EASTWOOD MASTER DIRECTOR 3

     This is the third and final article about movies directed by Clint Eastwood. He will be 88 in May and is still going strong!
I should point out that it hasn’t all been sunny skies for Mr Eastwood’s directorial efforts. I will mention J. Edgar (2011), Breezy (1973), and The Bridges Of Madison County (1995) as less than stellar efforts. But even those would be counted as successes by most directors. 
Gran Torino (2008) is the last of the really good films to feature Clint as an actor. He is a bitter recently widowed Korean war veteran whose prize possession is a 1972 Fprd Gran Torino. His next-door neighbors are a large Hmong family, not exactly who he would pick to live close to.  The son tries to steal the Gran Torino as a gang initiation. Eastwood foils the attempt and gradually becomes friendly with the boy and the family. They are terrorized by a gang, and Eastwood’s solution is a real twist. 
Invictus (2009) is a terrific uplifting film.  Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman, of course) now president of apartheid-free South Africa hopes to unite his splintered country by convincing the black majority to support the all white South African rugby team, the Springboks. Matt Damon convincingly plays the team captain. When the team visits the prison where Mr. Mandela served nearly 30 years of his life it is a sobering thing for them and us. Eastwood’s expertise is evident in making an unusual sport readily understandable, and as always in his pulling out the best from the actors. 
American Sniper (2014) is based on the true story of Chris Kyle, who had over 150 confirmed kills as an expert rifleman. Bradley Cooper is very good as Kyle. His military life becomes his whole life and does not mesh well with his home life. Sienna Miller plays his beleagured wife who does the best she can under trying circumstances. The ending is a crusher and it is exactly what really happened to Chris Kyle. 
Sully (2016) is the story of one of the greatest air rescues in history. Shortly after takeoff, Captain Chesley Sullenberger’s jetliner is struck by a flock of birds and loses both engines. The incomparable Tom Hanks plays Sully and Aaron Eckhart plays his co-pilot. Without power he determines he cannot make it to any airport and decides to land on the Hudson River. He accomplishes this with only minor injuries to a few of the 155 passenger, who are all rescued safely. The second half of the film details the Safety Board’s inquiry into whether Sully’s action was appropriate. Several tests are run to determine what would have happened if he had tried to make it to an airport. The film ends with a reunion with the passengers and their hero. Clint Eastwood gets absolutely every ounce out of this film!
And he’s not done yet! In February 15:17 To Paris hits the theaters and I’m willing to bet it will be a stemwinder. 
All of the movies in this article except the last one are available on DVD. All are really for grown-ups.