Movies that really strain credibility. (1 Viewer)

[ThomasC]

It irritates me to see computers "dumbed down" in film. (IE: the flying graphics in Jurassic Park as the girl is trying to hack into the system to enable the door locks)

quite the contrary, i believe...i talked to my computer guru friend awhile back about this and i think he said that there was such a interface at the time but it wasn't associated with unix but something else...a software company may have made it for windows, i think. i'll try to get in touch with him (or another one of my computer guru friends ) and see what was up with the interface. bottom line though, it did exist.

 

[DeeF]

Alfred Hitchcock had a name for us: "The Plausibles." We're so determined that a drama (in his case, a suspenseful thriller) make sense that we don't recognize the drama, or even the fun, of the story being told.

The rules must be set up by the filmmakers, and if they follow their own rules (as M. Night Shamalan (SIC) did with "The Sixth Sense,") then the movie will seem plausible. It's really up to them.

A recent purchase: "Panic Room." It is filled with implausible (often senseless) events, including a woman and her teenage daughter buying an empty 15,000 square foot townhouse, and a 911 operator who says "Please hold." This movie is supposed to be contemporary reality -- the reality is what makes it scary, and so, to be so careless with these details removes the suspense. The story should have been "tightened up". The woman could have inherited the house. Or perhaps, she has claustrophobia, and needs as open a space as she can get in New York (which would heighten the drama of the panic room).

 

[Anders Englund]

i talked to my computer guru friend awhile back about this and i think he said that there was such a interface at the time but it wasn't associated with unix but something else...

I think it was written for Linux. The fact that the file browser exists doesn't make it less dumbed down. No facility of the magnitude of Jurassic Park would ever use it.

--Anders

 

[Terrell]

I think he's more asking about how many people own it for the purpose of showing off their subwoofer, or because there's a multi-disk Criterion, or some other reason.

Well, I don't subscribe to that theory. Buying a movie you don't like is flat out silly. There are tons of movies on DVD out there that can show off your sub, many of them you'd probably like. People who buy DVDs of films they hate make we wonder if they really hate the film, or are they just saying they do because it's the popular the thing to do.

 

[Jason Seaver]

I think he's more asking about how many people own it for the purpose of showing off their subwoofer, or because there's a multi-disk Criterion, or some other reason.
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Well, I don't subscribe to that theory. Buying a movie you don't like is flat out silly.

Duh. But if Armageddon does nothing else, it continually proves that many people are stupid in one way or another - for thinking they've written a decent screenplay, for thinking they should be allowed to play with an AVID machine, for paying to see it in a theater (that would be me), for buying it on DVD - sometimes twice! - for whatever reason.

 

[JohnRice]

I like that statement, Anders, even though it is a certain amount of crap as well. I hope you aren't offended by that.
I also agree with Terrell, and have felt that way for quite a while. There are plenty of decent action flicks with great soundtracks.

 

[Terrell]

Well, my intention wasn't to offend anyone. I just don't get buying something you don't like.

that many people are stupid in one way or another

Well, that's true. Probably even all of us at least once in our lives.

 

[Kevin M]

I'm Not.

(looks from side to side rapidly) Um..yeah!

 

[Steve K.H.]

Credibility issues only bother me when they really defy physics when they should not... e.g. Matrix and people going through phone lines is plausible based on the story line.
Things that bother me are like this:
Blade II
They walk into a club full of vampires, including Blade, with Vampire killing weapons. No one blinks at this in the club, nor does anyone acknowledge Blade is in there... WTF?

Fast and Furious
Two items for the price of one!!! Race scene, the floor board pops out (wtf?) and later in the same clip, Vin Diesel gets in the passenger seat with no floorboard (who is he... Fred Flintstone?)

Pearl Harbor... don't get me started!

 

[DonMac]

