Things you're tired of seeing in movies

dascoyne said:
Or any government agency, for that matter. Like high tech CIA offices looming in darkness with spot lighting, lots of glass and industrial stainless steel and staff dressed in high-end suits. I'm told the inner offices look more like your local DMV than anything else.
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Yep, I've seen some people and facilities the public doesn't get to see. Also, where nukes are kept. None of it looks high tech. Think more like a warehouse for a retail chain and their break room. And the people dress accordingly. That's what you really see.
 
I'm tired of seeing the same formulaic scenes, regardless of what movie it is. I shouldn't be able to pick out the main villain in the first 5 minutes of a movie (looking at you, Central Intelligence, and every crime scene drama ever). And the idea that every modern action film has to have some form of slapstick humor, otherwise it'll get rated R. And jump cuts, it's reached peak-worsening with the Matt Damon Bourne films.
 
The "news camera effect" where water or blood splatter is shown on the camera lens. Shaky cam and dodging from one thing to another. It's not a news story, it's fiction. Unless you're doing a Blair Witch thing where the camera is in the hands of a character, there's no reason for this.
 
Takanuva said:
...I shouldn't be able to pick out the main villain in the first 5 minutes of a movie...
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darthvader.jpg
 
See this a bit in tv, not so much in movies, but even then there are a few times. When someone sits on, steps on, or in some fashion trigger a... TIME bomb. Instead of just click BOOM! it's.. Click... oh no, now we only have a minute to disarm and escape. All for suspense, but not exactly efficient. As a second train of thought, how many times has a time bomb actually taken out good guys? (X-Files - Fight the future notwithstanding, since he kinda let himself be blown up intentionally).
 
Time bombs were right up there with quicksand as something I thought were going to be more problematic when I got to adulthood.

When the hero(s) are running from the villains and they make some good ground, then stop to wait for the villain to catch up so they can take a halfassed shot at them and then carry on running. Or, stop to hide behind a barrel or similar, wait for them to get closer and then get into a shoot out.
 
When the future has everything sterile and white and with everyone dressed as if they shop at the same place or when there's excessive haute couture.

I was surprised this happened in the series, Westworld. Everything was white and everyone wore either black or white.
 
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Riceball said:
This more of an anime trope than a standard Hollywood trope but it's still a somewhat annoying trope, and that is the crazy gesturing that people make when issuing orders/commands. This typically happens in military/sci-themed animes where you have a commander who always issues out commands in a dramatic fashion by throwing out an arm with the finger splayed, this typically happens when they issue an order to fire guns/missiles, or launch fighters.
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You went and watched that Star Wars anime trailer thing again, didn't you? ;)

mattycsi said:
To be fair, that's a thing in real life though. Its a big funeral song, I read that it was used for Spock's funeral in Wrath of Khan because it was so widely associated with funerals and that must be 35 years ago. Other than Taps what music is more widely associated with that event?
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Well, I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm going with either Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, or The Universe Song, both by Monty Python (well, really, Eric Idle, but whatever).

dascoyne said:
Or any government agency, for that matter. Like high tech CIA offices looming in darkness with spot lighting, lots of glass and industrial stainless steel and staff dressed in high-end suits. I'm told the inner offices look more like your local DMV than anything else.
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I spent a summer working at the US Attorney's Office in Philly and, yeah, they're just...office buildings. Nothing special.

Takanuva said:
I'm tired of seeing the same formulaic scenes, regardless of what movie it is. I shouldn't be able to pick out the main villain in the first 5 minutes of a movie (looking at you, Central Intelligence, and every crime scene drama ever). And the idea that every modern action film has to have some form of slapstick humor, otherwise it'll get rated R. And jump cuts, it's reached peak-worsening with the Matt Damon Bourne films.
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The nadir of this was Quantum of Solace. The editing in that film is basically incomprehensible.

dascoyne said:
When the future has everything sterile and white and with everyone dressed as if they shop at the same place or when there's excessive haute couture.

I was surprised this happened in the series, Westworld. Everything was white and everyone wore either black or white.
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To be fair, I think a lot of that is to help distinguish how alien the future is. Many times there's this notion that the future will be much more homogeneous, controlled, etc., so the fashion ends up reflecting that.
 
