Down the Rabbit Hole: Moneyball

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Moneyball

I have been a bit out of the movie viewing business lately. This is mostly due to the paltry offerings from the studios as of late. I am looking forward to the holiday season when we will get some of the better movies for the year. I did decide to try out Moneyball with a friend recently. I thought that all in all it was pretty darn slow, but when it did pick up it was pretty interesting.

Moneyball is the story of the Oakland A's 2002 season. This season stands out for the A's becuase of the interesting tatctics used by the team's general manager, Billy Beane played by Brad Pitt. Beane is trying to field a winning team with a very small, by the standard of baseball not normal people, budget. He meets a young man, Peter Brand played by Jonah Hill, who is taking a different view of hiring players. The plot is pushed forward by the opposition that these two meet while trying to implement their new system of evaluating players. Brand's theory involves looking at the statistics and the math behind the game of baseball. The math nerd in me loved this part of the movie, normal people may find it a bit dull.

Hill and Pitt both do a wonderful job in this movie. It was very interesting to the see the more serious side of Hill. I would have liked to have gotten to experience a bit of Brand's world away from the stadium to really get to see Hill stretch his ability, but that would have added time to an already very long movie. Pitt is fabulous as always, although I have to say that one of my favorite things about the movie was watching him stuff his face. I once read an interview with a man that "plays" Pitt, in voice-over French translations of his movies, who said that the hardest thing about voicing Brad over was that he was always eating. Seriously watch any movie with Brad Pitt in it and just watch for him to eat. It happens a lot! I find it hilarious for some reason.

In the long run I would say this is definitely a renter movie. There is nothing that really needs to be seen on the big screen with this film. If you don't like math, baseball or character movies you should probably skip this one.

Happy Viewing

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What's This About a Rabbit Hole?

I am changing the theme of my blog. I thought that a title change would be acceptable as well. In December of 2010 I had gastric bypass surgery. I have discovered a whole new world of friends who have struggled with their weight. When a person drops below 200 pounds, they call it wonderland. This actually should be pronounced oh-need-er-land, and should be spelled one-derland as the term comes from finally having your weight start with a 1. With my love of books and movies, I thought a rabbit hole reference would be perfect. Alice fell through the rabbit hole and fell for quite a while before actually reaching wonderland. Neo took the red pill and chose to forever change his perception. Both of these scenarios apply to what I call my new life. Both characters discovered truths about themselves they would have never known if they hadn't traveled down the rabbit hole.

I will still be reviewing movies, books and tv. My reviews may have a little different spin to them though. I will also be sharing my experiences post surgery. Anytime you turn on the radio or tv these days, you hear and see advertisements for cosmetic surgery. They say things like it is so quick and easy, have lipo today and be back at work tomorrow. The new trend is to throw weight loss surgery in to the mix. This was not quick and easy. It was not a simple decision. It was most assuredly not a cosmetic issue. I believe that this surgery saved my life, I know that it changed my life. I am managing pretty well, but it is still a struggle. I thought that a blog from a new person might be helpful to the world and to those considering the surgery.