Moneyball…
Moneyball is a very interesting adaptation, whose biggest accomplishment is taking baseball statistics and making them interesting to the general public. In short this is a great film that I wish went further, but regardless is still a great film.
Moneyball, or really the statistification (how’s that for a word 
) of sports was a full-out assault on sports over a decade ago. Moneyball put a mass marketed face to that revolution. Starting a statistical arms race as teams hired one stats/finance/economics major after another. This was the aspect of Moneyball that I most wanted to see; lending itself more to a documentary perhaps than fictionalized feature.
No, Moneyball focuses on Billy Beane and his struggles to find a way for his Oakland A’s to compete with the bigger market teams. This is a reference sports film with every component extremely well done. Acting, writing, etc...everything is extremely solid. Like I said earlier, this is a great film that I wish went a bit further.
***1/2 (Out of Five)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo…
Harder, faster, and sharper than it's Swedish counterpart. The bigger budget most definitely shows, as the film looks and sounds great. Completely brutal, this film matches the book’s tone of brutal evil. Which are the biggest differences between the American and Swedish versions. Both are pretty faithful to the book, yes some things have been changed or omitted, but none of them detract from the overall story. But Fincher’s is so in your face with the violence and torture that it hits like a cold slap in the face. Not Fincher’s greatest work, then again he sets the bar very high, but this is a very solid adaptation. Your body won’t feel the 2 hr 38ish minute running time, however you won’t exactly be thinking about it in the days following. Good (not great) popcorn fun.
***1/2 (Out of Five)
Homeland…
Absolutely fantastic, with some of the best performances on TV today. It's going to be a real shame when Claire Danes gets robbed of her Emmy. Her slow descent into madness is pure brilliance.
***** (Out of Five)
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows…
Instead of playing a game of shadows, they should have played a game to make this a better film.
* (Out of Five).
Ratings System…
Switching the rating system over to a five system to bring it more in line with netflix.