Freakish superheroic characters, usually played by relatively unknown actors, are often introduced for the melodramatic effect of their premature deaths. This is especially true in movies that involve a lot of graphic battle scenes, since logic dictates that someone dies occasionally in violent conflicts.
Mexican Fantasy
The hero ends up in Mexico after pulling the big heist, free from the Man and extradition. Often this involves an idyllic beach scene and a sunset as credits roll.
Cinematic Hacking
The protagonist must hack a computer with no recognizable OS but whose monitor displays text in a GIANT FONT.
Land Mine Drama
Whereas real land mines are designed to detonate on compression, land mines in the movies often allow for a dramatic situation to unfold while an actor’s foot is on the device. More often than not, protagonists are able to move objects similar to their body weight onto the device, giving them just enough time to…
Hand Cuffs
Although they are pretty hard to remove, heroes in action movies generally find ways to get them off without much trouble, often with a hair pin. Although women don’t use hair pins as much as in the past, people with handcuffs can usually find one quickly.
Sleeper Hold
In action movies, the sleeper hold is often applied to cause guards and sentries to collapse in a few seconds. The process never goes awry and it doesn’t lead to death, as sometimes happens when policemen use choke holds.
British Aniquity
For some reason gladiators and other soldiers of Greek and Roman antiquity speak English with a British accent. Extra fun ensues when American wrester-turned-actors attempt to conform to this dialect.
Vague Locations
Often it’s cheaper to shoot a movie in a location other than the one called for by the script. The ‘Spaghetti Western’ is a good example of this. Many urban stories are also shot in the wrong cities for financial reasons.
Voice Actor Diversity
Regardless of whether it makes narrative sense for cartoon characters to have diverse American dialects, studios cast their voice talent to represent coveted demographic groups. This takes on a surreal quality as racial and ethnic minorities are assigned to various animal species.
Parental Improvement
A favorite family movie device begins with Dad working too hard at the office and not paying attention to his kids. This neglect often involves the mother, as well. By the end of the movie, however, the parents have learned how great their kids are, and they find some way to dedicate more time to…