Moneyball

Moneyball - Dir. Bennett Miller (2011)

"…there are rich teams and there are poor teams. Then, there's fifty feet of crap and then, there's us."

I used to be a big baseball fan back in the late-80's and early-90's. The Oakland A's were one of the most dominant forces in Major League Baseball back then. They won the 1989 World Series as well as three American League pennants in a row. At their disposal were ace reliever Dennis Eckersley, Rickey Henderson (one of the greatest lead-off hitters in baseball), and the Bash Brothers, Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. My interest waned and I stopped following the sport aside from jumping on the bandwagon of the Padres when they made a World Series run in 1998. They were crushed 4-0 by the monolithic New York Yankees. The A's can sympathize as they were crushed by the Yanks in the 2001 AL championships. That's where Moneyball begins.

Based on the book by Michael Lewis, Moneyball is the account of how the A's general manager Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt) reconstructing the franchise on a shoestring budget with a radical approach utilizing the statistical analysis of sabermetrics, developed by Bill James, a statistician who wrote on the subject while working as a night guard for a pork and beans factory.

At the time, Oakland had a payroll of just under $40 million compared to New York's payroll of over $114 million. The A's lose three of their biggest players in the post-season to free agency as Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, and Jason Isringhausen leave for more lucrative contracts. Beane can't afford suitable replacements and his scouts are too fixated on superficial qualities like clean batting strokes and physiques. One opines that a prospect has an ugly girlfriend, which means he lacks confidence. He knows they don't always get it right. Beane himself was drafted straight out of high school to the Mets, despite receiving a full scholarship to Stanford. He never lived up to the high expectations imposed on him.

Desperate, Beane enlists the aid of Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), a Yale graduate with a degree in economics, who champions the use of stats, specifically on-base percentage, to determine potential players. Described as an "island of misfit toys," Beane and Brand recruit Chad Bradford (Casey Bond), a relief pitcher overlooked due to his unorthodox submarine delivery; David Justice (Stephen Bishop), an aging power hitter; and Scott Hatteberg (Chris Pratt), an injury plagued catcher shifted to first base. Traditionalists rage against Beane's reliance on numbers, believing it overlooks the complexities and intangibles inherent in the game.

Moneyball's production had as much of a rough start as the A's did during their 2002 season. Steven Soderbergh was previously attached to direct a screenplay written by Stan Chervin and Steve Zaillian. The director of Traffic and Contagion intended to use animated sequences to explain the statistics as well as interspersing interviews with real ball players. Soderbergh even cast Scott Hatteberg and David Justice to play themselves before being removed just days before filming was to begin. Sony went back to the drawing board, bringing on Bennett Miller (Capote) as director and commissioning a new script from Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. While I would have loved to seen Soderbergh's take, what Miller and company have crafted is the kind of the feel good drama Hollywood is known for.

Moneyball transcends the trappings of a mere sports drama or underdog story. It has a lot in common with The Social Network beyond the involvement of Sorkin or producer Scott Rudin. Both are stories about the cultural change in the current informational age. The power no longer lies in the hands of the physically strong, but the meek and nerdy, exemplified by Jonah Hill's socially awkward Peter Brand, a fictional character based on Beane's assistant Paul DePodesta. He's the perfect foil to the suave and confident Billy Beane as portrayed by Brad Pitt. If Clooney is the modern day Cary Grant, then Pitt is the 21st century Robert Redford, even if he is constantly snacking in every scene.

The film's weaknesses do come through with subplots that feel unfinished, perhaps a remnant of its troubled pre-production. There's a lone scene featuring Robin Wright as Beane's ex-wife and an uncredited Spike Jonze as her new husband that doesn't really go anywhere. Although, there are tender moments between Pitt and his on-screen daughter, Kerris Dorsey, his personal life isn't as interesting as his professional one. Philip Seymour Hoffman gives an understated performance as the A's manager Art Howe, who disagrees with Beane's direction. Howe is the primary dissenter and works against Beane's plans, but fades into the background during the second half of the picture. When the A's start winning, we never hear his opinions or whether he finally came around to Beane's philosophies (he didn't).

I'm not a big baseball fan and none of the names in Moneyball meant anything to me. Yet, I found the movie to be absolutely engrossing. Moneyball is a film that makes the backstage politics and the business of baseball as dramatic as the actual game itself.