Solo4114 said:
To be fair, I think a lot of that is to help distinguish how alien the future is. Many times there's this notion that the future will be much more homogeneous, controlled, etc., so the fashion ends up reflecting that.
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For the record I'm not trashing Westworld; It's only a minor blemish on a very engaging series. But the "homogenous future" itself is an awful cliché, don't you think?

I know it's not easy to put a lot of design diversity in a future setting - I get that. But, when everything just looks the same, it's as if they didn't even want to bother trying.

It's the same reason why alien worlds often look as if one architect designed every single building and each native is wearing the exact same thing.

One of the many things I loved about "Guardians of the Galaxy" is how rich and diverse they made Xandar look. The planet looks alive.

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If I see one more person fold a piece of paper and stick a pencil through it to explain blackhole / wormhole FTL travel , I think I'll go transdimensional on their butts . I've seen this in 10 or 12 movies ! As soon as they grab the paper, I'm like, here we go again. Find a different way to demo this, or just use words. No one is ever going to understand the math behind such things anyway, except eggheads . A piece of paper and a pencil doesn't turn a layman into Good Will Hunting, ;)
 
Solo4114 said:
...Well, I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm going with either Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, or The Universe Song, both by Monty Python (well, really, Eric Idle, but whatever)...
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I'm going with "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis. :D

Solo4114 said:
...The nadir of this was Quantum of Solace. The editing in that film is basically incomprehensible...
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In the chase sequence that opens the movie, there isn't one shot longer than two seconds. I couldn't tell who was chasing who, or where their cars were in relation to each other. Pathetic.
 
If I see one more person fold a piece of paper and stick a pencil through it to explain blackhole / wormhole FTL travel , I think I'll go transdimensional on their butts . I've seen this in 10 or 12 movies ! As soon as they grab the paper, I'm like, here we go again. Find a different way to demo this, or just use words. No one is ever going to understand the math behind such things anyway, except eggheads . A piece of paper and a pencil doesn't turn a layman into Good Will Hunting,
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It's a tired example but it's one of the only examples that works. Spacetime/gravity/3D issues are usually best explained with 2D examples in general. "There's too much math" isn't a very satisfying way to cover something.



In the chase sequence that opens the movie, there isn't one shot longer than two seconds. I couldn't tell who was chasing who, or where their cars in relation to each other. Pathetic.
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I don't know one person, young or old, movie fan or not, who doesn't think that kind of editing is overdone and aggravating. Not one.
 
Something that always bother me is when someone is using a cane (or single crutch) and they are using it ON THE WRONG SIDE. I rarely see them use one properly. I guess it makes the limp more pronounced for dramatic effect...
 
p51 said:
The "news camera effect" where water or blood splatter is shown on the camera lens. Shaky cam and dodging from one thing to another. It's not a news story, it's fiction. Unless you're doing a Blair Witch thing where the camera is in the hands of a character, there's no reason for this.
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Did the pseudo-documentary effect bother you in the Omaha Beach scene of "Saving Private Ryan"? It was a mixed bag for me. In one sense it was startlingly novel and immersive but, in another sense, it seemed just a bit "forced" so it sort of broke the fourth wall for me. It feels like a sacrilege for me to be critical of that film but the movie is far from perfect for me. It has great elements but it's also chock full of Hollywood/Spielberg contrivance that get in the way of true greatness. This is the difference between a Spielberg film and a David Lean film in my eyes.
 
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Zombie_61 said:
In the chase sequence that opens the movie, there isn't one shot longer than two seconds. I couldn't tell who was chasing who, or where their cars were in relation to each other. Pathetic.
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I've said the exact same thing myself, many times. The real shame of it is that, hidden behind all that godawful editing, there's actually a decent Bond film trying to get out. But it just...can't. The character beats have no time to breathe between the next incomprehensible action set-piece.
 
batguy said:
It's a tired example but it's one of the only examples that works. Spacetime/gravity/3D issues are usually best explained with 2D examples in general. "There's too much math" isn't a very satisfying way to cover something.
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I love it when they do something similar to this on Doctor Who: where the Doctor boils down a complex idea to something his companions can grasp; then says, "Well, it's nothing like that..."
 

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