There seems to be a neverending stream of movies that introduce the central characters by freezing the frame and putting the character's name in the picture, there is usually a voice-over too.

I suppose it kind of worked in Snatch, which I think was one of the first ones that used that kind of introduction.

Share your own.

Edit: And Japanese horror movies with black-haired girls.
Apparently someone thinks that little children are inherently scary (especially when they whisper). They're not.

Horror movies of the '00s:
Torture films. Sequels to remakes that are themselves remakes. Uwe Boll. Ghosts killing people... through the Internet.

Romantic comedies (or romantic action films) produced to showcase the latest hot Hollywood couple.

VH1. (Oh, sorry, I guess that's not film-related.) 

The stubborness of the French to continue making French language films long after French stopped being the international language of the world. Damn arrogant Frenchies.

Also, not film, but I think that CSI Timbuktu goes too far.

totally agree with logichat on torture movies, so done with speeding up and slowing down karate moves ie. matrix, charlies angels etc, also dont like small box office movies gone in 1 or 2 weeks, if they play in a semi close theatre at all. black dahlia lasted in theatres for it seems forever even though no one went, while last kiss was around 1 or 2 weeks.

That awful plot device of so many romantic films consisting on a guy who bets with some friends that he will date the (not so) ugly girl, then he falls in love with her, she falls in love with him, she finds out about the bet, gets angry, he explains himself (using lines like "my love for you was real"), she forgives him and everybody happy... I think Mandy Moore has done about 3,000 of those films...

There are variations like the guy who lies saying he's someone else...

Remakes. Remakes. Remakes.

That awful plot device of so many romantic films consisting on a guy who bets with some friends that he will date the (not so) ugly girl, then he falls in love with her, she falls in love with him, she finds out about the bet, gets angry, he explains himself (using lines like "my love for you was real"), she forgives him and everybody happy... I think Mandy Moore has done about 3,000 of those films...

There are variations like the guy who lies saying he's someone else...

Agreed. Oh my god, AGREED. I hate romance flicks anyhow, so this just makes them even worse. Although I do have to say, Mandy Moore has never done any of those films. Don't ask how I know. Just trust me that it is so. :) But HILARY DUFF HAS. Someone needs to STOP her. Her and that horse-faced sister of hers. Ugh.

Another annoying trend...the incredibly unimaginative and wholly disappointing *GASP* TWIST ENDING! *GASP* While it's true that most thrillers and horror flicks would suck without the twist ending, it just seems that nowadays that's the filmmaker's whole goal...they're just creating the rest of the film as a runway to their INCREDIBLY CLEVER! twist ending. Like a giant glowing marquee that says "LOOK! I thought of that! I'm SO AWESOME! Weren't you SURPRISED?!"

Another annoying trend...the incredibly unimaginative and wholly disappointing *GASP* TWIST ENDING! *GASP* While it's true that most thrillers and horror flicks would suck without the twist ending, it just seems that nowadays that's the filmmaker's whole goal...they're just creating the rest of the film as a runway to their INCREDIBLY CLEVER! twist ending. Like a giant glowing marquee that says "LOOK! I thought of that! I'm SO AWESOME! Weren't you SURPRISED?!"

I chuckled heartily at the Robot Chicken "M.Night Shyamalan's The Twist" skit.
It was only funny the first time though, when it is revealed that he lives on the moon - "What a twist!"
It's right here if you don't know what I'm talking about. At the 5:22 mark.

I must check that out when I get home. :D Shyamalan tops my list of Annoying One-Trick Ponies. The man can't make a film without there being a TWIST ENDING!!! Which is sad because for the most part his films are at least interesting on their own. But we're built to expect this TWIST ENDING!!! and it's just such a sad gimmick. Not to mention his TWIST ENDING!!!s are easy to figure out (sorry, I figured out Sixth Sense by the time the restaurant scene rolled around; and don't get me started on Signs).

Another beef of mine (that is related to twist endings most of the time) is the trend of advertising a film as having a must-see ending. "It's a tale of the struggle between good and evil with an ending that will BLOW YOUR MIND!!!!" What the-? If you have to tell me that, it's a sh*tty movie to begin with. That's a typical television sweeps tactic (and the "twist"/ending is never even close to mind-blowing; most are so weak or transparent that I think we'd have grounds to sue the production companies for false advertising) and it's just a sign of bad things to come.

The Sixth Sense twist pissed me off. How can a year go by and *spoiler*you don't realize you're a ghost*spoiler*?
Answer me that, Bruce Willis. HOW?!?!?

I think that's the reason I didn't really figure it out. Unlike the Fight Club twist, which was obvious about 15 minutes into it.

The same thing happened with Secret Window. After a while I thought that this movie is just too dumb too be straightforward, and I started to ponder what the twist would be. When it turned out it was the same twist that Fight Club used, I got angry again. It was worse the second time around.
At least FC has some kind of production quaity even though the movie wasn't good.

