Filmmaker reacts to Moneyball (2011) for the FIRST TIME! 

My expectations for this film was really blown away..! Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema Have a great day!

You know a movie is fantastic when it makes you so enthralled in something that outside of the film you don’t give a rip about. Nearly perfect film

I’m from the UK, have never watched baseball, still don’t watch it, but I was on holiday in the US and watched this in the cinema, I was stunned. It’s fascinating, beautifully shot, great acting and great score. I’ve watched it 4-5 times since. There is something very special about this film, glad you got to enjoy it.

"The statistical analysis...it's...so beautiful" -Captain Raymond Holt

"How can you not be romantic about Baseball?" Never been a big sports guy, got into watching Football somewhat recently, but otherwise never really liked watching most sports. But damn sports movies really capture the soul and inspire. Great flick.

Moneyball, Miracle, Remember the Titans, nothings beats a sport movie when it's about hope and conquering the odds. Showing the best in human nature is always uplifting.

The winning streak montage is the greatest sports montage in a movie ever to me. The music and editing gives me chills every single time.

This made me believe in Jonah Hills talent

My dad was an old-school ballplayer and coach and everytime I see this movie I see a bit of him in everyone of those scouts. This movie is so well done

One of my favourites! Brilliant subtle performances across the board, so glad you’re reacting to this film brother

It’s really impossible to overstate the impact that this overall shift towards a more statistical mindset/framework had on the game of baseball. Ultimately it completely changed the way players were drafted and developed, and therefore the way they played. Before this shift in thinking video was rarely studied, stats were not paid much attention to, and baseball was truly run by the “old guard” - managers really made all the most important decisions, like Art Howe did at the start of this movie. Now it’s completely different. No GM in their right mind would put a $200-million dollar team in the hands of one guy to decide who plays and who pitches when. Now every single team has teams of guys crunching numbers to mathematically optimize wins over the course of 162 game, at least. That kind of thinking was nonexistent before Moneyball.

This movie is a great example of what a “movie star” is. The opening scene is Brad Pitt turning a radio off and on and he just holds the camera.

The statistical analysis, it's... so beautiful.

As a 1st round draft pick he took the money to play baseball instead of taking the scholarship. That was part of his motivation throughout the movie and why he ended up staying in Oakland even though Boston was gonna make him the highest paid GM ever.

I think you missed a great line when the music came in at 25:53 "I hate losing more than I love winning". I really feel that encompasses his character greatly, but also how many of us view negatives and positives in life.

I'm from the UK, I've never watched a baseball game, never played baseball, but I love a baseball film. Moneyball is a new(-ish) favourite, and I can't even explain why I keep going back to it, just something about the story.

It wasn't until my second or third viewing before I really appreciated just how darn good this movie is.

Based on another Michael Lewis book... The film adaptation of Moneyball was released in 2011, followed by The Big Short in 2015.

This is genuinely one of my favourite films! So happy you reacted to and enjoyed it! ❤

Oooh, as an A's fan born and raised in the Bay, I had so much fun watching the team that season! These last couple years have been rough though with the bad current owner/owners...

Dude im so glad you watched Moneyball. Im not a sportsball guy but this movie is in my top 25 just for the fact that its about people and there happens to be some sports in it

I was at that 20th win in real life.

Michael Lewis, who also wrote The Big Short, wrote the book this is based on. He's a phenomenal writer.

When "Moneyball" was first announced, there were a lot of people who were scratching their heads and couldn't see how a book that's heavy in the weeds on sabermetrics could be translated into a film. Goes to show you any source material can be made into a film if the script writing is phenomenal.

James this is your barber Ray here! Dude this is one of my favorites. I’m glad to watch this with you

This is a movie I can't explain to people. When you explain it, it sounds boring: statistics and baseball. But in practice, it is such a well crafted film, super entertaining, captivating throughout. Great cast, great script, it's just great.

