Moneyball

With one of the most anticipated films of 2011 Brad Pitt has hit a home run. Proven talent like Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robin Wright add their talents to this incredible film. In addition Jonah Hill proves himself in a serious role with a great performance. All of the remaining cast members take on their roles with great success and put together a great movie.

The film Moneyball is the story of the 2002 Oakland Athletics and the unconventional methods used in putting together their team. Based on the book by Michael Lewis this film focuses on the loss of their star players to teams with bigger payrolls.  Billy Beane (Pitt) enlists the help of Peter Brand (Hill) to find hidden talent with unpopular statistical methods. Hill is normally known for his sarcastic tone and comedic relief but this time he plays it straight and fits right in as the young statistics nerd. Beane's clashes with the manager (Hoffman) also make for some great dialogue as they spar over the old school and new schools of talent evaluation. The writing in this film is wonderful overall.

Another one of the major successes in the film is their ability to explain the different schools of baseball thought without being overly detailed. The game of baseball has a rich tradition and the film does a wonderful job showing the backlash that comes from pushing against the grain. This is done throughout the film without slowing the pace or taking away from the story. 

I would recommend this film to anyone. Despite being a sports film I believe that you don't have to be a fan to enjoy this amazing story. I also expect this film to gain some major attention when awards season begins. I give Moneyball a 4.5 out of 5 stars.