MoneyBall (based on true events) - 2011

American League Division Elimination Series. NY Yankees vs Oakland A’s, Oct. 15, 2001. Yankees won.

After missing his own shot in the major league dug-outs, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) has created a some what comfortable life and career as the Oakland Athletics’ General Manager. It’s a good life and a good job, but Billy isn’t satisfied with ‘Almost’ anymore, he wants to win the championship. The World Series.

But Billy has a problem, the team has been drastically gutted of it’s 3 top key players and now he has to replace them. The Oakland A’s are a low budget baseball club, and the owner can’t afford to buy star ballplayers. So Billy has to find another way to even the odds and bring this team to victory.

His obstacles : 1^st, a tried and trusted well experienced team of player scouts, who are all use to doing things by the look, the Old Fashion way. But tight funds can only buy certain looks. HA! And so goes the battle of the blackboard. And 2^nd, the team manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who is also well experienced but threatened by the weakness of his short-term contract. Art is hell bent on managing the players as ,HE sees fit. And is willing to defy undermining direction in the wake of securing his own future.

Billy sets out to a meeting with Mark Shapiro (Reed Diamond) to negotiate the possible sale of replacement players. But to his surprise, he spots a far more valuable asset in Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), special assistant player analyst for the Cleveland Indians. Finally, someone who understands what Billy means but can’t seem to explain.

Billy buys Peter and together they upset and remold the Oakland A’s into a totally different team, by using analytical statistics generated by the players ability to get on base. The plan seems fool proof until Art refuses to use the new recruits. Now Peter’s strategy is publically failing as the A’s suffer early losses game after game and the critics begin to mock their every move. Billy decides to clean house by trading off the players that stand in the way of his vision, and force Art to use the new replacement players, which then sets them all on a totally different course. A winning road to victory. And a new Longest Winning Streak World Record of 20 consecutive games.

Moneyball is a Must See movie for young and old. It is a real life, never ending true story that has continued even into 2012.

Red (2010)

Life has become mundane for Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) as he forces himself to adjust into the calm and peaceful lifestyle of a common residential citizen. His greatest pleasure comes in the form of an occasional friendly phone call to his favorite service representative Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker) who seems equally excited with his contact. But, what in this world could a retired U.S. Government Employee possibly have in common with a pretty young pension secretary?

Well, we are about to find out as Frank’s status somehow changes to RED.

I felt almost as bored at getting into this movie as Frank seemed at getting on with his everyday routine, but eventually the pace picked up as Frank thwarts an assassination attempt inside his home....

First lesson,,,, "Don’t Fuk with Grandpa!"

Now, his fantasy visit to Kansas City to meet Sarah in person, has become a personal rescue mission to save her and find out who is trying to kill them. But let’s face it, no girl likes a surprise visit from a stranger, inside her own home, even if he claims to be trying to save her life. HA!

Frank’s mission whisks us around the U.S. as he reunites with his former Black Op team. We get to meet Joe (Morgan Freeman), Marvin (John Malkovich), Ivan (Brian Cox), and Victoria (Helen Mirren) as they learn that Frank’s assailants are actually CIA Sanction and that each of their lives are in danger as well. Now it’s clear, the only way to survive is to break into CIA, meet Cooper (Karl Urban) Frank's replacement, find out who the target is, who the players are and how to take them down one by one. The problem is, it’s hard to tell who the bad guys really are.. Hard that is,, until you get them all together on the same floor face to face!

Although this movie starts out lost and dreadfully slow, stamina pays off with Duct-tape and Old Man ass kicking comedy and action.

The Ides of March (2011)

Cutting down to the wire. The Ohio Democratic primary pits Pennsylvania’s Governor Morris (George Clooney), against Arkansas’s Senator Pullman to determine who will become the next party candidate to run for president of the United States. Each man, a worthy opponent in his own right and within his own constituencies.

This film focuses in on behind the scene events and activities of Governor Morris’s campaign. You know the, ‘Keep him looking great’,’Make him look and sound even better’ and ‘Clean him up when he’s not looking so good’ kind of stuff.

We get to watch how reality effects the job and life of a dedicated yet young and naive assistant campaign manager, Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling), who finds himself in the middle of scandals that could essentially end his career and forever change his life.

In politics, it is, All about the looks and impressions. See, we voters like to believe it’s all about us. All about what we value, believe in and want or need for our future. We voters like to believe we have a say in who is elected to become the next chief of our great nation. Well, it’s every campaign’s job to do what ever it takes to convince us that their candidate does stand for and will represent our values and deliver our wants and needs for the future. It’s also their job to do what ever it takes to keep us believing that, we do have a say.

Everyone knows, the good guys finish last, and some never finish at all. If you want to win, then you damn well better be the best or have the best crew working, behind the scenes.

...I do detest politics!

This movie is a good way to waste some time, if you have nothing else to do.