Stars: Bee Vang, Corrinne Mica, María José Vargas Agudelo, Martin Harris, Guillermo Blanco, Jane Hammill, Michael Paul Levin, Sean R Jr. Soukkala | Written and Directed by Nicholas Bain
Voice of Shadows is a slow-moving gothic-style horror about a young man, Gabriel (Guillermo Blanco), who tries to prevent his dark past from repeating itself when his girlfriend Emma (Corrinne Mica) inherits an estate where she needs to abide by eccentric stipulations for the deal to go through.
I will say this for Voice of Shadows, writer/director Nicholas Bain knows how to craft atmosphere. This film starts off on an eerie note and things don’t get any less creepy as time goes on. Making three people visiting an old lady (early on in the film), in broad daylight, feels like three people facing off against pure evil is a remarkable feat. Unfortunately for Bain, it does feel – at times – that...
Voice of Shadows is a slow-moving gothic-style horror about a young man, Gabriel (Guillermo Blanco), who tries to prevent his dark past from repeating itself when his girlfriend Emma (Corrinne Mica) inherits an estate where she needs to abide by eccentric stipulations for the deal to go through.
I will say this for Voice of Shadows, writer/director Nicholas Bain knows how to craft atmosphere. This film starts off on an eerie note and things don’t get any less creepy as time goes on. Making three people visiting an old lady (early on in the film), in broad daylight, feels like three people facing off against pure evil is a remarkable feat. Unfortunately for Bain, it does feel – at times – that...
- 3/5/2024
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Exclusive: Bee Vang, who is best known for his role in the 2008 pic Gran Tornio, is set to lead Daric Loo’s indie horror-comedy Dark Christmas. He will join Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum Nicholas Brendon and Immortals’ Corey Sevier.
Written and directed by Loo, Dark Christmas is a horror-comedy follows Jack (Vang) and a feisty stripper Ava who are trapped inside a storage facility with a sorceress, a mage knight and a psychopath on Christmas Eve. They must save the world against a mythic demon that has been released from one of the storage units. Brendon plays Larry, a disgruntled co-worker of the storage facility while Sevier will step into the role of Bathazar, the handsome and powerful partner of the sorceress.
“I’m excited to be starring in the first Asian American horror comedy feature Dark Christmas and working with rising director Daric Loo,” Said Vang.” Jack Chang...
Written and directed by Loo, Dark Christmas is a horror-comedy follows Jack (Vang) and a feisty stripper Ava who are trapped inside a storage facility with a sorceress, a mage knight and a psychopath on Christmas Eve. They must save the world against a mythic demon that has been released from one of the storage units. Brendon plays Larry, a disgruntled co-worker of the storage facility while Sevier will step into the role of Bathazar, the handsome and powerful partner of the sorceress.
“I’m excited to be starring in the first Asian American horror comedy feature Dark Christmas and working with rising director Daric Loo,” Said Vang.” Jack Chang...
- 3/10/2021
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Actor Bee Vang is speaking out against the 2008 movie Gran Torino, his acting debut directed by his co-star, Clint Eastwood, saying the movie "mainstreamed anti-Asian racism." Vang, 29, made his comments in an NBC News opinionIessay published on Wednesday, Feb. 17. Eastwood, 90, who plays a bigoted Korea War veteran in the film, has not commented. In recent weeks, many celebs have used their social media platforms to raise awareness about the increase in harassment and violence that Asian-Americans have faced in the United States since the coronavirus pandemic broke out in March 2020. The Covid-19 virus originated in China. Vang said in his essay that he remains...
- 2/19/2021
- E! Online
Bee Vang was born in Fresno, California. He is Hmong and his parents are immigrants from Thailand. He is best known for his role in Clint Eastwood’s 2008 drama Gran Torino, a film that follows a racist Korean War veteran that develops a relationship with a Hmong family.
Gran Torino’s premise raises many red flags today, but in 2008, it was embraced. The film was critically acclaimed and was named Movie of the Year at the AFI Awards, received a Golden Globe nomination for best song and was recognized by numerous festivals and critics circles. As violence against Asians surge amidst the backdrop of a pandemic, Vang addressed the issue and revisited the problematic Gran Torino in a column he wrote for NBC News.
