Double Feature

March 2017 - Spring training is in full swing, so let's talk about sports!

Build a winning baseball team on the cheap. That's the mission Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane sets out to fulfill in Moneyball, a PG-13 fact-based, Oscar-nominated film from 2011. Brad Pitt got a nomination for his portrayal of Beane. Co-star Jonah Hill also got an Oscar nod for his supporting role. The rest of the cast includes plenty of familiar faces including Robin Wright and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

As the movie opens, the A's are coming off a successful 2001 season. They made the playoffs but were eliminated early on. Because the A's have a limited payroll, they can't afford to keep three of their big-name players. So, Beane must find a way to build a winning team for the 2002 season without spending cash that he doesn't have.

Enter Peter Brand (Hill), a special assistant with the Cleveland Indians. He believes that players can be evaluated using mathematical statistics. Beane hires Brand, and together, they crunch the numbers to identify productive players who are can be signed at bargain prices. The question now is will all these pieces add up to a winner? Beane and Brand believe so, but first they must convince manager Art Howe (Hoffman) to buy into the system.

Overall review: Loved it! I'm a baseball fan, but you don't have to be one to appreciate this movie. Moneyball is really a character study of Beane as he commits to an untried strategy knowing that, if it doesn't work, he may very well be out of a job. There's not a lot of action here, but the script is snappy (Aaron Sorkin co-wrote it), and there's plenty of tension as you wait to see how Beane's game will play out.

Pro football is the backdrop for Invincible, a PG-rated biopic from 2006 based on the life of former Philadelphia Eagle Vince Papale.

The year is 1976. Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg) is living in South Philly and down on his luck. He works sparingly as a substitute teacher and works nights at the neighborhood bar. The ends aren't quite meeting. One day, he goes home to find his wife gone and a note telling him that he'll never amount to anything.

In 1976, things were also not going well for the Philadelphia Eagles. Owner Leonard Tose brought in Dick Vermeil (Greg Kinnear) to turn the football team around. Vermeil soon holds an open tryout at Veterans Stadium. Papale, urged on by his friends, shows up and is the only one invited to training camp. He's not the biggest guy or the best athlete, but he has something that the head coach likes. He has heart.

Overall review: Loved it! You don't have to be an Eagles fan to love this movie. You don't even have to be a football fan. It's about two guys who need each other and a team that needs them as much as they need it. Invincible is a winner!