Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 28, 2024, 12:33:32 PM

Login with username, password and session length

Film cliches you want to fuck off

Started by popcorn, September 25, 2017, 01:48:30 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

St_Eddie

A character giving an exposition dump for the benefit of the audience, despite all of the characters within the scene already being in full possession of the facts.  This exposition dump is usually preceded with the words "as you all know..." or "gentlemen, I'm sure that I don't have to tell you...".

popcorn

I have just watched Annihilation and I would like science fiction characters to no longer be named Shepherd or Kane please.

kalowski

Quote from: mothman on June 09, 2019, 06:05:25 PM
Yes, it's always the crying. Why can't she be wanking instead?
This often happens in a different genre of film I watch.

magval

Quote from: St_Eddie on June 09, 2019, 06:23:25 PM
See also: Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Surely it's unfair to level accusations of cliche at films that start the trend Ed.

St_Eddie

Quote from: magval on June 09, 2019, 07:17:06 PM
Surely it's unfair to level accusations of cliche at films that start the trend Ed.

Mate.  The trend didn't start with Terminator 2: Judgment Day.  It started with It's a Wonderful Life.

Dr Rock

I cried when Zuzu got blown the shit up.

gib

Quote from: St_Eddie on June 09, 2019, 06:26:24 PM
A character giving an exposition dump for the benefit of the audience, despite all of the characters within the scene already being in full possession of the facts.  This exposition dump is usually preceded with the words "as you all know..." or "gentlemen, I'm sure that I don't have to tell you...".

The Black Mirror episode i mentioned on the last page also had a clumsy example of this cliche in the hostage scene when the top cop present said something like "I'm sure i don't need to remind you all of the recent siege in Streatham when we fucked up and shot a guy who turned out to only have a starter pistol."

eta: (used as a device to explain why they didn't just shoot the bloke and end the episode then and there, which in fairness would have been more merciful to the viewer)

JesusAndYourBush

Quote from: thecuriousorange on June 09, 2019, 02:21:50 PM
Children playing blissfully on swings in a park, oblivious to the massive nuclear catastrophe that's about to happen/might happen.

Most recent offender: Chernobyl.

In Chernobyl it's relevant as the park was literally brand new.  Whenever you see photos of the abandoned town you'll always see photos of the park with it's ferris wheel and other attractions, decaying and looking all forlorn.

neveragain

Quote from: gib on June 09, 2019, 09:45:16 PM
The Black Mirror episode i mentioned on the last page also had a clumsy example of this cliche in the hostage scene when the top cop present said something like "I'm sure i don't need to remind you all of the recent siege in Streatham when we fucked up and shot a guy who turned out to only have a starter pistol."

eta: (used as a device to explain why they didn't just shoot the bloke and end the episode then and there, which in fairness would have been more merciful to the viewer)

The line was a bit less clunky than that. "Let's not have a repeat of last month's incident with Mr Starter Pistol".

Dr Rock

. edit, forget it, it's a meme and I reckon I've posted it before also.

Dex Sawash

Quote from: St_Eddie on June 09, 2019, 06:26:24 PM
A character giving an exposition dump for the benefit of the audience,

I like those german films

purlieu

Quote from: Clownbaby on January 25, 2019, 03:47:46 PM
I really don't care for that film for this very reason. I also can't stand it when in a zombie film no-one in-universe has any prior understanding of what a zombie is so when they see a load of obviously zombies they call them "those..... things". It annoys me in walking dead how nobody ever uses the word "zombie" as if the writers think they're being innovative and more naturalistic if they don't use the word, when in reality everyone probably would just call them zombies because zombies are very much a well known scary thing that people know about in popular culture. But the fictional zombie universes themselves never seem to have had zombies in their fictional popular culture so they're just "things" or "the infected"
I enjoy the parody of this in Shaun of the Dead, where Tim From Spaced repeatedly tells Mike From Spaced not to call them zombies. Because it is daft. It's like the film or show is set in an alternate universe that's identical to ours only there are no zombie films.

It's already been mentioned a few times (probably by me), but computers making noise when text or images appear / move on the screen always kill the reality of a scene for me. Imagine how fucking annoying it would be if computers actually did that.

