Film cliches you want to fuck off

[neveragain]

Haha. Wacky 90's comedy staple[nb]on the previous page[/nb].

[H-O-W-L]

Yes, I'm sick of this too. I don't know when this became a cliche. I think Michael Myers does it once or twice in the original Halloween, but I seem to remember it being discussed on a documentary or commentary about it being a choice made by the actor, arguably the first time, and that it was based on the movement of a bird or child (as Myers is meant to be developmentally regressed).

I also remember WWE wrestler Kane citing Myers as an inspiration for him doing the same thing, so at least in 1997 it was uncommon enough for a pro wrestler to be aware of it as something that deserved crediting.

Actually it was Carpenter who suggested it to the actor behind Michael's mask (name eludes me atm), whom said that Michael should regard a recently-impaled man as if he were a pressed flower collection on display in a museum rather than with any kind of venom. He does it once, exactly once, in the original movie, and IIRC never again in Halloween 2.

[Magnum Valentino]

Class, excellent answer. If I recall right his name was Nick Castle and he also co-wrote Escape from New York with Carpenter.

[H-O-W-L]

Class, excellent answer. If I recall right his name was Nick Castle and he also co-wrote Escape from New York with Carpenter.

Yes, it was Nick Castle! He also played Michael in a single shot in the recent Halloween 2018. I couldn't recall that specific name because about three people played him in the original, and, it's rumored, Carpenter himself donned the mask for some shots. Though it was primarily Castle with Tony Moran doing his adult face.

[St_Eddie]

It really made me laugh in Hannibal when he's stalking Clarice around the station, taunting her - is he behind her?! is he over there?! a master of evasion! - and then he walks out into the car park and some hired goons are like "ey, there he is boss" and bundle him into a van.

Hannibal Lector Vs Men in Ven

[Pauline Walnuts]

In a similar vein, why does Han Solo shoot the radio he when they get found out they aren't real stormtroopers (he says 'boring conversation').  He knew how to turn it on, why didn't he just turn it off?  #GeorgeLucasRuinedMyChildhood

He didn't want them to listen in on their conversations on the communications thingy? If you blow up the space microphones they can't do that?

_{hashtag more thought than went into The Last Jedi}

[mothman]

We have to have done this one, surely? The end of a lesson or lecture in an American school or college is signified by a bell ringing, interrupting the teacher/lecturer in full flow. He (usually, sometimes she) has to hastily either tell them what to read for next lesson, or set an assignment. He is presumably incapable of keeping track of time. But, more annoyingly, no-one in the class gives any indication of hearing or taking on board his final instructions. Nobody writes it down, asks questions, anything.

And, related. When you do see such a lesson, the teacher is seen explaining not some specific part of the subject, but is instead explaining what the whole subject IS. See Indy's archaeology lessons in the first and third films. See Walter White talking about chemistry in the most broad, philosophical concepts in the Breaking Bad pilot episode.[nb]Conversely, sometimes a lesson DOES explain some very specific information - but in this instance, you can then be sure it will be relevant or useful later on.[/nb]

[dissolute ocelot]

And, related. When you do see such a lesson, the teacher is seen explaining not some specific part of the subject, but is instead explaining what the whole subject IS. See Indy's archaeology lessons in the first and third films. See Walter White talking about chemistry in the most broad, philosophical concepts in the Breaking Bad pilot episode.[nb]Conversely, sometimes a lesson DOES explain some very specific information - but in this instance, you can then be sure it will be relevant or useful later on.[/nb]

The exception to the is English, where the current set text will always exactly reflect what the lead character is going through. Sucks to be anyone else in the class, forced to read about Julia Stiles' romantic confusion all term.

[Jerzy Bondov]

I would say about 75 percent of the time it's an English class, because it's the only subject the writer knows anything about.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

A character with magic/super powers encountering devout religious types will invariably be accused of being in league with the devil and likely narrowly escape being horribly murdered by a fanatical mob. Never do the god squadders assume that they could be angels or the second coming of Christ. I suppose it's playing into stuff like the Salem witch trials, or what happened to Jesus on his first coming but, god damn, it's hackneyed.

[lipsink]

The lead character will get distracted by someone in the class or something out the window and the teacher will say: "Are we keeping you, Miss/Mr (character's name)?"

[Blumf]

A character with magic/super powers encountering devout religious types will invariably be accused of being in league with the devil and likely narrowly escape being horribly murdered by a fanatical mob. Never do the god squadders assume that they could be angels or the second coming of Christ.

