Double Feature Duel (Rd4): Stranger Than Fiction vs. Big Fish

Double Feature Duel (Rd4):
Stranger Than Fiction vs. Big Fish

And in the No Surprises Here department, feast on the battle between two of the best movies I’ve ever seen. All bets are now final. And soon, a movie that I saw two months ago will be in the Final Four. I know. The system isn’t perfect.

Title: The decisions are already hard. I need to employ a panel of other people for the finals. I feel numb to these answers after the fourth time. Or I need to get drunk. But I’ve got to go with Stranger Than Fiction, despite Big Fish being one of my nicknames. Maybe people will start calling me Stranger Than Fiction. God willing. (Point, Stranger 1-0)

Funnier: See, Big Fish wasn’t really funny per se. It set a mood that was funny-like. And it was awesome. But not funny when compared to Stranger Than Fiction’s actual funny. (Point, Stranger 2-0)

Better Turn: When people ask what my favorite movie is, I say Memento. And then shortly after that, I say a close second is Frequency. BUT – after that – I mention Big Fish. Maybe after Back to the Future. Depends on the day. But the scene where Will Ferrell finds out he’s going to die just kicks you in the nuts. In a good way. Uh-oh. (Point, Stranger 3-0)

Better Ending: Yay! Here’s a point! It’s a shame Stranger couldn’t find a better ending. But it till wouldn’t have held a candle to Big Fish. Whatever the hell that means. (Point, Big Fish 3-1)

Better Message: Some movies are awesome despite the lack of meaning. Stranger Than Fiction is sucha movie. (Point, Big Fish 3-2)

Better Acting: I’m not the kind of guy to call a category a tie. Because that’s spineless and lazy. So what do I do here? I adore Will Ferrell and Dustin Hoffman, but there’s such a great dynamic from two distinctly different film genres. I’ll go with Big Fish for the degree of difficulty. There were characters distinct to one or the other (Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney), but some who also played in both (Helena Bonham Carter, really no one else) – and that’s good enough for now. (Point, Big Fish 3-3)

Poster: And the winner of the Big Fish award goes to… (Point, Big Fish 3-4)

Watch again: This category definitely does not favor movies I watch a lot. I watch Big Fish at least once a year and though I watched Stranger Than Fiction twice when I had it, it was so long ago now that I would like to see it again. And so it’s down to the last minute. Best of luck. (Point, Stranger 4-4)

More Creative: And it’s another toss up. I haven’t seen a movie like either of these to say “Hey, this movie is like [movie name], but with less annoying [adjective describing movie].” I’m leaning toward Big Fish because I love the movie and I know this is the deciding point, but I want to give Stranger its fair shake. So I’ve decided to employ a tactic I only resort to in emergencies. I asked Jenn. She said that the world that Big Fish created which drove the movie’s humor was enough for her. And that’s enough for me. Which better be enough for you. (Point, Big Fish 4-5)

Overall: Well that wraps up the Philadelphia Quadrant. And despite falling behind early in the game, the #1 seed came out alive. A valiant attempt by Stranger, but maybe we’ll find a bracket buster in the next quadrant.

Double Feature Duel (Rd3): Requiem vs. Stranger

Double Feature Duel (Rd3):
Requiem for a Dream vs. Stranger Than Fiction

Two powerhouses of the tournament if the criteria was based on me not being able to figure out how to capitalize the title.

Title: Well, I looked up what requiem means. It’s still a cool word, but I think I liked it better when I didn’t know what it meant. Kinda like the word “prolapse.” (Point, Stranger 0-1)

Funnier: On his best day - trying to be funny - Marlon Wayans couldn’t be funnier than Will Ferrell trying not to be funny. (Point, Stranger 0-2)

Better Turn: Tough one. I do oh so enjoy Will yelling at the narrator trying to kill him, but I kinda knew that was going to happen. Requiem’s turn snuck up on me. Like the one on Northern Parkway to get to the lacrosse field. Trust me. (Point, Requiem 1-2)

Better Ending: Once again, a movie about an author that couldn’t figure out how to end her book imitates life. (Point, Requiem 2-2)

Better Message: This just isn’t Stranger’s category. 0 for 3. (Point, Requiem 3-2)

Better Acting: Wow. This one is tough too. I do so love Will Ferrell but I super love Ellen Burstyn. I didn’t really hate anybody else in either movie. Nor did I love them. I guess I have my answer. And it doesn’t look good for the favorite. (Point, Requiem 4-2)

More Creative: Mounting a comeback and needing the last three to win it, it’s nice to have a lay-up to get you started. (Point, Stranger 4-3)

Poster: Probably the weakest category for both of these films. But I still hate the eyeball and for some reason, I overlook it every time I try to find the poster. I suppose that says all that needs to be said. (Point, Requiem 4-4)

Watch again: This is as close as they come, folks. And on a different day, this answer might be different, which makes this question sometimes the hardest to answer. I’m thinking about sending back in both my Netflix DVDs and getting these two movies just so I can really let it play out. And as much as I’d like to see both of them, I think right now, I’d pop in – well it might be a coin flip which I do all the time. But I did watch Stranger Than Fiction twice when I had it. So I’m going to have to go with the favorite. And I really didn’t do this because it was the favorite, but I can see how you’d think that since I’m making the odds and reffing the contest too. You really don’t think I have the integrity to do this, do you? How vain do you think I am? Did you see Body of Lies get to the Sweet 16? This is why we don’t hang out more. Where was I? (Point, Stranger 4-5)

Overall: This was probably the first contest where I legitimately didn’t know who was going to win. Really, up until the last sentence, which I stopped typing to think about. Anyways, the better team won. And on to face the winner of Body of Lies and Big Fish (see, I kinda know how that one is going to end).

