# 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:** 7
**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, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/121 "2019-08-09T16:58:53Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Y_ou? and The Mahatma?_ _Oh, the forbidden pleasures!_ :o ---
**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, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/122 "2019-08-09T17:06:26Z")
So so so many great observations here so far that really hit the bulls-eye. The one with people leaving house doors open ( usually in silly sit-coms ) was one I noticed from an early age. I had to control my urge to exhort to the characters “Close the door!”. At an early age, we were encouraged to come in/go out and not leave the front door open any longer than necessary. “Shut the damn door! Are we heating up Westchester county? What do you think we are…Con Ed???” Another one that drove me nuts is earlier movies/TV/sitcoms back when it was all land-line phones, especially the dail type phones that literally had a little ringing bell inside them ( not electronic ). A character would be in a house for example, be doing something else either alone, or talking with others; and the phone rings…and rings…and rings. The phone would ring nearly a dozen times before the character seemed to even address the fact the phone is ringing. He’d then _very_ slowly and leisurely make his way to the phone, often pausing his steps to continue whatever conversation he was having, and then, after what must be 36 rings, casually picks up the phone. I always wanted to belt the guy for being so infuriatingly relaxed and inconsiderate. Nobody, but nobody, but NO-BOD-Y would ring that long without giving up. ---
**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, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/123 "2019-08-09T18:35:02Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > A cameo by a famous face will do it for me. Sigourney Weaver turning up in _ **Doc Martin** _. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/124 "2019-08-09T18:51:14Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > [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. \* I’m aware of that reasoning (wasn’t it John Byrne who came up with it?) and it is just as bad as not addressing it at all. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/125 "2019-08-09T20:12:02Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > 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. Yes. A 555 phone number always yanks me out of the story. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/126 "2019-08-09T21:10:43Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > 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. They could have had the plate from back when the plates were orange-gold the first time around? ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/127 "2019-08-10T00:19:38Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > 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. First, most of the pictures I find of her show her as a brunette. Second, even if she was blonde, she was not an especially important character, so they could have used a no-name actress that didn’t immediately make you think, “Hollywood.” Tom Cruise is about the same height as Kingsley, but that doesn’t mean he would have been a good choice for the role. If she wasn’t a problem for you, great. She was so jarring to me that I thought of her a millisecond after reading the title of this thread, 30 years later. Different strokes. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/128 "2019-08-10T03:21:16Z")
Who puts an uncovered loaf of French bread in a paper grocery sack? And why is it there’s a fruit or vegetable cart in every car or foot chase scene? ---
**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 10, 2019, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/129 "2019-08-10T03:46:15Z")
> [@Personal](#): > > Who puts an uncovered loaf of French bread in a paper grocery sack? The same people who like to have a bunch of celery tops sticking out of the bag. > [@](#): > > And why is it there’s a fruit or vegetable cart in every car or foot chase scene? Because it’s fun to watch the street vendors scurry out of the way as their wares scatter in all directions. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/130 "2019-08-10T11:20:14Z")
> [@Personal](#): > > In the new Tarantino movie DiCaprio and Pacino are sitting at a restaurant table with just two full glass of water. Cut to a different angle, one of the glasses is 3/4 full. Next angle, two full glasses of water. Next, they each have a drink - one’s finishing something in a rocks glass, one a glass of wine or something. Next angle, back to two full glasses of water only. All of this happens in about 60 seconds with some of the switches taking place mid-sentence. At first I thought it was a setup for something, but then I figured that that didn’t make any sense so it had to be continuity errors. It took me out of the scene to the point that I had to replay in my mind what they were talking about and how it fit in the movie. Another scene with Pacino seemed like it was only there to do **Dewey Finn** ’s “Turn on the TV!” …and **burpo the wonder mutt** ’s Wilhelm Scream is _very_ early in the movie as well. I’d be inclined to give Tarantino a pass on any more I find when the Blu-ray is released. It may not be the case with other films, but when an encyclopedia like Tarantino makes such a choice, like, for example, using the 50’s hit Green Door, it’s certainly meant to get a laugh or at least noticed and dutifully reported to the IMDb page. ---
**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 10, 2019, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/131 "2019-08-10T13:34:41Z")
Wrong facts and mispronunciations. In this Internet Age, that is inexcusable. Bernie Mac, looking at a phone number “201? What’s she doing in Atlantic City?” 21 Jump St character: I grew up in mun-au-chee, New Jersey. Atlantic City’s area code is 609, and Moonachie, NJ is pronounced MOON-au-kee. