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Moneyball
The story of Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball team on a budget, by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.
Release : | 2011 |
Rating : | 7.6 |
Studio : | Columbia Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, |
Crew : | Art Department Coordinator, Art Direction, |
Cast : | Brad Pitt Jonah Hill Philip Seymour Hoffman Robin Wright Chris Pratt |
Genre : | Drama |
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Great Film overall
Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
I'm interested in the stories that use science for success. This movie shows that in a unique way of using data analysis and statistics to predict sports.
Hundreds of sports films, hundreds of them. Pretty sure Hollywood has tackled every type of sport, including Baseball several times over. Why should this one be any different? Well, this is the true story of the Oakland Athletics to which their General Manager at the time used a new technique of deciding a team: the Moneyball model. Using statistics and logic to pick the most effective players at the cheapest price, therefore building the ultimate economical team. Such a model could change the Baseball industry and negate years of traditional intuition. This is not so much about changing Baseball, but a personal journey for Billy Beane. He himself was chosen to play professionally, ditching his chances of further education. It didn't work out, and so he desired to change the system and defy the industry as a personal vendetta against them. Completely unconventional, having a computer system pick the most suitable players as opposed to listening to veterans who have something that algorithms do not: experience. Thoroughly enjoyed this film, and I can say I have no interest in Baseball (not particularly huge in the UK). A screenplay by Aaron Sorkin was destined to keep me captivated. Every script he writes is filled with sharp, concise dialogue that keeps you hooked on the characters. Brad Pitt looked effortlessly natural, owned every scene he was in. Jonah Hill...get ready guys...I actually liked. Finally!? A film I like him in. Cool, calm and calculated, was perfect at playing a graduate economist. Bennett Miller's direction was clean with a great mixture of old footage of Baseball games with the reconstructed acting. There's a scene towards the end where the result of a game relies on Chris Pratt hitting the ball. When he does...silence. I felt the tingles, was beautifully executed. Whilst the sport of Baseball does not interest me in the slightest, I loved the focus on the team building and thought it was brilliantly acted by everyone.
If you like business or baseball, you're going to love this one. I am a baseball geek myself and all of this was a true story and not even overstated the least bit. It's the story of how the Oakland A's with the smallest player payroll budget during the 2002 season made it to the post season with the help of a computer and a nerdy guy with a degree in economics. Ever heard of the 20 game win streak? Ever heard of the names such as Jermaine Dye, Scott Hatteberg, David Justice, Eric Byrnes, or Tim Hudson? No? Well you need to watch this movie!
I've been a baseball fan for the better part of two decades. As such, I vividly remember the events surrounding the 2002 Oakland Athletics that are the prime content of this film. "Moneyball" does an incredible job of recreating the nostalgia of those events, as well as telling the story behind them that likely was not known at the time.For a basic plot summary, "Moneyball" focuses on the character of Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), the GM of the Oakland A's who realizes in the early 2000s that he can't spend with the "big boys" (e.g. New York) that comprised his competition. As such, with the help of Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) and to the consternation of A's manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Beane uses the statistical analyses popularized by Bill James to build a team capable of dethroning the Yankees on a shoestring budget.The hallmark of this film is that, to the viewer, it really won't matter if you're familiar with this story. The narrative works either way:If your a newbie to all this "baseball-o-nomics" stuff, "Moneyball" does a great job of breaking things down and giving you the "Reader's Digest" version of the Moneyball concept. You don't even have to be a baseball fan to "get it", as Beane's mindset and principles can be utilized in many walks of life.For those (like I) who devoured "Moneyball" in print form, it is just flat out amazing to see the events played out on the big screen. Those of us who have been intrigued by the whole concept since those "early years" can sit back and be amazed by how it has truly changed the game. The fact that a great deal of actual baseball footage is used only adds to the effect.About the only nitpick I can possibly find with this film is that the choreographed baseball scenes are not always entirely accurate. This is a small nitpick, of course, but one that bugged me just a bit considering how easy it would have been to fix.Overall, "Moneyball" is a fantastic re-telling at perhaps the most revolutionary concept to ever be introduced to the sport...using in-depth statistical analysis to mine for talent that may be lost to the human eye. Whether a hard-core baseball nut or just a casual movie-goer, "Moneyball" will impress you...just in different ways.