Ensofter Overrated and overhyped

Cortechba Overrated

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

reham-08267 I think this movie is one of the bests ever! . The small details about the two kids life and there actions first time in America are perfect . Also, I loved JB's feelings and thoughts changing .Brenda was very ideal , I fill in love with her character . After all , the best thing is positive energy that the story gives to you .. it's very cheering :). I would never be bored watch this again , and I hope one day meet Dinesh and Rinku <3 ..

zkonedog I saw this movie in theaters for two reasons: 1. I'm a huge baseball fan; and 2. I watch Med Men (i.e. the Jon Hamm factor). Even after 20 or so minutes, when I knew exactly what this movie would be, I still really, really wanted to like it. Unfortunately, this one is schmaltzy "Disney" through and through.For a basic plot summary, "Million Dollar Arm" tells the story of how sports agent J.B. Bernstein (Hamm) starts a competition called Million Dollar Arm in order to find a major league baseball player from the relatively untapped market of India. The two athletes he finds, Rinku (Suraj Sharma) and Dinesh (Madhur Mittal), are in for quite a culture shock as they travel to America for the first time and have to essentially learn baseball from scratch.First of, let me be clear in that I'm not attaching a star-ranking to the overall story here. It is truly a fascinating and inspiring tale for baseball fans and human-interest fans alike.As a movie, though, "Million Dollar Arm" falls far short of being great. The main problem? It doesn't have a clear focus, so it tries to do too much and doesn't really nail anything. This could have been a hard-core baseball fan movie. It could have been a love story. It could have been a redemption story. It could have been a new culture assimilation piece. Had the filmmakers looked at the story through just one of those three scopes (and just bolstered it with shades of the others), it would really have worked.Unfortunately, director Craig Gillespie (or maybe the Disney producers) tries to cram every single theme possible into one movie. It really feels like the old "throw the kitchen sink at 'em" method in terms of trying to evoke every possible emotion from the audience. I realize that this movie is supposed to have a broad, family-based appeal, but but focusing on everything the producers ended up focusing on nothing.The two biggest wastes in this movie? 1. Hamm, a terrific actor who plays as transparent of a character as one can see on screen; and 2. The fact that hard-core baseball fans like myself will not enjoy the baseball aspects of this movie. It is made for the family set first and foremost.Thus, though I wanted very badly to enjoy this movie and all the right pieces existed for that to happen, they just didn't come together. The "Indian culture" angle was interesting, but not nearly as compelling as, say, "Slumdog Millionaire", and recently baseball-themed movies like "Trouble with the Curve" and "Moneyball" will appeal much more to the die-hards.

dal_asher I lived in India for nearly 3 years and can really identify with this movie. A down on his luck sports agent, Jon Hamm, goes to India to try and recruit a baseball pitcher in a contest called Million Dollar Arm. His scout, played by the always wonderful Alan Arkin, is a welcome addition to the cast. They also recruit a young Indian, Amit, played by Pitobash who is excellent in the roll, as the interpreter. After traveling all over India they find a couple of young men who are very raw but have potential. Of course they've never played baseball before so it's not going well. Enter Coach house played by Bill Paxton. He has six months to turn them into baseball players so they can have a try out with a major league team. Lake Bell as the love interest and nurturing influence has good chemistry with all the guys. Based on a true story (with, I imagine, plenty of literary license) it makes for a good, old fashioned uplifting movie. I've seen this now several times and enjoy it as much now as I did the first time I saw it. I'm not a huge baseball fan but it wasn't so much about the baseball as it was about second chances. Probably not for everyone but a good vehicle for Jon Hamm as he moves off the small screen and into movies.

Hitchcoc I thought this was a cute movie because of the young Indian men's precious responses to their new environment. I would be curious to see if beyond the baseball element, all the stuff took place. Did they stay with the guy? Did they get thrown out of the hotel? The actors are charming and lovable. Having been a baseball fan for 60 years, I can't believe that, as presented, these guys would be offered a contract. Unless it was to sell tickets or gain publicity. They can throw hard, but at no time do we see them with a batter in the batter's box or under game conditions. I would assume that if this is indeed a true story there would be more unseen than seen. I hate to be too critical, but I've always felt that a true sports movie must have credibility when it comes to the day to day requirements of the sport. There are also some really schmaltzy moments that are strictly to manipulate the audience.