Things you're tired of seeing in movies

Saw this last night in Man of Steel:

First, it raised something that was previously touched on -- namely using AMRAAMs and other AA missiles to try to knock down a hardened target like a giant freaking spaceship, instead of Tomahawks, GBUs, AGM-65s, etc.

But second, and FAR more glaring was when a wing of A-10s strafe the Kryptonians with 30mm depleted uranium shells, and it does nothing, so the next logical step is to GET OUT OF YOUR HELICOPTER, ONTO THE GROUND, AND FIRE SMALL ARMS AT THEM, INCLUDING 9mm PISTOL AMMO.

Wouldn't it make more sense to say "Pull back and call in a 155mm strike" or something?
 
Laspector said:
How about fake southern accents. Very very few people can fake that AND actually fool a southerner with it. Sure, anyone can do a southern accent but for those of us that actually live here, a fake southern accent is as noticable as a hat on a hog. I can't think of any movie where anyone who has never spoken southern was able to get it right.
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There also seems to be this mad desire for female actors to do Tennessee Williams that they conjure the most bizarre accents.

Steel Magnolias was such a catastrophe in that regard. So they're all supposed to be sisters who grew up in Louisiana.
Dolly Parton is from Tennessee and speaks with a Southern Appalachian accent.
Julia Roberts speaks with a bizarre caricature of a Georgia accent.
Sally Field was doing the same generic Hollywood southern accent that she uses in Forrest Gump. Olympia Dukakis's accent was just embarrassingly bad.
Shirley Maclaine, who I generally can't stand, actually does a pretty good job.
Even if it had a decent story the scene-chewing accents alone was impossible to ignore.

The only things worse that come to mind are Jodie Foster's accent in Elysium (even more tragic because it wasn't even necessary for the character) or Al Pacino in Revolution (it's 1776 - what's with the Brooklyn accent?)

Solo4114 said:
That's true of most regional dialects, actually. It's easy to do a generic "British" dialect (like, received pronunciation), for example, but it's a lot harder to do, say, an Estuarial dialect or a Yorkshire dialect or a Geordie dialect IF you either aren't from there, or don't have a flare for accents, or haven't spent a lot of time in the region. Same is true of generic "southern" accents rather than, say a Georgia accent vs. a Kentucky accent vs. a Texas accent (yes, I know Texas isn't "the south").
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As an American who spent a year in the Westmidlands - Dudley, to be precise, I couldn't understand a word anybody was saying. It was reassuring to know that many folks in the UK had trouble understanding some of these "Black Country" folk, too.
 
Solo4114 said:
Saw this last night in Man of Steel:

First, it raised something that was previously touched on -- namely using AMRAAMs and other AA missiles to try to knock down a hardened target like a giant freaking spaceship, instead of Tomahawks, GBUs, AGM-65s, etc.

But second, and FAR more glaring was when a wing of A-10s strafe the Kryptonians with 30mm depleted uranium shells, and it does nothing, so the next logical step is to GET OUT OF YOUR HELICOPTER, ONTO THE GROUND, AND FIRE SMALL ARMS AT THEM, INCLUDING 9mm PISTOL AMMO.

Wouldn't it make more sense to say "Pull back and call in a 155mm strike" or something?
Click to expand...
Or more likely, call a cease fire once they realize it's ineffective. Time to break out chemical or nuclear weapons if the threat is that grave.
Funny how in the movies, the military has zero problems firing into domestic population centers with no attempt to serious asses the threat or even bother to get the civilians out first, huh?
 
p51 said:
Or more likely, call a cease fire once they realize it's ineffective. Time to break out chemical or nuclear weapons if the threat is that grave.
Funny how in the movies, the military has zero problems firing into domestic population centers with no attempt to serious asses the threat or even bother to get the civilians out first, huh?
Click to expand...

Yeah, that got me, too. Let's just strafe Main Street, Smallville, in spite of the fact that civilians are currently holed up in the shops that literally line Main Street. For that matter, let's just go free-fire on these guys with our infantry (and their ineffective weapons, no less), because who cares about stray rounds, right?

I would've been able to accept it if, for example, the general back at the base is forced to make a tough decision when the pilots say "Say again, command?! There are civilians in the target area!" (I don't know proper military jargon, but you get my meaning), and the general says "We have no choice. We have to stop them here." It still wouldn't make a ton of sense, but at least it'd show that someone thought for even half a tic about the civilians there.
 
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p51 said:
Or more likely, call a cease fire once they realize it's ineffective. Time to break out chemical or nuclear weapons if the threat is that grave.
Funny how in the movies, the military has zero problems firing into domestic population centers with no attempt to serious asses the threat or even bother to get the civilians out first, huh?
Click to expand...

I think that's more the writers taking a shot at the military and/or putting their personal views into the movie to be sneaky.
 
