey Wales are too pretty much perfect, iconic and truly beautiful movies as have ever been committed to celuloid. Sorry if my spelling is off.
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Not to be a total dick but your far from my favorite reviewer, Vern and Moriarty will always hold those reigns but you seem so determined to go counterflow that part of me (while still reading every single freaking one of your reviews for like 10 years now) thinks your trying to carve out your name as the anti-Harry. Oh, don't worry I like you WAAAAAY more than Harry. but less than Massawyrm (gotta love caffeine feind D&D folk)
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So many of the characters were quite shockingly one dimensional and only there to make a point rather than be real people. The granddaughter turning up at the funeral looking like shes back from a niteclub? and then asking him if she can have stuff when he dies at his wifes funeral? Id have taken her outside myself and smacked some manners into her. She was the worst of the terribly written characters cause no one i know here in ireland would put up with that behaviour. The thick laying-on of the son and daughter-in-law buying him invalid toys and wanting to send him to a home! What was that about? How obvious and misjudged can it get.
Still liked it tho but i had to laught at thinking of it as an oscar heavyweight. -
but I think the point is Walt should be mad at everything the horrible reviewer disparaged. Walt seems angry at a culture falling apart.
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But Spikey, you live in a different Culture and Country, so you have a completely different point of reference. It's hard to say what could and would happen because it's not the same over in Ireland. You deal with things a bit differently.
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Thanks for the tip on The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, but I'm really talking about the period since Unforgiven won Best Picture, when Eastwood has become some standard-bearer for American cinema. I've actually revisited some of his earlier work, like the Dirty Harry movies and Play Misty for Me, and enjoyed it. Like I've said before, all respect to him for being productive almost to 80 years old, actors seem to love working for him, and I don't hate his movies, but to me they have only the feel of highly competent TV productions. Nothing in them resonates to me, and I find their enshrinement baffling.
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...Eastwood should have used the Tcho-Tcho people from the Plateau of Leng.
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Dec 19, 2008 11:19:24 AM CST
Eastwood's performance is nomination-worthy; the rest...
by fuckmichaelbay
...not so much.
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Capone is right though, the acting is quite terrible at points. But Clint rocks in the film, he is such a joy to watch in this movie. The Film itself is quite good, it's a good drama/revenge flick with some great comedic moments. I also feel it's a very personal film for Clint.
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MAJOR SPOILERS!!!
Walt drinks beer. Thao gets his ass kicked by his punk ass cousin and gang. Walt growls. Hip Juno like older sister bonds with Walt. Slowly Walt starts to respect the gooks,zipperheads,and chinks. Saves Su and her wigger boyfriend from some spooks. Hmong family won't stop showering Walt with gifts. Walt makes Thao restore a house,talk shit to his barber and ask out.a hot asian chick.Walt stomps a mudhole in gang member as a warning. The gang shoots up the Hmong house. Su is raped and beaten like De LaHoya. Walt goes to gangs house. Talks shit. Pull a smoke out. Shot dead before he can take out his zippo. Gran Torino car goes to Thao in Walt's will. Eastwood sings closing song. Cue Oscar noms. I LOVE SCREENER DISCS! -
in Northeastern Thailand. All the women there have natural tans and everyone likes to eat bugs as snacks. Yummy.
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but gran torino is laughably bad. really.
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How male mentors are so lacking in current society. I may see this on video at some point just for that subject matter alone.
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WTF?!
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Beat me to it.
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Maybe Im jaded but the violence in this was very PG, a few punchs to the face and a kick nothing compared to a lot of movies lately. It hardly got my blood goin..
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Always chopsocky, no-ticky-no-laundry, kung fu fighting, hip-talking-computer-nerd, spiky-haired subservient to the white man, china doll or ninja wannabes. Asian girls are always race traitors for wanting a white or black guy and Asian men are always asexual when it comes to getting anyone but an Asian girl. It's Stepanfetchit in yellow face.
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No, i mean it.Get the fuck off.
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Eastwood really was trying to paint it that way. Also, yes, the acting is _terrible_ at points from pretty much everyone involved other than Eastwood. Oh, the barber character--who's in the film for about five minutes--is a professional actor. That's it. I didn't think it was possible, but I think I actually actively hate EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER in the film and want to see them all die. Oh yeah, regarding the barber character, the actor who plays him had his first role in Grumpy Old Men. Capone almost hit on this himself, so I'll expand it and do it right. This movie is Grumpy Old Men for ASSHOLES.
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I'm still there.
