Macalou

27th Aug 2001

The Mask (1994)

Corrected entry: After Dorian absorbs the bullets that Nico shot at him, he opens his mouth and we can see that the bullets have their shells again instead of just the projectiles.

Correction: This falls under the "cartoon law" category that governs most other things that happen in this movie. Dorian's imagination allowed the bullets to be fired in whatever manner he wishes.

Macalou

This most likely shouldn't be corrected under the blanket statement that anything can happen. The bullets he fires back represent the bullets that were fired at him and thus shouldn't have their casings (shells). There's no need for him to "imagine" the bullets are back in their casings since he doesn't need the primer and gunpowder to "fire" them (firing bullets without gunpowder, etc. would be an example of "cartoon law" and not a valid mistake since it's already impossible to fire intact ammunition from ones mouth.) Even in the realm of fantasy, there are valid mistakes like these (due to filming limitations, bad writing, etc). It all has to do with intent of the writers or the scene (which is why mistakes are often debated about). Here, the intent is to fire back used bullets, not create new ones. Otherwise, we would see Dorian just create more deadly ammunition.

Bishop73

By wearing the mask Dorian has the ability to create new ones.

So what's the point of him shooting them out of his mouth and not a gun he created? The scene is meant to show he is spitting out the bullets that were fired at him, not him creating new ammunition in his mouth.

Bishop73

Correction: The mask gives its wearer unlimited power so that not only was he able to recreate the bullets but, also fire off as many as necessary.

Corrected entry: While the other cast members are dressed in the formal 1950s era clothing expected at a private boarding school during that time, Robin Williams is dressed in casual 1980s chic to include Dockers slacks and suede Hushpuppy shoes.

Correction: This lends itself more to the avant-garde nature of the character. He is unorthodox in many other respects, and there is nothing to indicate his style of dress would be any different. More importantly, the style of clothing that he wears were certainly available in the 1950s.

Macalou

2nd Sep 2005

Forrest Gump (1994)

Corrected entry: It makes no sense that Lt. Dan was shocked about Forrest receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor. First off, as Forrest's commanding officer in the field, Lt. Dan would have had to recommend him for the medal. Also, as one of the people who Forrest rescued from the battlefield, Lt. Dan would certainly have been interviewed to verify Forrest's heroic actions.

Correction: Lt. Dan was not as shocked as he was angry. He was left a paraplegic while an "imbecile" like Forrest was spared. He was using this opportunity to vent his frustration; surely he knew Forrest was going to receive the medal.

Macalou

He's not angry that Forrest got the medal, it's more disbelief because Forrest showed his butt on TV.

Corrected entry: After Ferris and Cameron pick up Sloan, they drive WEST down School Drive by the high school. The sun should behind them in the morning (rises in the east) instead of in front, where it is in the film.

Correction: There is nowhere in the film where it states which direction they are traveling.

Macalou

Corrected entry: When Jeannie comes downstairs to find the Principal in her house, she kicks his ass and then proceeds to call the police and tells them there is an intruder. Why didn't she recognise her own Principal? It did happen quickly when they jumped out at each other but they both paused before she kicked him. She certainly recognised him at the end of the film when they are at the back door.

Correction: Yes, it does happen quickly. So quickly, in fact, that Jeannie probably doesn't have time to compute what has happened - she just reacted. This is evident by the fact she makes it to the top of the stairs by the time Rooney hits the floor. The only reason she realizes that it was him at the end is BECAUSE she found his wallet.

Macalou

Corrected entry: Les' twin sister's name changes throughout the film, in some scenes she is Natalie and in others, she is Natasha.

Correction: Her boyfriend Karl calls her Natasha most likely because Natalie is an "oppressive" American name. It may also be the equivalent of Natalie in whatever ethnic background he is from. Either way, it is deliberate. When Karl comes to pick her up, he calls her Natasha while her mom calls her Natalie in the same scene.

Macalou

24th Feb 2005

The Goonies (1985)

Corrected entry: When Mouth is talking to Rosalita about the attic, you can see that the door pulls down from left to right, but when the Goonies are walking up to the attic, they are walking from right to left.

Correction: If you were to walk up any staircase, then turn left by 180 degrees at the top of the stairs, they would appear to descend from left to right as shown in the shot. Not a mistake in the least.

Macalou

25th Feb 2005

Hitch (2005)

Corrected entry: If you pay close attention to the kind of knot Max uses to tie his tie, you'll notice that it is a four-in-hand knot, which is the most common (and most informal) kind of knot for a tie. As a business man, and especially an editor, why would he choose such an informal knot?

Peter Vanicelli

Correction: This is not a movie-making mistake. It's a character preference. Who says he doesn't just prefer that kind of knot?

Macalou

22nd Feb 2005

Meet the Fockers (2004)

Corrected entry: During the scene where the Focker's are driving to the Byrne's family, another vehicle full of women are driving past. On the side of their vehicle, it says "hoot if your horny". This is a grammatical error. The 'your' should actually be spelled 'you're' as in 'you are'.

Correction: This would be considered a character mistake. This is probably the most common English grammatical error, and wouldn't be out of character for a busload of such women to use the improper spelling. It is not a movie-making mistake.

