Moneyball (9.5/10)

Take a moment to feel the crisp air. Break out the jeans and gaze upon the the leaves changing colors because Autumn is here. The fall is also the start of the best time to go to the movies. We're done with all the summer blockbusters and thank God! Don't get me wrong, We had some great ones with "Super 8", "Bridesmaids" ,"Harry Potter" and surprisingly "Rise of The Planet of The Apes", but anymore movies like "Transformers", "Conan The Barbarian" and "The Change Up" and I don't know what I would do. Granted I skipped most the bad ones but to even watch the commercials was painful at times. However Fall is here and this is where all the big production companies release the Oscar bait movies because the closer to the voting the better. "Contagion" was considered the official start but while that was good it was overshadowed by the masterpiece known as "Drive" coming out the following week. So we're getting on average one great movie a week, sweet deal I'd say. Now two or three weeks in (if you want to consider "Drive" the official jumpstart) we have another top notch movie. People I am here to rave and praise not only of the best movies I've seen all year, but one of the top ten sport movies of all time. "Moneyball" is here people and it needs to be seen.

I'll say sort of upfront that I am no fan of baseball. Not that I think it's a bad sport but I just can't stand watching it on TV. However what does "Moneyball" do? It throws a wicked curve ball at you and says this isn't some inspirational sports movie like "The Blind Side". Nor is it a biopic here to tell the story of a man like "Cinderella Man". No because "Moneyball" is a movie that stands high on it's own two feet as something original and innovative. It's the smartest movie I've seen since "The Social Network". Which is a high compliment indeed.  I knew the general story from trailers and reviews but I did not expect the in depth scope of this film. It's something truly wondrous.

"Moneyball" is the story of Billy Beane (a marvelous Brad Pitt) and the Oakland Athletics in 2002. After coming close to winning it all in 2001, Oakland must start nearly from scratch. They had the lowest budget of any baseball team at the time and their three biggest names were all picked up by big name/big money teams. Billy meets Peter Brand (Jonah Hill in a truly exceptional performance) while in Cleveland and things change. Peter has never played baseball but he has a love for the sport. His love has lead him to look past big name players plus hot young names to look at the stats. Peter uses math and statistics to help Billy come up with a team of misfit players that are cheap and can play the game in ways the big faces can't. They're older, injured and have a bad reputation but what they can do is get on base and make catches. They're team can change sports forever in they're successful. The movie follows the backstage facts that sports are based on. While it's fun to watch as fans, it's a business and thus thinks like a corporation. If computers ran our teams I'm sure we'd get the best games ever but that's just a scary thought. What isn't scary is how powerful "Moneyball" is.

This is a really fantastic movie. I loved it and this is coming from a guy who is far from a baseball fan. What I did love is the tension, acting, morals, intelligence and overall everything it takes to make a good film. I got a decent grasp on soccer stats so backstage politics and gutting was something I could easily follow here in baseball. To see the sport ripped down to math and and contracts was such a great twist on the tiring genre. Hatteberg (A great Chris Pratt) has a small scene where he says his biggest fear in the world is a baseball being hit in his general direction when he's a first baseman. It's kind of funny but at the same time haunting, that's how I like my dialogue. Throw in the always welcomed Phillip Seymour Hoffman as manger Art Howe and you have s small but dynamite cast. Director Bennett Miller who got Hoffman's Oscar for "Capote" may be looking at some more nominations coming his way for this film. To end it off as goofy as possible, "Moneyball" is a home run.

9.5/10
Recommendation: One of the best sports movies ever. Maybe the best. I see "Raging Bull", "Caddyshack" and "Field of Dreams" using their respective sports as large plot devices for getting a bigger point across. "Moneyball" makes it easy to "get romantic about baseball". It's a lot of heavy and quick dialogue so you may get lost every now and then but the end goal is too rich to ignore.