Underrated film. I can put this movie on anytime of the day, in any mood.

You should react to Air as well if you haven't seen it. Another personal favorite behind the scenes sports movie is Draft Day. That one is fictional but very well told in my opinion.

Fun fact: they used real scouts in those scenes at the table so it would look and feel more authentic in the conversations. So when you mention the look and feel of a player, that’s exactly what those scouts look for. Amazing, amazing part of the movie

Brad Pitt is a very underrated Actor. He went from being an Eye Candy to Action Hero to Drama/Thriller Character Actor. He is 60 now but I hope we still get to see him in some Movies in the future.

One of the greatest sports films ever absolutely adore moneyball and I don't even like baseball

I was living in the Northern California mountains the year this season took place. And though I'm not a sports fan and don't watch or listen to games, my friends who I was working with were. So I actually got to listen to the 20th win on the radio. What a ride, and listening to games on the radio is an amazing experience. Having to imagine everything, but more importantly, having to wait for the announcer's descriptions of everything that is happening because you can't see it for yourself puts a whole other dimension into the experience.

Fun fact, every oakland player in the cast except chris pratt played professional baseball at some level

This is an incredible film. As someone who's career is similar to the story of the book and who read it when it came out they did a remarkable job in telling the fundamentals of the story. Brilliant art.

One thing I love about this movie is the theme of Billy working out throughout the season. It really parallels all the work he's putting into the team. During the 20th game of the winning streak, hes not working out anymore. He put all the work in and now just has to watch it unfold

Great video, Moneyball is one of my favorite sports movies! You should consider Foxcatcher for a future react. A sports movie and really interesting character study!!

“It’s incredibly hard.” 🤣🤣🤣 Oh, I love it.

Rudy would be a great sports movie to watch. Very inspirational

One of my favourite films. I still say this is Brad Pitt's best performance. He's incredible in every scene. Love the score too.

I smell Draft Day coming soon. It's football season. Let's see it happen.

I have a deeper appreciation of a film I love seeing it through your eyes. Nailed it on the lingering shots/way it holds in frame, the silences - the mathematics of baseball itself is visual poetry. So is this film.

Some deep thoughts on this one, James. Great reaction! "The cracking of the baseball just sounds traumatic." What a great comment.

15:15 it’s funny that you say “I know they’re playing a role” but the guy who plays the head scout is actually was the scout that had a huge problem with Billy’s strategy and end up quitting😂

Bennett Miller. What an absolute treasure of an independent filmmaker. So much care and dedication to his craft. Great choice James.

The last 15 minutes of this movie always gets me choked up and teary-eyed - Top 5 favourite film of mine. that score man.

Aaron Sorkin at his best. Sometimes his screenplays can be cringeworthy but most times he knocks it out of the park. Dunno if you've seen Molly's Game, but if you loved this you may like that one as well. He's best known for writing A Few Good Men, The West Wing, The Newsroom, and many others.

Leave it to Sorkin to make a movie about baseball statistics entertaining.

Real events+historical context+heavyweight actor talent=a great movie. Moneyball is a prime example, another one is Miracle

Fun fact: the guy who plays Grady is actually a former scout who fucking DESPISES Billy Beene in real life lol

Something super cool about the movie is that since it’s based in a true story they splice together real clips of the game and radio broadcast

An absolutely flawless film. For me, there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s perfect in every single way, spectacular!!!

I’m not even into baseball, and I loved this money. It was so well done.

The music in this film is TERRIFiC. Those simple three notes at 11:49 are beautiful.

This is an excellent film. Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill did some of their best work in this film and deserved the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor nominations and this film defiantly deserved the Best Picture nomination it received, though I think it would have been cool if it won Best Picture too. Bennett Miller is a director who’s fantastic and I wish he’d do another film as all three of his feature films Capote, Moneyball and Foxcatcher are amazing. Great to see you watch this film James, hope you’re doing well. Please take care and have a great day!