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I was able to see Gran Torino a few weeks ago and it's true besides Clint the acting is pretty bad, but with that being said I would still suggest that you see the film. Although the surrounding cast is pretty bad Clint does an amazing job he really carries the film and if this is truly his last acting role then you should not miss it because he kicks some major ass in the film.
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You, and Massa, and Harry, and Moriarty, and whoever else wants to - BETTER have all your "Best of 2008" lists posted this year.
I'm still waiting on some of you guys from LAST year! ^_^ -
Ahney Her is really hot looking! Please...more asian girls in film! I hate all these white girls with their fake faces because of multiple facelifts! For example, Sarah Michelle Gellar looked hot in the first season of Buffy, then she got plastic surgey and now she looks fake. Linda Cardelli (freaks and geeks, scooby-doo) use to look hot in that series and the first scooby film, then she got all plastic face and now looks fake. And why do girls feel the need to get plastic surgery, even as young as 16! They look soooo much better without it. Once they get plastic surgery, they lose all the natural beauty they once possessed.
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....uses the term "methinks" needs to have their vagina pooped in.
Just sayin -
Methinks....I will maybe see this now...
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The acting is adequate and nowhere near awful. Clint is intense, the story is engrossing and the outcome is unexpected. If this is indeed his last acting gig, he went out strong on his terms. Fuck you for trying so hard to be the contrarian.
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Dec 19, 2008 5:37:11 PM CST
speaking of racism, Hmongs are the most racist people on earth
by smackfu
I've known some Hmongs and man are they racist towards other Asians, and just about everyone else. The guys I knew frequently attended 'hmong picnics' and other social events for 'hmong only'. Who the fuck has a picnic for a *race*? Imagine, 'next saturday we're having a White picnic in Central Park. Whites only please. Bring all your white friends and relatives, and we'll just sit around eating cheeseburgers and talk about things that interest, you know...white people.'
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his speed, efficiency, and always under budget producing top quality thoughtful films every sixth months, the Coens are in the same boat, what a great time to live. May my dvd shelves fill up quickly. I think Eastwoodism trumps Kubrickism. THough they may be just different animals, I just prefer waiting a few months to see a not so great film than waiting seven years for a great film.
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Eastwood's character ranks among his best, and the simplicity of the story really drew me in. Walt never loses his edge, and I'm 100% sure the film is supposed to be funny, but it's also heartwarming and natural, and when things turn sour, it never once feels like a plot device or unnatural.
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I'm not sure what Capone is talking about. I thought it was a close to perfect movie. Clint is Hank Hill at 75 years old and from Michigan in this movie. He's a good honorable man who's fed up with lowlifes infestint his neighborhood. Too bad their aren't more like him in real life. We need people to fight back against evil in our cities.
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I really wish there was an edit button for posts, looks like I was drinking when I wrote that last one...
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...of Eastwood releasing two films in as many months? Was one of these sitting on the shelf for a while?
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Dec 19, 2008 10:27:05 PM CST
I'm back in CHina and founf/watched a copy last night.
by the true priapic
I really liked it.I freely admit some of the acting is certainly very 'different' in style to Clint who is absolutely terrific but I'll go out on a limb and totally disagree with the reviewer...it's not abad film at all,it's actually rather moving.I think when you get older and you look around you kind of groan at the dreadful reality of life...these fucking dreadful wankers who strut around and verbally try to make up for their lack of ability to get wood...and I'm also fucking tired of it all.The film itself shows Clint as one of these people...just tired out but not yet broken(or as the subtext tries to say not yet beyond salvation).The acting i sstrong enough to make us care so ...there!!!I haven't laughed so hard for a long time....I have and always have been a liberal minde person and when I came to China and had friends regarding themselves as 'yellow', I felt like I should 'educate' them about how un-PC that was.What a load of crap.Learn.Adapt.Learn.Enjoy.
I'm no saint but.........................SPOILERS..................SPOILERS..............sorry.......but when Clint says he's going to go off and sort out the shit at the end of the film I was actually bayiny for blood!!Guess that was the point...be better than your enemies?SPOILERS OVER...............sorry..anyway,I liked it and disagree with the review.Try living in another country.....you'll realise we're all different but incredibly similar.But saying that I fucking hate a vast majority of selfish Chinese cunts that live in this city.Never seen such selfishness.Disgusting. -
He sure did!
http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9542335 -
Why can't I get a straight answer, because if he doesn't I won't bother seeing it, but if he actually causes some bloodshed...I'm THERE.
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it will be a solid genre movie.
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should've signed off after the terrific one/two punch that he delivered in "Unforgiven" and "In The Line Of Fire". Those two performances were great commentary on when the hardass alpha male is *almost* ready to lose his status, but he hangs on for one last effort. Now he's taking his "living legend" phase a bit too far, and it's embarrasing.
