Silly movie / tv plot devices

[lucas80]

We discussed annoying gun stuff in movies and tv shows a few weeks ago, but what else makes your eyes roll? I was watching an episode of SG1 today and Carter and Frasier are hacking into a computer, and Frasier is telling Carter this is going to take time just as Carter says, "I'm in"!!
Same for an episode of 24 where Jack Bauer is uploading something via his phone while he's driving, and it goes right through.
I can't get my computer at work to where I need it in under 2 minutes. The hamster has to start spinning on his wheel, I have to sign in with HR to prove I'm there, and there is a series of prompts. Certainly connectivity and computers are much better these days, but it's funny how writers and directors erase away time and HR in scripts.
Honorable mention goes to the cop who gets killed 3 days before retirement.

 

[BubsFinn]

Parking. There always seems to be a parking space right in front of whatever place our hero has to go. Miraculously, he doesn’t have to circle the block three times until he gives up and ends up waiting for an elderly Asian woman to move her Civic two blocks away.

 

[HROT]

In otherwise indistinguishable casts, the overuse of character names in dialogue.

The over use of partner cops.

 

[markfromj]

High School reunion/old grudge episode.

 

[funksouljon]

Fight scenes. Apparently writers have never been punched in the ear much less had their head slammed into objects.

Agree with OP, computer hacking on tv seems very simple. Guessing passwords or a magic USB cracker.

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

Everybody has wild all night sex and then get up and go straight to work.

 

[millah_22]

High School reunion/old grudge episode.

The Other Two's episode about their high school reunion was the best episode of the series.

 

[millah_22]

Fight scenes. Apparently writers have never been punched in the ear much less had their head slammed into objects.

Agree with OP, computer hacking on tv seems very simple. Guessing passwords or a magic USB cracker.

The fight scene in They Live that lasted like 14 minutes.

 

[FAUlty Gator]

Parking. There always seems to be a parking space right in front of whatever place our hero has to go. Miraculously, he doesn’t have to circle the block three times until he gives up and ends up waiting for an elderly Asian woman to move her Civic two blocks away.

Spaceship parking and helicopter parking is always the opposite. They always land so far away from whatever structure they’re going into and have to walk like a half mile through rough terrain to get there. Just land next to the thing man.

Also, the number one movie thing that happens is this: No one ever says “Goodbye” at the end of phone calls. They always just hang up. That never happens in real life. Ever.

Number 2 is TV remote controls making clicking sounds when they hit the buttons. Never seen one remote do that ever.

 

[ericram]

Spaceship parking and helicopter parking is always the opposite. They always land so far away from whatever structure they’re going into and have to walk like a half mile through rough terrain to get there. Just land next to the thing man.

Also, the number one movie thing that happens is this: No one ever says “Goodbye” at the end of phone calls. They always just hang up. That never happens in real life. Ever.

Number 2 is TV remote controls making clicking sounds when they hit the buttons. Never seen one remote do that ever.

The never saying goodbye is a good on. I alway count on that happening

 

[GOHOX69]

Anything depicting science is usually hilariously wrong or oversimplified.

 

[St. Louis Hawk]

The fight scene in They Live that lasted like 14 minutes.

Yeah, but Frank wouldn’t put on the damn glasses.

Shoulder gun shot wounds for good guys
Unlimited rounds where nobody reloads
Rifle shots with no damage other than a quarter size red dot
Rain for a somber mood
Solsbury Hill for a good mood scene
Scorching hot woman who happens to be funny, single and live in multi-million dollar apartment

 

[speak34]

I was just thinking about the show BJ and the Bear. Now there's a concept I can't get enough of, a man and his monkey.

 

[sober_teacher]

Spaceship parking and helicopter parking is always the opposite. They always land so far away from whatever structure they’re going into and have to walk like a half mile through rough terrain to get there. Just land next to the thing man.

Also, the number one movie thing that happens is this: No one ever says “Goodbye” at the end of phone calls. They always just hang up. That never happens in real life. Ever.

