What's the worst movie/TV cliche?

[Reply #40 on:]

-Bad Guys attacking the hero one at a time
-"let's all stay in Tokyo even though Godzilla attacked the last two nights! What are the chances of that happening again?"

[Reply #41 on:]

When a bunch of people trapped are somewhere, there is always one person who knows morse.

and just a few noises means a full sentence.

example : beep beep beeeeeeeeeep beep = we are trapped under that big piece of concrete, please send a superhero to rescue us because it's cold and one lady is about to give birth.

In the 80s, computers in movies were always working on unknown operating systems that could understand commands in plain english.

Example: "I need to gain acces to the secret files of doctor Smith in order to save the little Billy"

And if the computer asks for a password, the hero just had to type "override" to gain access...

Asian men are always kung fu / karate masters.

When a dog is barking, that means "follow me, I have something to show you" and everybody will understand that in movies.

When 2 or more men are fighting in a bar, it's always under a Budweiser sign.

[Reply #42 on:]

Being the black guy, your bound to be dead when the Movies over, see Scream 3.

[Reply #43 on:]

Science guys or computer users are wearing glasses and are stereotypical representations of "geeks"

About what Fromage said about computers
- they can ALWAYS enhance and image and make it bigger NO matter how small or crappy it looks to begin with.
- the person typing NEVER hits space bar or Enter

[Reply #44 on:]

In every action movie the bad guys shoot their machine guns and never hit the good guy.(Bond not included because it's done on purpose). Mostly in TV shows when a person explains a scene or their emotions they talk to themselves.

Star wars episode 1
Star Wars Episode 2
Matrix Reloaded (EDIT: Oh no wait this is just really BAD!!)

Cars blowing up for basically no reason what-so-ever.

[Reply #45 on:]

The whole cut the blue or red wire to stop the bomb, or the fact that all bombs have big clocks on them so the antaganists can give the protaganists time to stop it..

[Reply #46 on:]

Characters ask 'can I ask you a question?' before asking any question.

If you are the hero/heroine in a film you must be incredibly attractive. Ugly people just aren't skilled enough to survive.

You are faced with a 20 foot man-eating monster. You have your 5 year-old daughter in your arms. You are ten seconds away from being eaten alive. Screaming is not going to help. And it's lucky that the hero is always there in time to save them AND find some escape route that everyone else missed.

[Reply #47 on:]

How about the person who's told to stay where they are, and then they hear a noise, and sure enough, they wander off to see what it is! 

More than once, I have found myself yelling at the TV screen, don't go that way, you moron, go away from the suspicous noise.  Gaaah!

[Reply #48 on:]

Every time a character enters his/her house with grocery bags, there's always one bag that contains a baguette. (french bread)

[Reply #49 on:]

The 2 computer illiterate people standing (always standing) over the shoulder of the computer literate person (who is always sitting), while they all try to figure out a problem.
This is also famous for the bad guy caught on  surveillance...One of the technologically illiterate people will say to the person sitting; "Wait...go back a second." The person sitting will move the frames back a little. For some reason, the technologically illiterate person has to announce "right there!", as if the technologically literate person wouldn't be able to spot the correct frame. Then they'll be a still frame of the bad guy looking like he is suspiciously lingering at the scene,(who's usually near a tree/at a funeral/wearing sunglasses). (P.S. Where is the surveillance coming from? How did they get access to it/was there someone filming at the scene?)

The detective who gets woken up by a phone call at 3 O'Clock in the morning because of a murder/the concerned wife laying next to him/the detective having to get out of bed and go down to the murder scene/and in the next shot MUST appear with a cup of coffee in his hand at the scene.

At one of those gas stations in the middle of nowhere/highway in West...When assisting someone (like a detective) in regards to a suspicious person who had been there recently; for some reason, while stating that they saw the person in question; the gas station attendant MUST wipe his brow with that greasy/oily rag that was hanging out of his pocket. (There also must be the old guy hanging out at the station/tilting back his chair against the wall/but never saying anything.)

The few good guys taking on the MANY/disposable bad guys. An example of this was the first "Lord Of The Rings"; at the end when the couple of Hobbits and couple of fighters took on the army who had been training the whole movie to kill them.

The relief that it was "only a cat" in a tense moment during a horror movie.

The  main characters, (usually a couple of shlubs), not knowing that they have possesion of something valuable, (that they end up actually owning in the end). This usually comes into their possesion as a result of some "switch"..i.e. switch with someone else's bag at a hotel or airport. (P.S. If the bag was that important; why would the guy not pay attention to it...even for a couple of seconds.)

The brawl at the roadside bar is started by the big, plaid-shirted, nearly dimented white guy; who insists on starting the bar brawl by breaking a pool stick over someone, as if he and his other seedy gang members don't possess a more effective weapon to start/win a fight.

[Reply #50 on:]

The strange thing that happens in front of the token alchoholic who as a result throws away his current bottle of liquor.

[Reply #51 on:]

Whenever someone need's to be trained up, we get a Training Scene like in one of the many Rockies or Eye of The Tiger.

