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In Atlanta, the aging Brave's baseball scout Gus Lobel (Clint Eastwood) is near the end of his contract and the manager Vince (Robert Patrick) questions whether it is not the time for his retirement. Meanwhile the stubborn and grumpy Gus learns that he has problems with his eyes and need to go to a specialist but he hides the medical recommendation from everybody.

Gus's boss and friend Pete Klein (John Goodman) knows that baseball is the pride and joy of Gus and a retirement would kill him and asks him to travel to North Caroline to scout the promising player Bo Gentry (Joe Massingill). Pete also protects Gus from the ambitious colleague Phillip Sanderson (Matthew Lillard) that wants his position and to get Gus fired. Pete visits Gus's estranged daughter Mickey (Amy Adams), who is an efficient lawyer that is disputing a partnership in the office where she works with her colleague Todd (James Patrick Freetly), and asks her to travel with Gus to North Caroline. Mickey is a great fan of baseball and has a great knowledge of the sport since she used to travel with her father when she was young, but she has a childhood trauma since Gus abandoned her with an uncle when she was a child.

In North Caroline, Gus meets the former pitcher Johnny (Justin Timberlake), who had an early retirement due to an injured shoulder and now is scouting for the Red Socks but aiming to be a broadcaster. When he meets Mickey, there is a mutual attraction between them. Along the days, Gus discovers that Gentry has problems with balls pitched in curve and he does not recommend the player to the Brave. He also tells Johnny about Gentry's problem. But when Phillip advises Vince to hire Gentry, Vince's decision affects the lives of Gus, Mickey and Johnny.

"Trouble with the Curve" is a good movie with Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams about baseball and relationship. It is impressive the longevity of Clint Eastwood and how adapted he is to this phase of his life. Amy Adams is one of most delightful actresses of Hollywood. The story entwines drama with romance and sport and the result is an enjoyable movie even for those like me that are not fan of baseball. My vote is seven,

Title (Brazil): "Curvas da Vida" ("Curves of the Life")

It pains me to say that I've already heard many people say they will not be seeing Trouble with the Curve because of Clint Eastwood's "antics" at the Republican National Convention just a few weeks ago. Their loss. Not being able to separate the man from the actor is something that took me a while to do, but the way some do it now is childish and immature. I wonder if those same people knew Eastwood was a Libertarian/Republican when he was playing "Dirty Harry." Hard to believe it has been nineteen years since Eastwood himself acted in a film he has not directed. He lends the camera to Robert Lorenz, who assisted him in directing much of Eastwood's filmography, including Flags of Our Fathers and the acclaimed Best Picture winner Million Dollar Baby. Lorenz's captures screenwriter Randy Brown's simple but uplifting, intimate story of a man's devotion to a game and his brewing reconnection with his daughter he seemingly abandoned at a young age.

I'll catch you up; Eastwood plays Gus Lobel, an elderly scout for the Atlanta Braves baseball team, who is becoming increasingly frail and ill-equipped with deteriorating eyesight. The Braves are losing faith in Gus's abilities, because in recent years, baseball has been run more by computer predictions and online statistics rather than physically sitting in the stands and scouting. Gus doesn't hold back on his hatred for computers, making them sound like limited fossils and being unable to predict more detailed outcomes. One wonders if he is mindlessly ranting or wouldn't even like a computer if he knew how to use one.

Pete, played by John Goodman, on a roll now with winning films, is Gus's close friend who is convincing the Braves' organization that despite Gus's poor eyesight, that he is an invaluable asset and needs to stay. He recruits Gus's daughter, Mickey (Amy Adams), to assist him in scouting a young prodigy in North Carolina, who currently plays for a high school team. Mickey's mother died when she was young and shortly after, Gus sent her to live with relatives whom she barely knew. During the scouting trip, Mickey winds up meeting one of Gus's friends whom he used to scout back in the day, named Johnny "The Flame" Flanagan (Justin Timberlake), for his one-hundred mile-an-hour fastball. We can see where this is headed.

