My wife doesn't like to go to the movies in general. She doesn't follow baseball nearly as closely as when her college and high school sons are playing. But all of the sudden she wants to go see this Moneyball movie this weekend. I'm sensing this has more to do with Brad Pitt than a good non-fictional baseball story released a week before the anticipated AL and NL playoffs. 
We saw the movie this afternoon. It was a nice success driven, feel good story. It had some humor and love with his relationship with his daughter. My girlfriend, not a baseball fan but willing to attend an occasional Sox game cried about the relationship with his daughter at the end. She enjoyed the movie.
My rating (rather than stars):
Was it worth $10? yes
Would I pay to see it again? no
Would I watch it again free on cable? If I had nothing else to do
If Field of Dreams is four stars(made me cry at the end thinking of my deceased father when they played catch). Moneyball is a 2.5.
My rating (rather than stars):
Was it worth $10? yes
Would I pay to see it again? no
Would I watch it again free on cable? If I had nothing else to do
If Field of Dreams is four stars(made me cry at the end thinking of my deceased father when they played catch). Moneyball is a 2.5.
I give it 5 stars and would watch it agai, maybe buy the DVD!
But I am a stat rat...
But I am a stat rat...
Saw it last night. Very entertaining. Lots of funny lines and moments. Good tension, storybook storyline of establishment vs. underdog.
This movie will do well.
This movie will do well.
Ditto what Rob said. Entertaining movie that non-baseball people will enjoy. Loved the daughter and her singing. Not really much like the book but maybe it will re-invigorate A's fans to start attending more games! They need the revenue.
I like the movie/story, even though it not only is not like the book, the story isn't accurate both in terms of people, timing and delivery.
There was no Peter Brant, that character was not purchased in Cleveland. But Peter is very effective as the innocent eyed stats guru fresh out of Yale. He is somewhat of a DePodesta/Espstein wrapped into one.
Peter does allow the story to be told and is a very good contrast in presenting the Bill James perspective as opposed to the traditional baseball approach reflected by the scouts, Fuson and Art Howe.
I don't know if it was necessary to paint Art Howe as such a villainous character but it did emphasize the tension in the transition to the Bill James/Moneyball view. Same could be said about the tension created by the Grady Fuson/scouts meetings and confrontations. Maybe/probably they are accurate for Fuson and the ego battle/baseball battle?
If anyone is looking at this as a Field of Dreams type baseball movie, it isn't.
It is the opposite in the baseball aspects.
To me, the best part of the movie was the poignant relationship with the daughter, the song about her confusion, and then the contrast to the un-emotional, businesslike delivery of how you cut/trade and deliver the message to a professional athlete.
Billy clearly knows the impact. He tells Peter the impact and then says the message never allows for the human side. It is "professional" just as Billy doesn't travel with the team so he does not have "any" relationships with the players.
To me, there is more than Moneyball here.
Good story, good movie, good acting. Well worth seeing and seeing more than once.
There was no Peter Brant, that character was not purchased in Cleveland. But Peter is very effective as the innocent eyed stats guru fresh out of Yale. He is somewhat of a DePodesta/Espstein wrapped into one.
Peter does allow the story to be told and is a very good contrast in presenting the Bill James perspective as opposed to the traditional baseball approach reflected by the scouts, Fuson and Art Howe.
I don't know if it was necessary to paint Art Howe as such a villainous character but it did emphasize the tension in the transition to the Bill James/Moneyball view. Same could be said about the tension created by the Grady Fuson/scouts meetings and confrontations. Maybe/probably they are accurate for Fuson and the ego battle/baseball battle?
If anyone is looking at this as a Field of Dreams type baseball movie, it isn't.
It is the opposite in the baseball aspects.
To me, the best part of the movie was the poignant relationship with the daughter, the song about her confusion, and then the contrast to the un-emotional, businesslike delivery of how you cut/trade and deliver the message to a professional athlete.
Billy clearly knows the impact. He tells Peter the impact and then says the message never allows for the human side. It is "professional" just as Billy doesn't travel with the team so he does not have "any" relationships with the players.
To me, there is more than Moneyball here.
Good story, good movie, good acting. Well worth seeing and seeing more than once.
Loved the movie, but the inconsiderate knuckleheads who arrive late and then have to go to the rest room or snack stand 3 times during the movie make the case for waiting for on-demand. Stretching the truth happens in every movie based on a true story...unless your one of the characters who is 40 pounds heavier, who cares!
I saw the movie last night and enjoyed it. Kind of like 'bad news bears' with adults in it. Some humor, good storyline, easy enough to follow, I think, even if you're not a baseball fan. Not good enought to pay to see it again but I'd watch it again on cable.
I agree with earlier posts that once you take advantage of an arbitrage situation it begins to disappear. I'm sure there were a lot of liberties taken to make this a more impactful story.
