10 movie cliches we should all be sick of by now.

[pepperbear]

1. A police commander screams at and nearly fires the jaded but dedicated maverick cop who also happens to be the best on the force.

2. Turns out the loyal best friend, in consort with the main villain, was plotting against the hero all along.

3. The maverick cop hero commandeers a clunker civilian vehicle that can somehow keep up with the villain's Porsche Turbo Carrera.

4. The main villain's NO. 1 thug is killed in the penultimate fight, thus setting the stage for the final battle between good and evil.

5. A stranger enters a small town diner to ask questions about a missing person. When the stranger leaves, the camera cuts to suspicious looking locals.

6. 10 or 15 muscle men wait in a bar to get their asses kicked whenever the lone maverick hero cop appears and "needs to know if you've seen this girl."

7. Someone steps up to a microphone to give a public speech and the mic automatically feeds back.

8. The hero's home gets ransacked when he/she is "on to something."

9. The jaded but dedicated maverick cop is forcibly assigned an overeager "by-the-book" newby partner.

10. The hero has a smug yet eccentric "nerd" associate to whom he turns in order to "crack the code."

[rurallib]

1. This looks like the makings of an excellent musical

Lots of fight/dance scenes.
Need's some love interest, though. Maybe the mavericky cop and his newby by-the-book partner.

[Richardo]

2. Anyone with less than a month until retirement will be dead by the end of the movie.

[Bucky]

13. When cop's partner gets shot, but not killed, in the line of duty, he quits to become a teacher

I've been teaching 12 years. I have yet to meet a single retired cop.

[paulsby]

21. i work with 2 (that i know of) cops that used to be teachers

otoh.

[wickerwoman]

39. Anyone who discusses any plans for the future will die.

Want to live forever?

Have no ambitions, no plans, no loved ones to grieve over you and for God's sake never express anticipation for anything.

[grace0418]

3. Pretty much any cop character is a cliche by now. Oh, I have a good one (not cop related)!.

No one seems to notice that the nerdy girl who can't get a boyfriend is actually a super model who just needed contacts, a push-up bra and a new hairdo. They can't believe it when she walks into school/prom/the office/the party/the wedding reception, etc. all done up and gorgeous. :eyes:

[redqueen]

5. Yet the converse is true also.

The nerdy / overweight / weird guy doesn't change... but somehow still gets the girl.

[BurtWorm]

15. then he becomes a big star and his big problem in every movie

is how to get rid of his beautful, sexy girlfriend so can spend more time with his bros. :eyes:

[deutsey]

88. Or to be with the plain jane friend he discovers he's really loved all along

[redqueen]

109. Really?

That happens a lot in movies?

[Rosie1223]

4. Female police officer wearing a low cut blouse and high heels

brings down the burly bad guy after a foot chase.

[CBGLuthier]

6. 11. James Cameron

and his amazing 3d Technicolor cliche factory.

[pepperbear]

7. nobody can tell that the superhero's alter ego is merely the superhero with glasses. n/t

[unpossibles]

112. I used to think so too, but this has happened to me in real life many times

I wear glasses and contacts about equally, and the people who are used to seeing me with one sometimes don't recognize me with the other, including friends and former band mates, etc. Glasses, like hair are sometimes how people quickly visually categorize other people, and when you change either, suddenly you look like someone else.

[Richardo]

8. A perky pop song montage makes any crappy, tedious and/or overwhelming work fun!

You could renovate an entire burned-out building during one playing of "Hey Ya".

[paulsby]

22. "it's a montage! a motherfuckin' montage!" - Team America nt

[KG]

9. when animals appear on the screen, they immediately make their sound

cats meow, dogs bark, horses whinney, owls hoot, eagles screech, etc.

[sarge43]

46. Rural sounds cliches

Crickets in spring

Frogs in autumn

Ah, no.

[Aristus]

10. Every time any character, good or bad, brandishes a gun without firing it, the gun

has to make a cocking sound.

When the character pulls his gun from its holster, (or the waistband of his jeans) the gun makes a cocking sound.

When the villain waves his gun impatiently at the hero, the gun makes a cocking sound.

When a character brandishes a small gun in order to get everyone's attention, it makes a cocking sound; and when everyone in the room produces a huge, monster gun and points it at tiny-gun character to show they are better armed than he, every gun makes a cocking, clicking, or pumping sound.

After a character cocks his gun to show his adversary that he's serious, and the adversary doesn't take him seriously, the character brings his gun up to firing stance, and the gun makes a another cocking sound.

