Answered general questions about movies, TV and more

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Anyone remember a series of psychological thriller/horrors on Friday nights (I think) on ITV early 80's? Very scary, I think they were called American Thrillers or something like that. They were parodied in a memorable French & Saunders sketch where Celia Imrie was screaming on the telephone ("Have you got the credit card? I thought it was in the suitcase!"). It wasn't Armchair Thriller, which was on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Help.

Answer: There was a series called "Thriller" in the late 70s that aired on British Televion. Details can be found on Wikipedia "Thriller (UK TV Series)"

OneHappyHusky

I've seen a few TV shows make jokes about Jenny McCarthy not being famous, or a character (such as Hank Hill on King Of The Hill) not knowing who she is. What is the source of these jokes?

Answer: Jenny McCarthy started her career as a Playboy Bunny and 1994 Playmate of the Year, she followed this with hosting MTVs "Singled Out" and "The Jenny McCarthy Show" a sketch-comedy show that contained a great deal of adolescent crude or "toilet" humor. While she went on the write a number of books and is the 2007 Spokesperson for the "Talk About Curing Autism" campaign she has never really been able to shake the public perseption of her as a talentless bimbo made famous by an exploited sexual image.

OneHappyHusky

I'm looking for a movie that isn't too old or too new. It starts off with a couple and another man(there may be more people) who eventually become shipwrecked and then those 3 end up on the island. The husband is injured and the the wife and the other man soon become closer. There is nudity in this movie. I'm sorry but I don't remember the ending.

Answer: Sounds like Swept Away, starring Madonna.

Jon Sandys

Answer: It could be Survival Island (2005). A wife and crewman fall overboard and end up on a deserted island. They become lovers, then the husband shows up. It's an erotic thriller.

In the mid-80s, there was a mini-series that I believe was made in Australia. A plain, rich woman was forced off a small boat by her husband. He hit her with an oar and she was attacked by alligators, but she survived. After undergoing plastic surgery and becoming quite beautiful, she re-integrated herself into her husband's life and he didn't know who she was. Anybody remember the name or anybody who starred in it?

Answer: Return to Eden (1983) starring Rebecca Gilling and James Reyne.

Sierra1

Why are there no images of the french film actress Cecil Aubrey available anywhere?

Answer: It's because her name is spelled Cécile Aubry. Plenty available if you search by that name.

Sereenie

I saw a movie about a year or 2 ago and can't remember the name. I do however remember a bit of the plot if you can help me out that would be fabulous. There is a man who has been living on a cruise ship or ocean liner for his entire life. He plays piano by ear and 'duels' someone while on the ship. Years go by and he tries to bring himself to leave the ship, but he doesn't. Finally the ship is going to be destroyed and he still refuses to leave and the ship blows up with him still on it. Help.

Answer: The film is by Guiseppe Tornatore and is called "La leggenda del pianisto sull'oceano", the English title was "The Legend of 1900".

Ioreth

What movie did I just see a few minutes of? Robin Williams seemed to be playing an autistic or mildly retarded man, and he was at an airport with his son named Tommy, who was also a bit unusual but was looking after him. I believe this was all in flashback.

Answer: The movie was called House Of D.

SAZOO1975

I watched a movie on TV sometime in the mid 80's. The scene that I remember was a young girl in a foyer of what looks like a mansion. The power was out, or the lights were off. There was a large mirror on the wall. The girl looked into it and a large black dragon started coming out of the mirror. For some reason I always thought it was some version of Alice in Wonderland, but I am really not sure. It may have been a Disney movie. Can anyone help?

Answer: It sounds like the start of the second half of a made for TV version of Alice in Wonderland. They did both Alice in wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass. The looking glass section starts with her running into the Jabberwocky. More info here.

Garlonuss

There was a little girl who had a doll and she pushed it around in a stroller. A little boy helped her with the doll and other little boys made fun of him for it. They had a tree house and the kids talked weird [at least I thought so] and then there was a bum who I thought followed them around but I'm not sure. He ate an apple with a knife It was weird but, it's been bothering me and I need an answer.

Answer: Sounds exactly like Dennis The Menace, the 1993 version.

SAZOO1975

I appreciate any help with this movie that anyone has. I don't remember the plot but here are some things that I remember. A woman starts killing men. One she kills by locking the door while he is in the shower and he drowns. Another she kills by making a pool ball explode after he hits it. I think at the end of the movie she ends up marrying the detective that is trying to catch her. I have searched many times and sites and can't find it, so I would be extremely grateful to anyone that can help. Thanks.