Double Feature Duel (Rd 2): Stranger Than Fiction vs. The Rookie

Double Feature Duel (Rd 2):
Stranger Than Fiction vs. The Rookie

Seldom have two teams had more inferior opponents in the first round than Stranger than Fiction and The Rookie just had. Thankfully, I didn’t watch Shattered Glass and The Tourist back-to-back. Someone would have had to have technically won that diarrhea mess of a contest. Drink up!

Title: I like the minimalist tongue in cheek attitude of The Rookie. I also like the layers and layers of tongue out of cheek cunning in Stranger than Fiction. And I actually prefer my tongues out of cheeks, especially when followed by the word “cunning.” (Point, Stranger 1-0)

Funnier: Between the clever dialogue and the creative story, I almost forgot Will Ferrell is normally a dufus who falls on shit. (Point, Stranger, 2-0)

Better Turn: Last time I heard a voice telling me I was going to die, it turned out to be Char hiding in my closet. Not Harold Crick. More intrigue with this, though it was weird how Char was wearing a hockey mask and in North Carolina at the same time. (Point, Stranger 3-0)

Better Ending: Go figure a movie about a woman who can’t figure out how to end her book was written by a guy who couldn’t figure out how to end his movie. And The Rookie had its ending written for it by life already, though it definitely did the moment justice with the contrast of chaos and humility in Quaid’s final scene on the mound. (Point, Rookie 3-1)

Better Message: I’m not sure there’s a takeaway from Stranger Than Fiction other than “wow, that was cool.” Certainly not one that can compete with “It’s never too late to believe in your dreams,” as it says on The Rookie’s poster. Especially not in the eyes of someone balding and rapidly approaching 40. (Point, Rookie 3-2)

Better Acting: I love Dennis Quaid. Innerspace will hold a special place in my heart always. But Will Ferrell stunned the world by stepping out of his falling-on-shit persona to play this three dimensional character with a goal. Props to him. And not the kind you fall on. (Point, Stranger 4-2)

Poster: The sun is setting but it isn’t dark yet. “It’s never too late to believe in your dreams.” Silhouette of the star by himself. If this was 1995, it would be on my dorm room wall. (Point, Rookie 4-3)

More Creative: Not a great category to see come up if you’re a movie based on a true story about with four points against you already. Especially not against this movie. Sorry, Dennis. (Point, Stranger 5-3)

Watch again: I like me a feel-good sports story every now and then, but Stranger Than Fiction probably has another couple layers I’ll want to peel away sometime soon. (Point, Stranger 6-3)

Overall: Nice try, but it isn’t too often a Rookie gets to the Sweet 16 anyway.

Double Feature Duel: Shattered Glass vs. Stranger Than Fiction

Double Feature Duel:
Shattered Glass vs. Stranger Than Fiction

Bout#3: Two articles in a row with the same title. This time, I got to see a based-on-real-life movie my last day of class about a reporter named Stephen Glass who falsified all his sources (Shattered Glass) and the Will Ferrell movie about him realizing he’s a character in a movie (Stranger Than Fiction). I have a feeling I know how this is going to end.

Funnier: Will Ferrell stepped out of his physical, Old School-style brand of comedy for a more challenging and subtle role with perfection. This was really heady as opposed to his normal stuff, but I may even give Das Boot the nod above the lack of humor in Shattered Glass. Point, Stranger Than Fiction (0-1)

Better Turn: In Shattered Glass, Billy Zane catches our main character in a lie in one of his stories, which we begin to find out is completely fabricated. In Stranger Than Fiction, Will Ferrell hears the author say that he is going to die. The turn was probably the best part of Broken Glass, but it didn’t match the intrigue created when Will Ferrell hears the narrator, who’s been narrating his life for at least the last few days, say that he’s going to die. Point, Stranger (0-2)

Better Ending: Go figure that a movie about not knowing how to end a movie wouldn’t really know how to end itself. But Stranger tackled that head on and managed a touching ending anyway without completely cheesing it up. Shattered Glass, however, had a scene where people applauded the formerly despised boss after they realized he was correct in questioning the beloved Stephen Glass’ sources, complete with a cheesy slow zoom in on the faces of his old best friends. Point, Stranger (0-3)

Better Message: I don’t know that I could actually discern any real message from Stranger, but thankfully I don’t need to. As Shattered Glass was based on a true story, it definitely has a leg up, but it also tells an important story about journalistic integrity. Not just about how it’s wrong to falsify sources, but also about how easy it is to fall into that trap and where that line is and where do we choose to draw that as a reader. Interesting stuff. Point, Shattered Glass (1-3)

Better Acting: I have a special place in my heart for Chloe Sevigny and Hank Azaria, but Will Ferrell was justifiably nominated for a Golden Globe while Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson and Maggie Gyllenhaal kicked the puck back onto the ice for him. Point, Stranger (1-4)

More Creative: A movie about a character from a book that actually exists and starts to hear the first person omniscient narrator talking about him so he seeks the assistance of a writing professor. That is one of the most original stories I’ve heard of recently, especially compared to a real story. Point, Stranger (1-5)

Watch again: I will likely never watch Shattered Glass again, whereas I watched Stranger twice before I returned it to Netflix. Yes, I liked it that much. Point, Stranger (1-6)

Overall: No surprises here. Stranger Than Fiction wins in a landslide. Great, surprisingly underrated movie and I recommend you see it if you haven’t yet. Bug Scale ratings: Stranger Than Fiction = 9.5; Shattered Glass = 2.