Every player is worth something

Rating: 8/10 (31 August 2018)

It's the end of the 2001 season and the Oakland A's just lost the American League Division Series. To add insult to injury, they have just lost their star players Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi and Jason Isringhausen. Needless to say, the Oakland A's and their General Manager Billy Beane (played by Academy Award Winner Brad Pitt) is caught in a rut, and it doesn't help that he has the lowest salary constraint in baseball. If they want to win the World Series, they have to come up with something new. Eventually, he and his new assistant Peter Brand (played by Academy Award Nominee Jonah Hill) shake up the game when they use statistical analysis to place value on the players that they pick - a decision that has their entire scouting team and coach (played by Academy Award Winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman) up in arms about.
This is a great film. Plain and simple. This film was nominated for a number of Academy Awards and, although it didn't win any, it clearly deserved each nomination. I don't know much about Sound Mixing and Film Editing, but kudos to those guys also getting some Academy love! However, let's start with the writing. First off, amidst two other guys, one of the writers is Academy Award Nominee Aaron Sorkin, who also penned A Few Good Men, Charlie Wilson's War, The Social Network and Steve Jobs. Needless to say, this guys is a natural talent, and it was good to have him on here. Academy Award Nominated Director Bennett Miller is a master of knowing how to use his actors in each scene he directs; his movies are all about character development, and they delve into the psyche of each character. He really should've been nominated for Best Director for this film over Terrence Malick for The Tree of Life.
But of course we must now turn to the actors involved. First I want to start off with some of the more supporting actors in this film. In one scene, you have Golden Globe Winner Robin Wright who, in her one scene, is absolutely amazing :) Then you got Chris Pratt, who is especially well known for his portrayal of Star Lord in the MCU, Emmet in The Lego Movie franchise and Owen in the Jurassic Park franchise (yes I know he's in Jurassic World, but let's face it, that's an entire franchise from 1993 - present); he does a good job with the limited amount of lines he's given. But now to the main three actors. First off to Phillip Seymour Hoffman. He plays the General Manager Art Howe, a man who is a traditionalist; he believes that baseball was built on the greatness of the scouts and players. Hoffman captures the gruffness very convincingly; he is a great actor who is still sorely missed. The biggest surprise to me was Jonah Hill. The mark of a great actor is when they can pull off different genres. While Hill is most well known for his comedies, this was his first non-comedy movie, and the next year he would star in the action-comedy 21 Jump Street. Needless to say, I believe that Jonah Hill will be considered a great actor in the years to come. I was hesitant to see him in this role, but he knocked it out of the park and he was excellent as Peter Brand. But of course, most of the credit has to go to Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, the sports GM who is looking for a way to change the game in their favor, since it is his job that is on the line. If his way doesn't work, he will be out on the streets. Pitt conveys the desperation that Beane went through at that time; you can see the pain of a man who was once a promising young baseball player but who ended up being a disappointment. He really wants that ring on his finger, and he is willing to pull out all the stops to do it. Kudos to Pitt for such a great job!
Overall, go and watch this movie! It is a great movie!