Rating: *** (*****)

Rampart

Rampart - Dir. Oren Moverman (2011)

"I am not a racist. The fact is, I hate everyone equally."

Screenwriter Oren Moverman made a strong directorial debut with 2009's The Messenger, a heavy drama with Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster as army officers charged with notifying families that their loved ones were killed in action. In my opinion, it was one of the best films of the year and netted Moverman an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and Harrelson one for Best Supporting Actor. Moverman and Harrelson have teamed again for Rampart, a gritty drama set during the Rampart scandal of the late-90's.

The LAPD became notorious nationwide for the infamous beating of Rodney King. They again rose to public consciousness following the uncovering of widespread corruption in the anti-gang unit of the Rampart Division. Charges included bribery, falsifying evidence, armed robbery, and drug dealing.

Amidst the chaos, we meet Officer Dave Brown (Harrelson), a former Vietnam vet, who sees the streets of L.A. as his new battleground. Rampart opens in a seemingly conventional manner with Brown berating a female trainee (played by Julian Schnabel's daughter, Stella) for refusing to eat french fries because she is on a diet. But, this is not a retread of Training Day. The rookie isn't seen again and the rest of the film becomes a trip into an urban Dante's Inferno with its protagonist descending deeper and deeper into the pit.

Dave Brown is definitely the bad cop. He has earned the nickname, "Date Rape Dave," because he allegedly murdered a business partner suspected of multiple rape. A former law student, he can cite obscure legal precedent off the top of his head. He failed the BAR exam, but it's obvious it wasn't due to a lack of intelligence. It seems Brown was more interested in cracking heads.

He's also the patriarch of an unconventional little family. Brown has two ex-wives (Anne Heche & Cynthia Nixon), who happen to be sisters and live next door to each other. He has a daughter with each of them and, with the exception of the youngest girl, they all hate his guts. When Brown fails to get in bed with one sister, he moves on to the next one.

Brown ignites another scandal after a hit-and-run collision that sees him chase the suspect and mercilessly beat him with his flashlight. The incident is captured on video and played endlessly on the news. Already under scrutiny, Brown is hammered by investigators from Internal Affairs and the D.A's office. Needing cash to support his family and his legal defense, Brown robs a high stakes poker game and kills an unarmed man, forcing him to cover up yet another crime.

The cast also includes: Steve Buscemi as the District Attorney, Ben Foster as a homeless vet, Brie Larson as Brown's angry teenage daughter, Ned Beatty as a retired cop and confidant, and Sigourney Weaver and Ice Cube as investigators against Brown.

Woody Harrelson really carries the film. Rampart is seen entirely from Dave Brown's perspective and Harrelson appears in every scene. Harrelson isn't afraid to make Brown a nasty and sometimes pathetic individual. Yet, he's charismatic and articulate so it's easy to see why he's able to bed a number of women night in and night out. It's too bad this great character wasn't given a more compelling story.

There's strong storytelling in the first half of Rampart, but the second half of the movie unravels. The narrative drifts into a series of plot threads that never seem fully formed. One subplot that doesn't go anywhere involves an on/off romance between Brown and a defense attorney played by Robin Wright. There's nothing of note here unless you want to hear Wright state that she likes to "suck cock."

Moverman is struck with the sophomore slump that has befallen many independent filmmakers before him. Despite a magnetic performance by Harrelson, Rampart deals with issues, such as police corruption and their effects on the soul and family, that have been seen numerous times in film and television. The script feels like an entire season of The Shield condensed into an hour and forty minutes.

Rating: ** (*****)

New York, I Love You

New York, I Love You - Dirs. Various (2009)


Anthology films are always a mixed bag filled with hits and misses. New York, I Love You is the follow-up to Paris, je t’aime and the second in the “Cities of Love” franchise. Films set in Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, and Jerusalem are coming.

Paris featured a series of short films set in the City of Lights and directed by a talented assortment of filmmakers such as Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men), Olivier Assayas (Irma Vep), Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven, and the Coen Brothers. Its successor is comprised of several shorts about romance in the Big Apple. Though the directors aren’t of the same pedigree as Paris, New York has assembled an A-list ensemble of actors. Unlike Paris, New York attempts to connect each story with interstitials of the various characters bumping into each other.

