Things that really f**k you off - Film & TV edition

[ScouserInExile]

Plots that rely almost entirely on a misunderstanding because the one doing the not understanding hasn't done the obvious thing of saying "what the fuck are you doing?" and then sticking around long enough to hear the answer. 

[FishyFish]

39 minutes ago, ScouserInExile said:

Plots that rely almost entirely on a misunderstanding because the one doing the not understanding hasn't done the obvious thing of saying "what the fuck are you doing?" and then sticking around long enough to hear the answer. 

 

Pretty much every romance film I've ever had to sit through then.

[thesnwmn]

Running directly away from something which can be avoided by taking a step or two to the side. Most inexplicably it's a train which cannot even turn. But same.seen with a sorts of situations.

[SeanR]

2 minutes ago, thesnwmn said:

Running directly away from something which can be avoided by taking a step or two to the side. Most inexplicably it's a train which cannot even turn. But same.seen with a sorts of situations.

like in alien: Prometheus…

[jonathanhoey]

2 hours ago, thesnwmn said:

Running directly away from something which can be avoided by taking a step or two to the side. Most inexplicably it's a train which cannot even turn. But same.seen with a sorts of situations.

 

2 hours ago, SeanR said:

like in alien: Prometheus…

 

 

Guys, @Plissken already did that one. 

 

On 30/01/2023 at 14:42, Plissken said:

When directors put cool things into films for no other reason that it looks pretty cool and nerds loudly go on the internet and equally loudly demand the back story for said cool thing so the writers sigh and come up with something to explain the thing that only existed because it looked cool and then the nerds go back onto the internet to complain about the explanation because it's rubbish and didn't fit their imagination exactly, even though the whole point was to leave it to the viewer to have fun imagining.  So ultimately you end up with entire films of stuff for nerds to endlessly argue and nit-pick and gatekeep about.

 

[thesnwmn]

I read that. I interpreted it to mean basically everything in the Marvel films.

[Gabe]

2 hours ago, SeanR said:

like in alien: Prometheus…

Didn't the director come out with a reason why she couldn't just step to the side because of all the criticism about it? 

[JamesC]

I hate the way Saturday mornings have become middle class food and wine wank on terrestrial TV.

They used to be full of cool cartoons, comedy, interviews and pop music.
I'd love to spend a Saturday morning in front of 'Going LIve' or 'What's Up Doc?' Instead we get Satuday fucking Kitchen, which I loathe with the very essence of my being.

[Nick R]

2 hours ago, JamesC said:

I hate the way Saturday mornings have become middle class food and wine wank on terrestrial TV.

They used to be full of cool cartoons, comedy, interviews and pop music.
I'd love to spend a Saturday morning in front of 'Going LIve' or 'What's Up Doc?' Instead we get Satuday fucking Kitchen, which I loathe with the very essence of my being.

 

Similarly, at some point CITV started putting ad breaks in the middle of 22 minute US cartoons. Whereas in the early/mid '90s when I was watching, the only ad breaks on weekday afternoons were between programmes! That made me feel really sorry for the next generation of kids.

 

(Admittedly the cartoons on What's Up Doc and the other Saturday morning blocks - Batman, Taz-Mania, etc - used to be split in half, though. Which was annoying as you couldn't set the video timer for them.)

[Nick R]

It really f**ks me off (mildly annoys me) when school/college classroom scenes are written to suggest that we're joining them at a point very early in the lesson (professors introducing themselves by writing their name on the board; teachers telling the class to open their books; lecturers starting to introduce the very basics of a brand new subject)... but then the bell rings to end the lesson only a minute or two after the scene starting.

 

It's clear why they do it that way: it's an efficient way to include the exposition of the teacher introducing a subject that'll be relevant later, plus some character moments as the students talk to each other as they leave, and having characters leave a classroom is a good way to transition to the next scene set elsewhere.

 

But once you start wondering "is a teacher really likely to be talking in that way, that close to the end of the lesson?" you start noticing it everywhere.

[ryodi]

As someone who watches too many reality tv shows about trains, lorries and cars any time the person they are following has a job to do and the narrator refers to it as a 'mission'. 

