Anyone else looking forward to this? I've been meaning to read the book for a few years now but have never gotten around to it. My impression of the book is that it gets downright geeky with stats in some chapters, though I'm guessing we won't see a whole lot of that in the movie. Still, it looks like it'll be one of the better baseball movies in a while.

Baseball movies are destined to flop. Baseball movies based on onbase percentages are doomed from the onset.

I guess the marketing behind it has already taken shape, as I'm seeing 'best movie/actor' considerations already being thrown at it.

Do I want to see it? Hell yes..does the 'general public' want to see it? Hell no.

Got to see a screening of this for work. Meh. Not bad, not great. But I don't care for baseball. I wouldn't worry about the stats bogging down the film. It plays more of the relationships between Pitt and Hill and Hoffman. All who perform admirably.


Pitt for best actor? Sure, but I've seen him do better.

And I can state first hand that the marketing for this film has been awful and confusing. But watch our ads on sports center! ;)

So as a non-baseball fan (understand the game but don't watch much), it would still be worth my time and ticket money? I was thinking of going this weekend. Bonus question - will my wife, who doesn't know baseball from football and doesn't care, hate it?

I say go for it. It's good enough but not very action oriented. But it is a film about negotiations so you had to expect that. The climax happens with the numbers/contracts/Aaron Sorkin pithy dialogue rather than a baseball game. Same director as Capote so also expect long moments of quiet brooding but the dialogue gives it a steady heart beat.


^^edit: I should say, however, if you must spend money on a movie that you haven't seen yet, I recommend Drive.

Just returned from doing just that - good shit.

Did Sorkin write this? i've always liked his writing.

Moneyball theories are starting to make some headway in to football(soccer) over here. Idea being that Liverpool (now owned by Fenway Sports Group) are incorporating it into their recruitment. Although how £35million on Andy Carroll could be construed as any sort of fiscal prudence does seem like a big joke. Admittedly at their own vast expense.

Yes, (well co-wrote with Steve Zallihan [sp?]) and me too despite all of his flaws and foibles.

Want to see it...but no money so wont until it hits redbox.

I saw it today at a mall 1.5 miles away from the Texas ballpark today. I thought it was awesome. Like Oscar time. It'll probably mean more for MLB fans, knowing what makes/made Billy Beane tick thru the early 00's A's run. I read reviews that said the daughter thread was unnessesary, but it did make for a nice capper and reason why Beane stuck around at that time.

The movie is definitely going for awards. Having PSH as Art Howe was completely unnessesary, as the dude was the most inanimate corpse to ever grace an MLB diamond. A stand in from The Walking Dead could have sufficed.

I paid $3.25 at the matinee for this and felt like I owed them more! Sorta evens out the $80-ish I paid to get into the proper game tonight in Texas, which had it's share of douchebaggery, false home-team bravado and pettiness tonight.

Is it on DVD???!:):)

Just got around to watching this last night. Pretty good, a bit over dramatic at times, but I enjoyed it.

And I agree that using PSH as Arte Howe was a waste of talent.

I checked this out a week or so back after really positive reviews from friends and family.

End result: liked but did not love.

I think there's some good interplay between Pitt and the scouts, the owner, and what not, but, overall, I found things a bit too hamfisted for my liking. Pitt is the "real" manager in the clubhouse (maybe it was true, I don't know), but it came across as a bit much (but sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction). That part just kind of rang false with me. The daughter part was sweet and probably a good outside dimension to keep the movie balanced, but I could have done without it personally.

That being said, it was a good performance by Brad Pitt and the thing I liked the best about this movie was I came away with at least a somewhat understanding of how a major league sports franchise is managed; the way trades go down, how players are cut, the negotiating of salaries with agents and so forth. That stuff was very interesting to me.

For that franchise, specifically during the season this movie covers, it was true.

Finally saw this yesterday. It wasn't without its problems, but it was still a fine film. The family stuff was completely unnecessary and the baseball stuff felt superficial at best. No mention of the starting rotation is almost criminal. There was, like, a brief shot that had the back of Hudson's jersey and that was it. But I guess already having them on the team doesn't play well into the narrative the film was trying to convey. It was humorous to see the film making a big deal out of losing Damon after his only year in Oakland, which was also the worst year of his career at that point (and since, for that matter). I suppose that also works into the narrative of "the old ways are not necessarily the best ways," but that specific point wasn't brought up at all during the film either.

I'm much more determined to read the book now, though. I've been told it goes into much deeper detail on the stuff I'm actually interested in and does not get into Beane's family at all.

True. I recommend the book to anyone who follows the MLB even casually.