Film: "Moneyball" (2011)

[Bob Pr.]

"Moneyball" (2011)" 133 min. PG-13 Genres: Biography, Drama, Sport.
Stars: Brad Pitt, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jonah Hill, Robin Wright. Plot:
Billy Beane, the General Manager of the Oakland A's, wrestles with trying to
put together a winning baseball team when his budget is the lowest of any
major league team. (Based on the book of the same title by Michael Lewis.)
IMDB rates it 8.2 of 10 stars: Moneyball (2011) - IMDb
Rotten Tomatoes: 97% of top critics rate it "ripe": Moneyball - Rotten Tomatoes
Roger Ebert rates it 4 of 4 stars: Moneyball :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews
Trailer: Moneyball Trailer (International Version) - IMDb

Bill James* invented a variety of new statistical ways ('sabermetrics') for evaluating
major league baseball players and what it takes to win ball games. Billy Beane
(Brad Pitt), the Oakland A's GM, stumbles on a statistical nerd & baseball addict,
Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), who understands how to apply James' Sabermetrics to
identify those low cost players who would be a big help to the team. The film in
part shows the contest between the old, time honored style of intuitive evaluations
by baseball scouts and coaches vs. this use of newer statistical evaluations. Insiders
say that it realistically captures the feel and scenes inside club houses, BB meetings,
negotiations, etc. A touching, human story (esp. between Beane and his daughter).
The book/film is based on true events, only slightly prettified. (If you're puzzled by Beane
wearing a wedding ring while seemingly divorced, a thread in IMDb's "Message Board" reveals that when the
film was shot, Beane's 2nd marriage was included but was cut from the final version; the wedding ring was
not.)

B. & I both rate it 8 of 10 stars.

*Bill James - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia