Gran Torino
by 
|You’ve got to hand it to Clint Eastwood. Exactly what it is and why it needs to be put in his hand I’m not sure, seeing as he’s won every major accolade for both directing and acting. So he’s around 80 and he’s done it all, which means he’s free to do anything. And Gran Torino is an example. Letters from Iwo Jima is another, telling a World War II story from a Japanese point of view, with a rare dedication to authenticity for a war movie. With Gran Torino, Eastwood tears apart political correctness through Mike, a Korean war veteran and steadfast racist. Mike’s abuse extends to everyone in his life, including his adult children, and provides some of the most hilariously inappropriate moments on film. In a society obsessed with what can and can’t be said, it’s great to see those barriers broken by a Hollywood stalwart.
Tagged: Gran Torino, Gran Torino trailer
Also by XAVIER TOBY
Australian movie A Few Best Men
With all the gross out jokes and silliness of the common comedy romp, you’d think making them would be easy. Well, it’s not. It’s actually really difficult. Writing a joke is one of the hardest tasks anyone can undertake. Read more
Melancholia: a film by Lars von Trier
I wish there were a lot more of the types of films made by Lars von Trier. Each is very different but still distinctly von Trier, and each is superb. Melancholia is the follow up to the wonderfully confronting Antichrist. This is all about the end of the world, and told with an honesty and pacing that is probably much closer to the actual end of the world than all the Hollywood crap would have you believe. Read more
We Need To Talk About Kevin: based on Lionel Shriver’s novel
A delightful uncomfortable film, told from the point of view of a broken woman. Kevin’s just not right, and that’s obvious from the outset as mother Eva battles to bring him up in a world where the onus is put squarely back on the mother. The intensity is poured on throughout, as tragedy seems imminent. Read more
YOU'RE SAYING (1)
HAVE YOUR SAY
First there was Awkward Family Photos, now comes the natural progression in the lineage: Awkward Family Pet Photos. Seriously, is this the greatest website ever? Read more
This work is by the aptly-named Elfo, an Italian street artist who assigned himself the job of street barber.
Oh boy, this is fun. Omaha’s Tilly and the Wall are kitsch-cool-camp-vauderville meets pop-folk-flamenco, with a tap dancer for a drummer and some serious, serious charisma for a calling card.
Perimeter Books in Melbourne is a small bookshop and art space, full of beautiful surprises. I always feel inspired to make fresh new drawings after going there.
Those of you who are based in Australia and are into sports might like to check out the other website the Lost At E Minor team runs, The Roar. Read more
Have you ever felt engulfed by a strange mix of emotions, ones which make you feel all giddy? Well, that’s what this track — Not For All The Love In the World — does to me. French pop-folk extraordinaire Sebastian Tellier remixes Irish pop band The Thrills. Totally luscious and dreamy, especially the glockenspiel sound. Beautiful stuff.
Really dig the Lovecraft vibe of this Capriole collection by Iris van Herpen. The weird wormy thing looks like a painting I did inspired by by Yog Sathoth.
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Pitched as ‘Ulterior Motives in Contemporary Art’, Disorder Disorder is running until November 14 at Penrith Regional Gallery. It’ll be well worth the trip out west of Sydney: the Australian, Japanese, American and European cast reads like a warriors of street art roundup and includes Mike Giant, Ed Templeton, Anthony Lister [artwork above], Ozzie Wright, and Jonathan Zawada. Read more
How ’bout this Jose Manuel Hortelano-Pi guy, huh? Quite the illustrator, yessiree Bob. From Spain, too. Spain is great! Read more
The return of the Brionvega rr226
Italian brand Brionvega has resurrected the classy Radiofonografio piece first created in 1965. The updated version is just like the original turntable/radio unit, but also has a CD/DVD player.
Here are a couple awesome pieces by Matt Leines that were recently on display in the Doubting Thomases exhibit at Nudashank gallery in Baltimore. Gives me ideas for Halloween. Read more
A little infectious lollipop rock anyone? Feel free to embarrass yourself singing along at the stoplight. If the other drivers give you that look, roll down the windows and spread the love.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Using Kyoko Hashimoto’s popular design, these acrylic earrings are made with unique hand formed sterling silver sleepers that make them light enough for everyday wear. Part of Kyoko’s collection, I Blame the Uni, (pronounced ‘oo-nee’, the Japanese name for sea urchin) and inspired by her experiences in the underground club scene of Tokyo. Read more
If you have a Twitter feed that focuses on cool pop cultural things and you’d like to swap Tweets with Lost At E Minor and other like-minded Twitterers, drop us a note (with Tweet Swap in the title). We have a system in place and we’d like to have you in on it! [illustration by Brad Fitzpatrick]
FOLLOW US
DISCOVER MORE
SO...
SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..
IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?
We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it's not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.
If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.
ranran said | 2 March, 2009
this film was fucking amazing!! best film of the year (yes, even better than slumdog!)