Only because, if they did, it'd be because they were really the devil or something, and not to be trusted.

[rack and peanut]

"Here at Dollar Chaser Studios we are committed to making films featuring characters that are as diverse as we are legally required to make them. As such, from now on all our films will be full of conventionally attractive women who, if not actually fucking, will be suggesting it in a totally non-fetishised way designed to be inclusive and not to appeal to the straight guys who make and watch our movies. Men? No, that's gay.😘👍"

[Dex Sawash]

Space/diving/chem-bio helmets with lighting inside the clear shield.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Do stock sound effects count as clichés? A couple in particular stick out like sore thumbs every time I hear them (although I can't actually think of any specific instances in film): that scream that sounds like a bloke going "Yeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh", used for the fast zombies in Half Life 2 and the one of children laughing, used on the Rare logo in Diddy Kong Racing.

[St_Eddie]

That same sci-fi door opening stock sound effect from Aliens winds up in far too many films and videogames.  It's the Wilhelm scream of sci-fi doors.

[Sebastian Cobb]

One of the channels is showing old repeats of Sabrina The Teenage Witch at the wrong aspect ratio,  with the 4:3 picture stretched wider, but I've a feeling the copy they're using is already very slightly cropped top & bottom so it's not as wide as you'd expect, and adjusting it to display as 4:3 makes it look a tad too narrow, so I left it as it was.  I found that after a short time my eyes adjusted the image to look normal, and when I changed channel later - right before my eyes I saw a too narrow image slowly in the space of a few seconds adjust width until it looked normal.  'Twas really weird.

It might be doing something similar to that non-linear stretching old CRT's widescreens had an option for where it stretched the sides out more than the centre to stop everything looking quite as fat.

Anyway, I remember playing Carmageddon without a 3dfx card at 320x240 for long enough to get used to it then marvelling at how great the real world looked afterwards.

[olliebean]

It might be doing something similar to that non-linear stretching old CRT's widescreens had an option for where it stretched the sides out more than the centre to stop everything looking quite as fat.

I could never work out how people could possibly not be more distracted and disturbed by characters becoming fatter whenever they entered, exited, or stood close to the edge of the frame than by black bars at either side of the screen.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Yeah, it was horrid. I imagine it's just lubbocks who think bigger = better.

[Magnum Valentino]

It made the Catchphrase set look amazing though because the straight pink and blue diagonal lines in the background were given this mad perfect curve at the edges.

[Magnum Valentino]

Superman does the quizzical bird head-tilt in that new version of Justice League, don't know if it was in the previously released version too.

Tae fuck. Liked it otherwise.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

it was horrid. I imagine it's just lubbocks who think bigger = better.

Stuart thought that the night he died - then made an abrupt volte face, not to mention an agonised one.

[lipsink]

When a character is hanging off the edge of a building or a bridge etc. something will fall  (like their shoe) and they'll watch it fall so we the audience get an idea of how they are off the ground and what's at stake if they fall.

[beanheadmcginty]

The entire film hingeing on the hero seeing a book of matches and suddenly realising something related to it.

[Magnum Valentino]

Criminal or heist member is pulled over or stopped and is prepared to kill the cop/gate attendant/whatever with their hand on their unseen gun, but it's for a busted tail light or something else and off they go.

I really like Dwight's monologue around this in Sin City though, where he wonders if he's going to have to kill a good cop or if it's one of the corrupt ones and all hell might break loose.

[olliebean]

In school, anyone considered popular is almost invariably hostile and mean, if not outright abusive, to anyone not in their clique, i.e., to most of the people who consider them popular. I've never worked out how the arithmetic of this makes sense. But I suppose it must be a similar dynamic to that which causes people to vote Tory.

[ersatz99]

When our man is in his hotel room halfway through a wet shave  and there's a knock on the door with the announcement "room service" you know there's gonna be trouble.

[Dr Rock]

In a small town when suddenly there are all vampires demons or werewolves about? Better pop down your local library where one book will have stuff about witchcraft and how to behead demons and stuff.

[Sebastian Cobb]

In a small town when suddenly there are all vampires demons or werewolves about? Better pop down your local library where one book will have stuff about witchcraft and how to behead demons and stuff.

Bonus points if it turns out to be written by some ancient townsperson everyone dismissed as a crazy recluse.

[mothman]

Fells like what we needed was some sort of Home Alone sidequel which revealed that Kevin's elderly neighbour Marley had spent decades fighting evil, ridding the area of all sorts of nasties.