On Armageddon, this is a funny bit of e-humor that was floating about a few years ago on the movie's "bad science"...
===============
Plot Meeting for Armageddon
---------------------------
The following is apparently an actual transcript of part of a writers meeting for the movie Armageddon:
Begin transcript:
***
WRITER A
And so then the Mir spacestation blows up while the shuttles are right beside it!
WRITER B
So everyone is killed?
WRITER A
No no... they're all right. So then they start the loop around the moon and...
WRITER B
Doesn't getting to the moon take days?
WRITER A
Well these are hot-rod space shuttles. Anyway they both fire up their engines and start flying over the surface... the radio silence increases the tension even more! They start pulling like 12 Gs and...
WRITER B
Isn't 8 Gs about the most an experienced pilot can withstand before blacking out?
WRITER A
Well, 12 Gs sounds way more intense! Also the speedometer on the shuttle goes like up to 20,000 mph!
WRITER B
The space shuttle has a speedometer?
WRITER A
Well this one does... you know it's a high-tech digital readout. So anyway, they come around the moon and like everyone is totally relieved that they made it, and they see the asteroid! It's like a vision of hell... wispy gas surrounding this awesomely evil spiked rock! They start towards it and they turn on their radar avoidance maneuvering jets, because the thing is surrounded by thousands of volkswagen sized jagged meteors swirling around in a hellish maelstrom.
WRITER B
So these are pretty maneuverable shuttles?
WRITER A
Well ya, it's a secret prototype. Anyway the meteor storm gets worse and then it's like 10 times worse than the asteroid field in that Star Wars movie!
WRITER B
So they're all killed?
WRITER A
No no, one of the shuttles lands Okay, but it misses its target area because of the meteors. The other shuttle is torn to shreds by the storm of jagged rocks and crashes on the meteor.
WRITER B
So those guys are killed?
WRITER A
Well, there are three survivors who dust themselves off. And the drilling rover is Okay. They are protected by the cargo bay.
WRITER B
Have you ever seen news footage of when a plane slams into the side of a mountain? There often aren't many pieces left bigger than a seat cushion.
WRITER A
Look, I don't think you're being constructive here! Anyway the three guys are okay and so they take the rover and drive it through the side of the cargo bay!
WRITER B
They just drive it through the side like it was nothing? This is the cargo bay that protected them?
WRITER A
Oh wait... ya! They take a gatling gun and tear the hell out of the side of the shuttle first!!! It's a maelstrom of lead!
WRITER B
What?! What the hell are they doing with a gatling gun?
STUDIO EXEC
Audiences love serious firepower.
WRITER B
They brought along a gatling gun? Are you out of your mind?
STUDIO EXEC
Look, we need team players here. Why don't you take the rest of the week off and, uh, I'll give you a call next Monday.
****
End transcript.
===============

 

[Anders Englund]

I like that statement, Anders, even though it is a certain amount of crap as well. I hope you aren't offended by that.

Nah, I'm not offend. However, I don't really mean it as a joke... Well partially, but I still think it's true.

--Anders

 

[Derek_C]

quote:

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I think it was written for Linux. The fact that the file browser exists doesn't make it less dumbed down. No facility of the magnitude of Jurassic Park would ever use it.

The GUI used in Jurassic Park was available for Unix, so I don't see anything wrong with them using it. Also, if you don't think that facility would use Unix, what OS were they supposed to use?

 

[Anders Englund]

The GUI used in Jurassic Park was available for Unix, so I don't see anything wrong with them using it. Also, if you don't think that facility would use Unix, what OS were they supposed to use?

I didn't mean they wouldn't use UNIX or Linux, but a 3D-world file browser? No, there is nothing "wrong" with them using it, but it would definitely be too inefficient if you want to get any serious work done.

--Anders

 

[Ross Williams]

For me it's all in how the filmmakers set up their movie's universe. If they establish certain laws than break them, that's when I get upset. In The Matrix I can believe that Neo can dodge bullets, based on what has developed before. In the Art of War, I won't believe that Wesley Snipes can dodge bullets, because the filmmakers have set up their story in the "real" world.

One of my favorite examples of this is Hollow Man. They've set up a world just like ours except they have the ability to make people invisible. Fine, I have no problem with Kevin Bacon being invisible or functioning normally even though he'd technically be blind. I'll look past that. However, I won't ingore the fact that he can be burned to a crisp, hit on the head with a crowbar and electricuted ,and still have the strength to chase down the heros.
When did this normal, yet invisible, human become completely invulnerable to pain or injury? There was no explaination for it, they simply wanted the audience to swallow it, therefore it took me out of the movie.

 

[Matt Pelham]

'
That was absolutely hilarious, I needed that
Most of the discussion here has been about big action blow-em-up movies, but what about comedies? I know some suspension of disbelief must occur to enjoy and slapstick comedy, but I think Sinbad's Houseguest takes the cake as one of the worst offenders. Literally every single scenario is so utterly preposterous it'll make your head hurt. From the speed golf, to the tooth pulling, the driving lesson, it's ridiculous. Great movie though.

 

[Charles J P]

Man, I dont even know what to say. They have movies that dont have any "mistakes" or "mis-realities"... they're called documentaries. Every other movie has something that defies the world they writer has set up. Sure some are worse offenders than others, but even the most realistic movies, you usually get at least some implausable charcter actions.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Not really, Charles.

 

[JohnRice]

I don't know how many times I have thought, "nobody would ever do that," only to find out many people have. Documentaries are often more inaccurate the many dramas.

 

[Kevin M]

When did this normal, yet invisible, human become completely invulnerable to pain or injury? There was no explaination for it,

Yes there was, he was psychotic. I have been around people who have had psychotic episodes and you could hit them with a shovel and they wouldn't blink an eye, it's frightening what the mind can do.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Charles J P said:

Man, I dont even know what to say. They have movies that dont have any "mistakes" or "mis-realities"... they're called documentaries. Every other movie has something that defies the world they writer has set up. Sure some are worse offenders than others, but even the most realistic movies, you usually get at least some implausable charcter actions.

Ever seen The Thin Blue Line? I can't say if the facts (or opinions) presented are accurate, but I will say that the presentation of information leans towards one side.