Random things that bug you in movies and TV

[DrNewGod]

Also related is the level of damage that a bare-knuckled punch actually does to the human face in real life. There's a reason boxers wear padded gloves. This was well described by Mark Millar in a "making of" feature on the first "Kick-Ass" when he talked about how he'd been punched in the face once in his life and it made him want to depict violence in a realistic way. He said what he remembered about it was "My face just exploded!"

The pads are more for the attackers' hands as they are the target. Heavy weight gloves are so thick because those guys can piston so much force into a punch that their knuckles would never be the same. At lighter weight classes and in mixed-arts, the gloves are much thinner.

[Captain Haddock]

What is the movie going for? Is it a cartoonish action movie, or is it going for realistic depictions of violence? I feel like tone and intent play a role in this.

Cartoonish slapstick violence gets a pass from me because it's obviously not going for realism. 'Pulp' style like Indiana Jones or old-school Bond I roll with as Manly Men Punching Evil goes with the territory. But 'serious' films (Craig-era Bond for example) playing it straight irritates me a lot. Especially when someone like Bond wouldn't be getting into fistfights all over the place if he was at all competent.

[t hedge coke]

Especially when someone like Bond wouldn't be getting into fistfights all over the place if he was at all competent.

Bond isn't all that competent, though. In that sense. And, clearly, that Bond, as with many Bonds, goes looking for fights.

[MikeP]

For me, its when things sneak up on characters that they should have absolutely heard, like vehicles. There's no way you didn't hear that bus coming down the street.

Or in The Walking Dead, apparently, the zombies who have absolutely no self awareness will suddenly turn into ninjas when the camera isn't on them.

[simbob4000]

For me, its when things sneak up on characters that they should have absolutely heard, like vehicles. There's no way you didn't hear that bus coming down the street.

Or in The Walking Dead, apparently, the zombies who have absolutely no self awareness will suddenly turn into ninjas when the camera isn't on them.

Using what the viewer can only see on camera like that's all the characters can see can be pretty great. It's a stylistic gag, and like with any gag some people use it better than others.

[The Negative Zone]

When the good guys never seem to score a victory against the bad guys.

[Amibo_Amore]

Whenever a villain forces a character to surrender by threatening someone who's close to him/her. It's the coward's way out.

[Cyke]

Or in The Walking Dead, apparently, the zombies who have absolutely no self awareness will suddenly turn into ninjas when the camera isn't on them.

Probably the biggest crime was when Otis's wife was devoured in the big battle of the S2 finale, ambushed by a zombie that was hidden offscreen. It basically looked like she saw a zombie and ran right to it.

I know that, for whatever reason, the director chose a closer shot that took away the tree that the zombie-actor was supposed to spring from for the surprise attack, but in that case, it means that trees are also ninjas when they're out of camera view.

[simbob4000]

Probably the biggest crime was when Otis's wife was devoured in the big battle of the S2 finale, ambushed by a zombie that was hidden offscreen. It basically looked like she saw a zombie and ran right to it.

I know that, for whatever reason, the director chose a closer shot that took away the tree that the zombie-actor was supposed to spring from for the surprise attack, but in that case, it means that trees are also ninjas when they're out of camera view.

Was the reason to surprise the viewer?

[Cyke]

Was the reason to surprise the viewer?

You could hide the zombie between whatever objects you need to achieve surprise. Or getting a quick shot from behind her, Beth, and Lori showing that they were heading towards a tree would also work. The show does it all the time, before and after that scene.

But they never showed the tree in the first place. As it is, without seeing whatever the zombie hid in, it shows her running straight into a zombie that was well within her full view during her escape and then being surprised that she was getting eaten. By making the viewer unaware of those objects by keeping them out of camera view, she essentially committed suicide by tackling it. If you're going to surprise the viewer, the character should also have a legitimate reason to be surprised.

Since she ran into it in the dead center of her line of sight with nothing to block her vision, there was no reason for her to be surprised like the viewer, which makes her look incredibly, illegitimately, and uncharacteristically stupid for the sake of a cheap viewer surprise. There were a million other ways that she could have died. That was the dumbest. This is why good direction and choreography are so important in TV/film.

[Osiris-Rex]

When the bomb is defused at the last second.

Or an even larger question, why is the bomber making the bomb go off when it counts to zero? Why doesn't the bomber set it to go off at, say, the 30 second mark and trick the people trying to defuse it into thinking they still have 30 seconds left to defuse the bomb.

Why even have a bomb with a big, flashy countdown timer? Why tip the people you are trying to bomb into knowing when your bomb will go off and give them time to defuse it?

[90'sCartoonMan]

But they never showed the tree in the first place. As it is, without seeing whatever the zombie hid in, it shows her running straight into a zombie that was well within her full view during her escape and then being surprised that she was getting eaten. By making the viewer unaware of those objects by keeping them out of camera view, she essentially committed suicide by tackling it. If you're going to surprise the viewer, the character should also have a legitimate reason to be surprised.

Agreed with that. I've seen lots of movies/TV shows that try to trick the audience and end up messing up the actual character's POV.

When the bomb is defused at the last second.

Or an even larger question, why is the bomber making the bomb go off when it counts to zero? Why doesn't the bomber set it to go off at, say, the 30 second mark and trick the people trying to defuse it into thinking they still have 30 seconds left to defuse the bomb.

Why even have a bomb with a big, flashy countdown timer? Why tip the people you are trying to bomb into knowing when your bomb will go off and give them time to defuse it?

I've seen that played with a couple times. Like, trying to defuse a bomb making the countdown go faster. What I can't stand is the number of beeps not matching up to the count. Because it's a suspenseful moment, so I ALWAYS count along with the timer, even when the camera isn't on the bomb, so when you see the number on the timer again and it isn't the number I've counted to, I feel cheated.

[Midvillian1322]

The pads are more for the attackers' hands as they are the target. Heavy weight gloves are so thick because those guys can piston so much force into a punch that their knuckles would never be the same. At lighter weight classes and in mixed-arts, the gloves are much thinner.

This^ the gloves protect the hands more then the other guys face. Also back in the day bareknuckle fights were less exciting because the fighters threw less punches. The adding of gloves took away the boxers fear of breaking his hand every fight.

Alot damage from punches dont show for awhile so you wouldnt see the bad guys face destroyed in the scene unless his skull is caved in. The more unrealistic thing are the action heros who beat on all these dudes, never doing serious damage to their hands. Especialy the ones with knockout power.

[Kirby101]

When the bomb is defused at the last second.

Or an even larger question, why is the bomber making the bomb go off when it counts to zero? Why doesn't the bomber set it to go off at, say, the 30 second mark and trick the people trying to defuse it into thinking they still have 30 seconds left to defuse the bomb.

Why even have a bomb with a big, flashy countdown timer? Why tip the people you are trying to bomb into knowing when your bomb will go off and give them time to defuse it?

Also, what's with the red or blue or green wire. When we have someone telling someone one else how to diffuse a bomb. Why would the bad guy use some standard wiring with designated wire colors?

[Totoro Man]

This^ the gloves protect the hands more then the other guys face. Also back in the day bareknuckle fights were less exciting because the fighters threw less punches. The adding of gloves took away the boxers fear of breaking his hand every fight.

Alot damage from punches dont show for awhile so you wouldnt see the bad guys face destroyed in the scene unless his skull is caved in. The more unrealistic thing are the action heros who beat on all these dudes, never doing serious damage to their hands. Especialy the ones with knockout power.

this is part of why it's so fun that Jackie Chan would act like punching people hurts-- because sometimes it does. it's hard to think of many other famous action movie stars who acknowledge this in their films.