Who doesn’t love Clint Eastwood? Men admire his tough characters. Women gush over his manliness. It is always a win-win situation for this veteran of the movies. With his latest stint in the movies, any doubts as to his versatility and star power are certainly dispelled.

The advertising posters for the move Gran Torino portray the usual scowling face of Clint Eastwood, giving the impression that his Dirty Harry character would be coming alive on screen yet again. However, even Eastwood himself says that the movie is more than the bad boy dirty Harry image he became famous for.

Gran Torino is all about a recently widowed Korean War veteran named Walt Kowalski, whose greatest challenge at the moment is to sit back and watch his neighborhood evolve. The issue of race is at the center of this movie as much as the struggle of one person as he recalls his own dark deeds in the past.

And where did the title come from? Eastwood’s character, Kowalski, has this most prized possession of his sitting in his garage – a 1972 Gran Torino.

I have not seen the movie – but I will definitely see it as soon as I can – but judging from the trailer and what other people have been saying, Gran Torino is something worth watching. It is bold, it does not hold anything back. Just try listening for all the racial slurs that you can catch and you will know what I mean. Probably not for those with delicate sensibilities. But that’s Dirty Harry for you.

You all have probably seen The Dark Knight – who hasn’t, right? I just read an article from Popwatch, written by Mike Bruno, which highlights how disappointed the writer was with the movie. Apparently, he only saw the movie over the weekend due to a busy schedule. His main message is this: he thinks that all the hype ruined the movie for him. He writes:

Don’t get me wrong: I enjoyed The Dark Knight, and I was not disappointed in the slightest by Ledger’s freakish, lip-smacking fiend. But at the same time, I was let down given the movie’s gargantuan box office haul, the almost universal critical praise, and the Oscar buzz surrounding it and its fallen star. I could see Ledger taking Supporting Actor, but while I haven’t yet seen all the other Oscar contenders this year, I would be a bit surprised if The Dark Knight took Best Picture.

Mostly, I think this movie was successful –- as well as hugely popular –- because it featured a character that we couldn’t take our eyes off of played by an actor who recently died way too young. Before it appeared on a single screen this summer, the movie was already larger-than-life because of Ledger’s passing, and six months of the hype machine working at full steam had no doubt set my expectations way too high. So maybe this really is an Oscar-worthy movie and I just need to hire a babysitter more often and catch movies earlier and with less context. But if I’m to be honest, I was disappointed with The Dark Knight and hope for more from this year’s other Best Picture contenders.

I have to agree with him that one reason behind the movie’s success was Heath Ledger’s untimely death. In fact, that was one observation I made right after seeing the movie – The Joker overshadowed Batman. However, I do think that the movie deserves an Oscar. How about you?

That is, with respect to style. For many people, style is everything. What they wear, how they wear it, and when they wear it – these are very important factors. And what better inspiration than the movies? How many times have you walked away from a movie thinking, “Wow, I should try to emulate the style of so and so!” I be that you have experienced this more than once – and you are not alone.

In the history of films and movies, there is probably a small percentage of flicks which actually held the power to influence the general public in terms of style. I think that The Los Angeles Times hit the nail right on the head with its list of 10 classic style movies that inspire moviegoers. Interested in finding out if you were ever influenced by the “right” movies? Here’s a snippet of the article:

Movies have always influenced style. In 1934 — when Clark Gable shed his shirt in the Frank Capra comedy “It Happened One Night” to reveal his bare chest — men’s undershirt sales reportedly plummeted. Men didn’t suddenly tire of layering. They saw an easy “in” to becoming a bit like Gable, who played an extraordinarily dashing ordinary Joe.

A woman slips into her husband’s trousers and striped necktie and she suddenly has entree to be as zany as Diane Keaton in “Annie Hall.” A guy, tired of his milquetoast silhouette, adopts the gait of a hungry thug wearing a slim-cut suit and Wayfarers, à la “Reservoir Dogs.” Clothes help shape our identities, and copying a film icon is like taking a shortcut to cool.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, folks. You can read the whole story in the link above. Reading this left me wondering, though…are we ever going to have movies that would leave us wanting to be like the characters like the old films?