MikeH

2nd Oct 2023

House, M.D. (2004)

Wilson - S6-E9

Question: Why can't House be a doctor again after faking his death? I always assumed you can't be a doctor with a criminal record. And maybe you can't in real life, I'm not entirely sure. But in the House universe, it seems like you can, because House and Thirteen were still doctors after going to prison. So after Wilson dies, why can't House just go back to jail and then be a doctor again?

MikeH

Answer: He faked his death to avoid going back to prison. He chose to abandon medicine and his previous life for that reason. Considering House's past work history, conviction, and mental issues, it's doubtful a hospital would hire him.

raywest

Question: Wouldn't Max and the nuns have been tortured and executed for helping them escape?

MikeH

Answer: Quite possibly yes.

LorgSkyegon

Question: What would've happened if they were caught at the end?

MikeH

Answer: The likely responses of the Nazis would have been either to execute them all, or hold Captain von Trapp's family hostage while he served in the Kriegsmarine.

LorgSkyegon

25th Dec 2021

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Question: What if in the middle of the robbery, while Sonny was outside, he suddenly decided he wanted to surrender, while Sal was still in the bank, and didn't want to surrender? What would the police have done? Arresting him would've likely got the hostages killed, but they couldn't force him to go back in the bank.

MikeH

25th Dec 2021

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Question: What would've happened if Sonny drove the limo himself, refused to tell the police where they were going, and told the police not to follow them? Also, if Sal had hostages sitting behind him as well, making it impossible for the police to get a clean shot? How could the police have stopped them, without getting any hostages killed?

MikeH

Answer: No, they are part of the multiverse. The MCU is just one of those universes within the multiverse.

lionhead

Answer: I almost think the best way to refer to them would be to call them "MCU-Adjacent." Both answers nail it - they're not part of the MCU universe itself, but are canonical to it and co-exist alongside it thanks to the establishment of the multiverse. And considering the "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness" trailer teases Patrick Stewart as (presumably) Professor X, I think we could probably also apply this to pretty much any other Marvel adaptation ever made that was not made by Marvel Studios itself. It all co-exists and is all canonical to each other through the use of multiverses/alternate timelines/alternate dimensions.

TedStixon

Answer: Their respective movies themselves are not retroactively part of the MCU franchise, but since characters and events from those films crossed over here, they can be considered canon to the MCU's overall narrative.

Phaneron

Answer: No. It's explained that they are from another universe, and were sent back to their universes at the end of the film.

gobylo

Other mistake: After the Griswolds leave the German couple's house, the man says "Who the hell were they?", and the woman says "Beats the shit out of me." However, since they slept there overnight, they had enough time to discuss it in private much earlier.

MikeH

25th Oct 2021

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Question: What was the point of court martialling Doss? They said he couldn't go to war if he didn't use a gun, and they gave him the option to quit. So why wouldn't they just kick him out?

MikeH

Answer: Doss faced a court-martial because he refused the direct order of handling a rifle from camp commander Colonel Sangston. If the Army simply kicked him out, it could inspire other men to follow in his footsteps and refuse to carry a rifle. While Doss could not live with that shame, it can be assumed many others would not have that same problem.

Invader_Gir

Question: Why would Heywood start chanting "fresh fish"? Betting on who will break down is pretty bad, but I understand they probably have nothing better to do. But what was the point of starting the chant? He seems to feel bad when Fatass is beaten to death, but what was he expecting to happen?

MikeH

Answer: They were betting on who would break first out of the new inmates and the chant was meant to incite an emotional outburst from them. Most times, someone will just cry or break down. Heywood wasn't expecting Fatass to completely lose it and felt guilty because of his actions. This is one the first indicators in the film that some of the long term inmates like Heywood still have their humanity.

BaconIsMyBFF

20th Aug 2021

Liar Liar (1997)

Question: Does Fletcher also have the ability to know everything? Just think about this dialogue: Fletcher : Your honor, would the court be willing to grant me a short bathroom break? Judge : Can't it wait? Fletcher : Yes it can. But I've heard that if you hold it you could damage the prostate gland, making it very difficult to get an erection, or even become aroused! Judge : Is that true? Fletcher : It has to be! That dialogue implies that he had never heard that fact, but he still knew it.

MikeH

Answer: There's a lot of things people hear that aren't true (myths, old wives tales, etc), Fletcher only HEARD that it could damage the prostate, but it's not a real fact. Since Fletcher did hear the myth, he technically wasn't lying, even though he was wrong. While holding in your urine for extended periods of time can lead to some issues, like an infection, enlarging the prostate isn't one of them.

Bishop73

And, just to expand: Fletcher says it has to be true, but this is just due to his own imperfect understanding of what is happening to him. As the answer says, he says he HEARD it, which allows him to say it even if it's not a true fact. The important thing about the curse is HIS OWN perception of what he says. If he believes it himself, he can say it.

18th Aug 2021

The Santa Clause (1994)

Plot hole: Lots of police officers saw Santa flying at the end. This should've caused the world to accept Santa was real.

MikeH

18th Aug 2021

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Question: When the guy tackled Sonny, why wouldn't the police arrest him then?

MikeH

Answer: Because Sal was in the bank with his gun.

23rd Feb 2021

Star Wars (1977)

Question: Why was the original trilogy always titled episodes 4, 5 and 6, when the prequel trilogy wasn't even planned?

MikeH

Answer: The original wasn't. It was just "Star Wars" when I saw it in the theater. In fact Lucas wasn't planning on any sequels when he made the first. After the first made it as a big success and drafts of a sequel were started, the second was first numbered as 2, but Lucas decided on a series with prequels, so the first became number 4, and so on. For a long time after 4-6 came out, people doubted if 7-9, let alone 1-3 would every be made. It was 16 years between the release of #6 and #1.

jimba

Answer: It is true "Star Wars" was not originally called episode IV, but Lucas always had the idea of doing a sequels. His original script became too big for one film, so he took the first third of the script (Act 1) and turned it into "Star Wars." However, since the film gave no context or background information to the audience (we're basically just thrown into the action), Lucas took the opportunity when "Star Wars" was a success to plan on creating prequels.

Bishop73

Https://drbeat.li/album/Bücher/The_Secret_History_of_Star_Wars.pdf (pdf of "The Secret History of Star Wars"). And here is a quote from Lucas "The Star Wars series started out as a movie that ended up being so big that I took each act and cut it into its own movie...It was like a big script. It was way too big to make into a movie. So I took the first third of it, which is basically the first act, and I turned that into what was the original Star Wars."

Bishop73

14th Oct 2020

Papillon (1973)

Question: What's up with the chicken being crushed? I don't see how it could be fake. I assume it was an accident, but why would they continue like nothing happened? And why would they put it in the movie? And why haven't I seen anyone mention it?

MikeH

Answer: It does appear to be unintentional (or at least, unscripted), but they continue because when you're shooting a movie, you don't stop until you hear "cut", and especially at that time animal welfare wasn't necessarily a priority. I'm guessing no-one was concerned about the chicken, and so didn't feel the need to do anything about it. It's possible the film was made without an animal welfare monitor on set. As to why it's in the movie, the whole "marching to the prison" sequence was probably handled by the assistant director (as shots like this, not involving the principals or any substantive dialogue, often are) and they may have only done the one take. Who knows, they may have thought the injured chicken added realism to the scene.

Question: If Magneto didn't kill Shaw, what would they have done? It seems like killing him was the only possible way to stop him.

MikeH

Answer: Charles wanted to incapacitate Shaw and all he needed to do this was to get the helmet off. Once the helmet is off Charles could freeze Shaw and they could figure out a way to hold him. With no helmet Shaw is very little threat (if at all) to Charles. Erik kills a defenseless man unnecessarily.

BaconIsMyBFF

Actually Xavier says that he can only control this man for so long. Meaning he was struggling keeping him frozen like that. They didn't have forever. An option for Xavier could have been to release Shaw once he knew what Erik was going to do but that could cause Shaw to go nuclear on the spot and kill everyone.

lionhead

Yes, he could only hold him for so long but instead of taking the opportunity to incapacitate/capture him, Erik steals the helmet, gloats, and then slowly pushes a coin through his head.

BaconIsMyBFF

I'm not sure what the actual plan was. Charles freezing was the only thing preventing Shaw from killing everyone. Even if Erik manages to wrap Shaw into something, as soon as his mind is free he will be able to use his abilities. He killed him slowly, which was unnecessary, but killing him was the only option IMHO.

lionhead

Question: Why did Bruce need to fake his death? Why couldn't he just leave?

MikeH

Answer: He wanted to start a new life, which means shedding all aspects of his old one. Bruce Wayne was still a person of interest in the Gotham Wall Street scandal, with his death, his will would provide for and aid all the people affected by it.

21st Sep 2020

Joker (2019)

Answer: In a nutshell, it's because the film's protagonist is a mentally disturbed killer, and certain groups in America thought the film's violence would lead to copycat behavior.

Phaneron

I never got this aspect of the controversy, if anything, it goes to show what can happen when mental illness goes untreated.

ctown28

I agree with you on that, but unfortunately, there's so many people, at least in the United States, that have no sense of nuance and are prone to knee-jerk reactions. They would rather condemn and blame different kinds of media for society's ills, rather than stop and look at the message something is trying to tell.

Phaneron

I read about the concern over possible copycat behavior in an on-line article; Phaneron's answer is correct.

KeyZOid

Answer: Because the left thought it would encourage violence and mocked liberal run cities.The right thought the same on violence, it seemingly justified a mentally ill guy's actions, that it made white businessmen bad guys. Both sides in general only complained about Joker for attention.

Rob245

Answer: He was startled for a brief second, then quickly realised, Bruce had gotten the remote pilot device fixed on the Bat-Hover craft.

Question: What's the meaning of the text in the opening credits, starting with "For nearly forty years..."?

MikeH

Answer: The novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was published in 1900 and this film came out in 1939. Many adults that would be watching the movie would have read the book as children and remained "young in heart", meaning filled with childlike wonder and kindness that the story of Oz is filled with, etc. The story presents a philosophy of kindness that Time (i.e. growing older) has been powerless to make out of fashion (unpopular). The film is dedicated to those that have been faithful to the story of Oz and it's philosophy of kindness, and to the "young in heart."

Bishop73

9th Sep 2020

Breaking Bad (2008)

Answer: The flashback to Jesse and Jane helps remind the audience of what happened to her. That informed Jesse's decision to try and stop Andrea getting high.

Plus it could also be seen as Jesse remembering what happened to Jane.

Ssiscool

Question: What was the purpose of the flashback at the end?

MikeH

Answer: It was done as a way of showing Michael reflect on the past. To show the kind of person Michael was before the events of the two movies and how much he has changed since then. We also get to see the Corleone family at a much happier place before things started getting complicated. By this point in the story, Fredo has been killed and his wife has left him, and this flashback scene serves as a reminder of how much he has lost despite having everything.

Casual Person

6th Sep 2020

Deadpool 2 (2018)

Answer: That's one of his superpowers, "Comic Awareness" (sometimes called 4th Wall or Medium Awareness). This is something that Deadpool has in the comics and was incorporated into the films. Other than being a framing tool and to be funny, I don't know if the creator, Fabian Nicieza, or any writers have said why they gave Deadpool that power.

Bishop73

Deadpool's trait of breaking the 4th wall appears to have been the idea of writer Joe Kelly, as Deadpool didn't break the 4th wall for the first time until Deadpool #28 in May 1999, more than 8 years after his debut.

Phaneron

6th Sep 2020

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Question: Is this movie in the same universe as Reservoir Dogs? If it is, it would mean Mr Orange has a twin brother, who talks with a British accent for some reason. If it isn't, it would mean Vic and Vincent Vega aren't related.

MikeH

Answer: Short answer, yes, they're in the same universe. Tarantino has stated his films exist in two different universes. Basically a "real universe" and a "movie universe." Most (if not all) of his films are all set in this same "real universe" (like RD and PF) while some films, like "Kill Bill" and "Dusk to Dawn", appear in a special movie universe within the "real" universe (meaning they're actual movies that exist in the "real" universe). Some speculate that Mr. Orange was Pumpkin after he turned his life around and that PF is a prequel to RD. Although Pumpkin was called Ringo and not Freddy.

Bishop73

Only Jules calls him Ringo. It was not his real name. His name could still be Freddy.

lionhead

Answer: He wanted Jake to have his freedom. He couldn't keep him at the halfway house, and perhaps Brooks suspected he wouldn't be around much longer.

Brian Katcher

6th Sep 2020

Rocky II (1979)

Question: What made Apollo change his mind about wanting a rematch?

MikeH

Answer: Creed won the fight, but watched as the media and the public viewed it as a questionable victory. At the end of the fight, Rocky had defeated him, and the only reason he was still standing was that Rocky was holding him up to keep punching him. Creed had a huge ego, and couldn't stand people thinking he only technically won.

6th Sep 2020

Downsizing (2017)

Question: Is there anything preventing the small people from being stomped on by normal sized terrorists?

MikeH

6th Sep 2020

The Dark Knight (2008)

Answer: The Joker repeatedly lies throughout the film to keep his enemies confused. In this instance, it would be risky for him to tell Harvey that it was his goal all along to corrupt him, so he instead tells him he has had no plan.

Phaneron

Answer: He is a highly functional and highly intelligent psychopath. In the comic book universe, there is a saying about the Joker, "Always expect the unexpected."

Continuity mistake: When Nigel kicks a man, in one shot his hand is on his head, but in the very next shot it isn't.

MikeH

Question: Did Gulch say "damn"? It sounds like she says "If you don't hand over that dog, I'll bring a damn suit that will take your whole farm." But if she did, why is Gone With The Wind known for being the first movie to use the word?

MikeH

Answer: She said she'll "bring a damage suit."

Bishop73

20th Aug 2020

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Question: How is Rogers alive at the end? Shouldn't he have died of old age?

MikeH

Answer: It's safe to assume that due to the treatments he received that gave him his super-powers, he also ages a bit more slowly compared to other people. At least that's the way I took it.

TedStixon

Answer: While he may not really look like it in the film, based on information dates given in the film, Rogers would be 106 at then end. While not a common age to live to, it's certainly obtainable as non-super enhanced people have lived past that age (122 years old being the verified record). Also, it should be noted, people don't "die of old age." Being old doesn't kill you, disease, illness or injuries do.

Bishop73

20th Aug 2020

Joker (2019)

Question: What did Arthur mean when he said "They couldn't carry a tune to save their lives"? What does singing have to do with their deaths?

MikeH

Answer: The 3 men on the subway started singing 'send in the clowns' moments before they attacked Arthur. He is making a joke about their deaths, by saying their singing was really bad and that's why he killed them.

Answer: It's just an old metaphorical expression (not literally about singing) meaning someone is incapable of doing something properly or solving a problem.

raywest

20th Aug 2020

The Mask of Zorro (1998)

Continuity mistake: When Love is stabbed, there's no blood on the sword, but later there is. It couldn't have dripped down, since it's only at the end of the sword.

MikeH

Question: Do they explain why the T-800 looks older? Or is it just an unavoidable plot hole you have to accept?

MikeH

Answer: The T-800 is a metal endoskeleton covered in living human tissue. That human tissue still ages the same way a normal human would. This particular T-800 has been living in the current timeline since the early 1990's so he has aged at least 30 years and originally had the appearance of a roughly 40 year old man.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: When John said "I order you not to go", why didn't that work? Doesn't the T-800 have to do what John says?

MikeH

Answer: The T-800 has been learning since he has been with John and Sarah. John specifically has been teaching him to have compassion for human life. Stopping Skynet from ever coming to be is the ultimate way to protect humanity, even more important than following John's order to stay with him. In short, he has overcome his programming and is making a selfless sacrifice.

BaconIsMyBFF

10th Aug 2020

Django Unchained (2012)

Question: Why would Schultz and Candie risk their lives, and the lives of everyone around them, over a handshake?

MikeH

Answer: Schultz finds Candie to be a vile human being and being forced to shake his hand to seal the deal is just too much for him to accept. Candie never had any idea that Schultz would shoot him so he's not really risking anything in his mind. Candie is simply gloating over his opponent.

BaconIsMyBFF

10th Aug 2020

The Mask of Zorro (1998)

Answer: It's not specified. She recovered from the beating and presumably lived as a slave either until the end of the Civil War or until her death.

raywest

4th Aug 2020

Whiplash (2014)

Question: Why wasn't Erickson punished for being out of tune and not knowing it? Also, what would Fletcher have done if Metz said he was out of tune?

MikeH

Answer: Erickson isn't punished because, in Fletcher's mind, the greater sin is not being out of tune, or even of not admitting to it, but of not knowing it...Erickson knew he was out of tune (or at least, Fletcher thinks he did), so Fletcher let it slide. As to the second questions...do you mean, if Metz had said that Erickson was out of tune (because he does say he, himself, is)? Given Fletcher's personality and volatile nature, it's hard to say...he might have respected Metz for being able to identify who was out of tune, or he may have been even angrier at him for being a snitch. Probably the only person who can say for sure is Damien Chazelle. But I don't think there was anything Metz could have said in that moment that would have saved him.

