Moneyball: A True Home Run. ****

"It's hard not to be romantic about baseball"

Sports dramas have always been a genre that, I feel, Hollywood is jumped all over. We've had some inspirational underdog stories told through football, soccer, hockey, basketball and even rugby, but some of the real classic baseball stories would not fall under the "serious" category. Moneyball does something that no sports movie has ever really done, it analyzes the world of sports and offers us a glimpse into a world usually played behind the scenes. Not many people would consider baseball to be a real business or job, most people say, "oh they get payed too much to play a game," there hasn't really been a way to see into the sport through the business eyes. I guess this could be said for all sports. What makes this movie unique and special is not how it portrays the sports world, but how an ordinary guy did something extraordinary for one of america's most beloved sports.

People say baseball is not a game or sport, but, an american pass time. For sports mongers, baseball is a way of life, they live it, breathe it, coach it and share it with their kids and their kids' kids. No matter how many people think it's a waste of time, baseball is an important fabric of our culture, I guess hockey would be Canada's pass time sport. This movie really sneaks up on the audience. It's a story about a washed up baseball player Billie Bean as he's in search for a winning streak as the Oakland A's manager. He's been in search for a break in the sport he once and sometimes loves now and again for his whole life. He meets Peter Brand who is as mysterious as the latest conspiracy theory, but the manager in cleveland listens to him. Stunned, Bean asks Brand what he's all about and this is where the story kicks off.

The Dialogue in the film is fantastic, the story never seems forced or contrived, it just flows. This is due in part to the wonderful book by Michael Lewis, and writers Aaron Sorkin with Steve Zaillian which have taken Lewis' material and adapted it so well. This isn't a typical sports movie with cliche after cliche, it's just a true, real story. It isn't really even about the team, which is what makes this movie special. It's a story about Bean reaching the peak of his career and how he deals with it. It is also about the "corrupt" money hoarding that baseball has so long been tainted by and it's a true underdog story about a little team that could. The power of this film is unmarked. Watching this movie I was truly inspired, it is the feel good movie of the year. What I really loved about this movie was the spot on acting. No one overreacts in this film, and the delivery of the dialogue is awesome as well. The action in this movie is the dialogue and it's so much fun to watch. Sure there are reservations of this movie, if people don't really care of sports this movie would be hard to watch. It can be slow and tedious and the backstory with the daughter could have been a little more than it was. I thought the pacing was spot on. The final frame of the movie was brilliant and Pitt has some of his best acting on display here.

       Overall, this is a fantastic film.  The production is amazing and the story was truly inspiring.  Aaron Sorkin is such a talented writer and he's on fire with his two latest films.  This movie will move you and inspire you and is the best feel good movie of the year.  I'm glad Mr. Pitt finally got his oscar nomination.  Jonah Hill was also a nice addition to the film.  He was funny and played his role so well, he was a great supporting role in this film. I was surprised by this film, going into it not really knowing what it was about, and I loved it, and I don't even like baseball.

The Avengers: Paper Thin Heroes. **

        People love summertime for so many reasons, all of the flavor of ice cream, the warm sun bathing weather, swimming in the outdoor pools, or simply going for walks and bike rides outside. One of the many pastimes for a few generations of families is going to the movies in the summer, usually the summer blockbusters never disappoint. Most independent movie companies refrain from releasing movies in the summer now because hollywood has killed the summer blockbuster. Sure there were the glory days but for hollywood, the times have changed. Mainly, the summer blockbusters now are lifeless and filled with headache inducing special effects and there is really no story telling going on what-so-ever. This is where 'The Avengers" comes in. Marvel has been on fire within the movie business as of late. The "Spiderman" Trilogy was awesome (Mainly 1 and 2 were excellent), "X-men" and "X2" with the newest installment of "X-men First Class" were also excellent. The leading prequels up to "The Avengers" were awesome as well (Captain America, Thor, Ironman), so going into this one I was expecting the very best from producers Marvel and writer/director Joss Whedon. "The Avengers" is one of the most celebrated comic strips ever written and drawn. It has many spin-offs including The New Avengers and some other stories that stand on their own.

         The movie starts with us taking a visit to S.H.E.I.L.D. which is a central intelligence agency that is based in the United States of America. This agency is in charge of protecting the world from extraterrestrial attacks and controlling people from around the world that are "gifted". They do this so that when something comes up that threatens the world, then can deal with it, they also keep everything under wraps so that no one can use what they know to destroy the world. S.H.E.I.L.D. is responsible for assembling the Avengers. Nick Fury assembles, Hawkeye, Black Widow, The Hulk, Ironman and Captain America to fight Thor's brother Loki who has summoned an evil alien race to come and destroy earth. This is possible because of an artifact that was found at the bottom of the ocean that acts as a portal to space and other worlds. Of course Thor comes into the picture later to fight with the rest of the team. "The Avengers" could have been so much more than it actually was, sure there was good things going on in this film but there was also evidence of a money grabbing scheme here and it really stinks. The action in this movie is spectacular, the special effects are fantastic, and the main fight at the end is a great conclusion. The problem with the action was that nothing special was happening here, the sequences seemed to be bland, and nothing creative happened with the avengers team. My favorite action tid bit was the fighting and bickering between The Hulk and Thor. The last action sequence of the film was way too long, I'm sure it was at least 45 minutes long, I actually was very bored and tired by the end of the sequence, it gave me a headache and I was wondering when it was over. It was also so bland to watch, almost like we were shown something that we've seen way to many times. Sure this is an action flick, but the action has to be creative and fun to watch, and it was fun to watch for the first 15 or 20 minutes but after that it's just bland. The story in this film is so paper thin.

