# Scenes that pull you out of the movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 28, 2006, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188 "2006-10-28T00:38:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/21 "2006-10-29T13:59:57Z")
Having a “somewhat recognizable” actor pulls me out of a movie as my brain preoccupies itself with figuring out where I’ve seen that actor before. (“Was he the smarmy PAC dude from the West Wing? Was he the serial killer on NYPD Blue?”) Along the same lines, watching animated movies I become preoccupied with trying to figure out whose voice it is. Scenes shot with hand held cameras pull me out of the movie as I battle motion sickness. ---
**Author:** ![SuperNelson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/22 "2006-10-29T15:07:23Z")
[QUOTE=Stratocaster] I’ll have to look for that one now, but I suspect it will still bug me. It’s a slippery slope, dammit! Once you permit a lens flare to intrude, you might just as well show the director on screen giving advice to the actors. 😉 [/QUOTE] Which actually happened in _Apocalypse Now_ (and worked, at least IMHO). ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/23 "2006-10-29T17:15:29Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] There’s a scene in _Die Hard_ where Bruce Willis is climbing a wall, soon to discover the huge pile of explosives hidden in the ceiling, when a big lens flare rainbows across the image. Unable or unwilling to fix it in post or reshoot it, I guess, they added a deep _nroooooow_ sound effect which actually helped, matching the tone of the scene and muting the incongruity of the artifact. [/QUOTE] I just rewatched _Die Hard_ after reading this and was amazed to discover that it is rife with lens flare. I believe the flare in that scene, when Hans finds McClane on the roof, stands out _because_ it is accented with music. The music draws attention to an artifact that is mostly unnoticed throughout the rest of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/24 "2006-10-29T17:27:59Z")
[QUOTE=glee] Whilst I applaud your general idea that we should all help each other, I think the Princess Bride is pretty specific. [/QUOTE] All right. I’ll give Buttercup a pass on this one. (It was the only example I could think of off the top of my head.) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/25 "2006-10-29T19:08:03Z")
Any scene where someone talks about waking up suddenly, after hearing a sound, and they say (this happens in books too) some variation on “As soon as my eyes adjusted to the dark . . .” GAAH! ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/26 "2006-10-29T22:32:17Z")
- Anytime modern mores are imposed on a period piece. The best example I can think of comes from TV, actually. One time I caught the start of an episode of _Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman_, and Dr. Quinn was retrieving a sample of water from a stream while saying something like “We can send this water sample to be analysed and see if the mining company is polluting the stream.” Umm, people didn’t think like that back then. Of course the mining company is dumping their sewage in the stream, that’s what people did at the time and nobody even thought that was a bad idea. What else are they supposed to do with it? The technology to treat their waste probably didn’t even exist. - I know this is going to make me sound horribly sexist, but anytime a movie casts a hot, young starlet in a role as a top expert in some complex field. I’m sorry, but I just don’t buy Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist in _The World is Not Enough_, or Angelina Jolie as a Ferrari mechanic in _Gone in 60 Seconds_. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/27 "2006-10-29T23:04:15Z")
Oh, and, whenever a Hot Chick[sup]®[/sup] first appears onscreen in glasses and with her hair up, cuz we know what’s coming: we’re supposed to be surprised when she “blossoms” by just taking off the glasses and letting down the hair. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/28 "2006-10-29T23:56:43Z")
The horrible cliche ‘character with thick glasses’. I was just watching _The Mummy_ on TV and one of the American “adventurers” is all of a sudden legally blind as soon as his glasses are inevitably knocked off his head and crushed. And it’s always crushed. Not broken so you would have to hold them together to see, or craked so you woulden’t be able see _well_… ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/29 "2006-10-30T00:20:13Z")