[Reply #52 on:]

Clichés:
Explosions
Heroes
Heroines
Kissing
Guns
Fighting
Driving/Flying/Cycling/Rockets
People

I want see a movie about a banana rolling down a hill flicking peas at passers by with a fork all done in papier maché.
And it shouldn't be filmed, it should be drawn live by some guy holding up cards in front of you in the cinema real fast, you don't have to pay in, only for some binoculars to get a good look.

[Reply #53 on:]

Been there...done that...   

[Reply #54 on:]

what about whenthey stare at the "bad guy"  for 2 munites when they come out of no where?   or remember in the movie twister(it sucked)  when they are makin thoes things fly  it shows the truck next to the huge one for 2 seconds then its clear out and it didnt happen yet???  oh the movies are too predictible  the ring kicked ass though  i waz lost in it for a while  not too cheezy too

[Reply #55 on:]

Has anyone noticed the unlimited ammunition? Both in Anime and in normal stuff.

Bebop and Trigun are the only one's that pay attention.

Also, it sucks to be an ensign in Star Trek or The Sharpe Drama series because being the new guy, you'll in brutal horrible ways.

[Reply #56 on:]

No matter where in Paris you are, you will always (and I do mean always) be able to see the Eiffel Tower through the window.

[Reply #57 on:]

Where the heroes crawl in the air vents above a board meeting or something, and they always overhear things which are relevant to their conversation.

[Reply #58 on:]

The slut who boinks everything that moves, but doesn't get pregnent until she has sex with the hero.

[Reply #59 on:]

Not really a cliche, but...Film directors who are quite Bad, but insist on comparing themselves to Kubrick or Hitchcock.

Gus VanSant!

[Reply #60 on:]

Anyone see that Simpsons episode where they goof on the chase scene cliches? It was the one where sugar was banned from Springfield...Homer and Bart are being chased in a motorboat, (with Miami Vice music in background). When they are driving in between two cruise ships; two workers, (one on each ship), are each holding the end of a sheet of glass. Homer drives under the glass. [*The old "2 guys just happening to be moving a big sheet of glass in the street during a car chase" cliche.]
Then there was a shot of a lady on a jet ski. When Homer drove the motorboat towards her, she screamed "My baby!". The baby was being pushed on a serperate jet ski-stroller..They swerved away from them. [*The old "lady pushing the stroller in front of the car chase" cliche.]It was too funny.
For some reason, this reminds me of the guy trying to cement/make a new sidewalk. A chase scene, on foot, where people keep running through his fresh cement. He keeps getting aggravated each time they run through his new sidewalk. Was that a cliche..or just a recurring joke from something?

[Reply #61 on:]

Simpsons always paradies chace scenes, everythime they have one there is at least one joke.

my favorites being the milk truck exploding or the car running over the mail box and people jumping to get the mail.

[Reply #62 on:]

Going with the chase scene, if  somebody's car goes over the side of a cliff, then it will almost invariably explode when it reaches the bottom.  That's why I liked that Family Guy episode, where Meg is drag racing the Amish man, whose buggy goes over the side, which then explodes, follwed by his horse exploding. 

[Reply #63 on:]

Ship's blowing up in space and making sounds.

[Reply #64 on:]

Every society in space, no matter how alien, must have an "Emperor"...usually referred to as "Your Majesty".

All TV commercials for "barbecue sauce" must have cowboys rustling cattle, cowboys sitting around a campfire, something getting branded onto a surface (like the name of the sauce), the sound of a whip cracking, the phrase "Yee-hahh!", the mention of the words "mesquite", "grill", "bold", "big" (i.e. "the big, bold barbecue taste of..." ), "hankerin'", "rustlin' up", (i.e. "rustlin' up some flavor" ) spoken by a very deep cowboy voice with a western accent.

All family-orientated sitcoms must have wise-cracking children who, in real life, couldn't possibly come up with the content and timing of their one-liners and comebacks.
Most wise-cracking usually takes place in the kitchen.
Family dogs on sitcoms never look natural. They always show like an Golden Retriever sitting on the couch, panting and looking distracted/obviously having it's attention fixed on a trainer off-stage. The exit of a sitcom dog always looks so unnatural/planned too.
A car crash on a sitcom is never seen. You hear just a cheesy crash sound and the reaction of one of the characters who is looking out the window. When they go outside, a hubcap is usually rolling around.
All sitcoms must have the obligatory "serious epsiode", (where one show every one or two years is about something like  pregnancy/birth control).

Babies who talk.

Animals who talk.

Movies where someone has to choose between a secure job with their father's evil corporation, or a "real" life with someone they are in love with.

The song "Born To Be Wild" in movies and tv when referring to motorcycles, bikers, coolness, the sixties or whatever.

Kid's TV commercials that incorporate the words, "Cool!" and "Awesome!" to sell juice, cereal, toys, etc.
Kid's cereal commercials where the boy who eats something, like say Cookie Crisp cereal, seems to embark on a psychedelic acid trip.
Making the product mascot "cool" by giving him sunglasses. i.e. the Pepperidge Farm fish, Cap N' Crunch...
A product, like a hot dog, shown wearing sunglasses in a recliner chair while sipping a drink and  soaking up the sun.