Okay, now you HAVE to watch Foxcatcher (2014) from the same director. Also a sports movie about Olympic Wrestling. Steve Carell is amazing

For another sports movie, check out Any Given Sunday (1999). Al Pacino plays the aging coach of a struggling NFL-team, and Jamie Foxx plays the team's up and coming quarterback. Starring basically everyone. :)

Subtle shot blocking makes all the difference informing the audience subconsciously. @ 22:24 when the team is dancing in the locker room after a loss and Billy smashes the boom box with a baseball bat. The frozen position of the actors squaring off has the dancing player looming over Billy - with what appears to be a large phallus hanging between his legs! The dancing player represents LOSING mocking Billy with its "big dick". This is where everything turns around. Billy HITS the boom box with a BASEBALL BAT. The BOOM BOX represents the negative BROADCASTING, all the radio montage criticism and pressure of Billy and the A's we've been hearing up to this point in the film. Great stuff!!

The A in A's stands for Athletics. Pacing and Storytelling in this film is excellent. Baseball in general lends itself so well to amazing storytelling. Wish they had been more efficient with the wife/daughter aspect of the story. Love all the frames in this too, and how they linger on shots for emphasis.

I live in Portland and am 100% going to get tickets! Been watching you for a little over 3 years and you are the only channel that I click on every video you put out!

I would think some aspiring filmmaker would be pushed over the top after seeing this movie and what is possible. I've never really seen a movie like this before

Great movie. I can't explain why but this movie gives The Big Short vibes. Love them both.

Grew up a Braves fan in the 80-90s. There was allllllways a game on the radio, it seemed, even outside, everywhere I went. Soundtrack of my childhood. Don Sutton, Pete Van Wieren; maaan, voices I will never forget.

This is my second favorite sports movie based on actual events, right behind Ford v Ferrari. This is one of those movies I can watch over and over, and I don't have many of those.

This movie is in my Top 5. Been waiting for this one. What's crazy is baseball is all about stats nowadays. There are a million different metrics that players are analyzed by. I'm assuming some older attributes are discussed behind closed doors still, but the amount of data that sabremetrics has created is wild.

I love this movie. I loved the book by Michael Lewis. The meetings with the scouts are just incredible.

I have seen this movie a shit ton of times. Man that game 20 win, gives me chills and goose bumps every time!

I recommend “The Big Short,” if you haven’t already seen it.

Miracle is my all time favorite sports movie, you gotta check it out. It's about the 1980 US winter Olympic hockey team. This is probably the best baseball movie (besides Sandlot).

This is one of the reasons I'm studying sports analytics as my grad program right now. This story changed me

Walk off home runs are the most electric event in sports. I was at the 1993 World Series in Toronto when Joe Carter hit his World Series winning home run.

7:12 "I'm curious how he's going to get over this money hurdle" James that should have been the tag line for the film!! 😛

Don't see it mentioned but RIP Billy Beane. Passed away last week to cancer.

@5:43 The sound of the game on the radio in the background while you rest your eyes or take a quick nap in the car or hammock is a hidden pleasure. IYKYK

Maybe the most underrated movie of the century thus far.

Love workmanlike films. Films like this that deep dive into a specific profession and show it being done to the best of it's ability. Not outlandish but still motivational. Another great 'workmanlike' film is Spotlight.

As a sports fan, I love seeing and hearing different stories and moments in the business aspects of the games. The back and forth/give and take between the managers, scouts, trades, contract negotiations, etc. is something that really intrigues the hell out of me and something I think a lot of sports fans forget about. I'm a casual fan of baseball, I know the big name players, teams, a basic knowledge of the game, and this is one of my favorite movies.

You gotta check out Foxcatcher from the same director, Bennett Miller if you haven’t seen it. Another sports related movie about wrestling with Channing Tatum and Steve Carrel like you’ve never seen him before

Good reaction. I always appreciate your perspectives on films.

