Movie and series cliches

[ChiroDoc]

There are a ton of them nowadays. But one that keeps cropping up over and over for the past 6-8 or more years is: it seems whenever someone is killed, or dies, they are always shown on the floor with a pool of blood around their head. Doesn't seem to matter how they were killed-- always the pool of blood. Time to move on from this hackneyed depiction.

 

[CinnamonSugar]

What sticks in my craw is when the person is supposed to be under medical care at home (usually sitting in a wheel chair) and they have an IV going... or worse, blood hanging. Lol, giving blood is very detailed, check-behind-each-other, serious thing! You do no hang a bag of blood and walk off to let it drip unattended for hours!

 

[ChiroDoc]

Good one, Cinnamon.
There are oodles of cliches. One that irks me these days, although more of of annoying plot device, is the incessant use of showing internet phone screens (I call them "cocaine phones"). It's not only a cheesy habit, but I rarely can read what's on the screens! So I usually have to try to guess what they're trying to impart.

I suppose much of the public is desperately addicted to those silly things, so many don't give it a thought. If the writer has to show a phone screen, at least make it big enough to be read by everyone!

 

[Beezer]

And why does every sit-com end with the characters eating out of cardboard Chinese food containers.

 

[Beezer]

The ugly/ pretty girl is another cliche.

She's bookish and a prude while wearing glasses...takes them off, let's down her hair and she looks like a supermodel.

 

[MarkinPhx]

James Gandolfini playing Tony Soprano was great. Glenn Close playing Patty Hewes (Damages) was great . I could go on about actors doing great work playing the anti hero in many great shows but I am getting tired of the "anti hero" character. How about a good drama with a good hero who is complicated, deep and has issues sticking with his own personal moral compass yet never crosses that line ?

 

[dilettante]

Guy with long, stringy, greasy hair who dumped his career to play stay-at-home dad, deferring to power-wife in all matters. Some terrible crisis comes about and suddenly he's the last action hero and saves the world, but never stops looking like a bum. Crisis averted, one can only assume he reverts back to nebbish.

 

[ChiroDoc]

Here are a few more:

Vomiting: It seems like we're lucky to have a full movie or series without someone upchucking in full view. I often wonder what they had the actor put in their mouth to make it look real. Yuck.

I've got to take this: Every time there is a cell phone/android in a scene, you can be sure this line will follow. Is there never a time where they don't have to take this?

Maglite beams: Perhaps as a result of film makers raised on light sabers, hardly a film goes by without the use of the powerful flashlights spearing away in darkened scenes. Some times the action taking place at night doesn't even make sense, but for the desire to display the nifty Maglite. My personal favorite is when they could actually simply flip on the room light switch, but no, let's use these beams...

 

[MountainRa]

Good one, Cinnamon.
There are oodles of cliches. One that irks me these days, although more of of annoying plot device, is the incessant use of showing internet phone screens (I call them "cocaine phones"). It's not only a cheesy habit, but I rarely can read what's on the screens! So I usually have to try to guess what they're trying to impart.

I suppose much of the public is desperately addicted to those silly things, so many don't give it a thought. If the writer has to show a phone screen, at least make it big enough to be read by everyone!

Amen to this ! I can never read the phone screen message either. So irritating. I feel like I’ve missed a major plot advancement.

it also irritates me me when scene is filmed in such poor lighting.

and — it seems every show, no matter the genre, a character has to say “ you got this” or “we got this “ at least once.

 

[Sunny]

Whenever they show a woman eating in a restaurant, or even at home, the only thing she ever eats is a salad. This is true particularly if she is young and pretty. Don't these directors think women ever eat anything else?

 

[Ted01]

I've always got annoyed with any/all of the Star Trek series because their "security teams" sucked, big time!! (Probably because I worked in the security field for most of my adult life).

But it seemed like anybody at all could sneak off the ship using a shuttle or transporter and bypass all supposed security measures that were in place.

They sneak into the hanger bay, sneak into a shuttle, start it up launch it and get through the force field. Also, reprogram the shields (oscillating frequency) so that the tractor beam couldn't lock on to them and then mask their warp trail and become untraceable... in a few short minutes. Or, it seemed, that they could alter the transporters and beam anywhere they wanted. And don't get me started on the stupid "Jeffries Tube that anyone could access crawling and climbing to all parts of the ship... breathlessly.

 

[ChiroDoc]

The phrase, "I get it". It seems like almost every character has to use this hackneyed phrase in every conversation. Time for writers to put this one in the dumpster.

Whatever happened to, "I understand"; "I see"; "I know what you mean"; "That makes sense"; and on and on...