We can see where much of the film is headed throughout its runtime but it's scarcely a burden because the warmth and bold character study on three of 2012's most interesting characters is a soothing and efficient one. Eastwood turns in the racism and foul rants he expertly utilized in Gran Torino for some nuanced anger as Gus, and as always, comes off as charismatic and effortlessly likable. Amy Adams does some fine work here, showing us that she is an up-and-coming female actress that is going under the radar, somewhat like Emily Blunt, and fearlessly plays the role of a woman in desperate need of answers, which her father will not give her. And Justin Timberlake continues to show is versatility and heart playing a totally different character from his last one and hitting every note properly.

It would appear that screenwriter Aaron Sorkin could have possibly started a new trend with sports films that was seldom seen before his film Moneyball, and that trend is centering a story around a sport but making the center the characters and not the on-field theatrics. Never are we truly consumed in the story of this young scouter, but we shouldn't be. And never were we truly gripped by the Oakland Athletics players in Moneyball - mainly because we never saw them play or were even formally acquainted with them. Both films center around the same sport, but ones' agenda is to show the gritter business side of baseball, while the other is the story of a father and daughter reconnecting with the sport in the foreground. With both films, it's needless to say, I'm all for this brewing trend.

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, Matthew Lillard, and John Goodman. Directed by: Robert Lorenz.

I liked this one quite a bit even though it borders on predictable and Clint Eastwood portrays exactly the same hard headed, grumpy old man character he did in 'Gran Torino' and 'Million Dollar Baby'. Amy Adams is likable and engaging as his daughter and there is also a more than decent back up cast in Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Robert Patrick, Matthew Lillard and George Wyner.

This is not so much a baseball movie as a drama following Gus Lobel, a veteran talent scout for the Atlanta Braves whose eyesight (and ability to pee) is failing him. The front office begins to question if he has become to old to continue and an upcoming scouting job could be his last.

This brings in his estranged daughter who reteams with Gus, putting her own career in jeopardy while hoping to finally get some answers from dad who (in another cliché Clint storyline) can't let go of the past.

We also get a lukewarm romance between Adams and a former pick of Gus's turned rival scout named Johnny (Timberlake).

As a whole this was unchallenging and predictable but also heartwarming and charming in an old fashioned movie sort of way. Its worth a watch. 10/23/16

Clint Eastwood has being a curmudgeon honed to perfection. How refreshing to see a mature actor creating appropriate roles, and not trying to be a plastic version of his - or her, for that matter in many cases - former self playing inappropriately younger parts. He is excellent in this movie. Amy Adams is, as in every film I've seen her in, a total delight. I never was a fan of John Goodman in his earlier years, but the older he gets and the meatier the roles he takes on, the more appreciation I have for him. And Justin Timberlake has a role absolutely meant for him. He is a sexy little hunk, no doubt about it, with personality to spare. Oh, I loved this movie! The exhilaration of baseball, the heart-tugging familiarity of family issues….this one has a lot going for it and I enjoyed each and every minute of it. It's as good as expectations built it up to be. I would advise you not to miss this one!

Curve is a return to a more old-fashioned style of baseball film after Moneyball - but one that has some real acting and even a little sport's magic about it - and you can see both styles of film-making here.

Eastwood is more than watchable as the old dog of a baseball scout, Adams deliveries a great performance - she pulls off the difficult role of cute and ballsy with panache, and Timberlake is charming, but definitely Wahlberg would be first pick here, Justin struggles a little to get beyond romantic comedy to something matching the gravitas the other two bring (with a light touch).

The film is a wonderful relationship film with sports - not many films really look at grown father and grown daughter and work that through in mainstream cinema - Curve does, and the script is good.

All in all, if you like sports with more than just the sport this is well worth your time - it is one of my favourites of the year.