Sunday, February 5, 2012

Movie Review: Moneyball: Triumphant

A+ for the message.
A+ for a great underdog story.
A+ for the cast.
A for cinematography.
A for the A's (da duh bump)
B for airport scene.

I am not a sports person, but I must say that I love sports movies.  Moneyball is no exception.  While it didn't have that extreme wow factor, it was still very inspiring, especially being a true story.  I am a fan of history and learning about things; it was nice to learn more about the Oakland A's.

What a spectacular message this movie delivers.  There are a lot of nay sayers in life.  It is important to be flexible, but generally we as people are creatures of habit.  We say we embrace change but we don't really mean it.  You really have to put your mind to it to genuinely be open to change.  We see that true and true in the characters that Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill play.  And, as we learn in movies like Blindside and Pursuit of Happyness, don't ever give up, don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't.

I love the plot.  The dichotomy between flashbacks and present time.  And family struggles, like Brad's character being divorced but still wearing his wedding ring.  And having to talk to his wife's husband.  And trying to raise his 12 year old daughter.

The only thing that I can think of that this movie needed to improve on is the airport scene, which, mind you, is very very very minor.  Just that this occurred in late 2001 and 2002 and beyond, which is post 9/11.  Meaning that you wouldn't be able to greet or say goodbye to your loved ones right at the plane gate.  What with the advent of the TSA.

I am delighted that this movie introduced me to Mrs. Lenka Kripac.  And her lovely song The Show, which I can definitely relate to at this time in my life.  I think it is very cool that she is half Australian and Czech.  And she shares the same birthday as a friend of mine.

I do not like Brad, but I respect his success and I enjoyed him in this movie.  I love Jonah - he is a big reason why I saw this movie in the first place.  Cool to see the following people: Robin Wright (Beowulf, Unbreakable, Princess Bride), Reed Diamond (Journeyman, 24, Dollhouse), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Mission Impossible 3), Glenn Morshower (24, Transformers, Xman).

Gleenobly's rating: 8/10