Gran Torino (2008) by Clint Eastwood

Gran Torino was one of those films I wanted to see because of the fuzz, but at the same time I didn't know what appropriate time to see it since I anticipated bloodshed and all of those stuff. In fact I couldn't be more wrong and it's one of my last seen movies that I've kept very dear in my heart, not only tells a great story but shows raw reality. Clint Eastwood plays the role of Walt Kowalski, a retired veteran from the Vietnamese War, who lives alone after his wife's death, estranged to his sons because of his not so friendly manners, estranged to their neighbours because he is mainly a racist who cannot tolerate the asians that took over the neighborhood. But this is just like peeling an onion, there are too many layers, and we discover a character impossible to love though it's grumpy and stubborn as hell. And the story develops as his friendship develops with the asians, something rather impossible at the begging of the story...and so it turns into endearing moments, nonetheless with some brutal reality, but most of all of respect, of love.

It is a great movie with a character who has the necessary grit to make the difference when difference cannot be achieved in the usual way. Great performance by Clint Eastwood!!! And great song at the end!!!

50/50 by Jonathan Levine

Like a beautiful rose that has its awful thorns, life itself is not to be granted. At least is what we all think when we are young, that we have a full and long life ahead of us, even if  life goes faster than a bullet. This was what Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) thought as well, a back pain is a back pain... no more.... This 27-year-old discovers however that cancer has no age, no race, no time or space ideal to appear, it just does...and so he has 50% of survival because it is a rare cancer nonetheless. But beware this is not a drama, it has its moments for sure, but fits perfectly in a dramocomedian type where friendship, parents, girlfriend are exposed to the new reality and feelings are perfectly drawn out of the screen to be perceived and the reality can be as exasperating as numb. And yes life is a bitch but it can also bring us all together in the worst moments...in the worst of times we are remembered of what we are, where we came from, where are we going and most of all who stands beside us. No matter what end befalls into this young man he is wide awaken to the world. We all are living our lives in obscurity like puppets, sometimes not realizing the bigger picture, the gift and bitch life can be.

The picture is quite well portrayed not only by the lead character but by his buddy Kyle (Seth Rogen), his analyst (Anna Kendrick) and his mother (Anjelica Huston).

The great about the movie is that it won't make us sad all through because it has so great laughable moments that equilibrates the 50/50, it's hard to digest because it's real, life is like this...we try to smile and think it's all ok, saying it so many times so that in the end is true, but will it???

Quote:

"Adam: See, but... that's bullshit. That's what everyone has been telling me since the beginning. "Oh, you're gonna be okay," and "Oh, everything's fine," and like, it's not... It makes it worse... that no one will just come out and say it. Like, "hey man, you're gonna die." "