The film begins with a segment by actor/director Jiang Wen (Devils on the Doorstep) with Hayden Christensen as a pickpocket who runs into Rachel Bilson and a more experienced thief in Andy Garcia. Mira Nair directs the next short starring Natalie Portman as a Hasidic Jew negotiating a sale of jewelry with a Hindu man. They bond over their respective relationships and religions. Portman also makes her directorial debut with a later vignette involving a male nanny (Carlos Acosta) and his young charge.

Scarlett Johansson also made her directorial debut with a black & white segment starring Kevin Bacon. Titled “These Vagabond Shoes,” it was cut from the theatrical release, but is available on the DVD.

It says a lot about New York, I Love You when the strongest episode is the one directed by freakin’ Brett Ratner. His segment features Anton Yelchin taking a blind date to the prom. The date (Olivia Thirlby) arrives at the door in a wheelchair. It’s a cute short that doesn’t end quite as you’d expect. Joshua Marston (Maria Full of Grace) helms the second best segment with Eli Wallach and Cloris Leachman as an elderly couple bickering along the streets of NY.

The movie makes its audience feel like a passive viewer floating through the lives of the city’s inhabitants. Unfortunately, these lives are just plain dull. Everything is so innocuous. None of the directors have anything interesting to say about love, relationships, or the city. Except for a scene in Central Park, there’s nothing distinctly New York about the film. It could have been called Toronto, I Love You without much difference.

All the shorts look exactly the same with the sequence by Shekhar Kepur who took over from the late Anthony Minghella. Kepur gives his piece an ethereal quality grounded by the wonderful presence of Julie Christie as a blind opera singer. However, everything is so confoundingly pretentious (or pretentiously confounding, if you prefer) coupled with Shia LaBeouf laughingly playing a crippled bellhop with some indiscernible accent. Mutt Williams as Igor.

New York, I Love You may be a slick and polished affair, but it has all the substance of a bad student film festival.

Rating: *

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol - Dir. Robert Zemeckis (2009)


Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has been told and re-told so many times that I doubt a plot summary is necessary at all. In terms of movies, the 1951 version starring Alastair Sim is widely regarded as the quintessential cinematic adaptation. Richard Donner’s modernized version, Scrooged starring Bill Murray is another favorite. There have been versions starring the Muppets, Mickey Mouse, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Mr. Magoo. Cartoonist Carl Barks created the popular Uncle Scrooge as a takeoff of Dickens’ lead character for the Donald Duck comic books. Armed with the latest in modern technology, director Robert Zemeckis has created yet another version of what he considers one of the great time travel stories.

Jim Carrey takes the lead as Ebenezer Scrooge whose selfish ways earn him a visit from his late partner, Jacob Marley (Gary Oldman). Marley heralds the arrival of the three spirits (also played by Carrey) who teach Scrooge the error of his ways. Carrey isn’t the only one playing multiple roles. Oldman also doubles as Bob Cratchit and even did the motion capture for Tiny Tim. Robin Wright Penn appears as Scrooge’s late sister, Fan, and former love, Belle, while Colin Firth takes on the small role of Scrooge’s nephew, Fred. He’s the only one who actually looks like his character.

This 3D version is a faithful adaptation with numerous lines of dialogue lifted straight from the novel. Carol begins to fall apart in the third act which is also where it strays furthest from the source material. Zemeckis pads out the final part of the film with Scrooge being chased through the streets of London by a carriage driven by the Ghost of Christmas Past. Scrooge is slowly shrunk to action figure size throughout. Never has there been a more unnecessary addition then to throw in a slapdash action sequence into Dickens’ classic.

Through computer animation, Zemeckis is able to open up the world, telling a timeless tale in new ways. Some of it works (the seamless way in which Scrooge travels through his past) and a lot doesn’t (Ghost of Christmas Present turning Scrooge’s home into a glorified home theater system). Mostly, the motion capture isn’t able to shake off its limitations. The characters still have a plastic look to them while moving about in a wooden fashion. Granted, they aren’t as creepy looking as in The Polar Express, but the animation hasn’t improved enough to accurately render the actors’ performances.

Rating: **

State of Play

State of Play - Dir. Kevin Macdonald (2009)

Just like Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, State of Play was based on a BBC mini-series. Having not seen the origin British production, I can’t speculate as to how the American remake matches up to it. I will say that State of Play is a perfectly acceptable thriller that tries to evoke the themes of 70’s classics such as All the President’s Men with a hint of The Parallax View.

