Moneyball

[BoylenOver]

Saw this today. I didn't think it was too bad. I liked the supporting performances (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Chris Pratt, and Jonah Hill), and I enjoy Brad Pitt.

The scene at trade deadline day was well-done.

[MarkGrace]

Saw it last night and enjoyed it, though it was different than I was anticipating. Very quiet kind of movie and less about the team and baseball and more of just a character sketch. The Bad News Bears scene was so short in the context of the movie to almost be insignificant, and it wasn't as egregious as it appeared in the trailer.

[LA Ute]

We saw it last night and enjoyed it a lot as pure entertainment. Brad Pitt did a great job, I think, making the audience like and care about his character. All in all, definitely worth the price of admission. Not as much fun as seeing A-Rod strike out to end the Yankees' pennant hopes, but close.

[jay santos]

Saw it last night and enjoyed it, though it was different than I was anticipating. Very quiet kind of movie and less about the team and baseball and more of just a character sketch. The Bad News Bears scene was so short in the context of the movie to almost be insignificant, and it wasn't as egregious as it appeared in the trailer.

Looking forward to seeing this film. It would have to be more of a character sketch than about the topic because the topic interests about 0.5% of the population.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I thought that movie was very boring. It offered no insight into the sabermetric system used, wasn't about baseball. I guess it was about how Billy Beane really regrets his entire life? Is that what the book was about?

[beefytee]

I'm with HFNW on this. The movie was really boring. I see how Michael Lewis could write an
interesting book about this but it doesn't translate into an interesting movie.

[MarkGrace]

I thought that movie was very boring. It offered no insight into the sabermetric system used, wasn't about baseball. I guess it was about how Billy Beane really regrets his entire life? Is that what the book was about?

I took it as his regret fueling his desire to leave a permanent stamp on baseball, even though he could no longer do it as a player.

[LA Ute]

I thought that movie was very boring. It offered no insight into the sabermetric system used, wasn't about baseball. I guess it was about how Billy Beane really regrets his entire life? Is that what the book was about?

Hmmm. A movie about sabermetrics. Fascinating.

[MartyFunkhouser]

I thought that movie was very boring. It offered no insight into the sabermetric system used, wasn't about baseball. I guess it was about how Billy Beane really regrets his entire life? Is that what the book was about?

No that isn't what the book is about. The book gives a lot of insight into sabermetrics.

[MarkGrace]

Looking forward to seeing this film. It would have to be more of a character sketch than about the topic because the topic interests about 0.5% of the population.

Agree. And based on the reviews I read, this is what I should have expected.

When Soderbergh was on the project, he apparently wanted a very "real" portrayal of what happened. He was going to have interviews with coaches and players that knew Beane as a player, he was going to have real footage of the team (which the actual movie does have, but very little of it), and he didn't want anything to happen in the movie that didn't actually happen in real life. He intended for it to be something of a quasi-documentary, but the studio shut him down three days before they were to begin shooting because they didn't feel the movie was going to be commercial enough to justify what they were spending on it.

[RC Vikings]

The wife and I went and saw this Saturday. The only thing that really bothered me was they made it look like Beane put a bunch of no names on the field and they won the division with these guys. What they failed to say was that this team still had Ellis, Chavez, Tejada, Dye, Mulder, Zito and Hudson on the team.

[MarkGrace]

The wife and I went and saw this Saturday. The only thing that really bothered me was they made it look like Beane put a bunch of no names on the field and they won the division with these guys. What they failed to say was that this team still had Ellis, Chavez, Tejada, Dye, Mulder, Zito and Hudson on the team.

The big overlook was the pitching. That staff was filthy but I don't think a single one of them was mentioned by name in the movie.

[old_gregg]

apparently the only stat that matters is obp.

[jay santos]

I liked this a lot. But I like character movies. And I'm a sports stats geek. So this movie was pretty much made for me. Give this director and these actors a little bit better topic and tell a different story the exact same way, and it could have been great. In the end there just wasn't much compelling about whether or not the A's were going to win.

[marsupial]

Girl's night out: dinner and Twilight. Thank goodness Moneyball was playing at the same time. I don't give a shit about baseball, but I loved it. Brad Pitt just keeps getting better with age. He and Jonah Hill made an entertaining pair.

My only complaint is what's a baseball movie without any locker room ass scenes? A little more eye candy, please.