MONEYBALL (5 stars out of 6)

'Moneyball' (directed by Bennett Miller, 'Capote') is adapted by Oscar-winning screenwriters Aaron Sorkin & Steve Zaillian from a best seller titled, 'Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game'. This movie tells the true story (changing some names, here & there) of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), a tobacco-chewing, snack-scarfing strategist who found himself & his team in a crisis. The year: 2001. After losing to the NY Yankees in the playoffs, the A's suffered 3 huge losses of another kind: Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, & Jason Isringhausen (lured away by richer rivals). With an owner who couldn't match the expensive salaries, Beane was in quite the pickle; as his roster was full of Nervous-Nellies, underachievers, & has-beens.

What was Beane to do? I'll tell ya what he did. He goes to Cleveland meets a overweight, nerd Yale grad (Jonah Hill) doing statistics for the Indians, hires him for the A's, & sets about building a new team by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players! According to Beane, his veteran scouts & their stale-minded recommendations just wasn't cutting it anymore. Gut instinct, alone, was not going to win the A's the World Series. No, this new math system would tip-off Beane to hire guys with high on-base percentages & low salaries (guys who other teams wouldn't mind ditching). So what wound up happening? In the next season (2002), the A's (lowest-salaried team in baseball) put together a historic 20-game winning streak, setting a new American League record.

Everything I've typed sounds like only baseball fans might enjoy this film. But not so fast. It's more about a personal war between intuition, statistics, & the
history of baseball. And it's also about loyalty - to an idea, a partnership, & said gut-instincts. Billy Beane says, 'I hate losing more than I love winning'. He was aware that if he follows his theories & they fail ... he'll be fired. That shows a lot of his character. Together, him & his partner (Jonah Hill) assembled a team that seemed both reckless & risky at first ... but during the course of one season, the plan proved to be the best baseball bargain project, ever. Thanks to some stellar (if lacking flair) direction by Bennett Miller & the whipsmart screenplay, the movie works even if you don't know what an OBP is. The dialogue is brainy, humorous, naturalistic. And as written, you come to care for some of the characters; especially Beane & 1st baseman Hatteberg (Chris Pratt).

Brad Pitt gives one of the best performances of his career as Billy Beane; giving an outward "I'm cool, I'm cool" appearance, when inside ... he's lonely &
raging. Whether pacing around in quiet introspection or throwing things across a room in angst - trying to balance his professional life (loving the game, hatred of
losing) with what's left of his personal one (divorced, trying to sustain a shaky relationship with his daughter) - Pitt's Beane is almost manic in his floundering emotions (quiet, inward gloom to crazed hope). Pitt gives Beane an emotional depth that I don't think was written in the script. I've never thought of Brad as an incredible thespian (too mysterious & ethereal in most of his portrayals). But here, he's playing an everyguy, on-the-nose, & is extremely appealing.

Jonah Hill is great as the fidgety, deadpan, fish-out-of-water statistician. Hill is known for his starkly comedic antics. But he really dials it down, here. And I gotta say that he really impressed me; particularly in all his moments of awkwardness in unchartered territories (boardroom meetings, having to fire someone, etc.). I really enjoyed the interplay btwn. him & Pitt; especially in the early-goings when their crazy mission is put to the test. Phillip Seymour Hoffman - looking as bloated & curmudgeony as ever - is stellar as the bull-headed Art Howe; who doesn't see eye to eye with Beane & his statistical ideas. The increasingly confrontational bouts he has with Pitt's Beane are quietly electric to watch. Robin Wright is fine as Beane's quite happy ex-wife; but she's really in only 1 scene.

You know, for as intellectually engaging, humorous, & exhilarating as 'Moneyball' is (including nail-biting game sequences) ... it's also a fairly melancholy movie. Pitt's Beane is often alone. There are soul-bearing scenes. Beane says (paraphrasing): 'It doesn't matter if you have a historic 20-game winning streak. All that matters is that you win the last game of the season'. That's kinda depressing {haha}. Fans love baseball (with all it's unexpected joys & aggravations), but baseball is also a cutthroat business -- that's sobering. In what usually qualifies as a 'sad' movie ... no one dies. But this is a different type of 'sad' movie. The melancholy comes from Beane's endless pursuit of the 'last win'. And he must measure $$, fame, & his obsession with winning ... with family. Great film.

