I’ve never liked the extraneous fighting sound effects- especially the WHOOSH sound when people are punching and/or kicking. This can get pretty ridiculous in low-budget tv shows, as well. I mean, here’s a fine fight scene, ruined with all the crappy sound effects. Blah.
You know, it’s pretty sad that people think nitpicking like this proves anything.
Where is it written that everything has to be 100% accurate all the time? Ever hear of the term “dramatic license”?
If little things like this truly bother you, you need to get a life. It may be fun to note them, but getting all worked up because the movie made a change in order to avoid being dull (which you would complain about just as loudly) is just plain stupid.
Small, non-technical quibble from a 42 year old Catholic:
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Nuns haven’t worn floor-length gowns in about 35 years.
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I have NEVER heard ANY priest address ANYONE as “my son.”
But whenever a priest or nun appears in a movie… she’ll be wearing a floor-length gown, and he’ll piously call everyone “my son.”
this reminds me of a scene in “Enemy of the state”, where the bad guys have some video footage of will smith. The head bad guy says, “can you show me whats on the other side?”, and the techy dude says “no problem”. The image then turns 180 degrees like its being shot from the other side.
They try to justify it by saying “This isn’t 100% accurate. The computer is estimating whats on the other side”. Thats a hell of an esitmation, seeing as you can see the background and everything.
I have to say, one of my favorite scenes in the “Blues Brothers” is when they skid into a u-turn and come to a dead stop perfectly parked in front of the restaurant. Cracks me up every time. 
I usually get nitpicky about asthma sufferers in movies. They never use their inhalers properly. But it’s a minor thing and I usually wouldn’t expect the average person to know that you actually have to hold your breath to keep the medicine in, then slowly release it, for it to work.
In Signs, they really screwed up, and the kid with asthma had some pretty critical scenes. For one thing, his father holding him tilted backward, with his back arched while he tries to breathe, will only make it worse. For one thing, whenever I had an attack I never suddenly became so weak that I lied there helpless. I’d have been kneeling with my hands on the ground bracing my upper torso, with my shoulders hitched as high as they could go (which all of us asthma sufferers instinctively know increases lung capacity) and my lips pursed as I exhaled (which we also instinctively know expands the alveoli). Never, ever would I have I lied on my back.
Granted, his case seemed quite severe. But we do in fact have preventive medicine we can take.
Anyway, that’s my beef.
I get aggravated with movies that screw up things like military uniforms, haircuts, and courtesies. That kind of thing is so easy to verify and it takes nothing from the movie to do it right. Even stupid things like officers talking about re-enlisting… :rolleyes:
I also hate when The Government is portrayed as a bunch of evil thugs who do what they want without regard for anyone (like in E.T.) - for the most part, government employees are just people trying to do a job and put groceries in the pantry. We’re not anonymous goons with attitudes. Well, not all of us. 
Speaking of The Government, I like when it’s got the incredible sophistication to pull off a wide-ranging conspiracy, but it can never manage to get the one guy who could bring it all down.
People who are just about to die have the ability and clairity of mind to say something tremendously insightful and moving. No one ever says, “GOD DAMN THIS GUNSHOT WOUND IN MY CHEST HURTS!”
No one ever gets a wrong number. Ever.
People wake up looking terrific. I tend to have bed head, pillow creases in my face, very bad beard stubble, and maybe a booger in my nose.
The cable is never out, the dog has not just thrown up on the carpet, and no one ever locks their door on the way out.
People never seem to say “goodbye” when they’re done talking on the phone.
Just those rude Hollywood types.
They walk up to bar and say, “Give me a beer”. Everybody I know orders a beer by name, “Give me a Bud” for example.
And the hardly ever pay for the beer. Everybody has a tab at a bar they’ve been to I reckon.
err…Never been to. That’s another thing that gripes me! Posters who…oh, nevermind:D
I’m a musician, so I notice a lot of the music/sound/foley stuff.
Someone already mentioned actors who can’t be bothered to learn how to hold an instrument, much less play it a bit.
Screeeeeeching tires on gravel is a big favorite.
On the other hand, I suspect the folks who did foley on T3 were laughing their heads off. From just one viewing and a week-old (weak, old) memory:
Arnie steps on the cheap sunglasses and they crunch loudly–as they’re being mushed into the soft ground.
Loud smack noises when someone is punched in the stomach.