Number 2 is TV remote controls making clicking sounds when they hit the buttons. Never seen one remote do that ever.

Star Trek made it famous; but how many members of the command staff go on away missions…

 

[DirtyJohns97]

Yeah, but Frank wouldn’t put on the damn glasses.

Shoulder gun shot wounds for good guys
Unlimited rounds where nobody reloads
Rifle shots with no damage other than a quarter size red dot
Rain for a somber mood
Solsbury Hill for a good mood scene
Scorching hot woman who happens to be funny, single and live in multi-million dollar apartment

The penultimate fight scene will be between the good guy and the bad guys top henchman. This is usually a pretty good matchup as they have both been ****ing people up for 90 minutes at that point. But then the last fight scene is the good guy and the main bad guy. And even though the bad guy is often some out of shape slob, or superbrainiac, or even old guy, he always gives the main good guy way too much of a run for his money.

If it doesn't end that way, it ends with the bad guy holding a gun to the head of the girl or sidekick while staring down the good guy. And although the bad guy is operating from a position of strength here, they are 0-531 in this scenario.

 

[DropitlikeitsHawk]

Parking. There always seems to be a parking space right in front of whatever place our hero has to go. Miraculously, he doesn’t have to circle the block three times until he gives up and ends up waiting for an elderly Asian woman to move her Civic two blocks away.

Same with traffic. Somehow the just breeze through streets of cities mind numbing slow traffic.

 

[sober_teacher]

Same with traffic. Somehow the just breeze through streets of cities mind numbing slow traffic.

Silly man. Everyone knows all major cities are famous for their light traffic at rush hour…

 

[HawkeyeShawn]

Cars that take ridiculous amounts of damage in car chases and keep on going. I slid down an icy hill once at about 10 mph and hit the curb. Required a tow truck.

 

[Chuck C]

We discussed annoying gun stuff in movies and tv shows a few weeks ago, but what else makes your eyes roll? I was watching an episode of SG1 today and Carter and Frasier are hacking into a computer, and Frasier is telling Carter this is going to take time just as Carter says, "I'm in"!!
Same for an episode of 24 where Jack Bauer is uploading something via his phone while he's driving, and it goes right through.
I can't get my computer at work to where I need it in under 2 minutes. The hamster has to start spinning on his wheel, I have to sign in with HR to prove I'm there, and there is a series of prompts. Certainly connectivity and computers are much better these days, but it's funny how writers and directors erase away time and HR in scripts.
Honorable mention goes to the cop who gets killed 3 days before retirement.

The “computer virus” in Independence Day always bothered me.

 

[funksouljon]

Everybody has wild all night sex and then get up and go straight to work.

Or the first wake morning sex. No one in tv has to pee when they wake up? And morning breath kisses?

Hell, switching positions in movie sex, everyone is on the same page with no words?.... BS I TELL YOU!

 

[funksouljon]

Anything depicting science is usually hilariously wrong or oversimplified.

And engineering.... Boston Dynamics should have hired this guy, they'd have jumped forward by several decades.

 

[alaskanseminole]

Spaceship parking and helicopter parking is always the opposite. They always land so far away from whatever structure they’re going into and have to walk like a half mile through rough terrain to get there. Just land next to the thing man.

Also, the number one movie thing that happens is this: No one ever says “Goodbye” at the end of phone calls. They always just hang up. That never happens in real life. Ever.

 

[alaskanseminole]

When you need someone knocked out it takes a single punch, but when the "fight's on" people beat the hell outta each other forever.

 

[SSG T]

Fight scenes. Apparently writers have never been punched in the ear much less had their head slammed into objects.

Agree with OP, computer hacking on tv seems very simple. Guessing passwords or a magic USB cracker.

I did real life close quarters battle once. Fighting doesn't last long. People don't get up from butt stocks to the back of the head.

And knife fights? Yeah, both people get cut and bloody. The "winner" isn't usually in great shape either. Never saw one of those in person, but did see the post fight. It wasn't pretty.

 

[sober_teacher]

The “computer virus” in Independence Day always bothered me.