When all the damage has been done, and the character is putting the gun away, into its holster, into the waistband of the character's jeans, or into its elaborately carved commemorative box, the gun makes a cocking sound.

The sword-and-sorcery version. Everything above applies to the swords used in the movie, as well. Even if a sword is just being waved through the air, it has to make that metallic, hissing 'zing' sound. Every. Single. Time.

[pokerfan]

16. movie gun cliches

Bad guys = bad shots; Good guys = good shots

People getting shot flying backwards as if they were yanked by a cable. Oh wait, they were!

Suppressors on revolvers

[Recovered Repug]

11. 5A. Instead of cutting to the locals, the person answering

the questions will pick up a phone to make a call.

[pepperbear]

20. "yeah....he was just here. what do you want me to do?"

[Bucky]

12. The hero runs away from the bad guys' gunfire yet the bullets hit the ground around his feet.

I've always wondered why they were shooting at his feet. Or why, when he's driving away, they can accurately shoot out his back window, but then the bullets don't ever go on to hit anything in the car, or even keep flying through to hit the front window.

[Fire Walk With Me]

14. Oh come on, you COULD have said "Spoiler alert"

and I'd still be able to go to the movies :cry:

;)

[Alexander]

17. Guns never run out of ammo unless it's for plot and suspense purposes.

The hero will fire approximately 10,000 bullets from his handgun until the final battle, when he has a clear line of sight against the villain, and his gun will run out of bullets.

Then, the hero's sidekick/damsel in distress will throw him a weapon necessary to finish off the bad guy once and for all.

[Aristus]

23. If it's the damsel in distress who fires the saving shot into the villain, she will then

start shaking, drop the gun, burst into tears, and then collapse into the hero's arms.

[chrisa]

42. That's the stupidest plot device ever.

They do something like that, or have the hero's long lost, presumed dead partner fire the shot from a concealed area, say a one-liner, and then leave the room. :puke:

[gratuitous]

18. Obligatory "Noooooo!" shot from high angle

So bad a cliché, Lucas couldn't resist using it at the end of Star Wars 3.

[BurtWorm]

64. Now that shot being made fun of is an annoying cliche.

Although I must say, it was funny the first 500 times it was used that way. :applause:

[Dr Morbius]

19. Here's another: the lonely hero falls for a woman who sets him up.

But she hated doing it, because although she's always been bad, his love for her has turned her around. Before the end of the movie she sacrifices herself and he's a bitter, lonely rebel again.

[GirlAfire]

24. It's Probably Already Been Mentioned...

...the killing off of minority actors/characters to demonstrate just how awful the villain/creature/natural disaster is.

Have you noticed? The non-white character is just treated as expendable. How else can the directors show just what level of evil the eventual survivors are facing? Of course, we get indirect evidence of how awful the killer might be (in the detective room and some ominous music, for example), but it's really not REAL until we see the alligator or the night stalker (just throwing in random villains) devour or maim/kill someone. And you can't go killing off all the white people! They've got to make it. DUH!

Ah yes, and in so many movies, there's always the token black person to provide comedic relief. S/he always has to have the loud mouth. S/he always has to be the sassy one. S/he always has to be clown. And if not, s/he will probably fit into the aforementioned setup.

It's so irritating. There are a lot of good ones, but I really don't watch a lot of American movies...

This is an awesome thread. I could go on all day! :P

[CBHagman]

36. I think Donna Britt did a whole column on that...

...for The Washington Post.

And a phenomenon related to your second cliche (i.e., charmingly sassy and lovable African-American as comic relief) is the interchangeable mascot consisting of (Pick one or more): gay friend, elderly man/woman, other minority (e.g., Latino/Latina), stuffy but witty Brit, et al. They get funny lines, they get to be the protagonist's pals/allies, but they are not treated as though they were full-fledged people in their own right.

[grace0418]

68. You forgot chubby friend. Same deal. Not full-fledged characters, just a mascot to

prove the protagonist is nice.

[sarge43]

77. All overweight people will be portrayed as fools, comic relief or evil. n/t

[CBHagman]

100. Unless it's the schlubby protagonist who gets the hot babe.

See examples above and below this posting...

[GirlAfire]

96. I'm Going to Have to...

...try to find that article. I'm so glad it's noticed. Ugh...

And it's so true that these characters aren't really treated like people; they're usually, as previously mentioned, comedic relief or mechanisms by which to advance the plot. I know these movies so well because these kinds of movies are all my mom watches. We usually have to laugh about how it seems to happen in almost every film she likes, lol.

