Annoying movie cliches...

[The Ü™]

Inspired by an IMDb poll, what do you think is/are the most annoying movie cliche(s)? I know the standard ones, such as:

• Cut the green wire.
• Interrupted kisses.
• Bullet Time sequences (trend made popular, but not started by, The Matrix).
• Massive flying camera sequence (trend started by The Lord of the Rings).
• The black guy always dies.
• Etc.

But here are some of my own:

• Red lighting during romance scenes.
• Hero always wins.
• Male character does not retaliate after being "bitch slapped" by an angry female character.
• The story revolves around a poor person trying to overthrow the system. (Why aren't there more movies revolving around rich people fighting to keep their power?)
• Tough chick (obvious counter response to the weak and submissive chicks).
• Villains are almost always and have almost always been white (contrary to common belief).
• The black guy survives (when it is obviously used as a counter response to the trend of the black guy always dying, it becomes evident when the movie makes it so it constantly seems he's going to die).

And here are cliches that I wouldn't mind keeping:

• Hero gets caught in an elaborate yet easily escapable death trap.
• Small explosions followed by one giant explosion.
• The villain's role revolves around a diabolical plan to take over the world.
• The villain's fortress is practically designed for theatrics.
• The villain with a bombastic speech about his plans.

 

[sassafrassquatch]

The male and female protagonists inevitably fall in love. Quit cluttering up my movies with annoying romantic crap. If I want to see that I'll watch a chick flick.

All female characters who do not fall in love with the hero in action/horrorish type movies are almost always killed off. Stop it.

Slut whacking based horror movies. Sluts are cool. Stop making them.

And pretty much all unnecessary violence against female characters.

 

[Mempy]

And pretty much all unnecessary violence against female characters.

Agreed. And stop giving us passive, one-dimensional female characters in movies. I never see a truly intelligent, dynamic, multi-faceted female protagonist.

Insta-sex or insta-kissing. If two people haven't had enough time to even learn one or two opinions about each other, are they going to kiss? Nope. They're CERTAINLY not going to have sex.

Females being way better-looking than the males. Females who weild sex as power.

MEN RESCUING FEMALES! STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT. I am so, so, SO freaking sick of the men rescuing the females! Grrrr! :steam: For one thing, it is freaking BORING. We ALLLLL know it's going to happen!

 

[miss fortune]

oooh- you forgot the one about whenever someone shows a picture of their fiance or new child or something they die soon afterwords!

(and it always makes me sad when the slut dies first )

 

[Zergling]

Stupid Police (or other non-main characters.) I'm sure people know why this is an issue.

Some sex in movies. There are movies where sex scenes work, but it does get repeated enough to get annoying.

Some types of "humanizing". A lot of times, ways of doing this just seem tacked on to a movie to make the character likable. It's also annoying because there are many types of humans on the planet, with a wide variety of emotional tendencies, interests, etc., there often seems to be no need to humanize characters, or a way could easily be picked that fits well with the character.

Modern day war movies that show battle in all its bloody, gory, deadly mess. (Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk down type movies). Again, although they work well at getting the point across, these just get repetitive.

War movies that get preachy: A lot of the above types of ones do this, it's just quite annoying after awhile.

Sympathy for evil characters: I don't want to know why some serial killer in a movie has a bad child hood and just needs attention. I had a divorce when I was young, got picked on at school, blah, blah blah, yet haven't killed anyone, and the general population doesn't care, so expecting the same for some serial killer is actually pretty insulting.

And stop giving us passive, one-dimensional female characters in movies. I never see a truly intelligent, dynamic, multi-faceted female protagonist.

This one is quite true, a lot of female characters seem to get token "this is a strong female" treatment, before they have to get saved by the big action hero. Similar to "humanizing", having a character that could be quite impressive turn into just a love interest is not fun to see.

The male and female protagonists inevitably fall in love. Quit cluttering up my movies with annoying romantic crap. If I want to see that I'll watch a chick flick.