[Reply #65 on:]

Two word's. Unrealistic sex.

[Reply #66 on:]

 

Originally posted by Pitt Clemens:
Neo: Hmm, this is gonna be tough.
Tank: Got you sorted.
*IDKFA
Very happy ammo added.
Neo: Woah. Cool, unlimited bullets.

     
I used to love that game and *IDDQD* when his eyes go red   

[Reply #67 on:]

When the doorbell rings and someone in the house answers it only to find someone teh don't want to see on the other side, they slam the door shut and the curtain the just happened to be covering a window springs up and the person who they don't want in the house looks in so they person in the house tries to pull down the curtian again.

[Reply #68 on:]

 

Originally posted by Nurdbot:
Ship's blowing up in space and making sounds.

The PEELers' FAQ: Apostro...Oh what's the pont?!

Probably already mentioned, but the bad guys are always awful shots. I mean they could at least hit the hero's arm every once in a while!

Running down a hallway with a trail of bullets always one step behind you, aim up you morons!

Good guys turn up 5 seconds after the hero finishes beating the bad guys on his own.

[Reply #69 on:]

An older Cliche:

Saving the dog.  The hero always has a dog tagging along, and even tho people all around are dying left and right, the ficking Dog is the one that always survives.

By the time I saw it in Independance Day I was sick of it.  By the time Dante's Peak came around I wanted to watch Old Yeller in a loop.

[Reply #70 on:]

-People taking a shortcut and getting lost.
-Arguments about whose fault it is that they got lost.
-People pulling pranks in horror movies, then the other person says "that's not funny". "Funny guy" usually dies after that.
-People going into places they should stay out.

[Reply #71 on:]

 

Originally posted by Pitt Clemens:
Saving the dog.  The hero always has a dog tagging along, and even tho people all around are dying left and right, the ficking Dog is the one that always survives.

I recommend watching Jurassic Park 2 to you. Near the end something happens that you will find very satisfying.

[Reply #72 on:]

Don't remember if anyone said this, but how about, "It's quiet, too quiet"  Hate that.

Also, when you're in the woods, and a single twig snaps, and everyone looks for something.  Hate that.

Really hate the spring loaded cat.

[Reply #73 on:]

When the telephone rings and nobody's taking the call and someone ask "were you expecting a phone call?"

JUST ANSWER TO THE PHONE MORON!

[Reply #74 on:]

There are too many movies that have people moving in/or out of a house.

Everything in a movie must have a meaning. Can't someone just use the bathroom without it being part of the plot???  geez   

The evil cartoon villian who states from his secret lair that his plan "to rule the world (and/or) universe is almost complete" ("Moo-HA-HA!" ). 

What's the deal with douche commercials and women on swings? Can't chics go to a movie or somethin' afterward?

And what about the blue liquid in diaper commercials? (What..no green??) Well, if my baby was peeing blue, I'd be concerned.

[Reply #75 on:]

People shooting up tile floors/walls.  Popularized by the building hallway sequence in The Matrix (though they probably aren't the first to use it), I see this showing up in actions films every so often.  The latest example is the preview commercials for that vampires vs werewolf movie that's coming out.  In that commercial some woman twirls around in a circle shooting the floor and then falls through it.  Ooooh, look at all the little bits of tile flying around when I shoot the floor!  Combine with other slow motion, Matrix like effects for added unoriginality.

[Reply #76 on:]

In a similar vein to what Faze said - how the main character ALWAYS survives. It just makes watching a horror movie boring because you know who's going to survive no matter what the odds.

Also the fact that bad guys are awful shots.

Also EVERYTHING blowing up. I mean, why?

[Reply #77 on:]

RE: How main character always survives
Wasn't that one of the things "Alien" did differently?

(Warning: Spoilers for those who haven't seen Alien):

Show spoiler

Since they had a male lead who then dies unexpectedly, leaving Ripley to take the lead. Of course, it's ruined if you watch any of the sequels first, like I did.   

[Reply #78 on:]

-Bullet Time. The Matrix made it popular and a pox on them for that. Special Effects gone bad.

-Two-dimensional Villians. There's nothing worse than watching a movie with a villian that's "pure evil" or "heartless". Nobody's 100% evil.

-That man who's an obnoxious jerk-off who plays by his own rules who works with this snotty uptight girl. They hate each other at first, but over the course of one to two days, realize they love each other.

-That loser guy who's friends with the girl who likes the jocky guy. In the end the girl realizes she loves her friend instead of the jock. Nice job giving us false hope, Hollywood.

-Earth computers that can bring down entire alien fleets.

-Aliens referring to themselves as aliens. This doesn't happen much anymore but this was a pretty common in the 50's-80's. Wouldn't we be the aliens to them?

-Giant spiders.

[Reply #79 on:]

 

Originally posted by Archie2K:
In a similar vein to what Faze said - how the main character ALWAYS survives.

You sure it was me? I went mad and started talking about bananas.

Add talking to my list, that rolling banana should hum weird noises as he's going down the hill for the soundtrack. 

Show spoiler

P.S. Gladiator died at the end!