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The Outlaw Josey Wales, that film is a masterpiece.
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Why do lotsa critics say that ? It's got him killing fucking bastards as Harry Callahan ( old guy version ), right ? It caps off his career right through action film ? It's more bad-ass manly and everything than sissy ass films these days ( Frank Miller. Zach Snyder. 300 ), AINT ?!? Then, SOLD !!!!!
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Changeling was at Cannes so it was in the can for a while before its release. I read that he shot Gran Torino in 32 days over summer.
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I'm white and I dated a Hmong girl in my 20's back in the 90's in Sacramento, CA, lived with her in an apartment for five years and finally moved into a spare room in her parents house for three years, after which we broke up and I got my own place, so I think I know a thing or two about the culture of the Laos hill tribe refugees, and after watching Gran Tornio last night they definitely failed by not consulting me for the making of this film. While I identified with sticking out like a sore thumb in the midst of a Hmong get together, the only part of the movie that rang true to me was when the girl, Sue, hinted that her father was abusive, because child abuse was a major part of my experience with these people, at first something I desperately rallied against, and finally had to sit back and just accept, defeated at the extent. But every other part of this movie got it wrong. In my Hmong family there was no separation between the gangsters and the smart kids, they all hung out together with their families for birthdays, BBQs, fishing at the river, and some days everyone went home or to church and other days the gangster kids would go out and get into trouble (my girlfriend's younger brother, who I spent lots of time with, was convicted of first degree murder during the time I was dating her). It was really your choice to get involved in crimes or not, though most of the boys and girls did engage in some nefarious exploits as they grew up. And the film didn't explore the depths and reasons behind the poverty, which is the real reason some Asians let their houses fall apart around them, which in my experience is due mostly to gambling. Everyone gambled, lost paycheck after paycheck in Tahoe or the Indian casinos, played lotto and they ran their own illegal gambling ring and everyone borrowed money from each other until everyone was dirt poor and there was little left. I've seen them lose cars, houses, and my girlfriend was one of the worst, and because I refused to loan money I was labeled "stingy". Another thing left out was the influence of their church, which took its tithe seriously and kept the people beholden for rescuing them from the Thai refugee camps where the US backed anti-communist forces fled after the war was abandoned. The Hmong people I knew took their church very seriously, with hymn books and Bibles in the Hmong language, but I noticed their religion became an tool of control by the community leaders and ministers, taking advantage of the poor people, taking their money, promising them a return to their home country, and separating them from American culture. But despite all that I was accepted, they let me live with them, I went to their births, birthdays, funerals, saw people grow up, go off to college, marriage, prison or just a steady job, did what I could to influence them to read and think (took them backpacking and played D&D with various kids over the years) and tried to make things better for everyone. Two things stuck out in the movie though they must be mere coincidence. I spent a lot of time fixing things in their house especially the washer and dryer, so that scene in the basement was hilarious, and when Walt asked about "Grandma" after the shooting I did a double take because that's how I always referred to my girlfriend's non-English speaking grandma. I suppose I could write a book about these experiences... I mean I even went one step further after this and ended up living in the Philippines for a while, in my now wife's house!
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Sorry Capone, I usually agree with you, but not this time. Clint is great and so is this movie. It's basically Dirty Harry in retirement. Fun stuff. Lighten up Capone! Go see this movie everyone.
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The trailer set hooks in me for some reason. I happen to live not far from where this was filmed. I like Eastwood and many of his films. This type of story is right up my alley and I'm not opposed to "twist" endings. But at the end of the day, when the lights came up, what did I think? Well, basically it just left me empty. An unfulfilled promise. Bad acting by the supporting actors? Mmmm... not that bad actually, not any worse than most movies out today. The racism? If you live in SE Michigan this isn't surprising at all. But, it just didn't deliver. It finished and my gut reaction was "that's it?" I'd give it 3 out of 10.
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"the only part of the movie that rang true to me was when the girl, Sue, hinted that her father was abusive" Uh, you can't attribute what one family does to an entire culture. I had a lot of Hmong friends in Southern California, and never saw any abuse. The Hmong families in America are as different from one another as the white families in America.
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????
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Gwt off your fucking soapbox yougoddamn hypocrite, Al Capone was a major fucking racist you stupid dipshit. Take off your Obama t shirt and stop acting like a fucking hero because you recycle. You make me want to puke. Clint Eastwood would most certainly make you his little bitch and then poop in your gaping vagina.
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Fuck you, you filthy dipshit hypocrite. Eastwoods acting was great.
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