Corrected entry: For both opening the Earth gate (they mention having never gotten beyond six symbols), then opening the Abydos gate after Daniel Jackson knows the first six symbols from that cavern, why can't they simply use trial and error to find the seventh symbol? For 40-odd symbols apiece on both, it would only take approximately that many guesses by process of elimination.
dizzyd
12th Oct 2023
Stargate (1994)
17th Apr 2014
The Hangover (2009)
Question: Doug says they are going home with some money, but how much is the damage to the hotel room going to cost?
26th Oct 2020
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
Plot hole: It seems that after committing 6-odd counts of aiding and abetting, literally right in front of the strict Police Captain father of one of them, Ted and for that matter Bill, would be lucky to only go to military school, regardless of passing or failing one particular class.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: The threat of Ted having to go to the military academy in Alaska was because he was going to fail. Since they passed and graduated, there's no need to attend the military academy. Some time passes before Rufus brings the babes to Bill and Ted, so we don't know what punishment they were given.
This isn't ordinary misbehavior, it is a felony, what do you think the punishment would be? No TV for a week?
I don't have to speculate what their punishment would be. Certainly neither would be sent to military school (which is a TV and movie trope that wayward children get sent there anyways). Your mistake entry is not a plot hole plain and simple.
1st Sep 2020
Dune (2000)
Question: Is there any reason they can't introduce sand worms to other planets in the Duniverse, there to proliferate and produce a greater, more widely distributed quantity of the spice? The newborn worms are called sandtrout, by virtue of being more or less the size of such. Should be easy enough therefore to capture some, surround them with sand in the spaceship to imitate their homeworld, and take them to some other planet the Empire is willing to give up for any other use, then let them grow and produce spice? Much greater abundance, much surer supply (the proverbial eggs in one basket), much closer at hand for any other world in the Universe?
Answer: There could be a number of reasons: introducing non-native species can be devastating to an environment; the sandworms may only be able to survive in certain conditions that other planets lack; they may be unable to reproduce once introduced to a different environment; moving the number of worms needed to produce an adequate supply may be cost-prohibitive; it may be decades before the worms are old enough to produce the spice, the new environment might change the quality and chemical composition of the spice that is produced; political conflicts, and so on.
Answer: If Spice is even half as useful as the novel says, those are all trivial inconveniences compared to the payoff that would make it worth a try.
Next to the fact the unique conditions of Arrakis is what makes the spice melange (not just the worms, but also the planetary conditions) you have to also understand that having the spice production on one planet makes it much easier to control. Whoever controls the spice controls the universe. It wasn't until much later (hundreds of years after the death of the god emperor) they were able to replicate the spice, but before that they didn't even know how the spice was even made. A large reason for this is they had no AI (forbidden) to help analyze the spice melange.
Fine, I accept the monopoly theory.
1st Oct 2020
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
Corrected entry: When Marty was standing outside the giant TV and the announcement was made about the Chicago Cubs winning over Miami, Marty said he put his money on Miami. He had only been in 2015 for a short time, and before that he was in 1985. There is no way he could have bet on anything in 2015.
Correction: Marty says "I just meant Miami." He never says anything about putting money on Miami. Marty was surprised that Miami had a baseball team and the old man thought Marty was surprised Cubs won. (Point of trivia, Miami didn't have an MLB team in 1985).
The Cubs are from Chicago, not Cincinnati.
Further extension of same joke. A) The Cubs have moved and B) they can now win games.
Correction: You misheard. Marty's lines on seeing the sports flash are "Wait-a-minit... Cubs win world series." (then disbelieving) "Against Miami?" The other guy comments on it and plants the idea of betting in the past. Marty, continuing his original thought, starts to explain "But I just meant, Miami..." and abruptly stops, considering what the guy said and asks "What did you just say?"
21st May 2020
Common mistakes
Factual error: In movie plots that take place hundreds or even thousands of years ago, the characters have perfectly white, straight teeth. It is a known fact that Queen Elizabeth I was virtually toothless by age 40. Good dental hygiene didn't really exist until after WWII. Some movies get it right, but only for the bad guys.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: False teeth have been around for centuries; they could be made from a variety of materials including wood, porcelain, or even human teeth taken from corpses or people who willingly sold their teeth to make some quick cash. People with the means to do so could acquire them quite easily, and they were often indistinguishable from a person's own natural teeth.
Your reasoning is very weak. Yes, false teeth have been around for centuries, but even today with much better technology, with close observation you can tell someone has false teeth. Everyone knew G. Washington had false teeth. No, these characters from 500 years ago are not ALL wearing false teeth.
