The way we came before: September 2011

Dangerous Liaisons (1988) Vs Valmont (1989)

Well these two are twins in every sense of the word. Hardly a massive surprise since they're both adaptions of exactly the same book. Both are set in Baroque France in the mid 1700s and both are about the Vicomte de Valmont scheming to seduce Madame de Tourvel, an honourable, God-fearing woman. Valmont in the process of attempting to seduce her perhaps somewhat predictably falls in love with her. It would be difficult to write a different synopsis for either because the plot of both is essentially identical. Dangerous Liaisons does have some big names in it such as Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Keanu Reeves and Uma Thurman. The Valmont cast list is not quite as grandiose with Colin Firth the only billed cast member I've ever heard of.

IMDB Rating: Dangerous Liaisons 7.7, Valmont 6.9
Verdict: Some people prefer Valmont but the majority seem to rate Dangerous Liaisons as a better film. Similarity Rating 9/10.

Prefontaine (1997) Vs Without Limits (1998)

I really don't know why Hollywood does it sometimes. Surely one biopic about an Olympic athlete would have been enough, but no apparently we needed two. So here we have it, two films released less than a year apart about Olympian long distance runner Steve Prefontaine who competed for gold at the Munich Olympics and subsequently died in a tragic car accident. Both films flopped terribly at the box office but this isn't always an indicator that a film is bad and in the case of these two it isn't as they are both regarded as lost gems in cinema history.

IMDB Rating: Prefontaine 6.3, Without Limits 7.0
Verdict: Again it's tricky, Prefontaine has a very 70s feel in the way the story is told which adds to the authenticity but most people feel that Without Limits is better. Similarity Rating 9/10.

Sliding Doors (1998) Vs Run Lola Run (1998)

Two films released in the same year that deal with the parallel universe / what if scenario. I'm dubious about the similarity of these two films despite having seen them on a number of twin film lists. I guess in a loose sort of way they are since they do deal with how one minor decision can alter the course of someone's life. In Sliding doors, it's whether or not Gwyneth Paltrow manages to catch the train or not. From that moment on, both possibilities are played out in parallel cutting from one story to the next unfolding over a period of weeks / months. In Run Lola Run, the timelines are shown one after the other and only deal with a particular half hour of her life. Also Run Lola Run is a German film and really doesn't feel that similar to Sliding Doors, more like a condensed version of Groundhog Day. Anyway I'll twin them for the hell of it because of the butterfly effect theme. Sliding Doors stars Gwyneth Paltrow whilst Run Lola Run stars Franka Potente (of the Bourne films).

IMDB Rating: Sliding Doors 6.7, Run Lola Run 8.0
Verdict: I'm dubious, I didn't think Run Lola Run was as good as Sliding Doors, the camp German style grated a little. Similarity Rating 5/10.

Phone Booth (2002) Vs Liberty Stands Still (2002)

Another two films here that would seem to be working from an identical brief. That of a protagonist rooted to a location because of a sniper who insists on speaking to them on the phone. Beyond this, the respective plots diverge significantly. In Phone Booth, Colin Farrell is held in place by a sniper who is just generally fucking nuts and wants to hold him to account for being a douchebag. Certainly you can't blame someone for disliking a person for having this quality but training a sniper scope on them and threatening to kill them may be a tad much even if entertaining to watch. Liberty stands still on the other hand follows more or less the same theme except it carries a political message and a more realistic backstory - that being the man behind the scope lost a child because of America's crazy gun laws and wants a debate on the second amendment.

IMDB Rating: Phone Booth 7.2, Liberty Stands Still 5.7
Verdict: Phone Booth despite the shallow backstory and lack of a deeper meaning is pretty damn entertaining to watch so wins this one for me. Similarity Rating 7/10.

Babe (1995) Vs Gordy (1995)

I suppose you do genuinely have to wonder what the hell various bigwigs in tinseltown are thinking sometimes. Perhaps after a drug fuelled night on crystal meth and LSD they came up with the latest genius idea for competing films that'll blow 'em all away – about pigs that talk, hell why not, yeah it'll be a blast! So for whatever reason in 1995, we got the most annoying computer operating system ever released and two films about talking pigs. Now I hate to admit it but I have actually seen Babe and to be fair it wasn't a bad film, it was kind of entertaining watching a pig pretend it was a dog. Gordy I've never seen and if I ever do have the misfortune of watching it, it may well be time to consider playing Russian roulette with no empty chambers.

IMDB Rating: Babe 7.2, Gordy 3.4
Verdict: It's pretty clear, Babe is a winner. Similarity Rating 6/10.

