The Beta News

Those of you that know me fairly well know that I adore making
lists. I get a serious thrill out of it. In that light, here are “25
Cinematic Cliches I never wanna see again.” Enjoy!

25. That in period pieces, vintage cars are always freshly polished,
painted, and clean. They never have scratches, dents or any signs of
use.

24. Every time we’re introduced to a police precinct house, one or
more colourfully dressed prostitutes are being brought in while
bickering with their arresting officer.

23. Chinese food takeout in a movie always comes in those little
white boxes, which I have never, in my life, seen chinese food arrive
at my door in. I desperately want it to, but it never does.

22. If a bar or clubhouse has a pinball machine, it’s gonna get
fucking trashed during a fight scene. (I’ve ALWAYS wanted my own
pinball machine, so this one makes me wince)

21. That it’s only after the detective has been suspended (and
obligatorily forced to place his badge and gun on the lieutenant’s
desk) that he can properly crack the case.

20. That in war, only the enemy (usually the Viet Cong) were ever low-down enough to stoop to using booby traps.

19. People being chased by a car who run top speed down the middle
of the street instead of simply ducking somewhere where a car can’t
follow, which happens to be pretty much anywhere except the middle of
the street.

18. Young gorgeous women constantly falling in love with men much,
much older than they are. In other words: Fuck you Jack Nicholson and
Clint Eastwood.

17. Chess players are always always brilliant, charming, upper class
people, while card players are always sneaky, foul mouthed, and prone
to cheating.

16. When an innocent cough is always a symptom of terminal illness.

15. Women that never have enough sense to keep running while being
chased by an enemy unless a guy is pulling her along by her hand or
wrist — despite the fact that this takes them far below the speed
either one could go on their own.

14. That somehow singing in a moving vehicle always makes something terrible happen.

13. If someone dies with their eyes open, someone will close them by
effortlessly moving their hand over the deceased face — and they will
remain tightly shut.

12. If our protagonist goes to a sporting event, no matter who he is, his face will always end up on the fucking jumbotron.

11. Women that don’t sweat during sex.

10. That every helicopter shutting down emits the chirp-chirp-chirp
sound, in spite of the fact that only the Bell 47G (the chopper on
MASH) actually makes this noise.

9. If a hero is divorced (and most are), that he’ll have some
contact with his ex-wife who will still have strong feelings for him
even if she’s remarried.

8. All computer keyboards or control panels have thousands of volts
just underneath their surface, and their malfunctions are indicated by
a puff of smoke and a cartoonish shower of sparks.

7. That Native Americans invariably have mystical knowledge that can
obtusely predict the future, or have a fundamental understanding of all
things in nature .

6. That when a phone line is broken unexpectedly, someone will
always frantically press the phone cradle button and yell “Hello?
HELLO!?” with an emphasis on the second hello.

5. A splash of cold water in face will render the most inebriated
person stone cold sober in a faction of a second. I’ve tried it. It
doesn’t work.

4. When someone yells “You never backed away from everything in your
life, now fight!!” while giving someone CPR or working to resuscitate a
stopped heart.

3. Girls are always instantly attractive to every male if they take
off their glasses and/or let down their hair, never mind that they were
totally gorgeous actresses failing to physically portray a nerd in the
first place.

2. Children or retards that are wise beyond their years/capabilities and that humble the adults around them.

aaaand: (Drumroll)

1. Dogs who always know who is evil, and bark at them.

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