Million Dollar Arm

In a spate of recent sports themed movies, all of which were good, I have to say I consider this one the best. Toss together some baseball history, an excellent script, terrific casting, great acting, a bit of the squalor, beauty and toe-tapping music of India and Viola! You end up with a good film. To try and single out one single actor in this film I liked the most or was most impressed with is impossible. Every one was amazing. You don't need to be a baseball fan or even know that much about the game to appreciate this picture. I and my companion (who is about as far from a sports-minded person as you could find) for the viewing were both thrilled with this one. When the people coming out of the opposite door at the end of the picture smile and say, "Good movie, wasn't it?" You know you've seen a good movie. There are some I want to see again….this is one.

Based on a true story, Million Dollar Arm is a predictable motivating sport film from the Disney stable.

Jon Hamm with his flawlessly groomed stubble and cocky grin plays the haughty sports agent Bernstein with ease. As a groomed smooth talker in sharply tailored corporate suits, there are few to match Hamm and he does what is expected of him. The two main characters of the movie are Suraj Sharma, the star of Life of Pi who plays Rinku and Madhur Mittal, the older brother in Slumdog Millionaire who plays Dinesh. Both of them perform their roles very beguilingly and inspire affection from the crowd. The rest of the supporting cast also perform their roles very well especially Lake Bell who was very impressive in her cameo role as Brenda.

I might be a bit biased since I am from India but the comedy in the movie is hilarious...I found myself laughing throughout the movie enjoying every moment of it. The direction and editing are also pretty impressive. In a nutshell, all the elements in the movie combine really well and the result is a fine movie which has plenty to offer.

So, overall, Million Dollar Arm is a finely made movie which will impress you despite being predictable and is certainly worth a watch.

My Rating : 8.5 out of 10

The Hollywood's exploration of India based subjects is continuing. I have been enjoying those. Something quite refreshing which traveling on a new perspective to entertain the world audience. Especially, this movie was not a bigger one like 'Slumdog Millionaire' or 'Life of Pi', but cute emotional family drama like 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'.

It was a biopic-sport-drama about an American sports agent, J. B. Bernstein, who brought two young fastest arm Indians to the States to train as the professional baseball pitchers. Before that, he conducts a reality show called 'Million Dollar Arm' in various Indian locations to find the perfect one. In the end he gets two and takes back them to the country. What follows is the cultural collision where these two finds hard to fit in and perform. With many inspiring lines and tears in our eyes it comes to the conclusion.

It was a nice story and inspiring. This movie teaches many things like about family values, sharing culture, hard work for a better future, having faith, true love and all the above the most deserved second chance. It was a predictable story. The minor problem with the movie was it won't explain thoroughly some of the contents it portrays. It is due to cultural different some will have a hard time to figure it out the meaning of it. But for South Asians and Indo-American it will be a perfect movie.

The movie had more than sufficient humorous scenes and many of them were in an Indian accent. I had a great time laughing for those comedies. Those comedies are because of the difference pronunciation of the same word between the people of two countries. The character Amit is the center of the attract when it comes to the humour. In the other end, especially in the second half the story drags most of its parts towards the sentiments. I can't say it was unnecessary, but truly was impeccable and touching.

''They need to know that you care them''

I never knew this director. After checking out his filmography, yeah, I have watched many and liked a couple of his movies, especially 'Lars and the Real Girl'. He did a great job, especially shooting in Indian summer is not an easy task. He himself told in Q&A meet about his struggles. All the actors well cooped. John Hamm's one of the best performances. No doubt he was remarkable.

The boys from 'Slumdog Millionaire' and 'Life of Pi' are the two Indian characters. Suraj Sharma as Rinku and Madhur Mittal as Dinesh did justice to the respective roles, though they were not similar kind of face to the real ones like usually filmmakers choose for a biopic. They were really good, did key performances alongside John Hamm's JB character. Lake Bell was a surprised attraction of the movie. I found her kind of cute in some of the scenes than never before. And other major attractions were Alan Akin with his usual incredible show in the small span, and a few others, especially that Indian character called Amit.

Even before it was released many had criticised it by saying a TV movie and so 90s. But I had faith in it and watched and it never disappointed me. I have already said in my many reviews that I love tearjerker movies, so it was my perfect one. Some mighty one's are releasing on the same week this movie hitting the screen. I believe this is the only one pure family drama that one could ask for an alternate. In fact best by so far in this summer, according to the family friendly films. I highly recommend it, but all you need is to have a low expectation.

Actually a very effective movie. It's got some great performances along with a great script. Its funny at times and keeps you entertained At times though moments are stretched and it is very predictable. Hamm gives a good strong performance and Arkin just cracked me up! It's not the best movie in the world but its worth giving a look. I think down the road it will be looked at as very underrated and it has a reason. The reason is that this movie is how a movie should be, a funny, smart, family drama with good performances and leaves you with a feel good mood after exiting the theater. Its appropriate for all audiences And sometimes thats all a movie needs.

OK, I admit that you could probably predict the course of the movie just from seeing the trailer. However, this movie makes you forget about its predictability. The acting was superb, you really feel for the characters and what they are going through. You want them to succeed and surpass the adversities. With that being said, this movie will make you laugh, cry, and smile. It's just one of those feel good movies. In fact, the entire theatre audibly laughed and cheered on the boys. This is the first time I've ever seen a theatre audience so engaged in a movie. I recommend this movie for everyone. If you're looking for a feel good, charming movie, this is it!