Gran Torino was a huge step ahead for Hmong representation in film — even though there was a wild amount of anti-Asian slurs.
“At the time, there...
Gran Torino’s premise raises many red flags today, but in 2008, it was embraced. The film was critically acclaimed and was named Movie of the Year at the AFI Awards, received a Golden Globe nomination for best song and was recognized by numerous festivals and critics circles. As violence against Asians surge amidst the backdrop of a pandemic, Vang addressed the issue and revisited the problematic Gran Torino in a column he wrote for NBC News.
Gran Torino was a huge step ahead for Hmong representation in film — even though there was a wild amount of anti-Asian slurs.
“At the time, there...
- 2/18/2021
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
“Gran Torino” actor Bee Vang published an op-ed in NBC News’ “Think” column on Wednesday criticizing the anti-Asian slurs in the 2008 movie directed by Clint Eastwood.
Playing Thao Vang Lor in the film alongside Eastwood, Vang said the lead role was a historic cinematic moment for Hmong people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group, around the world. While the story is about two people from different backgrounds that came together to form an unlikely bond, the film featured a many anti-Asian slurs.
“At the time, there was a lot of discussion about whether the movie’s slurs were insensitive and gratuitous or simply ‘harmless jokes,'” Vang wrote. “I found it unnerving, the laughter that the slurs elicited in theaters with predominantly white audiences. And it was always white people who would say, ‘Can’t you take a joke?'”
Before his role in “Gran Torino,” Vang did not have any known acting experience,...
Playing Thao Vang Lor in the film alongside Eastwood, Vang said the lead role was a historic cinematic moment for Hmong people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group, around the world. While the story is about two people from different backgrounds that came together to form an unlikely bond, the film featured a many anti-Asian slurs.
“At the time, there was a lot of discussion about whether the movie’s slurs were insensitive and gratuitous or simply ‘harmless jokes,'” Vang wrote. “I found it unnerving, the laughter that the slurs elicited in theaters with predominantly white audiences. And it was always white people who would say, ‘Can’t you take a joke?'”
Before his role in “Gran Torino,” Vang did not have any known acting experience,...
- 2/18/2021
- by Antonio Ferme
- Variety Film + TV
Over 13 years after Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino” opened in theaters and became a box office sensation ($148 million in the U.S. and $269 million worldwide), cast member Bee Vang has come forward to criticize the film for mainstreaming anti-Asian racism in America. Vang starred in the film as Thao Vang Lor, a young Hmong teenager who befriends his elderly racist neighbor (portrayed by Eastwood). While Vang credits “Gran Torino” for heightening Asian representation on screen, he writes it came at the expense of also heightening anti-Asia racism.
“Back in 2008 I starred opposite Clint Eastwood in ‘Gran Torino’ playing the lead Hmong role in a tale of two people transcending their differences to form an unlikely human bond,” Vang writes in an essay published by NBC News. “It was a historic cinematic moment for Hmong people around the world, despite its copious anti-Asian slurs.”
Vang continues, “At the time, there was...
“Back in 2008 I starred opposite Clint Eastwood in ‘Gran Torino’ playing the lead Hmong role in a tale of two people transcending their differences to form an unlikely human bond,” Vang writes in an essay published by NBC News. “It was a historic cinematic moment for Hmong people around the world, despite its copious anti-Asian slurs.”
Vang continues, “At the time, there was...
- 2/18/2021
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Eduardo Minett is set to make his English-language feature film debut co-starring opposite Clint Eastwood in Warner Bros’ Cry Macho, which Eastwood will also direct. Natalia Traven, Dwight Yoakam, Horacio Garcia Rojas and Fernanda Urrejola are also on board. Eastwood has shown a knack for finding fresh new talent to share the screen with over the years including his 2008 drama Gran Torino, when he tapped newcomer Bee Vang as his co-star.
Al Ruddy and Jessica Meier are producing, along with Tim Moore and Eastwood at Malpaso. The production is currently wrapping filming in New Mexico.
Based on the underlying book written by N. Richard Nash and a screenplay written by Nash and Nick Schenk, Cry Macho stars Eastwood as a one-time rodeo star and washed-up horse breeder who, in 1978, takes a job from an ex-boss to bring the man’s young son home and away from his alcoholic mom.