Pretty much any movie from the ‘90s where computers were central to the plot look terrible for that now.

That said, I still love that movie.

 

[funksouljon]

I did real life close quarters battle once. Fighting doesn't last long. People don't get up from butt stocks to the back of the head.

And knife fights? Yeah, both people get cut and bloody. The "winner" isn't usually in great shape either. Never saw one of those in person, but did see the post fight. It wasn't pretty.

Long drawn out fisticuffs are silly. I rolled for 3 minute sets with breaks yesterday and even with energy conservation one STILL gets gassed. And we were just playing, death was NOT on the table.

It's like having 20yo actors be high schoolers in movies. Just silly.

 

[funksouljon]

.......

And knife fights? Yeah, both people get cut and bloody. The "winner" isn't usually in great shape either. Never saw one of those in person, but did see the post fight. It wasn't pretty.

You ever see the movie The Duel with Hemsworth and Harrelson? They have 2 knife fights that last <2 minutes each. It feels much more realistic, but only "closer" not real. Based on speculation, not my actual observations. I know ER medical doctors would have an opinion...

 

[FAUlty Gator]

Exactly

 

[FAUlty Gator]

I was just thinking about the show BJ and the Bear. Now there's a concept I can't get enough of, a man and his monkey.

And that’s not even a top 3 man and monkey movie.

 

[lucas80]

Time travel/dream sequences. Always with the time travel or the character dreams of a different life. That is when you know writers are getting bored.

 

[lucas80]

In otherwise indistinguishable casts, the overuse of character names in dialogue.

The over use of partner cops.

Past the first scene completely unnecessary.

 

[lucas80]

Fight scenes. Apparently writers have never been punched in the ear much less had their head slammed into objects.

Agree with OP, computer hacking on tv seems very simple. Guessing passwords or a magic USB cracker.

I punch anyone today and my knuckles would look like a grater had been run over them, and there is a 90 percent chance I'd break a bone in my hand.

 

[lucas80]

Everybody has wild all night sex and then get up and go straight to work.

There is a joke here...

 

[Tom Paris]

The penultimate fight scene will be between the good guy and the bad guys top henchman. This is usually a pretty good matchup as they have both been ****ing people up for 90 minutes at that point. But then the last fight scene is the good guy and the main bad guy. And even though the bad guy is often some out of shape slob, or superbrainiac, or even old guy, he always gives the main good guy way too much of a run for his money.

If it doesn't end that way, it ends with the bad guy holding a gun to the head of the girl or sidekick while staring down the good guy. And although the bad guy is operating from a position of strength here, they are 0-531 in this scenario.

“Bond could kill this dude in 2 seconds.”, is a quote that’s gone through my head more than twice.

 

[Tom Paris]

Same with traffic. Somehow the just breeze through streets of cities mind numbing slow traffic.

No way you can have a car chase in Manhattan. Or Chicago.

 

[DirtyJohns97]

There's a lot of tailing of cars going on in movies, with an incredibly low success rate. Someone in the car being tailed will tell the other passenger that they are being tailed and which car it is. Not only have they spotted the tail but also the make of the car. "We're being tailed, 3 cars back, blue Ford" It's usually a Ford. Do people really know cars so well that they can tell what it is just by seeing the grill or headlights?

 

[DropitlikeitsHawk]

No way you can have a car chase in Manhattan. Or Chicago.

Or LA. Those are the most bogus when are are doing 90 during the day on the freeway. Hell Dallas Minneapolis Miami Atlanta Beltway Boston.

 

[funksouljon]

There is a joke here...

Is that what your wife said after your last try?

 

[Nole-4-Life]

Same with traffic. Somehow the just breeze through streets of cities mind numbing slow traffic.

Jack Bauer was the best at this. He could traverse LA, NYC or DC in 5 minutes

 

[Nole-4-Life]

also when the bad guy gets the jump on the good guy and doesn’t just kill him. They always keep him alive for some inexplicable reason until he escapes or gets rescued.