Question: Why was Montero looking for Zorro in the prison?

MikeH

Answer: Zorro was the one person he feared, and wanted to make sure that he was dead or broken and hadn't escaped during his exile.

Brian Katcher

3rd Aug 2020

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Question: How come Malcolm could realise he was dead, but none of the other ghosts could?

MikeH

Answer: Ghosts can't move on until they've completed some unfinished business. Malcolm felt guilty for not helping the kid who shot him. By helping Cole control his powers, he was finally at peace and realised the true state of things.

Brian Katcher

To add: the little girl Cole helped uncover her murder definitely knew she was dead.

lionhead

Why do you say she knew? I didn't see any evidence. Cole says ghosts don't know they're dead. The girl wasn't after revenge, but to protect her younger sister, who the mother had started poisoning.

Brian Katcher

She is one of the few ghosts aware that she can use Cole to help her out. Leading him to the evidence of her murder shows to me she knew she was too late for herself. At the end of the movie it is even revealed that these ghosts probably unconsciously approach Cole for help, so they can move on. They can't do that unless they are aware, or if Cole makes them aware of it. For Malcolm it was even necessary for him to know he was dead before he could say his goodbye. Cole just needs to tell them.

lionhead

Answer: On top of it, Malcolm only realised he was dead when we saw his wedding ring drop from his wife's hand (he would have had it on him except if he were gone) and he saw her cold breath; these two things together helped him put all the pieces together (that we are shown in the movie) to show that she was grieving and mourning from his death and not that they were growing apart because he was wrapped up in a case (or to put it differently, he was so wrapped up in Cole that he did not notice that he hadn't had a conversation with his wife or even another human being for goodness knows how long - dead people see what they want to see).

Answer: Malcolm didn't realise he was dead until much later in the movie. By then he had a strong relationship with Cole, and being a psychiatrist, wanted to help him understand and cope with his ability and no longer fear it. Being a psychiatrist helped Malcolm analyse his own situation and work out that he had died. Once Cole was comfortable with his ability, Malcolm was able to move on. Also, as Cole noted, ghosts only saw what they wanted to see. Some were unable to come to terms with their deaths and therefore remained among the living.

raywest

3rd Aug 2020

Pitch Perfect (2012)

Answer: It wasn't just that she sang a song he likes, she sang arguably the most well-known song from his favorite film in front of a huge crowd of people. It was a public, heartfelt apology rather than the abrupt, private apology she gave earlier.

BaconIsMyBFF

Continuity mistake: In the elevator murder scene, in one shot there's not much blood on the wall, but in the very next shot there's much more.

MikeH

4th Jul 2020

The House (2017)

4th Jul 2020

Baby Driver (2017)

Continuity mistake: We see a close-up of Buddy being shot in the leg, with blood, but in the very next shot, there's no blood, or hole in his pants.

MikeH

Other mistake: When Brian shoots Tran, two bullet wounds appear in his shirt at the same time, which is impossible, because he was only shot by one person with a handgun. They also appear way too late.

MikeH

3rd Jul 2020

Casino Royale (2006)

Revealing mistake: In the torture scene, when we see a close-up of the chair while Le Chiffre hits Bond's testicles with a rope, the rope only hits the chair.

MikeH

3rd Jul 2020

Desperado (1995)

Continuity mistake: When the man sitting next to Tarantino is shot, in one shot there's no blood on Tarantino's face and neck, but in the next shot there is.

MikeH

Other mistake: Anne makes the Oscar Wilde joke right before Bill kills himself, but he mentions it in the suicide note, which he obviously wrote long before.

MikeH

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

Suggested correction: He wrote 2 letters, a longer one in the dresser drawer that he had spent time writing, and one that he wrote immediately before going to kill himself, explaining what he had done. The shorter one (referencing the Oscar Wilde joke) was written that evening while his wife was asleep on the couch.

Suggested correction: What evidence is there that he didn't write the suicide not that day?

It doesn't matter if he did, the point is he definitely wrote it before the Oscar Wilde joke. Right after the joke, he goes to the barn and kills himself. Anne is still on the couch, she hears the gunshot, she gets up and finds the note.

MikeH

Anne is on the couch, then it cuts to him in the barn. He could have easily written his note between the two shots.

Answer: He lets Jack go and decides to give him a one day head start before pursuing him again out of affection for Elizabeth, whom along with Will wanted Jack to be spared from execution for his good deeds.

Phaneron

Answer: At no point did he actually "let" him escape on purpose. Jack was always just too witty for Norrington (who is kinda slow). That's counting 3 occasions where Norrington failed to capture Jack, but perhaps you can be more specific as to which escape you are referring to.

lionhead

The escape is at the end of the movie. When Elizabeth and Will help Jack escape. Norrigton is asked if they are going to go after Jack but Norrigton decides to give him a head start.

In that case then, Norrington is confident that the British Navy can capture 1 pirate with relative ease.

Ssiscool

Answer: He is overly-confident that he is more capable than Jack and will easily catch him.

raywest

24th Jun 2020

Dear John (2010)

12th Jun 2020

Dear John (2010)

Continuity mistake: When John is repeatedly shot, in one shot there's a bullet hole in his shirt, but in the next shot it isn't there.

MikeH

10th Jun 2020

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Question: Why wouldn't Harry have told the police and the newspapers that he believed Spider-Man killed Norman? If he did, why wouldn't Jameson write about it? And why would everyone love him? And why wouldn't the police want to question him?

MikeH

Answer: Throughout this film as well as the previous film in this trilogy, Harry wants to exact revenge upon Spider-Man personally, so involving the police could complicate things; if Spider-Man were to be arrested and taken into custody, then Harry would have a much harder time killing Spider-Man himself.

zendaddy621

8th Jun 2020

Breaking Bad (2008)

Answer: The corpse was old and he was around people he knew. Seeing a severed head walking around on a turtle was just too much for him.

lionhead

Adding to this, he also hadn't just recently killed a man when an arm was ripped off. He was still going through PTSD after his shootout and killing of Tuco when the head thing happened.

Quantom X

Answer: Hank is very emotionally vulnerable at this point. He'd just had an intense shoot-out with Tuco that affected him more than he is willing to admit.

Question: Why was Elsa so horrified about the killing? We don't know how much she knew. Let's assume she thought the camp was full of luxury. She still knew they were imprisoning people. We don't know whether or not she knew the people were innocent, but either way, it still doesn't make sense. If she knew they were innocent, why would she have no problem with the imprisonment, but be horrified when she learned they were killing them? I know killing is worse, but she acted like she thought her husband was an angel, and then all of a sudden realised he was a monster. If she thought they were destroying the country, it makes no sense that she was so devastated they were being killed. Many people are against the death penalty, but I don't think anyone cries over bad people being executed. I also wonder how much the grandmother knew. She seemed angry, but not horrified.

MikeH

Answer: She represents what many people, including the wives of many Nazis, were during the time of the Holocaust: brainwashed. Many people during the time of Nazi Germany did not know what the camps truly were. They thought they were labor camps meant to keep Jews "under control" and "beneficial to society" as many thought they couldn't be trusted unless monitored. This shown in the movie where they show the "labor camps" as being resorts with swimming pools and cafes in the Nazi propaganda commercial. When she realises the camps are actually death camps; she is horrified for the reasons many others who supported Nazi Germany were horrified in real life. #1 They realised they were lied to and now have to question what they believed. #2 Many folks were afraid of Jews and did not trust them, but they did not think they were evil and deserving of death. This seems confusing in light of what we know now. However, at the time, many Germans including the wives of Nazis were brainwashed.

Question: Why wouldn't Shmuel escape? It would've been very easy. He could've done it the same way he let Bruno in.

MikeH

Answer: Samuel knew the dangers of the camp and knew that trying to escape would result in death. He knows Bruno is likely to be allowed IN to the camp as he is a German and Germans are running the camp. Plus, if Shmuel did escape, where would he go? He's 8, on his own and alone in the woods.

30th May 2020

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Stupidity: When Peter tried to stop the roof from crushing MJ, she could've easily lifted the wood that was on her, and/or crawled away.

MikeH

30th May 2020

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Question: Why would Aunt May realise she was wrong about Spider-Man just because he saved her? She always knew he saved people.

MikeH

Answer: I'd say this is typical of many people who disbelieve or discount something that does not personally affect them, but have a radical change of thinking when they personally experience it.

raywest

Answer: Because she was like this in the comic books for years until he said he wanted to help her in Amazing Spider Man issue 200 when she'd been held hostage by Mysterio then The Burglar. They merely did this as a nod to the likes of stories like that one.

Rob245

Question: Why would Shrek all of a sudden want to be scary, when in the original, he hated everyone treating him like a monster?

MikeH

Answer: He felt his life had become too complicated and thought he wanted to go back to a simpler time.

LorgSkyegon

30th May 2020

Matilda (1996)

Question: Why would Matilda interfere with the FBI investigation? Wouldn't she want her father to go to jail?

MikeH

Answer: At the end of the day, he's still her father, and she's a young child. It would be difficult for her to give the FBI the smoking gun.

Answer: No. She didn't get along with her family, but she was a basically kind girl who still looked out for her father.

Brian Katcher

Question: One thing doesn't make sense about the line-up: Benicio del Toro spoke that way for the entire movie. So what did he do in the line-up that was funny?

MikeH

Answer: Basically, the actors were improvising their answers, and their inflection, and kept trying to make each other laugh. Director Bryan Singer was angry at first, but eventually decided it fit their characters and their disregard/disdain for authority, and so used the takes in which they were cracking up. In this particular moment, they were laughing at the beginning of del Toro's part because, apparently, he had just broken wind.

Question: When Rambo put his hands up, why did Teasle give him orders like he was going to arrest him, only to then try to shoot him? Wouldn't it make sense to just do one or the other?

MikeH

Answer: Possibly to lull him into a false sense of security and then shoot him when his guard was down.

raywest

29th May 2020

Black Panther (2018)

Question: When Zuri disarmed Killmonger, why didn't he kill him? That would've been a lot smarter than letting him kill him. He easily could've done it.

MikeH

Answer: Zuri feels guilty for his role in the death of Killmonger's father, which is why he tells Killmonger to kill him instead of T'Challa. While Zuri himself probably doesn't actually want to die, I don't think he wants Killmonger dead either, which is why he wouldn't kill him. Also, as a royal advisor, it would probably be looked down upon by the other tribes if he violated the rules of the ritual combat. After all, one combatant has to defeat the other in order to rightfully claim the throne.

Phaneron

Zuri may not want Killmonger to die, but he knew that the duel would only end once one of the contestants would either surrender or die, meaning Killmonger would stil win or kill T'Challa. It seems a rather low price to be looked down upon or fired if it means your country doesn't go to war. At least, that would be a small price to pay for keeping the peace.

29th May 2020

Munich (2005)

Continuity mistake: When a man is shot, and falls onto the bed, in one shot there's no blood on the bed, but in the very next shot there is.

MikeH

29th May 2020

Scarface (1983)

Continuity mistake: When Shadow is shot, in one shot he's touching his face, but in the very next shot he's touching the detonator on his lap.

MikeH

29th May 2020

Breaking Bad (2008)

Show generally

Question: Can someone please explain the swearing rules? I'm not American, so I don't know which channels have to follow the FCC rules. But I heard AMC said they could only use one F word per season. Why would they make that rule? If they have to follow the FCC rules, they can't say it at all. If they don't, they can say it as much as they want. And aside from Season 2, they all had more than one. How did they get away with it?

MikeH

Answer: The FCC actually only regulates local broadcast channels. Cable channels - even basic ones - are free to depict as much violence, profanity, and sexual content (as long as it's not pornographic) as they want. However, they choose to scale back on that so as not to offend viewers and potentially drive away sponsors.

Phaneron

27th May 2020

Twilight (2008)

Answer: The same as anyone else. The Cullens live like normal humans. They have fake birth certificates, social security numbers, passports, and all other necessary I.D. All of the younger Cullens attend high school (again and again) like any other teenager. Carlisle Cullen is a doctor, and therefore would have fake medical credentials. Carlisle is immensely wealthy, having accumulated a fortune over the centuries. He has the means to provide whatever they need to maintain their human identities. That would allow Edward, and any of the others, to apply for a driver's license.

raywest

15th May 2020

Black Panther (2018)

Continuity mistake: When Killmonger cuts a woman's throat, in one shot a spear is not red, but in the very next shot it is.

MikeH

15th May 2020

Pay it Forward (2000)

Revealing mistake: When Trevor is stabbed, we can see the knife isn't in him, it's just pressed against his shirt.

MikeH

15th May 2020

Charlie Bartlett (2007)

Question: What exactly is wrong with cameras? It's a public area. They have no privacy either way.

MikeH

Answer: It is debatable if there is anything wrong with using cameras, but I can think of some possible answers to "what exactly is wrong with using cameras" at a school yard. Cameras symbolize authority over and oppression of students by the principal (and other authority figures). Cameras are indicative of a lack of trust of ALL students, but usually there is only a small percentage of trouble-makers. The use of cameras unjustly undermines the maturity of most students and makes the students resent the school authority figures. Cameras make the assumption that all the students are engaging (or might engage) in unacceptable behavior, which is offensive to the majority of students who follow the rules. Cameras are contrary to our value of "freedom" and that Uncle Sam does not have a right to constantly monitor citizens. People should not be videotaped in a free society if they have done nothing wrong. Many people simply do not like being videotaped. Cameras can record embarrassing acts.

Answer: Perhaps because many public cameras are recording peoples' actions.

raywest

That doesn't answer the question.

Brian Katcher

Meaning the recorded camera footage can act as a permanent film record of peoples' actions that can't be disputed easily.

raywest

Question: Did the guy in the car crash die? It looked like he did, but why wasn't it mentioned again?

MikeH

Question: Did the language get easier as the film went on, or did I just get used to it?

MikeH

Answer: Getting used to it is certainly a factor, but it also helps that Kubrick cut down on the Nadsat considerably when adapting the novel. What he does leave in is usually easy to understand from context (e.g, "trying to make up our rassoodocks" or "viddy well"). The Nadsat in Alex's narration in the novel is much denser and sometimes not so easy to interpret at first glance, to the point where early American editions had a glossary in the back.

15th May 2020

The Rookie (2018)

Answer: Window tool.

Answer: This hardly seem to be an automatic center punch. Standard tool for technical rescue from car accidents.

Answer: Yes. The Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp site was a huge area consisting of 3 separate camps, of which Camp II (Birkenau) was the biggest and had the commandant office and SS housing right next to it. The camp commander lived either close to camp II in the small town of Brzezinka or camp I, called the main camp. There were several houses and farms around the area and the town of Oswiecim in between all three camps. There were also several dozen subcamps.

lionhead

15th May 2020

Muriel's Wedding (1994)

Answer: Yes, she stole the dress.

raywest

6th May 2020

Focus (2015)

Question: Would it really be possible to trick someone's brain, the way they did with the number 55?

MikeH

Answer: Absolutely. There are many people (especially people who work on high commissions and con men) who are well practiced in subtle cues with body language. The elaborate process they went through in the movie greatly increased the chances he would make such a pick, but there was no guarantee. However, it was constructed with personal knowledge of the target. Even more strange was the fact that a string of some of his reasonable bets went bad (the missed extra point, the pick of the card, etc). Had they all not gone bad, it would have disrupted his faked desperation to the multi-million dollar bet.

6th May 2020

The Green Mile (1999)

Question: What did Paul mean when he said "we know people too"?

MikeH

Answer: He's saying that while Percy may have high government connections to be able to get them fired, he and the other guards have lower connections that could hurt Percy physically and make his cowardice in the face of Wild Bill public, humiliating him and also likely costing him his job.

LorgSkyegon

6th May 2020

House, M.D. (2004)

Answer: Perhaps just to screw with Foreman some more, perhaps to give him hope that he might be able to come back someday after Wilson is dead.

LorgSkyegon

6th May 2020

Breaking Bad (2008)

Answer: In an episode of Better Call Saul, we see Gus prevent someone from murdering Hector, and even pay for some of his treatment after Hector has a stroke. He wants Hector to remain alive in the state that we see him: bound to a wheelchair, unable to speak, unable to take care of himself. It's Gus' way of making Hector suffer. He felt a quick death would be letting Hector off too easy.

jshy7979

Answer: Gus considered killing Hector as being "too good for him." He wanted Hector to suffer in the same way he had suffered. Hector killed Gus' partner, so Gus worked to destroy Hector's family before gloating and killing him. Gus even prevented Mike from killing Hector for this very reason.

Answer: Because for as long as Hector was alive Gus could gloat over his enemy.

Ssiscool

28th Apr 2020

Breaking Bad (2008)

Answer: Part of reason for the firing was because George considered Gus a personal friend and ignored Hank's suspicions of Gus' involvement in the meth business. Even after questioning Gus, he still ignored Hank when Hank try's to tell him Gus is lying.

Bishop73

Answer: The DEA needed a scapegoat to throw under the bus as Gus made them look bad being right under their nose and George was the agent in charge so took the fall. And yes, had Hank not been killed he too would most likely have been fired.