       "The Avengers" has such a vast legacy in comics filled with intriguing stories and episodes of these so very different humans and aliens fighting baddies together. This movie touched upon this dramatic characterization for about 15 minutes tops. The other bulk of the movie showed the characters bickering and trying to steal the spotlight with cheesy one-liners, I'm sorry but The Avengers should be so much more than that. Because of this, the moments that should have been heroic and epic simply fell flat. The Characters were stale and went no where and fighting here and fighting there and, oh look at that, they get along. The moment at the end of the movie when the stand together should have solidified the greatest and heroism of "The Avengers". All the producers and makers cared about was making things go boom as cool as they could and it really dumbed down what could've been such an epic drama instead of a battle royal. Loki was just stupid as well, one of the worst villains I have seen on screen. There should've been more room for development there too. Well, in a nutshell, "The Avengers" could've been so much more. It could've had depth and character and really showed off what wonderful characters these are as well as their abilities. What we got was a dumbed down action packed romp.

       This was a popcorn flick that just wanted to look pretty and it did, but nothing memorable came out of it but the random one liners took it's place, it felt like these heroes were trying to improvise or one up each other with them. I was expecting depth and awesome characters, sure there was a hint at the struggles and characterizations of "The Avengers", but it wasn't enough, that drama took a back seat to the way too long 45 minute action conclusion. I'm getting tired of movies that end with technological throw down, why couldn't the main part of the conclusion be the Avengers finally assembling? Instead, they assembled so quickly just so the producers could make more than enough time for the silly action. As I left the theater I wasn't excited for the DVD to come out, and that made me sad.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows: Full of Shadows. ***

Sherlock Holmes has always been a favourite of mine. My wife just bought me the whole collection for christmas and I have been reading through it. Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle has created a true masterpiece, it's fun and inventive with a main character that is very delightful. Guy Ritchie and Robert Downey Jr. have created a little bit of a different Sherlock. He's still funny, and wedding-phobic but a little bit rude at times, some people may not appreciate this. Sure Mr. Doyle's Sherlock is witty and socially inept, but this quality is picked on quite regularly in this film. What we get is something truly entertaining, but just because we are entertained does not mean this movie is without it's faults.

The movie begins with Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) walking through a busy corridor in London and of course Holmes is hiding in his deceptive outfit. She sets him up, and eventually gets killed by the man who hired her. Now the story just gets muddled after this because we go into Watson (Jude Law), vowing to get married and be away from Holmes. Meanwhile, Holmes finds corruption with a famous professor and he is targeting Watson on his honeymoon, and on we go. After the train scene, where Holmes is dressed up as a lady, this movie never lets up. We are introduced to some very unusual and entertaining characters as well.

The Acting is great in this film. It is just plain fun to see Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes. I liked this film because of all of his outfits, he's a beggar, a woman and the list goes on and on. This reminded me of Doyle's stories and how Sherlock dresses up randomly and was great at spying, we see this much more in this one as oppose to the first film. The banter between Law and Downey Jr. is worth the price of admission, the banter is as fast and furious as the action and this keeps the movie going at top speed. The supporting role of Holmes' brother (Stephen Fry) is also a treat to watch. The banter between the two and just the sheer ridiculousness of Fry's character is always fun.

One thing Guy Ritchie is very good at is making a fast paced film. Sometimes it's too fast though, and we get lost in the intricate stories and situations. This is what happens in this film, all of a sudden there are new characters and plot points and all of a sudden people are fighting in a bar. It is a lot to take in and if you aren't used to Ritchie's films, then, there might be trouble in following the story. Also, Sherlock Holmes' character is not very likeable, sure he was a jerk and social freak in the book but not to this extent. There is some sentimentality in the end between the two characters but one part is not nearly enough, it takes the "beloved" out of story. The story is good, but it develops fast without much explaining, when things blow up and awesome action sequences happen, we sometimes don't really know what is going on, it might be awesome, but the story gets lost.

The last thing I want to say about this film, it's a fun action piece. It's cheap entertainment and almost rides the grind-house-exploitation-film line, this might turn some people off. The action in this film is awesome. Transformers can learn from the cinematography in this film, the action is crystal clear and awesome. The fight in the bar scene is fun, the sniper shoot out at an empty base is stellar, and the escape from that base is my favourite scene of the film. The use of the high speed camera is awesome, it's a unique action sequence, I've never seen anything like it. Clearly this movie was made for those action set pieces. This is a funny, clever and fun mystery movie that never lets up the action, even if it leaves us in the shadows once in a while.

Rated PG-13 for Violence, Some nudity, Mature themes.

Robert Downey Jr., Rachel McAdams, Jude Law, Stephen Fry, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris

Directed by: Guy Ritchie. Written by: Michele Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney