Besides blogging about movies I think we all have a job which has little to do with movies. So besides knowing a lot about films we have some form of expertise on another subject. That knowledge might have nothing to do with movies, but when watching movies this knowledge can distract you when something in a movie is not really accurate. I’ve been working in IT for quite a while and although it has been getting better one of the biggest annoyances of mine when watching movies is the way computer interfaces are shown. Usually they beep with everything you do (just imagine having to hear that all that while you are writing your blog posts) and people using who know a little bit about them can really do anything possible. “Can you hack into the most secure network in the world? Sure no problem, give me 2 minutes.” Although I won’t say that they spoil movies for me scenes like that do make me realise for a moment that I’m watching a movie and it takes me back to reality for a moment.
So I would also like to ask you:
Which inaccuracies in movies can distract you while watching them?
As a pharmacist I find certain drug facts distracting. Like in Silver Linings Playbook when they said Trazodone wrong.
A good example of something someone else would not notice 🙂
For me, if it’s a historical film or a bio-pic. Historical inaccuracies are the things that bother me to death. Pearl Harbor is the greatest example which pissed me off to no end as it was already nonsensical and hokey as for me. It’s the worst film ever.
Another film that I noticed is a VH1 TV bio-pic on MC Hammer. There were elements in that film where I was bothered by the dramatic liberties it took into telling the story. Especially as it relates to Hammer’s relationship with Death Row records as any fan of hip-hop would know that 2Pac made a bunch of diss tracks towards Hammer.
It these things in films that annoy me and just takes me out of the film and ruins it for me.
Yeah, I can imagine that. Am wondering what you think though about what Tarantino did with Inglorious Basterds?
With Inglorious Basterds, I knew QT wasn’t aiming for historical accuracy since it was a revisionist film which made things OK. Especially since it’s not based on anything truly historical in favor of creating a very fictional piece on war. Therefore, there’s nothing to worry about as far as historical inaccuracies or dramatic liberties.
Good to hear, so in that case it didn’t matter.
When people in American movies drive and constantly move the wheel left and right … yet the car is still going in a straight line. Always bothered me that one.
Me too. More than you know.
Oh yeah, that is very annoying and usually it happens in older movies…it is something which has improved over the years I think.
That always cracks us up. It’s most obvious in old rear-projection movies. Alfred Hitchcock … North by Northwest, really famous example.
I think the answer to your question lies with the viewer’s own area of familiarity. I still get distracted when the characters in a film conduct a “reading of the will.” Of course, it’s the most convenient way to let the audience know what is in a will; but I have been a specialist in estate and trust law for almost 15 years, and I have never had – or had a colleague – conduct a reading of the will. But it doesn’t end there. The constitutional basis of the plot twist of ‘Double Jeopardy’ (1999) is entirely incorrect. And I find every John Grisham adaptation to be insufferable with the notable exception of ‘The Rainmaker’ (1997).
Yeah it does and I was interested what various people noticed 🙂 Besides working in IT I also have a law degree so when something in that regard is incorrect it can annoy me as well. The Verdict is a very good example of that, the ending would not happen like that in real life.
I agree with Stephen (above) – historical flexibility can frustrate me at times (Michael Bay, damn you!!) and it’s probably this issue which has annoyed me more than any other when watching films. Probably explains why I watch a lot of sci-fi…..
You are saying that the Transformers had nothing to do with either the moon landing or Chernobyl? 😉
Transformers was a documentary about some repressed sentient robotos, right? Wait….. that wasn’t real?
DAMN YOU MICHAEL BAY AGAIN!!!
Ha ha!!!
I’m in the construction industry, and a few years back a film even shot at one of the job-sites I was working on–I forgot what film.
I don’t find the inaccuracies distracting, just humorous. They usually involving bringing in appropriate materials to a floor to dress the scene more than it actually would be, or weakening building members so the action stars can easily break them during a fight–usually light-gage metal framing is the victim. I also find it funny how all these buildings have Air Conditioning ductwork that is a.) big enough to fit into, and b.) strong enough to support the weight of someone crawling inside.
That’s a cool one to hear and something I would never think about! I always wondered about those air conditioning vents!
It always makes me laugh. I figure if Mel Brooks made the movies, everyone would fall through the ceiling. Or just get stuck.
I often wondered about that…. and here I was thinking all these years that if the eleveators ever broke down, I’d just shimmy around via the air ducting and get to my next meeting!!!
