Answered general questions about movies, TV and more

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I saw a movie probably at least 15 years ago - though it could have been an older movie then. The movie was about a man who time traveled from the future to the present (around the time the movie was made). I don't why he time traveled but while he was there he met his grandfather or great grandfather and ended up helping this man become a hero by gettting him (as he was destined to do in a predestined paradox) to save a bunch of people from a fire. Does anyone know the title of this movie? It's definitely not Frequency.

Lori Kaminsky

Chosen answer: Sounds like the 1988 film "Out of Time" starring the politically incorrect Bill Maher as the inept cop of the present who is helped by his grandson time travelling from the future to help him become the hero.

I saw this episode of a TV show once, although maybe it was a movie on TV. A woman's mother had been murdered. There were flashbacks that showed the woman as a girl, and her mother was abusive to her. The flashbacks showed the mother threatening to kill the girl's cat (while the girl was sitting at a piano), saying the girl looked like a "fat little pig" in a certain dress, and the girl hiding in a dark room (I think a cellar or garage) while her mother was looking for her. There was also a scene where the adult woman finds a teddy bear that she owned as a child in her mother's house. Does anyone know what TV show or movie this was?

Answer: It might have been Sybil, a 1976 film starring Sally Field. It was a true story of a girl who was abused by her mother and developed Multiple Personality Disorder as a result..

It's been about 8 years since I've seen the movie but all I remember is that in the beginning a girl comes down the stairs and tries to talk to her mother who is having a party around a piano and singing songs. As the girl stands there she urinates for a very long time. I remember it was about exorcism, but not "The Exorcist". I appreciate any help as I have searched and failed to find out what this is. Thank you.

Answer: This is the opening of Scary Movie 2, which parodies the movie The Exorcist, alongside many other films.

Hamster

There's a movie in which a character claims to have invented to device prior to the Clapper; I believe he called it the Snapper. Does anyone know what movie this is?

Answer: In "Night at the Museum", Ben Stiller's character claims to have invented the Snapper.

Ingabritzen

Is there any reason why a lot of new movie previews (at least where I live, in the USA) have a black bar across the top of the screen during the entire preview, which displays the movie title and the date it opens in theaters? Two of the movies I have seen previews like this for are Twilight and Lakeview Terrace, in case that helps.

Answer: Probably so the information (dates, times, locations, etc.) can be added and changed for a specific geographical area.

raywest

A movie question. I thought that when a movie goes straight to DVD/video/Blue Ray instead of being shown in theaters first, it's because critics gave it very bad reviews. However, there are some movies that continue to have several sequels coming out on DVD, such as the Beethoven dog movies and the Bring It On movies. Why do movie companies continue to produce them when the previous two or three sequels didn't make it to the theaters?

Answer: Because it costs a lot less money to send it direct to video than to release it into theatres. There are high distribution costs associated with a theatrical release. A great many movies make more money on their DVD release than on their theatrical run. In the end, it's all about profit.

wizard_of_gore

I watched part of a movie years ago. I don't remember the name of the movie. Please help! All I remember is. there is a guy on a computer (let's name this guy Bob) looking at famous historical photographs, and he notices in the background of each picture, there is the same guy (let's call this guy John). John is super ugly. I think later on in the movie Bob is trying to track down John.

Answer: I'm not sure if you're remembering correctly, but this sounds suspiciously like 12 Monkeys, where Bruce Willis' character is in the background of a lot of pictures.

GalahadFairlight

I am looking for the name and main actor in a movie where a man is a scientist that studies gorillas. He stays with them for a few years and to save their life, he kills some people. He then goes to jail and doesn't speak. A young man comes to talk to him in jail and try to figure him out. His daughter is mad at him for what he has turned in to. I think the main actor is Sean Connery. I have searched the internet for hours and I can't find it?

Answer: "Instinct" from 1999, starring Anthony Hopkins. http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0128278/.

Twotall

I am looking for the title of a made for TV movie (Lifetime) which Tina Yothers was in. I remember that she was tried out for a cheerleading squad and did not make it but she told her parents that she did. She actually was like the assistant or something. But then her parents came to her school to see her cheer and the whole squad locks one of the mean cheerleaders in a closet so that she can cheer for that game. Does this sound familiar? I remember a small scene when the squad was taking a group picture and they all had on white uniforms and the mean cheerleader shows up in her red uniform so that she could stand out in the picture.

Answer: The movie is "Laker Girls" from 1990.

wizard_of_gore

I remember some TV christmas special about a reindeer who is out of shape and falls for a sexy reindeer called Vixen. I think the reindeer was out of shape and had to earn a place in santas sled. Help?

Hamster

Chosen answer: "Hooves of Fire (1999) (TV)" - www.imdb.com/title/tt0219086/.

Hamster

I remember seeing a movie and it had a girl in it and I believe that she had split personality. But everyone in her building thought that she had twin, though they never saw them together. I believe that the evil personality (twin) was killing people. If someone has any clue about what I am talking about please answer. Oh, and if I am not mistaken, it starred the brunette girl from "White Chicks."

