by Matt Marble

Most movie buffs think that Clint Eastwood was at his prime playing Dirty Harry or starring in one of his many “spaghetti” westerns.

But I think that Gran Torino proves that Eastwood is still in his prime, as both a leading Actor and Director.

He stars as Walt Kowalski, a retired autoworker and Korean War Vet, who’s not afraid to pronounce his hatred for…well everybody.

When a Hmong teenager tries to steal his mint condition 1972 Gran Torino, his temper flares. After the failed carjacking, the boy’s family insists that he repays Walt by working odd jobs. Over time, Walt gets used to the kid. A series of events lead to a very heartfelt and memorable climax.

In the beginning of the film, I was unsettled by the anger that Eastwood possessed for the Hmong people, but by the end, you can witness the transformation from angry old man to caring neighbor.

You don’t have to be a fan of Clint Eastwood to enjoy Gran Torino – just a fan of great storytelling…and remember, this film is rated R for a reason.

Gran Torino is playing at many local movie theaters; you can find movietimes here.

Here’s the trailer for the film, which was ranked #1 at the box office last weekend, as well as an AP feature on Eastwood:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: "Matt's Movies" is a regular movie-review column written by Matt Marble, a 17-year old student at Highline School District's Big Picture High School.

If you have a movie you'd like for him to review, please email him.

Look for more of his movie reviews and other articles soon on The B-Town Blog!]

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Sure, this report is several days late, but we're printing it now anyway because we feel it provides some insight into last weekend's big "Showdown in B-Town" high school football game that pitted the Kennedy High School Lancers against the Highline Pirates, won by JFK 61-0. This story was written by Josh Hart, a 15-year old student at Highline “Big Picture High School” in SeaTac who wrote on the economy last week. As you will soon tell by reading, Josh was rooting for Highline...]

by Josh Hart

FINAL: Kennedy 61, Highline 0

FIRST QUARTER: Kennedy 20 Highline 0
The first quarter was, well…horrible! I guess it depends on which team you were rooting for. If you wanted Kennedy I would say it went pretty well. Within the first five minutes Kennedy had scored three touchdowns and was up 20-0. Highline didn’t play well on either side of the ball. They got ran over by Kennedy, they were stunned coming out of the gates and they couldn’t regain control. As far as offense went I don’t think Highline had a first down all quarter. Kennedy’s offense wasn’t anything special; a team of 8 year olds could have scored just as many points as they did.

SECOND QUARTER: Kennedy 34 Highline 0
Highline played better in the second quarter offensively and defensively. They only let up two touchdowns, and even forced Kennedy to punt a few times. They also had a great fumble recovery that sparked a fire in their defense; they didn’t let up a touchdown after. They played better offensively, even though they didn’t get a touchdown. They moved the chains a couple times and their running game looked a lot better.

THIRD QUARTER: Kennedy 40 Highline 0
Highline has improved each quarter. They only let up one touchdown this quarter and looked a lot better. The problem was nobody had any motivation to play anymore. The fans were quiet, the players looked somber and nothing was exciting. They were all slowly winding down.

FOURTH QUARTER: Kennedy 61 Highline 0
This quarter was pointless to play – nobody competed. The fans, the cheerleaders, everybody was quiet. Highline let up a few more touchdowns and made the loss worse.

FINAL: Kennedy 61; Highline 0

EDITOR’S NOTE: Recently we were invited by the Highline School District to visit students and discuss the B-Town Blog at an innovative high school called “Big Picture High School” in SeaTac.

We’re happy to say that our outreach program to showcase diverse area Writers begins with today’s blog featuring a new column we call “From The Big Picture.”

Today’s Guest Columnist is 15-year old Josh Hart, a student who has been writing for five years. Josh plays soccer for Highline Premier Football Club, and is currently working on an adventure novel.

Here are his thoughts on the economy:

The economy right now is on the downhill, if you haven’t noticed.

As we come up to the presidential election I can’t help but thinking that this election will affect everything.

I see more people interested in this election than past ones. They see how the economy is and want a change.

But if more people had cared about the past couple of elections, the economy wouldn’t be where it is now.

If people voted for something other than the President, things would be different.

America is a country run by the people. The President can’t do anything without the approval of the House, Senate, and the people of America.

I am sick and tired of people complaining about ‘this is wrong with America’ and ‘that is wrong with America.’

Well do something about it!

If we cared about our country and did something for it years ago America wouldn’t be in the state it is right now.

So what are you going to do about it?

You need to start by voting for your local bills, and bills that affect your community, start with this presidential election.

This country needs a change and it needs to happen now!

Lets turn this country around!

Big Picture High School is a unique concept in education, whose mission, according to its founding institution’s website is “to catalyze vital changes in American education by generating and sustaining innovative, personalized schools that work in tandem with the real world of their greater community.”

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