relian-1

Excellent movie. Tells the story of the resurgent Oakland A's under Billy Beane's leadership when his winning team had just lost key players (Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon and Jason Isringhausen) to deep pocketed and large market competitors, and the A's couldn't replace them with comparable talent due to financial constraints. The solution? Replace them in aggregate rather than player-for-player by focusing on new metrics that had not previously received much attention and algorithms that were not feasible before computers. Scouts and managers still generally inhabited that prehistoric world - at least before Beane. There's a lovely scene with Brad Pitt's on-screen daughter singing a song with resonant lyrics. Brad Pitt is stellar in his acting (and in his appearance at TIFF, together with someone called Angelina.)

The Leonard Cohen song, "Take this Waltz", has the lyrics "Take this waltz, take this waltz. It's yours now. It's all that there is." Sarah Polley includes Cohen's song at the key moment, as she tells an intense story of voided relationships. The story is of Margot, a beautiful Michelle Williams and her partially satisfying and comfortable marriage to Lou, a believable Seth Rogen. Margot perceives gaps in her relationship and sees in Daniel (Luke Kirby) what she lacks. Includes some racy scenes but in context, and it's really a stunningly beautiful, romantic and insightful movie. Not just a chick's flick but it does move slowly at times as it plumbs relationships and context, and some guys won't get it. That's at least part of the issue that Polley deals with as she contemplates change, trading comfort for excitement, the known for the unknown and certainty for no longer being afraid. A lovely, haunting story in which many will find reality to resonate for a long time. (BTW, Polley's street scenes of Toronto are wonderful. She was at TIFF with her cast, including Sarah Silverman who was perhaps surprisingly good in the movie.)

This movie, set in the 1980's, depicts and contrasts the brutal oppression of White South Africa with the opposition of the ANC, most notably Joe Slovo, a hero of the time. Joe Slovo paid a high price for his opposition, including the loss of his wife to the oppressors of the day, but this movie, with a screenplay written by one of his children, takes a high-minded, forgiving approach that few of us could ever contemplate in the circumstances. Told through the eyes of Patrick Chamusso, a gentle man whose quiet life becomes radicalized by oppressive forces, the movie is powerful, emotional and, curiously - for reasons mentioned, balanced. One of the best movies I have ever seen, with a fine performance by Tim Robbins as a detective without a soul. This movie was first screened at the Toronto International Film Festival where it received lengthy and well-deserved applause, as did a gracious Mr. Chamusso, who was on hand at the premiere.