Moneyball [Blu-ray] [2011] [Region Free]

Moneyball has to be one of those books where you would assume it could never be made into a film. And yet they did, and its an absolute classic. Baseball seems to be a sport that you can build a great film off, Field of Dreams, The Natural, it seems to be one of the few sports to do it. Moneyball, taken from the bestseller by Michael Lewis, follows the Oakland Athletics (or just A’s as they are known). The A’s are baseball’s poor man. They exist in a small market, have a very low budget to sign players... and worst of all any young talent they develop usually moves on to the bigger teams (in this case the very rich New York Yankees).The focus of this film is the General Manager Billy Bean (Brad Pitt). As a young player he was signed up as the next ‘big thing’ only to see those dreams dashed. Now a GM he dreams of taking the A’s to bigger things... but how? Well, the problem with baseball at the time is its scouting was based on “if you looked the part, that was good enough”. Instead of working out how to win, they focused on believing they could sign the stars of tomorrow. The problem is the A’s couldn’t afford anyone like that. Cue a chance meeting with Peter Brand and an understanding of ‘metrics’ in baseball. Why always sign players that could be ‘stars’, why not sign players that could excel at their position and (however ugly) score runs. The pitcher who threw funny that no one wanted... well the A’s would sign him up. Who cares how he throws, he got strikeouts.The films is as much about misunderstanding people as about baseball. Its about seeing the bigger picture, not just about how your team looks. Moneyball is an enthralling film that will keep you hooked all the way through. You don’t even need to like baseball in any way, or know anything about it to enjoy this film. Brad Pitt is just fantastic as the passionate and driven GM. Jonah Hill too. If you hate sports, forget its about baseball, this is drama at its best. Highly Recommended.

Moneyball isn't focussed on just playing Baseball but instead the inner workings of building the greatest team. 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.

Moneyball is a brilliant film, and the one thing the yanks are good at, and that is making sports films.This film is based on a true story about a failing baseball team. Jonah hill plays the part of a yale number cruncher, I have seen a few films with Jonah hill in and to tell you the truth he is not my cup tea but his acting in this film was very good. The late Philip Seymour Hoffman was his normal brilliant self, but I must say for me, this has been Brad Pitt at his best, if not his best part I have seen him in.What I loved about the film was the amazing live footage of the winning run, which just added to the true events. Oh and the song brad pitt's daughter sang was just lovely.***FEATURES BELOW***Deleted ScenesBilly Beane: Re-inventing the gameBlooper with Brad Pitt and Jonah hillMoneyball: Playing the game - making of moneyballDrafting the teamAdapting Moneyball

This film was both entertaining and thought-provoking, especially if you follow professional baseball. It was a revelation to me so I went out and also bought the book, which was just as compelling. Brad Pitt can act too and was totally convincing as the erratic but original baseball exec. Billy Beane. If you are interested in sports it helps but the film stands on its own as a good story. Based on true events and on the book of the same name.