Things you're tired of seeing in movies

I like the 1964.5 Mustang so he gets a pass on the Ford for having good taste.

You should have a bigger issue with him using German (and Italian) pistols.

Not to get too off topic but hasn't Bond traditionally used German pistols, as I recall the PPK was his gun of choice for a long time. Besides, it's not like the Brits make a lot of pistols these days and while their rifles (Enfields) used to be very good they've seem to have slipped since they developed the SA80. Sad to say that the Brits really aren't known for their engineering (or their cuisine for that matter) these days.
 
Not to get too off topic but hasn't Bond traditionally used German pistols, as I recall the PPK was his gun of choice for a long time.
that was my point, actually.
Besides, it's not like the Brits make a lot of pistols these days and while their rifles (Enfields) used to be very good they've seem to have slipped since they developed the SA80. Sad to say that the Brits really aren't known for their engineering (or their cuisine for that matter) these days.
Q: Do you know why the Brits don't make computers?
A: They haven't figured out a way to make them leak oil.
 
I like the 1964.5 Mustang so he gets a pass on the Ford for having good taste.

You should have a bigger issue with him using German (and Italian) pistols.

Not to get too off topic but hasn't Bond traditionally used German pistols, as I recall the PPK was his gun of choice for a long time. Besides, it's not like the Brits make a lot of pistols these days and while their rifles (Enfields) used to be very good they've seem to have slipped since they developed the SA80. Sad to say that the Brits really aren't known for their engineering (or their cuisine for that matter) these days.

In the books (and in the first few minutes of Dr. No), Bond starts with a Beretta .25. After a Maj. Boothroyd wrote to Ian Fleming that the Beretta was inadequate and suggested the PPK, Fleming changed it, which you see in Dr. No.

I may be wrong on this and would defer to firearms experts, but my sense was that the UK didn't make too many semi-automatic pistols during the early half of the 20th century. Their military primarily used revolvers as sidearms, although there may have been the odd Browning Hi-power floating around, too. There were, I expect, even fewer smaller frame semi-autos suitable for concealed carry the way a spy would need (which is why Bond doesn't pack a 9mm or .45 or a Webley).


Anyway, on the subject of nationalism with respect to national involvement in WWII, I think it really depends on what exactly is being depicted. If your movie is focused on, say, the American experience in a battle in which America participated...then obviously you won't be spending a lot of time explaining the Soviet perspective. It gets more complicated with battles and/or theaters where multiple nations are involved (e.g. North Africa, Western Europe, etc.).

I find there also isn't a ton of focus in films on pre-1941 battles anyway...probably because a lot of them didn't go too well for the Allied forces, and nobody wants to make a film about the Nazi's kicking everyone's collective ass. Unless your film is about the French resistance and opens with the final days of the Battle of France...who really wants to watch that? You're basically limited to some of the North African campaign, and the Battle of Britain. The Soviets don't even really get involved until '41 either, and Barbarossa goes very, very poorly for them for a while. Oh, and before that, they were aggressors in Finland, fighting a not-particularly-successful invasion.

Anyway, my point is basically that a lot of the period prior to the US and the USSR's involvement with the Allies is a series of engagements where Britain and the Commonwealth forces barely hang on. It's a crucial period, to be sure, but it might not make for particularly rousing cinema in many cases.

Once you start doing engagements in a time frame where the US, UK/Commonwealth, or USSR could've been involved, it really depends on which perspective you choose to show. It just seems like there's a lot more of an appetite in the US for WWII films than there is for such films in the UK these days, so I'd expect to see more US-centric films to be made.


The only one I REALLY object to is U-571. But I forgive that one because Jon Bon Jovi gets decapitated within the first few minutes of the film. :)
 
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Brits are not known for cuisine or dependable autos, but they have made some amazing airplanes. Ask any vet of the Luftwaffe about that!
Q: Do you know why the Brits don't make computers?
A: They haven't figured out a way to make them leak oil.
Good one, I've never heard that before. Reminds me of something someone said to me when I had my 1944 Willys Jeep at a large car show and an older Land Rover was on display on the other side of the street, "Leave it to the Brits to take this [pointing at my Jeep] and make it into that [pointing to the Rover]!"
 