50/50 (5 stars out of 6)

'50/50', inspired by a true story & directed by Jonathan Levine, stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Adam; a 27 yr. old writer for public radio in Seattle. The title of this film refers to the survivial chances of Adam; as he is informed that he has a rare form of spinal cancer. And the people in his life react to this awful news in varying ways. His artist girlfriend, Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard), pledges to stand by him, but embarks upon an affair with a hippie. She seems to care for Adam, but didn't sign up to be a nurse. She also no longer loves him; and to me, she felt that the 'cancer' was a trap for her to stick it out with him. For encouragement & support, Adam then turns to his best buddy, Kyle (Seth Rogen), tries to keep Adam's spirits high by joking with him & trying to get him laid. Adams' mom (Anjelica Huston) goes into smothering mode despite also caring for her Alzheimer's-afflicted husband.

She wants to be there for Adam, but the last thing he needs now is hysterics. While in chemo, he meets 2 new friends: Mitch & Alan (Philip Baker Hall); the latter offering blunt, dry wit in light of their dire situations. And the last person attached to Adam is his newly appointed cancer therapist, Katherine (Anna Kendrick), whose inexperience, but open-heartedness strikes a chord with him. She's initially overeager to help, and they struggle early on. But once they find their groove, both realize that: if he didn't have this life-threatening cancer, maybe they would have made for a good couple down the road. The film chronicles the struggles Adam faces as he tries to beat the cancer. 50% of this film is made for laughs (to cut the seriousness), but the other 50% is brutally emotional, indeed.

Let me get this out of the way. I really, really enjoyed '50/50'. That said, there are a handful of issues that prevent me from calling it 'great'. Aside from the outcome of Adam's climactic surgery, this film is quite predictable. There's nothing 'wrong' with that. I enjoyed what I watched. But my congnizance of the building predictabilities was on high alert; when I should have just been organically enjoying each scene. I knew Adam would go through the emotional spectrum that one does when they are young & have cancer (including the Anger Stage; where Adam acts like a completle dick to his ex-girlfriend & his mother. Me no likey.). I also knew that his girlfriend would cheat before it happened. I knew he'd fall for his therapist; and vice-versa. I knew ther'd be some older cancer patients who try to imbue Adam with both humor & a biting sense of reality through the chemotherapy.

I also thought that some of the comedy missed the mark. i.e., lots of the 'let's get Adam laid' parts. BUT, the overwhelming feeling I take away from '50/50' is highly positive. Though there is a high humor quotient in this drama, the screenplay never loses sight of the characters. Joseph Gordon-Levitt - stepping into the role last minute, for James McAvoy - is great, here. I didn't always care for his Adam, but the performance hits hard, nevertheless (including a STRONG standing face-to-face with mortality scene late in the film). JGL is capable of broad acting, nuance, & everything in-between. He's never disappointed me. And I liked the easy chemistry btwn. him & Anna Kendrick's Katherine. Seth Rogen does his usual schtick (which I enjoy). But a plot device (a certain book in his bathroom) eradicated any iffy feelings I may have initially had about the character. And I loved Anjelica Huston's turn as Adam's understandably concerned mom.

The authenticity of the film is one of it's strongest attribute, as well. As mentioned, this film is based on a true story. And Seth Rogen, himself, knew/knows the man who was afflicted with the spinal cancer. So for Rogen, '50/50' is more than just some standard dramedy. The fragile mix of comedy, drama, & potential-tragedy is handled well. The sweet parts make me forgive the crude ones. There's a vulnerability to the main characters that is appealing. I laughed a lot at some of the comic moments. And I was moved by the dark/angry/sad elements in the film. The last thing I'll say is: for ONCE, I think that the poignant final Act was the strongest segment of the film. Most movies start out strong & then fizzle. This film did the reverse for me; which is pretty awesome.