The_Iceman

28th Apr 2020

She's All That (1999)

Question: Why would the bullies even do what Zack tells them to do? They could easily beat him.

MikeH

Answer: They might be able to beat him in a fight, but Zack is by far the most popular boy on campus. Fighting him would make them social outcasts. In addition, it is a movie cliche to show bullies exposed as cowards when they are directly confronted by someone with confidence.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: Why would Brad go to jail for refusing to rat Donnie out? Doesn't he have the right to remain silent?

MikeH

Answer: If you are referring to a person's Miranda Rights, it does not give someone the right to remain silent indefinitely or to conceal a crime. It is a notification police give to criminal suspects who are in custody, advising them of their right to refuse to answer questions or provide information to law enforcement or other officials during an interrogation. A person can also invoke their Fifth Amendment right while on trial, but that also does not protect them from being convicted of a crime.

raywest

Question: Is this the last movie in the Infinity Saga? I always thought Endgame was, but apparently I was wrong. Wouldn't it make more sense for Endgame to be?

MikeH

Answer: All MCU movies from Phase 1 through Phase 3 are considered to be in the Infinity Saga. Avengers: Endgame is considered to be the climax, while this film is considered to be the epilogue.

Phaneron

28th Apr 2020

Saw (2004)

Other mistake: Adam couldn't have been asleep underwater without dying. (00:01:00)

MikeH

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

Suggested correction: He wasn't asleep, he was unconscious, and woke up as soon as his head slipped underwater.

virtual-toast

28th Apr 2020

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Question: What happened to Loki? Does this mean he's now alive?

MikeH

Answer: The Loki from the original timeline is dead, but the 2013 Loki that is imprisoned on Asgard is presumably alive and well, and the 2012 Loki that escaped with the Tesseract is alive and supposedly, this version of the character will be the focus of his own upcoming Disney+ series.

Phaneron

Answer: The Loki who escaped is in a different timeline, so he will not encounter the "main" versions of the characters. This version of Loki will appear in the new series.

Question: How did Frank know Carl wouldn't open his wallet?

MikeH

Answer: He didn't. He took a desperate gamble that he could distract and then emotionally disarm Carl's normal defenses.

raywest

28th Apr 2020

Goodfellas (1990)

Question: Would Karen have died if she went into the store?

MikeH

Answer: The film leaves it ambiguous...it can be interpreted either way. She may have simply been being paranoid, but the circumstances, and Jimmy's behavior, were very suspicious.

Question: Is it possible to dig yourself out of a coffin?

MikeH

Answer: Technically, yes. However, you'd have to be in a (rather flimsy) wooden coffin, which is unlikely, unless you live in the past; you'd have to punch your way out before running out of oxygen, which is also unlikely (even with years of martial arts training that specifically included how to punch a hole in wood at very close range); and you'd have to escape before the roughly 65 cubic feet of dirt on top of you poured into the coffin and suffocated you anyway. Finally, Beatrix definitely gets some help through editing, which you won't have.

Answer: The actor was diagnosed with cancer and was going through treatment, and was physically unwell. As a result, he had to drop out of multiple projects, including "Malcolm in the Middle." He sadly passed away five years later.

TedStixon

Answer: Because the actor died unfortunately.

He actually died five years after the show ended. It was because he had cancer and was going through treatment, and was physically unable to continue doing some of his roles.

TedStixon

Answer: The above answer applies to Malcolm. Will was the character from the first movie, who was not in Dawn of Planet of the Apes. While no definitive answer was ever given, I think the safe bet is that he died of the Simian flu, along with millions of others.

jshy7979

Answer: At the end of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, they and the other surviving humans there packed up and left after the events. We don't know where they went.

Quantom X

Answer: Several reasons, the Vulture isn't really a super villain, but a man trying to provide for his family after being cheated by the government. He also can make Peter Parker squirm with fear knowing that he's Spider-Man. What will he do with that knowledge.

28th Apr 2020

Pretty Baby (1978)

Question: How is the underage nudity legal? I mean how was it legal to show underage nudity in the movie? How is it not child pornography?

MikeH

Answer: As long as there are no touching or actual physical contact with a child, even simulated sexual act, it is legal.

28th Apr 2020

Titanic (1997)

Answer: I think she wanted people to stop focusing on this valuable necklace. She wanted them to care more about love, and the Titanic passengers who died.

Answer: The necklace is called "The heart of the Ocean." While in the middle of the ocean, Rose had her heart captured by Jack Dawson. Rose returned the diamond to the ocean in the exact place where her heart was taken by Jack. As she says at one point, "A woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets"

Ssiscool

Answer: She basically gave it back to the ship. It was a symbolic gesture towards Jack as basically he died because of it.

lionhead

28th Apr 2020

Panic Room (2002)

Answer: They wouldn't in real life. This was a plot contrivance.

raywest

It does happen in real life, and it is sadly a common occurrence in big cities. Living in Los Angeles, I've had to dial 911 a few times. I was on hold for 5 minutes once, and I've read articles about people who have been on hold for way longer. With this film being set in New York city, this did not surprise me. Even Meg and Sarah don't seem too surprised by it, and they opt to call Sarah's father instead.

jshy7979

Answer: There could be a serious major event happening nearby where all the resources needed to be sent ASAP. The 911 operator had to prioritize and assumed the current caller's emergency - whatever it was - was less urgent. There could have been a shortage of operators for whatever reason.

KeyZOid

28th Apr 2020

Goodfellas (1990)

Answer: Because he didn't want his operatives turning into junkies, getting compromised, and putting him in legal trouble...which is exactly what happens with Henry.

Answer: Start to end Malcolm: 11 - 17 Francis: 16 - 23 Reese: 13 - 19 Dewey: 7 - 13.

28th Apr 2020

Thor (2011)

Answer: We aren't told for certain, but Loki mentions in Thor: The Dark World that there are secret ways out of Asgard. He may have known that the well he plunged himself into was a wormhole.

Phaneron

10th Apr 2020

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Question: How did Bernard even know Peter didn't stab Norman?

MikeH

Answer: Because he knew Peter was a good person, maybe knew he was Spider Man since he knew Norman was the Green Goblin.

Rob245

10th Apr 2020

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Question: Why wouldn't Bernard have told Harry about Norman's death instantly?

MikeH

Answer: He probably thought Harry wouldn't believe him and he was already upset over his death, so telling the truth would reveal Norman as having been the Green Goblin.

Rob245

Question: Other than bail, how did Clyde even attempt to expose any flaws in the justice system? It seems like all he did was kill people.

MikeH

Answer: He wanted to teach Nick a lesson. His entire revenge revolves around the whole justice system for doing deals with criminals.

10th Apr 2020

Holes (2003)

Stupidity: Why would Stanley say the shoes fell out of the sky? It happened under a bridge. Any normal person would instantly realise someone threw them off the bridge.

MikeH

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

Suggested correction: It's an idiom/expression. When something turns up out of nowhere, we say "it came/fell from the sky." In fact, Mr. Sir says this to Stanley when he finds Stanley with his empty bag of sunflower seeds, "Where did this come from? Did it fall from the sky?" Obviously a sarcastic way of saying, "it didn't get there by itself, someone put it there." So the shoes obviously fell from the bridge and Stanley knows this because Zero refers to the bridge later in the movie.

10th Apr 2020

Meet the Parents (2000)

Question: Why would Jack instantly believe the weed wasn't Denny's? Isn't he supposed to be a human lie detector?

MikeH

Answer: Confirmation bias - he believes what he wants to believe is true, since he wouldn't want to believe his own son is a drug user, and wants to believe Greg is.

Answer: There are certain physical tells for when someone may be lying as well. This is what Jack is doing at the end of the movie when he's interrogating Greg at the airport: checking his pulse, monitoring his breathing, and looking at his eyes.

LorgSkyegon

10th Apr 2020

Cool Hand Luke (1967)

Continuity mistake: When Luke is shot, in the impact shot blood splatters onto the window, and in the very next shot, there's instantly much more blood on the window.

MikeH

10th Apr 2020

Breaking Bad (2008)

Answer: He originally wanted him dead but over the year or so he was on the run he lost his family and his money and realised the horrible person he had become. He thought Jesse was already dead but when Pete and Badger told hi the blue meth was still in circulation he realised Jesse was being forced to cook and decided to save him because he was no longer the ruthless Heisenberg but was now back to being Walter Whiter.

The_Iceman

Answer: Tarantino once explained to David Carradine that Budd was also in love with Beatrix. He left the DVAS right after the wedding massacre because he was upset he had to kill her.

LorgSkyegon

Question: What if the Volturi died? Vampires would end up killing all humans, right?

MikeH

Answer: It would be rather difficult for the small number of vampires that exist to kill six billion humans. Even if they could, they would be eliminating their food supply. As to the Volturi, it's unlikely all three would die and at the same time. It's probable that a line of succession is in place to replace them. There are other vampires working within the Volturi organization that we don't happen to see.

raywest

Question: Since David was a politician, couldn't Elise have just looked him up?

MikeH

Answer: I would think so.

8th Apr 2020

Red Eye (2005)

Question: Do phones on planes really exist? I've never seen one.

MikeH

Answer: Yes, they were called "Airphones." They provided air-ground telephone services, although they were pretty expensive to use. They were more popular in the 90's, but by mid-2000's their use started to decline. In 2008 only a handful of airliners kept them in their planes, and even those were limited.

Bishop73

Answer: It was never revealed in the film series what happened to him.

raywest

8th Apr 2020

Love, Simon (2018)

8th Apr 2020

Mean Girls (2004)

Answer: Ms. Norbery definitely remembered the conversation (check the scene where she finds the page about herself and also the scene where she questions Cady in the gym) But she knew Cady was a good person at heart with good grades and decided to forgive her, knowing she learned her lesson. One of Cady's punishments was joining the Mathletes, although it's stated that Principle Duvall gave her other punishments as well.

Answer: Ms. Norbury thought Cady was a good student who made good grades and didn't think she was capable of doing something like that. Also, she may not have even remembered the conversation where she tells Cady she is a "pusher", as she encounters many students a day. One of Cady's punishments was that she had to join the mathletes.

5th Apr 2020

The Enforcer (1976)

Revealing mistake: When the man in the car is shot in the forehead, blood spurts out of the back of his head about a second after the bullet hole appears in his forehead.

MikeH

24th Mar 2020

The Green Mile (1999)

Answer: The Warden tells them to stop it, but Paul says "He's still alive...you want me to stop it while he's still alive?" They could've stopped it, but that would've left Del horribly burned and disfigured. They chose to continue until he was dead, then they shut off the chair.

21st Mar 2020

Dr. No (1962)

Question: Bond is the same character from this movie to Die Another Day, he doesn't age, but time still moves forward, Die Another Day is not set in the 60s. How do they explain that?

MikeH

Answer: The short version is they don't, you just go with it. Suspension of disbelief, sure it's a "mistake", but also so in your face that nobody cares, because it's a deliberate choice. Q gets older, Bond doesn't, that's how the world works. One fan theory is that "James Bond" is just a codename allocated to the current 007, so as to mislead/confuse our enemies, with each one learning the history that has come before. Fun theory, but no way to prove/disprove it either way. Although No Time to Die features a new 007 because Bond has quit, so that will likely kill that theory once and for all. When Daniel Craig's term as Bond ends will be interesting, because the films to date have been the only Bond films with a clear continuous through line, including him getting older, more beaten up, more accumulated history, etc. That's harder to hand-wave away with a recasting - previous Bond films were all pretty much entirely standalone.

Jon Sandys

21st Mar 2020

Rocky Balboa (2006)

Question: Wasn't Rocky supposed to have a brain injury from Rocky V, that prevents him from fighting?

MikeH

Answer: This is true, however it was something invented for Rocky V that was supposed to be from Rocky IV that was only introduced into V after. V is considered to be the worst film of the series with very poor reception. Stallone himself has even gone on record saying that he hates V. So this sixth film almost pretends that film never happened. V is still technically canon with this film, however six basically ignores a lot of problem with that film and tries to recton it. Does this create inconsistencies and continuity issues with the series? yes. Is the film better for it? Definitely. So where as that was supposed to be the case after V, they pretty much said with this film that no... we are not doing that any more pretend V didn't happen... but it did happen. It's a soft reboot in a way.

Quantom X

21st Mar 2020

Bridesmaids (2011)

Answer: The driver behind her couldn't see her brake lights and didn't realise she was stopping.

Brian Katcher

Plus the driver was also driving really close to her.

Turangaa_Maxx

21st Mar 2020

Shooter (2007)

Answer: He said, it'll end up being buried somewhere, locked away and never to be seen again. They wouldn't want it to get out that a U.S. Senator sanctioned a village massacre.

21st Mar 2020

All About Eve (1950)

Answer: As I recall, and it's been some time since I've watched the movie, Karen was part of the plot to have Margo miss a performance so that Eve, Margo's understudy, would have an opportunity to perform the part, for which she received rave reviews. Karen and the others arranged to take a day trip out of town before the performance, and then get "stranded" so they couldn't get back to New York in time for Margo to perform in the play.

raywest

21st Mar 2020

Calvary (2014)

Answer: I think he did. That's what made everyone so uncomfortable during the meat locker scene. He even alludes to the bishop that he knows who made the threat in the confessional. The movie wasn't about him preserving his life, but him fulfilling his role as a priest and meeting people at their darkest spaces.

21st Mar 2020

Forrest Gump (1994)

Answer: Even though it's never seen, they were most likely sent to live with other relatives. What happened to them after that is unknown.

Question: What reason did Bella give Charlie for going to Italy?

MikeH

Answer: It's unknown if she gave Charlie a reason. As she was 18-years old, she was free to go. She may have generally told him it had to do with Edward being in trouble, but would not have gone into details.

raywest

Question: Why are the Volturi even needed? If humans know about vampires, there's nothing they can do about it. What if a vampire uploads a video of themselves to YouTube, and it instantly goes viral?

MikeH

Answer: People do not know vampires exist. The only thing known is through myths and legends, which no-one believes is real. The Volturi exist to act as a centralized, albeit loose, form of vampire government, that other vampires rely on to maintain their community. Any vampire breaking the laws or doing anything that exposes their world faces death, so it's unlikely any would violate the code of secrecy.

raywest

Answer: Considering how badly Jacob was injured during the battle with Victoria's vampire army in which his ribs were crushed, it is unlikely that the shape-shifting wolves are bullet proof.

raywest

Question: Will Renesmee ever die of old age? And would it be possible for her die from something a regular human could die from?

MikeH

Answer: Renesmee is not immortal, but will live an extraordinary long life and she will age slowly. It was never revealed if half-breeds can succumb to human ailments. Considering half-breeds are extremely rare, it's unlikely anyone knows.

raywest

Question: Jacob almost murdered a baby. He only decided against it when he involuntarily imprinted. Why would the Cullens still welcome him in their house after that?

MikeH

Answer: It was never shown that the Cullens knew Jacob intended to kill Renesmee, only that he imprinted on her. Edward may have read his thoughts later, but kept this to himself after realizing Jacob would be forever bound to Renesmee as her protector.

raywest

Question: If Edward had successfully revealed himself, would the Volturi have killed everyone who saw?

MikeH

Answer: It's unlikely they would do that. People may claim to have witnessed some strange event, but unless there's tangible rather than anecdotal evidence, this usually, over time, is dismissed. Killing the witnesses would garner unwanted attention on the Volturi.

raywest

Question: Since werewolves stop ageing, wouldn't humans notice?

MikeH

Answer: The werewolves in the Twilight series are Quiliute Native Americans who mostly live on their reservation, have their own school, own legal system, etc. Being as it's a rather cloistered society, it would be easy for certain members to generally go unnoticed.

raywest

Question: What would Jacob have done if Renesmee left? Would he have followed her? Wouldn't it be emotionally painful for him to be away from her?

MikeH

Answer: If, in the future, Renesmee left, Jacob would have to accept that, regardless of whether or not he was emotionally hurt by it. Because he imprinted on her, he is bound to abide by her needs and decisions.

raywest

Question: In the end credits scene, what is it that the Volturi wanted? If it was Renesmee, is that a mistake, since they were informed about it in part 2?

MikeH

Answer: They want Alice because she can see into the future, which would be a significant advantage to the Volturi. Aro destroys other covens, sparing the one member who has some special ability.

raywest

21st Mar 2020

Calvary (2014)

25th Feb 2020

Lord of the Flies (1990)

Continuity mistake: When Piggy is killed, in one shot there's only a bit of blood on his head, but in the very next shot it's all over his face.

MikeH

13th Feb 2020

Man on Fire (2004)

14th Jan 2020

The Inbetweeners (2008)

First Day - S1-E1

Stupidity: In the bar, making the random man sit with them while they had their drinks was completely pointless, since the bartender believed Jay was an adult.

MikeH

8th Jan 2020

House, M.D. (2004)

The Jerk - S3-E23

Question: Why did Nate beat his chess opponent after winning? I know it's revealed that he's simply a jerk, but that's not the behaviour of a jerk, it's the behaviour of a psycho, and it seems like it wasn't addressed.

