What ever happened to

555-555-5555

????

Or the old, "Picked up the wrong suitcase at the airport...and the cops will never believe you, so you have to go out and catch the bad guys yourself..."

The thing where at the end, we're not quite sure if the hero has won the hearts and minds of the townsfolk, and there's an awkward silence, but then one person starts clapping very slowly and deliberately, and then everyone else joins, one by one, and there is a swelling of emotion at the hard-won acceptance.

Don't forget computer screens that show letters at about letter size 60 or bigger.

Oh and the big 'e' comes up across the whole screen when you get an email.

"Head them off at the pass."



"I hate that cliche."

Don't think I've ever seen either of these.

Nah, that last 10 years it was the Aol sound when you get an email. "You got mail!!"

Telling a cab driver to follow that car.

Getting the drop on the bad guy, but allowing him to surrender rather than killing him.
Then he grabs a gun/hostage/whatever, and now the good guy can shoot him (usually after he's killed a couple more extras)

"Tell my XXX I love.."
"You can tell them yourself"

A below-average intelligence goofball/unwitting hero stepping up and saving society a la Will Smith in Independence Day.

Running from a killer when you can attack him or slow him down somehow, only to end up in another enclosed room, where you have now lost sight of the killer and stand there trembling waiting for him to pop in on you and attack again. So that you can just run again to another enclosed area.

Disney film: Death/loss of a parent.

Excrutiatingly LOUD NOISES in "horror" films during "scary" scenes to heighten the "terror" of it all. This is a reallllly cheap, hackneyed way of getting people to jump in the theater without all the hassle of having to worry about script or execution of scene with characters. Just throw in a really LOUD NOISE. This is why I basically stopped going to see "scary movies" at the theater.

Also, young, creepy (but well-intended) brown haired boys in scary films in the last decade.

All romantic comedies.

One character speaking ill of another character at length while the subject of the discussion is standing right behind the speaker.

This is more of a TV one actually, but it's such a common trope.

By the way for those of you have not seen it, tvtropes.org has a million of these, and it is very easy and fun to surf there for hours upon hours seeing all your favorite plotlines dissected. You're welcome.

One character speaking ill of another character at length while the subject of the discussion is standing right behind the speaker.

This is more of a TV one actually, but it's such a common trope.

By the way for those of you have not seen it, tvtropes.org has a million of these, and it is very easy and fun to surf there for hours upon hours seeing all your favorite plotlines dissected. You're welcome.

Soft landing in a dumpster.

Escaping from custody or following someone by hanging onto the spinning driveshaft under a moving vehicle.

Bottom of the ninth, two outs, runners aboard, down by a run...

....and the two detectives hang their heads, while the captain loudly chews them out in front of the entire squad room. "You two think you're hot stuff, but you're not! You coulda got someone KILLED out there! This isn't funny! I'm not laughing!"

A father missing his son's game/event.
Goofy sidekick not getting the girl at the end but having to say some stupid not funny line to the hero and girl.
"I'm cold"
"It's not too late!" vs. "It's already too late!"
Young boy is bullied, some fantastic event happens in the movie, young boy grows some balls and gets back at the bullies.

There is an episode of Sex and the City where Sam is following Richard, who she suspects is cheating. She jumps in a cab and says "follow that car" and the cabbie turns around and says "ARE YOU ****IN SERIOUS???"

This is spot on.

The only scary movie in the last years I thought was any good was 1408. The beginning of the movie has this build up full of tension and doesn't always rely on "BOO! Scared ya!"-moments.

Walk this way.

Hero walking towards the camera as a huge explosion goes off behind him.

In a scary movie, the bad guy it chasing them. Rather than run out the back door, they run upstairs. And then they find the flimsyest door to hide behind.

"How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough."

Samuel L. Jackson yelling.

Al Pacino yelling.