money ball - review

About a week ago we watched the new movie Moneyball.

It's a truly fascinating story about a baseball team that has to run on such a small amount of money that it's nearly impossible to get the really great players. The General Manager, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), has to figure out how their going to take their team to the top, when they're probably the poorest team out there.

And that's where Peter Brand, a graduate of Yale, comes into the picture. (gotta love Jonah Hill. :P He's the perfect nerd--glasses, hair, and all)

He has this theory about pro baseball. According to him, "It's about getting things down to one number. Using the stats the way we read them, we'll find value in players that no one else can see. People are overlooked for a variety of biased reasons and perceived flaws. Age, appearance, personality...I believe that there is a championship team of twenty-five people that we can afford, because everyone else in baseball undervalues them."

And by using the concept of 'Moneyball', Billy Beane and co. come up with a baseball team that may be "an island of misfit toys", but may still have a chance.

It's a wonderful story.

You may have to watch it a couple times to get it, especially if you're like us where, while we know the basic baseball concepts, our Dad's still explaining nearly the entire movie afterwards. And if you're not a baseball fan, it's still an interesting movie to watch, I think.

But then it was rated PG-13 for a reason.

The language really isn't that great. And it's kind of sad because, if it didn't have the language, it would appeal to a lot more families, probably.

If you want to know the specifics, you can check out here, and if you scroll down to the language section, it'll tell you exactly. Fortunately most of the "15 s-words" are mumbled and such, so it's not really as bad as a looks. But then all the language is scattered, so you really can't skip it all at once.

But other than that, this movie's really interesting. And other than the fact that we never got why the girl was calling her Dad a 'loser' at the end, it *is* possible to understand most of it. And when you do, you can appreciate how truly brilliant the concept of 'Moneyball' was.

It's worth watching if you have the time. I enjoyed it. Made me appreciate baseball more. (but then, of course, still totally prefer swimming. :P)

I give it...**** and 1/2 out of ***** stars. :)

Very cool movie. :D