Al Ruddy and Jessica Meier are producing, along with Tim Moore and Eastwood at Malpaso. The production is currently wrapping filming in New Mexico.
Based on the underlying book written by N. Richard Nash and a screenplay written by Nash and Nick Schenk, Cry Macho stars Eastwood as a one-time rodeo star and washed-up horse breeder who, in 1978, takes a job from an ex-boss to bring the man’s young son home and away from his alcoholic mom.
- 12/17/2020
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Amy Hill packed her bags in Hollywood and returned home to her family in Hawaii, thinking she would quarantine there. But the actor-comedian’s short-lived break from production came to an end with a surprise Zoom call in April.
Hill, 67, stars in director Quentin Lee’s sci-fi feature “Comisery” as a Japanese American psychiatrist based in, ironically, Hawaii. Having previously collaborated with Lee in the webseries “Comedy InvAsian,” she didn’t hesitate to sign on to be the lead in an experimental project filmed entirely over Zoom.
“I’ve played a psychiatrist, therapist before, so the challenge, for me, was figuring out how this is a different character than the ones I’ve played before,” the veteran actor tells Variety. “Now that I’m getting older, my time is more valuable, because I have fewer moments left in life. So I don...
Hill, 67, stars in director Quentin Lee’s sci-fi feature “Comisery” as a Japanese American psychiatrist based in, ironically, Hawaii. Having previously collaborated with Lee in the webseries “Comedy InvAsian,” she didn’t hesitate to sign on to be the lead in an experimental project filmed entirely over Zoom.
“I’ve played a psychiatrist, therapist before, so the challenge, for me, was figuring out how this is a different character than the ones I’ve played before,” the veteran actor tells Variety. “Now that I’m getting older, my time is more valuable, because I have fewer moments left in life. So I don...
- 9/1/2020
- by Janet W. Lee
- Variety Film + TV
Sky Movies HD have got quite a good season coming up called ‘Movies You Never Got Around To Watching But Always Wanted To See’ and this sort of thing is perfect for people who aren’t sure what movies they should watch.
Their week of films starts Monday 11th Oct – Sunday 17th Oct and includes classic and groundbreaking movies like Jurassic Park, Jaws, Cool Hand Luke and Dead Poets Society.
Have a look at the list below including the date and time it will air and I’ve given trailers for each movie, when it’s on TV and some of my favourite clips for some of the movies too.
———————————–
Mon 11th 5.45pm Dead Poets Society
Director: Peter Weir
Cast: Robin Williams, Ethan Hawke, Welker White, Robert Sean Leonard, Josh Charles
Synopsis: Set in an exclusive boys preparatory school in 1959, a newly appointed English teacher uses unconventional techniques to inspire his students in classic poetry.
Their week of films starts Monday 11th Oct – Sunday 17th Oct and includes classic and groundbreaking movies like Jurassic Park, Jaws, Cool Hand Luke and Dead Poets Society.
Have a look at the list below including the date and time it will air and I’ve given trailers for each movie, when it’s on TV and some of my favourite clips for some of the movies too.
———————————–
Mon 11th 5.45pm Dead Poets Society
Director: Peter Weir
Cast: Robin Williams, Ethan Hawke, Welker White, Robert Sean Leonard, Josh Charles
Synopsis: Set in an exclusive boys preparatory school in 1959, a newly appointed English teacher uses unconventional techniques to inspire his students in classic poetry.
- 9/29/2010
- by David Sztypuljak
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Earlier this year, I talked about how fun it would be to see a "Dynamo 5" movie come to the big screen. For the uninitiated, Jay Faerber and Mahmud Asrar's Image series tells the story of a group of five estranged siblings coming together as heroes under the tutelage of their super-father's bitter widow to form the titular Dynamo 5. It's easily one of the most compelling reads on comic book stands today and would undoubtedly make for a dynamite movie. (See what I did there?)
That said, casting a "Dynamo 5" is no easy feat. With such a young cast, the majority of the players in a "Dynamo 5" adaptation aren't likely to have big name recognition. Still, there are plenty of actors working today that could fulfill the main roles of "Dynamo 5" with ease.
After the jump, check out my picks for who could star in a "Dynamo 5" adaptation!