I concur about the Duff sisters...and M Night Shyalaman must be stopped too, before it's too late.

I think that's the reason I didn't really figure it out. Unlike the Fight Club twist, which was obvious about 15 minutes into it.

My boyfriend at the time (who, funny enough, is a huge Shyamalan fan, which explains A LOT) took me to see Fight Club after he'd already seen it twice. Like you, I figured it out about 15 minutes in. I turned to my bf and said "OK, we can leave. I know what the twist is." He was furious. But we stayed so I could ogle Jared Leto. He's also the one who forced me to watch Signs and I informed him as soon as I figured it out, which marks the last time he ever took me to see a movie. In fact, after that point he wouldn't watch movies with me that I hadn't already seen. Serves him right for subjecting me to dreck. :P

I didn't enjoy The Usual Suspects in the theater for the same reason.  I remember at a certain point my girlfriend of the time leaned over and whispered "I think the detective is actually Keyser Soze."  "No, he's not," I replied, dredging up what wit I could.  I liked it more the second time I watched it, though.

The only Shyamlamalmanan I've seen is Unbreakable, and I made no effort to figure out what the twist would be, and I felt that it suited the story when it arrived.  Plus, it was right there in front of you the whole time, so it wasn't like getting jerked around. 

The only Shyamlamalmanan I've seen is Unbreakable, and I made no effort to figure out what the twist would be, and I felt that it suited the story when it arrived.  Plus, it was right there in front of you the whole time, so it wasn't like getting jerked around. 

That's actually his only film I can tolerate. And it's the one most people hate. Go figure.

Same here. Or rather, it's my favorite of his. It's basically what I was hoping Heroes was gonna be.

Anyway, I rarely figure out trick endings. I gauge a "twist" movie's value according to whether or not I found the film preceeding it interesting, not on how clever I am. That's why I liked Unbreakable and was indifferent to Fight Club.

Same here. Or rather, it's my favorite of his. It's basically what I was hoping Heroes was gonna be.

Same here.

I don't consider myself clever for figuring out the twists. I may be an a**hole, but I'm definitely not an arrogant one. I just discovered the twists because they were predictable. Most twists are. Easy to spot and yet easy to miss as well. The more a film bores me, the faster I figure out its gimmick because I have nothing better to do with my time, I suppose.

I'm sick of dream within a dream/multiple parallel realities narratives as excuses to be arty.  Just because David Lynch can do it doesn't mean you can.   It's getting boring.

Same here too. It seems that most people here hate Unbreakable. I think it is his "best" film, but since then his writing has been total, abasolute sh*t. Haven't seen Lady in the Water nor than I care too.

Fight Club twist
Secret Window twist

And now the Hide and Seek twist. Sweet!

Same here too. It seems that most people here hate Unbreakable. I think it is his "best" film, but since then his writing has been total, abasolute sh*t. Haven't seen Lady in the Water nor than I care too.

 I still think his best work to date is that wonderful American Express commercial. 

We saw Unbreakable with Little Mike Anderson.  He hate-hate-hated it mostly because of its basic implausibility of Samuel L Jackson as Osteogenesis Imperfecta sufferer.  That's the disease Mike has.  I remember him wondering why they didn't cast Arnold Schwartzeneggar or Sylvester Stallone instead.

Oh, and I understand his new book is awful as well. It's a shame.  That American Express commercial showed such great promise.

Susan

I still think his best work to date is that wonderful American Express commercial.

Oh, and I understand his new book is awful as well. It's a shame. That American Express commercial showed such great promise.

The only thing I got from the AmEx commercial was that no one loves M. Night as much as M. Night does.
And it does not bode well when a filmmaker's best work is done when hawking wares.

(Though Wes Anderson's was great.)

I had a dream a couple of nights ago, about what was introduced as M. Night's new movie.
I don't recall much about it, but the beginning of it was about a family moving into a house, and in the house there was a picture (or painting) of a forest... with a werewolf.

That's all I remember.

Wes Anderson's commercial was great and I only saw it once, too bad it is not one that is gonna get aired that often...Robert DeNiro's isn't bad either.

To go back to annoying trends... This happens more often in weekly television dramas or advertisements, but films are susceptible as well:

Using beautiful, dramatic popular music to score subject matter that isn't very dramatic in the first place. This one occured to me while watching Gary Jules' Mad World cover being used under footage of a guy shooting giant space worms in the trailer to the sci-fi video game Gears of War. Just because it worked in the movie about the ghost rabbit doesn't mean it's appropriate for your generic Half-Life knockoff.

And if I have to watch another television episode featuring an interminable motage cut to Jeff Buckley's recording of Hallelujah, the sheer force of my eyes rolling may lead to my untimely demise. And this is coming from someone who's been listening to Grace all week.