The score Explosions in the Sky needs to highlighted here...

One of the most powerful scores I've ever heard in a film. The main lingering track is "The Mighty Rio Grande" from This Will Destroy You, and it perfectly fits the entire story progression of this movie. So excited for this one!

I'm a fan of a couple sports, so I'm not exactly approaching this from the "didn't like sports but love this movie" crowd, but you definitely hit it on the head when you mentioned sports and the human sense of self-confidence and achievement "syncing up", especially in movies. This move does such a great job, and reaches so many people who don't care about the intricacies of any sport (no problem with that, it's mainly memorizes the names and statistics of a bunch of dudes you develop a parasocial relationship with) It succeeds because it expresses sport as conviction and execution. A man saw a system, and then attempted to introduce a logical mindset that he believed in and could articulate. It's all a mind game, person vs. reality. Adapt or die. Get on base. It's a hero's journey.

What a treat for me, Cassie over at popcorn in bed is watching starship troopers and you're watching Moneyball.

Nice. I hate baseball with a passion. But I love this movie. The passion of someone who can look at a system with a different eye is so engaging. Reminds me of The Big Short (2015).

Wasn’t expecting this one, one of my favorite movies it’s so good

Love, love, love this movie. The song his daughter sings is one of my favorites. I bought it as soon as I saw this movie ☺️

I always forget Spike Jonze is in this movie

The Oakland Coliseum. Old, worn down, but still majestic in its own way. Also, the natural grass field is still loved by the players as one of the best surfaces in the league.

I was following baseball very closely around this time, it was an actual David vs Goliath of sports franchises. Even as a Yankees fan it was hard not to enjoy watching this team play, truly a "Based on a True Story".

you NEED to watch miracle as your next sports movie, best sports movie of all time IMO

YOOOOO One of my favorite movies! Super stoked to see you react to this!

love this movie. its so watchable. the dialogue is fantastic. and its paced so well.

I love this film and watched it again last night after watching this. As a long suffering A's season ticket holder from 1991-2004, I was there for all of this, even "The Streak" games 16-19. (I even scan the "archive" crowd scenes to see if there are people I know, or even myself.) The story is a bit anachronistic as the "moneyball" concept goes back a few years before this film takes place. Paul DePodesta (the Jonah Hill guy) actually came on board with the A's in 1999 when they won the AL-West in a nail-biting finish to the season and subsequently lost in the ALDS. I met Billy Beane a few times as he was friends with my fellow season ticket holder neighbors. Definitely a nostalgic film that captures a great moment in baseball history. The only negative I have is that I think Art Howe (PSH) was unfairly portrayed in the film, and he's gone on record to say so. I rate it as one of the best sports films ever made.

"I hate losing more than I love winning" Any long suffering fan can relate to this. You just want the pain to stop at some point.

The BEST baseball movie

Just as a quick note on the baseball side of things but until about the time of Moneyball baseball front offices, scouts, etc had a VERY conservative/insular mind set towards how the game should be played, how teams should be put together, etc. you really had very few teams thinking outside of the box outside of Billy Beane here with the A’s and to a degree the Tampa Bay Rays.

You should do Foxcatcher if you haven't already. Absolutely harrowing! Bennett Miller directed it as well.

Apparently, some sources in the opposing teams they faced in the playoffs, they were guilted and shamed into not losing to Oakland. They were called every insult in the book to make them adopt the roughest, meanest demeanor to bully the A's and not let up. One thing oakland didnt have was bravado. They were the first system team where they play the role and contribute. The final cherry they needed was some gusto and emotions that wasnt reliant on faith in a system, they needed faith in themselves.

One of my all time favorite movies. I think it's perfect.

Cant say why. but I love this movie and its my go to "quick watch" if i am not sure what to watch.... maybe for the Hatteburg HR

Love this movie. Watched it multiple times. Was not prepared for the DBZ reference when krillen throws the rock. That is also a gem scene.