Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino - REVIEW

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her

Released: 27th Februaury 2009

Make no mistake about it, Clint Eastwood is not fading into obscurity like many of Hollywoods fallen icons. A badass from back in the day who has gained more and more critical acclaim the further his career has progressed, Eastwood is loved for iconic acting in the likes of Dirty Harry and magnificent directing in the award lavished Million Dollar Baby. With that in mind Gran Torino has a lot to live up to and luckily it doesnt disappoint.

Clint plays Walt Kowalski, a war veteran who despises his family almost as much as the Hmong family who live next door. His wife having just passed away, Walt finds himself alone and disgruntled but after an incounter with a neighbourhood gang, Walt finds himself befriended by the family next door, whether he likes it or not. The tone of Gran Torino is what makes it most gripping. The premisis of the film is that Clint Eastwoods car proves the magnet that brings all the characters together, but this is the biggest maguffin of the film with the relationship between Walt and the young boy Thao the driving force of the film as Thao learns about being a man in modern society and Walt learns to accept and appreciate the place of those different from himself.

Clint's on top form as Kowalski, his grouchey racist slurs and tough skin genuinely make him believable as a war veteran set in his ways, unable to accept multi cultural society due to what haunts him from his past. This is Eastwoods film , he steals the show and when the film comes to its climax it would be very hard to say you have not identified with his character somebody you know like Kowalski. This is not to say the film is flawless, the young boy Thao is played by Bee Vang with as much acting depth as the planks of wood Walt has him lugging around the front yard. He seems unable to convey emotion that is believable to the audience making it hard to connect with him which is a shame as the relationship between he and Walt is one of the driving components of the narrative. Further more, after a long build up the ending feels a little disappointing and the final shot of the movie is extremely cliched, despite Eastwoods raspy voice signing to the films closing credits.

These are minor quibles in the end though that for most will not take away the enjoyment of the film. Some audience members seemed to feel awkward by the racist comments made by Walt in parts of the film where the comments are designed to envoke a comedic response, no doubt asking themselves should i be laughing at this ? This is deliberate by Eastwood as a comment on political correctness of modern society and how his generation still view the world, made evident by his insistence on calling the young boy "Toad" until he learns to appreciate him and begin calling him by his real name. Eastwood told GMTV "whatever ethnic, religious groups they were. Everybody would joke about it and everybody got along just fine," he said. "But then we've come to this now where everybody has to be walking on eggshells - kind of very... sensitive". The film has touching moments that deal with conflicting views of life and death, as well as very funny moments and intensely disturbing and emotional scenes. Gran Torino takes the audience member through every emotion you could possibly feel watching a film, and its this that makes Eastwood's Walt so tragically loveable.

Whilst it has its low points, Gran Torino is a flawed Masterpiece. It makes a strong comment on political correctness and the need for acceptance of others in modern society, but also the equally important yet less advertised argument of respect and decline of values that seem to become more and more diluted as generations continue. Eastwood gives a wonderful performance to rival any of his other iconic characters throughout his illustrious career and on the whole the rest of the supporting cast are just aswell played, with the exception of Thao. Eastwood proves he can still kick ass, and even more impressivly, he proves once again that he is capable of stunning the audience from both sides of the camera.

Action Flicks Rating : 9/10

Anton Yelchin to play DC Superhero Green Lantern ???

Rumours are circulating today that the up and coming Green Lantern adaptation from Casino Royale director Martin Campbell has finally found a leading man.

The latest favourite is Anton Yelchin, a suprise front runner, who is set to play key roles in Terminator Salvation and JJ Abrams Star Trek.

Warner Bros are keen to tie up a deal soon as they want to release the film on December 17th 2010.

Do you think Yelchin makes a good Lantern or is there another actor you would like to see instead? Add a comment.

JJ Abrams and Brett Ratner's Superman - Concept Art

Turns out that the failed JJ Abrams and Brett Ratner's Superman film that was never made came a lot closer to being a reality than first thought. Concept art designed for the film has been released on the web showing Superman against a large foe unseen in any Superman film before. Whether the film will one day be made remains to be seen but for now it looks as if this is the closest we will get to seeing the lost creator and rush hour director take on the man of steel.

Click image below to view the full size





what do you think ? does this look like it would make a good Superman movie ?

Samuel L Jackson IS NICK FURY - Signed and Sealed

Marvel has signed a deal with Samuel L Jackson to play the role of Nick Fury in nine future Marvel films, including "Iron Man 2," "Captain America," "Thor," The Avengers" as well as potential sequels.

Also on the table is the possibility of toplining a "S.H.I.E.L.D." movie about the espionage unit mentioned in "Iron Man".

Contracts were believed to have stalled wen Jackson promoting another film revealed he may not be returning as the character but it would appear either he has taken a pay cut or more likey the studio has buckled and splashed the cash. Are we happy to see Jackson continue in the role as Fury ???

