MovieChat Forums > Cold in July (2014) Discussion > Small things that took me out of the mov...

Small things that took me out of the movie

posted 11 years ago by CincyDude
17 replies | jump to latest

1) Supposed to be east Texas in July yet I don't think one person ever broke a sweat. Pretty lush and deep green scenery, much more so than I recall in E Texas. Turns out it was shot in upstate NY. Figures. It's never ACTUALLY cold in July in E Texas. Title is just a metaphor (for something, I guess).

2) First, hubby buys the ugly gold sofa, then they go to the store to pick out her preferred floral. Later they're back at home sitting on the gold one. Only yet later they're finally on the floral number.

3) For a guy who owns a frame shop the picture over the sofa looks wrong. It looks like something they picked up at a garage sale. I can't imagine a true craftsman would let such junk into his house.

4) Why would rain water drip into the house/closet just because the hatch to the crawl space is open? If the roof were leaky it would have dripped during previous rains, open or not.

5) How do those scumbag snuff-film makers get access to that English manor house for their nasty work?

6) "The only furin movies we's got is Japanese and Mexican." "No, we've got some British, too."
What? No Canadian? Icelandic? Mauritanian?

7) So this whole first-half plot was a scam to lure Sam Shepard so that they could have him murdered? Even though he'd just been sitting in jail?
Man, and I thought the Guantanamo situation was messed up.

8) So after exhuming the body they depart the cemetery without putting the casket back in the grave and filling in the dirt... and apparently nobody ever notices, it never comes back to Mr. Mullet who had publicly raised questions about the corpse, and there are no repercussions?

9) Least convincing drive-in movie theater ever. And what ancient movie were they showing? Whatever it was it not likely that it would be the feature in a small Texas-- or NY State-- town in 1989. Nor would any drive-in have a full-on Mexican cantina such as the one depicted. Nor would Sam Shepard be wandering around in it-- or anywhere in that town-- if he's supposed to be dead or targeted by the police.

I could go on.

[–] ceallachain-746-980534 11 years ago

2) I'm guessing it took a while to be delivered.

7) Sam Shepard wasn't supposed to show up, was he? They only tried to kill him because he came to get revenge for his son's killing. They were afraid he'd figure out his son wasn't the one dead.

9) It was the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD!!! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063350/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Definitely possible they'd show it in 1989 ... or today!

[–] miwingman 11 years ago

I agree with all of your points, plus:

1. How did Freddy and friends not realize they were being followed by the same black pick up with the same three guys in it?

2. At the video store Freddy turns around and Dane has left. How about just walk to the door and look out in the third parking spot where the same black pick up truck and same three guys are sitting 40 feet away?

3. How does Lt. Price and his crew with Russell in the car not notice Dane's Mercury station wagon in the small parking lot (good thing Dane ducked down)? Then the Mercury station wagon follows them and these cops don't notice they are being followed when there are only 2 cars on the road.

4. Who was the guy they buried?

5. Apparently Dane's wife doesn't care that her husband got his ear shot off at a "business meeting".

6. No consequences for the police who covered for Freddy's identity? No consequences for the murder of Freddy and his crew?

This movie goes from Cape Fear to Death Wish with a slim bridge that doesn't really tie the two plots together.

[–] sadfilmophile 10 years ago

1. How did Freddy and friends not realize they were being followed by the same black pick up with the same three guys in it?

2. At the video store Freddy turns around and Dane has left. How about just walk to the door and look out in the third parking spot where the same black pick up truck and same three guys are sitting 40 feet away?

3. How does Lt. Price and his crew with Russell in the car not notice Dane's Mercury station wagon in the small parking lot (good thing Dane ducked down)? Then the Mercury station wagon follows them and these cops don't notice they are being followed when there are only 2 cars on the road.

4. Who was the guy they buried?

5. Apparently Dane's wife doesn't care that her husband got his ear shot off at a "business meeting".

6. No consequences for the police who covered for Freddy's identity? No consequences for the murder of Freddy and his crew?

1. Not "didnt realise", they didnt see. Not a mistake.
2. Why shd Freddy bother? Customer left, no biggie. Has a blockbuster person ever followed you out to the parking lot to continue a conversation? If so, report them.
3. Not a parking lot. These cops didnt seem particularly cautious or clever.
4. Movie doesnt answer: this is not a plot hole or mistake.
5. Wife was sleeping when he returns. Film ends before she can wake up and react.
6. Not "no consequences" - no consequences that we are shown. Film chose not to disclose that, this is not a mistake or plot hole.

[–] PamerEldritch 11 years ago

If you hadn't been so intent on looking for "mistakes" to try and look smart you could have paid more attention you would then have realised that most of the errors that you cite are actually you misunderstanding what you're watching. I don't intend to go through your list item by item though because that would just encourage to carry on being lazy.

[–] carrona 11 years ago

PamerEldritch - Funny that you defend all the mistakes (which I and my partner noticed too). If you've got all the answers, you need to put up or shut up!

[–] Thrill_KillZ 11 years ago

If you hadn't been so intent on looking for "mistakes" to try and look smart you could have paid more attention

Sorry, but any semi-intelligent person can watch a film and then re-run it through their head afterward, which is when most of the inconsistencies, flaws or plot holes in films come to mind. Nearly everything mentioned is correct, just because you can't watch a screen and use reasoning skills at the same time doesn't mean the rest of the world suffers from the same affliction.

[–] Bens_Basement 11 years ago

These complaints (or nitpicks) are mostly ridiculous (although you can have the sofa one, as I also noticed that).