Macalou

Corrected entry: When Ace is visiting the run-down rural home of Ray Finkle's parents, Ray's mother shows Ace an 8mm film of the kick that Ray missed in the Super Bowl. The ball misses wide left, but when the referee is shown signalling that the kick is no good, he is waving his arms as though it missed wide right. (00:50:05)

Correction: This may be, but not a filmmakers' mistake. As noted in the trivia section, "Film footage of the 'Ray Finkle' missed field goal in the movie was authentic. It was actually a blocked field goal from Superbowl VII that was attempted by Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian."

Macalou

Corrected entry: Why would the Iceland players and coach talk privately with each other in English? Living in the San Francisco Bay Area I know a lot of people who speak English as a second language, and they very rarely talk to each other in anything other than their native tongue.

wolfchild

Correction: This is a typical plot device so that the audience can understand what is being said without the benefit of subtitles. There are scads of movies set in foreign lands, for example, but all the characters speak English because the movie was filmed by English speakers for English speakers.

Macalou

Correction: Not an audio problem, just a case of stuttering on her part while trying to formulate her thought. It happens to most people at one time or another.

Macalou

9th Sep 2004

The Punisher (2004)

Corrected entry: Near the end, when the Punisher sets down his dog tags on the table, they make a metal clinking sound. However, you can see that the dog tags are framed in black. That's because they have a rubber dog tag silencer on them, specifically used so that they won't make that clinking noise. (01:52:10)

Correction: It's not the dog tags hitting the table, it is the beaded chain hitting the exposed metal of the dog tag.

Macalou

12th Sep 2004

Point Break (1991)

Corrected entry: Bodi and his surfer buddies are fleeing from a bank robbery and Bodi sets a car on fire endangering peoples lives. Seeing as how Johnny Utah is a "crack shot", why wouldn't he shoot Bodi in the leg instead of that long drawn out chase scene?

Leonard Hassen

Correction: Not only is it difficult to hit a moving target while running, it is most likely a matter of procedure. No trained police professional would endanger innocents by firing a shot at a fleeing suspect, especially if he knows the suspect's identity and could use that information to capture him later. You see shootouts all the time in movies, but in this one, what happens is actually closer to the truth.

Macalou

Corrected entry: When Peter Pettigrew transforms himself into a rat and escapes, he leaves behind his clothes. In all Harry Potter films, including Prisoner of Azkaban, an Animagus is able to transform back and forth fully clothed.

Correction: This is not entirely correct. In Philosopher's Stone, Professor Magonagall turns from an unclothed cat into a woman. Same with Sirius Black in POA. Peter Pettigrew would only obtain his clothing upon changing into a man, not vice versa. Leaving his clothes behind wouldn't necessarily matter, as new clothes would, of course, magically reappear when he transforms back into human form.

Macalou

Corrected entry: At the beginning of the movie when Ed Rooney is talking to Ms. Bueller he says 'if he thinks he can just coast through this month...' then Ferris says later something about 'a couple of months until we graduate'

Correction: Some, if not most, American high schools tally student grades and absences through the month of, say, April in order to have time to calculate the information they need for graduation near the first of June. If it is near the beginning of April (they don't specifically say), Ferris can try to 'coast through this month' because he knows anything that happens in May won't count, hence 'a couple of months until we graduate' - April, May, and possibly a week or two in June.

Macalou

Correction: Also, this is Chicago, what with all the snow days they have any given year, it's conceivable the make-up days have pushed Graduation back an entire month.

dizzyd

22nd Jan 2004

Mystic River (2003)

Corrected entry: The young boys accidentally shoot Jimmy's daughter, then chase her down and kill her to keep her from identifying them. If they are so afraid of detection and if the girl's already dead, what on earth could be their purpose in calling 9-1-1?

Correction: It was an accident and they were scared. Either they had enough conscience to call it in so the body wouldn't just lay there and rot, or they called to report it, but chickened out, especially when asked for their name.

Macalou

21st Sep 2002

One Hour Photo (2002)

Corrected entry: When Bill is firing Sy, he tells Sy to finish out the week. No manager is going to tell a flaky, unstable, unpredictable employee suspected of stealing, etc. to finish out the week.

Correction: He is also not going to want to set off a flaky, unstable, unpredictable employee who, up until recent events, had an impeccable record. Perhaps he pities him and is just trying to play it cool.

Macalou

26th Aug 2003

Top Gun (1986)

Corrected entry: At the end Tom Cruise asks permission for a flyby. He is told "No, the pattern is full." There are only two planes and a helicopter in the air and the pattern is full? I think not.

Correction: Could it be that he was giving a convenient excuse (and plausible to anyone not within visiblity range to see for themselves)? It's obvious he isn't a fan of Maverick's fly-bys.

Macalou

27th Aug 2001

Titanic (1997)

Corrected entry: Leo opens his mouth as he sinks into the water after Rose lets go of his hand after the ship sank. He's already meant to be dead by that stage. (02:50:10)

Correction: His mouth doesn't actually open. His lips part slightly. It really appears that it was caused by minor water pressure against his mouth as he sank.

Macalou

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.