[ChewMagma]

 

[Festoon]

On 03/02/2023 at 00:04, Nick R said:

It really f**ks me off (mildly annoys me) when school/college classroom scenes are written to suggest that we're joining them at a point very early in the lesson (professors introducing themselves by writing their name on the board; teachers telling the class to open their books; lecturers starting to introduce the very basics of a brand new subject)... but then the bell rings to end the lesson only a minute or two after the scene starting.

 

It's clear why they do it that way: it's an efficient way to include the exposition of the teacher introducing a subject that'll be relevant later, plus some character moments as the students talk to each other as they leave, and having characters leave a classroom is a good way to transition to the next scene set elsewhere.

 

But once you start wondering "is a teacher really likely to be talking in that way, that close to the end of the lesson?" you start noticing it everywhere.

 

Addendum to that, the 'cool/boring' teacher/lecturer stereotypes.

 

I really, really hate the 'cool, rockstar lecturer' thing in shows. They're always massive knobs, saying things and cracking jokes that no respecting young adult would find interesting, cool or funny.

[superfunk]

I hate characters using modern idioms in period dramas. “Reaching out” to mean “contacting” is one of my pet hates, but hearing someone say it who’s meant to be in the 60s or 70s drives me a bit nuts. 

[JohnC]

I believe it has actually been in use in the US since the 60s.

[superfunk]

I know the phrase has been around since a lot longer ago than the 60s, but its ubiquity is a more modern thing. It has got to the point where you never hear someone say “John contacted me” it’s always “John reached out to me” which is a newer phenomenon. 
 

Anyway, there are other phrases (which I’ve forgotten for now) but that was the one that sprung to mind. 

[Goose]

A ridiculously petty one for sure but, having just been reading about John Wick 4, it reminded me of the frustrating things in part two. Now I understand they needed things to happen like they did to progress the story but I found the two points annoying as hell and against how the character had been set up.

 

It made no sense for Wick to break into the place to kill the target in absolute stealth mode, but when the deed was done, to casually stroll out the front door through a crowd of people and bodyguards. He could have just gone back out the way he came, no one any the wiser. It would have made more sense if the target had some kind of heart monitor that Wick was unaware of, that got triggered when she died and alerted guards to come running. 

 

The second thing was the whole 'I need a gun / get this man a gun' scene. This is one the deadliest assassins in the world, he could easily killed half the people he faced with his bare hands, and took any number of guns from them. In fact, if I recall he barely uses the gun he gets from Fishburne before switching to one taken from someone else (isn't the one he was given faulty or misfires anyway?)

 

oldmanshoutsatcloud

 

 

[ryanm]

They make a point of only giving him one clip, so seven rounds.

[Vimster]

On 30/01/2023 at 19:07, Monkeyboy said:

When someones lights a cigarette, takes two drags and then throws it away.

I'm the same with someone buying a drink in a pub, taking a sip, someone says "right we'd better be off" then them just walking away from it. Obviously they can't do what people normally do, "okay when I've finished this", but at least try and sink half of it, make an effort. Especially bad for shorts, leaving an untouched double vodka is unforgiveable. 

[Gabe]

Similarly to the above, people eating food, where they'll take a bite and then disappear and leave loads. I get that the food is probably cold and unappealing - and you don't want to wait for somebody to finish chewing before delivering a line etc - but the waste annoys me 

[Sabreman]

Experts explaining rudimentary things to other experts for the sake of the audience. Just find a more elegant way to do this, please! I'm sure all the astronauts in the scene have a decent basic understanding of relativity, for example.

 

As noted above, any major storyline or entire movie that hinges on wrong end of the stick moments. If someone sees mommy kissing Santa Claus, just get that shit cleared up pronto.

 

Flashback inserts that insult the attention and intelligence of the audience. I applaud any film that references an earlier event but doesn't cut to a repeat shot of it. I've seen ones where a character is recalling something from minutes beforehand, and we still get an insert to hammer home what they're talking about. I guess mysteries where the plot is being unraveled at the end can get away with it, but everything else reeks of studio notes.

 

Finally, a trope that's always bugged me: When someone finishes a phone call and looks at the receiver before hanging up, as if they're going to get some kind of closure or explanation from it.

[Steve McQueef]

Dear Hollywood,

 

Never in my life have I used the word 'penis' to describe this part of my anatomy and I'll wager, neither have most people.

 

Stop it, especially in content that's supposedly for adults.

