KYLE M. JOHNSON
PRIDE STAFF WRITER
Investing in “Moneyball”
It’s almost prophetic that a film about one of the poorest franchises in Major League Baseball will likely be one of the most underappreciated sports films of all-time. It’s a shame, too.
Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), the general manager of the Oakland Athletics, sets out to compile a successful baseball roster with the help of Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) and an incredibly modest budget. With the entire MLB against them, Beane and Brand set out to prove that it’s possible to create a winning team with comparatively little money.
“Moneyball” is a baseball movie with an asterisk: it features very little field action of the game. In fact, it isn’t until the last half hour of the movie until we’re placed on the field with the players during a game, but with good reason. With Beane’s distance he keeps between himself and the game, it makes sense that viewers wouldn’t witness any field-action until Beane puts himself near the field.
Instead of your conventional baseball film, what “Moneyball” offers is a behind-the-scenes look at the mechanics of what goes into developing a baseball roster and a successful franchise.
Pitt delivers a realistic portrayal of a man who missed his own major league victory and wants to give it to those deserving of it. Hill is warm as the driven assistant who somehow ended up working in baseball despite his educational background. Also, look out for Kerris Dorsey as Beane’s concerned daughter, who rather impressively performs a cover of Lenka’s “The Show” as a way to reach out to her dad.
“Moneyball” offers a true story about the heart and determination that must go into success and the compromises needed to reach life’s little victories.
How killin’ is “Killer Elite?”
With movie trailers and posters for “Killer Elite” marketing it as “based on a true story,” one may think that this be Jason Statham’s return to action films with substance. However, upon viewing the film, audience members may ask how much of this is true, with some scenes leaving you consumed in disbelief and awe.
Danny (Statham) is a retired special-operations agent who returns to his old lifestyle in order to save his partner, Hunter (Robert De Niro), who is being held captive. Hunter’s captor is a man who has lost three sons in war and wants justice from his sons’ killers to be carried out by Danny. He must obtain the soldiers’ confessions and make their deaths look like accidents. While carrying out his mission, Danny is then confronted by Spike (Clive Owen), who intends to put a stop to these killings due to his attachment and association with the targets.
The actors are all very entertaining to watch. Statham, playing a layered-version of his usual self, is determined to prove that what we do does not define us. De Niro is fun as the wisecracking mentor, leaving us wishing for more screen-time. Owen plays a strong roadblock in Statham’s path.
The action sequences, while immensely exciting, are sporadic. We are often left with many (in comparison) slower sequences. These sequences, however, are necessary to the plot and entertaining in execution. One such scene involves the developing of a mallet that matches the tiles of one target’s shower, in order to make his death seem like an accident.
The dialogue is cheesy with the formulaic, bad (but fun), popcorn-flick one-liners being spouted regularly. A notable catch phrase worthy line involves a character shouting, “BI- N-G-(expletive)-O!”
If you’re looking for a cat-andmouse action/thriller with refreshing and perhaps ridiculously, complex action sequences, see “Killer Elite.”