Over at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles, tonight’s double feature is a particularly inspired pairing of simian cinema from 2011: the cautionary thriller Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the equally harrowing doc Project Nim . What lessons can be taken from this matching of monkey movies? Rise of the Planet of the Apes , dir. Rupert Wyatt Premise: A chimpanzee raised by humans grows up to lead a simian revolt against humanity. Major players: Caesar the chimpanzee, his scientist guardian, a greedy biotech suit, the evil kid from Harry Potter Oscar hopes: Special effects, Best Actor (wearing mo-cap dots) Lessons learned: Animal testing is bad… very bad. Also: an angry revolutionary chimpanzee is a dangerous chimpanzee. (And let’s not forget the eternal question: Why Cookie Rocket?) Project Nim , dir. James Marsh Premise: A chimpanzee raised by humans to study language learning and behavior grows up to be a sad, sad monkey. Major players: Nim Chimpsky the chimpanzee, a Columbia University psychologist, warring foster mothers, and many other misguided humans Oscar hopes: Best Documentary Lessons learned: It’s hard out here for a chimpanzee caught between worlds, left to stew in his own loneliness and rage and confusion. Also: an angry, messed up chimpanzee is a dangerous chimpanzee. Inspired stuff in the midst of awards season from the good folks at the New Beverly, where the ROTPOTA / Nim double feature plays tonight at 7pm for just $8. Check out their full monthly slate here .
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Today in Brilliant Pairings: Rise of the Planet of the Apes + Project Nim