AMC Best Picture Showcase: Moneyball

On Saturday, I went to the AMC Theatre's Best Picture Showcase for half of the films nominated for Best Picture this year.  The films were War Horse, Moneyball, the Tree of Life, and the Descendents.  I had such a great time going.  Even though War Horse was first, I felt I would enjoy writing about Moneyball first.

Moneyball is a very interesting film based on a true story that captivates you from the beginning.  Starring Brad Pitt as the main role, he portrays Billy Beane, a bust player in Major League Baseball who went on to be the General Manager for the Oakland Athletics.  The story is not as much about baseball as it is a character study on one of the biggest underdogs of the beginning of the millennium.  It delivers in terms of expectations, and is sure to captivate you.

Desperate to win on what seems to be the equivalent of a shoe-string budget, Billy Beane hires Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), a recent Stanford graduate with a degree in economics, and a huge love for baseball.  He tells Beane to sign players based on statistics most teams overlooked, where players worth three million dollars are available for three hundred thousand.  And the team only has slightly less than 40 million dollars.

As you can see from the story, this is an underdog film.  It seems as though 2011 was the year to inspire, including Moneyball, a dolphin that lived with half a tail, and Rocky in the future.  Is this necessarily a bad thing?  No.  In fact, Real Steel is a good, underrated movie; however, Moneyball is a great movie.  It has superlative acting, especially from Brad Pitt, who gives his best performance since Benjamin Button.

Jonah Hill, too, is worthy of being mentioned for his performance.  Despite being nominated for an Oscar, he knows he won't win.  Though it is not to forget, because Hill was terrific as the quirky, nerdy character.  It could be considered a flaw since the second you see him, you can tell he's the nerdy personality, but I feel it helps the movie feel more fleshed out and, frankly, more interesting.

Truly what steals the film, though, is the script.  Adapted by Oscar-winners and masterminds Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian, they are geniuses with some of the purest humor and most intelligent of conversations.  It is always easy to identify when you see who wrote what.  You say to yourself, "Yeah, that's a Sorkin moment," and you just smile and love it.

Overall, this film is such a joy.  It is definitely worth multiple viewings, and can capture attention so well without overly throwing it into your face.  Moneyball is something any regular moviegoer should go and rent at a local Blockbuster, as this film receives a 3.5/4.

Top 10 Best Characterizations in Film (5-1)

Wow, this is pretty late.  Well, why go into explanation, when we should be finishing this list?

More Honorable Mentions

• Tony Manero - Saturday Night Fever
• Luke Skywalker - Star Wars
• Darth Vader - Star Wars Episode V:  The Empire Strikes Back
• Jonathan Nash - A Beautiful Mind
• Edward Norton in Fight Club
• Jake Gittes - Chinatown
• Oskar Schindler - Schindler's List

5. Jake LaMotta - Raging Bull
I have never particularly been the biggest fan of Raging Bull, but I surely love the characters in this film, especially Robert De Niro in his second Oscar-winning performance.  Putting on 80 pounds to play this person, you start to feel as if he's a real cocky but nice person.  Later on, you notice how he completely slips into a jealous state, as to the point where it completely destroys his family.  He's strong, powerful, moving, and one to be fascinated with.

4. The Dude Lebowski - the Big Lebowski
Honorable mention also goes to Marge Gunderson for Fargo.  Now, who doesn't like the dude?  He's the guy you feel bad for, but you realize not to care, because he doesn't care.  The Coen brothers truly take care in terms of making him feel like the coolest person in the history of the 90s.  You want to learn so much more about him.  Though you learn lots about the Dude anyways, you wonder more about him.  What movies does he like?  Is he nostalgic?  How did he and Walter meet?  All of that doesn't matter however.  The Dude is funny, really funny, and he has even funnier on his side, Walter Sobchak, played by John Goodman.  The Dude is also incredibly quotable, with lines like, "You human paraquat!" or "That rug really tied the room together."  One thing we must all take for granted though:  The Dude abides.

3. Atticus Finch - To Kill a Mockingbird
No person is more straight to the point than Atticus Finch.  He looks bland at first look, but soon you realize he has lots to say with few words.  He's poor, but he doesn't care.  Finch loves his children, Scout and Jem, and makes sure everybody is safe.  Atticus is a curious character because you realize he's one of the greatest heroes in the history of films.  He goes against all that discriminate the African Americans to do what is truly right.  Full of inspiration and never to bring you down, Atticus Finch is one of the greatest characters in the history of film.  Especially giving credit to his closing monologue; nothing is more chilling than that scene.

