# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/101 "2019-08-09T03:33:13Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > A cameo by a famous face will do it for me. I remember being totally immersed watching _Gandhi_ when all of a sudden, here comes Candice Bergen in an Indian slum. It was like a bucket of cold water. ---
**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 9, 2019, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/102 "2019-08-09T03:39:59Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > There was at least one episode where they showed Jack eating a frozen dinner. > > Besides, it’s only 24 hours, and Jack is a bad ass. No time for pissing. I remember him calmly sipping coffee from a styrofoam cup after being stabbed in the gut in one episode, but no other instance of him refueling himself. I’ll bet he was never shown recharging his cell phone either. The battery in mine would be dead long before the Sun came up. He was always using it to communicate with Chloe while driving from point A to point B, so he would have needed at least three hands to do that and pee into a Mountain Dew can at the same time. Talk about bad ass! My bladder would burst if I tried holding it in for 24 hours, even if I did drink only one cup of coffee in the early evening. ---
**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 9, 2019, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/103 "2019-08-09T03:43:04Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > I remember being totally immersed watching _Gandhi_ when all of a sudden, here comes Candice Bergen in an Indian slum. It was like a bucket of cold water. Candice Bergen played Mother Teresa?!? :eek: :dubious: 😕 ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/104 "2019-08-09T04:21:16Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > Mundane unrealistic things in unrealistic sci-fi movies. > > **Battleship** : > Alien invasion vs USS Missouri museum ship=okay. > Screw-up criminal becomes a US Naval _officer_: Um, no. Nice going. I just got out of prison, and I was hoping I could be put in command of a ship in a couple of weeks. Now I’m totally discouraged. But could I at least be like Rihanna in the same movie, and do every single job on the ship, from command and control to small boat operations? ---
**Author:** ![steepone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@steepone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steepone)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/105 "2019-08-09T07:17:11Z")
Another one that irks me is in any horror or slasher film when somebody says “Lets split up”, it doesn’t just take me out of the movie, it’s such a stupid and overused cliche that it will usually make me turn the movie off ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/106 "2019-08-09T08:06:06Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Candice Bergen played Mother Teresa?!? :eek: :dubious: 😕 She played Margaret Bourke-White, the photographer who took the photo of Gandhi at his spinning wheel. Not sure why this would be a problem. Okay, you recognize the actress, but Bourne-White was white, blonde and, in that era, young, even if not as stunning as Bergen. I wouldn’t say Bergen was miscast or that the character’s inclusion was gratuitous. ---
**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 9, 2019, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/107 "2019-08-09T08:20:27Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > She played Margaret Bourke-White, the photographer who took the photo of Gandhi at his spinning wheel. > > … Bourne-White was white, blonde and, in that era, young, even if not as stunning as Bergen. I could make a \*\*\*Seinfeld \*\*\*joke here, but I’ll refrain for now. 😉 ---
**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 9, 2019, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/108 "2019-08-09T08:25:28Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I could make a \*\*\*Seinfeld \*\*\*joke here, but I’ll refrain for now. 😉 Ah, what the hell: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7--ZDROlhjE) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/109 "2019-08-09T10:01:52Z")
> [@Marine\_One](#): > > “Captain! Here come the Panzer tanks!!” > > Except they’re Sherman tanks with German crosses. > > Yeah, I know. They didn’t spend the money to make 10 Panzers. > And this was probably in the '50s or '60s. > > But, I’m briefly taken out of the movie. The biggest offender was “Battle of the Bulge”, not only are the German “Tigers” very clearly unmodified M48 Pattons, it got to the point that in one scene a German General is showing off the new German “wunderwaffe” he has at his disposal, so among the models of accurate V-1 and V-2 rockets, he also has right next to them a plastic scale model of an M48 Patton tank that’s supposed to be a King Tiger tank but since the “real” Tigers are M48 Pattons they also have to make sure the scale model was also a Patton. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/110 "2019-08-09T10:25:54Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > And suddenly the baby looks 6 months old. Newborns do not look like that. But the new mother is holding a happy, clean, smiling, 6 month old baby! > > “He’s got your eyes!” Eh, that’s a child labor law thing. I don’t have a problem with it. Hotels that give out room numbers and room keys to every Tom, Rick and Harry. Nope. Privacy and safety issues. WEll, maybe a cheap hourly rate hotel might. I dunno. ---
