The_Iceman

23rd Feb 2024

Ronin (1998)

Answer: Sorry for posting an off-topic comment, but why are so few questions and mistakes posted anymore?

In large part it's reduced traffic, sadly - I'm always running a bit of a backlog of submissions (about 200 currently), because life gets in the way, but some get auto-approved so there's often a trickle of new content regardless. Mainly though it's just that thanks to search algorithm updates the site's now getting half to a third of the traffic it was about a year ago. I think also there are just fewer mistakes being made! Going back a while a DVD would come out and people would spot a lot of relatively obvious things. Now so many get fixed with CGI before release, and with streaming being wholly digital, lots of things are fixed even after release.

Jon Sandys

Thanks for all your hard work.

Brian Katcher

You're welcome! I've got no intentions of abandoning it, whatever the traffic. Still enough regular and irregular visitors to keep it trundling along!

Jon Sandys

I second that! Jon does an amazing job.

raywest

Thanks! I've got no intentions of abandoning it, whatever the traffic. Still enough regular and irregular visitors to keep it trundling along!

Jon Sandys

I have to assume it's just down to 1) maybe less people are submitting, and 2) the site primarily being run by one guy (Jon), and I have to imagine that he probably doesn't have the time to constantly check the site and do updates. I've noticed that sometimes it can take a while for things I submit to be posted, but they usually are within a week or two. To be fair, there's also been in excess of 600 mistakes posted within the last month, and I have around 60 mistakes waiting to be approved (going through the "Chucky" movies and shows looking for mistakes), so it's still happening... just a bit slower than it used to be back in the day.

TedStixon

I don't think it's a problem with fewer submissions. I've submitted several questions that have not made it onto the site yet, and mistakes were that were finally posted after an unusually long time.

I know there have been volunteers who do a lot of work here, but maybe that has dropped off.

raywest

Have been wondering the same thing.

raywest

Answer: Regarding the movie question, there's no way of knowing what was in the case. It is a plot device called a "MacGuffin," a term coined by director Alfred Hitchcock. It doesn't actually matter what the object is but it just drives the story. It can be any type of object or device such as a "secret formula," "enemy war plans," "nuclear weapon," "treasure map," and so on that the characters are either searching for or protecting. There was never any intention to reveal what it was. Its purpose is to motivate the characters' actions and tell the story. Most likely it was intended to be McGuffin just to keep the audience thinking about the movie long after it ends.

raywest

11th Jan 2024

Lucifer (2015)

Save Lucifer - S4-E9

Question: Can a time of death really be pinpointed with such accuracy that someone there half an hour later must be innocent? (00:23:25)

The_Iceman

Answer: Yes and no. After the body dies, it loses about 1.5°C per hour until it reaches ambient temperature (i.e. the temperature where the body is found). But there are factors affecting the rate of loss, and one has to assume a starting temperature of 98.6°F. In this case, after factoring in the time from when the police were called to when the body temperature was checked, it would have been determined some time had passed, just not a lot, before Beth saw Moira standing over Megan. Really, what they were saying is Moira's story is believable: that she found her sister dead and picked up the hammer right as the garage door opened.

Bishop73

8th Jan 2024

Lucifer (2015)

A Devil of My Word - S3-E24

Question: What is the red stuff on Lucifer's wings? I first thought it was Chloe's blood, but there was too much and she wasn't bleeding anyway. Lucifer had his wings out to stop the bullets, so he wasn't hit. So, what was on his wings?

The_Iceman

Answer: It's Lucifer's blood from when his wings got hit by the bullets. As Lucifer spreads his wings, they're white, and before he wraps them around Chloe, you see a bullet hit his wing above his right shoulder, and the spot turns red. After that, he continues to get shot in the wings before fleeing.

Bishop73

Agreed. His wings take damage and "bleed" similar to how he bleeds when Decker is around.

Ssiscool

31st Jul 2023

Over The Top (1987)

Question: Wouldn't betting on yourself be illegal? I get that betting on yourself to lose would be a no-no, but wouldn't betting on yourself at all be against gambling rules?