Jason Statham's Crank 2 - Brand New UK International TRAILER

Starring : Jason Statham
Released : April 17th 2009

Exclusive footage of the Biggest Movies of 2009 inc Sherlock Holmes and Public Enemies

When the Oscars came to a close last night a three minute segment was shown that included footage of some of the best films to look forward to in the next calender year. the footage shows brief clips from

* Sherlock Holmes (First Look)
* Funny People
* Taking of Pelham 123
* Public Enemies (First Look)
* Julia & Julia (First Look)
* The Soloist
* Up
* Fame (First Look)
* Terminator Salvation
* 500 Days of Summer
* Amelia (First Look)
* Whatever Works (First Look)
* Inglourious Basterds
* Night at the Museum 2
* Monsters vs Aliens
* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
* Angels & Demons
* Old Dogs (First Look)
* Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
* The Boat that Rocked
* An Education (First Look)
* State of Play
* Imagine That
* G-Force

Which was your favourite and which ones are you looking forward to ????

Arnold Schwarzenegger Confirms Cameo Star role in The Expendables

The governor of california who has also agreed for his likeness to be used in a Terminator 4 cameo has admitted he will guest star in his buddy Sylvester Stallones much anticipated big gun action flick.

The Oscars 2009 - full results list and watch the best picture award VIDEO

The predictions list posted around the internet proved to be wrong as the Oscars were given out yesterday. The winners were

Picture: "Slumdog Millionaire"

Actor: Sean Penn, "Milk"

Actress: Kate Winslet, "The Reader"

Director: Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"

Foreign-Language Film: "Departures," Japan

Original Song: "Slumdog Millionaire"

Original Score: "Slumdog Millionaire"

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Jerry Lewis


Film Editing: "Slumdog Millionaire"

Sound Mixing: "Slumdog Millionaire"

Sound Editing: "The Dark Knight"

Visual Effects: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Documentary, Short Subject: "Smile Pinki"

Documentary Feature: "Man on Wire"

Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"

Short Film: "Spielzeugland"

Makeup: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Costume: "The Duchess"

Art Direction: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Animated Short Film: "La Maison en Petits Cubes"

Animated Feature: "WALL-E"

Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire"

Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"

Supporting Actress: Penélope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

Heath Ledger wins best supporting actor at Oscars 2009

The star of the dark knight picked up a much totuted posthumous oscar for his role as the joker.

Underworld 3 Rise of the Lycans - REVIEW

The first thing that is strikingly evident in Underworld 3 is the loss of leading lady Kate Beckinsale. I did not go into this film with high hopes as often when a sequel or prequel loses its main actor or actress the fundamental componenet of what made the films preceeding the one being viewed is often lost. Suprisingly the film manages to sidestep this massive error in judgement thanks to the number of other key players that do return and the clever idea to revolve the story arc around them rather than try to replace Beckinsale.

With Rhona Mitra's Sonja playing like a poor impression of Selene, it is not suprising the prequel option was chosen ahead of a watered down sequel. However, fans of the first two films may feel a little dissapointed as not much is really revealed or achieved that hasnt been seen before. In the first Underworld film a flashback is shown of what happend to Victor's daughter Sonja, this is basically a dragged out 1 hour and thirty minute extension of that flashback.

On the other hand, some of the sheer brutality and gore present will be enough to appease adrenaline junkies. The action sequences are impressive and whilst the acting talent on display seems like butter spread across too much bread compared to the depth of characters at disposal of the first two films, the smaller budget has in no way impared the visually glorious vampires and lycans. The quality of the cgi and animations is as good if not better than the films that preceed it. All in all Underworld 3 does not feel like a true sequel but it does showcase exactly how a prequel with a smaller budget can still make an entertaining film that will not disgruntle fans.

The film never feels on the same scale as the Beckinsale franchise, the begining of the war that is mentioned so vigourousy in 1 and Evolution is a little damp compared to the likes of the Lord of the Rings grand battles. But its saving grace is Michael Sheen who reprises his role as Lucien and plays the role with as much tragic grace and agony that he provides the audience with a reason to care about the events unfolding on screen.

As Part of the Underwold franchise this is the poorest installment, on the other hand when treated as a seperate entity it is an extremely enjoyable and bloodthirsty flick. Despite some odd exclusions (Selene becoming a vampire ? Kraven ?) most of the backstroy before Underworld one is covered suitably. The film plays out and the audience will be left quite content until the very final 30 seconds which prove the films downfall. Showing regurgitated footage of Kate Beckinsale as a leather clad Selene before the credits hit does not give fans a smile, it reminds them even though the past hour and a half has been enjoyable its not a patch on what came before it.

Action Flicks Rating : 6/ 10