Kellan Lutz as...
That said, casting a "Dynamo 5" is no easy feat. With such a young cast, the majority of the players in a "Dynamo 5" adaptation aren't likely to have big name recognition. Still, there are plenty of actors working today that could fulfill the main roles of "Dynamo 5" with ease.
After the jump, check out my picks for who could star in a "Dynamo 5" adaptation!
Kellan Lutz as...
- 5/27/2010
- by Josh Wigler
- MTV Splash Page
Chicago – Is it coincidental that Clint Eastwood’s beloved and uber-manly “Gran Torino” is hitting Blu-Ray and DVD just in time for shoppers looking for a great Father’s Day gift? Of course not. No one knows marketing like Warner Brothers and the well-timed and transferred “Gran Torino” should satisfy many a proud pop this season.
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0 I’m a huge Clint Eastwood fan as an actor and director. “Mystic River”, “Million Dollar Baby”, “Unforgiven,” and “Letters From Iwo Jima” are some of the best films of the last twenty years. But he’s not perfect and when I saw “Gran Torino” in theaters, I thought it fell much closer to missteps like “Space Cowboys” and “Pink Cadillac” than his best.
Gran Torino was released on Blu-Ray on June 9th, 2009.
Photo credit: WB Watching it again on a very well-transferred Blu-Ray release and after months of near-glowing praise, I...
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0 I’m a huge Clint Eastwood fan as an actor and director. “Mystic River”, “Million Dollar Baby”, “Unforgiven,” and “Letters From Iwo Jima” are some of the best films of the last twenty years. But he’s not perfect and when I saw “Gran Torino” in theaters, I thought it fell much closer to missteps like “Space Cowboys” and “Pink Cadillac” than his best.
Gran Torino was released on Blu-Ray on June 9th, 2009.
Photo credit: WB Watching it again on a very well-transferred Blu-Ray release and after months of near-glowing praise, I...
- 6/18/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
When I was in elementary school one of my classmates used to make fun of my best friend. She always seemed made of steel; it never seemed to bother her when he would berate her for her Taiwanese identity. She wasn’t the only Asian girl in our class, yet he had it out for her. He would call her names and pull his eyes at the corners. She’d walk away and I’d follow. I never stood up for her though—I didn’t know I was supposed to. We were 10 years old.
After years of this, on a day she felt safe, she told him how it made her feel. She cried, telling him how sad she was when she left school on the days he was meanest. He, nor I, had any idea. The day she told him it was a huge weight lifted off her.
After years of this, on a day she felt safe, she told him how it made her feel. She cried, telling him how sad she was when she left school on the days he was meanest. He, nor I, had any idea. The day she told him it was a huge weight lifted off her.
- 6/12/2009
- by Erin Burris
- JustPressPlay.net
If you are an Asian reading this review (or any minority, just replace the slurs) I can only wonder how many times it would take for an ignorant old Korean War vet calling you a "gook" or a "slope" before you either punched him in the face or asked him to never speak to you again.
Gran Torino presents such a man as Clint Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, an old school war vet who has seen the neighbors he once knew either move or die away and have since been replaced by a more diverse group of families. Living next door is a family of Hmong immigrants who bring to the surface Walt's prejudice only to be outdone by the Asian, African American and Latino gang-bangers now roaming the streets.
Of course, this doesn't sit well with Walt and neither does a foiled attempt by Thao (Bee Vang), the young boy living next door,...
Gran Torino presents such a man as Clint Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, an old school war vet who has seen the neighbors he once knew either move or die away and have since been replaced by a more diverse group of families. Living next door is a family of Hmong immigrants who bring to the surface Walt's prejudice only to be outdone by the Asian, African American and Latino gang-bangers now roaming the streets.
Of course, this doesn't sit well with Walt and neither does a foiled attempt by Thao (Bee Vang), the young boy living next door,...
- 3/13/2009
- by mihirkula
- India.com
Seen on: January 10, 2009
The players: Director: Clint Eastwood, Writer: Nick Schenk, Cast: Clint Eastwood, Ahney Her, Brian Haley, Bee Vang
Facts of interest: The song "Gran Torino" was nominated for a Golden Globe.
