First Word

Last night, I didn't cuddle up to watch the Oscars. I flipped the channels until I found an older movie, Sea Biscuit , that I had never seen before. I had my chips and salsa and crunched, crunched, crunched away the night. Not so many years ago, I used to look forward to Oscar night. I enjoyed seeing clips from the movies I would soon go see and supporting movies that I had seen already and loved. The last several years (and maybe it's just me), it seems like the quality and depth of the really great movies has waned. The market gets flooded with commercial vehicles and the truly fantastic films get harder and harder to find. Among the array of movies nominated last night only a small handful looked remotely appealing. I saw the movies that I had any interest in. The winner for best picture, The Artist doesn't appeal to me at all. I would have much rather seen something like Moneyball  or The Descendants win. As the big commercial films dominate the cinema, especially thi...

I has been a very long time since I've watched a seamless, perfect movie, but last night I watched Moneyball on Blu-Ray and all I have to say is bravo! What a fine film. Starring Brad Pitt, whose acting chops have never impressed me in the past, Moneyball is centrally about a man, a vision and a desire to make it come true. Pitt's Billy Bean is a haunted man with a vision to change the business of baseball, and he sets off undaunted to meet the challenge. The story is absolutely about the journey, but isn't it always truly about the journey? This movie mirrors so much of what I'm working toward right now in my own life and reminded me to stay the course just the same way Billy stays the course even when it becomes plainly obvious the plan isn't working. When he asks his assistant general manager played by Jonah Hill in a quiet, resolute performance if he believes it will work, Hill's character quietly says yes. Right there! Right there is the message: BELIEVE!...