Cringey American movie tropes

This thread has drifted way off into ***** from what I was actually trying to say.

Maybe not. To me, it’s just interesting to figure out how to tell if a movie is worth a trip to the theater, which ones are better left for home viewing, and—most importantly—which ones to skip entirely just to save some precious time. For instance, I highly doubt—honestly, I highly doubt—that there’s a single movie starring Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lopez, Renée Zellweger, Brad Pitt, Colin Farrell, Mel Gibson, or those kinds of "stars" that I will EVER sit through. That last guy has basically become a specialist in "patriotic" flicks lately, whether they're American or Scottish. Or take this new one from Bruce Willis—Tears of the Sun 🙄
I just block them out and call it a day. Beyond that, I don't see myself ever watching that wave of comedies where Black actors show goofy white people how to actually "party." There have been maybe ten of them in the last few months ("Head of State" with Chris Rock, "Bringing Down the House" with Latif, and so on). When I check the Box Office Top 10 for the past week, there isn't anything intriguing enough to even bother looking up the plot.
Here is what’s actually worth seeing in theaters in North America right now—The Quiet American, The Life of David Gale, The Good Thief (Emir Kusturica makes an appearance 😁), and Spider.

It's just like in Saving Private Ryan, where they mess everything up by putting the American flag at the end.

Gerald Barrett25 said:And obviously, the most vital part: which movies are total garbage so we can all save our precious time.

🙏

driftingowl27 said:You missed the whole point of Independence Day. Forget the cliché about how America saves the world... the real key is right at the end. Throughout the entire movie, there’s no sign they’re actually losing ground, until suddenly... there's a Jew... and not just any Jew, but a Rabbi. They spend the movie looking for some priest or something, but nope, he's nowhere to be found. Instead, out of nowhere, a Jew appears right at the peak of the chaos—total apocalypse—and there he is, just doing his thing in typical American movie fashion.

Exactly! Spot on!
I’d bet anything those scenes are just the Jewish lobby slipping in these tiny, subliminal little messages to get into your subconscious, making you think, "Wow, Jews are actually great." But they aren't! Not even close! It's more like an Alien situation where they sneak up, inject you with something, and then these little tiny little guys hatch inside you and burst out through your chest—crunch, crunch, crunch!!!1111 😲 😁 😁

driftingowl27 said:I don't think you really caught the underlying point of Independence Day. Forget about the whole "America saving the world" trope for a second... the real key to the movie is right at the very end. Throughout the entire film, there isn't a single hint that they are a nation on the brink of collapse, but then suddenly, out of nowhere, you get this... Jew... and not just any Jew, but a Rabbi. They're searching for a priest or something, but no luck, and then suddenly this Rabbi pops up exactly when everything is reaching its peak—total apocalypse—and there he is. Because let’s face it, who else shows up in an American blockbuster besides a Jew, chanting away in his own language while things go crazy? It's like a formula.

...I was just watching Lethal Weapon 4 on one of those networks...
At the end of the movie, you've got this guy and a woman who want to get married before the baby arrives, so they're hunting for a priest in the hospital. They grab the first person walking by and ask, "Are you a priest?" and he replies, "No, but I am a Rabbi." I mean, talk about a coincidence! Out of all the people on the entire planet, it turns out to be a Jew again, right at the climax of the story, and once again, the Rabbi steps in to save the day, muttering something in Hebrew that makes everyone look confused, which is played off as being funny... even the Jew is supposed to be witty in these scenes. Honestly, give me a break.

Well, dig two holes and line them with concrete.
Because I guarantee you won't ever see or hear from a Jew again for the rest of your life.

check out my signature...

Gerald Barrett25 said:.
Here’s what’s actually worth watching in theaters across the US right now: The Quiet American, The Life of David Gale, The Good Thief (which features Emir Kusturica 😁), and Spider.

The Good Thief is absolute garbage 🙂 and honestly, Life of David Gale isn't much better either 👎

It's not just some Hollywood trope 🙄

TBH: even The Life of David Gale is ***

There's this one thing about the movie's plot that just isn't right. It's debatable, I guess.
Do you know what I'm getting at? 😉

Watanun Medde Alalufqui Janaha
Warteda Majdalkadarati Wisha
Burikat Ardulfurataini Watan
Abqariyyalmajd Azmen Wa Samaha Wata ha

I had no idea they’d gone and translated King Louie's song from The Jungle Book into Thai.

I should probably also mention Spider-Man, where the final shot features the waving American flag, and then there’s Armageddon, and so on and so forth.