Australian Aboriginals have (had, before colonization) almost perfectly white, straight teeth and it's known that this is somehow related with their foraging diet. If it's true, then most people back ago could have almost perfect teeth too.
Furthermore, widespread tooth decay before great age was only a rich person's problem until refined sugar became cheap, so the peasants wouldn't have bad teeth either.
Tooth decay is not caused by refined sugars. Any carbohydrates will promote bacterial growth, which can cause tooth decay. Additionally acidic food and drinks and alcohol (which can be high in carbohydrates) can damage the teeth and promote bacterial growth. And the mistake is talking about movies in general with countless characters, not a few select characters with significant means.
Thanks for your response. You said it better than I could have.
I mostly agree with you, but I am talking about characters who are rich with perfectly white teeth (and more importantly) great gums - no recession. What I disagree is that only sugar causes teeth decay. Not true. Virtually all food breaks down into simple sugars with enzymes in your saliva.
2nd Aug 2019
Ladyhawke (1985)
Corrected entry: Every time Isabeau turns into a hawk, she becomes a red-tailed hawk. Red-tailed hawks are a North American species. They aren't native to Europe.
6th Jul 2018
Jurassic Park (1993)
Corrected entry: When Tim is holding onto the fence, when the power came on, it would cause his hand muscles to clench the cable.
Correction: You haven't been electrocuted before. Otherwise, you would know that a powerful electric shock will knock you backwards by several feet.
Depends on whether it's Alternating Current, which would do as the original mistake says, or Direct Current, which would do the second option, like the correction. Insufficient information is given to say solidly which the fence uses.
We can reasonably assume that Jurassic Park was using Direct Current, wisely intended to repel the dinosaurs away from the fence line. If it was Alternating Current, then the multi-billion-dollar menagerie of ultra-rare specimens would be fried to a crisp (or at least seriously injured) on a daily basis, as they would be unable to release the charged fences. Therefore, Direct Current is the only fiscally-logical choice (and it explains Tim being repelled from the fence).
29th Jul 2010
Goodfellas (1990)
Question: If the real Henry Hill wrote a book and co-wrote the screenplay (with Martin Scorsese), how is it that the Mob never found him? Or did they, and we (the viewers/general public) were never told about that?
Answer: He went into the witness protection programme along with his family under assumed names, however was expelled from that programme after being arrested for drugs offences in Seattle in the late 1980s. Since then he apparently lived quite openly, including a number of media appearances, although he continued to have problems with the law, mostly due to a long battle with alcoholism. He lived in Malibu up until his death in 2012. As to why the Mob appeared to be disinterested in pursuing him, you'd have to ask them.
By his own loud admission on Howard Stern, he had no idea why he was able to live such an incredibly long time for his circumstances.
Also, Henry Hill, in the last years of his life wasn't so worried anymore about getting whacked. All the people that were a threat to him were either in prison or dead by that time.
27th Aug 2001
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Plot hole: When the warden comes into the cell the morning after the escape, the poster covering the hole is fastened down on all four corners - impossible to do after squeezing into that small hole. [On the DVD commentary, the director confirms that this was a movie "cheat".] (01:49:05)
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: It's a shame the director surrendered, but for someone as smart as Andy, this is the smallest of problems. He could've put weights on the bottom of the poster, or used magnets he embedded in the walls together with iron glued to the poster, or enough washers in the bottom to essentially do both.
If he can make a six foot escape tunnel, he can scrape out several small holes around the poster's edge, and insert the aforementioned magnets, glued in however he can manage (ie tape, chewing gum).
He could have simply used glue mixed with dirt to weigh it down. Once the glue dried it wouldn't matter how heavy the poster was, so long as there was contact.
How could Andy do that after he escaped through the hole in the wall?
I don't think it's what happened, but easily enough. Put magnets in the wall during his tunnel digging process - he had years - then something magnetic affixed to the corners of the poster. As soon as he was in the hole the poster would hang down and affix itself to the bottom corners.
Further, if the poster weren't "glued" on the bottom, it would not have been taught enough for the warden's pebble to go through it. If the poster were attached loosely, the pebble would have simply bounced off.
28th Apr 2018
Cast Away (2000)
Question: At the end when Tom Hanks is going over the map and the woman drives up, where exactly is the crossroads location?