The plot: A stubborn Korean War vet (Eastwood) forms an unlikely bond with a Hmong teenager who lives next door.
Our thoughts: “Gran Torino” is a powerful, utterly intriguing and highly entertaining movie. It’s a fantastic effort by Clint Eastwood the director, and it boasts a marvelous performance by Clint Eastwood the actor. My dear readers, this is just the kind of movie that captivates you right away and won’t let go of you until the very end. As you can already tell, I really enjoyed this one.
The players: Director: Clint Eastwood, Writer: Nick Schenk, Cast: Clint Eastwood, Ahney Her, Brian Haley, Bee Vang
Facts of interest: The song "Gran Torino" was nominated for a Golden Globe.
The plot: A stubborn Korean War vet (Eastwood) forms an unlikely bond with a Hmong teenager who lives next door.
Our thoughts: “Gran Torino” is a powerful, utterly intriguing and highly entertaining movie. It’s a fantastic effort by Clint Eastwood the director, and it boasts a marvelous performance by Clint Eastwood the actor. My dear readers, this is just the kind of movie that captivates you right away and won’t let go of you until the very end. As you can already tell, I really enjoyed this one.
- 1/12/2009
- by Franck Tabouring
- screeninglog.com
Quickcard Review Gran Torino Directed by: Clint Eastwood Cast: Clint Eastwood, Sue Lor, Bee Vang Running Time: 2 hrs Rating: R Click Here to read Allen's complete Scorecard Review Plot: Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) just lost his wife, and now the Korean war veteran is knee-deep in "old curmudgeon" mode. He helps out his Hmong neighbors and becomes a sort-of father figure as they try to escape the violence of a local gang. Who’s It For? Eastwood fans will flock and bow down to this performance. And by the crowd's reaction to this film, I am guessing most people will think it's a comedy. Eastwood really plays up his persona to please fans here. Overall If you take Eastwood out of this film it's some of the worst acting I have seen all year. But that's the thing: you can't...
- 1/9/2009
- The Scorecard Review
Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood), Thao (Bee Vang), Vu (Brooke Chia Thao), Grandma (Chee Thao) and Sue (Ahney Her) in Gran Torino
Photo: Warner Bros. If you are an Asian reading this review (or any minority, just replace the slurs) I can only wonder how many times it would take for an ignorant old Korean War vet calling you a "gook" or a "slope" before you either punched him in the face or asked him to never speak to you again. Gran Torino presents such a man as Clint Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, an old school war vet who has seen the neighbors he once knew either move or die away and have since been replaced by a more diverse group of families. Living next door is a family of Hmong immigrants who bring to the surface Walt's prejudice only to be outdone by the Asian, African American and Latino gang-bangers now roaming the streets.
Photo: Warner Bros. If you are an Asian reading this review (or any minority, just replace the slurs) I can only wonder how many times it would take for an ignorant old Korean War vet calling you a "gook" or a "slope" before you either punched him in the face or asked him to never speak to you again. Gran Torino presents such a man as Clint Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, an old school war vet who has seen the neighbors he once knew either move or die away and have since been replaced by a more diverse group of families. Living next door is a family of Hmong immigrants who bring to the surface Walt's prejudice only to be outdone by the Asian, African American and Latino gang-bangers now roaming the streets.
- 12/25/2008
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Unlike its title might suggest, Gran Torino isn’t a racing movie, nor is it in any way about cars. The title refers to the prized object that serves as the film’s plot device: a mint condition 1972 Ford Gran Torino owned by Clint Eastwood’s growling Korean War veteran character Walt Kowalski. Like its namesake, the film evokes a feel that is retro and timeless at the same time. It’s an old school—perhaps even old fashioned—take on gang issues and race relations in the ghetto.Honestly, I expected this film to be all kinds of idiotic, with perhaps some unintentionally hilarious scenes to entertain. The premise certainly does nothing to deter that thought, but it ended up being an admirably brave look at America and its forgotten citizens (Kowalski himself is shunned by his mainstream upper-middle-class American family). When it comes to dealing with the marriage between racism and political correctness,...
