Even if you're not a baseball fan, "Moneyball" scores.

Rating: 7/10 (10 October 2011)

Even if you're not a baseball, go and see Moneyball. I saw it recently, and though it's taken me a few weeks, I am here writing a review. Why? Because I thought it was a fun film with some great performances.
Start with Brad Pitt, playing Billy Beane, the GM of the bargain basement Oakland A's. Beane has to find ways to seek players that are in the bargain bin of free agency, and get results out of them. Pitt conveys both Beane's frustration with his situation, and his ability to "adapt or die." As the real-life Beane did, Pitt adapts.
How about Jonah Hill playing the fictitious Peter Brand character (loosely based on Paul DePodesta, who was Billy's assistant GM and now in a similar role with the New York Metropolitans)? This was a different role for him - not slapstick - and he shines in it. As I saw one other IMDb reviewer say, not many other actors could have pulled off the closed fist. See the movie.
Then, there's Philip Seymour Hoffman, playing the stubborn Art Howe - the manager that just won't give in to Beane's "Saber-Metrics" philosopy. He is so staunch in his ways, makes you frustrated to watch ... but in a good way.
But, ultimately, this movie does not candy-coat. It shows Beane's strengths, and his failures (both as a player, and in some of his goals), although the movie itself is anything but. See it, as I think it will be up for a number of awards at some point next year.