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/132 "2019-08-10T15:18:38Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Medieval armor in movies often bothers the hell out of me. I can accept some anachronistic pieces, armor was expensive, it would even be realistic for some noble to wear a piece from an ancient family member or taken in battle perhaps a century ago. > > But it is often way too much. Armor had styles and the people then as now cared about how they looked to their peers and yet in movies they walk around with a bizarre grab bag of armor from entirely different regions spanning perhaps 300 years or more. > > To the people of the era it would be like seeing a Lady Gaga outfit for us. The armor often looks too clean and too complete. And too consistent. It was all hand-made then, fer chrissake. Seeing a line of soldiers kitted out identically … nope. Soldiers might well have had a grab bag of armor from different sources and times, but there are still limits. Fantasy films tend to extend the fantasy to the armor. Anything with spikes is just plain stoopid. There was a good reason while real armor had none. Several good reasons, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/133 "2019-08-10T15:33:43Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Almost every scene of mediaeval combat ever filmed, where it’s clear the actors have no idea how their weapons were actually used. The most egregious example I can think of is Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone fencing with broadswords in 1938’s _ **The Adventures of Robin Hood** _. > > Corollaries: Actors in period pieces loading their muskets and cannons in ways that would get their hands blown off in real life. Flintlock-era firearms that use percussion caps, like Faye Dunaway’s pistol in _ **The Four Musketeers** _. Masses of 18th and 19th century soldiers charging headlong across a battlefield instead of advancing slowly in ordered ranks and files. Napoleonic-era soldiers marching to brass bands instead of fifes and drums. Ever noticed how sword fencing is carefully choreographed so the two actors just hit each other blades, and they never, ever stab. With good reason. Most period war films have groups of soldiers charging each other in a disorganized mob. Uh, no. You can’t hold formation when running, and you need the breath for fighting. Then sword fights; the hero gives a dramatic slash and his opponent obliging drops down with barely a scream. And the hero gets ahead of his men. That’s a recipe for being cut down from behind in no time. And medieval battles seems to have a penchant for sword and axes. Wot, no polearms? FWIW, just about everything in Braveheart is historically wrong. Oh yes, fire in medieval battles. Yeah. Battles are always speeded up, for dramatic effect. Real ones could last several hours. And for 18-19C battles, it took more than one or two volleys to break the enemy. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/134 "2019-08-10T15:40:42Z")
Setting aside issues of whether the armor, clothes or uniforms are accurate, I get the feeling that Hollywood knows zilch about the military except as a sort of really cool theme park.What they get wrong: senior officers who are not frostily formal, especially with lower ranks. Lower ranks and ordinary soldiers who argue with officers, or show less than the usual respect. “Uh, yes, soldier, that’s a great idea, now report for latrine cleaning duties. For the next week.” Military hardware. Everything thing from anachronistic rifles (Lee-Enflields in the back ranks in Zulu) to vehicles. Given, for example, the shortage of authentic WW2 planes and vehicles, you get used to seeing some creative substiitutions. Frankly, the only answer is CGI. Try Nitpickers.con if you want to catch all the bloopers. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/135 "2019-08-10T15:45:41Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > 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. Yes, I am impressed how an actor comes of the rain, with his hair wet, but his clothes are relatively dry. And a minute later he is dry from head to foot! Blood: I suppose it is too much for the make-up guys to make blood ooze. But my main beef is that somewbody walks around, even for several hours, with red blood all over his face, or wherever he is wounded. Why doesn’t wipe it off? And why does it not clot? Add to this the indestructible hero, who can take multple blows that would land a normalo in hospital, yet he comes back and knocks down the villain. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/136 "2019-08-10T16:48:22Z")
> [@Personal](#): > > And why is it there’s a fruit or vegetable cart in every car or foot chase scene? …Or the obligatory two guys carrying a 4’ by 8’ sheet of plate glass crossing the street. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/137 "2019-08-10T16:59:34Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Wrong facts and mispronunciations. In this Internet Age, that is inexcusable. > > Bernie Mac, looking at a phone number “201? What’s she doing in Atlantic City?” > > 21 Jump St character: I grew up in mun-au-chee, New Jersey. > > Atlantic City’s area code is 609, and Moonachie, NJ is pronounced MOON-au-kee. Is there a reason why the Bernie Mac character should know that? He’s based out of Chicago, and while the character has probably played AC, it doesn’t necessarily be familiar with its area code. Since my daughter moved to Buffalo, I’m there often yet I couldn’t tell you the area code (especially because she kept her cell number from when she was here in Queens). As for pronouncing native American place names, I’ve heard different lifelong residents pronounce the same place differently from my years on Long Island. It could be a little grating at times, but I learned not to assume that the way I thought someplace should be pronounced is the right way to pronounce it (and let’s not start on the proper pronunciation of Nebraska). ---
**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 10, 2019, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/138 "2019-08-10T17:00:30Z")
In _ **Tour of Duty** _ (which was actually a pretty good series, despite the F-4s being clearly marked “Hawaii National Guard” and painted in '80s camouflage schemes), the hot female journalist asked one of the GIs “How long have you been in COUN-try?” The phrase is “IN country.” For crying out loud, there are technical advisers who will help you get the jargon right! :mad: ---
**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 10, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/139 "2019-08-10T17:11:58Z")
> [@Brayne\_Ded](#): > > Battles are always speeded up, for dramatic effect. Real ones could last several hours. And for 18-19C battles, it took more than one or two volleys to break the enemy. Have you ever seen the Soviet version of _ **War and Peace** _? I used to attend all-night showings of it and would be nodding off by four in the morning. Then the Battle of Borodino would start and I’d be jolted awake by the entire French cavalry charging down on me! :eek: Now \*that \*was one helluva battle, and it seemed to go on forever! I could say the same thing about _ **Waterloo** _ (which had the same director), but that’s only natural. That movie was about the battle _only_. ---
**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 10, 2019, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/140 "2019-08-10T17:15:21Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Is there a reason why the Bernie Mac character should know that? He’s based out of Chicago, and while the character has probably played AC, it doesn’t necessarily be familiar with its area code. Since my daughter moved to Buffalo, I’m there often yet I couldn’t tell you the area code (especially because she kept her cell number from when she was here in Queens). This makes sense, except Bernie was implying he knew the correct area code right off the top of his head. Apparently, he didn’t. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319.md?page=8)