FILM: Moneyball (9/10)

Why did I watch it?

Moneyball came onto Sky Movies a while back, I remembered it earning several Academy nominations so thought it was worth recording for a rainy day.

What's it all about?

It's 2002 and the Oakland Athletics baseball team is licking it's wounds following defeat to the rich New York Yankees in the play-offs and being raided for their best players over the close season. General Manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) realises that his team will never be able to compete with the richer teams financially, in terms of attracting and retaining star players. He recruits Yale graduate Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) from the Cleveland Indians to roll out a recruitment strategy based on average statistics and percentages rather than traditional scouting methods.

Should you watch it?
My knowledge of baseball is very limited (my choice of US sports is football), thankfully however this didn't limit my enjoyment of Moneyball (even if I did have to Google 'on-base percentage', but I got the gist of it). At its heart, the film is a real life underdog story revolving around Billy Beane's unshirking determination and belief in Peter Brand's methods, in the face of extreme consternation and criticism.

"There are rich teams, there are poor teams.
Then there's 50 feet of crap and then there is us"

Moneyball's script was co-written by Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) and Steven Zaillian (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and the result is a clever and witty narrative that delivers some amusing scenes, usually involving Jonah Hill's shy and uncomfortable Assistant GM Brand. Hill himself is a revelation (Academy nominated for Supporting Actor) in a straight role, playing against his norm yet still being responsible for most of the film's light hearted moments. It seems a shame he even considered starring in The Sitter after this performance. Brad Pitt is another who stands out with an admirable performance as the main character, embodying just the right amount of likeability, softly spoken confidence and self-belief, without crossing into meglomaniac territory, despite practically shutting down his scouting department. When considering the three leading names, Philip Seymour Hoffman seems to be underused as Coach Art Howe, mostly seen standing around in disbelief as his team is dismantled. I would have liked to have seen more of him, given what the man can really bring to a role.

A really enjoyable sports underdog story, and not just for baseball fans.

FILM: Jerry Maguire (8/10)

Why did I watch it?

I was lent this by a friend at work. It had always been a film that for some reason I had never known much about despite knowing its popularity.

What's it all about?

A Tom Cruise vehicle, Jerry Maguire is a sports agent at a lucrative firm, who suffers a crisis of conscience over the money first, clients second approach of the firm and finds himself fired for it. Broke and having lost his client roster, Maguire persuades idealist assistant and single mother Dororthy (Renee Zellwegger) to join his new firm. While trying to succeed with one client, the loyal but strong willed and eccentric footballer Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), Dorothy falls for Maguire's charms.

Should you watch it?
Sitting down to watch Jerry Maguire I didn't know what to expect. I was aware it dealt with a sports agency firm, but that was the extent of my knowledge. I didn't know it was part sports film, part comedy and part romance, and a pleasing combination of all three. Neither did I know that Gooding Jr. won a richly deserved Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance as Tidwell. Not short on referenceable lines or highlights owing to director Cameron Crowe's script, Gooding Jr. was the film's main highlight for me. His charismatic and boisterous character stole the majority of scenes he appeared in, be it dancing around his kitchen or tenderly showing his affection for his wife.

Crowe also encourages Cruise and Zellwegger to turn in excellent performances, Cruise's slightly unhinged and borderline OTT portrayal of Maguire being one of the best I have seen him give, teeth and shades and all. He also achieves a genuine tenderness in the scenes he shares with Dorothy's son.

Show you my WHAT?

The ending may have been a little too sugar coated, mainly in the sense of Tidwell's new contract value rather than Maguire and Dorothy's relationship, but all in all Jerry Maguire is an enjoyable feel good romantic drama that has stood the test of time so far and one that is definitely worth checking out if, like me, you haven't yet seen it.