[GirlAfire]

25. The hired hitman falls in love with the Asian schoolgirl daughter of his target

He usually mistreats her at first, like restraining her hands and feet with rope/handcuffs or making her ride in the trunk of the car or just generally being mean, but somehow... she can forgive all that because she finds that his wife was murdered by thugs or he has some other such nonsense sob story.

I sound so bitter. LOL.

I just hate dumb movies!

[chrisa]

41. If somebody gave me "The Transporter" as a gift, I would set the DVD on fire.

[GirlAfire]

94. That's Funny! I Think...

...that's the one I was thinking of!

Also, The Big Hit with Mark Wahlberg. In fact, I'd say The Transporter copied The Big Hit. They're just too much alike.

[pepperbear]

26. hero is about to die when the perp collapses to reveal "the least likely character" pointing a gun.

[GirlAfire]

27. Chances are, anything with Jason Statham in it is chock full of...

stereotypes and cliches and dumb story lines.

[undeterred]

28. All romancing couples have a clawfoot bathtub big enough for the two of them

to get in together and frolic.

[Phentex]

55. with no mention of how the bubble bath is going to cause a urinary tract infection!

One keeps rose petals on hand to surround the tub for this sort of thing, too.

[Dr Morbius]

29. Liv Tyler's in the movie. She has a crying scene. (nt)

[trof]

30. They separate in a horror flick.

"You wait here, I'll go see what's going on."
"You" will probably die.
;-)

[GirlAfire]

31. So True!

The one who daaaaaaaare stray from the side of, say, Chuck Norris, is doomed to a gory death. That's what you get when you don't listen to the main character, y'know.

[HughBeaumont]

32. Ridiculouls and unlikely romcom cliches:

1. Grandpa Charming, who's almost NEVER with someone his own age and gets to boff Megan Fox-quality babes (e.g. Rumor Has It). It looks like either a third marriage or a news team. The reverse NEVER happens. Over 40 women are the moms/grandmas, because every woman over the age of 35 is apparently a shriveled old bag :sarcasm:

2. Hot as hell young female . . . with Jonah Hill/Seth Rogen-quality blobs. The reverse never happens. You'll never see Sean Faris paired with the Real Women Have Curves version of America Ferarra, for example.

3. Hot as hell 30-something woman . . . with Kevin James/Artie Lange-quality blobs. The reverse never happens. You'll never see a Clive Owen paired with Jennifer Hudson.

4. Just WOULDN'T be romance without a gaggle of cockblockers, would there? It's like they just come RIGHT outta the fucking woodwork and practically go out of their way to make life miserable for said protagonist, don't they? Seriously, what's with the contest?? I never, NEVER AT ALL understood this in movies or in real life. WHY do these bags-a-douche turn this sort of thing into an Olympic sport?

5. The Estrogen Army Who Doesn't Like The Love Interest, a la Valley Girl, or Some Kind of Wonderful or Karate Kid, etc. etc. You know, because GOD FORBID your friend is happy with someone who treats her well that really shouldn't matter to you.

6. Disapproving Parents. As dumb in the movies as it is IRL.

[WildEyedLiberal]

35. #2 and #3 (but especially #2) really piss me off

I LOATHED Superbad - please, like those losers ever had a chance with the "hot girl"?

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

33. mine deal with cinematography

I am so tired of overhead shots of a city and the camera circling and circling around a subject-stop making me dizzy

[woo me with science]

34. The villian is dead, slaughtered, motionless on the floor

and then suddenly has one last terrifying burst of life to attack before he is actually killed.

[chrisa]

38. That's the worst one ever.

It's always so ridiculously done too.

[woo me with science]

43. All little kids are cute smart alecks and wiser than the adults. nt

[deutsey]

72. God, I HATE that one.

There's always that moment where the main character(s) breathe a sigh of relief after finally overcoming the bad guy before the villian suddenly lunges out of nowhere at them again.

Maybe once, back in the '80s, that may have startled audiences, but now it's just like, "Oh, great, here's where the bad guy we thought was dead jumps out at them again."

:eyes:

[pepperbear]

37. In slasher films, music gets ominous, the camera zooms in fast on the "victim" as if to attack..

the music comes to a dead stop, and the "attacker" is revealed to be an innocent friend who merely touches the victim on the shoulder and says "hey, hey, calm down! it's just me."

[chrisa]

40. Stupid ones ---

The bad guys doing that circle dance around the good guy as he kicks their butts one by one.