The usual “handguns that sound like elephant guns.” (Like I’ve ever heard an elephant gun.)
-Well, my memory being what it is I can’t think of any others. I remember laughing at the sound a lot.-
Two more gun play incidents that really bug me.
In Jurassic Park, Sam Neil gets a shotgun (riot gun) and when he call Hammond on the phone Hammond hears four shots.
We come back to where Sam Neil is and there are four little holes in the glass like Neil was firing a .22.
The Road to Perdition
The is a gun fight between Tom Hanks and Jude Law. Jude Law walks into a hotel room and starts blasting away with a shotgun. Hanks is about 10 feet away from him. Luckily he has some sort of super trunk to hide behind. But even if the tunk lid can take the full blast from a shot gun how in the heck does Hank hold onto the lid? He is holding up the lid to hide behind and the lid takes two direct hits from the shotgun.
Then Hanks shoots and hits some sort of crystal lamp that shatters and the shards cut up Jude Law’s face pretty badly. Hanks runs out of the room and to the car. Law now takes a little snub nose revolver out and with a badly cut face shoots from the second floor to hit Hanks who is at least 50 yards away and on a moving car. Gee you could hit him like that but you couldn’t hit with a shotgun from 10 feet?
and Catherine Zeta-Jones should be naked in all her movies.
I haven’t examined the scene myself, but I heard that you can see skid marks all over the road from the numerous takes to get it right.
People punch each other in the head with a closed fist all the time, and nobody ever breaks a knuckle.
Regards,
Shodan
Duke of Rat I thought that was because they don’t use brand names unless they’re actually being sponsored for it?
Actually I go into my local and say “beer”, but then I’m a regular and I always drink Guinness.
Things in films that piss me off are generally related to autopsies, dismemberment, death or wounding. I’ve worked in a mortuary, embalming and sewing-up after PM’s, I’m gonna notice things like organs in the wrong places.
Other things that get me is stuff related to explosions or fire. Sorry WaterWorld, dropping a flare into a tanker full of oil is not going to kaboom it. It’s simply not at an ignitable temperature.
My Dad used to work on Oil tankers, and they freqently freaked out the newbie sailors by dropping fire.
Vampires - they don’t bite like that! They bite with the top & bottom canines on one side.
Humans, even the ones with pointy teeth, can’t pierce flesh easily just using the top canines, you can’t get enough leaverage due to the shape of the jaw. Trust me, I’ve tried, even titanium fangs wont do it.
The lab in Spiderman (the “genetics” lab where they made the superspiders, not Osborn’s lab) is the most hilariously bad Hollywood lab I’ve ever seen. It would be a nightmare to try to get any work done in there. But hot damn! It sure LOOKS cool!
In Hollywood’s defense, it is illegal for a civilian to wear an actual military uniform. They have to put flaws in the uniform costumes.
What I learned from movies and TV:
The Hero can patch up injuries and extract bullets/pellets/Venusian Burrowing Death Leeches/shrapnel/arrows with improvised materials and without professional medical assistance. The only permanent effects will be Heroic Scars.
Women should stand around screaming instead of helping the Hero when the Bad Guy or Monster attacks.
All guns may be reloaded instantly whenever you are off camera, even for a split second. Even muzzleloaders.
The hero will suffer only minor intoxication from Truth Serum, no matter how many doses he is given. Under no circumstances will Truth Serum cause the Hero to reveal the Secret.
If the Bad Guy or Monster looks dead, then death must be assumed, regardless of any previous incidents of surviving what should have been fatal wounds. It is not permissible to make sure with additional shots, decapitation, incineration, or explosives.
Corollary: If the Bad Guy or Monster falls from a height and the body is visible, it is forbidden to drop things on the body(such as nearby large rocks) to ensure death.
Most revolvers have safeties.
You can “fan” a double-action revolver.
Bad guy explosives cause smoke and sartorial damage such as shredded clothing(think of cartoon explosives).
Good guy explosives nuke whatever/whoever the Hero wants to destroy and leave everything/everyone else in the vicinity unharmed.
You can fight in a prolonged gun battle with lots of explosions without bothering to use hearing protection, and still hear a normal conversation(or a Bad Guy sneaking up behind you) immediately afterward.
Shooting a vehicle almost anywhere will make it catch fire and/or blow up.
