Gavin Jackson

17th Apr 2013

Jurassic Park (1993)

Continuity mistake: When the car with Timmy in it falls down the wall, it lands in a tree flat again the concrete wall. Yet later when Alan is rescuing Tim, this is no wall to be seen anywhere. Only other nearby trees.

Gavin Jackson

25th Mar 2013

The Night Flier (1997)

Question: Probably a dumb question, but is this the only film in which Miguel Ferrer has ever received top billing? Usually in everything I have seen him in, he is in a supporting role, so I was just wondering.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: He's received top billing at least 6 times, most notably "Hard Ride to Hell" and "The Harvest", but he's also shared in top billing another half dozen times or so.

Bishop73

11th Mar 2013

Police Academy (1984)

Question: Why did Mahoney get a medal at the end? All he did was run up a building and got himself taken hostage. Hightower deserved his cause he knocked the guy out, saved Harris and Mahoney and defused the situation. Even if it was for bravery or heroism, Mahoney achieved nothing with his actions and shouldn't have been rewarded.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Just because you fail in your attempt at heroics doesn't mean you weren't brave as hell for trying. Mahoney knowingly put himself in a very dangerous situation with the sole intent of saving two of his fellow officers. That's bravery.

LorgSkyegon

3rd Mar 2013

The Doors (1991)

Question: Did Jim Morrison really go around falsely telling reporters that both his parents were dead? Or was that just an Oliver Stone embellishment?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: That is actually true. Morrison grew up in a military family and his stern parents harshly disciplined their two sons by verbally assaulting them until they broke down in tears, were utterly humiliated and admitted to wrong-doing. Morrison broke off almost all contact with his family after graduating from college.

raywest

18th Feb 2013

The Terminator (1984)

Question: Some people think Ginger is Sarah's sister, but I have always thought she was just her close friend and roommate. Who's right?

Gavin Jackson

Answer: Ginger is Sarah's roommate and best friend.

Chosen answer: No mention is made of her being Sarah's sister. If she was, at some point in the other films, it would have been mentioned.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: I have two questions about this film. Firstly, was the black woman Hushpuppy was dancing with at the strip bar her biological mum? And secondly, were the huge pigs (whatever they are called) that appear at the end really there. Or were they simply imagined by Hushpuppy? Because the other kids responded to them, but they seemed way too oversized to be real.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Both questions are left open-ended. It is unlikely, but not impossible, for Hushpuppy to have found her mother (although I believe the music playing at that moment is a hint that she is a look-alike). The beasts are supernatural creatures; up to you whether they are literal or in her mind.

Question: When Bond goes to the fighting ring and discovers that Maud Adams is dead, was that really a dummy of her? It sure looked like one to me.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: No, it was the actor.

28th Dec 2012

Blue Thunder (1983)

Question: Why didn't Murphy tell his boss about Cochrane's plan to kill him? He tries to when he gets back, but notices some strange behaviour and walks off. Is it because he (a) doesn't trust the department and thinks the boss is in on it (b) doesn't think he will believe him (since Lymangood hid the proof) (c) decides to deal with it himself (d) just the writers' way of advancing the plot.

Gavin Jackson

Answer: Yes to A, B, and C.

10th Dec 2012

Star Wars (1977)

Question: Did that officer who Vader attempts to choke, throw up on the table afterwards? I can't tell if that's vomit or just some buttons on the table, but as I haven't watched the film in some time, any help would be great.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Every person on the table has a monitor in front of them, and what you see is a yellow button or some kind of mouse or joystick that glows.

Anastasios Anastasatos

10th Dec 2012

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Question: In Cars 2, it was decided not to bring back Doc Hudsen out of respect for the late Paul Newman. So why was slinky recast for this film? Didn't the filmmakers feel that Jim Varney deserved the same respect? Considering they didn't bring back certain characters like Bo-peep etc, I find it insulting that they felt so little of Varney.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Well, with all due respect to Mr. Varney, he's no Paul Newman. You respect different actors in different ways. Paul Newman is much more of a "remember in silence" type actor, when Varney's much more relaxed and silly style lends itself more toward celebrating the character over the actor, in which case removing the character would not necessarily be the best decision. I don't know if these were things the Pixar crew specifically thought of, but that's how I view it.