Wilhelm scream, most often when it's not even appropriate or fitting for the character.

The detective who is retiring from the force in a week gets shot.

The disaster chasing right behind people in disaster movies.

People kissing or hugging, and one of them being shot or stabbed by the other.

The long speech the villain gives rather than just trying to kill the hero.

[Orrex]

52. The Wilhelm scream is beyond reproach

Shame on you for suggesting otherwise.

[BurtWorm]

69. The villain decides to kill the hero slowly

otherwise known as giving him a chance, which he'll always take and always use to his advantage.

It might be interesting if a director had the hero just die the way the villain planned him to.

[woo me with science]

44. All grocery bags being carried home have a baguette sticking out the top.

(I actually remember this one from a movie cliche website, but it struck me as true).

[sarge43]

47. When the bag is dropped and it always is, spaghetti spills all over the sidewalk. n/t

[Enrique]

45. can we enhance that?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxq9yj2pVWk

[mikeSchmuckabee]

48. How about the charming villain

who has cooked up a scheme so complicated that it can't possibly go wrong even with g gordon liddy on board, but a dumb cop on the verge of incarceration refuses to stop no matter how many times he is shot, stabbed, and exploded falls down a huge hole and kills said charming villain with one shot to a non-vital part of the body. Oh, I mean all Die Hard movies

[Phentex]

49. Car chase scene always knocks over a fruit or flower stand...

poor vendor gets it every time!

[woo me with science]

50. And the funny thing about that for me is that

I can't remember the last time I saw an actual fruit or flower stand on the sidewalk.

[deutsey]

73. Also, when the car tilts onto two wheels after hitting a parked car

[Phentex]

74. exactly!

:rofl:

[PassingFair]

51. For reasons completely unrelated to the plot, someone MUST be interviewed in a strip club.

Sometimes, they just RUN THROUGH ONE while chasing the bad guy.

:eyes:

[Orrex]

53. I have a few minor complaints to add:

1. A protagonist who has abandoned his/her faith comes through a profound crisis by regaining/reaffirming that lost faith, rather than validating the abandonment of that faith.

2. Some minor cinematic conceit occurs onscreen (medieval characters with perfect teeth, audible explosions in space, etc.) and smug movie-goers positively trip over themselves to deride the film for that reason as if they're the first to realize it or to point it out.

[lunatica]

54. The main protagonist's family is murdered in the first 2 seconds

thereby setting up the 'justified' horrible violence he commits for the rest of the movie.

Actually I think it worked in the movie Nevada Smith with Steve McQueen (1966). But I think it worked because of the ending.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060748/plotsummary

[sarge43]

56. I'm surprised no one mentioned the Exploding Car!

Chase scene, car hits curb, Explodes!

Car runs into a ditch, Explodes!

Kid throws snowball at car, Explodes!

Ditzy female comedy relief parking car, taps bumper, Explodes! (Two cliches for the price of one)

[lunatica]

57. you forgot car flying into the air and crashing and car crashing

through a plate glass window.

[sarge43]

58. Car cliches are a subset all of their own.

My other favorite: New England or Midwest winter setting, all the cars are clean, not a speck of road salt. Yeah right.

[dixiegrrrrl]

89. Car chase thru a city downtown

in which cars are driven over 50 mph
never go thru a light or, if they do, never hit anything.
and all pedestrians manage to jump out of way of approaching car
at the very last minute, escaping unscathed.

Then you go home and hear on the news that a SF city bus had dragged the 50th pedestrian
this year thru the city.

[sarge43]

90. Yup and I'd love to have the tires and suspension in those cars.

They can fly fifty feet through the air, hit the pavement with an impact that registers on a Richter Scale and keep on truckin'.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

97. I saw a hilarious variation on that in "Eye of the Tiger."

A biker is on the hood of Gary Busey's car. The biker pulls the pin on a grenade, so Busey slams the brakes, throwing the biker into a ditch as he explodes.

[ScreamingMeemie]

59. A washed up baseball/football/hockey player returns at the behest

of his old coach to lead a team to a championship.

[Richardo]

62. Variation - the aging master criminal/con artist planning their 'last job' to retire on.

Treachery and smart-assery from the snotty young punk up-and-comer ensues. SYPU-A-C either put in his place via a 'twist' doublecross, or elevated to Master Criminal - now wiser and more mature - when the old guy gets killed.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

60. Rom Com cliched plot supreme:

Man and woman are lifelong platonic friends but never took it to the next level.