MikeH

Answer: The hemachromatosis the patient suffered from can cause rage attacks due to hormone imbalances.

LorgSkyegon

Answer: If by your question you are referring to all the complicated math formulas in the film, if Affleck and Damon themselves aren't well-versed in that area, then they would have hired an advisor for the film.

Phaneron

Answer: The answer is not necessarily one or the other-geniuses sometimes do extensive research. The answer also depends on how "genius" is defined/measured. I have read several online articles asserting that Matt's [and Ben's] IQ is "as high as 160." One definition of genius is having an IQ over 160, suggesting that maybe he is and maybe he isn't! (Real helpful, huh?) But there are different tests to measure IQ and IQ scores are only based on certain factors. Many experts assert that the really high IQ scores don't exist and/or there is no known test that can accurately measure very high IQs. I wondered about the math questions/proofs in the movie and don't know if they are real examples or if they are just a bunch of symbols slapped together to give the appearance of advanced mathematics. High IQ people tend to be eccentric, socially awkward, and/or loners who "do their own thing"; Matt does not appear to fit this profile. Psychologists, such as Matt's mom, have access to IQ tests.

KeyZOid

Continuity mistake: When Eric is held at gunpoint, in one shot the gun is pressed against his head, but in the next shot it's far from him.

MikeH

24th Nov 2019

The Family Man (2000)

20th Nov 2019

Whiteout (2009)

Continuity mistake: In the autopsy scene, in one shot Doc's hand is on the table, but in the very next shot it's in the air.

MikeH

16th Nov 2019

Forrest Gump (1994)

Audio problem: In the shot that shows Forrest punch a man three times, there's problems with the sound effects. The first punch has no sound. The other two are too late, they appear after the punch.

MikeH

16th Nov 2019

Sliding Doors (1998)

Continuity mistake: In the sex scene, the positions of Gerry's hands on Lydia's back keep changing in each shot. The movie was edited for a PG-13 rating in America, this mistake is only in the uncut version.

MikeH

11th Nov 2019

Ender's Game (2013)

Question: If Ender would destroy the planet in the simulation, why wouldn't he do it for real? The simulations are supposed to be practice.

MikeH

Answer: For the same reason when you are playing a video game you will run people over, or shoot them without figuring out who they are. He thought it was the equivalent of a video game, i.e. not real, so he would potentially do things he wouldn't do if he thought it was real. This is the very reason the power structure put them into a real operation while leading them to think it was a simulation, so they would be likely to act when faced with a moral dilemma.

jimba

11th Nov 2019

Ender's Game (2013)

Question: Maybe this is explained better in the book, or maybe I just wasn't paying attention. But at the end, when Ender killed all the Formics, did he kill any innocents, or were they all involved in the first invasion? Because Ender never mentions innocents being killed, that would be a pretty good argument as to why it was wrong. If they were all involved in the first invasion, I don't see anything wrong with killing aliens that murdered millions of humans.

MikeH

Answer: In the book, Ender had grown disillusioned with military school and was depressed. Destroying the entire Formic homeworld was his attempt to force the school to expel him, by enacting a suicidal plan of action so ruthless his superiors would believe him unfit for leadership. In the film it appears that Ender is simply trying to win the game as best he can. As for the Formics themselves, they operate with a hive mind so in a sense, yes they were all "involved" in the invasion of earth. However, wiping out of the entire civilization in retribution, especially once the audience hears the Formic queen express her dismay over the Formic's actions, is evil. The film somewhat glosses over this fact, but in the books it is clear the Formics did not understand that humans were sentient at all because they could not comprehend an intelligent species lacking a shared consciousness.

BaconIsMyBFF

Yeah misunderstanding is the constant of the book series.

lionhead

3rd Nov 2019

Children of Men (2006)

2nd Nov 2019

Detroit (2017)

Factual error: Since the movie was set in the 60s, David Senak couldn't have gotten in trouble for shooting the man running away. In the 60s, the police could legally shoot any criminal running away. This didn't change until Tennessee v. Garner in 1985.

MikeH

20th Sep 2019

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Stupidity: When Doss buried the wounded soldier, leaving one eye out made no sense. It did nothing to help him. All it did was make it easier for the Japanese to spot him. It would've made sense to leave his nose and/or mouth out, so he could breathe. He did not need to see.

MikeH

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

Suggested correction: A person who is unable to see is more likely to panic. When Doss buried the wounded Marine, he asked him to take a deep breath and trust him. By leaving one eye open, it allowed him to see the gravity of the situation as IJA soldiers walked by and maintain eye contact with Doss who hid under a dead Marine. After the suspicious IJA soldier bayoneted the body over Doss, he looked directly at where the wounded man was buried and kept walking. It was a crude method, but it likely saved them both.

Invader_Gir

18th Sep 2019

New Jack City (1991)

27th Aug 2019

Dear John (2010)

20th Aug 2019

House, M.D. (2004)

Answer: As long as the leg remains physically viable, even if it's impaired and not causing chronic pain, a reputable doctor would not amputate simply because a patient wants it removed.

raywest

Answer: This could be due to any number of reasons. Hospitals might not perform the operation so long after the accident especially since he is known to be working and living with the condition.

Ssiscool

Continuity mistake: The Bride cuts off both of Sophie's arms, but when she throws her into the hospital, she has one arm. (This mistake is only seen in the extended Japanese version of the film - in other versions only one arm is cut off).

MikeH

3rd Aug 2019

The Jackal (1997)

26th Jun 2019

The Heat (2013)

Other mistake: In the hospital, Mullins says she took the bullets out when she threatened to shoot Julian in the groin. However, we saw her leave one bullet in.

MikeH

28th May 2019

Taken (2008)

Answer: They checked whether her hymen had been broken.

BaconIsMyBFF

26th May 2019

Groundhog Day (1993)

Question: How does the time loop affect everyone else? Like does it create a new timeline each time, or does the whole world reset every morning?

MikeH

Answer: It only affects Phil, nobody else is affected as the world is indeed reset every time.

lionhead

24th May 2019

Enter the Dragon (1973)

Revealing mistake: When Han is impaled on a spear, we can briefly see he's strapped to the mirror as it turns.

MikeH

8th May 2019

Whiplash (2014)

Question: The man with his daughter, was that Sean Casey?

MikeH

Answer: No. Sean Casey "died in a car accident" according to Fletcher, but he actually killed himself after feeling traumatised by Fletcher's teachings.

Question: Why was Ron angry with Harry for allegedly putting his name in the Goblet of Fire?

MikeH

Answer: Ron was becoming a jealous of Harry's fame and, feeling inadequate, was tired of being in his shadow. He (wrongly) believed Harry had entered his name into the Goblet for the attention.

raywest

Why does he think Harry did it? Ron was with him when the others put their name in and he couldn't have done it overnight because prefects roam the grounds.

Ron knows that Harry had the cloak, and that Harry can generally get away with a lot more than other students.

Ssiscool

Answer: Harry has an invisibility cloak and the Marauders Map, easily undetectable to anyone but Mad-Eye Moody. I'm sure Ron thought that Harry could have slipped away; surely they aren't together every second of the day. Ron was jealous, it doesn't have to make sense.

23rd Apr 2019

Easy A (2010)

Question: Why was Rhiannon angry with Olive? Why would she care who she has sex with?

MikeH

Answer: It wasn't just that Rhiannon believed that Olive had slept with someone. She was angry and upset over the new trampy behavior that Olive was taking on to become more "popular."

raywest

23rd Apr 2019

Labyrinth (1986)

Answer: They are real. This is seen when Jareth turns into an owl and Sarah sees him fly out of the house. Further proof of this is when everybody that Sarah met were in her room and Jareth was looking into her room before flying off.

Answer: It's implied that it was real.

raywest

Question: What was the point of the "shooting the dog" test?

MikeH

Answer: It was to test whether the candidates were willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. If they were willing to shoot the dog they had been caring for, it means they would be willing to make a tough choice in the field to complete a mission.

Answer: To see who is kind hearted or cold blooded, a spy has to make tough choices in the field.

4th Apr 2019

Casino (1995)

Answer: Ace greeted the woman he was talking to, and he took it as disrespect.

2nd Apr 2019

Misery (1990)

Answer: Simple answer, she was a psychopathic killer. She was a nurse, and infants were accessible, helpless victims.

raywest

15th Mar 2019

Movie 43 (2013)

Question: Is there any way to watch the two deleted segments?

MikeH

13th Mar 2019

Point Break (1991)

Continuity mistake: When Grommet dies, at first there's lots of blood on his face, but then there's all of a sudden a lot less.

MikeH

12th Feb 2019

Doctor Strange (2016)

Question: Why didn't Strange heal his hands and continue being a surgeon?

MikeH

Answer: Medically, he could not heal his hands. He spent his entire fortune trying to return to being a surgeon through experimental procedures. Once he completed his training to become a sorcerer, he realised there was more to the world than he realised. The Ancient One correctly stated that he was a surgeon for his own ego; he wanted to prove he was the best and helped people for that reason only. By joining the sorcerers he was given a greater purpose and chose this over returning to his former life.

His hands were healing, just not quickly enough for his needs. This was showing his egotistical attitudes.

Answer: For now, he is still in the midst of studying the mystical arts that he has not yet mastered and may not be able or interested in returning to his former profession at this time. He has also assumed the role as caretaker of the New York Sanctum, and is dedicated to helping protect Earth (along with the London and Hong Kong Sanctums) from threats by the other dimensions.

raywest

26th Jan 2019

The Truman Show (1998)

Question: What ended up happening with Truman's "father"? It seems like him returning convinced him to stay, but then all of a sudden he decided to leave. So does that mean he was faking it when he hugged him, and he knew he wasn't actually his father?

MikeH

Answer: His reaction to his father's return was genuine. However, as time went on more clues helped him realise some of the truth. Enough, in fact, that he became determined to learn what was actually going on.

26th Jan 2019

Philadelphia (1993)

Question: Can someone please explain the scene in the hallway at the basketball game? It seems to suggest that Andrew actually wasn't fired because of his sexuality or AIDS. But I thought the point of the movie is that he was.

MikeH

Answer: My take was that one of his firm's issues was that they didn't consider him a "victim" of the disease because, unlike his co-worker who contracted the AIDS virus from a blood transfusion, he was infected due to what they considered were his reckless and immoral life-style choices.

raywest

Question: How come Connie knew Michael killed Carlo, but she believed Fredo drowned?

MikeH

Answer: When Connie says the part about "Poor Fredo, drowned, but it was God's will...Michael, I love you. I'll always help you," she is really telling Michael that she knows he had Fredo killed, but she forgives him.

Answer: Fredo lived for a long time after his betrayal of the family, plus when their Mother died Michael hugged Fredo in front of everyone after Connie talked to him about forgiving Fredo. I believe that Connie believed that Michael had forgiven Fredo that day and it was an accident. Anthony was supposed to go with them that day and she is the one that stopped Anthony from going, so I also think that plays into why Connie believes it was an accident as well.

Answer: It's less that she believes it than that she chooses to believe it. In the first film, she's naive about Michael, her father, etc., and so doesn't understand the realpolitik behind Michael's killing of Carlo. By the third film she's become much more inured to the family business (as well as more cynical and world weary), and so accepts the "official" explanation for Fredo's death even though she knows, deep down, it isn't true.

I'd add that by the time of Fredo's death, Connie knew Michael had grown more powerful and was becoming more dehumanized. She feared him enough to know to never confront him directly. After her husband's execution, she knew that any disloyalty to the family would be severely punished. She was also totally dependent on him for money and would not risk losing that.

raywest

29th Dec 2018

I, Tonya (2017)

Question: Did people actually care about figure skating? I wasn't alive when this happened, but apparently it was one of the biggest sporting controversies of all time. Well I find that quite hard to believe, since before this movie came out, I'd never heard anyone talk about figure skating, I barely even knew what it was. Was figure skating ever actually a big thing, or do people just like controversy?

MikeH

Answer: It used to be a lot more popular. The Harding/Kerrigan Winter Olympic figure skating competition was the 6th highest rated program in TV history as of 1994, with 48.5 million viewers, no doubt helped by the controversy. It's slowly declined over time - from 1998 to 2018 viewing figures for the US championships declined by 1/3. Opinions about its loss of appeal range from a change in the scoring (used to be judges rating out of 6.0, now it's a more complicated points system), to a lack of "star power", with recognisable names grabbing people's attention. In the UK at least, skater team Torville and Dean were household names for a long time, but I'd imagine a lot of people would struggle to think of skaters with that level of popular recognition nowadays. That said, viewing figures for the 2018 US championships were 60% up on 2017, and membership of the US figure skating organization has risen for the last four years - these things wax and wane like any other.

Jon Sandys

27th Dec 2018

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Question: If Mr Orange was a cop, why was he so scared when he saw the cops in the bathroom?

MikeH

Answer: He's not actually in the bathroom. He's telling a story from the perspective of a criminal with bags of drugs on his presence who walks into a bathroom full of cops and this is how he feels in his story.

The_Iceman

Answer: Orange is telling a story to convince the other characters he is a criminal. In that story he is hiding drugs which the police dog can smell. As he tells it he is afraid of getting caught but the police ignore him. Orange has made all this up based on an anecdote from his police buddy but he is trying to make it realistic and entertaining to the rest of the crew.

Question: Why would they make Anne Australian? Her nationality isn't even mentioned, so why would they let Abbie Cornish use her natural accent? What purpose does it serve? It seems like an incredibly random choice. Abbie Cornish has used an American accent in most of her roles, so of all the ones to use her natural accent, why would she use it in the one where it makes the least sense? Why would an Australian go to a small Ozarks Missouri town? I assume she stayed there because she met Bill and fell in love with him, but why would she have gone there in the first place, before she met Bill?

MikeH

Answer: Since the movie doesn't tell us how she and Bill met, any answer about how and why she was there would be mere speculation. Letting an actress speak in her native accent is not exactly "random"; random would be if she was an American and the writer/director decided to make her character Australian. However, the situation of an Australian marrying someone from, and then living in, a small Missouri town is not as outlandish or nonsensical as one might think; I used to date someone from a tiny town in Kansas, whose mother was an upper-class British woman who happened to meet and marry someone from that town.

5th Nov 2018

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Question: At the end, why did Mr Orange confess he was a cop and apologise?

MikeH

Answer: Mr. White, despite being a criminal, has proven to have a certain degree of honor and integrity. He has also been defending Mr. Organge the entire film - to the point he took a bullet for him. Mr. Orange feels he deserves the truth, as there is a deep mutual respect between the two. I wouldn't necessarily call it a "friendship" as the other answer suggests, as it is based on a lie and therefore would be very one-sided.

TedStixon

Answer: He felt he and Mr. White were friends and that he deserved the truth. He apologised for misleading and lying to him and for causing him to shoot his long time friend Joe.

The_Iceman

Question: Why would Harry say Voldemort killed Cedric? Obviously it was Wormtail.

MikeH

Answer: Wormtail was acting on Voldemort's order. Voldemort ordered Pettrigrew (Wormtail) to, "kill the spare," meaning Cedric.

raywest

With Voldemort's wand even.

lionhead

Answer: Peter Pettigrew was believed to be dead by the entire wizarding world. The only witnesses are Lupin (a werewolf), Sirius, who is still on the run, Harry, Ron and Hermione. No one believed him about Voldemort returning, as they thought he was only seeking attention. Its safe to assume everyone would also think the same about Pettigrew being alive.

4th Oct 2018

Braveheart (1995)

Question: Why did they decapitate Wallace after he said "freedom"? I thought they implied that if he said "mercy", they'd give him a quick death, but if not, they'd continue to torture him. So what would they have done if he said "mercy"?

MikeH

Answer: In the end, they just gave up. They realised he was not going to say it before dying anyway, so they ended it. If he would have said "mercy" they would have done the same thing, but it didn't matter anymore. They couldn't break him.

lionhead

2nd Oct 2018

Goodfellas (1990)

Question: When Tommy was shot, Henry said they shot him in the face so his mother couldn't give him an open casket. Why would they care about that?

MikeH

Answer: Family, and respect for the family, is deeply ingrained in Mafia culture (and in Sicilian culture). Denying Tommy a funeral wherein his family can pay their last respects (the purpose of the open casket) shows the extent to which Tommy angered and alienated his bosses and cohorts.

26th Sep 2018

Toy Soldiers (1991)

Other mistake: When a cop is shot in the chest, the bullet hits him more than a second after the gun is fired. It should've been almost instant.

MikeH

10th Sep 2018

Batman Returns (1992)

Question: Why did everyone completely ignore Penguin biting a man's nose off?

MikeH

Answer: He didn't bite it off, but almost. The people in the room are all just power and money hungry, they decide to ignore it in hopes to keep their job.

lionhead

Answer: The same reason real-world employees might not say anything if their boss is abusive or inappropriate - they want to stay quiet and keep their jobs. Best not rock the boat, so to speak. Also, both Penguin and Max Shreck are very influential people - not exactly the sort of people you'd want to mess with or contest. Hence, everyone sort-of just ignores what happened and continues on with their day.

