Cracked has a funny list of the six mistakes always made by movie criminals, from “discussing your crime in a diner” (“Pulp Fiction,” “Thief,” “Heat,” “American Gangster,” “Goodfellas”) to “working with a sociopath” and “talking too much to the people trying to catch you.”
I loved the way “The Incredibles” made fun of the movie tradition of having the bad guy take time out from doing his evil deeds to explain everything, both bringing the audience up to date and giving the good guys time to do their good guy things.