The_Iceman

Answer: Short answer is no, it's not illegal. For example, boxers are allowed to bet on themselves. There may be leagues or clubs that prohibit their players (and even staff) from any form of gambling, not just betting on themselves or their team. But it doesn't mean it's illegal. Some casinos or bookies may not take players' bets unless it's a straight bet to win, as opposed to a player betting he'll win in the 6th round.

Bishop73

15th Sep 2021

24 (2001)

Season 6 generally

Question: When the FBI enter the Starkwood compound, they are surrounded by Starkwood militia and Hodges threatens to open fire if the FBI don't leave the property. They are federal agents. Would opening fire on them not still be a crime? Hodges seemed sure he could order it to be done and be within his rights so why was that?

The_Iceman

Answer: Hodges had a warped, extremist view of individual and property rights. Harassing, impeding, threatening, or interfering with federal agents engaged in their official duties is against the law, even if the actions of the agents are found later to be unlawful. Once he knew they were feds, threatening to shoot them was a crime.

6th Jul 2021

Jaws (1975)

Question: During the USS Indianapolis speech, Quint says a "big fat PBY" came to pick them up. Whats a PBY?

The_Iceman

Answer: He's talking about a Consolidated PBY Catalina, which was an amphibious plane (meaning it could land on water) used in WWII. PB stands for Patrol Bomber (the Y designated the manufacturer, Consolidated Aircraft).

Bishop73

6th May 2021

General questions

I once read about a film about an immortal woman that the townsfolk thought was a witch, so they sealed her in a barrel and threw it on the ocean. The ending showed her coming back to life, drowning and coming back to life. Does anyone know what this movie is called?

The_Iceman

Answer: There is an Italian fairy tale movie, "Move than a Miracle." (1967) A cinderella type story. A prince, Omar Sharif, falls in love with a peasant girl, Sophia Loren. There is no witch, but through a series of misadventures she gets stuck in a barrel, falls over a cliff and into the ocean. When it washes ashore, a group of boys find her and thinks she is a magical creature. Witch, fairy or angel.

No that's not it. This was a lot more modern.

The_Iceman

Show generally

Question: Just rewatched the series and in the episode where they are operating on President Kirkman to remove the bullet fragments I noticed what I think was a secret service agent in the background of the OR. Is this normal practice for when a president is under anaesthetic or a medical procedure, or was this just because it was after an attempted assassination?

The_Iceman

Answer: Yes, it's normal. When President Reagan was shot, they were in the OR with him.

Answer: It would be normal procedure, yes. The Secret Service accompanies the president everywhere, except in very limited circumstances (for example, they don't go into the bathroom with him, or stand in his room while he sleeps). When Bill Clinton had an operation to fix a torn tendon, there was an agent in the operating room throughout the procedure.

18th Dec 2020

The Sweeney (2012)

Question: When DCI Lewis finds Jacks glasses after he's had to let Tom Allen go, He says "It's WHERE I found them that's important." I might have missed it but I don't recall it being explained where he found them. I thought it would be somewhere that proved he was sleeping with his wife.

The_Iceman

Question: When he was looking through the seating chart, how did Frank know that Boothe was James Carney at the presidential dinner?

The_Iceman

Answer: Frank had reviewed and was familiar with the list of the attendees since he was concerned about an attempt, and when he looked at the faxed list of new bank accounts, the name Carney jumped out at him.

jimba

Answer: John Wilkes Booth killed Lincoln.

Not the question. "Booth" is just a pseudonym used by Mitch Leary (John Malkovich) at the beginning of the film, until Frank and the FBI figure out his real identity. Your answer is right insofar as that's why Leary called himself "Booth." But the question is, how did he immediately connect Leary with the name James Carney on the seating chart.

When he spoke with Sandy Riggs, the organizer of the event, Sandy Riggs said, "Be right back, Mr. Carney." Then when he read the name James Carney on the guest list, he made the connection.

12th Jun 2020

Dirty Dancing (1987)

Answer: It is implied that she was.

raywest

Question: During the scene with "live it up" playing in the background, what was it and where were they? With Simone being there it is obviously full of hookers but was it a party, and if so, whose and why? The whole scene just feels weird.