TedStixon

30th Aug 2018

Coach Carter (2005)

Other mistake: When Renny is shot the first time, we can see two bullet holes in his shirt, when there should be one.

MikeH

30th Aug 2018

Matilda (1996)

Answer: The "real world" answer is that it's a movie, and without Trunchbull, there's no villain at the school for Matilda to battle. Within the context of the film, everyone, including the staff, is afraid of her and fear if they speak up, she'll retaliate.

Answer: They would have been simply too afraid of the Trunchbull to report her.

30th Aug 2018

Freedom Writers (2007)

Revealing mistake: When the boy accidentally shot himself, the gun wasn't pointed in the right direction at all.

MikeH

Question: Why was Beatrix so shocked to hear Elle killed Pai Mei?

MikeH

Answer: When Beatrix trained with Pai Mei we see that if you listen to him and respect him then he has a lot to teach. She wasn't so much shocked that Elle killed him...she is shocked at the lack of respect Elle showed in killing him.

oddy knocky

16th Aug 2018

Chicago (2002)

Question: Viewers always say Katalin Helinszki was innocent. How do you know? Sure, she said she was innocent, but so did some of the others.

MikeH

Answer: Many feel she was innocent because she was the only one during the Cell Block Tango scene not holding a red scarf (indicating the other women had blood on their hands). The others boasted about what they'd done while she proclaimed her innocence. She was also the only one executed, probably because she was unable to defend herself due to her poor English. There may have been discrimination against her because she was foreign.

raywest

Also during her dance, the light that shown down on her was white while the others were either in the dark or under a red light for the blood they shed.

Answer: She didn't, she tried right away. Then Bill called her at the last minute and stopped her, out of respect for the Bride. It's only after this that we cut to four years later, when she wakes up.

Question: Why did Jasper need to pay Buck to let him rape The Bride? Why couldn't he just walk in and do it for free?

MikeH

Answer: Buck is wearing scrubs in the scene, so he probably works at the hospital. (A Kill Bill wiki says that he is a nurse.) Jasper is paying Buck for access and to not be disturbed while he commits the rape.

Question: Harry told Dean he had enough information on him to have him locked up for life. What information was this?

MikeH

Answer: Details aren't given, but it seems that Dean is involved in local crime along with the gang that hangs around with him. Even if Harry is bluffing, and doesn't have specific proof, it is clear that he is abusive and he has the recording of him threatening Eggsy.

Answer: CCTV surveillance and such like. And a possible kingsman informant embedded in the gang leaking incriminating info. Or police informer who reports to kingsman. Or, y'know, he was lying.

Alan Keddie

6th Aug 2018

Wild Things (1998)

Other mistake: When Ray shoots Kelly twice in the chest, and then himself once in the arm, all three shots are heard within a few seconds. However, in the flashback at the end, Ray shoots himself about ten seconds after.

MikeH

27th Jul 2018

House, M.D. (2004)

Answer: Because the part of House was written as an American and the part of Chase wasn't.

Greg Dwyer

Continuity mistake: Tanaka's severed head lands on the table and stops rolling, meaning it should stop moving. However, it then falls off the table.

MikeH

10th Jun 2018

Gone Girl (2014)

31st May 2018

Man on Fire (2004)

Question: Why did they put "A special thanks to Mexico City: A very special place" in the credits? Was that supposed to be a joke? The movie didn't portray it as very special.

MikeH

Answer: This was likely meant as an appreciation to the city and its people for their support and assistance during the film's production, and was not a jokey reference to how Mexico City was portrayed in the movie. It's typical for movies to express gratitude to a city, state, the citizens, etc. for their cooperation.

raywest

Answer: It could also be sarcasm cause I read that the crew was robbed at gunpoint several times during filming.

13th May 2018

Knocked Up (2007)

Continuity mistake: When Ben and Allison have dinner, in one shot Allison's hand is on her face, but in the very next shot it's down.

MikeH

Answer: They did recognize each other (at one point he goes to her house without asking her address). After the divorce, Howard said that he wished they were strangers again. They literally behaved as if they never met each other before (even though Madeline is gently pushing to move past being strangers - for example, by guessing he's divorced).

2nd Apr 2018

Carol (2015)

Stupidity: Carol attempting to shoot the tape recorder was incredibly stupid. If the gun was loaded, it would've ended up much worse for her. Everyone in the motel would've heard. She would've been arrested, possibly jailed, and she would've had to explain why she shot it.

MikeH

Other mistake: When Sarah and Casey learn they're only getting a small portion of the money, Kenny says "Wait, you guys are getting paid?" However, he was there when David agreed to pay Casey $1000. He knew she was getting paid.

MikeH

25th Mar 2018

Horrible Bosses 2 (2014)

Stupidity: When Hatcher asked Rex why he didn't call the police, he could've said his hands were tied, which they were.

MikeH

22nd Mar 2018

Goodfellas (1990)

Question: Why did Jimmy tell Henry he wasn't going to kill Morrie, only to then have him killed?

MikeH

Answer: Well, for starters, I think Jimmy, despite being a complete sociopath cared a bit about Henry's mental state and well-being and just wanted him to calm down, enjoy his night and we can see it worked. Second, Jimmy might, just might at that moment feel like it wasn't the right night to kill Maurie since he was more of an annoying nuisance than a real threat, he was without being asked given the Chance to just forget the money and let it go, symbolizing Jimmy's murderous greed. Third...WHY should he tell Henry Hill that he will kill him? He benefits nothing, it puts him in a vulnerable position and Jimmy, more than likely has noticed Henry's tics, excessive sweat and bug eyes, pretty sure the guy is hooked on coke, meaning as Tommy jokingly but in nice foreshadow says "You may fold under questioning." Telling Henry he will spare Morrie becomes his Teflon armor at this point cause Henry at this point would never even suspect a good fella like Jimmy to lie to him "of all people" about something like that...That is my take on it anyway.

Answer: It wasn't so much that Jimmy decided to kill Morrie after all. Tommy was annoyed by Morrie and decided on the spot to kill him himself. It was Tommy who wanted Morrie dead at that moment.

Question: How could Ames have received the death penalty if he didn't actually kill Clyde's wife and daughter?

MikeH

Answer: They made a deal with Darby. Darby testified saying Ames was the one who killed the wife and daughter in order to get a reduced sentence. Since Shelton's testimony was inadmissible because he blacked out it was Darby's word again Ames'.

scaryterri

Answer: He was a participant in a felony during which someone died. That means the felony murder rule applies. Felony murder is a capital crime.

Greg Dwyer

Question: What happened to the District 2 members who surrendered?

MikeH

Answer: Held captive by the Capitol until the capitol was liberated. They were then released.

Ssiscool

Answer: Nick also points out that the crime scenes are always contaminated. The evidence was probably contaminated by the cops.

Answer: The reason the DNA was inadmissible was not elaborated on. We're only told it was inadmissible because of the "exclusionary rule." Therefore, the judge in the case must have deemed the way the DNA was collected from the suspects was in violation of their constitutional rights. The why was not explained and anything would be a guess (something like when they were arrested and there was no probable cause to take a DNA sample). But it's seems more of plot convenience to move the story forward quickly. Clyde passing out had nothing to do with the DNA being inadmissible, it only meant his eyewitness testimony may be considered unreliable. Therefore the DA's Office was not willing to try both men using Clyde as a witness, but go with the plea deal.

Bishop73

Answer: Because Clyde passed out.

17th Feb 2018

Holes (2003)

Question: How is Camp Green Lake legal? Aren't there laws against forced child labor? Also, what would happen if Stanley refused to dig holes?

MikeH

Answer: It is illegal. That's why everyone in charge gets arrested at the end. It only lasted as long as it did because they were in the middle of nowhere with little to no oversight and no on knew what was really going on until Stanley's release.

Phixius

Wait then why did the judge know about it? Did he get arrested too?

There are a lot of kids at Green Lake, sentenced by various judges. The court system either was unaware of the conditions at the camp, or didn't care.

Brian Katcher

Answer: Stanley and his fellow prisoners are convicted criminals, and as such, the authorities are allowed to work them. The conditions in the movie are rather extreme, but what recourse do the boys have? The warden and her flunkies are brutal people, and it's likely Stanley would have been in a world of hurt had he refused to dig. All they'd have to say is Stanley attacked them and whatever force they used would have been justified. That's the penal system for you.

Brian Katcher

17th Feb 2018

Nocturnal Animals (2016)

Question: What happened to Andes? Why didn't he join Tony? Why didn't we see him or hear about him again?

MikeH

Continuity mistake: When Terry finds Charley's dead body, in the first shot there are several bullet holes in his shirt, but then they're gone.

MikeH

29th Jan 2018

A Time to Kill (1996)

Question: Why does it matter if the psychiatrist was convicted of statutory rape? How does it affect his ability to determine Carl Lee's sanity?

MikeH

Answer: The conviction, and his subsequent lying about it, bring his credibility seriously in doubt.

BaconIsMyBFF

Continuity mistake: When Mellish is stabbed, at first there's no blood on his shirt, but then there is, even before the knife touches him.

MikeH

24th Jan 2018

Donnie Brasco (1997)

Revealing mistake: In the basement shootout, when a man is shot in the stomach, we see a close-up of his guts hanging out, and there's tape around it.

MikeH

21st Jan 2018

Breaking Bad (2008)

Show generally

Question: How exactly did Walt poison Brock? It doesn't make sense, the hospital said it was lily of the valley, but Walt and Saul confirmed it was ricin.

MikeH

Answer: Walt does use Lilly of the Valley berries to poison Brock. Vince Gilligan said he and the writers imagined Walt went to Brock's school with a poisoned juice box (there's subtle clues to confirm Walt knew what school Brock went to). But, when Jesse went to Saul's office, Saul's bodyguard, Huell, does a cigarette pack swap on Jesse when he pats Jesse down. Now the cigarette pack Jesse has no longer has the vial of ricin in it and Walt tries to convince Jesse that Gus stole the ricin and used it on Brock.

Bishop73

21st Jan 2018

Breaking Bad (2008)

Say My Name - S5-E7

Question: Did Walt plan on killing Mike? If so, why? It seems like he just did it in a fit of rage, but then why did he take his gun?

MikeH

Answer: As you stated, it was in a fit of rage, he regretted it right afterwards.

21st Jan 2018

Hannibal (2001)

21st Jan 2018

Donnie Brasco (1997)

Continuity mistake: In the ninja attack scene, when Tom Cruise stabs a ninja in the chest, in one shot the sword is poking out his back, but in the very next shot, it isn't.

MikeH

Question: Can vampires and werewolves be killed or injured by anything other than vampires and werewolves?

MikeH

Answer: Aro also makes the argument that for the first time in our history humans pose a threat to our kind with their weapons that can destroy us. Theoretically any weapons that can tear apart and/or burn the vampires would work. So, yes, things other than vampires and werewolves can kill the vampires and werewolves.

Answer: Sure. The problem is that these films portray vampires and werewolves as having super-human abilities, so it'd be significantly harder for a regular person to kill one. But nothing about the films seems to indicate it's overtly impossible.

22nd Dec 2017

Carrie (1976)

Continuity mistake: When Margaret has a knife thrown in her hand, in the first shot, there's no blood, but in the very next shot, there is.

MikeH

22nd Dec 2017

Goodfellas (1990)

Other mistake: When we see the shot couple in the pink car, there's blood spatter inside the windows and windshield, so that means the windows were up when they were shot, and they were shot in the car. It makes no sense that neither the windshield nor the windows are broken. If Jimmy shot them from the front, he would've had to have shot them through the windshield. If he shot them from the side, he would've had to have shot them through the window.

MikeH

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

Suggested correction: This one is pretty weak. Jimmy knew them. He could have easily walked up to the door and opened it, as if to admire the car, as if to talk, or for any other reason, shot them, and closed the door.

22nd Dec 2017

Goodfellas (1990)

Continuity mistake: When Tommy is shot, there's no bullet wound in his head, but in the very next shot, there is. And we don't see the moment of impact, that wound was always there in that entire second shot.

MikeH

22nd Dec 2017

Goodfellas (1990)

Continuity mistake: When Tommy is shot, Tuddy is holding his shirt, but in the very next shot, he isn't, and he's much further away from him.

MikeH

18th Dec 2017

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Answer: The most likely scenario is that a ghost at the school told him.

Answer: Near the end, it is revealed that Cole has seen the ghosts of teachers that died in the fire at the school when "Stuttering Stanley" was a student, so it would make sense that one of them told him.

13th Dec 2017

Gladiator (2000)

10th Nov 2017

Carrie (1976)

Other mistake: Rita is only hit in the thighs with the basketball rafter. That couldn't kill her, and it couldn't make blood come out of her mouth.

MikeH

10th Nov 2017

Miami Vice (2006)

Continuity mistake: When Jamie Foxx shoots a man, we see three shots of him. In the first and third shot, there's a large bullet wound in his chest, and a large part of his shirt is missing. But in the second shot, there's no wound, and his shirt is intact.

MikeH

Stupidity: Lao Che's intention was to kill Indy. He had no intention of giving him the antidote. So then why would he bring a real antidote? Why not just fill it with something else instead? From his perspective, bringing a real antidote was a waste of time, and also very stupid in case Indy managed to get it, which he did. In fact, Lao Che could've brought a fake antidote and given it to Indy. He probably wouldn't have noticed the difference, and then there wouldn't have been a fight in which one of his men was killed.

MikeH

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

Suggested correction: If you're using a poison it is always worth having an antidote nearby just in case something goes wrong.

Lao Che could still have the real antidote in his pocket and give a vial a fake antidote to Indy. Plus, if you're implying Lao Che would need the antidote should he accidentally be poisoned, it would also be a stupidity for him to give the antidote to Indy.

Lao Che's goal is not to kill Indy, it is to get the emperor's remains without having to give up the diamond. He even tries paying for the emperor outright with valuable coins. He brings the antidote in case he loses track of the poisoned glass and the wrong person is poisoned. He never intends to actually give the antidote to Indy, he's only using it as leverage so Indy will hand over the diamond without making a scene. Indy only gets the antidote after he kills Lao's henchman and the antidote is knocked off the table.

BaconIsMyBFF

2nd Nov 2017

Chinatown (1974)

Revealing mistake: When Jack Nicholson slaps Faye Dunaway, the first time we can see he doesn't actually hit her. We see a shot of him raising his hand, then a shot of her jerking her head like she was slapped, but his hand doesn't touch her, or even go anywhere near her.

MikeH

31st Oct 2017

Carrie (1976)

Continuity mistake: When Margaret is first stabbed in the chest with a kitchen utensil, in one shot there's no blood in the wound, but in the very next shot there is.

MikeH

Revealing mistake: When Indy is whipped six times, the first time we can see the whip doesn't touch him, or go anywhere near him.

MikeH

Other mistake: In the bar shootout, a man is shot in the head. The bullet hits him in his hat right in the middle of his forehead, and then his hat falls off. But we then see a close-up of his face, and there's no bullet wound in his forehead or anywhere else.

MikeH

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

Suggested correction: Wound easily could be on a hairy part of the head.

Even in a close up a bullet wound would still be visible due to the size of the wound.

Ssiscool

Continuity mistake: In the bar shootout, a man is shot in the head, and as Marion screams in shock she's holding onto the table. In the very next shot her hand is much lower.

MikeH

Continuity mistake: When Indy hangs the assassin on the fan, in one shot he's spinning, but in the very next shot he's not. He can't just instantly stop, he'd have to slow down.

MikeH

Revealing mistake: When a man is shot in the head, the bullet hits his hat, and it's very obvious there's no real bullet wound, his hat just opens and reveals a red hat he's wearing.

MikeH

27th Oct 2017

Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

Question: In real life, can you really get away with anything if you have diplomatic immunity?

MikeH

Answer: In short, diplomatic immunity would prevent a host country (such as the United States) from charging a diplomatic agent or diplomatic staff member with any crime (if they've been granted immunity). However, the agent's home country may waive immunity if the crime is deemed serious enough or the home country can prosecute the agent themselves. However, the host country can still expel a person with diplomatic immunity from the country and ban them from returning. And while diplomatically immuned people have committed serious crimes in the past, diplomats are usually seasoned and respected civil servants in their countries and can damage their careers if they cause any embarrassment while visiting a host county and tend to comply with local laws and customs out of respect.

Bishop73

The host country can also ask the Diplomat to leave, and the Diplomat's country may also recall them. Https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2018-DipConImm_v5_Web.pdf.

Revealing mistake: When Indy wraps his whip around an assassin's neck and hangs him on the fan, we can see it's not actually around his neck, it's just attached to his clothing.

MikeH

Other mistake: Harry pulls a knife out of Dobby's chest, but before that, we can see there's no knife.

MikeH

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

Suggested correction: Yes there is, Dobby is holding on to it as he falls into Harry's hands. Its not totally obvious, but the CGI people definitely put it in.

lionhead

10th Oct 2017

Collateral (2004)

Answer: It's something which some more formal / conservative couples do, possibly just as a byproduct of having kids and using a consistent reference.

