As of this writing, there are 28 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Is this the record for the most films in a franchise taking place in the same continuity, and if so, at what point did it become the record? I know there are over 30 Godzilla films, but I haven't seen any of them, and I can't easily find a definitive answer on how many of them are in the same continuity.
Phaneron
7th May 2022
General questions
23rd Mar 2022
Dexter: New Blood (2021)
Question: Would it actually be possible for someone as young as Harrison was to remember seeing his mother being murdered? I think he was around a year old at the time.
21st Mar 2022
General questions
I remember watching a black and white short film in history class in high school. It featured a man about to be hanged (I recall a closeup of his face with tears rolling down his cheeks, and he had a thick mustache). He managed to escape and lead his captors on a chase, but his escape ended up being either a dream or fantasy, and the act of him dropping or his noose snapping is what brought him back to reality. Anyone know what this was?
Answer: I remember it well. This was the Oscar winning, 1962 short French film titled, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," directed by Robert Enrico. Set during the Civil War, there is virtually no dialogue. It was televised two times as a special edited episode of "The Twilight Zone." It is not part of the series syndication, though an edited version (dubbed over with awful music) is on YouTube. It was based on a short story by Ambrose Bierce, who served in the Civil War as a Union soldier.
Answer: There was a 1962 French short film called "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" with no dialog where a man being hung escapes when his rope breaks and when he makes it home the film cuts to him hanging from the rope because it was all a fantasy. The "Twilight Zone" then bought the rights to the film and included it as a season 5 episode.
21st Mar 2022
General questions
I remember catching part of a movie or TV show in the early-to-mid 90's, and some younger kid was singing a song about diarrhoea, along the lines of "When you're sliding into first, and you feel your pants burst, diarrhea, diarrhea." Anyone know what this was from?
Chosen answer: You're probably thinking of the 1989 Steve Martin comedy "Parenthood." In the movie, a kid sings that song. Google it and you can find a clip of the scene.
Answer: There's also an episode of "Two and a Half Men," Season 5 Episode 8, titled "Is There a Mrs. Waffles?" Charlie becomes a children's singing star. He sings about everything kids do playing, eating and sleeping. One song is about doing "potty." I don't remember the lyrics, but he uses words like "poo poo" and "doody."
3rd Mar 2022
General questions
I watched a sitcom in the early 90s, and there was a family attending a school raffle, hoping to win a trip to Disneyland. They placed their ticket in either box 6 or 9 just before the drawing, only to realise they were looking at the number upside down, and they ended up winning therapy sessions, which angered a young girl because, as she put it, "I needed that therapy!" I believe this was part of ABC's TGIF lineup, so it could have been "Going Places" or "Camp Wilder." Anyone know the show?
Chosen answer: The show was called "Phenom."
21st Feb 2022
Shameless (2011)
17th Feb 2022
Bloodsport (1988)
Question: Why isn't Chong-Li disqualified for any of the times he puts his hands on the referee?
Answer: In the Kumite contact with the referee is apparently not illegal.
10th Jan 2022
3rd Rock from the Sun (1996)
1st Jan 2022
The Prestige (2006)
Question: Why was Angier's first name of Rupert in the novel changed to Robert for the film?
23rd Dec 2021
General questions
I once saw part of what I think was a TV show (Little House on the Prairie, maybe?), and it featured a scene where a girl in school has drawn a picture of her teacher. The teacher sees the picture and, offended by it, asks who drew it. The boy sitting next to the girl stood up and claimed he did it, and as punishment, the teacher whipped him with a stick. Anyone know what this was from?
Chosen answer: That's from the Disney version of "Tom Sawyer" (1973). I remember that scene, watching it as a child.
3rd Dec 2021
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2020)
Question: When Phoebe is on the phone with Ray, he mentions that the Ghostbusters fire house is now a Starbucks. In the post-credits scene, we see that Winston has purchased the fire house so the Ghostbusters can get back to business, but the fire house looks like it has been abandoned for several years and no other company ever took it over. Did I miss something here?
Answer: Ray was probably being sarcastic, and was simply making a general comment about gentrification in the area.
Answer: Perhaps nobody wanted to take over the place for a few reasons. Historical purpose, high cost... hauntings.?