Quote from: beanheadmcginty on May 01, 2019, 10:11:12 PM
Teachers/lecturers in American films have no concept of what time it is. Rather than bringing the class to a close towards the end of the hour, they are always waffling away with their lesson and suddenly get interrupted by the bell, at which point they instantly stop teaching and all the pupils instantly pack up and fuck off.
"Homework, read pages 51-58" yelled out as the first kids are already leaving the classroom.

re: pillow suffocation. Has it been done that the person feigns death and then gets up once the pillow's removed? I always think that's what I'd do, stop struggling, pretend to be dead, then they'd stop.

St_Eddie

Quote from: purlieu on June 11, 2019, 07:47:16 PM
re: pillow suffocation. Has it been done that the person feigns death and then gets up once the pillow's removed? I always think that's what I'd do, stop struggling, pretend to be dead, then they'd stop.

Absolute nonsense.  Try telling that to all of the people in real-life who've been suffocated by a pillow.  Oh, you can't because they're dead.  Like them, you'd be struggling like crazy.  It's a natural instinct.  You're not going to calmly lay there, unable to breathe, stopping all resistance and holding your chest still, hoping that your attacker may just assume you're dead and remove the pillow before you die.  "Yeah, I'd be a boss, mate.  I'd take the gamble and play dead, I would".  Absolute twaddle.

Chriddof

Quote from: purlieu on June 11, 2019, 07:47:16 PM
It's already been mentioned a few times (probably by me), but computers making noise when text or images appear / move on the screen always kill the reality of a scene for me. Imagine how fucking annoying it would be if computers actually did that.

Yeah, movies always deliberately mess about when it comes to anything to do with computers. I get that just showing a straight up real-life OS would require permission and fees and all that bollocks, but then they do silly things like having a document icon disappear pixel by pixel when a file gets deleted or something, sometimes with some sort of space invader sound effect. On a related note, I recall an edition of Coronation Street from about 10 years ago showed some characters playing the first Sonic game (on a PC, so emulated?), and the sound effects were all Pacman type noises.

One other thing I must mention is that ZX Spectrums actually did make a little square wave "blip" every time you pressed a key while in BASIC. It was only 1982, though, so it no doubt seemed like an exciting Star Trek-ish thing to do.

St_Eddie

Quote from: Chriddof on June 12, 2019, 02:45:44 AM
...I recall an edition of Coronation Street from about 10 years ago showed some characters playing the first Sonic game (on a PC, so emulated?), and the sound effects were all Pacman type noises.

It could have been the PC port released on Steam or the characters could have been playing it on a Mega PC (which was a PC with a built-in Megadrive - including a slot for the cartridges)...


As for the Pacman type noises; either that was the PC being set up to use a basic soundcard or the PC speaker, or much more likely, the post-production editor thinking that's what all videogames sound like because they haven't played a videogame since Pacman in an 80's arcade.

Car in a chase, or out-of-control, drives through a farmyard, through a group of chickens, and/or into a barn doorway, from which you then see clouds of hay and fleeing birds emerged.

olliebean

Quote from: Chriddof on June 12, 2019, 02:45:44 AMOne other thing I must mention is that ZX Spectrums actually did make a little square wave "blip" every time you pressed a key while in BASIC. It was only 1982, though, so it no doubt seemed like an exciting Star Trek-ish thing to do.

Do iPhones still click by default every time you touch the on-screen keyboard?

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: Phoenix Lazarus on June 12, 2019, 07:05:10 AM
Car in a chase, or out-of-control, drives through a farmyard, through a group of chickens, and/or into a barn doorway, from which you then see clouds of hay and fleeing birds emerged.

i like this one

the

Quote from: St_Eddie on June 12, 2019, 03:01:16 AMor much more likely, the post-production editor thinking that's what all videogames sound like because they haven't played a videogame since Pacman in an 80's arcade.

What Chriddof mentioned re. sound effects is just a trope in telly, but typically one that you used to see ages ago - I'd have thought they'd gotten wise to it by now (or at least, ten years ago).

Incongruous that they were playing Sonic as well. What was the context Chriddof, "hey we're playing a RETRO game"?

JesusAndYourBush

Quote from: Phoenix Lazarus on June 12, 2019, 07:05:10 AM
Car in a chase, or out-of-control, drives through a farmyard, through a group of chickens, and/or into a barn doorway, from which you then see clouds of hay and fleeing birds emerged.

Especially when the you can tell the chickens are being thrown into shot by someone just out of shot.

St_Eddie

Quote from: Phoenix Lazarus on June 12, 2019, 07:05:10 AM
Car in a chase, or out-of-control, drives through a farmyard, through a group of chickens, and/or into a barn doorway, from which you then see clouds of hay and fleeing birds emerged.

