Things you're tired of seeing in movies

[Riceball]

That's why I liked the show "The Middle" because Frankie (the mom) will just pour their cereal in a bag and say "No time! Save it for lunch!".


One thing that always bugs me is shows, usually scifi shows where the people are piloting a ship and then the pilot will say something like "Cut in auxiliary power!" and the copilot will have to get up and run way back into the ship to do that. Uh no, that would be at the pilots' controls because that would be something you would need right now, not 30secs later! A pilot would have everything they would need in an emergency right in the cockpit. Now if it was a large ship like a warship, maybe you might have to do that, but not on a shuttle or small ship.

Even on a large ship you wouldn't have anybody on the bridge to do something like switching to auxiliary power. Anything to do with power would be a job for the engineering crew and the Captain would call the Chief Engineer to activate auxiliary power who would then in turn have one of his/her people do the task.

 

[dascoyne]

Ever since I heard this one I can't not notice it. Whenever a pilot starts up a helicopter or spaceship, the first thing they do is flip a sequence of three toggle switches above their head.

 

[Ron]

I think I might've mentioned this already but I'm so tired of trailers all being the same. I miss the days when they had narrators like Don Lafontaine.

 

[Treadwell]

Even on a large ship you wouldn't have anybody on the bridge to do something like switching to auxiliary power. Anything to do with power would be a job for the engineering crew and the Captain would call the Chief Engineer to activate auxiliary power who would then in turn have one of his/her people do the task.

Further, a lot things like this should be done as standard procedure after certain events and the order wouldn't even have to be given. We're being shot at, and main power just went down, hmm, I wonder if the captain will want to use the reserves? Better wait to be asked...

EVEN further, it would happen automatically without anyone having to think about it or push any buttons.

 

[Riceball]

Further, a lot things like this should be done as standard procedure after certain events and the order wouldn't even have to be given. We're being shot at, and main power just went down, hmm, I wonder if the captain will want to use the reserves? Better wait to be asked...

EVEN further, it would happen automatically without anyone having to think about it or push any buttons.

Good point about auxiliary power being an automatic thing. Given how we have battery powered backups for computers and emergency lights that activate automatically when the power is cut it would make sense for ships to do the same.

 

[p51]

I'm sure I posted this before, but dialogue written for people in the military that has no bearing on anything anyone in uniform ever said. I tried to get through "Shadow in the Cloud" last night and it actually made my brain hurt how bad the script was. How anyone could have liked this movie is beyond me.
Civilian writers love to have people in the military talking they way they think they do, but even someone in a National Guard Postal unit (yes, such things do exist) for a year knows better.

 

[Riceball]

I'm sure I posted this before, but dialogue written for people in the military that has no bearing on anything anyone in uniform ever said. I tried to get through "Shadow in the Cloud" last night and it actually made my brain hurt how bad the script was. How anyone could have liked this movie is beyond me.
Civilian writers love to have people in the military talking they way they think they do, but even someone in a National Guard Postal unit (yes, such things do exist) for a year knows better.

I think what happens is that these writers write things based on what (poorly written things) they've seen on TV or in movies or even read in a book and think that's how it really is. They also like throwing in random jargon not knowing what it means or the context that it's used in. I know that after the BSG reboot came out, lots of fans picked up on the term Actual and were regularly misusing thinking that it was Adama's actual call sign and not the call sign for whoever happens to be in charge on the Galactica at the time.

 

[p51]

I think what happens is that these writers write things based on what (poorly written things) they've seen on TV or in movies or even read in a book and think that's how it really is. They also like throwing in random jargon not knowing what it means or the context that it's used in. I know that after the BSG reboot came out, lots of fans picked up on the term Actual and were regularly misusing thinking that it was Adama's actual call sign and not the call sign for whoever happens to be in charge on the Galactica at the time.

Yeah, good point. Poor writing on TV and movies is as common as it is anywhere else. Heck, entire networks have been built on bad writing (cough cough, Hallmark Network cough cough).
I always laughed at the "actual" thing on BSG as I agree the writers didn't get that was who had command of the bridge at the time. In the Army, we never used, "Actual," that I remember but often you'd hear some ID themselves, as "Callsign Six RTO" when they were on comms for the CO.
A pal of mine who served on a carrier told me he couldn't watch BSG as they pretty much botched all the comm traffic so bad he just couldn't get past it. BSG also had people saying stuff that rally didn't sound right at all, past season one. I will always, though, say I liked the parts where Crashdown was on the surface of the planet reading an op order by line item with everyone looking at him like he was nuts (and the Chief did a good job explaining to Baltar why they were all rolling their eyes). I've seen that happen in real life with NCOs reminding the LT that certain parts of an OPORD didn't apply to what they were doing (one wrote a full OPORD because the LT and a dozen soldiers were just going across the base in an LMTV to go pick up some stuff from range control for a Ma Duce range the next day) as they're beat into you in ROTC, OCS and the Academy.
All that said, I think there should be a harsh punishment for anyone who writes or says, "With all due respect sir/ma'am" in a military script. Nobody says that. If they're going to call BS on someone above them,. especially if they're an NCO, they're just going to tell you that you're a soup sandwich!

 

[AJK001]

I'm sure I posted this before, but dialogue written for people in the military that has no bearing on anything anyone in uniform ever said. I tried to get through "Shadow in the Cloud" last night and it actually made my brain hurt how bad the script was. How anyone could have liked this movie is beyond me.
Civilian writers love to have people in the military talking they way they think they do, but even someone in a National Guard Postal unit (yes, such things do exist) for a year knows better.

