General questions about movies, TV and more

This page is for general questions - if you've got a question about a specific title, please check the title-specific questions page first. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.

I am looking for the name of a 1980's movie (I believe). I don't remember much, but i do remember the weapon and the hero had to go on a journey to rescue a lady. The weapon was a silver star with blades that popped out. The movie is not "Legend" with Tom Cruise.

Answer: Sounds like "Krull" from 1983. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085811/.

Twotall

In what movie from the 1970s or 80s did a television network create reality shows where people were hunted to the death and where other terrible things were programmed? It was not "Network."

Answer: Sounds like the 1987 Schwarzenegger film The Running Man.

Tailkinker

I can't remember much about this movie, since I only saw the last ten minutes, but it looked interesting. All that I can recall was that it seemed to be children's movie, and the villain was called the Ice Queen. After her inevitable defeat, the heroine says something along the lines of "but Winter passes. It passes." I think the heroine had a brother as well. It was most likely an '80s or '90s film but could also be '00s.

Knever

Chosen answer: Is it possibly Snow Queen (2002)? It's story about the passing of seasons in a fantasy style.

newtrekkilover

I have seen some people create online petitions to try and stop a show from being cancelled or to bring a show back. Do the creators of TV shows ever pay attention to these petitions? Has an online petition ever successfully brought a show back or stopped one from being cancelled?

Answer: Online petitions are just one form of fan-base pressure and it's certainly true that shows have been saved from the axe by the fan community, if sometimes only briefly. Sliders was cancelled after its first season, but fan pressure prompted the studio to continue with it and it ultimately ran to five seasons. Jericho was likewise cancelled after season one, but got a short second season after protests, but was subsequently cancelled again. Farscape was cancelled after four seasons, but plans to destroy the sets were put on hold, at least partly due to fan pressure, which ultimately paved the way for a mini-series entitled "The Peacekeeper Wars", which tied up many of the remaining plot threads from the series. Fan pressure can work and online petitions are a part of that, although not really one of the most effective methods as they would be more ignorable than organising a mass letter-writing campaign to the studio. But every little bit helps.

Tailkinker

This movie is about a boy who, after losing his father, moves into a house and finds a ventriloquist's dummy in the shed. The dummy then comes to life and claims to be the boy's dead father. It eventually tries killing the boy. Does anyone know the title of movie? I have never been able to figure it out.

redwings

Chosen answer: I believe the movie you are talking about is called "Joey", or also known as "Making Contact". It is a movie from 1985.

MooCow

I remember seeing a trailer for a movie on TV, where a car is going down the road and runs head-on into another vehicle. The car breaks into a bunch of pieces and goes around the other car (I believe it's a semi-truck) and the car forms back together and keeps driving. Any idea what movie this is from?

Cody Bowers

Chosen answer: That was the 2006 movie, The Covenant.

pross79

Chosen answer: In the same way as you direct a normal film. The director is responsible for taking the script and turning into a visual depiction of the story being told - they determine the artistic and dramatic elements of the piece, giving the world depicted in the script a visual and audible form. In a live action film, they'll be working with lighting people, cameramen and so forth to ensure that the look of the scene matches their vision. With an animated film, they're doing the same thing, but are working with the animators instead. The basic principle is no different.

Tailkinker

I actually didn't see this movie myself, but I heard someone talking about it once. It was about a woman who died and she was an organ donor. Her boyfriend/husband wanted to kill everyone who got parts of her body, and there was a character who got her eyes. I think I heard about it in the 1990s, but I don't know if it came out then. Does anyone know what movie it might be?

Answer: The movie is called Blink.

My mother took us to the movies in the fifties to see a movie she thought would be appropriate because of the title. I thought the title was 'The Clown' but I've searched and not found it. It is about a young boy whose brother and brother's friends make him believe he has shot and killed (?) his brother, so he runs away and ends up at a carnival in a big city. The mother and brother then search for him.

Answer: It may be Little Fugitive (1953).

Lori Kaminsky

I am looking for the name of a film where there is a car that has to race around a town in less than 20 minutes, while some kids try to steal a jukebox. There is also a football game going on and the car starts out as a red '57 Chev., then goes through a car wash and comes out blue with flames. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Answer: Sounds like the 1989 film Catch Me If You Can.