- 12/25/2008
- by Arya Ponto
- JustPressPlay.net
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang Director: Clint Eastwood Release Date: December 12, 2008 (limited) Running Time: 116 mins MPAA Rating: R Distributors: Warner Bros. - - - They don’t make them like this anymore. No, we’re not talking about the 1972 Ford Gran Torino but the movie itself that takes the name of the prized car. Hollywood doesn’t make films anymore like Clint Eastwood’s latest Gran Torino because no one could do what he does so naturally; he’s mean and content with being that way. He stars in a role that he would have eaten up back in his hay day. Of course Hollywood doesn’t produce any stars that could handle Eastwood’s demeanor now. All of this is the answer to why films like this don’t get made. Eastwood directing and starring gives the film a roughness and truthfulness to it that has only...
- 12/24/2008
- The Movie Fanatic
Gran Torino
Starring Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, and Ahney Her
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Rated R
For my money, Clint Eastwood's best performance is in Million Dollar Baby. There are more powerful, more commanding roles in his history, but none of them had the complexity of his most recent on screen work, delivered when Eastwood was 74 years old.
Eastwood's funniest performance, at least since the oft-forgotten war movie Kelly's Heroes back in the early 1970s, comes at age 78 in Gran Torino, a bit strange since this film is not particularly a comedy, at least not from start to finish.
Torino as a whole doesn't live up to the curmudgeonly Walt Kowalski, a retired Korean War veteran trying to stay grounded in a world flying by him, primarily because Eastwood's performance is the only one that even rises above average.
Kowalski has just buried his wife, and for the first...
Starring Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, and Ahney Her
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Rated R
For my money, Clint Eastwood's best performance is in Million Dollar Baby. There are more powerful, more commanding roles in his history, but none of them had the complexity of his most recent on screen work, delivered when Eastwood was 74 years old.
Eastwood's funniest performance, at least since the oft-forgotten war movie Kelly's Heroes back in the early 1970s, comes at age 78 in Gran Torino, a bit strange since this film is not particularly a comedy, at least not from start to finish.
Torino as a whole doesn't live up to the curmudgeonly Walt Kowalski, a retired Korean War veteran trying to stay grounded in a world flying by him, primarily because Eastwood's performance is the only one that even rises above average.
Kowalski has just buried his wife, and for the first...
- 12/23/2008
- by Colin Boyd
- GetTheBigPicture.net
I caught up with Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino at Robert DeNiro's Tribeca Screening Room in New York the other night. I have to admit I was optimistic, given the fine reviews the movie has received. While in production, it didn't sound very promising. The title alone is rather vague with its bland reference to a 1972 car, which I learned to drive in (Not very well at the time, which may have explained my skepticism). However, Eastwood is a master at surprising the audience. Million Dollar Baby came out of nowhere with no fanfare and a title that made it sound like an old Busby Berkeley musical. Yet, it received universal critical acclaim and won the major Oscars that year. Gran Torino is a similar experience. Shot in a little over a month with very little publicity, this is the film that lured Eastwood back to acting after stating...
- 12/21/2008
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
While I can appreciate Clint Eastwood’s talent as a filmmaker, I’ve never been a big fan of his films. I enjoy the Dirty Harry series and dig his westerns, but his recent directorial efforts, such as Flags of Our Fathers, Million Dollar Baby and Mystic River, never did anything for me. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed his latest, Gran Torino, and can safely say, thanks to a great script and an entertaining performance from Eastwood – it’s one of the best films of 2008. Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a retired auto worker and disgruntled Korean War veteran who isn’t a fan of many things, mainly his new neighbors, Hmong immigrants from South East Asia. Walt’s wife has just passed away which means he has to deal with his two sons, who he isn’t close with, and a persistent Priest (Christopher Carley), who wants Walt to come to confession.
- 12/20/2008
- by James Cook
- TheMovingPicture.net
Chicago – With his second film in just a few months, Clint Eastwood makes one of his biggest missteps of his illustrious career as one of the more esteemed American directors in the history of the medium. Eastwood has made some undeniable masterpieces - “Mystic River”, “Million Dollar Baby”, “Unforgiven” - but he has been far from perfect, misfiring wildly with films like “Space Cowboys”, “The Rookie”, and “Pink Cadillac”. “Gran Torino” falls much closer to the latter category on Clint’s spectrum than the former.