Answer: It's been 40 years since the Ghostbusters disbanded, Ray mostly likely passed by the old place and saw a Starbucks there. It has since shut down.
But they left the ghost trap active? Not likely.
24th Nov 2021
The Secret of NIMH (1982)
Question: If Jonathan and Mr. Ages were the only mice to survive the escape from NIMH, then where did all the other intelligent mice come from? Did one or both of them father a new generation of intelligent mice? Mrs. Brisby's marriage to Jonathan makes this all a little confusing.
Answer: Mrs. Brisby tells Nicodemus that Jonathan had been teaching her to read and her children as well. The children were better at reading that she was but that might be something that they inherited from their father. I think Mr. Ages was also able to read so that makes him intelligent as well. Remember the injections that the mice and rats were given also gave them the ability to read.
Answer: What other intelligent mice? I have watched the movie many times and I don't remember seeing any other intelligent mice. The mice that tried to escape with the rats were sucked down the ventilation shafts, so we don't know what happened to them.
Well, Mrs. Brisby for one, and by extension, her children. She wasn't part of the experiments at NIMH, so why does she possess human intelligence like Jonathan and Mr. Ages? Similarly, why do Jeremy, Auntie Shrew and the Great Owl have human-like intellect as well?
9th Nov 2021
Disobedience (2017)
27th Oct 2021
Saw II (2005)
Question: Why would there be a tunnel system with an industrial bathroom beneath a house in a neighborhood? I know John Kramer was involved in real estate with his wife and lawyer before he became Jigsaw, so it would make sense that he probably designed it, I'm just not sure what purpose it would serve.
Answer: It serves as the perfect location for John to set up and play his "games."
But it was mentioned in Saw IV that John was involved in real estate development prior to becoming Jigsaw. So if those tunnels already existed underneath those houses, what purpose would they serve?
27th Oct 2021
Saw V (2008)
Question: The MPAA rating for this movie lists among its reasons "partial nudity." Am I missing something, or was this reason categorically false? The only thing approaching brief nudity I could spot in this film are the crime scene photos and flashback of Hoffman's slain sister, in which she is wearing a spaghetti strap top, and even then, there's hardly any cleavage.
Answer: Honestly, the only other scene I can think of is the opening scene, where the victim is a man wearing nothing but underwear. I guess that would be the other instance of "partial nudity" in the film. In truth, the MPAA seems to really have it out for horror movies in general (just look at all the terrible stories about the "Friday the 13th" movies being butchered by the MPAA), so they were probably just purposely being over-harsh and considering people in undergarments to be "partial nudity."
26th Oct 2021
Saw III (2006)
Question: Is there an actual drug that could cause someone's heart rate to slow down and muscles to relax for several hours, to the point where they can remain completely still?
Answer: The drugs that anaesthesiologists use for people undergoing surgery (such as IV drugs and inhaled gases) relax muscles to the point that the patient can't move and becomes unconscious. But with monitored sedation (as opposed to general anaesthesia), there can be varying° of drowsiness perhaps with the ability to talk. If you've heard of "anesthesia awareness", this may be a condition close to what you are asking about. Not enough general anesthesia is administered (the amount needed was misjudged or deliberately lowered because of a dangerous situation but hoped to be enough) and the patient becomes aware during surgery but cannot move. General anesthesia typically uses nitrous oxide and variations of ether. Barbiturates/ sedatives/ tranquilizers - even enough alcohol - in varying amounts over time can keep a person largely immobile. (I'm not mentioning any specific drugs).
12th Oct 2021
Goldeneye (1995)
15th Sep 2021
Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)
14th Sep 2021
The Goonies (1985)
31st Aug 2021
Dick Tracy (1990)
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Answer: According to wikipedia Godzilla is the longest running live-action movie franchise with 36 films since 1954, but not in the same continuity. They rebooted several times. But, there are several Japanese and Chinese movie franchises that have between 40 and 60 movies, one even 123. Many are for kids (power rangers style, not counting anime) and their continuity is doubtful at best. There is also a western series called "The Durango Kid" that had 64 movies and the western series "The Three Mesquiteers" with 51. I'm sure India's Bollywood has a couple as well.
lionhead