Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood, makes his final-on screen performance, a memorable one in Gran Torino.

In Gran Torino, Eastwood plays Walter Kowalski, a widower and grizzled Korean War veteran, who deals with his prejudice ways head on by living next door to an Asian family.

Kowalski, a grumpy old man (and I'm not talking about the Jack Lemmon/Walter Matthau films) who can't get along with his kids or any of his neighbors, especially his new neighbors.

Kowalski lives his life along with his dog Daisy, and his sole prized possession, a mint condition 1972 Gran Torino.

When Kowalski encounters Thao, a Hmong teenager from next door attempting to steal the Gran Torino, Kowalski decides to reform Thao from the influence brought on by his gang member cousin, but by doing that and against his prejudice beliefs, Kowalski decides to protect his neighbors from the gangs that infest the neighborhood.

I got to say, Eastwood's performance, was one of the finest performances I've seen in years.

The "Get Off My Lawn" scene, one of the many memorable scenes in the film was so similar to Dirty Harry, it was crazy.

Eastwood also exhibits his directorial genius in the film, genius shown in previous films such as Changeling and Million Dollar Baby.

Sure there is quite a few racial and stereotypical scenes in the film, and if you are easily offended, this is not the movie for you.

The film also features solid breakthrough performances from Bee Vang (Thao) and Ahney Her (Thao's sister Sue).

From beginning to a shocking end, this movie was definitely one of the best of 2008, and why Clint wasn't nominated for Best Actor or Best Director at this year's Oscars is a sham.

(Next time on Reel Revue: Brad Pitt stars in the film nominated for 13 Academy Awards, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Spoiler Alert: Since it is my list, as part of my review, my best of 08 list will be revised with the additions of Benjamin Button and Gran Torino)