Best thriller movie factual errors of 2004

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National Treasure picture

Factual error: As Ben is clinging to the staircase while it is falling apart, there is a close-up of a nail being pulled out of the wood. This nail is round-headed, rather than square as it would have been over 200 years ago. It's also shiny instead of rusty, which indicates that it's galvanized. Galvanization as an industrial, metal-preservation process was not patented until 1837, and was not used in building materials until well into the late-1800s. Since the film states the staircase was made by "the Founding Fathers, " and there was no galvanization of iron nails in any industrialized nation in 1780s-1830's, this is a huge anachronism.

Kristal

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Spider-Man 2 picture

Factual error: Considering the brightness of the fusion process, Dr. Octavius has to wear special goggles to be able to see it. Yet no one else in the room is wearing such goggles or seem hurt by watching the whole process, just as at the end of the movie. When welding something, no one can look at the arc that's created, as it would hurt his eyes and burn his retina; presumably, the fusion process would be brighter and more powerful than that, and so should have some kind of damaging effect on everyone's eyesight (except Spider Man's, maybe).

Sereenie

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Flight of the Phoenix picture

Factual error: After calculating the amount of water they have available Townes and A.J. announce they will be living on "a pint of water per person per day". One problem - they'll be dead within three days, if they manage to last that long. A GALLON - eight pints - a day is the absolute minimum in conditions of dry, extreme heat such as they are experiencing, and that is for a resting male. Take their strenuous exercise into account and you can push that up to two gallons a day. One pint a day? Forget it.

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Alien Vs. Predator picture

Factual error: When they're first entering the whaling camp, a penguin startles Miller. That penguin was a black-footed penguin, which is a bird native to much warmer climates. If that little guy had actually been in Antarctica, he would have died within minutes. (00:20:40)

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Ladder 49 picture

Factual error: During the Christmas season (December) Travolta and Phoenix discuss a transfer to an aide's position. That same night Phoenix discusses the possibility with his wife - with crickets chirping away in the background. Not in Baltimore in December.

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Ocean's Twelve picture

Factual error: The scene where Nightfox steals the Faberge Egg is all wrong. A laser security system must have a photoelectric receptor at the other side to detect if somebody pass between the two devices. As shown in the film, the laser beams points everywhere, so the system can't work and somebody could cross a beam without starting the alarm. Even if it was some weird system based on measuring distance it wouldn't work - if the laser hits the floor at an angle it won't bounce back to the source, it will reflect towards the ceiling.

Dr Wilson

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The Day After Tomorrow picture

Factual error: When Sam climbs outside the ship he grabs the frozen metallic pipes and rails with both hands - one half covered with a glove, one is bare. He has no problem gripping the cold metal and he can get his hands free every time. If the moisture froze before contact, his hands would be frozen too, so that can't be the reason.

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The Phantom of the Opera picture

Factual error: Raoul is the Vicomte de Chagny and he gets called that throughout the movie, even during the auction (which shows he didn't change titles when his parents or his brother died, for example). Yet Christine's tombstone calls her a countess when it should have read viscountess - or, even better, vicomtesse.

Sereenie

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Suggested correction: When you watch "love never dies" he leaves her because the phantom won the bet, it's implied they got a "divorce" so she is still a countess.

But, in love never dies, it shows Christine dying in the year 1910, (when the whole thing was set) but on her tombstone, it shows that she died in 1913. Since Gustave is ten years old, this would make Christine in her late forties-early fifties when she had him, which is practically impossible. This is why I love LND's music, but the story is just too cheesy and inconsistent to the original for me. Since the original creator of the musical, Andrew Lloyd Webber, has chosen to call it a "stand-alone piece." and not a sequel, I would not use it as a reference for future endeavors with the trio.

Vicomtesse and Comtesse are two completely different titles. For Christine to become a Comtesse, Raoul would have had to become a Comte, but he didn't. He remained a Vicomte, therefore, Christine's tombstone should have read Vicomtesse de Chagny. It doesn't, so this mistake is valid.

