Gran Torino (2008)

Director: Clint Eastwood

Writers: Nick Schenk, Dave Johannson

Composer: Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, Brian Haley, Geraldine Hughes, Dreama Walker, Brian Howe, John Carroll Lynch, William Hill, Brooke Chia Thao, chee Thao, Choua Kue, Scott Eastwood, Xia Soua Chang

More info: IMDb

Plot: Disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, a Hmong teenager who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? Nah.

This has been on my watch list since it came out several years ago and I'm just now getting around to it.  I don't know why I waited so long...it's really good.  I wasn't digging on Walt's (Eastwood) snarling, growling and over acting the meanness in the first half of the picture but he eventually loses most of that and becomes less of a cartoon character as the film progresses.  The two hour running time feels a little long but I can't think of anything in the picture that I would remove because it all works very nicely.  Without spoiling it, the ending is great but not in the way you might think.  I was surprised.  It's a great character study.  Wait, it's a fun character study.  There's nothing all that inventive here and it does play pretty much by the numbers but it's enjoyable and the cast makes this a gas to watch.  I wish I had Walt's neighbors.  As it is, I hardly know anyone in my neighborhood and I have a large family of Vietnamese two doors down that I don't know at all. I should fix that.