Double Feature Duel (Rd2): Planet of the Apes vs. The Invention of Lying

Double Feature Duel (Rd2):
Planet of the Apes vs. The Invention of Lying

Old school classic vs a movie I didn’t even know existed. Let the game begin.

Title: The title of the movie throws off the scent of the ending in Planet of the Apes, which is enough to merit a point here. (Point, POTA 1-0)

Funnier: It’s like beating up a frog that didn’t even know he was in a fight. (Point, Lying 1-1)

Better Turn: Rocky Gervais told a lie vs apes finding out Heston could talk. And in a no contest win… (Point, POTA 2-1)

Better Ending: Talk about Mariano Rivera all you want, Rod Serling is the best closer of all time. (Point, POTA 3-1)

Better Message: Planet of the Apes was a warning about nuclear war and how it could destroy humans and we may be ruled by apes. Believable, no. But neither is living in a world where a woman will sleep with you because you tell her it’s the only way to stop the nuclear attack. Trust me. (Point, POTA 4-1)

Better Acting: Well, comparing a movie largely acted by humans in ape masks to one with a bunch of stand-up comics is not the easiest job I’ve had. However, I’ll take Louis C.K. over the plastic ape-people. (Point, Lying 4-2)

Poster: Man, posters were bad back in the 60s. (Point, Lying 4-3)

More Creative: A world where people can’t lie, but for one person who randomly comes up with it. Kinda stupid, but not necessarily uncreative. But the iconic image of the Statue of Liberty at the end of POTA floored people for decades. And that’s worth a point I think. (Point, POTA 5-3)

Watch again: If the two were on cable right now and I was by myself, I’d probably watch The Invention of Lying because it was funny. If the person I was with hadn’t seen either, I’d want to show them Planet of the Apes. But because it doesn’t matter anyway… (Point, Lying 5-4)

Overall: A 7-bug movie beat a 6.5-bug movie by 1 point. It’s almost like I know what I’m doing. Winner: Planet of the Apes (5-4)

Double Feature Duel: The Invention of Lying vs. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Double Feature Duel:
The Invention of Lying vs. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Bout #10: The end of a multi-billion dollar franchise vs. a movie that pulled in just under $19 million. But hey, the Marlins beat the Yankees once upon a time.

The Invention of Lying: In a world where no one has ever told a lie, this man realizes he can. Sounds stupid, right? Well, it is. But it’s also funny. From the first frame to about 25 minutes from the end. Ricky Gervais accidentally and hilariously invents religion, fiction and deceit to get a woman into bed. Then he falls victim to his conscience and a romantic comedy checklist. But the good was good. 6.5 bugs.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: My feelings on the Harry Potter franchise have been well documented over the past year. This episode in particular. In summation, I’m sorry, America. 4 bugs.

Title: The day that movie theater marquee workers most commonly call in sick is the day Harry Potter movies come out. True story. (Point, Lying 1-0)

Funnier: Louis C.K. is in this movie too. (Point, Lying 2-0)

Better Turn: The moment that Ricky tells his first lie is overhyped by the foreshadowing in the beginning of the movie and again right before that moment. However, Harry Potter turned over a year ago now. (Point, Lying 3-0)

Better Ending: They were both covered in enough cheese to put you on Lipitor, but Harry’s was certainly within the boundaries of the world the movie created. The Invention of Lying seemed to want to make up for its earlier discretions by becoming a feel-good story. Boo. (Point, Harry Potter 3-1)

Better Message: The Harry Potter franchise has beat us over the head with the “hold your loved ones close to your heart” bullshit for 10 years. The Invention of Lying tells you that it’s wrong to deceive for personal gain, be it sex or love. But if you’re the only person in the world with the ability to do something, you have an obligation to society. (Point, Harry Potter 3-2)

Better Acting: I’ll grant you Potterheads that the trio got better at acting and Emma Watson certainly – ahem – matured. However, Louis C.K., Chris Guest, Tina Fey, Rob Lowe, Jonah Hill, Jason Bateman and Ricky is a lot of comedy fire power. (Point, Lying 4-2)

Poster: Harry Potter has decided to attack this category with strength in numbers. Good luck to the person who decides to try to narrow their search down to THE ONE OFFICIAL poster. (Point, Harry Potter 4-3)

Watch again: I’m sitting at home and they both come on cable at the same time and they’re the only two channels I can find on my 7,000-channel cable for some reason. I probably go with Harry Potter. Just to make sure I don’t like it (I like to be thorough). (Point, Harry Potter 4-4)

More Creative: Harry Potter worlds remind me of dreams. They are amazingly creative and original and completely believable when you’re in them. But once you wake up and really think about it, it was really stupid. And it would probably make a pretty silly movie. And everybody has dreams just as stupid and silly. (Point, Lying 5-4)

Overall: Who says you need to gross $300,000,000 to get to the second round of my game? Winner: The Invention of Lying (5-4)