Agree wholeheartedly here. In some movies the romances seem quite forced, such as Lord of the Rings. (Though the Arwen stuff was good for creating pauses and slower moments in the movies.)

To me using this cliche makes the characters a lot less interesting also. People do have other feelings and interests besides attraction, sex, love, etc. It just seems quite unrealistic after awhile to have every single character fall in love in an action movie. I'd really like to see more ways to "humanize" a character than the worn out falling in love trick.

 

[The Ü™]

I still don't understand why the never show children getting killed on-screen even in R-rated movies. It's usually just implied. There's no harm in taking risks...

I also think that one-dimensional villains make the story more enjoyable. I agree that humanizing villains is stupid. He's the villain, you're not supposed to feel sympathy for him. You're supposed to love to hate him.

And why can't the main villain be a woman more often?

Which reminds me, that's another cliche that I'd like to keep: Female villains must be sexier and more seductive than the heroine.

 

[Mempy]

I also think that one-dimensional villains make the story more enjoyable. I agree that humanizing villains is stupid. He's the villain, you're not supposed to feel sympathy for him. You're supposed to love to hate him.

This brought to mind the captain from Pan's Labyrinth. He was downright cruel, and I really liked that. I like for villains to have weaknesses, and I think his weakness was wanting an heir so badly. I loved to hate him. He was so artfully portrayed on the big screen. Ruthless, cunning, sick and cruel. Oooh.

I think movies need more VILLAINS who are main characters. It would be interesting to see a really sick and messed-up person being the main character. Have I seen any movies where the villain was the main character? I don't just mean your classic gritty underdog protagonist who easily offends everyone because he's rude and vulgar and doesn't take any crap (like Indiana Jones, Van Hellsing, etc). I want to see a truly demented, messed-up, genius VILLAIN (aka antagonist) who is the main character, who murders people, has his values completely screwed up, and really isn't remorseful. That would be interesting. But, I'd also like him (or her!) to have a soft spot really deep down - not necessarily the classic soft spot for a love interest or a dead parent, but an emotion that isn't frequent in their personality, like sadness, or feelings of deficiency. Something, in all the madness, that you can relate to.

Stupid Police (or other non-main characters.) I'm sure people know why this is an issue.

Oh my gosh, agreed, agreed! Why can't ANY of the side characters have a wit or a brain?

Some types of "humanizing". A lot of times, ways of doing this just seem tacked on to a movie to make the character likable. It's also annoying because there are many types of humans on the planet, with a wide variety of emotional tendencies, interests, etc., there often seems to be no need to humanize characters, or a way could easily be picked that fits well with the character.

Yup. Some ways of humanizing a character just don't fit with that character, or it's over-done. You can't expect a jerk to do a 360-degree turn or something. Yup. Romance is usually the easiest way for people to show that hey! he's human! Blah. I agree, there are much more original and interesting ways. It doesn't have to be slammed in our faces. Some characters can be almost irredeemably flawed, but still human, for that ability to change and grow over time.

 

[Recoleta]

I want to see a truly demented, messed-up, genius VILLAIN (aka antagonist) who is the main character, who murders people, has his values completely screwed up, and really isn't remorseful. That would be interesting. But, I'd also like him (or her!) to have a soft spot really deep down - not necessarily the classic soft spot for a love interest or a dead parent, but an emotion that isn't frequent in their personality, like sadness, or feelings of deficiency. Something, in all the madness, that you can relate to.