Well since I worked in broadcast, I get bummed when I saw a movie producing things perfectly at the very last minute. It’s not that easy. Not much movies bummed me, but I remembered seeing ‘Morning Glory’ thinking, ‘yeah, that’s not real.’ But I do love McAdams, such a sweet heart.
Making something look spontaneous can be very difficult 🙂
This is a fun question! There are several things that can distract me at times, such as a car chase scene in which an obviously slower car is able to catch up to a much faster car, or when a location I know would really take much longer to get somewhere else and they don’t stay true to the timing in the film.
Speaking of timing. Whenever there is a countdown in a film, I usually count with it to see if it stays true during the scenes that the countdown clock isn’t shown. Many times it is wrong. LOL
Oh, and let’s not forget the DNA test results turnaround time and the clear resolution of pictures when you zoom in. Neither of those things are accurate and make me laugh!
Yeah, I can recognise those especially the last one about the countdown clock!
I have to agree with Steve on the Trazadone mispronunciation in SLP. That annoyed me. I work in a rehabilitation center, and as much I loved It’s Kind of a Funny Story, the protocol in that movie kind of drove me nuts. Especially with the patients walking freely without any staff in sight and actually leaving their ward to go out into other parts of the hospital. There is just no way that would happen in real life.
I’m always surprised by the amount of freedom there is in some of those movies (although not all of them do it). Thanks for clearing that one up, knowing that that is not realistic Brittani!
I went to the fire academy for all of a week so I’m definitely no expert but I do know that in “Volcano”, there was one flash of a firefighter wearing goggles and what they call a “shroud” which is basically a fire resistant veil. They would have known to bring the shroud right over the nose to tuck under the goggles and not under the nose, like they did in the movie. Also, I used to live in Mexico City and when I saw “Matador” with Pierce Brosnan, there was an opening sequence where the guy carrying the briefcase was walking in three different neighborhoods that had he really done that, would have taken him at least five hours to walk.
Great examples. I had that last one with a couple of movies set in Holland which also did that.
Oh! Name them! So that I can watch it and then throw a potato at the screen.
I know the Jackie Chan movie set in Rotterdam did it. There is a Dutch movie about a grandfather who robs a bank who did that in a couple of scenes.
Laptops that never need to be plugged in or recharged (Independence Day).
Cars of a vintage newer than the supposed year of the movie’s story.
Misidentification of dogs, cats, birds and other creatures. “Eddie’s a mutt” when Eddie is obviously a pure-bred great dane.
Historical inaccuracy.
Geographical anomolies in places I know well (you cannot cross the Tobin Bridge and exit in Newton. If you could, every commuter in greater Boston would be joyfully doing it).
Women running top speed in 3-inch heels.
The wrong drugs administered in the wrong dosages in hospital sequences.
Makeup on women who have just been through a war, but it’s still perfect. Hardly a hair is out of place … and the mascara and eye shadow is just well, glorious.
Westerns where they accurately shoot an old colt 45 from half a mile away. Yeah, right.
And SO much more.
A long and very recognisable list, great ones Marilyn. No musician related ones?
Don’t get me started! Woman playing, hands on the (fill in instrument) are a man’s. On the piano (I actually play piano or did). The music is a concerto; hands are playing chopsticks … or nothing. They couldn’t hire a pianist for a few minutes?
So much dumb stuff, too little time. But the laptop battery that runs forever and never needs recharging is my favorite. I WANT that battery. Don’t we all?
A battery like that would be amazing indeed!
Oh, did I mention not wearing gloves at crime scenes? Seriously? Like the entire world hasn’t seen CSI?
Hahahaha, yeah but they should be wearing a full white suit instead of only gloves if I have to believe what I usually see on the news here…
What really bugged me about that series “Lost” was that the chick who was in love with the bad boy and then the doc who was conflicted always had perfectly tweezed eyebrows after weeks and weeks on the island. I know mine start look beastly after a week.
🙂 That is something I would never notice, good one!
My biggest issue is when there’s a film set in London and they’re not using the actual place in London where they’re meant to be! In Skyfall it irked me when James Bond was meant to be at a certain tube station in London, but I knew it wasn’t because of the train and platform and ARRGHHH, why do you lie?!
That is an interesting one Jaina and can imagine that can be annoying if you know your way around.