Tag Archives: aaron sorkin

In Theaters This Week, Movies, Star Wars

No Formal “In Theaters” Column This Weekend – 12/29/2017

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Michelle Williams and Mark Wahlberg in All the Money in the World
There are no new, wide releases on the final weekend of 2017.  I did neglect to include three films in the 11 movies the opened around the Christmas weekend.  Molly’s Game (written and directed by The West Wing’s Aaron Sorkin), All the Money in the World (directed by Ridley Scott), and The Phantom Thread (Daniel Day-Lewis’s final movie) all opened on Christmas Day, and I have placed their trailers below.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi repeated at the box office, but with 11 new competitors and mixed fan reaction, it’s total barely stayed in triple digits at $101 million (though that number is in contention; some have it at $99 million).  This was enough to make Episode VII already #3 in 2017 domestic box office and it will pass Wonder Woman for #2 this weekend.  Internationally, the film has made $815 million, and will likely move from #10 to #4 for the year by weekend’s end.  We’re one weekend away from a 47-5 record for the year and a 90% prediction rate so I’m staying with The Last Jedi for at least one more week, but this weekend will be where we see just how the split in the fan base affects the box office.



Books, Movies, My Favorite Scene, Sports

My Favorite Scene: Moneyball (2011) “That’s What Losing Sounds Like”

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If you’re not a baseball fan and you’ve never watched Moneyball because of that, here’s a great piece of news: it’s not really a baseball film; it’s a film about economics.  Wait.  No.  That doesn’t make it sound more exciting.  Moneyball by Michael Lewis is a book that changed the way baseball is viewed by fans and baseball personnel.  It attempted to explain how the Oakland A’s, a team with a payroll a fraction of the size of, say, the Yankees, Red Sox, or Dodgers, is consistently in contention for a spot in the World Series.  The answer is: they don’t sign players or people; they sign numbers.

The Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane became the disciple of a formula that looks for players who simply get on base.  Getting on base produces runs; runs produce wins.  Moneyball is the story of his crusade to change how baseball is run, and only Michael Lewis, who is the best writer on economic matters to people who have no understanding of economics (hi), and Aaron Sorkin, who can make any subject compelling and fun, could have put together a movie version of that crusade that is riveting.  It’s one of Brad Pitt’s best performances, as Beane fighting the entirety of the A’s to make his vision work, and one of the film’s best scenes comes before things start to click and he stumbles upon an upbeat locker room after another loss that Beane knows he’s going to have to answer for to everyone.Moneyball Poster

movie trailers, Movies

Molly’s Game Trailer #2 (2017) “Go All In”

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Aaron Sorkin is my favorite writer working….in any format.  The scribe behind The West Wing, The Newsroom, A Few Good Men, The American President, Moneyball, Charlie Wilson’s War, has written some of the greatest screenplays of this generation.  Now, he’s directing his own script in Molly’s Game.  The second trailer reveals more about the insane dilemma Molly Bloom finds herself in when she’s put on trial for running elite poker games, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg of nuts this story is and I’ll let your read the full description below for a better summary.  Molly’s Game bows November 22, 2017.

The true story of Molly Bloom, a beautiful, young, Olympic-class skier who ran the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans and finally, unbeknown to her, the Russian mob. Her only ally was her criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey, who learned there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led people to believe.
Molly's Game Poster

 

movie trailers, Movies

Molly’s Game Trailer #1 (2017) *Aaron Sorkin Goes Behind the Lens*

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Aaron Sorkin is my favorite writer working….in any format.  The scribe behind The West Wing, The Newsroom, A Few Good Men, The American President, Moneyball, Charlie Wilson’s War, and the list goes on, can literally make the English language sit up and dance while making both a pop culture reference and an intellectual point.  Not content to merely pen Molly’s Game, Sorkin is also taking his first turn at directing his script of a true story so crazy I’m just going to paste the official synopsis below and tell you I’ll be there when it opens November 22, 2017.

The true story of Molly Bloom, a beautiful, young, Olympic-class skier who ran the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans and finally, unbeknown to her, the Russian mob. Her only ally was her criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey, who learned there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led people to believe.

Jessica Chastain in Molly's Game
Jessica Chastain in MOLLY’S GAME

 

Essay, My Favorite Scene, Photo, TV

My Favorite Scene: The West Wing Season Two (2000) “The President and the Butterball Hotline”

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Thanksgiving is Thursday.  In the States, millions of Americans will be gathered around the dinner table with family and friends to stuff their faces, make memories, and remember in that even in these most rancorous times there is so much to be thankful for.  I’m breaking my rule regarding only choosing one scene per season of a TV show as the “Two Cathedrals Rant” from the season finale of The West Wing’s second season was one of the first My Favorite Scene columns I wrote (click here for that).  It’s a rule worth breaking, because episode eight “Shibboleth” is one of the best of the series and my favorite episode of any drama having to do with Thanksgiving.  There’s actually a lot to choose from in this funny and heart-warming episode.  I very nearly went with the White House Press Secretary’s drama over choosing the turkey that receives a Presidential Pardon every year.  But in the end I settled for the President of the United States discovering the existence of the Butterball Turkey hotline and the comedy that ensues. Continue reading My Favorite Scene: The West Wing Season Two (2000) “The President and the Butterball Hotline” →