**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 9, 2019, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/111 "2019-08-09T11:49:45Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I could make a \*\*\*Seinfeld \*\*\*joke here, but I’ll refrain for now. 😉 Y_ou? and The Mahatma?_ ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/112 "2019-08-09T12:28:38Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Don’t forget the green Volkswagen parked everywhere. This one is more personal, but in Captain America: Winter Soldier there is a red Hyundai Santa Fe that shows up in about half a dozen different shots. I notice it because that’s what I drove for 15 years. So I’d say “Hey, there’s my car!” And then again a few minutes later, and half an hour later… ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/113 "2019-08-09T12:29:07Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I remember him calmly sipping coffee from a styrofoam cup after being stabbed in the gut in one episode, but no other instance of him refueling himself. > > I’ll bet he was never shown recharging his cell phone either. The battery in mine would be dead long before the Sun came up. > > He was always using it to communicate with Chloe while driving from point A to point B, so he would have needed at least three hands to do that and pee into a Mountain Dew can at the same time. > > Talk about bad ass! My bladder would burst if I tried holding it in for 24 hours, even if I did drink only one cup of coffee in the early evening. There’s an actual video that is clips of everyone eating and drinking on 24. The scene I remember is [here](https://youtu.be/ZnJlwrRL8nc?t=102). I only noticed it when I first watched it because it looks like a Banquet frozen dinner, one that I have eaten in the past (and since, I guess). ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/114 "2019-08-09T12:53:22Z")
Any time someone encounters an inoperative electronic device, the diagnosis is immediately “Must be a short.” There are failure modes other than shorts, but I guess it’s too hard for a writer to talk to a tech and get other suggestions. The other thing that makes me crazy is a woman in uniform with long, flowing hair cascading over her shoulders. Pin that stuff up!!! ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/115 "2019-08-09T14:01:13Z")
We all know phone numbers in movies have to start with “555” so everytime they give out a number starting with “555” its like breaking the 4th wall. I was watching “The Walking Dead” and they were having a shootout with rival people (you hardly see zombies anymore) but what got me is they were all standing up. REAL people trained in infantry tactics would hit the ground or get behind cover. But then hardly anyone was hitting anyone anyways. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/116 "2019-08-09T15:01:02Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > My peeves relate mostly to the superhero genre, and includes the original medium. First peeve is lifting stuff - for me the most recent worst offender was when Supergirl lifted a submarine out of the water. There is no point on a submarine structurally sound enough to be supported by two hands. [Bio-electric Aura.](https://powerlisting.fandom.com/wiki/Bio-Electric_Aura) \*When combined with Supernatural Strength, it allows user to lift objects much larger than themselves like mountains or cruise liners and move them without the objects buckling like physics dictate they should. \* ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/117 "2019-08-09T16:24:00Z")
> [@Marine\_One](#): > > “Captain! Here come the Panzer tanks!!” I hear/read that error a lot too when the term “Panzer” tank is conflated with “Panther” ( tank ). “Panzer tank” is like saying “tank tank”. The Panther was the German Mark V tank, whereas “Panzer” is the German term for tank ( literally, “armor” ) ---
**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 9, 2019, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/118 "2019-08-09T16:43:24Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > I hear/read that error a lot too when the term “Panzer” tank is conflated with “Panther” ( tank ). “Panzer tank” is like saying “tank tank”. > > The Panther was the German Mark V tank, whereas “Panzer” is the German term for tank ( literally, “armor” ) Actually, a shortening of the term _Panzerkampfwagen_, or “armored combat vehicle.” (\*Panzer \*by itself can also mean the shell on a turtle.) Nice to know someone else here appreciates such things! 🙂 ---
**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 9, 2019, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/119 "2019-08-09T16:51:00Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > The biggest offender was “Battle of the Bulge”, not only are the German “Tigers” very clearly unmodified M48 Pattons, it got to the point that in one scene a German General is showing off the new German “wunderwaffe” he has at his disposal, so among the models of accurate V-1 and V-2 rockets, he also has right next to them a plastic scale model of an M48 Patton tank that’s supposed to be a King Tiger tank but since the “real” Tigers are M48 Pattons they also have to make sure the scale model was also a Patton. … And the only tanks the Americans had were M24 Chaffees. Not a Sherman in sight, as I recall. Kind of odd, since more than 50,000 of the things were built. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/120 "2019-08-09T16:51:47Z")
I collect license plates and many times I can tell when they use fake ones and it bugs me to no end. I might be mixing up my movies but I think there are NYC street scenes in the latest Spiderman movie. NY currently has the orange-gold plates with blue letters and a reverse field where the state name is. What pedants like me see is the alpha numeric sequence being wrong. When those plates were first introduced they did not resequence/ start over; they continued the sequence from the previous blue niagara falls to manhattan plates. Gold plate sequences first started with the letters Fxx-. (They are up to Jxx now). There are numerous vehicles shown with low letters starting sequences. Now one could have a vanity plate made with an earlier sequence but no way that every vehicle in NYC in the movie has a vanity plate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319.md?page=7)