Question: When several soldiers surrender, why was the first one shot? I'm not referring to the end, I'm referring to the opening battle, when several surrendered, and only the first was shot.

MikeH

Answer: In the D-Day scene at the beginning of the battle, when the Germans surrender after a brief trench battle, one gets shot. I think this is because one soldier was still very tense and shot the German because he didn't see his hands up in the fight or flight response he was having.

Question: Why did Upham tell the soldiers to drop their weapons instead of shooting them? Why did they surrender instead of shooting him? And why did he then let them go?

MikeH

Answer: Upham was not a hardened war vet like the men in his squad. He seen Steam boat Willie shoot Miller which made him furious because of how desperately he tried to save Willies life at the Radar tower so he felt betrayed and guilty for not listening to his squad so he finished the job he didn't have the heart to do before by killing Willie. He let the others go because he didn't have a problem with them. The surrendering Germans knew the Americans were inbound after tank was destroyed so they gave up immediately.

Chosen answer: He was alone and probably couldn't have shot them all before being shot himself. However, he was in a perfect position to make them surrender as none of them wanted to be the one to get shot for aiming their rifle at him. He didn't let them go, he told them to start walking in one direction as his prisoners.

lionhead

Question: Why didn't they just shoot Steamboat Willie on sight? And once they decided not to kill him, why couldn't they call a chopper to come take him? Also, why were they so intent on committing a war crime by killing him once he'd surrendered? I know he killed Wade, but that's just what happens in war.

MikeH

Chosen answer: Rules of war are when someone surrenders you take him prisoner and are not allowed to kill him, they followed the rules of war. They are all very emotional from the battle and losing a friend and fellow soldier though and they wanted a scapegoat. They were behind enemy lines so nobody could come to pick up the prisoner, as the lieutenant explained, and helicopters weren't really around in WW2.

lionhead

Question: What exactly did Del mean when he said he doesn't have a home? He doesn't look homeless.

MikeH

Chosen answer: He means that, as a salesman, he's always traveling, rather than being based out of one particular city. There's a darker implication however: he's a widower and doesn't feel like he really has a home since he lost his wife.

Brian Katcher

1st Aug 2017

Gladiator (2000)

24th Jul 2017

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Continuity mistake: When the Japanese man at the end stabs himself in the stomach, in one shot we can see there's no knife in his stomach.

MikeH

Revealing mistake: When we see a close-up of a knife being pulled out of a man's stomach, it's obviously a prop knife where the blade goes into the handle, as we can see the end of the blade while it's being pulled out. (01:19:50)

MikeH

7th Jun 2017

Star Wars (1977)

Question: What's wrong with Greedo shooting first? I agree changing it is pretty pointless, but what difference does it make? How does it affect the movie?

MikeH

Chosen answer: This has already been asked and answered on this site, in the past few weeks in fact. But again: It doesn't affect the movie, but it affects the character of Han Solo and how he is meant to be perceived by the audience. If he shoots first, he's an outlaw, a rogue, and, in the classic Western tradition, quicker on the draw than Greedo. If Greedo shoots first, Han is just killing in self-defense, which does nothing for his character and makes the whole scene superfluous, other than establish that people want to kill him.

Answer: Also, Han shooting first places doubts about his motives in the viewer's mind early on. It establishes Han as ruthless, willing to do whatever it takes to survive. Might he turn Luke and Ben over to the Empire if he decides it's in his best interests? But having Greedo shoot first turns Han in to just another generic good guy.

Answer: I mostly agree with the other answers about Han, but his shooting first is integral to the plot and not about showing any ruthlessness. Greedo cornered Han and intended to turn him over to Jabba the Hut to collect the bounty on Han's head. Greedo told Han, while holding him at gun point, that he wanted the money Obi Wan was paying Han, then implied he was going to kill Han before turning his body over to Jabba for the reward. Han's only option was to kill Greedo right then and there. He basically is shooting Greedo in self-defense (or for self-preservation). As well as establishing what his character is like, the scene also serves as exposition that shows Jabba had put a price on Han's head, Greedo was a deadly adversary, that Han leads a dangerous and illegal life, and he was desperate to resolve his dilemma of living under a death sentence.

raywest

As a child of the 70's, I grew up with the notion of Han shooting first. Never gave it much thought, to me he was in a situation of kill or being killed. The debate seemed over a moot point to me.

7th Jun 2017

Raging Bull (1980)

Chosen answer: No. But Jake's paranoia and possessiveness had consumed him to such a degree that he was convinced that he (Joey) had, based on Vickie's impulsive remarks.

19th May 2017

Spy (2015)

Continuity mistake: When the man has a hole burned through his throat, in one shot he has one hand on his stomach and the other by his side, but in the very next shot both hands are on his throat.

MikeH

12th May 2017

Modern Family (2009)

Haley's 21st Birthday - S6-E10

Plot hole: The family mistakenly believes Hayley will be having her first drink. However, there were several instances in earlier episodes where they saw her drinking or drunk, or she admitted she'd been drinking. For example, in the episode "Arrested", the family drove down to bail her out of jail for underage drinking, and they saw the video footage, and the family members who didn't go were informed of the situation.

MikeH

27th Feb 2017

Fargo (1996)

22nd Feb 2017

The Dark Knight (2008)

Question: Why did Gordon say he wanted Lau alive but The Joker either way? Shouldn't they try to take them both alive and only kill them if they resisted?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Because Lau has information about the mob, the battle against which is still the first priority of the Gotham Police Department; the Joker is, as Harvey Dent later says, a mad dog let off the leash. Gordon isn't telling his officers to murder the Joker in cold blood, he's simply saying that Lau is more important to them, and he would rather have him for further questioning/testimony.

20th Feb 2017

Taken 3 (2015)

19th Feb 2017

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Question: Why did the Japanese man at the end kill himself?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Japan's culture is complex and has a long history of ritual suicide ingrained within it. For Japanese, this practice was often expected of someone who had somehow failed, shamed, or otherwise dishonored themselves, their family, their country, and so on. Historically, suicide was also committed by servants after their master died, by Samurai widows, or when people were defeated by their enemies. At the end of WWII, many Japanese soldiers and civilians committed suicide rather than surrender.

raywest

16th Feb 2017

Shooter (2007)

Continuity mistake: In the opening scene, when Mark Wahlberg shoots a driver, a bit of blood splatters onto the rear windshield of the car he's driving. But in the very next shot, there's much more blood.

MikeH

16th Feb 2017

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

Question: How could Amanda have gone to school or even left her house? She was supposed to be dead.

MikeH

Answer: A real life problem with abducted children, especially those abducted at such a young age, is that after a short period of time they begin to grow and look drastically different than when they were abducted. Amanda could have been home schooled for some time and passed off as the adopted child of her abductors to the general public after a relatively short amount of time. Unfortunately, the average person would likely not even recognize Amanda if they saw her out in public.

BaconIsMyBFF

16th Feb 2017

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

Question: Why wasn't Patrick arrested for killing the child molester?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Even though he executes an unarmed man, it is doubtful given the circumstances that he would be investigated with much fervor for his actions. One police officer has just been shot and killed so Patrick's actions could easily be described as self-defense in the eyes of an investigator. Anyone making a claim to the contrary would risk having to stand up for a child murdering cop killer.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: Many/most people think child molesters are evil, disgusting, utterly loathsome, and irredeemable - they don't deserve to live - so a dead child molester is one less child molester. Even worse, Corwin Earle was also a child killer (although he claimed "it was an accident"). Many people, including police, would believe he deserved to die and Patrick did the right thing. Others, of course, would assert that "street justice" is not justice at all, but there would be little, if any, evidence that Patrick's shooting was not a justifiable homicide. IF Patrick were charged, his attorney would raise a defense that would most likely result in a "not guilty" verdict. Besides, this was a movie, and the audience needs to feel that justice has been served.

KeyZOid

16th Feb 2017

V for Vendetta (2005)

Continuity mistake: In the final fight, when V slices a man's chest twice there's no blood on his face, but in the very next shot, there is.

MikeH

15th Feb 2017

V for Vendetta (2005)

Continuity mistake: When Gordon is on the ground after being knocked down by the door, in one shot his left hand is above his head, but in the very next shot, his left hand is below his head.

MikeH

15th Feb 2017

V for Vendetta (2005)

Other mistake: In the final fight, V slices a man's right wrist, but blood only comes out of his left arm.

MikeH

13th Feb 2017

Boogie Nights (1997)

Question: Why was Little Bill so casual about seeing his wife cheat on him? I know he was furious, but he was still unusually calm, he just acted like he caught her holding hands with someone else, not like she was having sex with someone else. And why was his wife so casual about it too? She acted like she did nothing wrong.

MikeH

Chosen answer: SPOILER ALERT: It was the 1970's. Loose morals. The era of free love. Little Bill and his wife were active in the porn industry. It's likely that his wife presumed, but never discussed with her husband, an "open relationship." Bill, stunned by his discovery (but, perhaps, suspecting it all along), was simply trying to maintain his composure and not seem pathetically unhip by what would be perceived as an absurd overreaction. Clearly, however, he was suppressing a great deal of internalized rage. Ultimately, but very calmly as always, he eventually shoots and kills his wife and her gentleman caller mid-coitus, and then eats his own gun, at Jack's New Year's Eve Party, 1980.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: In the book, yes, Starling knew that Senator Martin was not aware of the deal she and Crawford were offering Lecter. However she only inferred it because Crawford wanted her to be able to swear under oath she was not told this explicitly.

Sierra1

Answer: In the movie, yes, she admits that the bio-research island was her idea.

13th Feb 2017

Django Unchained (2012)

Chosen answer: There is nothing in the film to indicate that he is not. He has the paperwork to prove the bounty he was pursuing, and he is not held by the authorities or charged with any crime, so we can assume that he was.

13th Feb 2017

Django Unchained (2012)

3rd Feb 2017

The Dark Knight (2008)

Question: If The Joker wanted to get arrested, instead of engaging in a huge chase with the police where he shoots at them with a machine gun and an RPG, why didn't he just walk into the police station and turn himself in? I know he's theatrical, but he's very lucky he wasn't shot, which would've ruined his plan.

MikeH

Chosen answer: Because the police would have suspected something if he just turned himself in out of the blue, and would have been more vigilant in looking for a trap. As it is, the police are convinced they legitimately captured Joker and derailed his plans with no further need to be on the lookout for unexpected surprises from him.

Phixius

30th Jan 2017

U.S. Marshals (1998)

Chosen answer: Because the glass was made with the same or similar material as the helmet, blocking Xavier's powers.

lionhead

24th Jan 2017

Bruno (2009)

Question: Why wasn't Sacha Baron Cohen arrested for secretly filming people having sex without their permission? Also, what was up with the scene where the camper knocks the camera over? Did he realise what was going on? What happened after?

MikeH

Answer: This is not a hidden camera movie. Everyone filmed believes they are being filmed for a documentary. So the swingers knew they were going to be filmed, but didn't know the shenanigans SBC was going to pull. The camper dude probably started realizing there was something weird going on and got mad that he was being made fun of, so knocked over the camera.

Chosen answer: Because this film was staged even more than Borat was.

Phixius

24th Jan 2017

Inception (2010)

23rd Jan 2017

The Reader (2008)

Chosen answer: "The Aufseherinnen (German for "female overseer) were female guards in Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust. Of the 55,000 guards who served in Nazi concentration camps, about 3,700 were women. In 1942, the first female guards arrived at Auschwitz and Majdanek from Ravensbrück. The year after, the Nazis began conscripting women because of a guard shortage." - source: Wikipedia, "Female Guards in Nazi Concentration Camps".

Michael Albert

23rd Jan 2017

Die Hard (1988)

23rd Jan 2017

The Dark Knight (2008)

Chosen answer: One of his character traits as the Joker is his hunched posture. He's not standing fully upright.

16th Jan 2017

The Godfather (1972)

Continuity mistake: At the end of the shot where Al Neri shoots Emilio Barzini's bodyguards, the one on the right is still in the process of falling and hasn't hit the ground yet before it cuts, but in the next shot, he's already on the ground and not moving.

MikeH

16th Jan 2017

The Godfather (1972)

Other mistake: When Al Neri shoots Emilio Barzini's bodyguards, they're both only shot in the torso, but when they're on the ground, there's only blood coming out from under their heads.

MikeH

Question: In the trial at the start of the movie, we see a flashback of Andy walking with his gun. Where exactly was he? Was that a real flashback, or just what the prosecutor was assuming happened? Did Andy actually almost kill his wife but decide against it?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Andy showed up at his wife's lover's house, either to kill them or just threaten them. He had a change of heart and left. Unfortunately, his fingerprints were all over the bullets and liquor bottle he left at the scene, which was pretty damning.

Brian Katcher

1st Jan 2017

Goodfellas (1990)

Chosen answer: Most probably due to mass corruption within the prison. Guards on the mafia payroll would let them wear their own clothes in the same way they didn't eat the prison food but got to have their own superior food brought in.

The_Iceman

Question: When Andy got Norton and Hadley arrested, how did he manage to prove that they murdered Tommy? How did he manage to prove that he wasn't trying to escape?

MikeH

Chosen answer: He provided the authorities (and the media) evidence of all the money-laundering and illegal activities that happened at Shawshank...any specific evidence he had regarding Tommy is not shown in the film, but it can be assumed that Hadley, as revealed in Red's narration, broke down and confessed. Andy never intended to prove he wasn't trying to escape...he DID escape, so any attempt by him to prove otherwise would have been met with skepticism. Also, as far as the authorities are concerned, all the evidence came from his alter ego, "Randall Stevens."

Question: If Norton had helped Andy get a new trial, would it really work? There was no evidence that Elmo Blatch committed the murders.

MikeH

Chosen answer: The sole piece of evidence was to be Tommy's testimony, which could have exonerated Andy even if it didn't prove that Blatch was the killer. When Tommy was murdered by Hadley under orders from Norton, that ended any chance of Andy getting a new trial.

zendaddy621

Answer: I would say that Andy getting a NEW trial would be virtually impossible. For a prisoner to get a new trial, their attorney has to file an appeal with any information "supposedly" exonerating their client and/or proves some kind of malfeasance or errors in the original trial. Now courts rarely like to ever grant new trials to begin with so one must have awfully damning evidence to get one. I can only surmise that it would've been even harder during that Era than now as well. Now here's the problem or rub for Andy. All of the evidence, which is to say one piece in the testimony, wouldn't likely even be allowed into record or entry as evidence. First, it would likely fall under the here-say rules and deemed inadmissible in court... However, say even Tommy stayed alive and testified to what he knew and it could be entered in as evidence, it would do nothing without verification/corroboration. Now I can't remember if anything was said to whatever became of Elmo Blatch... I never read the book either so I can't say... But HAD Mr Blatch still been alive at that point, he would have been investigated and interviewed. If any evidence was found that pointed to Mr Blatch and/or Mr Blatch admitted his guilt, only then would Andy likely have enough for a new trial which would almost certainly end with Andy's conviction vacated especially if Blatch admitted it. However, via the film, all evidence leads to Andy and there's almost no chance Blatch would have admitted his own guilt especially since he relished the fact that someone else was paying for his crime. The only hope Andy would have had is that Mr Blatch had at least one or more other cell mates that he also spilled his guts to. Then Andy might have some hope that enough admissible testimony might award him a new trial. Problem is that none of that would have completely exonerated him and he'd just be retried. Which would still point to him because even if they could prove that Blatch had been in the area and his "supposed" confession, it would be circumstantial evidence and not likely to overcome the physical evidence that pointed straight at Andy. Hence Andy would just be back into jail. There's a lot that would have to go right or break Andy's way for him to get exonerated. He was the perfect patsy which was even an intended outcome by Blatch.

28th Dec 2016

Braveheart (1995)

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

Suggested correction: Could that be because in the first scene his shirt is torn open, and they haven't started the disembowelment. Then they start the process and blood spurts up across his chest and neck?

30th Nov 2016

Taken 2 (2012)

Continuity mistake: When the man in the white shirt is shot in the back, he's shot once, but there's two bullet holes.

MikeH

9th Nov 2016

Air Force One (1997)

Chosen answer: He fell out the back without a parachute when the door blew open. We see him both tumble off the ramp, and another shot of him falling from below.

jimba

Chosen answer: Xavier can read minds, so it's assumed he knows about the murders.

Chosen answer: Charles wants Erik to use his powers for good, but if he kills Sebastian Shaw, this may lead him down a darker path (which ultimately ends up happening).

Casual Person

3rd Oct 2016

American Beauty (1999)

Question: When Carolyn threatens to divorce Lester, he asks on what grounds. I thought there was no fault divorce in 1999. Can someone please explain?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Lester is saying that she has no reasons to put forth to a judge and will look foolish. In doing so, her threat of divorce is empty.

Greg Dwyer

29th Sep 2016

Up (2009)

Question: Why wasn't Carl put back in the retirement home at the end? A court order is a court order.

MikeH

Answer: He was. In the series of images we see him surrounded by old people.

