Movie:"Grand Torino"*****

Today after a morning trip to Donut Country, our son and I went to Medford's Tinseltown to see Clint Eastwood who stars and directs in "Grand Torino." Some have said this may be the last movie Clint Eastwood stars in and if that is the case I see a lot of parallels with John Wayne's last movie, "The Shootist." Both are fine, fine, movies about old men who have lived independent lives on their own terms.The following synopsis is from The Internet Movie Data Base:

Clint Eastwood stars as Walt Kowalski, a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighborhood and the world around him. Kowalski is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy an old man, who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbors, a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in mint condition. When his neighbor Tao, a young Hmong teenager under pressure from his gang member cousin, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Tao's family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that infest their neighborhood. (Written by alfiehitchie)

UPDATED:
In both movies the world is changing and in some cases not for the better. In both movies the older star is called upon to "straiten out" a young boy who is being raised by a single mother. In "The Shootest" it was Lauren Becall who was raising a young Ron Howard. John Wayne had to teach him to have respect for his elders and how to shoot a gun. Clint Eastwood in "Grand Torino" has to teach a young Hmong teenager how to work and become a productive member of society. Clint Eastwood is perfect in the part and gives a great performance. I will get the movie when it comes out on DVD. Eastwood should get an Academy Award for Best Actor but he won't..... If this is his last movie as an actor it is a great way to end a career full of good and great movies.

(For more information about the movie click on the title for a link to IMDB.com)

Best Picture: Grand Torino

Yes, I know it is not nominated for the "Best Picture" award at Sunday's Academy Award Ceremony, and that is the problem.

Sunday night is the Academy Awards Show on TV. With one exception, I have watched EVERY Academy Awards show since 1957 when The Bridge on the River Kwai won for Best Picture. The one exception, as my luck would have it, was in 1970 when I was in Officer Candidate School (OCS) in the Army at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. Somehow the Army didn't think the show was that important for the training of a US Army Officer. My bad luck is that was the year John Wayne won Best Actor for True Grit. The Award presenter of all people was Barbara Strisend. I didn't read about it until the next day in the Washington Post since I was the "Command Information Officer" for my unit and as a result posted newspapers story's on the days news on the unit's bulletin board to keep the unit updated on world events. For many years in our house the Academy Awards Show was as big as the Super Bowl. We would get Pizza and popcorn and decorate up the house for the big event. We would have our list of nominees and check them off as they were announced. Not this year, or for several years. Usually in the winter I am trying to watch every picture that has been nominated for Best Picture. This year, I have not seen one. I don't intend on seeing any at the theater and may only watch one or two when they come out on DVD. I love movies as my DVD collection demonstrates but not this year. Hollywood has lost touch with middle America. Too Bad!

My best picture winner is Grand Torino with Clint Eastwood and Clint Eastwood gets "Best Actor"! Click on the title for a link to my review of the movie.