Tailkinker

I'm looking for the title of a movie where the grandkids visit their dying grandfather and fix up his boat, in order to give him the viking funeral he desires without their parents knowing, until they set him off in the boat. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Answer: Rocket Gibraltar.

William Bergquist

I am looking for a comedy (maybe from the late 80s?) where the male character checks for his wallet, keys, and balls (not necessarily in that order) before leaving his apartment. Does anyone know what movie that's from?

Answer: This also happens in Nuns on the Run, which is a bit more within your timeframe.

Answer: In Austin Powers, The Spy Who Shagged Me, Austin said "Testicles, spectacles, wallet and watch" while touching each place as he says it.

It should be noted that in both films, they're not actually checking for them, it's how to remember the proper way to make the Catholic sign of the cross.

Bishop73

Looking for the title or actor in an 80s movie about the country running out of gasoline. But there is a guy with a red exotic car and he has a hand pump and gets what is left in gas station tanks to continue his journey, and of course the government still has fuel in reserves. Anybody know?

SpeedyG

Chosen answer: Sounds like "The Last Chase" with Lee Majors starring and Burgess Meredith co-starring. It's a futuristic movie. Lee Majors plays a former race car driver who decides to rebuild and drive his race car across the country to the "free zone" to escape the bureaucracy of the government.

I am trying to find a movie about a woman who has bone cancer and decides not to have it treated as she wants to spend quality time with her daughter without being sick from chemotherapy. She and her husband and daughter move to the mountains and she makes tapes for the daughter to see when she is older and no longer has a mother. Its a really sad movie and ends with John Denver's song "Sunshine" when she dies. Any clues? I cannot remember the title and would love to find it.

Answer: "Sunshine" is actually the title of the movie(made in 1973), while the title of the song is "Sunshine on my shoulders". You can find the dvd-version of the film here: http://store.jdvds1994.com/sudvd19mowch.html.

littlestar

I'm looking for the name of a cartoon that came out in the late 70s or early 80s, about a fairytale land with unicorns. One of the unicorns dies at the end, while the other unicorn sees him die. Any idea of the title?

Answer: The Last Unicorn, 1982, from the novel by Peter S Beagle.

What does it mean when the credits in TV shows list someone as a "special" guest star? I have seen some shows do this whether or not that they are only appearing on one episode.

Answer: Often it's a matter of that star's higher status in the industry (like getting Brad Pitt to guest on ER) or getting a non-actor of similar prominence to appear (Barack Obama on The Hills). A guest star is just a temp, and can be an unknown or well-known actor of medium appeal. When it's a 'big deal', it's a "Special".

johnrosa

I'm looking for the title of a movie where some kids go into a movie with dinosaurs. They do this using their parents invention of a remote control to go into the television. Once in this world they have to help the hero dinosaur become a hero. The movie was live action, not a cartoon.

Lori Kaminsky

Chosen answer: Adventures in Dinosaur City.

A film called The Lion and the Horse was made in 1952. Want to know where to get one please.

gillian ahern

Chosen answer: Yes! You can find this movie on DVD at www.ioffer.com. goto: www.ioffer.com/i/The-Lion-and-the-Horse-82534721.

CCARNI

Does anyone know the title, or the star, of an old movie (probably '30s or '40s) about a bum finding a check for $1,000,000 on a sidewalk? As I remember it, it was a worthless check put there as an experiment by several men who then watched the bum use the check. I remember the bum as being a Gary Cooper type but I could not find a Cooper movie with this plot. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: The story sounds a lot like in the movie "The million pound note" with Gregory Peck from 1954. A bum gets the bill (from the title) by two rich men (as a bet). From that on he gets everything he wants (even without cashing in the bill).Sounds familiar enough ?

I am looking for a WWII film made in the 80's or 90's. It was about a bomber crew that was stranded in a desert with their crashed plane. Towards the end of the film it was revealed that they were all really ghosts and one crew member's remains are never discovered, leaving him in the desert alone. Thank you in advance.

Answer: This sounds like the TV movie Sole Survivor (1970) featuring William Shatner.

Madstunts

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.