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on June 12, 2019, 11:39:01 AM
i like this one

As do I.  Here's my favourite example of the trope.  Them accidentally picking up a cow is a lovely touch (as is it then flicking its wrist and walking off).

purlieu

Quote from: St_Eddie on June 12, 2019, 01:58:11 AM
Absolute nonsense.  Try telling that to all of the people in real-life who've been suffocated by a pillow.  Oh, you can't because they're dead.  Like them, you'd be struggling like crazy.  It's a natural instinct.  You're not going to calmly lay there, unable to breathe, stopping all resistance and holding your chest still, hoping that your attacker may just assume you're dead and remove the pillow before you die.  "Yeah, I'd be a boss, mate.  I'd take the gamble and play dead, I would".  Absolute twaddle.
Come back to me when you've been suffocated by a pillow and I'll believe you.

I was mostly just wondering if it'd been done on-screen, as it hardly seems less realistic than killing someone with a pillow in five seconds.

gib

Quote from: neveragain on June 10, 2019, 11:51:11 PM
The line was a bit less clunky than that. "Let's not have a repeat of last month's incident with Mr Starter Pistol".

Could have sworn they mentioned Streatham.

neveragain

They did, sorry, I've misquoted in my haste.
However I maintain that doesn't fit in with the trope as the officer was referencing the event in order to tell the other police to be careful rather than simply reminding them of something they would already know.

Chriddof

Quote from: the on June 12, 2019, 11:53:00 AM
What Chriddof mentioned re. sound effects is just a trope in telly, but typically one that you used to see ages ago - I'd have thought they'd gotten wise to it by now (or at least, ten years ago).

Incongruous that they were playing Sonic as well. What was the context Chriddof, "hey we're playing a RETRO game"?

Sorry for being a bit late with this. It seemed to be, from what I recall, a bit of product placement from Sega. There was one adult character and his son(?) who were actually shown playing Sonic but on a PC, and the noises were wrong. The adult character said something admiring about how excellent Sonic was at running (or whatever - it was very product-placey, as I say). Then a typical matriarch person stormed in and yanked the plug out of the PC, saying that "You've been spending too long on that internet!"

FAKE EDIT: I just found the clip on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERyJZScKBBU

Turns out I got the bit about Pacman sounds wrong, you can actually just about hear the proper Sonic noises under the dialogue. Everything else seems to be the way I recalled it, though.

zomgmouse

Some sort of meeting is taking place and a lot of people are talking and then they defer to one important person and - crucially - the serious important person is sitting on a table or bench semi-sideways with one leg stretching down longer than the other, and after a little pause the person then gets up and starts speaking.

St_Eddie

Quote from: Chriddof on June 12, 2019, 11:47:58 PM
FAKE EDIT: I just found the clip on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERyJZScKBBU

Turns out I got the bit about Pacman sounds wrong, you can actually just about hear the proper Sonic noises under the dialogue. Everything else seems to be the way I recalled it, though.

"Watch what happens when I do THIS".  The screen reveals that, prior to the plug being pulled on the computer, the kid was about to demonstrate his awe inspiring skills at... jumping over a small rock.

the

Quote from: Chriddof on June 12, 2019, 11:47:58 PMSorry for being a bit late with this. It seemed to be, from what I recall, a bit of product placement from Sega. There was one adult character and his son(?) who were actually shown playing Sonic but on a PC, and the noises were wrong. The adult character said something admiring about how excellent Sonic was at running (or whatever - it was very product-placey, as I say). Then a typical matriarch person stormed in and yanked the plug out of the PC, saying that "You've been spending too long on that internet!"

FAKE EDIT: I just found the clip on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERyJZScKBBU

Turns out I got the bit about Pacman sounds wrong, you can actually just about hear the proper Sonic noises under the dialogue. Everything else seems to be the way I recalled it, though.

"Well done mam, you've just fooked me hard drive."

I'm not au fait with the eras of Coronation Street, but that PC looked about 2002/3-ish to me.

One time in Corrie the youths were bashing PlayStation control pads in front of a TV (screen not shown) while music from Game-Boy hit Kirby's Dreamland played. The teenage me scoffed.

Phil_A

We shouldn't neglect the greatest fake videogame of all time from Eastenders in 2010.

This should be, what, the PS3, Xbox 360 era?

Now look at what Phil and Ben are playing in this scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il7gPKRhSDs