I have the perfect mini-series/movie for what you described. Have you ever seen the tv mini-series that aired on HBO entitled "Epitafios" (meaning Epitaphs in English)? It's on DVD now, and comes with English subtitles. Seriously, this series was so twisted it literally disturbed me on occasion when I watched it, but was so brilliantly done I had to keep watching to see what happened. Here's a link to a summary of the series:

HBO's 'Epitafios' Raises the Tension With the Body Count

 

[Forfe]

I want to see a truly demented, messed-up, genius VILLAIN (aka antagonist) who is the main character, who murders people, has his values completely screwed up, and really isn't remorseful. That would be interesting. But, I'd also like him (or her!) to have a soft spot really deep down - not necessarily the classic soft spot for a love interest or a dead parent, but an emotion that isn't frequent in their personality, like sadness, or feelings of deficiency. Something, in all the madness, that you can relate to.

You should check out the Dexter tv series, especially season 1 which was entirely based on the book Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Season 2 has strayed off onto it's own plotline but season 1 was brilliant, and the main character is exactly like you described. Alternatively just read the book.

 

[sassafrassquatch]

Also, all non english speaking white people speak with a british accent.

Russians in Enemy at the Gate.
Germans and french are usually british, sometimes nazis in WWII movies use a german accent.
Romans are always british.

 

[JivinJeffJones]

People in horror movies who, with werewolves/vampires/zombies/aliens/whatever known to be killing people outside the house, still stand with their backs to an unbarred, inordinately large window while they discuss the crisis.

Women and (especially) children who do stupid things to take the characters from a position of strength to a position of vulnerability (eg running away from the safe place to find a pet, running off to get a keepsake, running away because they are scared). Lots of people end up dying needlessly, and the kids/women responsible (should they survive) are never made appropriately accountable. Especially popular is the child-running-off-to-find-pet combined with the concerned-unreasoning-shrill-mother-running-after-child.

Inability to insert keys into locks under any kind of stress.

Failure of car engines to start immediately.

 

[Mempy]

People in horror movies who, with werewolves/vampires/zombies/aliens/whatever known to be killing people outside the house, still stand with their backs to an unbarred, inordinately large window while they discuss the crisis.

Women and (especially) children who do stupid things to take the characters from a position of strength to a position of vulnerability (eg running away from the safe place to find a pet, running off to get a keepsake, running away because they are scared). Lots of people end up dying needlessly, and the kids/women responsible (should they survive) are never made appropriately accountable. Especially popular is the child-running-off-to-find-pet combined with the concerned-unreasoning-shrill-mother-running-after-child.

Inability to insert keys into locks under any kind of stress.

Failure of car engines to start immediately.

LMAO. So true. If I was being chased by something, I'd make sure I could see ALL entrances clearly, carry the best weapon I could find, and probably put my back toward a wall.

I was going to mention what you said about the women and children always getting themselves into danger and needing to be rescued. Specifically, I was thinking of women who always try to rescue a helpless stranger or child but end up putting themselves in danger as well, necessitating that a MALE come along and save the day. It plays into the stereotype that women are nurturers and men are protectors. Boring!

Why is everyone who isn't a leading male protagonist stupid? Why? Wouldn't we all much rather see very intelligent characters, with maybe only the occasional dumbass?

In scary movies especially, for the movie to keep going the sadistic psychopath needs to be vastly more intelligent than the pitiful mortals he's hacking up. All the victims are helpfully stupid, while the murderer is an omnipotent, all-knowing god - he's ten steps ahead of all the pitiful peons, can practically read their minds, and is everywhere they want to be. It would be MUCH more entertaining if the victims and the killer were more evenly matched. I'd rather see an intense battle of intelligence than a bunch of young, hot, dirty teenagers standing with their backs toward open windows.

The horror genre gets more stupid, poorly-made movies than any other.

Oooh, Recoleta, that Epitafios looks VERY interesting!

Thanks for the rec as well, Forfe. If I ever see the series in the store or hear about it, I'll take a second look.

 

[Oberon]

I still don't understand why the never show children getting killed on-screen even in R-rated movies. It's usually just implied. There's no harm in taking risks...

Audiences won't stand for it. There's no surer way to turn a film into a financial ruin.

 

[Zergling]

Audiences won't stand for it. There's no surer way to turn a film into a financial ruin.