The_Iceman

Answer: It is a party thrown by one of Sue's socialite friends, presumably the husky-voiced woman whose crotch Mick grabs. The party is not "full of hookers", Simone is there as the hired escort of the old man she is dancing with, who Mick naively believes to be her father. We can assume the old man paid for Simone to be his date to the party and likely for some time alone with her afterwards. There is no stated reason for why the party is being thrown.

BaconIsMyBFF

25th Feb 2020

General questions

I saw a movie years ago that had two main characters and there were background plots of someone stealing from (I think) the mafia and a serial killer on the loose. I think they ended up at a motel together and the twist at the end was that the one you thought was the killer was the thief and vice versa. I was sure it was called hatchet man but I can't seem to find anything about it.

The_Iceman

Answer: Sounds like NATURE OF THE BEAST Starring Eric Roberts and Lance Hendrickson.

KeyZOid

That's the one! Thank you.

The_Iceman

Glad I could help. That's actually one of my favorite movies.

KeyZOid

24th Feb 2019

Sons of Anarchy (2008)

28th Dec 2018

Wishmaster (1997)

Question: Can the Djinn only give bad wishes according to his interpretation of them or does he just do it because he is pure evil and "enjoys" giving people exactly what they asked for, just not what they actually meant? For example could he, if he wanted, have given the shop assistant a lifetime of beauty without turning her into a mannequin?

The_Iceman

Answer: The Djinn is a demon, it only knows how to hurt people. The wish he offers a person is just a way for the demon to buy the soul of that person, making use of the emotions inside someone to have them wish something. The wish works how the Djinn wants it to work, not what the victim wants it to do, that's irrelevant to him. Yes, he has the powers to give people what they actually want, but he doesn't as he doesn't care about people.

lionhead

24th Oct 2018

Dracula (1992)

Question: Why do the guards in the mental asylum wear cages over their heads?

The_Iceman

Answer: For protection from the inmates.

raywest

Question: Right at the end, a former co-worker of Dick's drives alongside and says he's working for a great new company that trades in oil and gas. It's called Exron. Dick looks at him and says "oh" and the look he gave is one as if he knows something bad or it should have meaning (if that makes sense). What is the look on Dick's face for?

The_Iceman

Answer: He says he works for "Enron", a notorious company that was involved in a major fraud scandal.

BaconIsMyBFF

30th Aug 2018

Safe House (2012)

Question: After they escape the safe house, Weston calls the CIA and says "no chance of an SDR, I've picked up a tail." What does SDR stand for?

The_Iceman

Answer: "Surveillance Detection Route." It's what you do when you think you're being followed (drive a specific route to detect if you're under surveillance or not). Weston says "I think I might have picked up a tail", so he was unsure if he was actually being followed or not, but had no time to try and determine if he actually is being tailed or not.

Bishop73

Question: How did Mike know that Forbes was a traitor and working with the terrorists?

The_Iceman

Answer: Forbes slipped up by mentioning the head bad guy's name. And, as good an agent as Forbes was, it is highly doubtful, not to mention suspicious, that he'd still be roaming around by himself this long after the fall of the White House. Plus Mike ain't stupid and most likely smelled a rat. And he was correct. Forbes was dirty.

Alan Keddie

Answer: Mike was told that there was no other agent alive in the White House, and they didn't send any more to attempt a rescue, that means if all the good agents are dead, only a rogue one can know who the mastermind was.

Question: I know little of complicated politics so despite seeing it as a plot hole, I'm putting it in as a question. As Walker gives the missiles targets, there is talk of starting World War III if they are allowed to hit. The attack on the White House would be world wide news, on every major channel. Wouldn't these countries know it wasn't America who bombed them but was the work of terrorists?

The_Iceman

Answer: Knowing is not believing. They might know, but they wouldn't necessarily trust the media. After all it could have been a grand conspiracy to cover up the actual truth from the people.

Alan Keddie

I highly doubt world war 3 would start before these countries did their homework though. It wouldn't take long for them to suss out it was actually terrorists who detonated the bombs and not America.

The_Iceman

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