Drive and Moneyball

Movies #51 and #52!

Drive (Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan) - At first I thought this was an action film, but, honestly, if I had truly THOUGHT about all I had read and heard about the movie, I'd have realized that it's a drama. Gosling and Mulligan are not action stars. With that said, I can see why the critics love the movie and fans don't. It does set-up in the trailer to be more of an action film (kind of like Transporter) and people tend to like Gosling and Mulligan for their dramas. This is a drama to its core and very much an indie type film. I enjoyed it for what it is, but I don't love it like the critics. It has a sort of sad ending and it is a little dark towards the end, which critics tend to love those nitty-gritty type of films. I will say that it definitely earns its R-rating. I'm glad I watched it and the acting is pretty superb, but I don't think I'll watch it again. It also will appeal to a very specific audience and not the general public for sure. Grade: B

Moneyball (Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill) - It's a good film. I can see why it's getting the rating it has been getting, but it did seem a little drawn out to me. I think the problem for me is it felt like it was your typical sports film and where it would normally end was not where it ended. It ended about 20 minutes past that point and the point was because the movie is about Moneyball. It is also about Billy Beane because Beane used the theory of moneyball, but the movie really is about the reason for moneyball, the way he was going to use moneyball, the way he got moneyball into action (took a little time), the end results, and the furthering of the theory beyond just the Oakland A's. If I understand that, I wouldn't have felt like it kind of dragged on at the end. I do have to say, Pitt-Beane has some anger issues. :P There are some chuckleworthy moments in the movie and I couldn't help but think occasionally, "I wish this was how Secretariat was handled." Secretariat could have been a great sports movie, but they botched it. I think they could have done a much better job, like Moneyball. One that really draws you in whether you're a fan or not. When you watch that gut wrenching 20th game, you are tense as can be because it's got you on the edge of your seat. Pitt does a good acting job too. I can't say I was too fond of the acting because there was something slightly off-putting about Beane so it was, at times, hard to warm up to him as a person, but you get there by the end (and his daughter helps you too). Anyway, it wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be because I probably had too high of expectations, but it was still enjoyable. Grade: B/B+

Still waiting to hear back from the Aquarium about the job. Was officially told I did not get the assistant job (no surprise there), but my Seafood Watch app is still in progress. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but I'm going to say "good" as my assistant app went into "processed" pretty quickly and I didn't get it.