Hardball - O Jogo da Vida

I didn't really want to see Hardball, I went in with low expectations. So I was almost surprised when staring at the 'rate this movie' screen I gave it 7/10, but let me tell you why (and trust me I thought about it for a few long moments deciding what to give it and why). First the downside: the story was predictable in every way, it was almost painful for me to see children so young using such language and being abused in so many ways, but it was realistic. The high rating I gave it was because the young actors were so very talented, and while the story was obvious it still managed to make me care what happened and what was happening. I wasn't engrossed, I didn't sob like a baby, I didn't find it a revelation on life and death. However, it was very much what it purported to be, a story about showing up. And it did have an interesting message about how something, that to one person can be so insignificant, can be so profound and life-changing to others. Keanu Reeves gets a lot of bad press about being a 'bad actor' but I found him very believable and thought he did an extremely good job. He has a lot of charisma and an amazing ability to make you care about his characters, and want, in the end, the best for them.

this movie was good. the little kids were funny, keanu reeves was pretty cool. i also saw on the news the night before i went to go see this movie that there was some big black guy whining about the language used by the kids. he said that it was a "poor and grim representation of america's preseption of inner city children." um..im wondering if this man even HAS kids of his own, and if he does, he should hang out with them more often. the language of the kids was strong, but if u mean to tell me that the majority of kids living in the projects, or ANYWHERE ELSE for that matter, don't use that kind of language, get your head examined. anyway, this was a good movie and i enjoyed it.

This is a stressful movie, with the gambling addiction and the gambling machine on one hand, and street gangs on the other. I really like the kids and think Keanu Reeves plays it straight with them. New York Times and local reviewers aside--way aside, this movie is definitely worth a look. I spent eight years on Chicago's South Side, and i'm grateful a cinema team is willing to show some emotion about some of the stuff that is part of grim daily life. The plot formula is good: i don't like cold voyeuristic slice-of-life with this material. I like that the material is used with an up-beat ending. Let us enjoy the entertainment of it, and find some hope in it. Goethe said that hope is always the better choice. And i will say it here: Keanu Reeves can act.

I liked this movie.Yes,its about a baseball little league,yes it has the usual "lets be a team and win" attitude,but its very well acted by these kids and the dialog sounds real,also its not concentrated only on the kids.

Its more like what the kids get to mean to this guy,who is sort of a loser,and doesn't actually care much about baseball or anything else.

I thought it was well acted,surprisingly good for Keanu Reeves who is not one of my favorite actors,but he seems inspired in this movie. I thought it was very well directed and the whole ghetto setting seems disturbingly realistic.It passes its social message in a simple,direct way without preaching.

I recommend it to anyone who is interested in a low key likable movie.

When I first saw this movie, I watched it with my daughter who was 10 years old at the time. The language was kind of edgy but not too serious. I'm sure she hears worst from her friends at school (even though we try to ignore those facts). This flick had it all. From the coach struggling with his own morality, vices and (of course) romance, to the kids plagued by the daily atrocities of their neighborhood. Through these tribulations, however, we learn that "showing up" (coined from the movie) was the best way to face and overcome our problems. This applies to all of us across the board.

I read a few reviews that discouraged kids from seeing this movie and I wholeheartedly disagree. Why can we let our kids watch The Bad News Bears and The Mighty Ducks but discard a movie that gives us a taste of the reality of our inner city youth whom want to play "Hardball"? Yes they spoke more freely with there swearing than a kid from the burbs. But isn't that the point? They're not from the burbs. Yes there was a shooting scene but you didn't actually see the shot hit. But it's ok for our kids to see the Matrix where people are getting shot left and right. sheez. I hope that one day America can stop hiding the inner city from their kids and let them know how their less fortunate counterparts living (and dying). Maybe they will take less for granted and appreciate their situation more after seeing this flick. Maybe they will want to help solve some of the problems when they get older except ignoring them like their parents are doing because their parents sheltered them from the same things in the 70's & 80's. I'm not trying to sell this movie by saying it's going to change any social order or make your kid a better person. What I'm saying is... Let them watch it, talk about it and "YOU" will make your kid a better person through your dialogue and time. This movie is just to supplement your efforts.