# Little things that briefly take you out of a movie: **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 7, 2019, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319 "2019-08-07T22:04:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/41 "2019-08-08T15:35:20Z")
When people go to a computer, google something, and instantly find the webpage they need with the exact information they are looking for at the top. “How many dingos were accused of eating babies in countries other than Australia prior to 1975?” Five seconds later “23.” ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/42 "2019-08-08T15:39:18Z")
People starting sentences with "\*Look \*. . . " . I guess it’s supposed to show that they’re really earnest. My mom pointed it out to me when I was a kid and we made fun of it for the rest of her days. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/43 "2019-08-08T15:43:22Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Quit…shaking/moving …the…camera. > > This happens a lot on TV dramas and in some movies. I guess it’s supposed to add to the tension or give you the feeling that you are right there with the actors. > > For me, all it does is remind me that these people are actors and they are standing in front of a cameraman. Makes me think the cameraman is drunk. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/44 "2019-08-08T15:52:44Z")
Fast-moving car collides with something and - goes up in the air, arching over some other cars or ramps or whatever; - flips over onto one side or the other and you know that it is going to - burst into explosive flames ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/45 "2019-08-08T16:02:46Z")
- accidental duplicate post \* ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/46 "2019-08-08T16:17:06Z")
Mine is silly, but absolutely infuriating to me: paper coffee cups are always empty and it is _so obvious_. Fill the damn thing with water to give it the proper weight! Or hell, rocks, for all I care. You don’t have to drink it, but at least it will look realistic when you pick it up and wave it around for emphasis. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/47 "2019-08-08T16:30:56Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Character’s drinks never have ice in them.Now that I see it, I can’t UN-see it. > > And now, you won’t be able to either. 🙂 My “can’t un-see it” one is this: no matter how filthy and/or the car is, seven times out of ten, its windshield and other glass will be pristine. Goes up to nine times out of ten on movies/shows made before, say, 1995. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/48 "2019-08-08T16:32:12Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Quit…shaking/moving …the…camera. > > This happens a lot on TV dramas and in some movies. I guess it’s supposed to add to the tension or give you the feeling that you are right there with the actors. > > For me, all it does is remind me that these people are actors and they are standing in front of a cameraman. This completely put me off _ **Boston Legal** _ and _ **The Office** _. I’ve never been able to sit through an episode of either with the camera bobbing around in every shot. It ain’t funny or artsy, it’s just annoying as hell. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/49 "2019-08-08T16:36:02Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > This completely put me off _ **Boston Legal** _ I noticed something similar on _Boston Legal_, but then I realized it was just Lake Bell. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/50 "2019-08-08T16:37:38Z")
Two things I’ve never been able to un-notice ever since they were pointed out to me: Gary Burghoff’s malformed hand and Frank Sinatra’s missing earlobe. ☹ Did you know, BTW, that Cary Grant was missing an incisor and had a canine tooth moved forward to fill the gap? :dubious: 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/51 "2019-08-08T16:40:02Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > > [@BubbaDog](#): > > > > Quit…shaking/moving …the…camera. > > > > This happens a lot on TV dramas and in some movies. I guess it’s supposed to add to the tension or give you the feeling that you are right there with the actors. > > > > For me, all it does is remind me that these people are actors and they are standing in front of a cameraman. > > This completely put me off _ **Boston Legal** _ and _ **The Office** _. I’ve never been able to sit through an episode of either with the camera bobbing around in every shot. > > It ain’t funny or artsy, it’s just annoying as hell. :mad: Well, in The Office, they _are_ people standing in front of a cameraman. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/52 "2019-08-08T16:44:01Z")
Stock footage used as original footage. You know, like: “Get down! Their bombers are coming back around!” [cut to grainy, colorized WW2 footage of bombs falling out of planes] “Get to cover!” [everyone ducks under tables while the camera shakes, cut to more grainy footage of The Blitz] ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/53 "2019-08-08T16:49:24Z")
The amazing physical recovery capability and magical grooming of actors. Actor get beat up and bloodied - 10 seconds later the blood is gone! Actor gets drenched in water - 10 seconds later they are completely dry! Actress gets drenched in water - 10 seconds later their hair is back to being well coiffed. Stuff like that always sticks out to me. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/54 "2019-08-08T16:52:36Z")
I haven’t seen this in too many movies, but it was all over TV a while back: A character is looking directly into the camera, as in being interviewed. All of a sudden, the camera is three feet to either the interviewee’s left or right, while the interviewee is still looking at the spot where the camera was. Then, to make it worse, the camera jumps back to where it was, as if nothing happened. What is the point of this “technique”? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/55 "2019-08-08T16:53:04Z")
Pregnant woman goes into labor and delivers the baby two minutes later, usually in an elevator or some such place. And five minutes later, both she and the baby look “Hollywood fresh.” No sweat or goo on either of them. And no baby fat on the actress, who is totally at her original weight and body look the next day. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/56 "2019-08-08T16:53:51Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > Somebody working the action of a firearm to be threatening and no round is ejected. So the action movie hero has been running around, frequently in a firefight that’s been ongoing, with an empty chamber. I always find myself expecting the person threatened to laugh instead. Yeah, firearm use is a real peeve of mine. Okay, you’re holding someone at gunpoint. “Give me the information.” “No.” Gun holder jacks in a round. So you were threatening someone with an unloaded gun? Firearm noises that are just wrong. I saw one were there was a racking noise inserted for someone with a double-barreled shotgun. Guns that make cocking/racking noises whenever someone moves the weapon. There was a war movie where M-16s were used. One guy is firing like mad. Then the camera angle reveals that the bolt is locked back. Yet he continues firing. The worst one was where someone was supposed to kill a bunch of horses, all standing side by side. The guy pulls out his 1911A1 (a semi-auto for those who don’t know), jacks the slide and shoots the first horse; moves over, jacks the slide and shoots the second horse; moves over, jacks the slide and shoots the third horse; moves over, repeats. Another trite usage: “Look at me!” “I SAID LOOK AT ME!!” ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/57 "2019-08-08T16:54:28Z")
… a totally _clean_ baby. (referring to\*\* Annie-Xmas\*\*’ post) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/58 "2019-08-08T16:55:23Z")
Guys like Jack Bauer being able to survive being stabbed, shot, beaten, blown up, _et cetera_, and still go on for hours without eating, drinking, sleeping, or taking a whiz and a dump. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/59 "2019-08-08T16:58:14Z")
Sound related things for some reason tend to take me out of movies more than visual things. A poor choice on the part of a music editor leaves me feeling like, okay, _I guess I’m supposed to be feeling sad right now_. Abrupt changes in sound levels will take me out quickly as well. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/60 "2019-08-08T16:58:14Z")
And cops who beg with people: “Drop the gun. C’mon, drop the gun. Please drop the gun. Drop the gun or I will have to shoot. I don’t want to shoot you. Please drop the gun. You don’t want to shoot an innocent person, so drop the gun.” I know from a real life experience it’s’ “Drop the gun or I will shoot” and the guy has about 10 seconds to comply. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319.md?page=4)