There was a reason everyone got so excited about Snakes On A Plane. It wasn't just the fact that it was a film about snakes on a plane, it was the alarming honesty of the whole thing.
For once, Hollywood was telling it to us straight. It's not something we're used to. Here are 50 examples of times when we've definitely had our wires crossed...
The Hurt Locker
Year: 2009
What you expect: A gory horror which sees a group of tanned teens being tortured by a madman in a modified school locker.
What you get: A tense drama examining the lives of a group of bomb disposal experts in Iraq.
Changeling
Year: 2008
What you expect: A wacky kids movie about an alien who crashes into a suburban garden and gets taken in by a family. Hilarity ensues when they discover he can change into anything he wants!
What you get: A harrowing drama about a woman whose son goes missing in the 1920s.
12 Monkeys
Year: 1995
What you expect: A zoo-based comedy about twelve monkeys, all with hilariously unique personalities, who escape and travel to the big city.
What you get: A futuristic thriller about a man sent back in time to track the beginnings of a virus that's wiped out most of the human population.
Mystic River
Year: 2003
What you expect: A magical fantasy about a girl who discovers a river that possesses mystical, non-dangerous powers.
What you get: A tough drama about a girl who is killed in a Boston suburb and the effects it has on the locals.
Reservoir Dogs
Year: 1992
What you expect: A British film about a family of dogs that live in a reservoir who are forced to relocate when the area is turned into a shopping mall.
What you get: A violent crime drama about an unlikely group of criminals dealing with the fall-out from a heist gone wrong.
Rain Man
Year: 1988
What you expect: A feel-good drama about a man who has the power to control rain, which he uses to solve droughts and the like.
What you get: A feel-good drama about a selfish yuppie forced to be closer with his autistic brother. In mostly decent weather.
Scent Of A Woman
Year: 1991
What you expect: A nasty thriller about a killer who collects scents from each woman he then murders.
What you get: Al Pacino being blind. With Chris O'Donnell.
Twister
Year: 1996
What you expect: A big screen adaptation of the classic board game with a young cast pitted against an evil spinner who forces them into impossible positions.
What you get: An action movie about a tornado, also known as a twister.
Grease
Year: 1978
What you expect: A comedy about a bunch of disillusioned youths all working their summer at a fast food joint.
What you get: A musical about high schoolers that look like thirtysomethings.
Million Dollar Baby
Year: 2004
What you expect: After his millionaire parents die in a plane crash, a 6-month-old baby finds himself inheriting a massive fortune. But what would a baby spend millions on? Hilarity ensues etc
What you get: A boxing trainer takes on a female boxer and develops a father-daughter bond with her in the process.
The Man Who Wasn't There
Year: 2001
What you expect: Hot on the heels of Hollow Man, comes another thriller about an invisible man.
What you get: A completely visible man blackmails his wife's boss but all goes wrong.
The Devil Wears Prada
Year: 2006
What you expect: A comedy about the devil who comes to earth as a sexy, fashion conscious femme fatale, intent on sending poorly dressed folk to hell for a sassy makeover.
What you get: A comedy about a girl working for the nightmarish editor of a fashion magazine.
Salt
Year: 2010
What you expect: A biopic of the man who revolutionised the salt industry.
What you get: A thriller about a woman who may or may not be a double agent. Called Evelyn Salt.
Wild Hogs
Year: 2007
What you expect: An animated adventure that follows a group of wild hogs as they sing and dance their way through a rousing selection of action sequences.
What you get: Four old men. On motorbikes.
The Ring
Year: 2002
What you expect: The romantic tale of an engagement ring that's been passed down through different generations.
What you get: A horror film about an evil videotape/little girl.
Eraser
Year: 1996
What you expect: A children's film about an eraser that comes to life and befriends a young boy, helping to erase all of the troubles from his life...
What you get: A witness protection agent (an eraser) gets into some trouble after taking on the case of a conveniently beautiful woman.
Saturday Night Fever
Year: 1977
What you expect: A harrowing drama about a girl who's been looking forward to her sweet 16 catches a fever just as she's getting ready and is forced to stay in.
What you get: A film about a guy who enjoys dancing. A lot. On Saturday nights.
The Squid And The Whale
Year: 2005
What you expect: A heart-warming tale about an unlikely friendship between, you guessed it, a squid and a whale (both voiced by inappropriate but current stars)
What you get: A brutal comedy drama about a family going through a messy divorce in the 80s.
Monster's Ball
Year: 2001
What you expect: A film set within the surprisingly friendly world of monsters who organise a yearly ball where they get matched up with prospective partners
What you get: A gritty drama about a racist prison guard falling in love with a black widow.
Traffic
Year: 2000
What you expect: An ensemble drama examining the lives and loves of a group of traffic wardens.
What you get: An ensemble drama examining the lives of various people involved with drugs.
The Constant Gardener
Year: 2005
What you expect: A slow-moving British drama about a man who is constantly gardening, despite the interference it brings to his family and work life.
What you get: A political thriller about a man searching for the truth behind his activist wife's death.
Space Jam
Year: 1996
What you expect: An origins tale of how jam was created. Twist. Turns out it was actually made in space.
What you get: Michael Jordan playing basketball with Bugs Bunny.
Killers
Year: 2010
What you expect: A grim thriller about two serial killers working together.
