Critiquing everything

I seem to have a knack at finding plot holes and inconsistencies.  That can be good if I’m reading someone’s story and I point them out so they can fix it before submitting it somewhere.  But it kind of sucks when I’m reading a bestseller or watching a blockbuster. 

There is this one book series that I love and have read at least five times.  It wasn’t until the second or third time that I noticed the huge continuity error in the last book.  Basically, Character A is talking to Character B who is over a hundred miles away.  Then there are a couple of chapters with Characters C and D, and when we get back to A – from story events it’s not even five minutes from when we last saw him – he goes outside and finds B standing there.  I know writing a series is complicated, but the last few times I’ve read it, whenever I get to that part, I’m grinding my teeth wondering why didn’t anyone catch this before it was published?

Or, there was this really big movie a few years ago that I’ve seen five or six times.  And there’s a part where the good guys – with long range weaponry – have to fight these creatures.  Logically, they should shoot them at a distance, but it’s more cinematic to have the good guys charge these creatures and … punch them.  The first time I watched it, I went with it because I was hyped on the story.  But every time since then, I want to armchair general and point out how they could have been more realistic in how they fought these monsters.

Now you can argue where the line is between critiquing and nitpicking, but I think it would be nice if I could turn off whichever I’m doing.  Of course, I have a lot of story ideas that began with me noticing an issue in a book or movie and wanting to do a “better” job.  I guess it’s sort of a damned if I do, damned if I don’t situation.