When I started Continuations I was planning to write a fair bit about movies as well … I love movies! It hasn’t turned out that way largely because I haven’t had the time to watch any. And when I have gone it has mostly been with the kids to something like Toy Story 3 (which I thought was OK) that didn’t inspire me to write. But I am happy to report that the kids are getting old enough to appreciate movies that do make the cut.
Last weekend I took my older son to see Money Ball and he loved it. Neither one of us is into baseball (he stopped playing Little League several years ago) but we both enjoy math and he has become interested in investing. The scenes about the trading of players provided the perfect hook for him and a good counter balance to the drier parts about the role of statistics.
Brad Pitt was quite good in the role of Billy Beane. His make up (or actual looks these days) were the perfect combination of remnants of beauty with edged disappointment. Pitt seems like the current version of Robert Redford. While I liked Jonah Hill as Peter Brand, I wish his role had been flushed out a bit more although that might have added even more length and maybe taken away from the dramatic centrality of Beane.
After the movie my son and I had a great conversation about science, which is exactly what I had hoped for. The contrast between the superstitious beliefs of the old guard and the scientific approach came out clearly and entertainingly. We also talked about how seemingly weird it is that players can be traded like that and why that doesn’t exist for say employees of companies (this is more like divisions of a large company). Strongly recommend seeing Money Ball even if you don’t care about baseball!
I look forward to seeing Margin Call (maybe this weekend). It has a terrific cast and I am a big fan of taking a drama approach to big topics. While I enjoyed Too Big to Fail on HBO, it was covering so much ground that it was hard to develop the choices of individuals. Hoping Margin Call will deliver on that.