Rating: 2.0/5.0 Eastwood stars in “Gran Torino” as Walt Kowalski, a bitter, cranky, snarling old man, who is mean to his priest, vicious to his family, and racist to everyone in his increasingly ethnic neighborhood. Walt could be Clint’s iconic ‘Dirty Harry’ character a few years down the road from when we last saw him and a bit more racist. (In fact, there were rumors...
Rating: 2.0/5.0 Eastwood stars in “Gran Torino” as Walt Kowalski, a bitter, cranky, snarling old man, who is mean to his priest, vicious to his family, and racist to everyone in his increasingly ethnic neighborhood. Walt could be Clint’s iconic ‘Dirty Harry’ character a few years down the road from when we last saw him and a bit more racist. (In fact, there were rumors...
- 12/19/2008
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Gran Torino Directed by: Clint Eastwood Cast: Clint Eastwood, Sue Lor, Bee Vang Running Time: 2 hrs Rating: R Plot: A retired and newly widowed Korean war veteran becomes a grand father-figure to two neighboring Hmong teenagers trying to escape the violence of a local gang. Who’s It For? Fans of Eastwood's magnetism need to see this. The film's genuine quality is open to anyone, particularly those who want to feel refreshed by an award worthy experience that isn't adapted from some previous literary form. Expectations: Less than a year ago, the title Gran Torino was rumored to be that of a new Dirty Harry sequel. But when a trailer for this film was finally released, it appeared this film would be something more important. Scorecard (0-10) Actors: Clint Eastwood as Walt Kowalski: Is this character the penultimate of Eastwood?...
- 12/19/2008
- The Scorecard Review
Gran Torino is like its main character, a stiff bastard you can’t get much out of, but you’re intrigued by nonetheless. It isn’t a great film, but it’s worth a single look, especially for fans of Clint Eastwood.
As a producer and director, Eastwood has created a small film in size, but with a big message of acceptance in a changing country. As an actor, he carries this film with a strong performance as the hard-nosed widower, Walt. At 78-years-old Eastwood still is a dominating presence on screen, a living legend returning to acting for possibly his final role. With a slew of humorous one-liners, it’s as if Dirty Harry is back again, just now incredibly racist.
In the opening scene, Walt stands stone faced in a church next to the coffin of his wife. He doesn’t shed a tear for his lost spouse,...
As a producer and director, Eastwood has created a small film in size, but with a big message of acceptance in a changing country. As an actor, he carries this film with a strong performance as the hard-nosed widower, Walt. At 78-years-old Eastwood still is a dominating presence on screen, a living legend returning to acting for possibly his final role. With a slew of humorous one-liners, it’s as if Dirty Harry is back again, just now incredibly racist.
In the opening scene, Walt stands stone faced in a church next to the coffin of his wife. He doesn’t shed a tear for his lost spouse,...
- 12/19/2008
- by Jeff Leins
- newsinfilm.com
Release Date: Dec. 12 (limited), Jan. 9
Director: Clint Eastwood
Writer: Nick Schenk (screenplay), Dave Johannson 7 Nick Schenk (story)
Cinematographer: Tom Stern
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Ahney Her, Bee Vang
Studio/Run Time: Warner Bros., 116 mins.
Since 2003 Director Clint Eastwood has had a late-career renaissance comparable perhaps only to Phillip Roth’s in literature. Both are recently concerned with how America has delivered—and failed to deliver—on the promise of equality and the American Dream, as well as issues of race and dealing with their own respective deaths. With Gran Torino, Eastwood puts out a brilliant work that balances all of these issues beautifully without coming to terms with any of them or giving easy answers.
Director: Clint Eastwood
Writer: Nick Schenk (screenplay), Dave Johannson 7 Nick Schenk (story)
Cinematographer: Tom Stern
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Ahney Her, Bee Vang
Studio/Run Time: Warner Bros., 116 mins.
Since 2003 Director Clint Eastwood has had a late-career renaissance comparable perhaps only to Phillip Roth’s in literature. Both are recently concerned with how America has delivered—and failed to deliver—on the promise of equality and the American Dream, as well as issues of race and dealing with their own respective deaths. With Gran Torino, Eastwood puts out a brilliant work that balances all of these issues beautifully without coming to terms with any of them or giving easy answers.