State of Play begins with a young African-American male with a history of drug problems and felonies being murdered in an alley late at night. The police probably would have let this one fade away if not for a bicyclist witnessing the shooting and also being killed. Cal McCaffrey (Russell Crowe) is the veteran reporter assigned to the case by the Washington Globe and his tough-as-nails editor Cameron Lynne (Helen Mirren). That very morning, Sonia Baker (Maria Thayer), the beautiful aide to Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is killed in a supposed accident on a subway platform. Collins is a rising star in political circles as he heads an investigative committee looking into the inner workings of PointCorp, a private security firm and obvious stand-in for Blackwater. Young and handsome, he’s the type of TV-friendly politico that John F. Kennedy Jr. may have been if not for his premature death. Alas, Collins is more John Edwards than John John as it comes out he was having an affair with Baker. Robin Wright Penn plays Collins’ dutiful wife, Anne, who reluctantly chooses to stand by her man for the big press conferences.

McCaffrey was once Collins’ roommate in college and it’s hinted at that he also had an affair with Anne years ago. Lynne wants to use McCaffrey’s relationship with the tarnished congressman to assist in the story being written up by the Globe’s online blogger, Della Frye (Rachel McAdams). McCaffrey and Frye begin working together in an adversarial capacity. The elder journalist feels she is a glorified gossip monger and can’t stand that she has a high-tech laptop and doesn’t seem to own a pen. Eventually she takes on a mentor role and teaches her to get out from behind a desk and use old-fashioned legwork to get the scoop.

Though the film takes a uniquely American point-of-view to the proceedings, it is the Scottish Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) who helms the picture. Macdonald is backed up by a script written up by a team of crackerjack screenwriters all of whom are well-equipped to handle these ripped-from-the-headlines, twisty turny story. Among those who contributed to the script include Matthew Michael Carnahan (The Kingdom, Lions For Lambs), Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton), Billy Ray (Breach, Shattered Glass), plus an uncredited rewrite from Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon). They manage to find some balance between the wealth of characters and subplots. There are a few bumps in the road that may take you by surprise and a few you can see coming. Perhaps, the weakest point in the film is the third act resolution which tries to fit in a few too many twists while wrapping all the dangling plotlines far too neatly.

The political scandals may make up the meat of the story, but the underlying themes of print versus online media are a far more fascinating aspect to State of Play. The clash between the old-school and the new-school. Further on point is the added effect of the economic slump to the financial viability of the newspaper. My local paper, the San Diego Union-Tribune, recently laid off just under 200 workers following similar layoffs last year. Filmmakers added an extra layer of resonance as we watch the latest headlines move through the massive printing press on its way to the public. If only there were a lame-legged newsie hawking copies on the local street corner, shouting ”Extry, extry.”

During early development, Brad Pitt and Edward Norton were attached to the roles of McCaffrey and Collins, respectively. We may not have gotten a Fight Club reunion, but Russell Crowe is more believable as the weary, slovenly McCaffrey than Pitt. It’s not a surprising role for Crowe following similar ones in American Gangster and Body of Lies. Affleck has the good looks for Collins, yet lacks the range of Norton to bring the character truly to life. Some of his line readings are flat. The best performances out of the A-list ensemble belong to supporting players Jason Bateman as a sleazy, drug-addled PR man and Jeff Daniels as an oily elder statesman.

State of Play isn’t the ingenious thriller the cast and crew had hoped it would be. It is, however, a popcorn film for those seeking something deeper than expensive CGI and loud explosions.

Rating: ***

What Just Happened

What Just Happened? - Dir. Barry Levinson (2008)


Hollywood poking fun at its own self-importance isn´t anything new; they´ve been doing it for decades. Some of my favorite movies about movies include Sullivan´s Travels, The Bad and the Beautiful, Singin´ in the Rain, and The Player. More recently, Ben Stiller took an over-the-top, cartoonish approach to the subject matter with Tropic Thunder. Barry Levinson´s latest film, What Just Happened? follows in the footsteps of Tropic Thunder, but takes a far more grounded approach at ridiculing the behind-the-scenes turmoil of La La Land. What Just Happened? tries to take a bite out of Hollywood too, yet lacks the teeth to do it. It just gums at it instead.

