OK, so not long ago The Hurt Locker was on TV and although I've seen it before, I decided to watch it for the 2nd time and wasn't disappointed one bit (don't worry, this thread won't be dedicated to Hurt Locker). Afterwards I checked how many awards it won (the answer: a lot), but was really surprised at quotes like these: "...if you know anything about the Army,<...> you'll be so distracted <...> that it will ruin the movie for you. It certainly did for me" or "I was amazed that a movie so bad could get any kind of accolades from anyone" and so on. Apparently, this was the reaction of many war veterans, professional soldiers and other people associated with army. I myself found the movie very suspenseful and realistic, but then again I have little to none knowledge about army dealings in general. And thus I started thinking about movies that were more or less ruined for me just because I have an extensive knowledge about certain things portrayed in them.
For example, as a professional poker player, I almost fell of the chair laughing at a Casino Royale final poker hand. I won't spoil it much for whoever is yet to watch the movie, but I can honestly tell that it was the single most ridiculous poker scene I've ever seen. To say that it was unrealistic would be an insult to the word itself, I mean the chances of it playing out the way it did are the same as surviving being hit by lightning 7 times (and yes, that is a lame Benjamin Button reference). I know it may seem that I'm just too proud and arrogant about what I do or whatever, but that's really not the case: for example, Rounders has so many bulls**t scenes about poker shown and told in it that you could write a book about it, but I understand it was supposed to appeal to wider audiences than professional poker players and I think they succeeded very well - and I loved the movie myself. But in Casino Royale it was done so ridiculously badly, that I couldn't help but see the writers as really lazy, at least regarding that scene.
Also, it's similar with many basketball and football (for you my American friends, read: soccer) movies. As a life-long fan of both sports, I'm yet to see a movie that came close to realistically portraying these sports. As far as I'm concerned, Space Jam came the closest - at least they didn't pretend to have a realistic story, and there's still credit because of Michael Jordan doing real moves for the movie.
So, my question is - what movies or just particular scenes you found laughable, boring or downright insulting because of having extensive knowledge about one or other thing? Maybe you're an avid boxer and thus couldn't bare The Fighter or Raging Bull? Maybe you're a some sort of law enforcement guy and can't stand watching terrible police work in movies? Or maybe you're a tough mafioso and inaccuracies in Donnie Brasco drive you mad? Let me know!
For example, as a professional poker player, I almost fell of the chair laughing at a Casino Royale final poker hand. I won't spoil it much for whoever is yet to watch the movie, but I can honestly tell that it was the single most ridiculous poker scene I've ever seen. To say that it was unrealistic would be an insult to the word itself, I mean the chances of it playing out the way it did are the same as surviving being hit by lightning 7 times (and yes, that is a lame Benjamin Button reference). I know it may seem that I'm just too proud and arrogant about what I do or whatever, but that's really not the case: for example, Rounders has so many bulls**t scenes about poker shown and told in it that you could write a book about it, but I understand it was supposed to appeal to wider audiences than professional poker players and I think they succeeded very well - and I loved the movie myself. But in Casino Royale it was done so ridiculously badly, that I couldn't help but see the writers as really lazy, at least regarding that scene.
Also, it's similar with many basketball and football (for you my American friends, read: soccer) movies. As a life-long fan of both sports, I'm yet to see a movie that came close to realistically portraying these sports. As far as I'm concerned, Space Jam came the closest - at least they didn't pretend to have a realistic story, and there's still credit because of Michael Jordan doing real moves for the movie.
So, my question is - what movies or just particular scenes you found laughable, boring or downright insulting because of having extensive knowledge about one or other thing? Maybe you're an avid boxer and thus couldn't bare The Fighter or Raging Bull? Maybe you're a some sort of law enforcement guy and can't stand watching terrible police work in movies? Or maybe you're a tough mafioso and inaccuracies in Donnie Brasco drive you mad? Let me know!