- 12/18/2008
- Pastemagazine.com
Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is a son of a bitch, and a particularly racist one at that. Having just endured his wife's funeral, Walt wants only to scowl and growl in solitude, left alone to simmer and seethe over past Korean War traumas and at the proliferation of Asian "swamp rats" and "zipperheads" who've infiltrated his Michigan community. But no, instead he's forced to suffer the grating company of his two idiot sons - the younger one even sells Japanese cars, which Walt, a lifetime Detroit car factory employee, takes as a direct insult - and their selfish, disrespectful kids, one of whom shows up to the services in a football jersey and another decked out in a midriff that reveals a belly button ring. Pesky, no good brats - grrrr. And then, once those blood-related twits have finally left him to his own grumpy devices, his tranquil, solitary existence is rudely interrupted by quiet,...
- 12/12/2008
- by Nick Schager
- Cinematical
A couple of TV spots for Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino are now online and ready for you to check out below. Eastwood directed the film and stars as Walt Kowalski, a disgruntled Korean War vet who sets out to reform his neighbor, a young Hmong teenager who tried to steal his prized possession, a 1972 Gran Torino. Opening in limited release December 12, Gran Torino also stars Geraldine Hughes, Brian Haley, Doua Moua Brian Howe and Bee Vang.
- 12/1/2008
- by James Cook
- TheMovingPicture.net
The first trailer to Warner Bros. Pictures action drama movie, "Gran Torino" has come out. More than two-minute long, it gives a clear introduction about Clint Eastwood's character, Walt Kowalski. Described to be a racist Korean War veteran who holds his value and belief tightly, he is forced to rethink about his prejudices towards the others after forcing an Asian-American gang to get off of his lawn one night.
Marking Eastwood's first film role since his performance in "Million Dollar Baby", "Torino" is a movie with "never too late to learn a life lesson" plot. It focuses its story on a disgruntled Korean War veteran who sets out to reform his neighbor after catching a young Hmong teenager red-handed trying to steal his prized possession, a 1972 Gran Torino.
Directed by Eastwood, the movie is also supported by Bee Vang, Brian Haley, Cory Hardrict, Brian Howe and many others. The...
Marking Eastwood's first film role since his performance in "Million Dollar Baby", "Torino" is a movie with "never too late to learn a life lesson" plot. It focuses its story on a disgruntled Korean War veteran who sets out to reform his neighbor after catching a young Hmong teenager red-handed trying to steal his prized possession, a 1972 Gran Torino.
Directed by Eastwood, the movie is also supported by Bee Vang, Brian Haley, Cory Hardrict, Brian Howe and many others. The...
- 10/25/2008
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Clint Eastwood conitnues to be one of the most prolific senior citizens in Hollywood. His film The Changeling hasn't even been released yet, and already hype has started building around his next directorial effort, in which he plays the lead as well, called Gran Torino. In it he plays Walt Kowalski, a disgruntled racist Korean War vet who attempts to reform his neighbor, a young Hmong immigrant teenage neighbor (introducing Bee Vang), who, as part of a gang initiation, tried to steal...
- 10/23/2008
- by Daniel Barna
- JoBlo.com
Warner Bros has finally started marketing Clint Eastwood’s new action drama Gran Torino. In the film, Eastwood plays a disgruntled racist Korean War vet named Walt Kowalski, who sets out to reform his neighbor, a young Hmong immigrant teenage neighbor played by newcomer Bee Vang, who, as part of a gang initiation, tried to steal Kowalski’s prized possession: his 1972 Gran Torino. Walt ends up confronting prejudices that have isolated him.
Eastwood had this to say about the movie he made. He also said this might be his last film as a director.
“He worked on the line in the Ford plant and retired and had this one car he bought himself. It’s sort of a symbol of his days with the Ford plant. The M-1 is sort of a symbol of his days in the military. … He’s clinging to the memory of the war. You’ll...
Eastwood had this to say about the movie he made. He also said this might be his last film as a director.
“He worked on the line in the Ford plant and retired and had this one car he bought himself. It’s sort of a symbol of his days with the Ford plant. The M-1 is sort of a symbol of his days in the military. … He’s clinging to the memory of the war. You’ll...
- 10/23/2008
- by John
- ReelSuave.com
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