A masterful achievement in filmmaking in 1964, Mary Poppins was a technological and cinematic marvel for Walt Disney Studios. Continue reading “Mary Poppins at 45 Still Practically Perfect in Every Way”
Category: StuffWeLike Related
All Rise! Night Court Season Two is Classic Sitcom Gold
There was a time in the history of American situation comedies where shows contained both comedy and sentiment. Where the characters were more than just joke machines for racy line-pushing jokes and sex humor. Continue reading “All Rise! Night Court Season Two is Classic Sitcom Gold”
Inkheart – More Evidence Brendan Fraser Has Given Up On Acting
Brendan Fraser is a decent actor. I’ve enjoyed him in a number of films from the wackiness of Encino Man to the drama of Gods and Monsters. But recently I’ve noticed Continue reading “Inkheart – More Evidence Brendan Fraser Has Given Up On Acting”
5 Things I Learned While Watching Gran Torino
While it wasn’t the best film I’ve ever seen, Gran Torino still manages to deliver on a strong emotional level. Yes, the acting from everyone but Clint Eastwood is not that great. And, yes, at times you may feel like you’re watching an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger sans Chuck Norris. These things may be true, but there are five other key things I learned while watching this film. Let’s explore them, shall we?
1. Old people like to greet one another with racial epithets.
Throughout the film, Eastwood’s character, Walt, uses racial slurs against the minorities in his community. But he’s an equal opportunity offender as well. He also takes great pride in verbally attacking his barber, and a friend of his at a construction site. It’s actually amusing to watch Eastwood become a 2009 version of Archie Bunker from All in the Family (ask your grandparents about this show, kids).
Honestly, I’ve never witnessed this type of behavior in the real world. I wouldn’t recommend it, and it would be best to heed that advice in these overly politically correct times.
2. Stereotypes work even when not in a film like Crash.
Ah, Crash. If there was ever a movie that exploited EVERY racial stereotype in Los Angeles, Crash would be the film. And, unknown to me, stereotypes = Oscar gold!
Much like Crash, Gran Torino offers up some fine stereotypes of its own. The three black thugs that go after the innocent Asian girl. The white guy who wants to be black. The Asian gangbangers who blast Asian gangsta rap from their car speakers. You get the picture. Oh, and even white folks get their due as we see Walt’s sons are nothing more than white yuppie scum.
Remember kids: be an original and don’t propagate stereotypes in your own actions and deeds.
3. Clint Eastwood can grumble, mumble, and say one-liners at 78 and still be a bad-ass.
Clint Eastwood, in my opinion, can do whatever the hell he wants (see #4). And in this film all he needs to do is give a look and you know he means business.
A lot of what Eastwood says in the film comes across as pithy one-liners that are pretty funny. I can see someone getting the DVD just so they can design a Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino Soundboard to prank call people with (not a suggestion).
He may be 78, but he’s still got the Dirty Harry edge to him. His role as a bitter, bigoted, curmudgeon, works because of how Eastwood plays him: simple, minimalist, and empathetic.
4. Clint Eastwood: Actor, Director, Producer…Singer??
Dirty Harry, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, Space Cowboys, etc,etc,etc,etc. Eastwood’s had a creative tie to them all. And as star, director, and producer of Gran Torino, you’d think that would be good enough. Not for Eastwood!
At the end of the film, I was in tears. The end is sad. Not Marley & Me sad, but sad. And then, the movies theme song begins. Whose voice is that coming through the speakers? It’s Clint Eastwood! Holy crap! I guess he figured that if Chuck Norris can sing the theme song to Walker, Texas Ranger (see below), he sure as hell can sing a ditty at the end of his final film as an actor.
Movie Trivia: Eastwood sang a song with Ray Charles in the 80s film Any Which Way You Can. Netflix it!
Intro to Walker, Texas Ranger as sung by Mr. Chuck Norris!
5. A movie can still be good even if the first 15-20 minutes are kind of shaky.
I wasn’t sure about the film at the start. Heavy exposition. Eastwood says little to nothing. We move over to the neighbor’s home for five minutes, but keep wondering where Eastwood is. And then it picks up. Gets better. Builds momentum, and carries you to the end. If you can be patient, your patience will pay off in the end.
I still don’t get why other critics are praising this as a Top Ten film, or why it’s being nominated for awards. Eastwood deserves a nomination as an actor. But for Best Picture? Save that for something that deserves the Oscar nod: Paul Blart – Mall Cop (just kidding).
Gran Torino earns an A. It’s Eastwood’s last acting role, so this grade’s for him! Now…get off my lawn!!
CRAZY ACTION SPORTS DOUBLE FEATURE! RAD!
Not really. Remember the good old days with games like Monster Truck Madness and Motocross Madness? Well, nowadays we get games such as Score International Baja 1000 The Official Game for the Nintendo Wii and Monster Jam: Urban Assault for the Nintendo DS. When I was handed these two games, I thought to myself, “Oh cool! Its been years since I last played a game like this!” These games took that excitement, and punched it in the throat.
Lets start with Baja 1000 for the Wii. This game was a little deceiving at first. The Activision Logo followed by the sleek menus were a fresh start, as soon as I moved my controller around, I noticed that the Wii-mote had no interactivity with it. You couldn’t point and click on the icons. Selection was all done with the analog stick or D-pad.
Oh well, lets see how it plays. Moments later, I was ready to turn it off… so I did. Here is why: THIS GAME BLOWS! Horrible graphics, horrible music, unless you love TOTALLY KILLER GUITAR RIFFS DUDE!!!!.. and horrible game play mechanics. There is no use of the Wii-mote, the game is extremely simple and short, and it plays like a shitty PS1 game. The experience all together made me mad at David for giving me such crap games.
Now, lets talk about Sex… oh man.. I wish we could… but no. Lets talk about Monster Jam: Urban Assault for the DS. SWEET DUDE! THIS GAME IS KILLER BRO!… (urp) …hm.. excuse me.. ok so, this game has a little bit more going for it than Baja 1000 did. MINI GAMES! But, these mini games are absolutely pointless and ridiculous. Monster Jam consists driving big trucks in the city. COOL! And a mini game that has you launching off of large Ski-Ball ramps. OOOOOH FUN! I played that mini game for about 5 minutes, and then I stopped. Actually, my DS died, but 5 minutes was all I need to play that mini game. With horrible 3-D environments that put the DS to shame, a horrible soundtrack, and controllers that basically consist of you holding A and pressing forward, this game can bite a big one. Oh, and not to mention that there is no use of the DS’s touch pad.
Score International Baja 1000 The Official Game on the Nintendo Wii Rating: F
Monster Jam: Urban Assault on the Nintendo DS Rating: F+
GREAT JOB ACTIVISION!!!
Transformers Season Two: In 150 Words!
Autobots battle Decepticons in an anime style world. Autobots are allied with humans and the police. Both robot parties are after the ALLSPARK. Some young girl holds the key, literally, to helping the Autobots succeed against all things evil.
Silly, uninteresting, and dull, this is a definite pass for any fans of the old-school cartoon or the Michael Bay film. While an overarching story exists throughout the entire season, it’s hard to believe kids would care at all about the issues facing the Autobots.
This is one animated series not worth the time or money. Wait for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen coming this year. You’re time and money will be better spent. I know that’s my plan.
Transformers: Animated – Season Two gets a metal bending C. ‘Cause if you bend a metal pipe, that’s the shape it makes. Or a V, but that’s not a letter grade for something.