Garlonuss

22nd Nov 2012

General questions

I was wondering if anyone could back me up on this. When the James Bond films were in limbo between 1989 and 1995 and two studios were fighting over rights issues, I am sure I read articles which claimed that producer Joel silver was desperately trying to obtain the franchise with the full intent of casting Mel Gibson as Bond (despite Gibson repeatedly saying that he wasn't interested). I have found nothing anywhere online to back this up so I was wondering if anyone else had read this. Or it is simply my imagination?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: There were many actors who were considered for the role of James Bond during this period, including Mel Gibson in 1987. MGM suggested casting him, but producer Albert Broccoli rejected him because he was not British.

raywest

Question: I was hoping someone could clear this up for me. Did ET really die and somehow return, or did he simply fake his death to fool the authorities?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: First, it is hard to know whether he actually died and was revived, or possibly got so close to dead that the scientists simply assumed he had died and called it. But it was not a ploy. His link to the flower reflects his dying condition. As he died, so did the flower.

Garlonuss

8th Nov 2012

Psycho II (1983)

Other mistake: When Norman and Mary are at the swamp, the sheriff hands him the ashtray they found and bates explains that it belonged to Mr Toomey. Mary say "Who"? and the sheriff explains who he is. This makes no sense as Mary knew full well who Toomey was and had no reason to play dumb.

Gavin Jackson

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: She wasn't playing dumb. She says WHO because she didn't hear the name correctly.

Question: This has been a question that's always brought up. Was Ellie Grimbridge always a robot from the very beginning, or was she turned into (or exchanged with) one when she was held captive at the shamrock factory?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: She was turned into one when she was captured. The robots didn't speak and if you notice that after he finds her, she never says a word. As well, she displayed genuine emotion throughout the film before she was captured, something the robots also never did.

I agree, she was a real person until she was captured. If she were a robot, I think Chalice would have found that out when they made love. Plus, as you mention, she had real emotions until her robot replacement was rescued.

Answer: Another theory might be that Ellie has always been a robot but an advanced model that Cochrane designed to interact with the outside world.

19th Sep 2012

The A-Team (1983)

13th Aug 2012

Cool Runnings (1993)

Question: Could someone as overweight and unhealthy as John Candy's character really have lived in Jamaica? I would have thought the extreme hot weather conditions would have been rather dangerous for someone in his shape.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: It may not be the wisest place to live, but that doesn't mean that he's physiologically incapable of living there, even relatively long term. It's pretty dangerous being that size anywhere in the world, as Candy's sadly premature demise illustrates; living somewhere as warm as the Caribbean probably wouldn't make the situation significantly worse than it already is.

Tailkinker

Chosen answer: Most likely a coincidence. It's a common Middle Eastern name.

raywest

8th Aug 2012

Robocop (1987)

Question: When the Swat team leader is trying negotiate with the guy in the Mayor's office, he says to him "Hey no problem Miller. Let the mayor go. We'll even throw in a Blaupunkt". Could someone please explain what a Blaupunkt is? I've never heard that word and its not in my dictionary.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Blaupunkt is a major manufacturer of car stereos. Miller wants a car as part of his ransom demands, so the SWAT team leader is playing along with those demands telling him that they'll make sure the car he wants is fitted with a really cool stereo.

Tailkinker

8th Aug 2012

Con Air (1997)

Question: Why did Poe get back onto the plane when it left Carson city? I know he stayed on after the first stop cause Cyrus wouldn't let Baby-o off and Poe needed to get him his insulin shot. But he got his shot in Carson city and Poe had no reason to get back on (seemed even more ludicrous after he tied the plane up.but anyway).

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Poe is an ex-Ranger, and he wants to stop the criminals. Also he wanted to save the cops inside the airplane.

Anastasios Anastasatos

Answer: You almost have it right, with one exception. Poe does not get the insulin to Baby O in Carson City. It is not until they reach their second stop at Lerner Airfield when he gets the first aid kit. He rushes the first aid kit back on board and is able to give him the shot, but at this point, the plane is already taking off.

jshy7979

29th Jul 2012

First Blood (1982)

Chosen answer: A meal in the 80s would have cost 4 or 5 dollars. A bus ticket would have been around 50, or more, depending on where he was going.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: There's no evidence he could afford to eat. It's possible he was planning on working for a meal.