[QUOTE=Jet Jaguar] - I know this is going to make me sound horribly sexist, but anytime a movie casts a hot, young starlet in a role as a top expert in some complex field. I’m sorry, but I just don’t buy Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist in _The World is Not Enough_, or Angelina Jolie as a Ferrari mechanic in _Gone in 60 Seconds_. [/QUOTE] I didn’t believe Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist because she looked like an undergrad or grad student at most, and she sucked pretty badly at **acting** like someone with that level of knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/30 "2006-10-30T00:48:23Z")
Another one which gets to me: – When the killer or other character is rendered unrecognizable by a mask or, as in the case of _Urban Legend_, a raincoat’s hood. Sorry to pick on poor Princess Buttercup again, but the poor girl just isn’t all that bright. Her “true love” is completely disguised by a black cloth mask which covers his eyes and bridge of his nose. (You know, my dog is like that. If you put on a hat, she’ll bark at you.)\* –When people being stalked by a killer split up, presumably so it’ll be easier for him to pick them off one by one. And no one thinks to get a tire iron out of the car, or pick up a stout tree limb to use as a club. When being chased through a building, it never occurs to them to look for a phone and dial 9-1-1. (Even if you just leave it off the hook, the cops will come.) –Ghosts who must be ever-violent and scary during the first 3/4 of the movie until the protagonist figures out what help they need. At this point, the ghost is free to explain the whole deal, offer assistance, or turn otherwise benevolent, but before that, they can only throw people against walls (_Gothica_) or write scary, incomprehensible messages on foggy mirrors. (Never anything like, “Hey, Ghost Lady here. I need you to help catch my killer. Thanx. P.S.-- It’s your husband.”) \*I imagine Halloween would be a lot of fun at the Buttercup/Westley household. \*Westley comes out of the bedroom dressed in his ubiquitous pirate costume. (He goes as the Dread Pirate every year.) “Ready for the party, honey? Buttercup? What’s wrong?” Buttercup: “Who are you and how do you know my name? You’d better get out of here before my husband gets back!” Westley pulls off the mask. “Buttercup, it’s me.” Buttercup throws herself into his arms. “Oh, Westley, my darling! Thank God you’re here! There was a strange man in here a moment ago and I was terrified!”\* ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/31 "2006-10-30T04:49:28Z")
[QUOTE=Jet Jaguar] I know this is going to make me sound horribly sexist, but anytime a movie casts a hot, young starlet in a role as a top expert in some complex field. I’m sorry, but I just don’t buy Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist in _The World is Not Enough_, or Angelina Jolie as a Ferrari mechanic in _Gone in 60 Seconds_. [/QUOTE] I don’t know that it’s sexist, just a reasonable response to what you see onscreen. I’ve known quite a few women who were very attractive and dressed hot on the job. Mostly, they were saleswomen, a field where sex appeal is just part of general sales appeal. Most sales guys are good looking, or at least mediocre-looking, and dress well. If I saw a handsome actor or a gorgeous actress in such a role, it would make perfect sense. Nuclear physicists and mechanics, you have to figure, looks are not so important to. So when you see a Denise Richards playing “Nucular physicist” it does kinda jerk you out of the movie. Not necessarily sexism there. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/32 "2006-10-30T11:32:58Z")
[QUOTE=SuperNelson] Which actually happened in _Apocalypse Now_ (and worked, at least IMHO). [/QUOTE] Yes, I think it worked too. But that was a deliberate wink at the audience, not quite the same as a boom mike casting a shadow in the scene. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/33 "2006-10-30T12:38:46Z")
Frankly, Himself & I felt this way about most of PotC 2. We felt like Will was the only character who acted like “himself” in the second movie. Elizabeth didn’t, Norrington didn’t (although we completely understood the bitterness), and _Jack_ certainly didn’t. We were terribly disappointed with the whole thing. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/34 "2006-10-30T13:57:44Z")
To name just one discordant item from the baseball move _Mr. 3000_ which starred Bernie Mac and Angela Bassett, Bernie supposedly played for a lousy team with a lousy manager, then retired for a number of years, then came back while the team was still lousy and that same fellow was still the manager. Sorry, but IRL that manager would’ve been toast a long time before Bernie came back. ---
