The Media Room

Warrior (2011) Watching the Movie:  Very solid (at times downright spectacular) "sports" movie. It's been called by a lot of people much smarter than me the "Guy Chick Flick" and that's not too far off accurate; as there's definitely a lot of drama front and center. At times it feels somewhat slow and overly long; but it's second and third acts more than make up for the pace of the first 3rd of the movie Screening the Film:  As a film, it's amazing. Images of family (specifically father and brotherhood), obligation, mass media, social structures, leadership, and even nationalism (Why Koba had to be not only Russian, but wear the old Soviet Hammer and Sickle is interesting enough an image to consider in and of itself, especially since he was played by Olympic Gold Medalist USA Wrestler Kurt Angle). In 15-20 years it will be very interesting to view this imagery in a historical context. Best Dialogue: Paddy Conlon: Come on, kiddo. I've been...

Moneyball (2011) Watching the Movie:  Kind of a disorganized mess if you aren't a major sports, business, or statistics nerd. For most who are 0-3 in the above, the lone draw of appeal is how seriously you can invest yourself in Billy Beane and his situation fortunately Brad Pitt's usual charm make that really REALLY easy; as does his really incredible chemistry with Jonah Hill as Peter Brandt/Paul DiPodesta.    Screening the Film:  Some really cool images about business management in general and the decisions that are involved in overseeing an operation. As a reflection of a historical context (remember, the season in question is 2002), it falls short only because NOBODY was texting in 2002; the world was still on dial-up and just starting to get DSL and cable, and Sorkin really wrote more than a few SNAFU's with his anachronisms. However, for anyone who is looking for images of team building, team leadership and team synergy; Moneyball is an absolute gold mine. ...