Movie Flaws

[Jonmo1]

OK, so we're all Excel geeks. I can pretty much guess that means we all like to find flaws in the movies. Or maybe not so much "Like" to, but just can't help doing it, like it or not...

I know I love doing that.

So why not have a thread on that subject.

I'll start with "SAW", the first one.
I loved that movie, it has to be the best horror movie I've seen in many many years. But a key point in the plot is simply not possible.

Warning, if you haven't seen the movie "Saw", stop reading now, it will spoil it for you.

First, I'll identify players, since it's been a while since I've seen the movie, I don't recall all the character names.

the Bad guy - Duh - he was the cancer patient doing the whole thing.
Zep was a hospital orderly
Photographer - the guy that woke up in the bathtub
Doctor guy - they other guy in the room with the photographer. I think his real name is Carey Elwes (not sure of spelling)

OK, so here's the flaw.
The bad guy was supposedly lying on the floor in a pool of blood throughout the whole movie. Supposedly died of poisoning. In theory he was controlling the electric shocks from there, and his other victim ZEP was holding the doctor guy's family hostage, and monitoring the two guys via video camer from the doctor's house.

So, when the photographer "Woke up" in the bathtub and started screaming for help, the Doctor guy was in a very depressed and dejected mood. He said things like "don't bother, nobody's there". Stuff like that. This mood indicates that he has been awake for some time, and has already tried screaming his head off for help. Right? So logically, he was Awake at the time the photographer was put in the bathtub.

The photographer could not have been put in the tub BEFORE the doctor was put in the room. I don't care what kind of fancy drug you give a person, that person must still BREATHE, or He will die. PERIOD. You cannot breath under water. Basically, a person doesn't just suddenly "wake up" after being under water. Giving the benefit of the doubt, possibly some drug could let you stay asleep underwater without breathing for a little wile. But absolutely no more than 3- 5 minutes. You will die without oxygen for any longer than that. So at most, the photographer was under water no more than 5 minutes.

So this all means that the Doctor Guy (Carey Elwes) had already been awake for a while BEFORE the photographer was put in the tub, he would have heard the door open, some scuffling, water splashing, more scuffeling. But no one there to close the door. The bad guy could not have been laying in the middle of the floor without the Doctor guy knowing it.

and Zep didn't put the photographer in the tub, because there is another scene that shows the photographer took a picture of Zep in the Doctor's house. So Zep was already in the Doctor's house before the photographer was kidnapped. And Zep never left the doctor's house, he was keeping the doctor's family hostage, and watching the cameras in the room with the 2 guys.

Anyway, that's about it.

Any comments on this, or have your own movie flaw?

 

[MorganO]

Yes, agree with those insights about Saw - there are several other holes in the film (how in the world did he stay so still for those hours!) that we have to just accept - but we sure didn't see them the first time we watched it - at least I didn't!

My favorite movie with plot holes is 'Battlefield Earth' because I was noting them in my head as I watched the movie in the theater (yes I actually paid big money to see this bomb on the big screen...) The most apparant to me were:

- How in the world could these dead-eye shooting aliens (at the beginning of the movie) be unable to hit the the main character at the end of the movie when there were dozens of them shooting at him, and him just running and not shooting back?

- Basically primative cavemen learning to fly a Harrier Jet in hours - HA!

Take care,

Owen

 

[Jonmo1]

Yep, I hate that finding flaws in movies, it ruins the movie just a little bit for me.

back to the SAW flaw, I wrote

So this all means that the Doctor Guy (Carey Elwes) had already been awake for a while BEFORE the photographer was put in the tub, he would have heard the door open, some scuffling, water splashing, more scuffeling. But no one there to close the door. The bad guy could not have been laying in the middle of the floor without the Doctor guy knowing it.

The bolded part is better written like

Then, EITHER the door closed, and he heard More feet shuffling as the bad guy positioned himself on the floor. OR, heard more shuffeling, but then the door did NOT close. So the doctor guy would know that either the door was still open, or there is someone else in the room.

 

[Marbles]

The end of Juggernaut, starring Richard Harris, red or blue wire, is quite a well known talking point.

 

[Andrew Fergus]

They're everywhere....they're everywhere!

http://www.moviemistakes.com/

 

[Marbles]

People worry too much about flaws today. Imagine any of the Marx Brothers films without distractions.

 

[snowblizz]

People worry too much about flaws today. Imagine any of the Marx Brothers films without distractions.

But they were sort of meant that way. Movies today taking themselves serious are bound to be scrutinized.

And I'm going to put my neck out and say I'm sort of disappointed by the quality of most modern movies. Technically they may be great (but I still have reservations with the CGI, it still doesn't look real enough).

The problem is that like computer games you can't hide a substandard script and plot in flashy visuals. At least not to me. When 7/10 movies I see I can tell the major plot hooks and and guess to the ending winthin 30 minutes I can see why people would amuse themsleves with deconstruction a movies errors. I guess it is one way to enjoy a movie.

 

[Domski]

I fail to see what the obsession is with realistic CGI. Take the re-hashed Star Wars films (IV-VI), were they really any better than the originals? Has there even been a decent re-make of a 60's-70's film in recent times that with all the extra bells and wistles can really be said to have improved on the original?

 

[Long Nose]

And how many here now look for movies based on who was directing, rather than the lead actors?

Where did all the good actors go? Are they hoping CGI will cover up spurious talent?

 

[Andrew Fergus]

And while we are at it - what about the digital voice enhancers employed throughout the music industry........where's the talent in putting your voice through a digitiser to fix nature's flaws?

I agree - CGI doesn't fix a bad story/plot much like DVE doesn't fix a bad song.