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Movies Houstonians Love: Moneyball

Astros rookie General Manager Jeff Luhnow gets his turn at bat in the continuing film series Movies Houstonians Love at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. And, surprise, he's picked a baseball movie, Bennett Miller's techo-geek Moneyball (2011). Based on the Michael Lewis bestseller — and a holy grail to baseball managers — Moneyball is about the use of cold hard numbers-crunching to rank players. According to the formula, it's statistics, not heart, that pick the guys. In one of his most endearing performances, Brad Pitt plays Oakland A's GM Billy Beane, with warm comic support from Jonah Hill as nerdy Yale economics graduate whose radical ''sabermetics'' theories catch the swift eye of Beane. The feel-good movie was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture with nods to Pitt and Hill. (Here's hoping Luhnow pays attention during the screening. He might pick up a few tips, and goodness knows, the Astros will need all the help they can get next season.)
Mon., Nov. 26, 7 p.m., 2012
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D.L. Groover has contributed to countless reputable publications including the Houston Press since 2003. His theater criticism has earned him a national award from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN) as well as three statewide Lone Star Press Awards for the same. He's co-author of the irreverent appreciation, Skeletons from the Opera Closet (St. Martin's Press), now in its fourth printing.
Contact: D. L. Groover