Answer: I think this might be "The Girl Most Likely to..." (1973) starring Stockard Channing as the killer and Ed Asner as the detective. Channing has plastic surgery and proceeds to kill the people who mistreated her when she was ugly. I believe she used an exploding 8-ball at one point.

Sierra1

Why are individual years of a TV show referred to as a series on the site? Is it a European expression? The reason I'm asking is because in America series refers to the whole show (the series Lost, the series finale) and each individual year is called a season (Season 1, the season finale). If it is a European expression, what is the entire run of the show called?

Guy

Chosen answer: That's the English expression, yes. We use "series" to refer to both the overall run of the show and, with the appropriate number or year added, to what the US would refer to as a "season". As complete conjecture, it may have come about because in the UK we don't really have a TV "season" as such - while some shows start in September, our shows are shorter, and as such start and stop randomly throughout the year, meaning the word "season" wouldn't really be appropriate.

Tailkinker

I once saw a movie about a man who seemed to be able to burn things by starting at them, or was at least able to do it once. I remember that he glared at a cat, I think because it was trying to hurt some birds, and then the cat was shown burning on the ground.

Answer: There was a movie called Firestarter based on a Steven King novel but this was a little girl that could that had pyrokenesis (starts fires with her mind). There was also a sequel.

Simpsonholic

I am looking for the title of a movie I saw in the late 70s/early 80s. It was a swords and sorcery type of film. The only scene I have clear memory of is that one of the main characters is an archer. There is a bird that helps the main characters out and when a feather falls from the bird, it turns into a bundle of magic arrows for the archer. Anyone have any idea about this movie?

Guy

Chosen answer: Sounds like "The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire". It was a made-for-tv movie/pilot from 1981.

I saw a movie a while ago where a strict couple has children living with them. I remember one scene where a woman is telling a girl to get into a bathtub and scrub herself, but the girl doesn't want to because the water is too hot. There is also a boy who hides in the house, but can't talk because the man in the house cut out his tongue or something. Does anyone know the title?

I can't remember the name of this movie. It stars Roseanna Arquette, who is being cheated on by her husband, who is a British male with silver hair and he seems to have a sexual compulsion.

Answer: Could you be thinking of Diary of a Sex Addict (2001).

Boobra

I remember a film ages ago. I think this man was trapped in a jungle or woods. When he actually got out he got run over by a truck. After all his efforts to get out that happens. Please do you know what the name of this film was? It would be really helpful. Thanks.

Answer: 'The Crying Game' features Forrest Whitaker being held hostage by the IRA. When he manages to escape, he runs out of the woods onto the street and is hit by a truck. This sets up the remaining part of the movie with one of the IRA soldiers seeking out the dead man's girlfriend.

ChiChi

Multiple times on this site I have seen mistake corrections saying that the mistake is not valid because the two movies of the same series are not consistent (e.g. Harry Potter 2 and 3). Why are they not consistent- is it because they have different directors?

Blibbetyblip

Chosen answer: More or less, yes. Different directors have had different visions for the films, and if a filmmaker intentionally makes changes in order to fit his ideas better, it's a bit harsh to class a difference as a "mistake", even a deliberate one.

Phixius

Say a movie is based on a book. If the book has a mistake in it, and the movie copies it, does it count as a movie mistake since the filmmakers were just using the idea from a book?

Blibbetyblip

Chosen answer: Yes. A mistake is a mistake regardless of the reason. It could, under those circumstances, possibly be considered under the "Deliberate Mistake" category, but it still counts as an error.

Tailkinker

Numerous times mistakes have been corrected saying it is a character mistake, not a movie mistake. This has always confused me. The words performed by the actor are scripted by writers and scenes are filmed under the direction of its director. Since it is written in the script and accepted by the director and producer, how is this still a character mistake and not a movie mistake?

SAZOO1975

Chosen answer: In real life, people make mistakes. Just because someone in a movie says or does something wrong, it doesn't make it a mistake because it does happen in real life. A regular character in a movie stating that there are 268 bones in an adult human body could just be a way to show that character doesn't know what he/she is talking about and not really a mistake. A doctor making that same statement would be a mistake because the doctor SHOULD know better since it is his/her job.

Rlvlk

I am looking for an animated movie or TV show, that would have been from the 1980's I believe. I recall a skeleton that talks, jewels, and a hero-type character. They are at a cave-like place at night. I believe the skeleton was an obstacle that they had to get through, maybe asking password questions. I watched a lot of Carebears, My Little Pony, and Rainbow Brite. Can anyone help me figure this out?

Answer: It's kind of a vague description, but it sounds a bit like a scene from the Last Unicorn. There is a talking skeleton who they have to talk with to find the way to the Red Bull's lair. Though you could be thinking of another movie entirely.

Garlonuss

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