Remaking show/movie from country X for country Y. There was absolutely no reason to remake "La Femme Nikita" as "Point of No Return". 95% of the script was the same but with less psycho Jean Reno. There are numerous other examples of this.
 
I recently saw Stalingrad. This is the new Russian one, not the excellent German movie from 1993. Here we get two tropes for the price of one:

All Germans are either evil, cowardly or rapists. Or all three. All Red Army are brave, protective of civilians and able to storm German command posts while fully on fire.

Grating when you want to see a realistic portrayal of one of the most savage battles in history, but sadly standard stuff. All countries do it in their movies about WW2 (with the possible exception of Germany, for some fairly obvious reasons). Bums on seats darling, as the gentlemen of British Theatre would have it in bad sit-coms.

Far more egrerious is the excessive use of speed-ramping during battle scenes. You know, that technique that Zack Snyder uses ad infinitum, when action scenes suddenly go unexpectedly into slow motion, then just as abruptly speed up again. In something as stylised as 300, this is excusable, but it's gone on to be a pretty tiresome signature of Snyder's work.

In Stalingrad, they use this technique over and over in close-quarters combat scenes. I don't think I've ever seen such an inapropriate and incongruous use of a film technique to undermine the entire effectiveness of a scene. Utterly horrible.

Anyone interested in the subject, I recommend to toss this movie. There is a superb feature-length documentary on Youtube, which if followed up with the '93 German movie makes for a great overview of the battle that turned the war, and the human cost to Russians and Germans alike

Or you could watch Enemy at The Gates, just because Ed Harris is awesome in it :)
 
The only one I REALLY object to is U-571. But I forgive that one because Jon Bon Jovi gets decapitated within the first few minutes of the film.

That movie should have been prosecuted for war movie crimes :facepalm
 
Remaking show/movie from country X for country Y. There was absolutely no reason to remake "La Femme Nikita" as "Point of No Return". 95% of the script was the same but with less psycho Jean Reno. There are numerous other examples of this.

I hate this too! Especially how Hollywood needs to remake the movie/show with ultra-beautiful people. Always takes away the realism from the origionals.
 
The US didn't fight on the Eastern Front.

Ah but we did help by sending stuff over to Russia to help them fight the Germans. Although I've never seen any pictures we supposedly sent all kinds of equipment including tanks and combined with HItler's incompetence, the fierceness of the Russian winter, and that Russia was able to pull most of its manufacturing constantly eastward out of range of German bombers helped to turn the tide on the Eastern Front.

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I hate this too! Especially how Hollywood needs to remake the movie/show with ultra-beautiful people. Always takes away the realism from the originals.

I don't have any problems with that, I just hate it when they do a remake and it bears little to no resemblance to the original.
 
Remaking show/movie from country X for country Y. There was absolutely no reason to remake "La Femme Nikita" as "Point of No Return". 95% of the script was the same but with less psycho Jean Reno. There are numerous other examples of this.


I hate this too! Especially how Hollywood needs to remake the movie/show with ultra-beautiful people. Always takes away the realism from the origionals.
films that come to mind:


La Femme Nikita - the original had great detail and was just beautiful in it's pacing, restraint and performances - even without Jean Reno. "Point of no Return" was really a pointless film. Even the star, Bridget Fonda, acknowledges that.


The Vanishing - the original Dutch film was a chilling movie that haunted me for weeks. The remake was a typical Hollywood treatment. Oddly enough it had the same director who was, no doubt, seduced by Hollywood.

The Ladykillers - the original classic Ealing Studios comedy with Sir Alec Guinness in one of his signature roles should never have been redone with Tom Hanks. I love the Coens but they should know better. (If you're not familiar with the Ealing Studios films that put Alec Guinness on the map then you should check out The Lavendar Hill Mob, Kind Hearts and Coronets and The Man in the White Suit. The names of the films might sound uninspiring but they're great films full of wit, humor and heart.)

