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Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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Moneyball (Film)

by Erin Free | November 08, 2011 16:26 | Edited November 10, 2011 11:05

It may not strictly be about baseball, but this thoughtful film hits a home run with its compelling and inspiring script and pitch-perfect performances.

When the filmmakers behind the cogent, thoughtful and quietly inspiring drama Moneyball do the press rounds, the words "This is not a movie about baseball" will become a mantra. They won't be lying. Though the film is very much set within the confines of that most loved and mythologised of American sports, Moneyball is indeed about something more universal and accessible: the panic, suspicion and paranoia that can be caused by someone who dares to question the status quo. Sure, there are no leather jackets or motorbikes, but this is just as much a film about rebellion as The Wild One or Rebel Without A Cause.

 

Based on Michael Lewis' non-fiction book, Moneyball: The Art Of Winning An Unfair Game, and boasting a script by blue ribbon A-listers Steve Zaillian (Schindler's List) and Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network), Moneyball tracks groundbreaking baseball manager, Billy Beane (another fine, highly creative performance from the cruelly underrated Brad Pitt), who changed the face of the sport when he took over the struggling Oakland A's, and put together a champion team on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players, with the help of IT whiz, Peter Brand (an appropriately subdued but spryly funny Jonah Hill). The whole kick of their theory was to pick players who were undervalued, but when pooled together, became a run-scoring dream team.  

 

Though Bennett Miller's (Capote) clean, cerebral style of direction occasionally tends to the sluggish, Moneyball is compelling from the get-go, as Pitt's swaggering Billy Beane thumbs his nose at baseball's "thinkers" - old men mired in systems put in place a hundred years ago. Moneyball might not be about hitting the home run and winning the pennant, but when Beane's wild ideas are proven right, it's just as thrilling as any "big moment" in a traditional inspirational sports drama.