Suddenly, a new love comes into one of their lives, and usually a planned wedding follows.

The new love will be one of two types of person:

a) a total smug ass
OR
b) an innocent hapless dupe who just isn't the right person.

So it's a mad cap dash for the friend to beat the clock and let the engaged friend know about his/her true feelings before he/she makes the mistake of his/her life and marries the wrong person.

Because you know the right person has been in front of his/her face all along; he/she just never recognized it before.

Usually the movie will climax out at the wedding altar, with one or both of the lifelong friends giving a dramatic speech that stops the wedding right before the scheduled vows take place, and the two embrace, with the wedding being cancelled (but no one seems to bother about the likely thousands of dollars it took to put on the wedding, not to mention all the guests who have wasted an afternoon and bought the couple an expensive present.)

Now, as for the jilted new love, it depends:

a) if it is a total smug ass, he/she gets their rightful come-uppance and is properly disgraced.
OR
b) if it is an innocent hapless dupe, for whatever reason he/she usually doesn't mind that much that he/she just got dumped on his/her wedding day. It's all good because you'll see a groomsman/bridesmaid friend of one of the characters smile or wink at the jilted lover, letting the audience know that the dumped innocent dupe will likely hook up with that person and not be totally lonely and bitter and disgraced about being dumped. On his/her wedding day.

I'd love to see a new take on this cliche. Maybe with dogs or robots or something. I don't know.

[deutsey]

87. Very true

:rofl:

[Zomby Woof]

92. "The Graduate" skewered that cliche ahead of its time

[Tommy_Carcetti]

61. Sports team is full of wacky misfits, has a reluctant coach take control of the team.

The first game is against their archrival, and the team is utterly embarassed.

However, the team--against all odds--begins to gel, and soon rise in the standings until the end, where they are scheduled to play--surprise surprise--their arch rivals in the big game.

In the big game, the team of misfits will either:
a) win, with each of the wacky characters playing an integral role in the victory at different times during the game...

OR

b) lose after a hard fought battle, but still have their pride intact knowing how far they've come as a team.

Often times, but not always, this will be a youth sports team. If so, the big game will always feature play by play announcers to drive along the action, begging the question: what sort of loser listens to little league baseball/pee-wee football games on the radio?

[ScreamingMeemie]

63. ...AND, why would Bob Uecker agree to call the game????

[ScreamingMeemie]

65. Guy falls in love with maid/ prostitute/ salesclerk/misfit...

She doesn't trust him then begins to fall in love with him. He gets "conflicted". There is a misunderstanding. They meet up again at the big dance/game/carnival and live happily ever after...unless she dies, but that would only be in "A Walk to Remember".

[deutsey]

75. That brings up the "prostitute with a heart of gold" cliche

who's only doing tricks to raise money for a sick kid or some other noble cause.

[Orrex]

98. Yeah. That one's as pernicious and pervasive as the perennial Cinderella archetype

Pardon me while I :puke:

[BurtWorm]

66. In a moment of triumph, the hero stands on top of a hill or platform, arms outstretched Jesus style

head tilted back, mouth open ecstatically, eyes closed, camera rises above and pans like a helicopter in a circle around him. Heroic schlock and roll or canned classical plays on the soundtrack.

[BurtWorm]

82. I forgot to mention that Jesus boy is also twirling.

[WolverineDG]

67. There's always an open parking space

right at the front door of City Hall/Police Department/Courthouse for the hero/ine to zip into & out of, even in big cities.

Conversely, if the hero/ine has to use a parking garage, that's always where the boogeyman/villain is, and just as they see their car, all the lights in the garage will go out & the attack will commence.

dg

[Tommy_Carcetti]

70. Similarly, people living in New York City (a city of 7 million people)...

....will randomly bump into people they know, all the time.

[Hosnon]

71. I disagree about number 4. That just seems like proper chronology. Why would

the main bad guy risk fighting the good guy before all the minor bad guys tried and failed?

[sarge43]

76. Dumb guard cliche

Evil Overlord constructs an impenetrable(?) super fortress and who gets posted on perimeter guard? Yup, dumbest aholes in the company. Our Hero does a stealthy sneak to perimeter and tosses rock or something into tall grass. Dumbass leaves post and by himself walks/drives into tall grass. Our Hero does Dumbass and then overwhelms the other mouthbreathers at entrance. By the way, Super Fortress has undergrowth right to the walls.

1. Never ever even think of leaving post without first getting permission.

2. Cut down undergrowth and keep it cut. That way sneaky stealthy Heroes can't get to Fortress undetected.

Evil Overlords pay attention to details and keep the shit scared out of underlings.