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Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid picture

Factual error: After the scene where they fall over the waterfall, and go through what they have left of the equipment. Bill, the Latino doctor, holds up the CD-reader from a desktop computer and says that the hard drive is broken, which would be OK if he actually had the hard drive present. (00:34:35)

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Saw (2004)

Saw picture

Factual error: The Swedish subtitlers made Amanda's situation even more tragic, incorrectly translating her dead cellmate as her dead soulmate. (00:24:40)

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The Librarian: Quest for the Spear picture

Factual error: Flynn says that the chamber in the Mayan temple is "an exact replica of their great temple of Teotihuacan." But Teotihuacan was not a Mayan city, but rather the hub of a separate civilization (themselves called the Teotihuacan). It was in central Mexico, hundreds of miles from the Mayan area in the Yucatan Peninsula.

DavidK93

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The Bourne Supremacy picture

Factual error: The scene where Nicky is picked up in Amsterdam is not in Amsterdam - the skyline does not match that of the city.

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Taking Lives picture

Factual error: In the scene in Costa's apartment after the failed baiting ploy, Costa describes himself as a loner who "bought a gun for a false sense of security", appeared to have had it with him during the evening, and gave the impression that he bought it after he witnessed the murder. Although IlIeana mightn't know, the Montreal police in the room might (should) have wondered about this. Even if legal, it is very difficult to acquire a restricted weapon (handgun) in Canada, the process taking one month to as many as six or more for clearance and permits, let alone courses and examinations. In addition, concealed carry of a weapon is prohibited for civilians. (01:00:25)

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Blade: Trinity picture

Factual error: When Blade notices the piece of Dracula's armour in the Nightstalkers' headquarters he's shown an image of what the full armour looks like. It'd be impossible to extrapolate a full suit of armour from such a small piece.

MAdMaN

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Mindhunters picture

Factual error: When J.D. gets killed, Vince's leg shakes. Vince is suppose to be paralyzed. Even if he was extremely scared, his leg shouldn't have been able to move no matter how much he tried. It happens again later in the movie. (00:30:55)

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Suggested correction: During the film, its never discussed whether or not Vince is paralyzed. He may just have a damaged spine. The scene where his foot is shaking, the entire camera frame is pointing directly at his feet. Seems unlikely that would have been included, if he was playing a paraplegic.

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The Manchurian Candidate picture

Factual error: When Eleanor Shaw tries to convince other members of the senate to choose her son as a candidate for vice president, a map of the fifty states and their corresponding electoral votes can be seen. The map shows Colorado as having 3 electoral votes and Wyoming having 8. Wyoming should have 3 and Colorado 9.

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The Assassination of Richard Nixon picture

Factual error: In 1973, directly after the scene where Sam had to chase the dog down the street, he sits in his apartment alone, watching Julie Nixon's wedding on TV. She was married in 1968.

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Dawn of the Dead picture

Factual error: When the survivors are first in the mall, you can see a store called Roots with a Canadian beaver logo. While the movie was filmed in Canada, it is supposed to take place in the USA where Roots has a different logo. (00:17:05)

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The Incredibles picture

Factual error: When the plane is attacked by missiles, Helen punches a button on the cockpit console and a screen lights up that says "chaff". The next shot shows the rear of the plane with several burning items coming from it that are supposed to be chaff. However, chaff containers burst open into thousands of radar-reflective strips that are meant to confuse radar-guided missiles (see real chaff in the movie Air Force One). What actually comes out are flares that burn extremely hot to confuse heat-seeking missiles. While it might be suggested that we just never see the containers burst open, later in the missile chase we see the exact same items in view for a much longer time and they never burst open.

Guy

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Kill Bill: Volume 2 picture

Factual error: In the deleted scene where Bill kills the black guy and his henchmen, Bill slits the throat of the black man, and then sheathes the sword immediately. This would cause the blood to clot the inside of the scabbard, making it sticky and difficult to draw the sword. And if left long enough, it would rust the blade. The scabbard will have to be taken apart to be cleaned properly, which would be a lot of meaningless extra work, instead of simply taking 5 seconds to wipe the blade. A swordsman of Bill's caliber would never have mistreated his weapon like that. It is like seeing a soldier deliberately burying his rifle in mud to give himself a nice, long job of cleaning afterwards.

Twotall

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