I particularly like the one about the type of foreign movies this video store is holding.

a) it's the deep south of America, not exactly the cultural centre of the world. How many customers are gonna come in for a Luis Bunuel, Francois Truffaut or Jean-Luc Godard flick?!
b) it's the 80's, foreign cinema is not as easily accessible as it is today.
c) it was established that the video store was a cover for their darker activities, i doubt they're trying their hardest to get EVERY SINGLE world cinema title in their dumpy little store
d) how does this change ANYTHING in the film?!

And if you were paying attention, the film they were watching was NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. The credit slide is actually playing whilst the characters were talking. Most outdoor, drive-in cinemas deliver B-movie or classic titles. Night of the Living Dead is one of THE classic horror titles. Perfect for a drive-in. I've seen it at a drive-in theatre myself.

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[–] Krustallos 11 years ago

No he can't have the sofa one. As Palmereldritch notes, it simply took a while for the floral sofa to be delivered. As you say, these are ridiculous quibbles. Answering them all would be tedious, but...

3) the guy is a picture framer in a hick town. He's not an art critic.

8) just because we don't see something happen in a movie does't mean it didn't happen. We're able to infer that they filled the hole in, surely?

The absence of sweat is a fair point, though. Never shoot your Texas-set movie in NY.

I used to want to change the world. Now I just want to leave the room with a little dignity.

[–] Bens_Basement 11 years ago

At the start of the film, the postman is covered in sweat when he antagonises Michael C Hall about the shooting. More sweat was needed though.

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[–] WVfilmfem 11 years ago

Cincydude is correct about the sofa. It was obvious even to me, and I don't look for goofs.

[–] haku119 11 years ago

You have serious OCD problems to actually think about and type out these extremely trivial "mistakes".

[–] qubsoft-923-607274 11 years ago

1) The mail man in the beginning was sweating.
2) Most movies have continuity errors. Good catch, but nothing out of the ordinary...
3) He sells *beep* picture frames. Does that really qualify him as a true craftsman? You have a very simplistic view of the world...
4) Really? Maybe the water would have just pooled in the attic and then evaporated. Seems plausible enough to me.
5) It was a rundown building... is it really that hard to believe that they were able to acquire a rundown building?
6) Well, no, evidently there wasn't. Is this supposed to be a criticism?
7) Fair point, but I think it's safe to say that explained that situation more in the book.
8) Yeah, I wondered about that as well. It's possible that they did put the body back in the grave, but it just wasn't shown. Michael C. Hall's character is still standing at the grave when the scene ends.
9) That statement is just pure 100% BS. You literally have no idea what you are talking about. There is absolutely no way you could substantiate any of those statements. Have you been to every drive-in movie theater in the world? I'm going to say "no."

[–] ljriffel 10 years ago

What about the Cadillac that sustained a side impact strong enough to spin the back end of the car several feet SIDEWAYS and moments later in the scene where Ben is in the car with the gun we clearly see the car is 100% fine? At least the Pinto had a broken tail-light. I have the scene paused on my computer right now at 1:15:38. There is the Cadillac. No damage. Now come on!

[–] southtxabstract 10 years ago

@ljriffel, that's trivial though. He could have gotten it fixed.Wouldn't take that long. I'm pretty sure Don Johnson's character isn't they type to drive in a blemished Cadillac.

Music is your only friend until the end.

[–] ljriffel 10 years ago

You're right. So after they take the tapes from the Pinto they go to the body show and get the car repaired and then go home to watch the tapes. Because the scene I'm talking about happens right after they get home from the accident and watch the tapes. More likely it's sloppy editing.

[–] TheBeardedWonder 10 years ago

Most of what you wrote are personal opinions about part of the movie and don't actually effect the movie in any way.

1) Personal quibble - who cares whether we see people sweat? What the hell?

2) He was waiting for the new one to be delivered. If it cut right to it being in the house you'd be complaining 'how did he get it so quick?! Shouldn't there have been a waiting/delivery process?!'

3) Personal quibble

4) I think it was supposed to be from the intruder

5) Personal quibble, again it doesn't change the movie in any way. You're essentially wondering how ANYONE doing ANYTHING illegal gets something fancy...money I would guess?

6) Personal quibble - but I think that one was kind of a joke by you anyway

7) Personal quibble

8) We didn't see them put it back, so what? We didn't see them vacate their bowels either.

9) Again, a personal thing. Who cares whether it's what a drive-in should look like to you. Also, come on man, how are you gonna critique a movie (for what are very minor things) then admit to the world you can't recognize NotLD - one of the most famous movies of all time? Also it said the title of the movie right there on the drive in marquee!

I could see how it's not everyone's cup of tea (like most movies of this genre it's probably going to be very divisive), but don't fault the movie for minor things you personally don't like then act as if it's the movies fault...

'Get yourself a real dog. Any dog under 50 lbs is a cat and cats are pointless' - Ron Swanson

[–] sandifay62 10 years ago

This is the reason so many people are disappointed in life in general. They expect perfection everywhere. This is a just small movie made for entertainment. The OP was some ho expecting a scientifically correct flawless masterpiece.

A lot of people these days are so into the details and minutia in every scene that they're easily distracted. I've seen enough movies to know that they all have flaws and when I'm more interested in what the characters are doing and saying to each others, I can notice the flaws without letting me get distracted like a dog seeing a squirrel.

In spite of the couch I enjoyed this movie. It wasn't perfect or perfectly written it did it's job, It entertained me. I enjoyed the performances of Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, and Don Johnson in spite of the couch and framed picture debacle.