Your summary of Sean Penn is spot imo and Clint Eastwood for the most part. I’m still yet to see Gran Torino. Heard mixed things about the movie but I never pay much attention to that anyway.

I really enjoyed Gran Torino and I liked Million Dollar Baby too. But Clint Eastwood can leave me a bit underwhelmed at times. I was forced to watch quite a few westerns as a kid and I didn’t much appreciate that. I think I just threw him in with John Wayne and would sigh every time their grunting too-cool type characters came on the screen. He’s sure a great director, but some of the big name films have left me disappointed. Mystic River and Unforgiven being the two I have in mind. It’s weird cos I like a thinking movie. And I much prefer Unforgiven to those churned out formula westerns. So I sat through both films quite fixated, and yet when the credits rolled I wasn’t content. I should see Mystic River again because I do remember being a little confused. I’m just reluctant cos I remember being bored. Perhaps it was my mood.

Have you seen Sleepers? It’s impossible not to draw parallels. I always liked that because I felt it to be very powerful. I can still picture the tunnel under the jail. I remember the sour taste it left in my mouth at the sight of Kevin Bacon. Much like Kiefer Sutherland in Eye For An Eye…I had to watch season upon season of 24 to stop seeing him as a paedophile!

All in all, the more well presented stories about such significant and important issues that people watch the better. Well as long as they don’t get carried away with the scary dirty old man predator image when it’s most commonly closer to home.