Movie Review: Moneyball

      Let me get this out of the way: I am not a fan of conventional sports. Football, baseball, soccer, hockey, and basketball all bore me, and the amount of enthusiasm from both sides leads to obnoxious levels of noise. And speaking of not being a fan of conventional sports, I also dislike all those “inspirational” sports stories, like “Remember the Titans”, “Friday Night Lights”, “Warrior”, etc. They’ve become cliché with their uplifting endings and struggling teammates, and I’ve found that I’m able to safely predict the outcome of any of these movies whenever my folks drag me along to see one. Mostly, anyway.

      And I say “mostly” because I’ve found a movie that has broken these cliched conventions to rise above the rest. You’ve seen ads for it, and you don’t have to take my word for it: other critics have been raving about it for weeks. That movie is “Moneyball”, and despite my resentment for the sports genre of movies, it’s become one of my favorite movies of the year.

Brad Pitt plays Billy Beane, the general manager of the ailing Oakland Athletics during the 2001 MLB post-season. We are informed before the film begins that the Athletics make a paltry $30 million or so a year, compared to the New York Yankees, who make about $140 million. Billy meets a young man named Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) who, using statistics, helps him build a winning team for as cheap a cost as possible. In this process, the Athletics lose several star players, while hiring players with questionable abilities. His scouts and coach disagree with Billy and Peter’s methods, and don’t think that team creation should be left to machines and the web. Billy’s idea appears to fail at first, but with a little effort and good coaching, the A’s gather a whopping 20 consecutive wins, an MLB record. Their streak is capped at that, but Billy is satisfied with his victories and methods. At the end of the movie, Beane is offered an opportunity to become the general manager of the Boston Red Sox, but he declines. Soon after, we are told that the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, using the methods that Billy pioneered.

       The acting in this movie is superb, and really, can you expect anything less from Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill? I must say though, that I’m used to seeing these actors in relatively more comical roles, in movies like “Superbad”, “Inglourious Basterds”, and “Snatch”. This is the first time I’ve seen Jonah Hill in a serious, dramatic role, and he performs it quite well. His character is a soft-spoken, computer-loving nerd, and while that’s similar to his role in “Superbad”, he is more expressive and contemplative here. And Brad Pitt, as always, is phenomenal, and perfect for the role. I sense an Oscar nomination next year for ol’ Brad.

       To me, a sports movie with an uplifting, happy ending has become somewhat cliché, and it’s a trend that I really dislike. But “Moneyball” bypasses this by having an ending that, while satisfying, still leaves the audience with mixed feelings; joy and pride for the A’s, but disappointment in their loss and in Beane’s poor decision at the end.

       There have been complaints from some of my friends as to the film’s inaccuracies, but as a non-sports buff, I really couldn’t care less. Movies aren’t meant to stick exactly to the source material, because otherwise they would have no business existing in the first place. This film is an interpretation, not a recreation. Sure, knowing the source material well can detract from your viewing experience (after reading McCarthy’s The Road, I knew the movie was going to disappoint), but movies are more than adaptations. As someone who could have really cared less about the 2002 baseball season back in the day, I really, really enjoyed it. Coming from someone who hates conventional sports, you really should go check it out.

Rating: *****

Chris's Top 5 Most Tear-Jerking Moments in Gaming and Film

      One of the things that lets films and games become art is their ability to (purposely) elicit emotions from the viewer or player. Senses of humor, fright, frustration, confusion, and our subject today, sadness, all allow the film and gaming mediums to truly soar. As I mentioned, I’m writing this article on the subject of a film or game’s ability to elicit sorrow and sadness. There have been many tear-jerkers in these mediums, but I’d like to tell you which movies and games have jerked the most tears out of me. So let’s begin.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

#5: ANAKIN’S TRANSFORMATION (STAR WARS EPISODE III)

       First, let me get this out of the way: Hayden Christiansen’s acting is terrible. He’s either far too melodramatic and over-the-top, or too boring. However, it’s the circumstances of the film, and the effect his transformation has on the other characters, that makes this truly tragic. Padme and Obi-Wan both react as if they’ve just lost a family member. He truly does become a different person. The effect of the turning is so great that it turns the tide of the entire Clone Wars. Almost every Jedi, young or old, is slaughtered, and the very few who do survive Vader’s onslaught are left to mourn and struggle with this great loss of life.

       I think that the ending of “Episode III” is the best and most powerful of the entire saga. You’re left to see what Vader has done to the galaxy. The Jedi Temple is in ruin, Padme is dead, the Death Star has begun construction. And yet, there is still a glimmer of hope, as baby Luke and Leia are delivered to their respective families on Tatooine and Alderaan. Even today, the ending (and the movie as a whole) sends shivers down my spine.