Stella Dallas - the original is a guilty pleasure - Barbara Stanwyk in a heartbreaking mother-daughter film. Remade as Stella with Bette Midler - enough said.

Planet of the Apes - I used to consider the original a "B" movie. But the remake which is bled of the social/political allegory made me reasses my definition of "B" movies.

A Guy Named Joe - very touching film. Remade by Spielberg himself as Always. It was a nice effort but the story was more effective and intimate on a smaller scale. And you just can't recast a Spencer Tracey role. He's one of the few actors (like Sir Alec Guinness, Marlon Brando, (mostly) Humphry Bogart, Steve McQueen...) that, when they touch a role, they've made it theirs.

Dead Zone - this 1983 film is one of the best adaptations of any Stephen King story on film IMO. It's one of Christopher Walken's top two career performances, too. I think he actually mentions it when he appeared on Inside the Actor's Studio. I haven't even bothered to try and watch the remake.

The following can be summed up as "original good, remake bad"

Assault on Precinct 13

Flight of the Phoenix

Rollerball

I can go on and on, of course....
 
The US didn't fight on the Eastern Front.
Exactly my point.
I tire of hearing Brits and Canadians gripe about how they're not represented in moves that take place where Commonwealth troops wouldn't have been seen.
WW2 wasn't fought with dozens of country's troops in in a tight area, yiou usually only saw people from your own immediate unit when you were fighting. Any student of military history knows this.
It makes about as much sense as Spike Lee's complaints on, 'Flags of our Fathers' that hardly any black Marines are shown in the film, when it's a historical fact that there very few of them anywhere near Iwo at the time and the few who were, were all in one major spot, along the beachhead.
 
The following can be summed up as "original good, remake bad"
....

Total Recall

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also... i saw this on Elementary recently... someone who just made a coffee run comes up to a group and hands out coffee... and seconds later someone tips an obviously empty cup of hypothetically hot coffee up like they are trying to get the last drop out of it. SIP dammit!
 
I'm not talking about remakes/reboots in general, but actually remaking a movie or tv show purely to have actors from that country in it. A good example is "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". I think this was more about being in English and I have not seen either version, but Heaven forbid I should have to read subtitles! The only example I can think of that even came close to being justified is "Law & Order: UK", but our police and court systems are similar enough that it really wasn't necessary.

Sent from my Etch A Sketch.
 
Exactly my point.
I tire of hearing Brits and Canadians gripe about how they're not represented in moves that take place where Commonwealth troops wouldn't have been seen.

I think that perception is mainly to do with those countries having an almost negligible industry output in comparison to Hollywood. With around 80% of UK cinema admissions being for US movies, it is almost inevitable that films depicting historical events is going to appear skewed towards an American perception of events.

Most movie goers do not analyze the fact that any nation's entertainment output is going to focus on its home market, but rather that they just watched another movie where Americans 'won the war on their own'.
 
Y'know what I am tired of seeing in movies?.......All those moving pictures!........surely the work of the devil........:devil
 
Y'know what I am tired of seeing in movies?.......All those moving pictures!........surely the work of the devil........:devil
So why would you be there?

That's like going to a brothel and complaining about all the promiscuity.
 
...I think this was more about being in English and I have not seen either version, but Heaven forbid I should have to read subtitles!
And you've just struck on one of the reasons non-American movies get remade here in the U.S.--most audiences don't want to have to read subtitles.

The other main reason, of course, is because the U.S. movie studios think they can make more profits by remaking movies that are successful in the "foreign" markets rather than buying the rights and distributing those movies here (see reason number one). And, of course, the U.S. Studios' "suits" all think they can do it better. "Hey, I just found out "The Girl With the Purple Fandango" made huge profits in Liechtenstein. Get Kristen Wiig on the phone and see if she's interested, and we'll turn it into a romantic comedy." :facepalm
 
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