I hate it when movies have timestamps

I'll tell you what I mean:

When a movie has something that pins it down to a particular moment in time,without forethought to the future, is what I'm talking about. Stuff that REALLY dates a movie. Things like:

In the movie John Tucker Must Die, you can see an X-Men 3: The Last Stand movie poster in a movie theater lobby, setting the movie in late 2005-early 2006.

In the movie America's Sweethearts (I think), A character mentions to another character the only books she's read are "the four Harry Potter books". Wouldn't have accured to the screenwriters that there would eventually be more than four Harry Potter books, and just have the character say "Harry Potter books" plural, not giving out their number?

In Looney Tunes: Back In Action, the animated Shaggy gives Matthew Lilard crap for how he portrayed him in the first live-action Scooby-Doo movie, and tells him he better do a good job for the sequel. A timestamp if there ever was one.

Movies that have dated stuff because of the period of time they were made in is okay, it's things like the above examples that get to me, because it really shows no forethought for the future of the movie the filmmakers are making.


TLJ Edit: Lockey by implo... im... implosion?

 

Like 2001: A Space Odyssey?

 

but they get dated through their clothes etc or their hairdos anyway, why does this bit bother you so much?

 

Dated clothes, hairdos, and music in movies are a great time capsule. It shows what people were like in that time.

The above examples are just great ways to make a lousy movie even lousier.

 

Fixed.

 

You just watch really crappy movies.

 

I think it's fun seeing one in a movie years later and being surprised at how long ago some films were made.

 

In my own defense, the America's Sweethearts example was from the previews. Even from that, I knew I didn't want to see it more than I already didn't want to.

 

dude, you are looking too far into it. they are just movies.

 

All those old fashioned cars in the Marx Brothers' movies. Man, that pisses me off.

 

The model spaceships in the original Star Wars trilogy.



And the puppets!

 

Shia Laboeuf saying "Daddio".

 

It's about time they replaced puppet Yoda with digi Yoda.


-JR

 

birth of a nation didn't even have sound.

 

And what is up with The Patriot being set in the 1700s? I thought it was set in modern times.

 

Like when the Spiderman trailer had the twin towers in the background?

 

Hey, that was a cool trailer.

 

These are more along the lines of historical anachronisms which date the film to a certain point in time. A timestamp is the actual date/time of recording printed on to the film or the image.

 

Or how about all the mausers and stirling submachine guns in Star Wars? Now everytime I watch it I think it takes place during WWII!!!! What???

 

Or when in the Devil Wears Prada she has to get the unpublished Harry Potter book. Wouldn't have accured [sic] to the screenwriters that there would eventually be no more unpublished Harry Potter books, and just make up a series?

 

The movies you mentioned are hardly timeless classics. They are very much a part of the time they were made in.
It's hard to create a movie that doesn't age, it's mostly animation that can get away with this.

It doesn't really bother me, I like seeing what the world was like when they movie was filmed. And in the future I can watch them again and think "oh yeah, that hadn't even come out yet" or "woah, is that really that old?"

 

The movies you mentioned are hardly timeless classics. They are very much a part of the time they were made in.
It's hard to create a movie that doesn't age, it's mostly animation that can get away with this.

It doesn't really bother me, I like seeing what the world was like when they movie was filmed. And in the future I can watch them again and think "oh yeah, that hadn't even come out yet" or "woah, is that really that old?"