Chosen answer: Who's to say he wasn't? The film ends after he takes Russell to his award ceremony, so we won't know.

Continuity mistake: In the Crazy 88 fight, when The Bride stabs a bald Crazy 88 member, at first the sword is to the left of his tie, but when we see a closeup, it's to the right of it.

MikeH

Question: Why did Sophie have blood on her mouth before The Bride cut her arm off? And why didn't she try to fight back or run away? Why didn't anyone else try to stop her?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Just before that, we saw her in the bathroom, oblivious to the Bride's presence, and the Bride about to get the drop on her. It's safe to assume that the blood on her mouth was a result of whatever the Bride did to her off-screen between that moment and when she presented her to O-Ren. It's hard to "try to fight back or run away" when your assailant is brandishing a katana and is literally the deadliest person in the world with that weapon. And plenty of others tried to stop the Bride...she just killed them all.

Question: What did Batman mean when he said to Bane "Then you have my permission to die"? I know he was repeating what Bane said to him earlier, but does that mean he was going to kill him?

MikeH

Chosen answer: It was probably on his mind. Not sure if he would have actually done it, but he needed Bane to tell him where the trigger was, after that maybe he guessed Bane would die anyway, having failed his mission. It could be either that Batman kills him indirectly, he commits suicide or he gets the death penalty. (Also, plausibly, he could have been hinting that Bane will inevitably die of natural causes after a long, dissatisfying life in prison, a reversal of how Bane attempted to defeat Batman in the same fashion).

lionhead

Question: What accent did Sweeney have? It sounded like he was from a foreign country but moved to America when he was young.

MikeH

Chosen answer: It's Avery Brooks' natural Indiana accent.

Greg Dwyer

16th Aug 2016

Licence to Kill (1989)

Question: Why did MI6 shoot at Bond after he refused to give them his gun? Surely it's not worth killing one of their agents over. And why did M say there's too many people? There was nobody around.

MikeH

Chosen answer: At that moment, he was not one of their agents; M had just stripped him of his licence to kill and suspended him. So he was, essentially, a rogue agent about to escape...of course they were going to try and stop him. M stopped them because 1) they were in an MI6 building in the middle of an American city and gunfire would have drawn unwanted attention (perhaps giving away the location to enemy agents), and 2) unlike the faceless security forces trying to shoot Bond, he had a personal relationship with Bond and didn't want to see him injured or killed.

16th Aug 2016

Licence to Kill (1989)

Chosen answer: No, they were not having an affair. He just liked her.

raywest

16th Aug 2016

Licence to Kill (1989)

Other mistake: When Loti is shot three times, all three bullet holes appear on her at the same time.

MikeH

10th Aug 2016

Taxi Driver (1976)

Other mistake: When the woman at the theater gives Travis his Cola, she never pours it. (00:09:25)

MikeH

10th Aug 2016

Taxi Driver (1976)

Question: When Travis first entered the porn theater, why was it blurred? Was that Martin Scorcese blurring the picture to avoid an NC-17 rating, or was the porn movie supposed to be blurry?

MikeH

Chosen answer: It could be for several reasons. As you pointed out, it could be to avoid an NC-17 rating, though Scorcese could easily have used scenes that were not specifically pornographic. It may also be to keep the audience's attention focused on Travis and what was is going on in the scene and not be distracted by any pornographic material. Also, if you are referring to when the movie was being aired on TV, then any pornographic materials would have been blurred out to comply with FCC standards. Nudity and pornography cannot be shown on general TV stations.

raywest

10th Aug 2016

Taxi Driver (1976)

Question: At the end when Betsy is in the cab, it seems like Travis says hello ages after she got in. So it seems like that scene is imagined. Is it?

MikeH

Chosen answer: No, it just seems that Travis had no idea what to say to Betsy and after a while, a simple hello is all he could manage.

Dra9onBorn117

Question: A few questions about Snape's death: How did Voldemort slice Snape's throat with his wand without saying anything? Where exactly did Nagini bite Snape? Did he die from wounds or from venom?

MikeH

Answer: Nagini kills Snape by biting him in the neck, it was in the movie.

Chosen answer: More magically advanced wizards do not need to speak the name of the spell to cast it. In the books, Harry and other students spend time learning how to cast spells silently. It is not specifically explained how Nagini kills Snape, but most likely it is a combination of various bites over his body and the venom.

raywest

Other mistake: When Paolo is shot dead, there's blood dripping down the rocks he's lying on, but there shouldn't be. The rocks are under his shoulder, and he was shot in the back, and a little blood dripped out sideways. And there's no blood on his shirt where his body is touching the rocks.

MikeH

7th Aug 2016

Copycat (1995)

16th Jul 2016

Pay it Forward (2000)

Continuity mistake: When Trevor is stabbed, lots of blood drips down his shirt, but when he's on the ground there's just a small spot of blood.

MikeH

16th Jul 2016

Stuart Little (1999)

Question: Why aren't Mr and Mrs Little surprised to see a talking mouse?

MikeH

Chosen answer: It's a fantasy world, like Harry Potter and the Narnia movies.

16th Jul 2016

Stuart Little (1999)

Question: How come the humans can understand mice and birds, but not cats?

MikeH

Answer: Since there no scenes of cats trying to communicate with humans, we don't actually know if humans can understand them or not. It may be that cats can communicate with humans, but simply choose not to.

Answer: Because it's a movie when talking animals is possible but not all animals can talk to humans.

12th Jul 2016

The Dark Knight (2008)

Chosen answer: Both.

MasterOfAll

12th Jul 2016

The Deer Hunter (1978)

Chosen answer: The whole phrase is "di di mao", which basically mean go now, or hurry up.

MasterOfAll

11th Jul 2016

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Chosen answer: Spoiler alert: Psychiatrists help their patients in a variety of ways. Generally, they begin by developing rapport, establishing an empathetic relationship, and trying to understand the patient's perspective and how he views the world. Some therapeutic approaches are based on the notion that the relationship between therapist and patient is the prime source of healing. Many psychiatrists would also prescribe medication to ameliorate what they would almost assuredly view as psychotic symptoms. But in this case, I think Dr. Crowe has a sense, throughout, that his young patient's experiences are more than hallucinations. Cole's stories resonate with him at a deep level, as he is also struggling internally and subconsciously with his own (as we will later learn) ambiguous position between life and death. I don't think there's a point where Dr. Crowe changes his mind, per se. He develops. And in the process, he definitely assists Cole in overcoming his fears, as well. During the film, they heal one another.

Michael Albert

Answer: I would have to rewatch, but it seems at one point he is humoring him, but maybe deep down has a feeling that he is not totally crazy, but then he goes and listens to the tape and hears a dead person and realises that there is such a thing as seeing dead people. This is why he tries to help cole cope after that, not be cured.

11th Jul 2016

Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

Question: Mel Gibson says "They killed them both." I know he's referring to his wife, but who's the second person?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Rika Van Den Haas, the South African woman he was seeing whose body he finds tied up under water.

Jon Sandys

Question: Near the end of the film, Stephen asks Jane how long he has to live, and she says two years. But I thought they already established he had two years near the start of the film. Can someone please explain this?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Throughout his existence, prognoses of the life expectancy for Dr. Stephen Hawking have been repeatedly offered and then surpassed. He continues to amaze with not only his brilliance, but his resilience. In this case it sounds like a callback to the initial estimate, which was demonstrably inaccurate.

Michael Albert

11th Jul 2016

Copycat (1995)

Audio problem: When Foley is shot several times, at one point we see a bullet hit him, but we don't hear a gunshot.

MikeH

Revealing mistake: When Bond's arm is scratched underwater, there's blood on his arm before it's scratched.

MikeH

8th Jul 2016

Lethal Weapon (1987)

Question: In the nightclub, Mel Gibson shoots a guy who says "Hey, what are you..." Was he a bad guy, or was he just a random citizen?

MikeH

Chosen answer: He was one of Hunsacker's men.

8th Jul 2016

The Negotiator (1998)

Question: Why did Kevin Spacey shoot Samuel L Jackson? I know he wanted to fake his death, but he could've actually died. He could've just shot him with a blank. Also, did Samuel L Jackson know he was about to get shot?

MikeH

Chosen answer: It's unlikely in the extreme that Kevin Spacey would have a blank round on him. He had to actually shoot him so he'd bleed and appear dead. Remember, both characters were improvising.

Question: I heard there's a scene in the credits where Eddie's bunkmate is snorting cocaine, but I just can't find it. Could I please have a little help?

MikeH

28th Jun 2016

Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

Chosen answer: Like any cinematic depiction of ANY behavior, "Leaving Las Vegas" is a depiction of extremes of behavior. Keep in mind that Nic Cage wasn't merely trying to catch a buzz in this film, he was trying to commit suicide-by-alcohol, which is extreme. If anything, Nic Cage's performance was far too animated and articulate for someone dying of alcoholism. Seldom are the final, terminal stages of alcoholism worthy of depiction in a feature film. So, the answer is no.

Charles Austin Miller

28th Jun 2016

Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

Question: How did Nicolas Cage manage to keep his job for so long? You'd think he'd get fired for coming to work drunk the first time.

MikeH

Chosen answer: On the contrary, the social contacts at work typically tolerate, sympathize with, and even enable alcoholics and other substance abusers, because many of the other employees are also similarly (and secretly) engaged in addictive behavior of their own to varying degrees. Usually, no action is taken until the addictive behavior starts affecting company income, insurance and morale. So, some substance abusers can lead lengthy careers within a company before the hammer falls.

Charles Austin Miller

27th Jun 2016

The Green Mile (1999)

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

Suggested correction: Too vague. The girls are represented by dummies and the scene is consistent.

MovieFan612

22nd Jun 2016

Taxi Driver (1976)

Question: Why was Travis labeled a hero at the end and not arrested? He murdered several people.

MikeH

Chosen answer: One theory about the end of the film is that it is Travis' dying thoughts, but this is not the view of Scorsese or writer Paul Schrader...they intended the ending to be ambiguous and an ironic critique of the media's, and the public's, reaction to and interpretation of violence (Travis is hailed as a hero for rescuing Iris, but we can imagine a very different reaction had he followed his original plan of assassinating a senator). Interestingly, when the film was originally shown on television, the following "disclaimer" of sorts accompanied the closing credits: "In the aftermath of violence, the distinction between hero and villain is sometimes a matter of interpretation or misinterpretation of facts. 'Taxi Driver' suggests that tragic errors can be made. The Filmmakers."

Continuity mistake: When Bond shoots a Blofeld look-alike, he falls onto the couch, but in the next shot he's on the floor. He couldn't have rolled off the couch, because he's on his back on both the ouch and the floor, and we don't hear him hit the floor.

MikeH

Audio problem: When the man at the very start is being interrogated about the location of Blofeld, he says "Ciaro", but his lips don't move.

MikeH

Other mistake: When the man at the start is thrown through the room and his head hits the wall, the picture briefly freezes.

MikeH

22nd Jun 2016

Men in Black 3 (2012)

Chosen answer: There is no clear answer as to her fate, only that J reminds K in the second MIB movie that K's wife left him, which K answered with a punch to J's face.

Scott215

14th Jun 2016

The Green Mile (1999)

Chosen answer: It would appear so. He even says "I punished those bad men."

14th Jun 2016

Goldfinger (1964)

Question: Can someone please explain the scene where Bond says something is "As bad as listening to The Beatles without earmuffs?" Were The Beatles unpopular in 1964, or is Bond just a snob?

MikeH

Chosen answer: The Beatles were wildly popular with the youngsters of the time and not so with the older generation, of which Bond is part. Obviously, Bond's comment shows the Beatles were not to everyone's taste in music, especially his. And it was a good line for comic relief.

Scott215

14th Jun 2016

Licence to Kill (1989)

Question: Is License To Kill the first Bond movie that isn't based on a novel or short story?

MikeH

Chosen answer: "License to Kill" is partly based on the novel "Live and Let Die" and the short story "Hilderbrand Rarity". However, it is the first Bond film not titled after a book. While "The Spy Who Loved Me" shares its name with a book, it was the first Bond film not based on a book (though subsequently, there was a novelization of the film.) "Goldeneye" is the first film not based on a book AND not titled after a book.

14th Jun 2016

Skyfall (2012)

Question: When Silva blew up M's office, was he trying to kill her, or just send a message?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Send a message. He knew she was out of her office and wanted her to see it.

Captain Defenestrator

14th Jun 2016

The Green Mile (1999)

Question: Why did Del say Mr. Jingles is going to make him rich when he gets out? Does he understand the concept of death row?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Del (like every other prisoner on death row) was hoping for a last-minute pardon from the Governor or some sort of stay of execution from a court. The chance of that was slim to none, but they can always hope.

Scott215

Answer: My interpretation was, it was just some light-hearted humor on his part. In attempt to raise his own spirits, even if only for a little bit. Kind of in the same way a terminal patient might say "when I get out of here," even when they know there is no chance.

jshy7979

14th Jun 2016

The Green Mile (1999)

Question: Why did Paul run outside when he had a urinary tract infection instead of to the toilet?

MikeH

Chosen answer: He WAS heading for the toilet. He and his wife had an outhouse instead of an indoor bathroom.

Scott215

14th Jun 2016

The Green Mile (1999)

Question: When the guards are talking to Percy in the restraint room, Paul says he knows he sabotaged Del's execution. Why did he let him get away with it?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Percy's aunt is married to the state Governor, giving Percy powerful connections. All it would take is one phone call from Percy and Paul and the other guards could lose their jobs and if Percy wanted to, never find jobs again. Something Paul or his friends didn't want to happen.

The characters talk about this several different times in the movies, how political connections can ruin careers.

MovieFan612

7th Jun 2016

La Confidential (1997)

Question: What made Vincennes and Exley think Smith was Rollo Tomasi? Surely it wasn't just because he was a criminal.

MikeH

Chosen answer: As he died, Vincennes mentioned the name "Rollo Tomasi" to Smith because he knew he would follow it up, which would reveal to Exley that he was with with Vincennes when he was killed. Exley did not really think Smith was Tomasi (the purse snatcher who shot his father), but when Smith asked him about the name, he knew he had killed Vincennes. The nickname also fit because Smith had been getting away with his crimes, as "Tomasi" had.

Sierra1

7th Jun 2016

Goldfinger (1964)

Chosen answer: He wanted to send a message. Bond seeing Masterson's dead body was a way to tell Bond, and MI6 to stay away. Killing Bond would have had an immediate effect, sure, but MI6 would more than likely send out another 00 agent after him anyway. Goldfinger wanted to be assured that no one would come after him. (As a little side note, Goldfinger didn't actually attack Bond. As we never see who did, It may have been Oddjob or one of his goons).

Dra9onBorn117

You can see the silhouette of Odd Job in the room.

Answer: Not knowing who Bond was or what organization he was involved in, Goldfinger figured a warning was in order, to keep Bond and his business away, so he had Jill painted gold to scare them off. Jill was murdered for her betrayal to Goldfinger, who "hated to lose".

demodon

7th Jun 2016

Fracture (2007)

Question: How could Anthony Hopkins be arrested for turning off his wife's life support? He was acquitted of shooting her, so he's legally considered innocent of that, and he was completely legally entitled to turn off her life support.

MikeH

Chosen answer: Once Crawford (Anthony Hopkins) took his wife off life support, it resulted in her dying. Crawford was arrested for murder, not because of taking her off life support but because his shooting of her resulted in her death ultimately. Crawford was only tried (and acquitted) for attempted murder. Since this is a new charge, double jeopardy did not apply.

7th Jun 2016

Men in Black (1997)

Chosen answer: He was an NYPD Detective. Police Detectives, while high-ranking, typically dress in more discreet civilian clothing when on duty.

Charles Austin Miller

6th Jun 2016

Face/Off (1997)

Question: Why did Castor shoot Dietrich? They were on the same side.

MikeH

Chosen answer: Although they were on the same side, Troy is currently posing as Archer, which means he would have to do everything that the FBI would expect Archer to be doing. The whole point of the raid was to take out Archer, as well as Troy's gang. He would have rather risked killing part of his own gang than risk exposing his identity to anyone else.

Casual Person

That doesn't really make sense. In the scene, he goes out of his way to shoot him and smiles while doing so, carefully and slowly. Was not a collateral damage situation. The question is why he deliberately goes out of his way to kill him.

Answer: If you watch closely, he saw Archer, went out of his way not to shoot him, instead was aiming for his own son that he didn't know was his, to further traumatize Archer.

6th Jun 2016

Dirty Harry (1971)

Question: When Harry delivered his famous "do you feel lucky" monologue at the start, did he know his gun was empty? And when he repeated it at the end, did he know the gun was loaded?

MikeH

Answer: He certainly knew at the start, which is why he felt confident in pointing the gun at the (disarmed) robber and pulling the trigger. Harry knew he was bluffing, but passed it off so well the robber wasn't sure. At the end of the film, again, he knew he had one bullet left and wanted to bait Scorpio into attacking him, giving him an excuse to fire.