 

"Oh my god, did you see Chad's penis?"

 

Fuck off.

[Danster]

On 15/02/2023 at 18:55, Sabreman said:

Flashback inserts that insult the attention and intelligence of the audience.

 Similar, but this one always annoyed me (sorry reddit was the first place I found the scene). Not only this, but earlier in the film they make a point of him reading that bity out and making the note in the first place...

 

 

 

[Nick R]

On 15/02/2023 at 18:55, Sabreman said:

Experts explaining rudimentary things to other experts for the sake of the audience. Just find a more elegant way to do this, please! I'm sure all the astronauts in the scene have a decent basic understanding of relativity, for example.

 

As you know, Sabreman, sometimes those explanations for the audience's benefit are last-minute additions based on studio notes and test screenings, in which case there was not enough time to incorporate them in a more elegant way.

[Sexton Hardcastle]

Heres one - Every thread or conversation about Marvel superhero movies generally descends into banal talk about “phases”. What the fuck is wrong with educated people to have swallowed this marketing bullshit?!?! There’s no storyline reason to start separating this shit, it’s just a way for Disneys advertising team to induce a FOMO amongst people who might miss a 2min Iron Man Easter egg in some bottom tier shitty movie.
 

Even now you have people talking about needing to see all the Phase 4s & 5s to keep up with the story arc, even though there isn’t one! There never has been! Even going back a few years a new viewer can easily watch Infinity War without watching the 20 movies before it. Is anybody’s enjoyment increased by having watched Dark World, Winter Soldier, Age Ultron, GOTG2, Iron Man 3 etc. if any of these movies can’t stand on their own merit then you have to accept they are just shite.

[Plissken]

That's just catering to their audience though, because nothing of consequence is ever allowed to happen.  No-one dies, or if they do, they just get moved into a different timeline.

[Nick R]

31 minutes ago, Sexton Hardcastle said:

Heres one - Every thread or conversation about Marvel superhero movies generally descends into banal talk about “phases”. What the fuck is wrong with educated people to have swallowed this marketing bullshit?!?!

 

You're right! We'll ban any use of the word "phase" and instead refer to the groups as as "the first ones", "the first round of sequels", "the ones building up to Thanos", and "the post-Endgame, post-COVID ones where they started making streaming TV series as well as films".

[Gabe]

21 minutes ago, Sexton Hardcastle said:

Even now you have people talking about needing to see all the Phase 4s & 5s to keep up with the story arc, even though there isn’t one! There never has been! Even going back a few years a new viewer can easily watch Infinity War without watching the 20 movies before it. Is anybody’s enjoyment increased by having watched Dark World, Winter Soldier, Age Ultron, GOTG2, Iron Man 3 etc. if any of these movies can’t stand on their own merit then you have to accept they are just shite.

Sure, you can watch Infinity War without any prior knowledge, but a) there will be bits that very confusing and b) you would miss out on a lot of character building.

 

With that said, I don't think anybody has ever suggested you need to watch every film that came before it to 'get it' - I think to understand the main story beats and characters down there are probably only 5 or 6 that would be useful viewing, but I do believe it enhanced the whole experience to have this interconnected world that was separate but together. Part of that is because it was something totally new and, as posted earlier in the thread, you knew you were getting an Avengers film at the end of each phase, which for many was the best bit.

 

The exact issue post-Endgame is that there is no real feeling of anything really relating to anything else (except tangentially) plus a lack of a team-up film to look forward to so far, and they are part of the reason I think there's a lot less enthusiasm for it all (the main reason being of course that the films since Endgame are, by and large, shit).

[ManWithNoName]

30 minutes ago, Plissken said:

That's just catering to their audience though, because nothing of consequence is ever allowed to happen.  No-one dies, or if they do, they just get moved into a different timeline.

Well, not exactly. That's exactly what the comics have been doing for about 50 years, so they're staying true to that. And they're not the same audience really.

 

They've all died/ been cloned/ gone to a different universe/ been replaced by their son/ dad/ evil twin, only to come back again.

 

Name me ONE major comic book character that has actually died and stayed dead. Not even Johnny Alpha was allowed to die, and that was 2000AD, who generally laughed at American comic tropes.

[Sexton Hardcastle]

Captain Marvel