Movies - Take Two. Action!

[NogbadTheBad]

Everything done in movies (and TV) is done for the benefit of an audience assumed to be dumber than a box of rocks.

This is generally a good assumption

[Progatron]

And so many other things as well, things I often notice that bug me more than I should let them, even things that aren't impossible, but just flat-out stupid. Like characters who are walking and suddenly stop to face each other and have part of their conversation before resuming walking. Nobody does that. I have a million of these, but I think we've talked about them here before. But I'll add my #1 pet peeve: people going into the bathroom to splash cold water on their face and then staring at themselves silently in the mirror.

[mozo-pg]

Rewatched:

Billion Dollar Baby
The Equalizer

The first one is excellent although gut wrenching.
The second one is classic Denzil action

[Hal...]

Everything done in movies (and TV) is done for the benefit of an audience assumed to be dumber than a box of rocks. For example, when you pull slowly onto the road from a stop at the curb, your tires do not make a screeching noise.

My dad used to get irritated when he'd hear a car peel out on a dirt road.

But back to your point. I have been in parking lots where I'm driving 5-10 mph and taking a sharp turn and my tires squealed. To be fair, the parking lot had been freshly paved or sealed.

I guess I'm supposed to turn off my mind, relax, and float downstream.

Nice.

But I'll add my #1 pet peeve: people going into the bathroom to splash cold water on their face and then staring at themselves silently in the mirror.

I hadn't even thought of that but that's hilarious.

[nycsteve]

A "modern" revolver, like you see in cop/gangster movies from the 30s & 40s, is a "double action" gun. When you pull the trigger, it also pulls the hammer back at the same time (as well as turning the cylinder) and when the hammer reaches a certain point, it releases and goes forward, striking the bullet's primer, which then causes the gunpowder to ignite, and so on. However, if you cock the hammer first, not only does the trigger move backward, the gun then becomes single action. The difference between double action and single action can be as much as 6 lbs of extra force to pull the trigger in DA mode, as well as a longer trigger pull (shorter for SA). Here's a picture of a semiautomatic showing the difference between SA on the left and DA on the right.



The one on the left has the hammer cocked and you can see the trigger is back farther. The force is around 5 lbs for single action and 11-12 lbs for double action. BTW, I'm going off memory for a specific gun. Some guns might have more for each or the difference might be less. Or more. Depends on the gun. I dry fired (no bullet) a revolver in double action, once, and I'd swear the force was well over 11 lbs, which is really stiff.

I said modern revolver before because I just learned in the past year that the original revolvers made in the 19th century, like the Colt Peacemaker (based on the Army's Colt SAA) that you see in westerns, required you to pull the hammer back first to fire it, which is why gunslingers like Clint Eastwood's "Man With No Name" or Alan Ladd's "Shane" used their palm to pull the hammer back. It's called "fanning" and here's what it says on Wikipedia about it:
"It is possible to fire the SAA rapidly by holding down the trigger and 'fanning' the hammer with the other hand."

Plus it was a lot faster than cocking the hammer every time with your thumb. Why they were designed this way, I have absolutely no idea. I suspect it was a holdover from the days of muzzle-loaders, when pulling the hammer back was required to fire them since the mechanism to release the hammer was a lot simpler. This made them single action, btw.

The first double action revolver was the Colt 1889. And with all revolvers made after that, you can still pull the hammer back and make it single action.

So, that's the background. You can now probably figure out why someone would cock the hammer first: shorter and easier trigger pull. But there's an added benefit: accuracy. Firing a gun in double action can reduce accuracy considerably since that extra force required to pull the trigger causes shooters to "pull" the gun and miss their target, especially at distances of 15 or more feet. When I first got my handgun (a semiautomatic, btw) I went to the range and tested it, just to see how it shoots and to see if I'd lost any accuracy from my days in the Coast Guard. With most semiautomatics, the first round is double action and all the rest are single action. I hit the target on my first shot but missed the silhouette. lol. The other 13 rounds were all in the 9 ring (second best) with over half of those in the 10 ring (best).

The other reason for pulling back the hammer is the added benefit of making the enemy shit his pants when he hears a gun being cocked. In certain situations, of course. But, yeah, sneaking up on someone and then cocking the hammer negates the whole point of sneaking up on them in the first place.

Sometimes you see someone cock a semiautomatic but I think that's more for psychological effect.


