Day 6: Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Day 6: Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Welcome back for Day 6 of the Clint Eastwood Spotlight Series, where we'll be talking about one of the actor/director's biggest modern triumphs: Million Dollar Baby (2004). First of all, this is an amazing movie. It's the kind that elicits a physical reaction at the core of your being, like the chambers of your heart might legitimately be torn asunder. Think I'm being dramatic? Watch the movie. You'll see. As far as plot goes, Baby seems relatively straight-forward on the surface. Frankie Dunn (Eastwood) is an aging, emotionally hardened boxing trainer who is going through a painful estrangement from his daughter, Katie. We never…
Day 5: The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

Day 5: The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

Welcome back for Day 5 of our Spotlight Series on the films of Clint Eastwood! Today we're going to be talking about a movie that is different than any we've discussed so far this week--heck, it's different than most other films he made in the entirety of his decades-long career. Grab the tissues and get ready to experience a lot of feelings, because we're diving into the 1995 romantic drama (adapted from the novel of the same name), The Bridges of Madison County. Bridges is another film directed by Eastwood, co-starring everyone's favorite feminine powerhouse, Meryl Streep. The pair have pretty incredible chemistry, and several scenes…
Day 4: Unforgiven (1992)

Day 4: Unforgiven (1992)

Welcome back for Day 4 of our Clint Eastwood Spotlight Series! Today I have the privilege of discussing with you (what I consider to be) the greatest modern western made to date: Unforgiven (1992). According to Eastwood at the time, Unforgiven would be the last western he made, because he did not want to risk repeating himself or imitating someone else's work. Boy, did he go out of the genre in style. Not only did the film win Best Picture that year, but it also earned Eastwood his first win for Best Director. He wasn't exactly working with untested unknowns--when a…