Movie: Mystic River (2003)

What a movie! Clint Eastwood outdoes himself as a director. The cast includes the likes of Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon. Set in the streets of Boston, this disturbing movie dwells in the darkness of repressed memories from childhood and the permanent scars they leave behind. Three Isrish boys who share a devastating secret from their boyhood are thrust into an adulthood of suspicion, anxiety and distrust. One day as the biys are playing in Southi a man abducts one of boys before the very eyes of his two friends. The boy appears a few days later.
Davey(Robbins), the kidnapped boy grows up to have a young son. One of the other two boys Jimmy(Penn), has a daughter and the otherSean (Bacon) ,becomes a cop. Jimmy's daughter is found brutally murdered and Davey is under suspicision. What happens next, forms the rest of the movie.

As I have mentioned before, Eastwood has the ability to make his actors shine in their own light as he proves it yet again in this movie. Penn would bag the best actor award and Robbins would win the best supporting actor award. Unfortunately for Clint he would loose the best movie and directorial award to the last part of the Lord of the rings Trilogy. Mystic river is a super flick.

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Movie: Unforgiven(1992)

This was the movie that won Eastwood his maiden Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Movie. The movie won 4 Oscars including one which Gene Hackman picked up for best supporting actor. Hackman first refused this role but later Eastwood convinced him to take it.


Eastwood, who became a macho icon by playing the cigar-chewing ,softspoken 'man-with-no-name' in the Sergio Leone Spagetti Western returns for probably the final time as a retired Bounty Hunter.This is probably one of the greatest Westerns of all time.

It is indeed delightful to see that Clint is courageous enough to polk fun at his own age as one watches him struggle to hop on his horse. Seeking justice for a prostitute who has been disfigured by a rowdy bunch of men, he enlists the help of his old friend.(Morgan Freeman). Together they enter a town with a ruthless sherrif(Hackman) who wants the two out of town and would not hesitate to kill them. The bloody confrontation with the rowdy men is frightfully impacting as is the hard-hitting end.
The film also features a brief but memorable performance of Richard Harris.

In the following years Eastwood's directorial skills would churn out string of award winning actors. I recommend this one unequivocally.Critics and fans alike have hailed this one.

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Movie: Absolute Power (1997)

Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely
- Lord Acton, British Historian

The Oscar winning team of Unforgiven,Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman join hands again for another classic entertainer. The movie is based on a novel by David Baldacci, screenplay by William Goldman and is directed by Eastwood.

Eastwood plays a cat burglar Whitney who accidently finds himself witnessing the President of the United States(Hackman) kill his mistress. On Whitney's trail is a relentless detective(Ed Harris).Can a mere burglar bring down the most powerful man on Earth?
This is another classic thriller worth watching.

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Movie: In the Line of Fire (1993)

This classic, directed by Wolfgang Peterson, features the classic game of tag between a grizzled Secret Service Agent( Eastwood) and a psychopathic killer(John Malkovich).
Malkovitch's awesome performance would earn him an Oscar nomination for this role.

After seeing Eastwood as Dirty Harry, a cop who prefers to be by himself, it was refreshing to see him play the romantic as he tries to woo his partner.(Renne Russo)
He must also confront his fears as he takes on the challenge of protecting the President from an assassination attempt by the psychopath.

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Movie: Perfect World (1993)

Here is another movie that did well, got good reviews and then slipped under the radar. For the first time we see Hollywood heavyweights Clint Eastwood and Kevin Costner join forces.

Directed by Clint Eastwood the movie focussed on the relationship between a fugitive on the run(Costner) and a young boy he has kidnapped. The boy who has grown up without a father figure develops an affinity to the wanted man. The unlikely duo are tailed by a Texas agent(Eastwood) and his sidekick(Laura Dern). The fugitive develops a paternal affinity to the boy who has been denied simple childhood pleasures like Halloween.
The dialog between Costner and the boy are particularly telling.

Eastwood is content staying in the background, most of the time playing the victim of his bumbling peers. This was Eastwood's first movie after claiming an Oscar for Unforgiven. Go ahead and watch this one. You'll like it.

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