Answer: The credits mention Canadian, TX. Canadian is on Hwy 83 in the Texas panhandle. The directions given mention Hwy 83 south and I-40 east. I-40 is roughly 30 miles or so south of Canadian on 83. Texas road signs are visible at the intersection. The ranch, a bed and breakfast and museum are at 9760 County Road 5, Canadian, TX. It looks like the crossroads was actually filmed maybe eight or ten miles south at the intersection of Z and 5.
Answer: Somewhere in the Great Plains, you heard the Woman's vague directions, "Whole lotta nothing 'till you get to Canada", and from the looks of things, it's not important anyway, the generic nature seems to be a plot device.
26th Mar 2018
Alien Resurrection (1997)
Corrected entry: If the mission is to capture and use xenomorphs, why on Earth aren't the areas of the ship meant for them acid-proof?
Correction: Perhaps there is no material strong enough to resist the acid. It's extremely volatile. Also, the station isn't built for the containment of xenomorphs, and since it is a secret operation they couldn't get any materials without drawing suspicion.
Yep, not even the Predators have armor that can stand the xenomorps' acid, and they have been technologically advanced for thousands of years.
Even 400 years in the future!? My entire point is that why aren't they better prepared for confining the xenomorphs?! By any means and at all levels?! Weyland Yutoni is powerful enough to get what they need secrectly.
It may well be 400 years in the future, but that doesn't mean they have developed a very specific material to resist the acidic effects of the alien blood.
17th Jan 2005
Batman Forever (1995)
Question: What is the point of the Riddler stopping Harvey (Two-Face) from killing Bruce Wayne when they are in his mansion? They now know that Bruce Wayne is Batman and their goal all along was to kill Batman. Essentially I can understand they want to torture Bruce by kidnapping Chase, but it seems like a huge risk that they don't really need to take as Batman is very elusive and this was a prime opportunity to take him out.
Chosen answer: They are both nuts and extremely arrogant. They are also suffering from "Supervillain Syndrome" wherin the villain will toy with and never kill his nemesis even though it will get him caught/defeated in the end. It's just how comic book villains are.
Also, they specifically say they want him awake, aware and capable of suffering humiliation and shame when they destroy him. Also, since they have a hostage he values very highly, they can be reasonably sure he'll come to them afterwards, Riddler out-and-out says so.
6th Aug 2004
Alien Resurrection (1997)
Corrected entry: At the end of the film Ripley uses her acidic blood to burn a hole in the ships glass window the problem is, as any High School Chemistry student will know, acid doesn't react with glass.
Correction: The acidic blood of the Aliens is never scientifically described onscreen, only compared to highly acidic substances. Because this is an alien biology, it could have an acid-like caustic effect without actually composing what a chemist would describe as an acid. For example, the blood could contain omnivorous microorganisms that consume substances other than the Aliens - it's possible that these could destroy glass as acid does not. Remember, in the first Alien movie, the facehugger, "It secreted an acid that "burned" through Kane's helmet glass."
Hydrofluoric acid does react with glass, conceivably the blood could be partially composed of that.
13th Jun 2003
Jurassic Park (1993)
Corrected entry: When Timmy is near the top of the fence, just before the electricity turns back on, he has his head and shoulders through the fence, with the wires resting against his armpits. Since the shoulders are the widest part of the body on a person of normal weight, a hole wide enough for your shoulders is wide enough for the rest of you. The spaces in the fence are somewhat circular--they are at least as tall as they are wide--so why is Timmy climbing the fence in the first place? He could have just crawled through at the bottom! (01:39:10)
Correction: At first glance, this is correct. Timmy could fit through the fence wires that are CLOSE TO THE TOP, but earlier when the characters are standing at the base of the fence you see Grant put his face practically touching the fence while he's attempting to make the hole larger and its clear that his head wouldn't stand a chance of fitting thru the hole and i seriously doubt that his head is larger than a ten-year old's shoulders. A possible explanation: the fence they are climbing is labeled as perimeter fence, so likely the holes are smaller at the base of the fence to prevent the small dinos from escaping, but the holes become larger as the fence becomes taller to save on materials a bit as the small dinos obviously couldn't get high enough up on an electrified fence to get through a larger hole towards the top.
Very well, but fact of the matter is, Somewhere on that fence, Timmy could have slipped through, and saved himself from having to climb all the way to the top, saving time, energy and at least some of the risk of climbing to great height.
30th Nov 2016
Alien 3 (1992)
Question: In the infirmary, when the Alien gets close to Ripley, and then (we realise why later in the movie) pulls back and leaves her, because she is carrying the queen chestburster, why doesn't the Alien hold her, take her with him, into the vent system and cocoon her like we see the others do to all those other humans in Aliens? It seems to be remiss of the creature to let her run around, as opposed to guarding her, especially since it seems to be a "guard."