2. Travis Bickle - Taxi Driver
Now Travis Bickle is a character I feel completely sorry for.  He lives such a crummy life, returning to the streets of New York after the Vietnam War.  Writer Paul Schrader characterizes Bickle as if he's lost in his own world, and the only way out is by conquering his greatest demon:  his insanity.  You always wonder if he's going to crack, much like Norman Bates, but he seems so calm, collected, and cool the judgement is always so difficult to be made.  Though he visits pornographic theaters and is horrifyingly obsessed with guns, you realize that Travis Bickle is truly a good guy.  He makes small-talk with a political candidate, is real smooth with women, and goes to the greatest extremes to save a teenage prostitute from an abusive pimp.  Not only is this Robert De Niro's best performance, but this is the best character I have ever seen fleshed by Martin Scorsese.  Perfect.

1. Charles Foster Kane - Citizen Kane
I'm sorry that I have to be so obvious for this choice, but there is simply no better choice than Charles Foster Kane.  He is perfect.  Orson Welles takes such great care of this character, and you simply feel envious of him.  Not Welles, but Kane.  This character felt as if he was larger than life.  He had something that everyone wants:  fame and fortune.  I say "had" because he isn't primarily characterized by himself, but by his close friends and ex-wife Susan Alexander, which is arguably a more important perspective to understand.  Kane looks happy, but you can see that he's slipping into a downward spiral.  Whether it be his eccentric ego of him running for governor, or his stages of marriage with President's niece Emily Norton, you forget to realize - this is all a story about a word, not a character, which is most phenomenal.  Welles, may you rest in piece.  You did damn well with this character.

Wow, this took a while to type.  Thankfully this is over, and I hope you enjoyed this.  Maybe I could do a whole list of honorable mentions.

Late Valentines Day Special: Mean Girls

Considered by many as Lindsey Lohan's best work, Mean Girls is just a regular story of high school teen cliques.  However, screenwriter Tiny Fey adds a little touch to make what seems like the same, unimaginative story feel as fresh as a daisy.  I think that Mean Girls is the best high school film ever made, and that's a huge statement.

Little story, lots to say.  Cady Heron (Lohan) is a new girl who starts high school her junior year after moving from Africa.  Although Heron thinks she knows survival of the fittest, she enters learning that there is much psychically and mentally challenging it is to be in high school, from academics stress to what this film is about - social stress.  She becomes a hit after joining the A-list clique of rich, pretty skanks, the Plastics (well written, Fey, well written), led by Regina George (Rachel McAdams) and her "backups", Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith (Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried).  Four great characters from the start.

The first friend Heron makes before joining the cliques is Janis Ian (Lizzy Caplan, who calls her "Caddy") and Damien (Daniel Franzese).  Janis has a dark past with Regina, so once Cady joins the Plastics, Janis has her chance of redemption.  Later on, Cady falls for Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett), who was Regina's ex-boyfriend.  After finding this out from Gretchen, it gets real, so Regina hooks up with Aaron again.  

In an attempt to keep the rest of the story a surprise, this is where my summary stops.

This film feels so authentic, not just for a regular movie-goer, but for a high school or even middle school teenager.  It feels stupid, because it supposed to be stupid, but Tina Fey sharpens this film up to be not only entertaining, but interesting as well, because we've all experienced these kinds of people in high school.  Whether it be the modest, cute girl; the spoiled, rich whore; her incredibly tolerant mother; her personality-lacking friends; the girl who looks goth but actually isn't; or the kid who looks to be involved in the Drama Department but you can determine his sexuality.

This isn't one of my particularly favorite ensemble casts (of course, nothing goes ahead of Pulp Fiction, Dr. Strangelove, and especially Full Metal Jacket), but it's sure a good one.  None of the main characters feel vague or underdeveloped.  You feel entranced as if you're interacting with the students - that, or Cady's narration - but not to an extent where it feels overwhelming.  

I like this film a lot.  I know that's not very surprising to hear, but it's a good hour and a half.  The time flies in this movie.  It's flawed, sure, but it's one any teenager especially shouldn't miss.  Mean Girls gets a strong 3/4.