As really well liked as Band of Brothers was a some of the real soldiers had trouble with some of the dialog in the show. They would say we didn't talk that way or we never said that. Dick Winters thought they used too much profanity while others said it was spot on.

 

[Dsimdude]

One of my personal pet peeves...

Actresses playing cops or military types, who can't hold the weapon correctly. I really admire an actress who looks like she could actually kick my butt if she had to.

 

[p51]

One of my personal pet peeves...

Actresses playing cops or military types, who can't hold the weapon correctly. I really admire an actress who looks like she could actually kick my butt if she had to.

A friend of mine who used to be a Marine once encountered a woman who apparently had gone through some self-defense training and from what he'd heard later, liked to start fights with men (who usually would back down as they didn't want to hit a woman). He laughed at her and she really lost her mind, and took a swing. He caught her hand in mid swing, laughed at her and started to turn to walk away when she hit him upside the head. This was in front of several witnesses. He later said to me, "At that moment, she waived her rights to remain upright" and he knocked her a pretty fair distance across the room. She didn't get up and people called 911. The cops showed and she demand my friend get arrested and really lost it when she got handcuffed as the witnesses all said she started it and hit him first for really no reason. One apparently even told her as they cops hauled her out, "Maybe this'll teach you to start [poop] you can't finish!"
I always think of that when I see these tiny little actresses beat the heck out of big guys. Sure, there are techniques that cancel out the size and bulk differences, but generally if you pick a fight with someone twice your size, they're going to win unless you land a massive blow before they can react. Otherwise, why would nightclub bouncers have to be that big?

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

As a lifelong martial artist, I've met women who can stand toe to toe with an average (not trained) guy in a fight. The problem you have is if you have a larger guy, you need to take him out without him getting ahold of you. After that it's probably over. That probably applies to a pro MMA fighter as well. If you get a big enough guy and he gets ahold of you, you might be done if you don't know enough to extract yourself.

As really well liked as Band of Brothers was a some of the real soldiers had trouble with some of the dialog in the show. They would say we didn't talk that way or we never said that. Dick Winters thought they used too much profanity while others said it was spot on.

I heard the same thing. I've read multiple books on Winters and others in the unit and I do remember them saying that a lot of them, since they respected Winters so much, would curb their language, drinking, chasing girls, etc. when he was around. So that could explain why he thought they cursed too much in the show. It's definitely THE best WW2 show in my opinion.

 

[p51]

I heard the same thing. I've read multiple books on Winters and others in the unit and I do remember them saying that a lot of them, since they respected Winters so much, would curb their language, drinking, chasing girls, etc. when he was around. So that could explain why he thought they cursed too much in the show. It's definitely THE best WW2 show in my opinion.

The main problem with cursing during WW2 is that we assume they cursed a great deal, but there's really not a lot of hard evidence. Servicemen would allude to cursing in letters home but of course nobody ever recorded it or took notes. And most vets in later life denied they cursed much (or at all), so you just don't really know for sure.
Only the 'Nam era vets confirmed the cursing was so common, but I've also read from the WW2 guys who also served then would say they were shocked at all the cursing, well more than they'd ever heard on the 40s. I accept that's likely, but we'll never know for sure how much soldiers/sailors/marines cursed during the Big One...

 

[joberg]

The Major in my unit (I just did a year in the Belgian Army) was really hard on any of his soldiers cursing! A lot of those officers (WWI and WWII) were from well-to-do families (Baron, Count, Earl, etc) and they weren't fans of that type of behavior

 

[Dsimdude]

"Well, I think you all have made some excellent progress today, but I think it’s time we wind down now."

So how about getting back to the topic of the thread...

Pet peeves in movies...

I'll start...

Cliffhangers. Literal, cliffhangers, we're at the height of the most dangerous action in the movie, the Hero is literally hanging from a cliff.

 

[obrienizer]

Cursing varies with the time period and background of the soldiers. In a way it's like tech-talk we have today, like with computer terms. Using cursing to be 'accurate' can ruin a story for viewers who had never been in that environment. The purpose of movie dialogue is to help define characters, not give us a historical lesson.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

When a character encounters a clone, double, or future/past version of themselves and they do that stupid circle each other until they stop and then stare thing. That's so overdone they need to be fined for it! Then the characters always act like they hate each other. I could see if a future version of yourself was crap, but if you encountered a past version, it's you, so I don't know why you'd not like them. Star Trek TNG did this (Cmdr. Riker/"Thomas" Riker), The Orville (Kelly and past Kelly - which is what I just watched), etc. Just stop that already, come up with new ideas!

 

[somerset fox]

One of my personal pet peeves...

Actresses playing cops or military types, who can't hold the weapon correctly. I really admire an actress who looks like she could actually kick my butt if she had to.

As an English police unarmed defence tutor, and technical advisor for tv and film, it galls me when the stunt arranger can’t get their actors to do the correct moves. An ASP extendable baton is NOT waved around like Harry Potters magic wand in the face of an assailant! If only they had someone who could show them how to do it properly... oh that’s right they do. Me!

 

[somerset fox]

I think I might've mentioned this already but I'm so tired of trailers all being the same. I miss the days when they had narrators like Don Lafontaine.

“In an age where no one speaks in movie trailers, one man strikes a blow to regain this lost art...”

 

[Dsimdude]

As an English police unarmed defence tutor, and technical advisor for tv and film, it galls me when the stunt arranger can’t get their actors to do the correct moves. An ASP extendable baton is NOT waved around like Harry Potters magic wand in the face of an assailant! If only they had someone who could show them how to do it properly... oh that’s right they do. Me!

I'm an actor by trade, and I took an extensive course in stage combat at the Shakespeare Theater Washington DC. I feel your pain, brother... But at least I know how to wield a broadsword!