Remember when Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself? He had a Glock, tho, which imo is the stupidest gun design in the history of firearms. And when police forces first started making Glocks standard issue, the term "cop leg" entered the vernacular after so many cops accidentally shot themselves. In fact, according to the LA Times, there were 120 accidental discharges with Glocks in a 10 year period. And that was just in one police department (Washington Metro)!

Many (most?) guns these days, tho, have some sort of mechanism to prevent accidental discharges, as long as you don't have the hammer cocked. Personally, I'd rather have a round chambered and in double action mode than to have to suddenly chamber one, even if that does put it into single action.

What kind of gun do you have?

I have 3 hand guns, 2 semi autos ,one of which is a very recent aquisition. The older semi is a Kahr 45 . Its small and concelable , 5 round magazine. The new one , like 3 weeks old is a Taures G3C. Its a 10 round mag , again small and concelable 9mm. But the Taures has a safety. Its way easier to shoot than the 45 and Im way more accurate with it. Probably because it has much less kick and I'm not anticipating the recoil. I only carry a gun with when traveling. I do a 1500 mile road trip 4 to 6 times a year and sleep in rest stops and truck stops. Some are pretty sketchy.
The 3rd gun is an older Colt Officer Model 22LR revolver. It has a 6 inch barrel (both semis have 3 inch) no kick and very helpful at the range when teaching myself to shoot.

[Scott Bails]

The other is someone spelling out asap. It's an acronym; just fucking say it. You don't spell out laser, radar, or scuba do you? Unbeknownst to most people, asap was originally coined in the military. The military loves their acronyms and jargon.

I dunno. We spell out "MIA," "POW," "DOA," "NCAA," among many, many others.

[spellbound]

But I'll add my #1 pet peeve: people going into the bathroom to splash cold water on their face and then staring at themselves silently in the mirror.

It could happen, albeit not a pensive stare like in movies. The handful of times in my life when I've gone into the bathroom to splash water on my face, I've been so tired (hence the last ditch effort to awaken myself with cold water) that I would probably stare at anything that happened to be in front of me.

[Progatron]

I think we talked here a while back about the the time people in movies always have to prepare elaborate family meals, despite being career-obsessed workaholics. I mentioned that they always have a huge bowl of various fresh fruits in their kitchen (ever done that? It all rots in 48 hours). Someone pointed out that despite a massive spare-no-expense breakfast being prepared, teenagers will just run down the stairs and grab a piece of toast on their way out the door.

Another big one for me is when there's a huge crowd of people circled around a fight or an injured person or some such event, and the main character can always make it to the front simply by nudging people aside.

[Munster]

I have 3 hand guns, 2 semi autos ,one of which is a very recent aquisition. The older semi is a Kahr 45 . Its small and concelable , 5 round magazine. The new one , like 3 weeks old is a Taures G3C. Its a 10 round mag , again small and concelable 9mm. But the Taures has a safety. Its way easier to shoot than the 45 and Im way more accurate with it. Probably because it has much less kick and I'm not anticipating the recoil. I only carry a gun with when traveling. I do a 1500 mile road trip 4 to 6 times a year and sleep in rest stops and truck stops. Some are pretty sketchy.
The 3rd gun is an older Colt Officer Model 22LR revolver. It has a 6 inch barrel (both semis have 3 inch) no kick and very helpful at the range when teaching myself to shoot.

I am always amused in the movies when a gun is fired in an enclosed space and no-one reels around holding their ears and then remains deaf for about 10 minutes after. A gun going off in a small space, or anywhere, is VERY LOUD.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Everything done in movies (and TV) is done for the benefit of an audience assumed to be dumber than a box of rocks.

"No one in this world, so far as I know ... has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people."
-- H.L. Mencken

This is especially true in USA where we have always had something of an anti-intellectual cult.

And to bring it back to movies ... Anybody have any comments on Idiocracy?

[nycsteve]

"No one in this world, so far as I know ... has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people."
-- H.L. Mencken

This is especially true in USA where we have always had something of an anti-intellectual cult.

And to bring it back to movies ... Anybody have any comments on Idiocracy?

As far as Idiocracy , it turns out the reality far exceeds the fiction. Unfortunately.

[spellbound]

Watched The Curse of La Llorona last night. We'd never seen it before. Had seen negative reviews of it, but it was no worse than the other horror flicks we've seen this month. We especially liked the special feature "Making Of" that revealed that the woman who played the monster was pretty hot. Three hours in the make-up chair to get her looking hideous.