I liked the movie, "Outbreak" where they showed the serious debate and the consequences of using weapons on US civilians (in that case, a fuel-air bomb, even though the depiction of the weapon was not accurate but that's another story). That was probably the best movie I ever saw which showed a proper chain of command and decision making process that made any real-life sense.
I am sick of the military being portrayed as 'shoot first and never ask the questions' when real life has proven how tough it is to even get ammo for training exercises, stateside. Nobody just hands you boxes of ammo and your orders are to 'off the alien bad guys,' with no ROE (rules of engagement).
Wes R said:
I think that's more the writers taking a shot at the military and/or putting their personal views into the movie to be sneaky.
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Could be. Superman 2 had pretty much the same deal, though. Remember the Huey emptying two rocket pods on the Kryptonians, with civilians literally standing a few feet away?
 
Wes R said:
I think that's more the writers taking a shot at the military and/or putting their personal views into the movie to be sneaky.
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I think it's less an intentional shot at the military, and more just playing with movie tropes including the ineffective soldiers. With Man of Steel, at least, I thought the culprit was simply poor script writing than outright maliciousness. The military is portrayed as outgunned, kinda clueless, but ultimately honorable and concerned with the good of America. There's the sequence where after unloading his MP5K at the Kryptonian baddie, and his M92F, Christopher Meloni's character takes out a knife, indicating he's prepared to die fighting. I think that's not so much a shot at the military, as much as an attempt to show how brave but hopeless these characters are. Like I said, lazy writing, rather than true distaste for the military.
 
Solo4114 said:
Saw this last night in Man of Steel:

First, it raised something that was previously touched on -- namely using AMRAAMs and other AA missiles to try to knock down a hardened target like a giant freaking spaceship, instead of Tomahawks, GBUs, AGM-65s, etc.

But second, and FAR more glaring was when a wing of A-10s strafe the Kryptonians with 30mm depleted uranium shells, and it does nothing, so the next logical step is to GET OUT OF YOUR HELICOPTER, ONTO THE GROUND, AND FIRE SMALL ARMS AT THEM, INCLUDING 9mm PISTOL AMMO.

Wouldn't it make more sense to say "Pull back and call in a 155mm strike" or something?
Click to expand...

Seriously?

I haven't seen Man of Steel, so I didn't know the scene - but if I see a bunch of 'Hogs fly over and let fly with those GAU-8/As and nothing happens? I'm calling for Spooky. "Send a flight of AC-130s, and bring the rain!"
 
Solo4114 said:
Yeah, that got me, too. Let's just strafe Main Street, Smallville, in spite of the fact that civilians are currently holed up in the shops that literally line Main Street. For that matter, let's just go free-fire on these guys with our infantry (and their ineffective weapons, no less), because who cares about stray rounds, right?

I would've been able to accept it if, for example, the general back at the base is forced to make a tough decision when the pilots say "Say again, command?! There are civilians in the target area!" (I don't know proper military jargon, but you get my meaning), and the general says "We have no choice. We have to stop them here." It still wouldn't make a ton of sense, but at least it'd show that someone thought for even half a tic about the civilians there.
Click to expand...

Given the incredulity that would usually arise in response to orders like that, you're not far off the mark. Kinda like these exchanges:

Ground - (calls in fire coords for airstrike)
Air - "Confirm? You're standing right there!"
Ground - "Confirm. Firing DANGER CLOSE. Fire the mission."

Command - (calls in fire coords for airstrike)
Air - "Confirm? We show civs danger close to mission."
Command - "We have no choice, civ casualties will be worse if we don't. Fire the mission."

Something like that.
 
Jon Kelley said:
I haven't seen Man of Steel, so I didn't know the scene - but if I see a bunch of 'Hogs fly over and let fly with those GAU-8/As and nothing happens? I'm calling for Spooky. "Send a flight of AC-130s, and bring the rain!"
Click to expand...
I was trained to call for all types of fire. If called the hogs in for CAS and my spotters tell me the rounds aren't actually penetrating, I wouldn't waste a Specter crew's time. There's nothing on those birds that is more lethal than those depleted uranium rounds that the hogs fire. Don't get me started on how badly they were described in the first transformers movie, but a USAF red beret I know said that in the theater (close to Shaw AFB) when that first movie was shown and the hogs ripped off the tail of that one bot, someone in the audience stood up and yelled, "that's right, even a f-ing sci fi bad guy can get waxed by an A-10!" which was responded by a couple of minutes of cheers from everyone else.
Jon Kelley said:
Given the incredulity that would usually arise in response to orders like that, you're not far off the mark. Kinda like these exchanges:

Ground - (calls in fire coords for airstrike)
Air - "Confirm? You're standing right there!"
Ground - "Confirm. Firing DANGER CLOSE. Fire the mission."

Command - (calls in fire coords for airstrike)
Air - "Confirm? We show civs danger close to mission."
Command - "We have no choice, civ casualties will be worse if we don't. Fire the mission."

