Moneyball Review

Recently I waxed poetic about my love for the game of baseball when I revisited and reviewed the classic film Field of Dreams, and as we are only a week into the season the magic isn't even done washing over me yet. Therefore it was a safe bet that the Oscar nominated picture Moneyball would be a breezy, delicious watch for me, not only because of my love of the game but also because of my fascination with the way it is approached behind the scenes over the past 10-15 years. 

See, when I watch baseball it isn't merely a 3 hour television event involving athletes that I can switch off as soon as the final pitch is thrown. No, I want to know everything. I want to understand what the scouts are scouting. I want to know how the finances are broken down in a contract. I want to be a fly on the wall when two teams are negotiating a franchise changing trade. So the fact that a piece of Hollywood entertainment deemed excellent by critics and audiences alike was essentially about those very things, both the business and baseball decision making aspects of my favorite sport, it seemed like a movie that would give me a lot to chew on.

What I wondered, however, is how the material would be handled to appeal to everyone, even those who know little to nothing about the game itself. Luckily, my initial fear of it being a far too simplistic pill to swallow was instantly alleviated when I learned that the screenplay was co-written by Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, two names that I associate with challenging me with their words rather than keeping it too simple. Sure enough, the screenplay was one of the finest aspects of Moneyball, as it perfectly revolved around the game of baseball without being bogged down by any urge to pander to people like me. Despite being one myself, I recognize that crafting a film only to appeal to fans is not the best approach to filmmaking, and Moneyball can be appreciated even if you have never watched a single inning in your life.

Despite being a not so exciting premise on paper, the tight, focused direction by now multiple Oscar nominee Bennett Miller and the shockingly gorgeous cinematography from Wally Pfister come together to create a world that anyone watching instantly wants to live in. Brad Pitt has been in a lot of great movies over the course of his career but I honestly don't know if he has ever been this on point before, as his turn as famed Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane is perfectly powerful and yet equally subtle. Despite being familiar with the real Beane for many, many years now, I felt as if I was watching the real thing in action throughout Moneyball rather than an A list actor pretending to be him.

Jonah Hill is a strong supporting piece here, although I will be honest, I am not sure if he was truly worthy of an Oscar nomination for the role. I can't help but wonder if he benefited from a sort of shock factor with voters because he was associated with being merely a comedic actor that belongs alongside Seth Rogen and then all the sudden, there he is, a vital piece in an excellent dramatic feature. Also terrific and surprisingly underutilized is the late, brilliant Philip Seymour Hoffman. It was strange witnessing a man that I consider to be the greatest actor of a generation be such a limited factor in a great film, but at the same time I'm not sure I would change a thing to squeeze him into more scenes. The pacing of Moneyball is essentially perfect throughout just the way it is.

Yes, Moneyball is very much about the way baseball has changed thanks to the usage of advanced analytics as a way of replacing the old school methods of scouting players and teams, but it is also a strong character study about the life of a man who is petrified of repeating the failures of his past. Some of the best moments of the film are when the frame is shared by Billy Beane and his daughter, especially a sequence that takes place in a music store when a father just wants to hear his little girl sing. 

At the end of the day though, Moneyball does celebrate the romantic relationship a fan has with the beautiful game of baseball, and it did so with eloquence and honesty rather than forced sentimentality and manipulation. This is quite the film, one I know I will turn to again and again each year when I smell the way the world comes alive outside after a cold winter ends and I start craving the roar of the crowd and the crack of the bat all over again.

4.5/5 

God's Pocket Review

Just take a quick look at the cast of God's Pocket and it's difficult to believe it could be a bad film. The late great Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jenkins, Christina Hendricks and John Turturro, occasionally it is a treat to watch actors act regardless of the material, and at times that concept was at play here as the film never really fails on any level. The problem is, it also never really succeeds. It just sort of exists, a work to be viewed once so that you can shrug your shoulders at the end, turn on something else and quickly forget about the entire experience.

The attempt at replicating a close knit, lower class, typically ignored community was admirable but was far better handled in a film like Gone Baby Gone where everything felt authentic. In God's Pocket it came across like actors playing roles, straining to portray stereotypes and as such I couldn't possibly connect to the plight of anyone involved.

Speaking of this plight, this film also lacked any sort of real stakes to hold onto, a person to root for or hell, even just a story to want to follow. Things just sort of happen meaninglessly, characters make decisions, bad things happen and never once did my pulse quicken nor did my interests get peaked.

I considered laying out the general plot of the film during this review, but honestly I just don't care to. Thinking about it makes me as apathetic as the movie itself felt towards establishing a meaningful narrative. It isn't a terrible film because there is too much talent on the screen lifting the material to the best of their abilities. No, it's actually worse than terrible because at least that would be in some way memorable. God's Pocket is a forgettable, painfully bland film, and it's a shame to see one of the final Philip Seymour Hoffman performances be wasted on the type of film that ends up in a bin of dirt cheap Blu-ray's years from now, pushed aside to make room for something capable of resonating.


2/5

The Hungers Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Review

I have said it before and I will say it again, I totally respect and appreciate the fact that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Art is pointless without discussion, without debate, without passion, because if everyone constantly agreed on the quality of it then what the hell is the point? So by no means am I telling anyone they are wrong or that their thoughts are invalid when I say the following: I can't comprehend the negativity that has surrounded The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, at least on a critical level. 

