Small things in movies which actually took a lot of planning, probably.

[QDRPHNC]

Remember that movie Changing Lane with Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson? I think I half-watched it once several years ago, but once scene has been stuck in my head the last few days. And after seeing something similar in the unmitigated crap festival that was Jason Bateman's Bad Words, I thought I'd start a thread here. Anyway, for reasons which don't matter, Jackson has loosened the nuts on Affleck's wheel. But because "storytelling" "demands" it, the viewer needs to be absolutely sure that Jackson definitely did it, so we get this:

http://youtu.be/4VWgFJUjmHc?t=26s

It sort of washes over you. But then you think about how much planning that took. Jackson had to loosen the nut in the parking lot. Then wait until Affleck left work, then get in a cab, then tell the cab to follow Affleck's car, then just as the wheel was coming off, he told the cab driver (who was fine with all this) to pull up alongside Affleck, and showed him the nut. Realizing of course, that Affleck did not understand, and unconcerned with the possibility that Affleck's car might careen in to his, Jackson puts the nut away, produces the jack and spins it in a menacing manner. It probably just took a lot of planning, that's all. Must have been a weird day for Jackson's character.

Anyway yeah, Bad Words was a total pile of crap, but it had a similar scene, when (spoilered because it's new)

Spoiler alert

a young spelling bee entrant returns to his hotel room to find his study folder missing, but sees a fire out his motel room window. He looks outside and see Bateman staring back at him, as he dramatically sprays some more lighter fluid on the burning book. So, Bateman had to have some idea of when the kid was returning, started the fire just before he knew he'd arrive, and stood out by the pool next to a burning book, starting intently at a window and clutching the lighter fluid, in the hope that the kid would see the fire instead of say, turning on the TV

[close]

or doing a poo.

Anyway, just had to get that off my chest. Thanks.

[Van Dammage]

I really enjoyed changing lanes, and now that you mention it that part would be really complicated to set up, or set up successfully anyway.

"You said, BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!"

[Johnny Townmouse]

Without doubt the worst example of this for me is the final act of (overrated) David Fincher's pile of dogshit The Game. So many things that are impossible to predict occur in those final scenes rendering the entire resolution pointless. There are too many things that Douglas' character does that Penn's character could never have assumed. It's a fucking ludicrous film, but the ending is jaw-droppingly bad.

[Bored of Canada]

Sam Jackson had a similarly elaborate plan in Unbreakable, but I feel that's used in a moderately clever way. In that Bruce Willis reacts in the same way we do to the revelation. This guy isn't super clever and calculating, he's just fucking crazy.

The Oceans films are similar, in that they require multiple double bluffs so that they're just ridiculous, but it's just unashamedly fun and doesn't take it all too seriously.

[Famous Mortimer]

David Fincher's pile of dogshit The Game.

It's been years since I watched it, but given the truly ludicrous ending, I sort of assumed it was all supposed to be a joke. Or Fincher at least played up how unlikely it would be.

The Oceans films are similar, in that they require multiple double bluffs so that they're just ridiculous, but it's just unashamedly fun and doesn't take it all too seriously.

The first one is sort of smart, but the second one is just dreadful, with the twist rendering most of the rest of the film either pointless or counter-productive.

[Johnny Townmouse]

It's been years since I watched it, but given the truly ludicrous ending, I sort of assumed it was all supposed to be a joke. Or Fincher at least played up how unlikely it would be.

I find Fincher to be awfully earnest and did not get any sense of tongue-in-cheek irony at all. I think he thought the entire film was a wonderfully clever cat-and-mouse thriller with a killer, 'rug from under you' twist climax with a powerful emotional punch.

[Famous Mortimer]

Fair enough - I think my opinion of him was coloured by watching "Fight Club" with commentary, where he seemed like he was having a good time. He's cocked up a few times but I think he's a brilliant director.

Anyway, enough of this, apologies all, back to the thread.

[lipsink]

It's not such a small thing but in The Dark Knight Rises Batman must've spent a good few hours painting that big Bat signal in petrol on the side of a huge building so everyone in Gotham could see it once it was lit. Was he up there all day on suspended scaffolding with a mop and a bucket? And then he'd have to leave a big trail of petrol to the ice where Gordon was walking so he could light it.

[Noodle Lizard]

SPOILERS AHEAD

Also in 'The Dark Knight Rises', Talia al Ghul's revenge plan not only took a lot of planning, but was also completely unnecessary.  In order to kill Batman and take over Gotham, she becomes a successful somethingorother, meets Bruce Wayne, fucks him, finds out about some nuclear generator thing that she could maybe turn into a bomb ... I mean ... Batman at this point has been gone for 8 years, in that time could she not have just purchased another massive fucking bomb from somewhere with her infinite wealth?  Why was this seen as the most effective method?