[qb]

78. A kick in the nuts is SOOOOOOO funny.

not.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

79. Whenever something comes falling down, you'll hear a cat screech (off camera).

Apparently cats love to stand behind piles of things waiting for them to come falling down.

[pepperbear]

80. Rich girl brings poor boy home for a fancy dinner, Dinner is catered by servants at a long table..

the girl's parents will inevitably say things like "Wilson. Is that the Boston Wilsons?" or "We had to fire Brenda for stealing the silverware." There will undoubtedly be a scene where the girl asks "so, what do you think?", to which the parents will respond by trying to persuade the girl to drop the loser and consider "Fenwick, who is just in town from Dartmouth and who'd so love to see you again." She steadfastedly declares her love for poor boy by saying "Oh, Mother! I just wish you'd give him a chance and try to see him like I do." Of course we know we're dealing with boring rich people because the background score to this scene will always be a string quartet playing something "stuffy."

[deutsey]

86. "Fenwick"

:rofl:

[pepperbear]

81. crazy new girl in town thinks she sees demonic face on a passerby. she looks again, back to normal.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

83. All hotel rooms in Paris will have a direct view of the Eiffel Tower.

Just to let the audience know they are really in Paris, and not, say, Dubuque, Iowa.

[bookworm65t]

84. One person (or a small team ) has to save the planet

I could buy that the one person is the POTUS. But a twentysomething maverick? WTF?

:puke:

[bookworm65t]

85. If the HS senior wants to go to college, it's always Harvard

Don't we have 2000+ schools in this country?

If a movie plot involved a senior trying to get into Ohio State, I'd be floored.

[Dr Fate]

91. Very funny- but in some cases you want to eliminate basic, archetypal story devices.

But I hear ya- mostly a good list. It is important for fiction writers to try to think outside of cliches...

[lunatica]

93. The elevator door miraculously opens just as the punchline is delivered

and the hero/heroine step in and push the button leaving some idiot just staring at the door. At the other end of the spectrum the person is desperate to escape from the crazed serial killer and the elevator door never opens forcing the person to run down 50 flights of stairs while being chased by said drooling killer who nonetheless is a much faster runner.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

95. When the hero has to drive somewhere in a hurry,

the car is always parked in a convenient nearby location; the hero never fumbles with or can't find his/her keys; the car is never locked; and it starts right up and they just drive away. There is never any traffic that blocks them from leaving their parking spot, either.

[bookworm65t]

99. Good foreign films aren't good enough for US audiences

If it is a really good foreign film, it must be remade by Hollywood. Films with subtitles are never acceptable.

"Death At A Funeral" is a good example. Hollywood is also releasing a remake of the Swedish vampire flick "Let The Right One In" In October.

:mad:

[Orrex]

105. Conversely, unimpressive foreign films are considered fantastic (apparently) because they're foreign

At least, that's the only reason I can think of.

For instance, Let The Right One In is a B+ at best. Not that great a film, to be honest, and not even that great a vampire film.

[Lucian]

101. Anything directed by Michael Bay.

That about sums it up.

[AmyDeLune]

102. DAMMIT!!! You Stole my Script!!1!

You, sir, shall be hearing from my attorney!!1!

*queue music sting*

*door slams*

*a dog barks in the distance*

[ashling]

103. Woman takes off clip on earing to talk on the phone

She is the murderer ....

The earing will be found underneath the body

[pepperbear]

104. Everyone inexplicably fails to notice that the superhero is merely a colleague without glasses.

[BlueIris]

106. The leads fall passionately into bed fully clothed.

Or the follow up--they roll around on top of a bed (typically while still clothed) as a substitution for "foreplay."

[sarge43]

107. Caper

Guy gets out of bed wearing pants, either skivvies or, better yet, trousers. Best example: Tom Courtenay in The Night of the Generals.

Yup, screwed with his pants on.

[BlueIris]

108. No one ever looks before crossing a busy street.

Or, you know, running out into traffic.

Roger Ebert once congratulated a movie for having a character actually look both ways before crossing the street.

[Orsino]

110. In the course of the investigation, it becomes necessary to visit a strip club. n/t

[Flipper999]

111. Yeah, those are pretty bad

Also:

Hacking a complicated, high security network requires only a couple minutes of furious keyboard tapping by a nerd character.

[bif]

113. Car chase involving car going over drawbridge going up

The good guy always makes it. The bad guy crashes into the water.