Looking forward to reading the 'separating fact from fiction' post.
I agree with earlier posts that once you take advantage of an arbitrage situation it begins to disappear. I'm sure there were a lot of liberties taken to make this a more impactful story.
Looking forward to reading the 'separating fact from fiction' post.
son saw it last night and his review was a resounding yes.....from a story viewpoint and the baseball....
I will go see it...
I will go see it...
Saw it on Friday with the wife. She, too, loved the father-daughter story angle. I loved it. Like RJM I thought it was worth the admission price, but I won't pay to see it a second time. One of the funnier scenes to me, and I have no idea whether anything like this actually happened, was when Beane was talking to David Justice and asked him if he thought he was special. Justice said that since Beane was paying him $7 million he must be. Beane told him he wasn't paying him $7 million, that the Yankees were paying half of his contract. Beane said, "The Yankees are paying 3 and a half million a year for you to play against them. That's what the Yankees think about you."
Having read the book, I wanted to see the movie too. My wife joined me. She nodded off (and she loves baseball). IMO, there were just way too many awkwardly-long silent spots, watching someone drive or sit at a desk or stare into space. They could easily cut 20 mins. off just by eliminating some of those. The long pauses didn't add dramatic effect as much as they just made us think "C'mon already! Move it along!".
Still worth the admission and probably a few cable views.
Still worth the admission and probably a few cable views.
Read the book when it came out. Saw an interview on MLB network with Billy Bean, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hall & Michael Lewis, and then saw the movie last night. Billy was very gracious and addressed the fact that it was a movie dramatization of him and the book, and obviously flattered that Brad Pitt plays him. Hit on the issue about a lot of teams being able to win with Zito, Mulder, Hudson as a pitching staff, but he noted that they were there because of their process. (also noted that Hudson dropped so far in the draft because he was short) Addressed that now most teams use a statistical model in addition to scouts and in fact the A’s have more scouts than ever. Also addressed the fact that their model may not work in a 5 or 7 game playoff series. Movie got made because Pitt was committed to the project through many stops and starts.
Movie was interesting, well done, a bit long as sandman mentioned. I thought they did a great job of weaving in Billy Bean’s youth, and the relationship with his daughter to fill out the story and make it more interesting to watch. Pitt was good, but Hall really captured DePodesta IMO. Worth a trip to the movies and it will be easy to get the wife or girlfriend to tag along….
Movie was interesting, well done, a bit long as sandman mentioned. I thought they did a great job of weaving in Billy Bean’s youth, and the relationship with his daughter to fill out the story and make it more interesting to watch. Pitt was good, but Hall really captured DePodesta IMO. Worth a trip to the movies and it will be easy to get the wife or girlfriend to tag along….
Good, not great. Was wondering if they'd get the Lenny Dykstra vs. Billy Beane mentality part in there. Probably a good call not to.
Billy Beane - 6'4"
Brad Pitt - 5'11"
They did a pretty good job of making Pitt seem taller than he is, but he didn't look like a 5 tooler by any stretch.
Billy Beane - 6'4"
Brad Pitt - 5'11"
They did a pretty good job of making Pitt seem taller than he is, but he didn't look like a 5 tooler by any stretch.
Good flick. I was surprised that they were able to make it interesting and enjoyable.
I also liked Joe Posnanski's review of the Moneyball movie.
I also liked Joe Posnanski's review of the Moneyball movie.
quote:Originally posted by BOF:
Read the book when it came out. Saw an interview on MLB network with Billy Bean, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hall & Michael Lewis, and then saw the movie last night. Billy was very gracious and addressed the fact that it was a movie dramatization of him and the book, and obviously flattered that Brad Pitt plays him. Hit on the issue about a lot of teams being able to win with Zito, Mulder, Hudson as a pitching staff, but he noted that they were there because of their process. (also noted that Hudson dropped so far in the draft because he was short) Addressed that now most teams use a statistical model in addition to scouts and in fact the A’s have more scouts than ever. Also addressed the fact that their model may not work in a 5 or 7 game playoff series. Movie got made because Pitt was committed to the project through many stops and starts.
Movie was interesting, well done, a bit long as sandman mentioned. I thought they did a great job of weaving in Billy Bean’s youth, and the relationship with his daughter to fill out the story and make it more interesting to watch. Pitt was good, but Hall really captured DePodesta IMO. Worth a trip to the movies and it will be easy to get the wife or girlfriend to tag along….
I watched the interview on the MLB Network with Bob Costas as well. It was interesting. As for going to see the movie, for some reason
I'm reading the book on Nook now; I even bailed out on the Cowboys-Redskins in the first quarter last night to read. It's a great book so far!
Wow. I wish I could be so easily amused by throw-away canned sub-plots like the single Dad/precocious daughter thing...I could sit and watch the Disney Channel for hours on end in total fascination.