Just think for a second about why the post this responds to was written.

Also, all non english speaking white people speak with a british accent.

Russians in Enemy at the Gate.
Germans and french are usually british, sometimes nazis in WWII movies use a german accent.
Romans are always british.

True this one is, though for me its less an annoying cliche than just a cliche, along with bad guys having some sort of European accent.

 

[Night]

Audiences won't stand for it. There's no surer way to turn a film into a financial ruin.

Agreed.

Implicit cultural taboos probably restrict more content than we are aware.

That said, I still take issue with levels of brutality in specific "genre-oriented" films, like the Saw series; The Devil's Rejects; 8 MM; Hostel...etc. Try as I might, I always leave feeling disturbed (and slightly emotionally violated) after seeing these sorts of depictions.

Which is why I swore off the trade after Scream 3.

 

[Mempy]

Agreed.

Implicit cultural taboos probably restrict more content than we are aware.

That said, I still take issue with levels of brutality in specific "genre-oriented" films, like the Saw series; The Devil's Rejects; 8 MM; Hostel...etc. Try as I might, I always leave feeling disturbed (and slightly emotionally violated) after seeing these sorts of depictions.

Which is why I swore off the trade after Scream 3.

I agree. I couldn't watch Hostel after the guy started getting holes drilled into his chest. Those depictions leave me with a sick, heart-wrung feeling. It's hard to describe, but I don't think it's queasiness. It feels like my psyche as a person is coming undone. I just can't watch things like that.

 

[Oberon]

Just think for a second about why the post this responds to was written.

What makes you think I hadn't?

And believe me, I have considered this question before. I once included a scene in a radio play in which a character who seemed to be a female child (she wasn't) was tortured by captors. My director informed me that the scene, misleading or not, had to go, and he told me why.

Without a doubt it has probably been tried in art films. It never happens in studio releases for a very good reason... the reason I posted above. Audiences won't tolerate being asked to view the death (or torture) of helpless children at the hands of villains. It's not fun to watch, and people choose not to.

 

[Oberon]

It would be MUCH more entertaining if the victims and the killer were more evenly matched.

But the point isn't to make the film intellectually interesting... it's to put you inside a nightmare. And in nightmares, no matter what you do the monster has the upper hand.

That's why the films are like that.

 

[Night]

I agree. I couldn't watch Hostel after the guy started getting holes drilled into his chest. Those depictions leave me with a sick, heart-wrung feeling. It's hard to describe, but I don't think it's queasiness. It feels like my psyche as a person is coming undone. I just can't watch things like that.

I've never liked bullies.

For me, I think the victimization of a "weaker" party by a "stronger" is what principally sickens me.

 

[Mempy]

But the point isn't to make the film intellectually interesting... it's to put you inside a nightmare. And in nightmares, no matter what you do the monster has the upper hand.

That's why the films are like that.

So noted. I thought of that myself, but I still think the movie would be more appealing if the characters were at least as intelligent as I am. Most crappy horror movies bank on the fact that their main characters are dumb - they can keep making stupid decisions that land them in the hands of the killer, and the movie can continue to its painful close.

The more realistic something is, the more nightmarish it becomes. If I can FEEL in my bones that this could really happen, it's horrifying. If the main characters are all idiots and the storyline is completely ludicrous, it becomes less and less scary. I'd like the main characters to be as smart as if not smarter than I am, and the plot to be realistic, because otherwise I can always step outside the movie and say, "Hey, this will NEVER, ever happen! And I'd never be that stupid," which makes me feel disgruntled and annoyed for the five bucks I spent renting the movie and the time I'm spending watching it.

I've never liked bullies.

For me, I think the victimization of a "weaker" party by a "stronger" is what principally sickens me.

Mhmm. It doesn't sicken me, per se, to see a kid getting bullied by a bigger kid. But when torture of another human being is taken to such extremes as Hostel, and when I can see it in lurching detail, yes, it does make me want to heave.