Other mistake: In racing scenes, the protagonist usually has unfortunate disadvantages through the race (issues at the start, unplanned pit stops due to technical problems, etc...) and falls back drastically. Still, after having a sentimental flashback or hearing his girlfriend over the radio, the camera shows him changing into the top gear, pushing the throttle all the way down (the heck was he doing so far then?), and he catches the pack in a matter of seconds then overtakes all opponents with ease.
Common movie and TV mistakes - page 9
This is a list of mistakes, things done wrong, etc. that happen so frequently onscreen we barely notice any more. 'Movie logic', stupid behaviours, and everything related.
Factual error: Movies with trials in which the protagonist is on the verge of losing until a last minute whammy piece of evidence is brought up that ends up winning the trial in their favor (such as "Liar Liar"). In real life, lawyers have to add the evidence in before they are allowed to talk about it, and if the judge doesn't know where they are going with it, they will ask the lawyer to make a proffer.
Deliberate mistake: Though characters have full-time jobs, they seem to have incredibly understanding bosses since their day and night hours are spent with people outside the workplace.
Factual error: When someone is burying a dead body, one person alone digs a hole big enough to bury a fully grown adult with a garden spade usually in about five minutes. There is also no sign of the earth that has been displaced by the body.
Other mistake: When the "good" guys can easily kill someone wearing protective combat gear, bullet-proof vests, etc with just one shot, but the "good" guy can get shot multiple times and be OK.
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Suggested correction: It depends on where the good guy was hit at and how bad the bullet wound is.
Other mistake: Whenever you see TV characters riding in a car, the radio is almost never on unless it's plot-relevant. This is for two reasons: 1) Having it on would distract the audience from the characters' dialogue, and 2) The producers would have to pay to license any music that would be played.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: Unless there's some reason the characters should have the radio on, or a bunch of different cars are shown without radios on in quick succession, this is an improbability at best, not a mistake.
Factual error: Whenever an aircraft goes into some kind of nosedive, they will almost always make low-pitched whine that gets louder as the aircraft goes faster. But this is the Jericho Siren that was fitted to the Stuka dive bomber by the Germans in WWII for the purposes of psychological warfare. It's a specific device that has to be fitted, nothing else would make this sound on its own.
Other mistake: Characters that are standing outside in freezing cold weather, but their breath won't be visible. This is more common in TV shows, where the outdoor setting is just a set in the studio.
Other mistake: The "latest hit video game" in film and TV productions will often seem very old fashioned, with outdated features like numbered levels, high scores, extra lives, etc.; indicating that some writers have not kept up with video game trends since the early 1990's.
Deliberate mistake: To avoid the risk of implicating real, unsuspecting people in all sorts of unsolicited calls, movies can use specific phone numbers owned by the studios, but generally they use specific area codes and/or number ranges that are unassigned. Therefore, many movies feature phone numbers that are 'impossible' by design. It's a fact so well known that it is part of pop-culture, in particular for 555-numbers, which to modern audiences nowadays look as credible as ACME items.
Factual error: Shooting a gas tank with a handgun and causing an explosion. The only way to ignite a gas tank by shooting it is with tracer ammunition, as demonstrated by the Mythbusters.
Other mistake: Whenever a character travel to a town or village in another country, no matter how remote, they always find someone who speaks English.
Deliberate mistake: If a main character is injured, say in a car accident, any visible signs of injury always include bruises or scars on the character's face. It doesn't matter how the character got injured, the moviemakers deliberately will give him wounds on the face so the audience is given a visual reminder.
Other mistake: In video games that have a night and day cycle, often times quests and especially side quests seem to be unaffected by the passing of time what so ever. Like a pressing matter of a guy running off with a valuable item, and your quest is to track him down and stop him before he leaves the city. But you can take your sweet time and have several days and longer pass in game time before you finally go to the place where you're supposed to carry out of the mission.
Other mistake: Someone coming into a room, or situation, and delivering a line in response to what was just said, even though there was no way they were able to hear what was just said (or even knowing what the conversation was about).
Deliberate mistake: In TV shows and movies that depict civilization in a state of collapse, such as The Road, The Postman or The Stand, people walk when they need to go from one place to another. The implication being that powered vehicles no longer work. The question is, what happened to all the bicycles? They would get you where you want to go much faster than walking, yet, they don't seem to exist in the future.
Deliberate mistake: Someone drives a car they've never driven before and they drive off without adjusting the driver's seat or mirror.
Factual error: Characters referring to another star system as a "Solar System." Solar System is a proper name, it refers specifically to the system that contains Earth. Our sun is called "Sol", hence "Solar System." Any time an alien from another planet uses the term Solar System to refer to an alien star system it indicates the writer or actor is making a common error.
Character mistake: In a lot of crime dramas, the main protagonist will often touch evidence with their bare hands. For example, in many episodes of Columbo, Columbo will often pick up a murder weapon and get his fingerprints on it. When any protagonist does this, they've contaminated evidence.
Plot hole: In situations where the protagonist is framed, they will be firmly believed to be guilty by everyone despite the lack of sufficient evidence. This is often achieved by focusing more on motive or odd circumstances that make the hero look guilty, rather than the little evidence which could establish reasonable doubt, with some evidence even being inaccurately seen as proof of a crime. It's a plot device for the hero to solve the mystery by themselves for dramatic purposes.
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