Just looked up La Llorona on imdb and there are half a dozen movies listed with La Llorona in the title. If there is an exceptional one, please recommend. This is the one our library has in its October display.

As far as Idiocracy , it turns out the reality far exceeds the fiction. Unfortunately.

I'd love to live in a country, or a world, where the leaders and lawmakers weren't evil, stupid, self-serving turds. Idiocracy is an entertaining movie, but it's a lighthearted romp compared to reality, and the politicians that ignore reality.

[Scott Bails]

We finally got around to watching The Social Dilemma last night.

I know most people came away from it thinking Facebook, et al, are evil, and they certainly weren't portrayed in a flattering light, but my biggest takeaway is that too many people are just horrible human beings.

[Hal...]

I dunno. We spell out "MIA," "POW," "DOA," "NCAA," among many, many others.

Those are what are called initialisms: "A term formed from the initial letters of several words or parts of words, but which is itself pronounced letter by letter."

Besides which, if you pay attention, some movies/shows get it right and pronounce "asap" as a word. So there.

[NogbadTheBad]

I guess it depends on whether you define ASAP as an initialization or an acronym, I've heard both used a lot.

[Scott Bails]

Those are what are called initialisms: "A term formed from the initial letters of several words or parts of words, but which is itself pronounced letter by letter."

Besides which, if you pay attention, some movies/shows get it right and pronounce "asap" as a word. So there.

Meh.

[Hal...]

I guess it depends on whether you define ASAP as an initialization or an acronym, I've heard both used a lot.

It's an acronym... Unbeknownst to most people, asap was originally coined in the military.

I first heard it in 1983 when I was in the military and it was part of the vernacular. The first time I heard it in a movie or TV show was in the 21st century.

And as my cousin pointed out, HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) is pronounced "humvee". And then I thought of "Norad", which is the acronym for North American Aerospace Defense Command, and "awol", the acronym for away without leave.

As I said before, the military loves their acronyms and they have a shit ton of them.

[spellbound]

Watched The Possession Of Hannah Grace the other night. Wasn't far into it before realizing we'd seen it before. Not a bad movie, but I fell asleep watching it again. Sucks to have a poor memory for movie names.

Watched The Prodigy (2019) last night. Had not seen that before. Pretty decent fright flick, about a creepy kid. Stars Taylor Schilling (Orange Is The New Black) as Mommy.

[nosebone]

Went to No Time To Die last night.

5/10 Without spoiling anything, I thought a) it was overlong and dragged in places b) Rami Valek wasn't an impressive villain at all.c) It was an emo Bond movie

[Scott Bails]

Went to No Time To Die last night.

5/5 Without spoiling anything, I thought a) it was overlong and dragged in places b) Rami Valek wasn't an impressive villain at all.c) It was an emo Bond movie

But you gave it a 5 out of 5?

[nosebone]

But you gave it a 5 out of 5?

Yes

The film looked great,I like Daniel Craig, the beautiful women, the gadgets and a few spectacular action sequences.

[hippypants]

I finished up The Outsider Stephen King series on Netflix overall I thought it was pretty good though I wasn't that keen on the major male actor that played the detective. I also finished up The Mist series. They ended it after that first season. It was different from the movie, but overall pretty good. I finished Midnight Mass. I thought it was middling, and too talk-y for me. I'm just not a fan of the director, though enjoyed Hush. I watched a doc on Moe Tucker last night on Youtube for free. It's not professional made, but pretty decent. Milos also free on Yt about the director and writer, John Milius (Conan, Red Dawn, etc.). It had interviews with many Hollywood notables, Spielberg, Lucas, etc.

[Progatron]

^^^ We're just about to start Midnight Mass. What does "too talk-y" mean, out of curiosity?

[hippypants]

^^^ We're just about to start Midnight Mass. What does "too talk-y" mean, out of curiosity?

Well, by all means give it a try, but I prefer something with a bit more action (or visceral) like maybe the new Malignant movie. I like my horror with a bit more suspense.

[wideopenears]

Well, by all means give it a try, but I prefer something with a bit more action (or visceral) like maybe the new Malignant movie. I like my horror with a bit more suspense.

Obviously Midnight Mass exploits Horror Flick and Vampire tropes but it's really a social commentary, more than anything else. I thought it was great, though it felt rushed at the end. I'll say no more.