#4: BOBBERY’S TALE (PAPER MARIO: THE THOUSAND-YEAR DOOR)

       The story of Admiral Bobbery, one of the many partners in “The Thousand-Year Door”, is a surprisingly dark and tragic one, especially for a Mario game. Essentially, while Bobbery was sailing the high seas, his wife Scarlette died of a fatal illness. And because of what happened, Bobbery swore to himself to never sail the seas again. Later, when Mario and company need to find a navigator to sail to Keelhaul Key, they are directed to Bobbery’s residence after a local bartender tells them his sad tale. After some puzzle-solving, they finally directly reach Bobbery, and after some persuasion, he gives a final prayer to his wife, and joins the party.

       It’s a very simple story, but the game adds a lot of emotion to it. It’s a tale of a Bob-omb who loses a loved one, mourns her, and then finally moves on with his life, which is something that we all do at some point or another. We’re able to connect with Bobbery as he struggles with the loss, until he finally finds the courage to move on and maker his wife proud of him. Even today, I almost shed a tear, and when Aerith’s death in “Final Fantasy VII” fails to emulate that, you know “Paper Mario” succeeds as a game.

#3 “WILSON!!!” (CAST AWAY)

       Robert Zemeckis’ directing in “Cast Away” was incredible, and that was evident in the way that Hanks, and ourselves, connected with a volleyball that he simply drew a face on. It was the only thing keeping him sane, and he would occasionally speak to it, or even pretend to listen to and sympathize with it. It became his only friend in his years alone on the desert island, and when he is lost to the waves, Hanks just breaks down. We didn’t witness the loss of a volleyball, we witnessed the loss of a close, close friend. His only friend. His only source of support and encouragement. Now dead and gone.

       Wilson is an example of how one can turn an inanimate object into an imaginary friend, when there are no more real friends. Zemeckis draws us in, and Wilson becomes our friend, too. Like any other character, we connect with him and, just like Hanks, we pray for his survival. Zemeckis created a very unique character with Wilson, and when he was lost, it felt as if we lost a part of ourselves as well.

#2: CELES’ ATTEMPTED SUICIDE (FINAL FANTASY VI)

       Speaking of deaths in the “Final Fantasy” series, let’s talk about what I believe is the saddest, most emotional moment in the entire main series. After Kefka uses the power of the goddesses to essentially become God, he basically destroys the whole world, and the player’s party is broken up. After witnessing the calamity, we come back to Celes, who is being taken care of by her grandfather, Cid, on a deserted island. After she wakes up, we see that Cid has become ill, and Celes decides to fish for some food for the both of them. What happens next is entirely up to the player: if she catches fast fish, then Cid will become healthy again, and he’ll lead Celes to a raft to escape the island and find her friends.

       However, if you catch slower fish for Cid, then he will succumb to his illness and die. After realizing what she’s done, and that she’s now alone in this desolate new world, she finds a nearby cliff, and leaps off.

       Just as I was wiping the tears from my eyes, though, her fall is broken by a seagull (somehow) and she finds that one of Locke’s headbands has washed up on the beach. Realizing that her friends are still alive, she finds the raft and sails off.

       This is one of the most powerful moments in the entire gaming medium. Unlike poor Aerith, who was backstabbed by Sephiroth in an attempt to shock the player, Celes witnessed everything in her life crumble around her, and decided that life was not worth living anymore. I think what happened next is a little hokey, but this was an early SNES game, and Nintendo didn’t take death and suicide too well at the time, so that’s excusable. The entire moment moved me to tears when I first played the game.

#1: THE DEATH OF MUFASA (THE LION KING)

       This scene hurt me on the inside. I’m pretty sure that it hurt everyone else too. The movie establishes that Simba and his father, Mufasa, share a close father-son bond. Mufasa is Simba’s role model, and he also embodies what children see out of our dads: stern, proud, humorous, and fun all at the same time. He is also a responsible king, and he holds the kingdom together. However, all it took was one jealous brother to bring it all crumbling down.

       Scar, Simba’s uncle, invites Simba to a nearby canyon, where he promises Simba that his dad has a wonderful surprise for him down there. He then triggers a stampede of wildebeests, which puts Simba directly in danger. When Mufasa hears what’s going on, he rushes to the rescue, and runs in the middle of the stampede to throw Simba out of trouble. It gets complicated when he tries to escape himself, though, and he has trouble gripping the cliff. He asks his nearby brother for assistance, but Scar instead throws Mufasa right back into the stampede, where he is run over and dies.

       After the stampede ends, Simba goes to his father’s body, desperately asking him to wake up. Scar finds Simba, tells him that he’s responsible for his father’s death, and tells him to “Run away, and never return.” Simba promptly leaves into exile until adulthood, leaving the kingdom to rot under Scar’s rule.

       Even seeing “The Lion King” in 3-D about a few weeks ago, I still shed a tear over Mufasa’s death. It’s the effect that it leaves on every single character and event in the film. Simba’s reaction is especially tear-jerking, because he’s thinking what we’re thinking: This is the king of the jungle! He can’t die! ...Can he?

       The proud figure that was Mufasa left a considerable impression on the audience, and his death turned “The Lion King” into much more than a simple children’s movie. It’s the reason Disney still thrives today: it’s able to create timeless stories that anyone, young or old, can enjoy and appreciate.