NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

SnoopyStyle Conor O'Neill (Keanu Reeves) is a degenerate gambler and a drunk. After some bad loses, he's in trouble with his bookies and he borrows money from Jimmy on one condition. Conor needs to coach kids baseball in the projects. He finds out that he needs to field a full team, but teacher Elizabeth Wilkes (Diane Lane) is holding back a couple of the kids.Keanu is all jittery. It's very distracting, and not very attractive. The rom-com part of the movie is a bust. The character is a giant mess. The saving grace are the kids. They are the movie. It's the Bad News Bears with better kids characters and weaker adult characters. I just wish they forget about the rom-com, and cool down the gambling drama. I wish they put more of the kids' story in the film. Although I'm very glad to not have to watch the usual final championship game.

Slutmagic2021 Keanu Reeves has taken a lot....and I do mean A lot of doo-doo (imdb has dumb censorship rules so I can't say a certain word that rhymes with bit) for his acting. And with his performance in Jonny Mnemonic I can see why but I think people often forget that, when given the right role, he can be great. Speed, A Scanner Darkly and of course The Matrix are prime examples of how Keanu can really be a great actor. And with out a doubt, Harball proves this once again.The story of Hardball sounds like a generic sports movie and listening to the plot on paper makes it sound like Mighty Ducks with baseball. However, while the story may not be the most original thing, the approach is what makes Hardball stand out. Instead of taking the easy way out by making it a family comedy where the team comes together to win with their "used to be a douche-bag coach", Hardball is a surprisingly powerful drama. Keanu is very good as a gambler who excepts a job coaching inner-city kids on a baseball team to help pay a debt he owes. Along the way he realizes he is kind of an A-hole and not really going anywhere but down and really starts to enjoy the kids. The movie takes itself pretty seriously which works really well. Diane Lane is the obligatory love interest and does a great job as always. All of the kids on the Baseball team turn in great performances as well but it is really Keanu that steals the show. He really shines in a speech he gives near the end at a funeral and wow....I never cry during a movie....and still have not....but I was pretty close during that scene. How he didn't get at least nominated for an Oscar for that is further proof that the people who choose the nominations are idiots.So overall....a well done Drama with a great performance by Reeves and all involved. Check it out.My grade A-

Sa'ar Vardi Now here's a little forgotten gem of a film that had the misfortune, or shall I say audacity, of being released on September 14th, 2001, only three days after the day the world changed forever.It is mostly this misfortune to blame for the fact that this adorable little sports film is mostly overlooked and unappreciated. It's a shame, though, as Keanu Reeves really shines as a lost soul who gets to coach a team of Little League baseball players by mere chance. Dealing with mostly African American kids from the projects of Chicago is never an easy thing to do, but through some clichés and many true moments of genius, Reeves's character manages to find himself again. Oh, and you'll really fall in love with Notorious B.I.G.'s "Big Papa" after seeing this tear jerker (and yes, I know it sounds lame, but I still felt obligated to mention this).Enjoy!

johnhenrik How many bookies are out there who will take a word of mouth bet from somebody who owes? For that matter, how many gambling idiots have thugs after them?--we will beat you up an kill you if you don't pay us now-- This movie is entertaining and does touch on some important subjects, but the clichés just don't stop. Innocent people die frequently in lower income neighborhoods from stray bullets that are from gang activity. It would have made some sense for us to see more police in the movie. But I guess that would take away from the plot. Plot?....A loser white guy is called on to help the inner-city black kids in South Chicago's projects? I guess Hollywood believes there's incredible funding for the children in America's ghettos. OK Reeves, get to work dude, like, these kids in da hood are like, counting on you. Now Ms Lane is still insanely pretty, but her placement in the movie is hard to believe. That's not to say that there are no white people working with black kids in the inner-city, but think about it. I've worked in an inner-city school in California and just helping the kids during the school day was a challenge. For outside of school activities, ridiculous amounts of preparation had to be worked on. Now, maybe Chicago doesn't have as many communication problems that California does with non-English speaking parents, but just being able to talk with parents who speak English takes time and often doesn't go well. Try getting the older daughter, with a mother who works three jobs, to set up a time, for the teacher, or coach in this case, to talk with the mother about her 11 year old son's need to start paying attention. This movie doesn't even go near subjects like that. I not too put off by Keanu's acting ability in this movie, though I still think he's a one-trick pony, and there were no tricks in this script for him to do. He still seems likable. But, a white guy who's a ticket scalping, gambling loser coaching a little league team of poor black kids in the projects....??? I guess Hollywood still thinks that the lives of poor black kids in the inner-cities can only be improved with help from caring white people (even if these are white people with shady backgrounds). There's no need to mention that just shopping for food in the low-income communities is sometimes impossible. Maybe an already made sandwich from the corner liquor store will satisfy the kids hunger, but the city bus line to that one suburban-like big grocery store in the neighborhood one and a half miles away has been canceled and Mama's going to have to figure out another way to get some real food that's affordable. I'm sorry, but although the movie hits some subjects that need to be discussed in our society, the script needs some major work. Why can't these ultra-rich studio executives consider getting input from the social workers in the inner-city, some active residents, teachers, youths, some freshly out of jail young men who are working on cleaning themselves up, etc. Sickeningly rich movie producers just have no idea what the real world is like for most working people. But, this movie is still fun to watch when I've got nothing else to do.