Moneyball 4K Review (Sony Pictures)

Moneyball is a 2011 sports drama film directed by Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher, Capote, The Cruise, and A Christmas Carol). It was written by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, The Newsroom, The Social Network, A Few Good Men, Malice, Sports Night, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) and Steven Zaillian (Searching for Bobby Fischer, The Irishman, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, American Gangster, Hannibal, Gangs of New York, and Schindler’s List). It’s based on the novel “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game” from author Michael Lewis (The Big Short, The Blind Side, Radical Wolfe, and Liar’s Poker). It was produced by Michael De Luca (Blade franchise, Ghost Rider franchise, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, Dark City, Fifty Shades Trilogy, Magnolia, In the Mouth of Madness, The Mask, Boogie Nights, and Detroit Rock City). Steven Soderbergh was the original director for this when it was first developed. It’s based on the real life baseball story from 2002. The budget was $50,000,000 and it grossed $113,668,126 worldwide at the box office!!!! Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane (played by: Brad Pitt from Fight Club, 12 Monkeys, World War Z, Inglourious Basterds, The Mexican, True Romance, Se7en, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, and Snatch) decides to challenges the system. He defies conventional wisdom when he is forced to rebuild his small-market team on a very limited budget. Despite opposition from the old guard, the media, fans and their own field manager Art Howe (played by: Philip Seymour Hoffman from Red Dragon, Almost Famous, Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski, Magnolia, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Scent of a Woman). Beane with the help of a young number-crunching economist Peter Brand (played by: Jonah Hill from 21 Jump Street, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Sitter, Get Him to the Greek, Superbad, Knocked Up, and Funny People) develops a roster of misfits that includes Scott Hatteberg (played by: Chris Pratt from Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Jurassic World franchise, Avengers franchise, Wanted, Zero Dark Thirty, The Super Mario Bros franchise, and Take Me Home Tonight) forever changes the way the game is ever played again!!!! Moneyball is inspired and based on the crazy real life sports story that changed how teams managed their rosters. It was a risky move that paid off rather than being a total disaster. Moneyball went through various changes during it’s development with original writer Steven Zaillian and director Steven Soderbergh. They were both replaced by new writer Aaron Sorkin and Bennett Miller so that’s a completely different approach. Regardless, it worked out for the best. The script is sharp and it still respects the actual story that really happened. Moneyball is more than a sports and baseball movie, it can be enjoyed by casual cinema fans because it delivers so much more. Lead actor Brad Pitt is Billy Beane, he’s a former player that has moved on to management after he couldn’t perform anymore. He doesn’t have much of a budget to keep his team a contender and he just lost his 3 best weapons to organizations with more money. He is desperate to switch things up since he has nothing to lose at this point. He sees talent in someone else and he gets his help to do the unexpected. Jonah Hill goes against typecasting and he takes on the serious role of Peter Brand. He knows baseball on another level compared to others. He’s all about the stats that most squads ignore when it comes to a player that goes under the radar for some reason. This method really comes together and the Oakland A’s have a chance at winning it all without the huge funding that the bigger cities can swing. Skilled actors Philip Seymour Hoffman, Chris Pratt, and Robin Wright (Forrest Gump, House of Cards, The Princess Bride, Unbreakable, Wonder Woman franchise, and State of Grace) all have smaller roles in Moneyball but they all knock it out of the park. The rest of the supporting cast includes Spike Jonze (Jackass franchise), Arliss Howard (Full Metal Jacket), Glenn Morshower (24), Jack McGee (Rescue Me), Reed Diamond (Homicide: Life on the Street), Stephen Bishop (The Rundown), Brent Jennings (Shameless), Ken Medlock (Brewster’s Millions), Tammy Blanchard (The Good Shepherd), Vyto Ruginis (Broken Arrow), Nick Searcy (The Shape of Water), Kerris Dorsey (Ray Donovan), and James Shanklin (Hell on Wheels). There’s ironically not that much baseball in Moneyball so it’s more of a drama than anything. It focuses on the business side and the behind the scenes work of a small market organization. There’s still some really good moments on the field but it’s more of a rarity so it’s not packed with action or suspense. It goes completely against tradition and past logic when it came to MLB how this season was setup. It mixes drama, comedy, and sports with plenty of heart to it. For being 73 minutes and mainly a being talky production, it doesn’t drag at all. Moneyball keeps itself entertaining with it’s underdog mentality, passion, and drive to achieve the impossible. This still holds up after 15 years, it has quality replay value to it. RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Sony Pictures! This 2160p (1.85:1) transfer is from a brand new 4K restoration that’s approved by director Bennett Miller. I’ve had Moneyball on Blu Ray since 2012 and this UHD is a huge improvement compared to that original home video release. It always looked really good when it came to the visuals but now it’s a step above that. It has multiple audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks on the 4K disc. Like I said above, it’s not loaded with that much games, hits, action, or thrills so the audio mainly pops for it’s score/soundtrack. All of the dialogue is crisp, the drama is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English, English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles. It has 3 “Deleted Scenes” which includes “Billy Tells Art: Play Bradford”, “Tara and Billy Dinner”, and “Peter Offered GM Job” that are a little over 12 minutes. It has the little over 3 minute “Brad Loses It” which ends up being a blooper reel. It has the little over 16 minute “Billy Beane: Re-Inventing the Game”. It has interviews with Bennett Miller, Michael Lewis, Aaron Sorkin, and the real life Billy Beane. This is dedicated to Billy Beane and how he altered sports with his ambitious gamble. They go over his career as a player, GM days, overall history, and the actual stories of what happened. It has the little over 16 minute “Adapting Moneyball”. It has interviews with Michael Lewis, Stan Chervin, Bennett Miller, Aaron Sorkin, Rachael Horovitz, Michael De Luca, and Steven Zaillian. One of the producers read the novel while on vacation. She wasn’t thinking about making it into a feature but it just stayed with her. She found out the rights were available so that’s how it started. This is about them making the book into a film. The true story manages to be something that can be put on the screen. The underappreciated, misfits, and apparent washed up prove their doubters wrong. It has the almost 21 minute “Drafting the Team”. It has interviews with Brad Pitt, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jonah Hill, Chris Pratt, Michael De Luca, Stephen Bishop, and others. They chat about picking the right actors to portray these real people. They go over some of the main characters here and what they go through during Moneyball. It has the little over 19 minute “Moneyball: Playing the Game”. It has interviews with Brad Pitt, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jonah Hill, Bennett Miller, Michael De Luca, and others. They want to show respect and be authentic for baseball. They bring up making sure that they tell the story of this crazy turnaround. They chat about building a complicated set and filming in actual stadiums. It has the brand new “Trailer” for Moneyball that wasn’t on the other release. It comes with a slipcover and a digital code. It’s available everywhere right now including Moviezyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!