Women must wear tight revealing clothing and impractical shoes that interfere with running, fighting, tunnel-crawling, climbing, or other athletics. This rule applies even if they know ahead of time that such activities are likely. No matter how durable the clothing is, it must get torn in such a way as to make it more revealing.
Corollary: Bandages torn from a woman’s clothes have ten times the healing power of normal bandages.
A Hero who takes his shirt off becomes harder to hit.
Rural people are inbred, gun-totin’, beer-drinkin’, ‘baccer-chewin’ gap-toothed rednecks who are just itchin’ ta kill sumthin’. They often want to capture or kill the Hero. This is usually because they were gullible enough to fall for the frame-up that has forced the Hero to go on the run.
Rural people are all expert marksmen, outdoorsmen, drivers, brawlers, and mechanics. Their simple honesty and decency may seem naive and unsophisticated to City Slickers. They may seem deficient in formal education to the uninitiated, but they have a great deal of Common Sense and Mountain Wisdom that can save the Hero’s butt.
Rural police are corrupt and/or dangerously clueless(“Yer sayin’ that six hikers have disappeared and ‘get out in the name of Satan’ was painted in blood on a rock near where they were last seen? Prob’ly just teenagers pullin’ a prank.”).
Rural police are Honest Forthright Cops, and your last hope when the Corrupt Cops/Black Helicopters/Evil Conspirators/Feds Who Mean Well But Who Misinterpreted The Evidence/Men In Black are after you.
The Hero’s 9mm can double as an anti-tank weapon.
The Villain’s .50 Desert Eagle can occasionally cause minor flesh wounds.
Glock makes a ceramic gun that does not show up on metal detectors or X-ray machines.
Suppressors only need to be about 3 inches long and an inch wide, and they can make any gun sound like a kitten’s sneeze.
A rifle may be used like a quarterstaff and/or a two-handed sword for an entire fight scene and it will still safely, reliably, and accurately fire.
Laser sights allow anyone to achieve sniper-like accuracy.
Gas masks don’t interfere with heavy exertion, vision, or shooting.
If someone begins to behave bizarrely, it is forbidden to behave as though you have noticed. It is against The TV and Movie Rules to attempt to determine whether or not he has been possessed, mind-controlled, or replaced by a clone/robot/shapechanger. If you attempt to test anyway, you may not restrain OR DISARM the subject while doing so.
Any semi-automatic firearm may be quickly and easily altered with ordinary hand tools to reliably and safely fire full auto. Gunsmithing skills are not needed.
Going over cliffs makes vehicles explode before they hit the ground.
If you are driving a full-sized car, SUV, truck, or bus and are being chased by a sports car, you must try to outrun or outmaneuver it. You are not allowed to let it get behind you and then slam on the brakes, or to otherwise exploit your vehicle’s superior mass and durability.
Shotgun pellets spread enough to kill several people with each shot, yet make only one thumb-sized hole if they hit an object.
Shooting a computer’s monitor or smashing its keyboard will stop the computer itself.
Night vision goggles have little green lights(red for infrared/thermographic goggles) in front of the lenses that only the audience can see.
Gun stores and pawn shops have secret rooms where they keep the good stuff like machine guns, explosives, and rocket launchers.
Coating bullets with Teflon helps them penetrate body armor.
Plainclothes and undercover police/feds must be truthful if they are asked if they are police/feds.
If you know that the Monster or Crazed Killer is coming, you must not look for or make weapons, gather supplies, prepare traps, or plan. Couples must sneak away to fool around.
When the Monster or Crazed Killer comes, you must split up and run into the woods instead of uniting to fight.
Do not read aloud from the Ultimate Evil Tome of Really Bad Stuff. If you do so anyway, do not record yourself.
Whew! Is that the record for longest first post?
Oh, there is a lot wrong with that horrendous exercise! How about riding a motorcycle without touching the handlebars? Riding a motorcycle without touching the handlebars and firing a gun all at the same time? Or the hero somersaulting over a van going about 50 mph and landing on his feet?
Here’s a minor and rather esoteric error: Remember the sound of German machineguns in “Saving Private Ryan”? I remember reading that the sound of the U.S. M-60 firing at full auto was used to make the effect. However, the German machine guns depicted (mostly MG42s) had rates of fire significantly higher than the M60. So much so, in fact, that they would’ve sounded like tearing cloth on full auto.