Something like that.
Click to expand...
Yeah, more like:

FAC party: I say again, This is a Danger close mission, you have your vectors. This is my call, press to target.
Guns lead: (to higher), Uh, we've been given a Danger Close mission, unknown number civilians in the immediate area, dismounts are calling a guns run down the middle of the street, FLIR is ranging people all over the place. The controller actual has advised it's his call. Do I have permission to press the target?
Higher (some donut-eating USAF O-4 REMF strap hanger type, who's sitting at a terminal): Uh, say all again, over? You're being called on a Danger Close CAS run down a city street filled with civilians?
Guns lead: (to higher), Uh, rog. Their spotters have those aliens in the middle of the street, they're taking casualties. We just picked up their 9-line for CASEVAC, PJs are inbound for dustoff. Do we have authority to go down there and make the run on them with all these civilians running around?
FAC party: Hey, we can see you orbiting, say your status, you're cleared for the target and there's no ADA danger down here. Expedite, over!
Guns lead: Wait one, we're checking for authority to engage ground targets with all these civilians running around down there.
Higher: (to anyone in the room), HEY, where's the Colonel? Get that guy from the NCA on the line, I need to get someone to make the call on this, we got a flight of A-10s being called to make gun passes on the middle of a street with civilians running all over the place!

...and minutes later, still nobody has made the call.
In my time on active duty, I worked with plenty of people who could make the call from the ground, but NOBODY who'd actually clear the flight in on a target like that. No career-minded officer would do that.
 
Joosh said:
You wouldn't say that if your number ever got used in a song or movie. My high school had 867-5309 and got somewhere around 100-150 calls a day when the song was popular in 1982 and then whenever Mtv or radio stations stuck it back in the rotation they'd get 25-30 for a few days before people stopped calling. Up until sometime in the 90s the night message said something like "This is ________ high school and Jenny is home studying." They changed it for when school was out and at Christmas time it was Jenny was visiting her grandmother's house or something. The office people probably wanted to strangle every member of Tommy Tutone. Except for the woman who recorded the message every night- she seemed to have fun with it.
Click to expand...

I know about that (song included), and I'm still sick of it. They need a different number in the movies.
 
p51 said:
I was trained to call for all types of fire. If called the hogs in for CAS and my spotters tell me the rounds aren't actually penetrating, I wouldn't waste a Specter crew's time. There's nothing on those birds that is more lethal than those depleted uranium rounds that the hogs fire. Don't get me started on how badly they were described in the first transformers movie, but a USAF red beret I know said that in the theater (close to Shaw AFB) when that first movie was shown and the hogs ripped off the tail of that one bot, someone in the audience stood up and yelled, "that's right, even a f-ing sci fi bad guy can get waxed by an A-10!" which was responded by a couple of minutes of cheers from everyone else.

Yeah, more like:

FAC party: I say again, This is a Danger close mission, you have your vectors. This is my call, press to target.
Guns lead: (to higher), Uh, we've been given a Danger Close mission, unknown number civilians in the immediate area, dismounts are calling a guns run down the middle of the street, FLIR is ranging people all over the place. The controller actual has advised it's his call. Do I have permission to press the target?
Higher (some donut-eating USAF O-4 REMF strap hanger type, who's sitting at a terminal): Uh, say all again, over? You're being called on a Danger Close CAS run down a city street filled with civilians?
Guns lead: (to higher), Uh, rog. Their spotters have those aliens in the middle of the street, they're taking casualties. We just picked up their 9-line for CASEVAC, PJs are inbound for dustoff. Do we have authority to go down there and make the run on them with all these civilians running around?
FAC party: Hey, we can see you orbiting, say your status, you're cleared for the target and there's no ADA danger down here. Expedite, over!
Guns lead: Wait one, we're checking for authority to engage ground targets with all these civilians running around down there.
Higher: (to anyone in the room), HEY, where's the Colonel? Get that guy from the NCA on the line, I need to get someone to make the call on this, we got a flight of A-10s being called to make gun passes on the middle of a street with civilians running all over the place!

...and minutes later, still nobody has made the call.
In my time on active duty, I worked with plenty of people who could make the call from the ground, but NOBODY who'd actually clear the flight in on a target like that. No career-minded officer would do that.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know - I was oversimplifying things.

Then again, I were enlisted myself (turned down the Academy,) and that's probably also therefore a case of wishful thinking on my part.

Officers are too damned political. I think that's also due at least in part to minting ossifers out of silly-vilians, merely because they had four years to waste in school. Again, academies should only be open to prior-service enlisted, preferences to blooded troops, non-coms, and mostly blooded non-coms.

I still can't feature how having a degree makes you any better as a leader of men, or as a pilot. Could someone please explain that to me? (Much less how one can be a "better officer" simply because one has a four-year degree in something useless - LibArts, GenEd, PoliSci, and the like all come to mind...)
 
This is something I've seen in several action movies over the years that I scratch my head at.

Good guys are hiding in an abandon building or house in the middle of a big city when the bad guys show up. Bad guys pull out AK47s and a huge gun fight starts and goes on for 10 minutes, including explosions. Good guys get to a car and blast out of the gun fight and get away, bad guys are left at the scene.

Local police and SWAT never showed up during the gun fight.

Conversley, hero has to save someone who doesn't realize they are in trouble. Hero grabs person and starts telling them the story, person starts yelling for help thinking hero is either crazy or a killer. Police and SWAT team show up in 5 minutes and either arrest the hero, or he runs away.
 
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