Answer: It's called "Lethal Eviction" - www.imdb.com/title/tt0416918/.

Hamster

In this movie a princess is going somewhere, traveling alone, and she meets up with three men, two of them dwarves. They end up raping her and then one of them kills her with a club. They end up in a room with with a guy (either her father, or someone that knew her) and this guy finds out that they raped and killed her and he kills them. As I remember, he throws the dwarves against the wall. Please let me know if you know the title of this movie? I saw it back in the 80's.

Answer: This sounds like "The Virgin Spring," directed by Swedish director, Ingmar Bergman.

raywest

I'm looking for a color movie I saw a small portion of on television in the '90's. It was reminiscent of "The Parent Trap" in that two look-alike girls, possibly twins, traded places. One was richer than the other. In the scene I saw the poor girl is at an outdoor cookout with the rich girl's family and tries sloppy joes for the first time. She exclaims that they're really good, and the mother, thinking the girl is her own daughter, says "Of course, they're your favorite." The girl replies "Oh yeah, I forgot!" A little later I remember seeing the same girl in her look-alike's room throwing one stuffed animal at a bunch of others stacked on the bed. Can anyone please tell me what movie I'm thinking of?

Answer: I beleive that you are reffering to the movie "It takes two" starring Kirstie Alley, Mary-Kate & Asley Olsen, and Steve Guttenberg. It is Kirstie who says "Of course they're your favorite" But she is not the child's mother, she is the director of the foster home the child is in. They are in the camp owned by the rich girl father.

Does anyone know the name of this 1980's (I believe) movie? There's this mad scientist guy who's trying to clone his late wife. He has a handsome, young lab assistant. When the assistant's girlfriend falls into a coma after an accident, the scientist offers to clone her. The assistant declines, saying the clone wouldn't be the woman who fell in love with him. The girlfriend later recovers. The scientist realizes he's living in the past, gives up his experiments, and marries a much younger woman.

Answer: Creator (1985).

Grumpy Scot

Anybody know of an HBO made movie, from I'm guessing the mid 80s, where a few guys go into a jungle in search for treasure? The treasure chest ends up being at the bottom of a huge bowl shaped satellite dish or something similar. I don't remember anything else other than I enjoyed it as a kid. It's not 'Band of the Hand' but probably came out around that time.

Answer: It's called "Florida Straits," from 1986.

I'm looking for the title of an older movie (I think it's in color) that I have never seen; it was recommended on some great movies show I had seen years ago. It's about an aging upper class woman who falls in love with her gardener. I think she ends up rejecting him by the end, possibly because of his lower class status, and the ending is possibly a haunting scene where the woman gets a TV set for companionship. We know that she will wither away her years in front of the TV, instead of spending her remaining years with her true love. Since I've never seen the movie I may be way off in my vague description of it. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer: The movie you're referencing is "All That Heaven Allows" a 1955 movie starring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson.

ChiChi

I'm searching for a movie title, from the late 70s to early 80s, possibly horror. I think it takes place at a big hotel or mansion. I remember a scene where a person takes a swim in an indoor pool, and when he/she comes to the surface for breath the pool is covered by glass or some force field. The trapped swimmer beats and screams but can't escape. I think the person drowns but I'm not sure. I also remember a scene near the end where a gun is pointed at someone, but a force field or some kind of mind magic plugs the barrel of the gun. I think the gun bursts in the bad guy's face. That's all I remember. Please help.

Answer: It's called The Legacy from 1978.

I once saw a movie and it was an African-American loosely based version of Cinderella (not starring Brandy and Whitney Houston). If I am not mistaken, the guy that play the reverend on "Amen" is in it. And I can't remember much else about it. I hope that someone out there can help me out.

Answer: I believe you are remembering "Cindy" circa 1978. It is a TV movie and you can find info about it on imdb.com.

I saw an episode and I don't know of what. But I do know that Jessica Simpson played a babysitter to a little girl. And the little girl had a big collection of barbie dolls. We come to find out the little girl was so unhappy that she wanted all of her former babysitters to stay and when they tried to leave. She turned them into the dolls. Does anyone know what I was watching and what the name of the episode was?

Answer: It's an episode of the latest incarnation of "The Twilight Zone," aired on UPN in April, 2003. The episode title was "The Collection."

Jean G

I saw a movie at school in the 1980's in which the main character is a bank robber. There is a cop or fed on his trail for years. This man finally turns his life around and settles down in a small town. But, the cop shows up on the same day a child gets trapped in an airtight bank vault, that will be unopenable for days. If he saves her the cop will know who he is, but he cracks it open and saves the girl anyway. What is the name of this movie?

Lori Kaminsky

Chosen answer: That sounds like "No Deposit, No Return" with Don Knotts and Darren McGavin. McGavin plays a former safe cracker who has been off the grid for a few years. He and Knotts get caught up in a fake kidnapping (actually devised by the "kidnapped" girl). The kids end up trapped in their Grandfather's safe and McGavin has to get them out in front of the policeman that has been on his tail for years.I personally love the movie.

Garlonuss

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