tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post1285246676191960406..comments2024-03-12T12:38:23.542-04:00Comments on The Kind of Face You Hate: That Old Hag Hates My Assbill r.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-53954687813034091582009-01-26T15:18:00.000-05:002009-01-26T15:18:00.000-05:00Thank you very much, Fox.The slurs probably are ov...Thank you very much, Fox.<BR/><BR/>The slurs probably are overdone, but what would pulling back on them have done? Made him seem less racist? I've already heard from some critics that the film didn't go far enough in that regard, so the line Eastwood and Co. were walking was a very treachorous one, and no matter how they handled, many would think they stumbled.<BR/><BR/>And I liked the first scene with the barber. The second one, with Thao, though it underlines an important point, could have used a rewrite.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-43909364064807021952009-01-26T14:52:00.000-05:002009-01-26T14:52:00.000-05:00This is a great, swift review of Gran Torino. It'...This is a great, swift review of <I>Gran Torino</I>. It's light, but heavy. Does that makes sense?!? I'm trying to compliment you here. In fact, it's my fave write-up on this film so far (Rick Olson is gonna hate me now).<BR/><BR/>I think this part is key:<BR/><BR/><I>Still, Walt's racism, repellent as it is, is revealed to be of the casual, habitual variety, and not the virulent, to-the-bone type</I><BR/><BR/>I think that is a point that keeps getting overlooked by people who denounce the film as promoting racist or promoting a racist character.<BR/><BR/>However, I do think that Eastwood and the screenplay get a little of the blame for that, b/c the slurs seem overdone, to me. (I also feel this way about the first barbershop scene when it's just Walt and the barber. Why did they have to go on so long in showing us that these two joke with each other this way??)<BR/><BR/>Anyways. Great thoughts here, and I think I kinda like it when you write with an irritated fire underneath you!Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08067136509248849744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-75196515583215294112009-01-26T10:45:00.000-05:002009-01-26T10:45:00.000-05:00The movie-review police aren't gonna come and get ...<I>The movie-review police aren't gonna come and get you.</I><BR/><BR/>So you say...I'm not so sure, though. I think somebody shot at me this morning. I can't prove it, and I suppose it could have been a balloon popping, but still...bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-30563240009154839562009-01-26T10:40:00.000-05:002009-01-26T10:40:00.000-05:00I realize now that I should have talked a bit abou...<I>I realize now that I should have talked a bit about some of the flaws ...</I><BR/><BR/>We write what we write. As you implied by your comment about the synopsis, there are "standard" ways to write a review, but (1) you're not getting paid to write standard reviews and (2) you're writing from love of the game, so why not write what you want? The movie-review police aren't gonna come and get you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-88653373326552828992009-01-26T09:21:00.000-05:002009-01-26T09:21:00.000-05:00Thanks, Rick. I realize now that I should have ta...Thanks, Rick. I realize now that I should have talked a bit about some of the flaws like the behavior of Eastwood's sons in the beginning of the film, at the funeral (though not the behavior of the grandchildren, which I found all too plausible), and a few other things here and there. I mean, I know the film's not perfect, but it did have a very strong impact on me.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-43944603608070889942009-01-26T08:31:00.000-05:002009-01-26T08:31:00.000-05:00Bill, great piece. You're right: you liked it bet...Bill, great piece. You're right: you liked it better than me, but I liked it a fair amount. I especially like<BR/><BR/><I>anger that is both justified and unjustified -- so much of both that he can no longer tell the difference -- has found his preferred way of living and thinking stuck in the past, and he is in no mood to do any tweaking.</I><BR/><BR/>Nice.<BR/><BR/>What I like best about the film is its end, and that its schematics which seems to lead to the same old apocalyptic revenge-ending, didn't quite pan out. I'm working on a post on it, if I ever get around to it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-36341404222722918282009-01-24T16:48:00.000-05:002009-01-24T16:48:00.000-05:00Thank you very much, John, that means a lot coming...Thank you very much, John, that means a lot coming from you. And as it happens I worked hard on that sentence, so I'm extremely glad it paid off.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-41922846582678347572009-01-24T16:24:00.000-05:002009-01-24T16:24:00.000-05:00Beautifully put, bill. I might go and see this af...Beautifully put, bill. I might go and see this after all. In particular, the last sentence of the third paragraph is the sort of critical summation which should be part of every decent professional film critic's armoury, but sadly isn't. God bless you sir.John Selfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05761816149593541133noreply@blogger.com