Moneyball

And now for an inspirational sports movie about a baseball team that doesn't win. Uh, yay? No, read on.

It's Moneyball, whose story is taken from Michael Lewis's non-fiction book of the same name. Said story was written by Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin and realized by director Bennett Miller (Capote).

In 2001, Oakland Athletics GM Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) saw his team lose a spot in the Series to the Yankees. When next season rolls along, Billy finds himself forced to get a winning team together. But the Oakland A's don't have the financial luxury of the Yankees, so how will Billy do it?

A recent Yale Grad named Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) comes to Billy with a mathematical answer. He points out some promising statistics from unpromising players, an actual "island of misfit toys." But with the right training, these toys'll work good as new. And so Billy sets out to prove these theories, even if it does cost him some personal and professional relationships.

Although Baseball's a team sport, this is Brad Pitt's movie. As Billy Beane, he's likeable in spite of some tragic overconfidence because he's charmingly over-confident. He's practically in every scene, so his dominance is very much assured. When Billy falters, both in the game and off, the audience'll feel his frustrations for sure.

It helps knowing that the writing was in good hands to begin with. As he did in The Social Network, co-writer Sorkin has made a "geeky" subject accessible to the "average" filmgoer. Together, Sorkin and Zaillian highlight the managerial dealings behind the sport and why, for them, this sport is serious business.

Does it hit one out of the ball park? No, because it goes on for a bit longer than it should've. But still, it's a homerun and definitely one to watch out for this January.