The big misunderstanding.
Example: A guy is in an office setting and doesn't know that his significant other (for this purpose, let's say his wife) is coming by for a surprise visit. I don't know, lunch or something. The guy is in a supply room or something with a buxom co-worker. Suddenly, the buxom co-worker trips into him, they both fall to the floor, and the wife just HAPPENS show up before they can get up. Of course, since this is a movie and even the flimsiest excuse for a conflict works, the wife immediately makes the canyon-spanning leap to the conclusion that the guy has been cheating on her. And of course, because the movie is all about the conflict, it just wouldn't do for them to resolve the matter in a minute by, you know, talking. But nOoOoOoOoOo, the woman runs away and moves in with her mother or throws the guy out without giving him the courtesy of hearing him out for longer than three words.
I like to think of myself as a reasonable person who, even in the most emotionally tumultuant times, allows clear thinking to shine through. Maybe that's why the big misunderstanding irks me as much as it does, because in order for it to work, one or more people have to have a moment that is completely and utterly devoid of reason and rational thought.
The dimwitted douchebag. Anyone remember "The Breakup" with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston? Anyone remember how Vince's character was an unwitting, unapologetic ass for almost the entire movie? And worse, he was more dense than weapons-grade uranium, COMPLETELY unable to pick up on the subtle-like-a-rhino signals being sent by damn near everyone. This cliche isn't seen too often, but when it comes up, MAN does it annoy me.
The giant douchebag. Similar to the dimwitted douchebag, except the guy is well aware of his douchiness. Fortunately, the giant douche is typically only the friend to the male protagonist.
Come to think of it, a LOT of the cliches in romantic comedies are ones that I just don't care for.
Shonen anime/manga has a terrible habit of villains monologuing about the difference in power levels. Bleach is probably the worst offender in recent memory. There's a scene where the villain is talking about his ultimate power, yada yada yada, and Ichigo's response is a wordless stare. After a long awkward silence, said villain just starts up again with the powerfuler-than-thou shtick.
Moping in the middle of a battle. See Bleach and Naruto.
Giving the opposition time to chat. See One Piece. "What are they planning over there? Well I won't give them the chance to act!" Except you just got done waiting for a MINUTE before doing something, you dumbass!
Saving the biggest attacks for last. How many times has a villain in anime escalated their attacks AFTER the hero has powered up? If (almost any villain in One Piece) had busted out their most powerful abilities right away, the Straw Hat pirates would've been annihilated before 100 episodes.
Useless boring filler. Bleach has good filler, One Piece is kinda hit-and-miss with its filler, Naruto has sucky filler that unfortunately tends to last longer than it really should. When I feel compelled to skip more than 10 episodes of a series, that is not a good sign.
The status quo. In most cases, the status quo is acceptable. Sometimes though, especially in the Shonen style action series, it becomes hard to accept. Okay, so Naruto just finished raising hell in the filler, so in the next part of the main story, he'll be visibly stronger, right? That's how it works, fighting is like regular training but better, right? Wrong, he's exactly as powerful as before all the filler.
This is why I actually like time skips. I get the impression that some people view it as bad shark-jumping, I view it as shaking up the story and completely trashing the norm.
