Moneyball

[havingascreen]

This is the original version of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elsh3J5lJ6g&ob=av2e
It's called "The Show" by Lenka.

I remember this song best from Juno

[Jayman]

I enjoyed the film very much as it gave a different angle of the game. The character development of the players was left out in line with the whole sabermetrics focus on analysis of performance. They were just pieces that could be easily traded so why invest time to show what was going on emotionally in them?

Exactly! You hit the nail on the head.

[hopeprince]

And this new policy at WIQ totally sucks about waiting in the bar.

Are they still doing that? Did they not give you the screen number? I think I have to insist on that next time. There is no way I am going to wait in the bar, missing out on the best seats (though they increasingly seem to depend on who sits close!)

I asked for it and when I went downstairs there was a que waiting for the screen to be ready.

[elski]

This is the original version of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elsh3J5lJ6g&ob=av2e
It's called "The Show" by Lenka.

thanks!
sounded definitely better in the movie!

found her version although it sounds speeded up



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgh6HQSM1gM

[kevinknapman]

I was fully expecting to like Moneyball due to the talent involved but was quite unprepared for how much I enjoyed it. I think it's fair to say it totally blew me away and that's not a sentiment I express very often.

A sports movie this subtle and understated probably shouldn't work as well as it does but this is superior intelligent filmmaking. It had some of the usual cliches of sports drama but came at them from a different direction to such an extent that they never felt like cliches. Plus there was a sense of ruthlessness running through it that might put some audiences off who like their central characters in sports dramas to be more noble and heroic. The film also downplayed the one thing that you would expect a sports movie to concentrate on, namely the sport itself. Preferring to cut away at key moments to what's going on off the field.

Of course much has been made of the job that Aaron Sorkin did to fix the script and the results are undeniably impressive. The relationship between Billy and Peter in particular was wonderfully done and the scene in which the two of them trade players over the phone is one of the best written scenes of the year. I also loved the scene near the end where Peter plays Billy a video as a metaphor, perfectly summing up one of the themes of the film.
Though I do think in hyping Sorkin's contribution, the work of everyone else involved has been overlooked a little. Bennett Miller's direction is outstanding and the film looks fantastic due to Christopher Nolan's regular cinematographer Wally Pfister. The music by Mychael Danna was also sparingly used and often barely noticable. Sports films usually go in for soaring strings to heighten the drama but Miller seemed more interested in the eerie silences of empty locker rooms and stadiums which made it very atmospheric.

The acting was perfect across the board and I was especially impressed with Pitt who manages to convey a lot of the disappointment of Billy Beane while seemingly doing very little. The scene where his daughter plays him a song and you can see how Pitt realises she's starting to grow up more than he realised and isn't just his little girl anymore was beautifully done and was very touching (stopping just the right side of mawkishness). Jonah Hill showed more depth than the usual crude comedy roles he is associated with and brought the right amount of humour without overdoing it. Philip Seymour Hoffman was reliably excellent as the team manager. Was also completely surprised by an amusing uncredited cameo from a certain director. As I wasn't aware he was in it I won't spoil it for those who plan to see it but.. [spoiler]Being John Malkovich director Spike Jonze as Pitt's ex-wife's husband[/spoiler]

Moneyball is an impressive, smart and highly enjoyable film that shouldn't be overlooked because it's about a sport that means little in this country. Baseball doesn't really interest me that much but I think the filmmakers have managed to make a gripping film despite that. Definitely one of my favourite films of the year and I really wasn't expecting that.

[Jayman]

@Kevin: I think [spoiler]Spike Jonze[/spoiler] and Brad Pitt are actually good friends. And they both seem to love the Jackass crew as they've both had cameos in their movies or in the TV show itself.

[canadian_turtle]

They had problems with the password at Greenwich and after 30 mins we got offered to go see Twilight instead. I laughed loudly, 50% of the people in the room left to see Twishite. We then got offered Towerheist (just when you think they can't sink any lower) but we opted to wait and see what happened. Not a minute later we were told that the password did indeed work (I bet someone left the capslock on!) and so we got to see Moneyball half an hour late. I really enjoyed it though it was a bit too long. Jonah Hill was brilliant and loved the daughter too. 7/10

OMG, that ROA song suddenly came on and Celini did a tiny mini dance and we all thought of you c_t!

Glad to hear I was there in spirit The song is following me around by the way, it was playing in a shop I was in as well the other day and the volume even went up just for the one song!

[Jayman]

found her version although it sounds speeded up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgh6HQSM1gM

And it's missing the cutest line:[spoiler]You're such a loser, Dad[/spoiler]

[elski]

found her version although it sounds speeded up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgh6HQSM1gM

And it's missing the cutest line:[spoiler]You're such a loser, Dad[/spoiler]

yeah and there's a few of the full 3 minute versions on youtube but they seem to be misisng that line too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT1esMERSNA
and the commets are saying it's available on i-tunes but most likley without the line.

[Jayman]

About that line, you have to wonder if it was maybe [spoiler]Brad Pitt's character imagining his daughter calling him a loser because, as the text at the end of the movie informs us, to this day he's still chasing for a win. On the other hand, she may have genuinely included it in the song and was merely being facetious.[/spoiler]