**Author:** ![t-mobileguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@t-mobileguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-mobileguy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/35 "2006-10-30T15:08:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Westley comes out of the bedroom dressed in his ubiquitous pirate costume. (He goes as the Dread Pirate every year.) “Ready for the party, honey? Buttercup? What’s wrong?” > > Buttercup: “Who are you and how do you know my name? You’d better get out of here before my husband gets back!” > > Westley pulls off the mask. “Buttercup, it’s me.” > > Buttercup throws herself into his arms. “Oh, Westley, my darling! Thank God you’re here! There was a strange man in here a moment ago and I was terrified!”\* I just have to say that is the funniest thing I’ve read all morning! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/36 "2006-10-30T15:21:05Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool] Far more damaging to me were a few missteps in the last two LOTR movies. Specifically Treebeard NOT knowing about the destroyed trees at the edges of his forest(TTT), and the “scrubbing bubbles” scene in ROTK as the ghosts swarm over various enemies (incl. an elephant). I worried if PJ would attempt to show that onscreen (in the book it never was described) and I was right, unfortunately. Just takes me right out of both films… [/QUOTE] Y’know, that whole “ghost army” just took me right out of the movie also. I didn’t read the books and went to the third movie unspoiled (didn’t know how it was going to end). My wife had read the books. I remember asking her “Are you serious? That’s how they win in the end? They recruit a ghost army? Is that really in the book that way? What a cop out.” I felt cheated. I still think a dwarf army coming in at the last moment would have been better than ghost army. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/37 "2006-10-30T16:08:38Z")
I don’t know about particular scenes, but a badly faked Southern accent will take me right out of a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/38 "2006-10-30T16:16:13Z")
My pulled out of the movie moments in LOTR were the two blatant cases of pre-reacting: in both cases I saw a “surprise” coming long before the surprise occured just by the looks on the actor’s faces: _even the first time I saw it_: – When Gandalf asks if Frodo can see any markings on the ring, Frodo says “I see nothing,” then Gandalfs’ face slowly turns from an expression of puzzlement to one of surprise, _then_ Frodo says “wait…” – When Pippin knocks down the skull/pail down the Moria well and Gandalf chastises him, his faces changes from a look of contrition to one of surprise a second _before_ the drums start. While it’s still one of the scariest parts of any movie it would be a lot better if he didn’t telegraph it. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/39 "2006-10-30T16:19:58Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] Y’know, that whole “ghost army” just took me right out of the movie also. I didn’t read the books and went to the third movie unspoiled (didn’t know how it was going to end). My wife had read the books. I remember asking her “Are you serious? That’s how they win in the end? They recruit a ghost army? Is that really in the book that way? What a cop out.” I felt cheated. I still think a dwarf army coming in at the last moment would have been better than ghost army. [/QUOTE] I just reread the triology a few weeks ago, and IIRC, the ghost army is used to defeat the Corsairs as they are heading up Andruin towards Osgiliath so that Aragorn can bring the armies he’s recruited from South Gondor to help in the war. I don’t think the ghost army ever makes it to Minis Tirith. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188/40 "2006-10-30T16:23:30Z")
In Robin Williams’ current movie _Man of the Year_ the idea that Williams’ character could walk off his talk show shortly before the election and still qualify to get on the ballot in a number of states, and then get to carry on as he did during the debate were all beyond unrealistic. In reality, in order to get on the ballot a candidate has to gather signatures on a nominating petition and have the petition approved by the appropriate state office, which cannot be done overnight. In reality a candidate who repeatedly interrupted the other candidates and who goes way over his alloted time would have his microphone turned off. That being said, any movie that brings back my all time favorite newsbabe Faith Daniels cannot be all bad. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-that-pull-you-out-of-the-movie/378188.md?page=3)