Based on the eponymous autobiography of producer Art Linson (The Untouchables, Heat, Fight Club), What Just Happened? focuses on aging producer Ben (Robert DeNiro) as he juggles his personal and professional lives. Ben has one film in the can, Fiercely starring Sean Penn (in a small role as himself) and directed by British auteur Jeremy Brundell (Michael Wincott). Ben hopes to build a ton of buzz at Cannes, but before that he has to leap the tall hurdle known as the test screening. The screening, with all the principal players in attendance, turns into a disaster. Brundell´s masterpiece ends with the hero, Penn, being shot by the bad guys, right after his lovable dog is shot through the head in a sudden, graphic manner. The audience, unsurprisingly, reacts with anger and disgust.

The studio head, Lou Tarnow (Catherine Keener), demands Ben follow her notes and alter the film accordingly. Brundell doesn´t react to this news very well, throwing a tantrum and bursting into tears. Simultaneously, Ben is producing another project that may never get off the ground because of its temperamental leading man. Ben is called to the set immediately when he learns that his star, Bruce Willis (also playing himself), has arrived sporting a beer belly and a big, bushy beard. The never seen studio executives threaten to shut the production down and sue Ben if their obscenely paid A-list actor doesn´t shave. Willis, on the other hand, threatens Ben with physical violence if he isn´t allowed to express himself artistically. With a beard…

Meanwhile, Ben has to deal with two ex-wives and the kids from each marriage. His teenage daughter, Zoe (Kristen Stewart), from his first wife won´t open up to him. He has an on-off, up-down relationship with his second ex, Kelly (Robin Wright Penn). They still have feelings for each other while attending therapy to complete their split amicably. Ben also suspects Kelly is sleeping with his screenwriter friend, Scott Solomon (Stanley Tucci).

As the stand-in for Linson, DeNiro puts in an understated performance, a different type from the larger-than-life characters he usually plays. He´s not the typical producer either or at least not the stereotypical one. He´s tired and world weary. There´s nothing wrong with DeNiro´s work here, but there´s nothing that really jumps out at you. You can say the same thing about most of the film. It too is understated and a bit underwhelming.

Part of the problem lies with the stakes. Not every movie should be about stopping the terrorists from detonating a nuke, but the protagonist should embark on a journey that allows the audience to connect with the character. Basic screenwriting. However, I never felt emotionally invested with Ben. His movie is savaged by audiences and critics? Big deal. Levinson frames the film around a photo shoot for a cover featuring Hollywood´s power players with Ben worrying about where he´ll be placed. Umm…so what? Ben´s familial situation might have elicited some sympathy were it given time to develop. It seems like a lot of the scenes involving the subplots with Zoe and Solomon were left on the cutting room floor.

The humor falls flat most of the time as well. The majority of the gags are so dry, you wonder if that was supposed to be a joke or not. On the rare occasions the comedy is played more broadly and fails to elicit any chuckles. The always dependable John Turturro plays a talent agent so neurotic that he out-Woody Allens Woody Allen. That would have been good enough, but they threw in a bizarre stomach disorder that causes Turturro to scream and cough in pain at random times. It isn´t funny the first time and repeating it again and again doesn´t make it any funnier.

The only scene in the film that has any kind of life to it is Bruce Willis´s tirade when he´s told to shave his beard. Willis looks like he could have given Jeff Bridges a run for the role of Obadiah Stane in Iron Man. The former John McClane is quite entertaining in the scene that was reportedly based on a real incident involving Alec Baldwin on the set of The Edge.

Levinson is undoubtedly familiar with all sorts of bizarre antics from movie folk having worked in the film industry as an actor, writer, director, and producer. He´s tackled the subject before in the oddly prescient Wag the Dog and, to a lesser extent, with the poorly made Man of the Year. This all-star production falls somewhere in the middle of those last two films. Directors with inflated opinions of their own artistic sensibilities, know-it-all executives who don´t really know anything and egoistical actors aren´t exactly revelations. What Just Happened? doesn´t beat a dead horse so much as jabs it with a pointy stick. Levinson set out to mock Hollywood and, ironically, made a film that fits in with the indistinguishable, milquetoast mass that it churns out.

Rating: * 1/2