Right or wrong, these guys were experimenting with a breakthrough approach to competing with small market MLB team budgets. I think that's a remarkably innovative thing to contemplate. Who gives a sh/t about how cute that actor-
kid was?
Most important scene in this movie was Billy Bean and Peter Brant in the Cleveland Indian's parking garage. It may have been a fictional conversation, but it was truly poignant.
Right or wrong, these guys were experimenting with a breakthrough approach to competing with small market MLB team budgets. I think that's a remarkably innovative thing to contemplate. Who gives a sh/t about how cute that actor-
kid was?
Most important scene in this movie was Billy Bean and Peter Brant in the Cleveland Indian's parking garage. It may have been a fictional conversation, but it was truly poignant.
quote:I wish I could be so easily amused by throw-away canned sub-plots like the single Dad/precocious daughter thing
Oh Please.
I wish I could be so easily amused by protests about people who are so easily amused by canned sub-plots like the single Dad/precocious daughter thing.
Yeah, me doths(sp?) protest too much on that point...
My real point is, after having read the book and watched the movie, the cute kid thing just wasn't what I walked about thinking about.
Nor was Brad Pitt's suitability as a Billy Bean.
I liked the movie.
My real point is, after having read the book and watched the movie, the cute kid thing just wasn't what I walked about thinking about.
Nor was Brad Pitt's suitability as a Billy Bean.
I liked the movie.
The daughter’s singing was a plot mechanism. It was used to illustrate that Billy Beane is not a robot; that he, like many other humans, struggles to know when to apply the mind’s logic over the heart’s truth. After castigating his scouting department that OBP is the only thing that matters, he trades Giambi because he disagrees with the player’s personal conduct. At one point in the movie, Billy laments that he’ll probably get fired if the ‘experiment’ doesn’t work, which he says would be bad because he isn’t very far from having to pay for his daughter’s college. At the movie’s climax, the Red Sox making a financial offer that would eliminate all of those worries. But Billy decides he would rather maximize the amount of time can spend with his daughter instead of putting his ‘stamp’ on the Red Sox organization. He chose all the complications of a parental relationship within divorced family over the ‘simplicity’ of picking and releasing ballplayers as if they were chess pieces.
The daughter was a key part of the story. The real story was his daughter was in high school when Beane was offered a contract by the Red Sox. He turned down the contract because he wanted to be near his daughter through college. After the fact, when his daughter found out she told him it would have been cool to go to college in Boston. This was in the Boston Globe a few years ago.
I found the three most memorable moments to be his daughter singing to him, the put down on Justice's attitude, and in the board room when Beane keep rolling his eyes towards Brand, pointing and waiting to hear, "because he gets on base."
I found the three most memorable moments to be his daughter singing to him, the put down on Justice's attitude, and in the board room when Beane keep rolling his eyes towards Brand, pointing and waiting to hear, "because he gets on base."
Interesting what we draw from the same movie. The impression I got from it was that Beane didn't take the Boston offer because it would have been too much pressure.
Here's a guy with all the talent in the world who couldn't handle the pressure. Here's a guy who can't bear to watch games in person. Here's a guy who realizes that when you have a small payroll you've got a built in excuse. If he had taken the Boston offer there would be no excuses for not fielding a top team every year.
Is that reality? I have no idea. That's just the conclusion I drew from the book and the movie.
Here's a guy with all the talent in the world who couldn't handle the pressure. Here's a guy who can't bear to watch games in person. Here's a guy who realizes that when you have a small payroll you've got a built in excuse. If he had taken the Boston offer there would be no excuses for not fielding a top team every year.
Is that reality? I have no idea. That's just the conclusion I drew from the book and the movie.
I finally saw the movie... I just wish somebody would have taught Brad Pitt how to chew and spit sunflower seeds.... very distracting
quote:Originally posted by CADad:
Hmm...I thought the book simply said that Billy Beane was too smart to play baseball and that Lenny Dykstra wasn't smart enough to realize he wasn't all that smart.
Alright, I admit I laughed. The thought of someone actually giving Dykstra money to "invest" just cracks me up...
Several years ago I spent ninety minutes with Lenny Dykstra. All I would give him is a breath mint and a muzzle.
It was good fun...Saw several familiar faces cast as scouts.
....I wished I looked like Brad Pitt.
quote:RJM said.....I found the three most memorable moments to be his daughter singing to him, the put down on Justice's attitude, and in the board room when Beane keep rolling his eyes towards Brand, pointing and waiting to hear, "because he gets on base."
RJM - You were right and I could have saved myself $9.50 x 2 last night.
My wife and I really enjoyed the movie. I wish they could have done a little more character development on Billy Beane away from baseball, but that was fine. It takes an interesting person to turn away $12.5M in 2002. I don't think I would be that interesting.