The crux of the matter is this: Americans love to glorify their nation—which, ironically, is actually composed of various other peoples with their own traditions, serving as the ultimate symbol of the "melting pot," though I suppose we are all well aware of that already...

Richard Howard22 said:I’d also throw in Spider-Man, where the final shot features a waving American flag, then there's Armageddon, and so on, etc.

The crux of the matter is that Americans love to glorify their country—which, ironically, is actually composed of various different peoples with their own traditions, serving as the ultimate "melting pot." But I suppose we're all well aware of that by now...

My take is that Americans tend to glorify their nation *precisely because* it is built from diverse groups with their own heritages. They don't have a singular, ancient language or a thousand-year unbroken history. In such a scenario, national symbols become an incredibly vital tool for binding such vastly different citizens into a single cohesive unit. Alexander the Great used to invent new gods that were essentially hybrids of Egyptian and Greek deities. For the Romans, symbols like S.P.Q.R. held immense importance even long after Rome had transitioned into an empire and lost its republican roots. Even in my own experience, during the first decade of independence, there was this intense effort to hammer every possible national symbol into people's heads—all those intricate patterns and traditional crests—especially considering how little we actually have in terms of a deep, singular culture and history.
The point of this rant? Emphasizing national symbols isn't inherently a bad thing, provided one doesn't overdo it. Once it becomes excessive, well, it starts to get under my skin. Quite significantly.

Richard Howard22 said:I’d also point out Spider-Man, where the final shot features a waving American flag, then there's Armageddon, and so on, etc.

If memory serves me correctly, that specific shot was added during post-production—well after the film was actually finished—specifically in response to 9/11. They ended up cutting the scene where Spider-Man catches helicopters using a web stretched between the World Trade Center towers.

So, that little flag moment wasn't exactly a shock to the system.

Gerald Barrett25 said:For instance, I honestly, truly doubt there's a single movie out there starring Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lopez, Renée Zellweger, Brad Pitt, Colin Farrell, Mel Gibson, or any other big Hollywood stars that I will ever actually sit down to watch.

It's funny you mention preserving things. 🙄 😁 😁

Talking about preservation.

Alright, genius, why don't you try finding me a single movie star from any of those names mentioned above who’s insulted someone for spending 12 bucks to see a film in the last five years? Just give me one. If you can manage that, I'll find ten pathetic works by those exact same people to throw back at you. Be my guest...

Gerald Barrett25 said:Alright, genius, why don't you try finding me just one single movie star from that list who has insulted someone for paying $12 to see a film in the last five years? Give me just one example, and I will personally dig up ten pathetic things those exact same people have done. Go ahead, I dare you...

I can't say I know much about $12; around here, a movie ticket sets you back closer to $25 or $28.
Let's look at the facts:
Brad Pitt: Ocean's Eleven, Snatch, Meet Joe Black, and so on.
Julia Roberts: Ocean's Eleven 😁
Mel Gibson: Hmm... What Women Want 😁, Signs 😁
Jennifer Lopez: The Cell
As for Renée Zellweger and Farrell, I'm drawing a blank...

So, I guess you could say:

Looking at that list above, it seems like you don't value money all that much 😁 😉

Gerald Barrett25 said:Looking at that list, you clearly don't place enough value on the bottom line.😁 😉

As far as those movies go, the only one I actually sat through in a theater was Ocean's Eleven😁 (I saw Signs too, but I’d rather bury that experience in a deep hole and forget it ever happened)

My intention was to suggest that these films lack that typical "Americanized" fluff, but now that I've given it some thought, even that point feels a bit weak.🙄

Gerald Barrett25 said:Alright, genius, why don't you try finding me just one of those movie stars mentioned above who has complained about paying $12 to see a film in the last five years? Just give me one single example, and I promise I'll find ten absolutely terrible movies starring those same people. Go ahead, I'm waiting...

I wouldn't call myself a genius by any means, I just wanted to point out the absolute load of bullshit you're spreading here. It seems to me like you're really holding onto those $12 of yours, so there’s honestly no point in me listing movies from those actors. Also, I'm a bit confused about why you brought up the last five years—how is that timeframe even relevant to the sentence I quoted? 😕
You included Mel Gibson and Brad Pitt on your list. Maybe you haven't noticed, but some actors are true sex symbols who happen to be incredibly handsome and actually have real talent. Then you get these guys who only get roles because they're incredibly good-looking, even though they can't act to save their lives. To me, that just feels like a total sham.

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