Also, if she knows Bruce Wayne is Batman, why not just kill him?[nb]Incidentally, Bane's plan to leave him with a dodgy back, in a cell with a doctor, in an open hole that an 8-year-old girl and he himself had both managed to escape from is as ridiculous as Dr. Evil's "unnecessarily slow dipping mechanism" as a way of disposing an enemy[nb]Also, relevant to the thread, that hole had cable television in it.  Now, I live up a hill minutes away from the most touristy part of a major city, and getting cable set up here was a fucking nightmare.  It does make me laugh at the possibility that Bane may well have been dealing with some techie from DirectTV, bringing him out to the middle of the desert, lowering him into the hole, trying to figure out where the access point could be, scheduling repeat appointments etc. just so Batman could watch him on the news[/nb][/nb]  As Kevin Smith pointed out, the perfect time to have done this would have been when she had his dick in her mouth.  Then they'd have all the time in the world to fuck up Gotham.

It just seemed like a ridiculously convoluted way to essentially kill Batman and destroy Gotham.  For reasons which are still not really explained, by the way.

[Panbaams]

Thunderball

M assembles all the Double-O agents and tells them about the latest SPECTRE plot: it's stolen a Vulcan plane with two nuclear bombs and is holding the world to ransom. "Sir John", a high-up in the RAF, attends the briefing to fill in the details. With some ceremony, and the help of a lackey, a rope is pulled and an enormous painting glides up to reveal an equally enormous map beneath ... only for Sir John to inform the agents that they have no idea where the Vulcan is, but that they've narrowed it down to an area that covers approximately one quarter of the globe. How much time and effort was taken up arranging for the map to be hidden behind a painting when it could have been better spent looking for the stolen nukes?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPYZtn9pnSg

"Thank you, Sir John."

[Blumf]

a rope is pulled and an enormous painting glides up to reveal an equally enormous map beneath ... only for Sir John to inform the agents that they have no idea where the Vulcan is, but that they've narrowed it down to an area that covers approximately one quarter of the globe. How much time and effort was taken up arranging for the map to be hidden behind a painting when it could have been better spent looking for the stolen nukes?

Weeeellllll... I think that is actually fairly standard practice in need-to-know military circles. Not quite as elaborate maybe (plain curtains, or keeping the map rolled up), but having the map and any other charts covered until the room is secure and only those that need the intel are present is standard practice.

So, even if it could be argued that they didn't need to in this case (they probably did, it was very sensitive info), the stuff was probably already there ready for use anyway.

[Brundle-Fly]

Without doubt the worst example of this for me is the final act of (overrated) David Fincher's pile of dogshit The Game. So many things that are impossible to predict occur in those final scenes rendering the entire resolution pointless. There are too many things that Douglas' character does that Penn's character could never have assumed. It's a fucking ludicrous film, but the ending is jaw-droppingly bad.

Oh yeah. If I remember correctly, the scene that irked me was when

Spoiler alert

Michael Douglas's brother character finds a whole load of keys in a glove compartment and reacts completely gobsmacked.  There is nobody else present, so we the audience, safely presume he can't be involved in The Game.

Except we discover at the end he was actually responsible for the whole thing. This is Fincher cheating. In reality, the brother would either know about this detail or if he didn't, just smile knowingly to himself at the game planner's ingenuity.

[close]

[Brundle-Fly]

Everything Jigsaw does in all the Saw movies.

[Don_Preston]

Weeeellllll... I think that is actually fairly standard practice in need-to-know military circles. Not quite as elaborate maybe (plain curtains, or keeping the map rolled up), but having the map and any other charts covered until the room is secure and only those that need the intel are present is standard practice.

So, even if it could be argued that they didn't need to in this case (they probably did, it was very sensitive info), the stuff was probably already there ready for use anyway.

They still had to design and print the map, and then accounting for the time and labour of the workmen who would have to install the map, you've got an aesthetically pleasing but effort and financially consuming display.

[El Unicornio, mang]

Without doubt the worst example of this for me is the final act of (overrated) David Fincher's pile of dogshit The Game. So many things that are impossible to predict occur in those final scenes rendering the entire resolution pointless. There are too many things that Douglas' character does that Penn's character could never have assumed. It's a fucking ludicrous film, but the ending is jaw-droppingly bad.

I think if you know someone well enough, you can know exactly what they're going to do in certain situations. I do remember some other parts of that end scene which seemed unrealistic though.