Answer: Well at the time I'm sure it was just to keep the story moving but as far as the lore, this alien is a different breed (A Runner). They are meant more for acquiring food for the hive were as the drones (from Alien and Aliens) create the hive and the cocoon to hold incapacitated people. The drones can also be used for defending the queen/hive, scouting or gathering hosts for the facehuggers.
Chosen answer: 2 Reasons; 1. The entire rest of the prison was trying to find it and kill it. The Alien is fast and strong but if spent most of its time hovering around Ripley, it would be outmatched and killed. 2. The Alien probably knew that Ripley was an ally of the prisoners. They weren't trying to hurt her, so she didn't need guarding.
For 1) No, not yet they weren't trying to kill it, at this point in the movie noone believed her except possibly a deranged convict (lotssa help he'd be in any case) 2) That one is a little harder to dispel, but nevertheless, the alien would probably want to drag her, hide her, somewhere in the depths of the complex, just to be safe, and certainly to be present and available as a guard when the chestburster actually hatches.
20th Dec 2009
Avatar (2009)
Corrected entry: During the big bombing of the tree, Michelle Rodriguez refuses to take part and steers the helicopter away, stating that she does not want to be part of that. Even in the distant future, such behaviour would be called insubordination and have her court-martialed. However, she is still able to free Jake and has access to the helicopters in the hangar.
Correction: They are employees of a private company and would not be court martialed. They all work for RDA.
Court-Martial or Suspension with possible Firing, she is still disobeying orders of some sort, in a combat situation (there are security companies powerful enough to constitute private armies, with similar rules, regs and discipline), and would therefore be punished in some form all the same.
Who says she was not punished? Maybe she got reprimanded.
9th Feb 2010
Avatar (2009)
Question: I'm assuming that floating rocks are made from Unobtanium - thus able to fly. But where did they get all the water to supply the waterfalls?
Answer: It's never stated that the floating mountains are made from any particular substance. And it's doubtful they're made from unobtanium, otherwise why would they need to mine it from underneath the Na'vi's tree? The mountains float because of some magnetic properties in that area of the planet. As for the water, I imagine it comes from the same place water comes from on mountains on Planet Earth -- melting snow.
This is an incredibly lush place, probably very rainy, therefore the water could have come from there.
27th Aug 2001
Jurassic Park (1993)
Corrected entry: According to the subtitles at the beginning of the movie, the island is 120 miles WEST of Costa Rica. However, at the end of the movie, they are flying into the sunset...in the evening. If they had enough fuel, they'd be heading to Hawaii. (01:55:05)
Correction: God only knows how many REAL islands there are between Jurassic Park and Hawaii, nevermind the fictional islands they could have been headed to (or maybe even a ship). Since we don't know where they're headed, we can't call this a mistake.
Maybe they're headed for an emergency-mobilized boat with a helicopter landing pad (owned or not by Mr Hammond?).
12th Aug 2017
Starship Troopers (1997)
Question: Is there any reason the humans can't simply use nukes, chemical weapons, fuel-air bombs, or bioweapons,, any kind of especially powerful, destructive bomb, shot from long distance, dropped from a plane, or better still, orbit, to fight the bugs? Yes, of course there are big downsides to any such action, but this does not strike me as a society restrained, patient, enlightened or with sufficient foresight to care about those.
Chosen answer: They do use nukes (to clear out bug caves) and fuel-air bombs (like they do before landing troops). It's possible biological and chemical weapons don't work on the bugs because of their physiology. Only nukes and Thermobaric weapons work.
Answer: Nukes, chemical, and bio weapons would render the planets uninhabitable. Not a goal when they want to colonize.
I have already stated these people are not that far-thinking.
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Correction: This mistake has already been corrected, twice. The military in control of the project might not have allowed them to experiment with different symbols simply because they didn't know what it might do. Not fully far fetched since the entire compound starts shaking when entering the 6th symbol. It might explode for all they know.
lionhead
Then the Abydos gate alone. Six symbols down. One to go. 40 odd guesses, easy enough, less than an hour.
dizzyd
You missed the point of the correction. It could have been 4 options and still not worth the risk of entering the wrong symbol.
Bishop73
Well, we don't know if the gate on Abydos makes everything shake. So, I'd say there is a point there. But they only discover the symbols on Abydos till later. By then, they are already at the tribe, I think.
lionhead