Hotel Rwanda (2004) Vs Shooting Dogs (2005)

These twins both centre on the Rwandan genocide of 1994 and the massacre of the Tutsis by the Hutu militia. Hotel Rwanda features hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina housing over a thousand Tutsi refugees during the genocide whilst Shooting Dogs features a similar plotline of a catholic priest and an idealistic English teacher protecting 2500 Tutsi refugees from the Hutu militia. Both films also show the amazing ineptitude and utter uselessness of the United Nations who staying true to their reason for existence of promoting peace and unity did absolutely fuck all during the entire genocide. Another film was also released in 2005 - Sometimes in April which also deals with the Rwandan genocide.

IMDB Rating: Hotel Rwanda 8.3, Shooting Dogs 7.7
Verdict: Hotel Rwanda is a powerful film, I haven't seen Shooting Dogs. Similarity Rating 8/10.

Drop Zone (1994) Vs Terminal Velocity (1994)

Two skydiving films released in the same year that involve the use of skydiving to steal things or prevent people from stealing things. I guess it's kind of an original idea but why two films at the same time? In Drop Zone, it's up to Wesley Snipes to bring down a team of skydiving crooks who land on the top of police buildings, break into computers and steal files in federal marshals. In Terminal Velocity, it's up to Charlie Sheen to team up with former KGB agent Nastassja Kinski to prevent the Russian mafia from stealing gold. Both films involve a suspicious death which acts as the primary motivation for the protagonist. Not amazingly similar but it's believable that they were both working from the same brief.

IMDB Rating: Drop Zone 5.3, Terminal Velocity 5.2
Verdict: Neither is amazing but probably worth a watch if you've nothing better to do. Similarity Rating 6/10.

Megamind (2010) Vs Despicable Me (2010)

Another two films I've never seen and hopefully will never watch here but I am reliably informed by people (chic geek) who have seen both that they do in fact qualify for this list. As I understand it both films are about an evil genius who for one reason or another ends up becoming the good guy because of various events throughout the film. In Megamind, it's because he creates a new foe who ends up becoming more evil than himself whilst in Despicable Me, the protagonist Gru encounters a trio of orphans who see something in him that no one else has before - a potential father and it ends up changing him for the better.

IMDB Rating: Megamind 7.3, Despicable Me 7.5
Verdict: Probable tie. Similarity rating 7/10.

The Town (2010) Vs Takers (2010)

I am very dubious about these two. The Town I have seen and to its credit I did think it was an excellent film which I really enjoyed. The plot centres around a seasoned team of bank robbers from Charlestown in Boston, a district renowned for churning out a high number of armed robbers, generation after generation. After a mostly successful heist, the robbers end up taking a bank clerk hostage who one of the robbers (Ben Afflick) later forms a relationship with whilst she is blissfully ignorant that he was her earlier captor - complications naturally ensue. I haven't seen Takers but the formula seems relatively similar - that of a team of robbers ripping off an armoured car (which also happens in the Town) whilst having a determined cop on their tale (also similar to the Town).

IMDB Rating: The Town 7.7, Takers 5.9
Verdict: The town is a high quality heist film, I'd be surprised if Takers could compare to it and IMDB voters generally agree that it doesn't. Similarity rating 5/10.

Kundun (1997) Vs Seven Years in Tibet (1997)

I feel comfortable twinning these two as the themes running through both are very similar and they were released at the same time. Again these are twins in the literal sense of twin films. Both films feature the young Dalai Lama and the tale of his formative years is woven into both films along with the occupation of Tibet by China and the subsequent exile of the Dalai Lama to India where he remains in exile to this day. Seven Years in Tibet for some reason features Brad Pitt as a German - perhaps not the obvious choice and his accent in the film is questionable. Kundun on the other hand is a Martin Scorsese and flopped terribly at the box office despite the consensus by many that it is the better film.

IMDB Rating: Kundun 7.1, Seven Years in Tibet 6.8
Verdict: Difficult to say, I'd have to tie them. Similarity rating 8/10.

Kick-Ass (2010) Vs Super (2010)

Released just months apart, two superhero films about people who aren't actually superheroes but just dress up as superheroes and act like superheroes. In both films, the protagonists lack any heroic skills whatsoever but nevertheless try their hand at being vigilantes fighting crime naturally leading to hilarious results. Again with these two it does feel as though both films are working from the same brief in competition with each other. I would have to say that Kick-Ass is the better film though even if it doesn't feature say Ellen Page or Liv Tyler. In Kick-Ass though I felt the film cheated a little since although the protagonist clearly doesn't have any powers Nicholas Cage and Chloe Moretz seem to have Batman-esque style gadgets and training.