Sunday, May 20, 2012

Moneyball (PG-13) 7.5

Moneyball (2011): Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players. (7.7)

Director: Bennett Miller
Writers: Steven Zaillian (screenplay), Aaron Sorkin (screenplay)
Stars: Brad Pitt, Robin Wright and Jonah Hill

I love cricket, and I watch baseball.  Comparing the two popular bat-and-ball games, I've come to realize how automatic, how mechanical and how much statistics-drive the both games are.  It is more so in baseball where the play area is restricted to a 90-degree V and all the fielding positions are pretty much set in stone.  And, you see cricket matches are played with multiple laptops for real-time game analysis.  This movie shows how the game, that is supposed to be blood and sweat, is pretty much a collection of numbers.  It also shows the disparity among the rich and poor ball-clubs.  But, at the end, it is a human story about a GM who uses the limited resources he has to the best of his ability to take the team as far as the money can stretch.  Making it a human story rather than a sports story, the writers have succeeded in appealing to a wider audience and making it a much better movie.  A great performance by Brad Pitt.  My Rating: 7.5

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