Some may see the "fresh" overall ranking on a site on Rottentomatoes and wonder what negativity I am referring to, but if you take a closer look at many of the reviews posted, there seems to be this consistent rhetoric regarding this film being a lazy cash grab and many seem to find it boring. The general idea behind the cash grab notion is because of the decision to split the final novel into two films where as they were able to make well paced and compelling single films out of the first two, and I will be totally honest, prior to seeing Mockingjay Part 1, I had assumed I would be bothered by this exact thing. I read all the Hunger Games novels prior to me seeing any of the films, and I recall being a tad underwhelmed by Mockingjay after being thrilled by every damn page of Catching Fire. When the announcement came that the final piece of the source material would be split apart, I rolled my eyes and assumed the worst because I didn't believe the first half of Mockingjay was worthy of being its own film, but I gotta tell ya...I was wrong.

Was the pacing of Mockingjay Part 1 perfect? No, a little bit of fat could have been trimmed off the edges for sure. There may have been a scene or two that could have found their way to the cutting room floor without harming the narrative, although to be honest at this moment I couldn't tell you what I would have cut myself. Without a doubt though, this film didn't flow quite as wonderfully as its predecessor Catching Fire did, but regardless the decision to make two films was absolutely the correct one. Knowing what is yet to come when the conclusion of this franchise arrives next year, there is simply far too much content worthy of finding its way to the screen for them to have made an audience friendly 150 minute or less feature without rushing through the material. I'm glad they chose to let the environment, the dialogue and the stakes of the revolution breathe. 

Being bored is such a subjective response to a film because one man's trash is another man's treasure. I was fascinated by the back and forth war taking place during Mockingjay Part 1, and I don't mean merely bullets and bombs but also the trade off of political propaganda in attempts to sway the momentum of the movement. The footage used to rally the districts, the coaching of words to incite the highest amount of passion, all of it was well written and totally compelling, and I found that the film pretty much flew by and I never once felt fatigued by the progression of the story nor did I want it to end. 

Director Francis Lawrence had already proven to me that he was the right choice to helm the remainder of the Hunger Games franchise after I fell in love with Catching Fire, and that opinion was reinforced with his confident and smart direction on display here. The imagery on display throughout balances the modern and crisp essence of 21st century filmmaking with the gritty and dour vibe of the setting and mood wonderfully. The performances were yet again on point, and the talent on display with the usual suspects from the previous installments combined with additions like Julianne Moore and Natalie Dormer made it impossible not to find the dialogue interesting. Oh, and Philip Seymour Hoffman...if he were my professor in school, regardless of the subject matter, I would have gotten an A. When he spoke, I listened, and while I usually don't dwell on the loss of actors for too long, it is still surreal to know he is gone and the days of seeing him absolutely own a frame are soon drawing to a close. 

I have a feeling that the reception to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 is going to change drastically once the final film is released, when it becomes apparent that the somewhat methodical pace of the first act was actually a perfect lead in to the chaos and tragedy that rears its ugly head during part two. This may not end up making a top ten, top twenty, hell who knows, maybe even a top thirty list from me once I screen everything I desire to from 2014, but the only thing that matters right now just keeps dancing through my head: I can't wait to see the final chapter unfold. 

4/5

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Review

Despite the mostly positive critical response to the first film as well as obvious commercial success, director Gary Ross did not return to continue the franchise, and in walked Francis Lawrence and with him some expected skepticism. I certainly felt it and questioned whether he was the right man for the job, with a filmography consisting of the films Constantine, I Am Legend and Water for Elephants, it was hard to immediately rally behind the choice and assume it would result in the Catching Fire adaptation I had been hoping for. While I was pleased a different cinematic mind would be getting a crack at utilizing the talent involved at a higher level than Ross achieved with the debut, was Francis Lawrence really cut out for this hyped, much anticipated project?

The answer proved to be a resounding yes. Everything about Catching Fire is an improvement from the first. More confident and comfortable performances from the entire cast, as well as great additions to the film like Jeffrey Wright, Jena Malone, Amanda Plummer, Sam Claflin, and of course the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman. In fact, as soon as I heard the news of Seymour Hoffman being added to the cast, my confidence in the entire film skyrocketed. He was a man of transcendent talent and his mere presence in a frame made everything around him seem stronger, and he is and will continue to be missed.

The stakes in this film are higher, the tension has intensified and the direction of the story has gone to more mature heights, as while a similar round of the "games" is played like in the first film, the actually central focus of this narrative is more on the external games being played by President Snow in the Capitol and Katniss and her people as her story of love and ascension as the Mockingjay, a symbol of hope and decency and compassion and strength, sparks a revolution in all of the districts she tours as the previous years winner of the games.

Speaking of the actual games that take place in Catching Fire, the "arena" is not only bigger and bolder and more interesting than it was in the first film, it is also far more aesthetically pleasing, a glorious site on the big screen as it was filmed with IMAX cameras and it still maintains its piercing picturesque appeal on a flat screen at home. The transition from the first act of the film to the games is smooth and the pacing never falters throughout, a running time of nearly 150 minutes and yet I never feel it as I watch the film, it always flies by as every single moment is, quite simply, really god damn entertaining. 

Despite this being my 3rd or 4th time watching Catching Fire in the one year since its release, I still found myself just as enthralled and excited by the entire film as I did that first time in the theater last November. You could argue some of the same issues I found during the first film pop up again here, like a screenplay that doesn't fully flesh out the details for an audience that is unfamiliar with the source material, but I am willing to give this more of a pass as it is a sequel. Francis Lawrence was given an opportunity to work with what was built for him, to take fans of the first film and make them fall in love with the direction of the series, and at least in my case he absolutely nailed it.

4.5/5