What you get: An unintentionally grim romantic comedy about a woman who discovers she's married to a contract killer.
High Crimes
Year: 2002
What you expect: A comedy about a pair of stoners who commit a series of petty crimes while under the influence.
What you get: A legal thriller about a soldier who is accused of murder.
The Parent Trap
Year: 1998
What you expect: A twisted horror film involving evil children setting gruesome traps for young couples so they can kidnap them and keep them as their parents.
What you get: Two Lindsay Lohans causing non alcohol-fuelled mayhem
The Ghost And The Darkness
Year: 1996
What you expect: A film with ghosts and darkness.
What you get: A film about tigers with intermittent darkness.
Coyote Ugly
Year: 2000
What you expect: A sad tale of a coyote deemed far too ugly by his judgemental adopted family. He goes on the road and discovers there's more to life than outer beauty or gets a makeover.
What you get: A group of girls work in a bar and dance every night but they're not strippers.
Murder By Numbers
Year: 2002
What you expect: A horror film where a killer murders his victims with giant serrated numbers.
What you get: A cop investigating two unhinged teens planning the perfect murder, not using numbers.
The Last Boy Scout
Year: 1991
What you expect: A futuristic thriller about the last boy scout on earth, after all the rest have been brutally murdered by rival brownies.
What you get: A detective and ex-quarterback try to solve a murder case (of a non-boy scout).
Bringing Down The House
Year: 2003
What you expect: A sad recession-fuelled tale of a family home ripped down by evil property developers.
What you get: A wacky culture clash comedy about an ex-convict and a wealthy man who meet on the internet.
It's Complicated
Year: 2009
What you expect: Something complicated.
What you get: Something a toddler could predict in a heartbeat.
Romancing The Stone
Year: 1984
What you expect: An unconventional romantic comedy sees a man falling in love with a stone, possessed by the spirit of a dead woman.
What you get: A romantic adventure about a man and woman on a quest to find her kidnapped sister.
Matchstick Men
Year: 2003
What you expect: A young child makes people from matchsticks and one magical evening they come alive and wreak havoc in her life.
What you get: An obsessive-compulsive conman's life is interrupted when his estranged daughter arrives on the scene.
Cinderella Man
Year: 2005
What you expect: A radical rework of the classic fairytale which changes the sex of all involved.
What you get: A boxer biopic. With no fairies.
The Crying Game
Year: 1992
What you expect: A sci-fi thriller which introduces a futuristic sport where contestants must literally cry their eyes out or they face execution.
What you get: A psychological thriller about an IRA member who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a prisoner.
Failure To Launch
Year: 2006
What you expect: A tragic tale of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986.
What you get: A romantic comedy about a woman hired to get a man to move out of his family home. The words disaster and tragic are also applicable.
The Breakfast Club
Year: 1985
What you expect: A group of housewives take it in turns to make different breakfasts for each other and, in turn, learn about their lives and stuff.
What you get: A teen film about a group of outcasts who are forced to spend detention together. They do learn about their lives and stuff though as well.
Whip It
Year: 2009
What you expect: A tawdry tale of a group of women working within an S&M club.
What you get: A coming-of-age film about a girl finding herself through a roller derby league.
The Money Pit
Year: 1986
What you expect: A biopic telling the real-life tale of how Uncle Scrooge made the cash that populates his money pit.
What you get: A young couple having variously wacky problems with a new house.
Happiness
Year: 1998
What you expect: A comedy about a bunch of people who are really, really happy.
What you get: A drama about a bunch of people who are really, really sad.
Kindergarten Cop
Year: 1990
What you expect: A 5-year-old is enlisted by the LAPD to investigate crimes within his school.
What you get: A tough cop goes undercover as a teacher to find a drug lord.
Swingers
Year: 1996
What you expect: A dark drama focusing on a group of couples who form a community of swingers, resulting in betrayal and murder.
What you get: A group of guys sleeping with just women. Infrequently.
Milk
Year: 2008
What you expect: A slow-moving documentary about the production of milk.
What you get: The true story of gay politician Harvey Milk.
Candyman
Year: 1992
What you expect: A warm-hearted kids film about an elderly man who owns a sweet shop, which bestows magical powers on the children who enter.
What you get: A violent horror film about a man with a hook for a hand.
Pineapple Express
Year: 2008
What you expect: An inspirational tale of a man who creates a train from pineapples so that he can escape his small town life.
What you get: A comedy about two stoners getting into mischief.
The Truth About Cats & Dogs
Year: 1996
What you expect: A documentary that promises to finally lift the lid on the unknown relationship between cats and dogs.
What you get: A romantic comedy about a woman with a cat and a man with a dog.
Sucker Punch
Year: 2011
What you expect: A tough drama about a boxer training to give the ultimate punch.
What you get: A fantasy about four girls fighting battles, with weapons, in variously surreal lands.
Layer Cake
Year: 2005
What you expect: A gentle British comedy about a baking competition. Probably in the Yorkshire dales.
What you get: A gritty British thriller about a cocaine dealer doing one last job.
Dances With Wolves
Year: 1990
What you expect: A pack of wolves decide to go against what's expected of them and start training to become professional dancers.
What you get: A western about a man who befriends Indians. And wolves.
Tyrannosaur
Year: 2011
What you expect: A film about a tyrannosaur.
What you get: A film with no tyrannosaurs whatsoever.
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