Chosen answer: That question is the entire point of the first scene. You're meant to wonder whether he knew or not. At the end of the film, you're given the impression he does know, and is hoping the killer will attack him, giving him an excuse to fire.

The way I see the scene, he knows that he still has one round, and he is giving Scorpio a chance to live. He will only fire if he has to.

Leicaman

Question: When Gary Oldman detonated the C4, did he die? If so, assuming it wasn't intentional, how did he make that mistake?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Yes, he did die when he detonated the C4. Also, he made no mistake, detonating the C4 was intentional. He saw the apes as a threat and detonated the C4 as an attempt to kill them all, even if it meant giving up his own life in the process.

Casual Person

3rd Jun 2016

La Confidential (1997)

Stupidity: When White and Exley meet outside the motel and realise they've been set up, White suggests they leave, but Exley says it's too late. It wasn't even close to too late. There were no other people around, they had cars and there was a road right in front of them. Then they decide to go trap themselves inside the motel. It seems like they wanted to be shot.

MikeH

Question: How come in First Blood, Rambo went out of his way to subdue his enemies non-lethally like Batman, but in the sequels he just killed everyone?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Probably because the first film is set in the United States, and Rambo's opponents are non-military, but the sequels are set in Asia and the opponents are "foreign" (mostly Soviet) soldiers.

Sierra1

Question: Everyone says Rambo only kills one person in First Blood. But I watched it a few months ago, and I'm sure I remember him blowing up some police cars in a chase. What happened there?

MikeH

Chosen answer: He is never shown on camera to definitely kill more than one person (the shooter in the helicopter); the police cars flip over and crash, but the people inside are not shown to be dead, so it is possible they survived.

Twotall

1st Jun 2016

Risky Business (1983)

Question: I can't really tell who's who, but I remember one of the apes said not to tell Caesar about the gun they found. I'm certain it was Caesar who found the gun. Am I missing something?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Milo found the gun, who was Caesar's son.

Bishop73

Character mistake: Buffalo Bill's revolver is a double action, meaning did not need to cock his gun before firing it (you only need to do so with single-action revolvers. Cocking a double-action just makes the next trigger pull easier.) He could've just shot Starling. His stupidity got him killed.

MikeH

1st Jun 2016

La Confidential (1997)

Character mistake: White says Exley's father died in the line of duty. Exley said he was off duty when he was shot, and he didn't correct him.

MikeH

1st Jun 2016

La Confidential (1997)

Question: Smith asks Exley if he'd be wiling to shoot a criminal in the back to prevent a lawyer getting him off. Were the police really allowed to play judge, jury and executioner in the 50s?

MikeH

Chosen answer: No they were not legally allowed to, but corrupt, rogue cops who brandished their own form of justice would do that type of thing.

raywest

30th May 2016

Fight Club (1999)

Continuity mistake: After Bob is shot in the head, we see his corpse with half his head missing, but before that we see a flashback of him getting shot, and it just looks like he was shot in the back, no blood or flesh exits his head.

MikeH

30th May 2016

Fight Club (1999)

Chosen answer: A simple question with a complex answer. When Ed Norton's narrator character mercilessly beats Jared Leto's Angel Face to a pulp in the film, Norton only explains that he "wanted to destroy something beautiful"; in the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, however, he gives a more psychotic reason: "What Tyler says about being the crap and slaves of history, that's how I felt. I wanted to destroy everything beautiful I'd never have. Burn the Amazon rain forests. Pump chlorofluorocarbons straight up to gobble the ozone. Open the dump valves on supertankers and uncap offshore oil wells. I wanted to kill all the fish I couldn't afford to eat, and smother the French beaches I'd never see. I wanted the whole world to hit bottom. Pounding that kid, I really wanted to put a bullet between the eyes of every endangered panda that wouldn't screw to save its species and every whale and dolphin that gave up and ran itself aground. Don't think of it as extinction. Think of it as downsizing. For thousands of years, human beings had screwed up and trashed and crapped on this planet, and now history expected me to clean up after everyone. I have to wash out and flatten my soup cans. And account for every drop of used motor oil. And I have to foot the bill for nuclear waste and buried gasoline tanks and landfilled toxic sludge dumped a generation before I was born. I held the face of Mister Angel like a baby or a football in the crook of my arm and bashed him with my knuckles, bashed him until his teeth broke through his lips. Bashed him with my elbow after that until he fell through my arms into a heap at my feet. Until the skin was pounded thin across his cheekbones and turned black. I wanted to breathe smoke. Birds and deer are a silly luxury, and all the fish should be floating. I wanted to burn the Louvre. I'd do the Elgin Marbles with a sledgehammer and wipe my ass with the Mona Lisa. This is my world, now. This is my world, my world, and those ancient people are dead." - Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: The simpler answer is: from the Narrator's point of view Tyler appeared to favoring Leto, since the Narrator hadn't come to terms with the split personality yet he obviously felt deep seated jealousy. It says right in the scene beforehand that "I am Jack's inflamed sense of rejection."

21st May 2016

Inside Out (2015)

Question: Joy says if she's not in headquarters Riley can't be happy. But Sadness isn't in headquarters either, and Riley is sad throughout the movie. Is there a logical explanation for this, or is this a plot hole?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Riley isn't sad. She's depressed. They are different states of emotion.

Greg Dwyer

13th May 2016

Bruno (2009)

Question: Like Borat, Bruno was mostly unscripted, and most of the people were real people secretly filmed without their knowledge. So does that mean the sex scenes at the swinger party were unsimulated? If they were, how was the movie not rated NC-17?

MikeH

Chosen answer: The MPAA's rating guidelines are all over the place, and tone and context matter. The scene in question appears to be real, but there's not really anything explicit shown, and since it's all played for laughs, the MPAA was probably more lenient on it.

Phaneron

13th May 2016

Fight Club (1999)

Chosen answer: He had been living in a deeply schizophrenic world, living two lives, but not remembering one of them. When he realised that he was actually TWO people, he realised that he could kill them both with one shot. So, his eyes were finally opened to the truth. As it happened, he didn't actually kill himself, but the dark side accepted that he had.

Charles Austin Miller

Continuity mistake: When Tus's throat is slit, we see two shots of his dead body. In the first shot, his neck is covered in blood, but in the second shot there's only blood on the wound, but the wound is longer.

MikeH

Continuity mistake: When a soldier almost jumps on Dastan as he's on the ground, Garsiv stabs him midair. Blood then drips onto Dastan's cheek, but in the next shot, there's blood on his forehead as well.

MikeH

Chosen answer: Dastan was tricked into presenting a poisoned gown to King Sharaman during the celebration. The gown fatally burns him.

raywest

2nd May 2016

Goodfellas (1990)

Chosen answer: Tommy doesn't actually shoot him...he's viciously pistol-whipping him and at the end of the beating does aim the gun at Billy's mouth and say he's going to shoot him, but Jimmy, pulling him off, says "We're done." Tommy then winds up and gives Billy a final whack, so hard the chamber dislodges and the bullets spray out. The noise that sounds like a gunshot is the chamber slamming into the hardwood floor.

26th Apr 2016

Whiplash (2014)

Question: I may have missed something. If JK Simmons was fired, how could he conduct the band at the end?

MikeH

Chosen answer: He was fired from the university, but the band at the end was a hobby group he had started conducting for.

26th Apr 2016

Whiplash (2014)

Chosen answer: No, it is not normal to bleed while playing drums, as callouses develop on a drummer's hands through constant practising and playing. But, if a drummer plays hard enough and fast enough using the same drum sticks, friction between wood and skin can develop and rupture toughened skin. In the context of the film, the drummer is being pushed beyond his limits by the music conductor. Additionally, he is pushing himself to be better, so the bleeding is a consequence of that drive for excellence.

Scott215

Question: How did the FBI find the note Jordan gave Donnie when he was wearing a wire?

MikeH

Chosen answer: As seen from Donne's reaction when the FBI storm the building shortly after, It should be assumed that Donnie told the FBI himself, and kept the note as evidence. One of the reasons for this could be that Donnie must have felt betrayed or something similar.

Dra9onBorn117

24th Mar 2016

You Again (2010)

Continuity mistake: Marni has acne at the rehearsal dinner, but then when she's sleeping, which is presumably a few hours later, she has no acne.

MikeH

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

Suggested correction: It wasn't acne. It was ant bites from when she fell on the run.

24th Mar 2016

Fargo (1996)

19th Mar 2016

Basic Instinct (1992)

Other mistake: Beth gives Nick his keys, saying he left his keys at her place, meaning they're his keys, but then she takes them with her, and those were the same keys she had in her pocket when she was shot.

MikeH

16th Mar 2016

The Dark Knight (2008)

Question: When Gordon faked his death, many people think he faked getting shot, but if you look closely you'll see he really was shot. So how did he fake his death? He would've needed to go to hospital.

MikeH

Chosen answer: Gordon is a smart man. He knew for sure that someone was going to try to kill the mayor so he hatched a plan just in case that went down. Since we see blood, it could be assumed that he was wearing a bulletproof vest with a fake blood pouch to make it seem more realistic. Some other officers knew about this plan, so they were more than likely the ones that transported him away quickly before anyone could see that he was faking.

Dra9onBorn117

11th Mar 2016

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Continuity mistake: When Willard has a severed head dropped on his lap, the stump is clean and flat like it was sliced by a samurai sword. When the head falls to the ground, the stump is bumpy and ragged like it was hacked with an ax.

MikeH

9th Mar 2016

Titanic (1997)

Chosen answer: Even though Rose repeatedly spurned Cal's affections in favor of Jack, Cal still maintained feelings of love and devotion for her. Cal did, with Jack's help, encourage Rose into a lifeboat in order that she might be saved. In the process, he told her that he had an arrangement with a ship's officer for another boat in another part of the ship which he and Jack could board. But that was a lie. He never had any intention of helping Jack. Jack had already surmised that Cal was lying, but played along in order to help convince Rose to save herself. Cal revealed the truth to Jack as the boat was being lowered. It seems Cal believed (or hoped) that once Jack was out of the picture, Rose would become the kind of wife he desired. However, after Rose abandons the lifeboat, and returns to the Titanic, Jack runs after her so they can live or die together. At that point, it finally becomes obvious to Cal that he will never have her. In his rage and jealousy, he lays chase, and unsuccessfully attempts to shoot them with his manservant's gun as they disappear into the flooding dining room.

Michael Albert

Answer: I believe the chase was also an ingenious way for Cameron to show flooding in various parts of the luxury areas that had previously been shown in its opulence, a good juxtaposition.

Answer: Teasle is a "my way or the highway" type of guy, as evidenced by his actions and the people he has on his team (they are either very aggressive, or extremely passive and do whatever they are told). When Rambo escapes, he is hell bent on ensuring that justice is served (even though he fabricated the crimes basically), so much so that he gets abusive and obsessed with serving it. he knows the national guard guys are likely to shoot first and ask questions later, so he tells them that he wants him alive, so that he can ensure justice if served. He is basically akin to Batman - justice will be served at any costs, except for killing them in cold blood.

oldbaldyone

Answer: Teasle wasn't "desperate to kill Rambo." Throughout the movie his goal isn't to kill Rambo, but rather to stop him. Teasle is a man of the law and wants to capture Rambo and bring him to justice.

Chosen answer: Probably so he could torture and kill him himself.

raywest

26th Nov 2015

Hot Fuzz (2007)

Chosen answer: In the pub Danny demonstrates using a ketchup packet to simulate stabbing himself in the eye. Later in the film he returns Nicholas Angel's notebook, hiding a ketchup packet in it. He stabs the pocket with the notebook, causing the ketchup to leak and simulate blood.

28th Jul 2015

The Dark Knight (2008)

Question: A few questions about all the deaths being blamed on Batman. Why couldn't they blame it on The Joker or one of his henchmen? What would they have said Batman's motives were? And who would've told everyone, and how? If it was Gordon, he'd have to say he was an eye witness, because there was no evidence, and wouldn't people think it was weird he didn't do anything about it?

MikeH

Chosen answer: The Joker was already being arrested by a large number of officers at the time of the incident with Dent. The Batman, already a wanted criminal, was the easy choice for them to make. He could take the blame whilst allowing Dent to die as a hero, implementing new laws to bring down organised crime.

Alternatively, it was done this way so that the title of the movie made more sense.

27th Jul 2015

Dolphin Tale (2011)

Revealing mistake: We see a girl in a wheelchair missing her right leg, but we can briefly see her foot tucked under her left leg.

MikeH

21st Jun 2015

Clueless (1995)

Continuity mistake: When Cher's driving instructor tells her she failed her test, the instructor is sitting next to her, then we see a brief shot of Cher crying, then we see the instructor out of the car and at the front of it. The camera wasn't off him long enough for him to get out of the car and walk that far, and we didn't hear a door opening or closing.

MikeH

2nd Jun 2015

Spider-Man (2002)

Question: What exactly did Mary Jane's father say to her when he was yelling at her at home?

MikeH

Chosen answer: "You're trash! You're always gonna be trash, just like her!" - He says this presumably in reference to Mary Jane's mother.

19th Apr 2015

The Matrix (1999)

Question: If none of the cops knew about Trinity's abilities, why did they send so many cops to smash her door and hold her at gunpoint like she was a terrorist? To them she was just a hacker, which doesn't put anyone in physical danger, so wouldn't just one officer have been enough?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Trinity was a known associate of Morpheus, considered "the most dangerous man alive", so the police would have taken some precautions - even a hacker could be armed in any case. At least four units would be sensible for any kind of raid, regardless of how harmless they assumed the suspect was. However, the lieutenant only sent two units into the hotel to detain her so he didn't think it was that big a deal, and there were two more outside.

Sierra1

Other mistake: In the first Twilight, vampires bones break like normal humans, as demonstrated when Alice breaks James's neck. In New Moon, they break like concrete, as the man whose head the Volturi ripped off has a grey stump. In Eclipse, lots of vampires lose bodyparts in the big battle, and they all break like ice, as they have white shiny stumps. In Breaking Dawn Part 2, lots of vampires lose bodyparts in the imagined battle, and they break like china, as they have brown stumps.

MikeH

Continuity mistake: When the assassin's head is about to hit the fan, in the first shot of him going up, his head is very close to it, but in the next shot, it's further away.

MikeH

Continuity mistake: When Indy is shot in the arm in the car, there's no blood on the windscreen at first, but in the very next shot there is.

MikeH

Continuity mistake: When the guy at the start who betrayed Indy is shown stabbed by many spears, in the shot when Indy says "adios", he stays with him the entire shot. However, in the next shot, he's far away from him.

MikeH

Trivia: The ending was originally different. After the scene where Derek is crying over Danny, it cut to Henry being arrested, then his family in the kitchen mourning him and saying he was a good boy, and then Derek shaving his head again while smiling. When Edward Norton read the script, he said "I thought the movie was supposed to be anti-Nazi." So the ending was soon changed.

MikeH

Question: How did Sweeney know Derek got raped? How and why would Derek ask for his old history teacher to come visit him instead of anyone else, like his family?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Someone would have told Sweeney what happened (guard, nurse etc.). Derek would have called Sweeney down because he did not want his family to know that he got raped, because it might make him look helpless and destroy his image. Sweeney was really the only person he knew that wasn't a skin-head.

Dra9onBorn117

Answer: It's heavily implied that Sweeney, through his gang outreach initiatives which are mentioned in the police station scene, had a relationship with Derek in which he tried to get him out of the skinhead lifestyle. With the sexual assault and betrayal from his fellow skinheads being the catalyst for his skinhead "deprogramming", he called Sweeney because he knew that he wouldn't judge him and that he could talk to him about how his feelings about skinhead life had changed.

2nd Apr 2015

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Question: Crowe thinks his wife resents him for putting his work before her. But since nobody but Cole can see him, what work does he have?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Child psychologist - or so he thinks. Remember that Bruce Willis' character doesn't comprehend that he is actually dead, and certainly doesn't grasp the fact that Cole is the only person who can see him. Dr. Crowe's perception is that life goes on as does his professional role as a therapist for children. When he is around his wife, he misinterprets her melancholia and somber expressions as evidence that she resents his priority on his work, and that she is behaving coldly towards him as a result. In fact, she is in mourning for Malcolm, her dead husband - something he doesn't realize until the film's end.

Michael Albert

29th Mar 2015

La Confidential (1997)

Chosen answer: Possibly. Smith mentions that Exley's father was a straight cop, much to Exley's wish. Smith, being as corrupt as he is, may have killed Exley's father.

Answer: No he did not. Rollo Tomasi was a term only Vincennes knew, so that would lead Exley to conclude that Smith was with Vincennes when he was killed. Rollo Tomasi was also an idea, someone who got away with crime, and that was what Smith was.

23rd Mar 2015

Men in Black 3 (2012)

Chosen answer: The gold saucer crashed in middle of the street was the ship Boris stole to get to earth. While they are in the restaurant Kay gets a call that tells him a ship was taken from lunar max and it was Boris who took it.

16th Mar 2015

La Confidential (1997)

Question: Why did Exley appear so traumatised after killing the man in the elevator? He is, after all, a police officer in homicide, and he killed people before that. Also, did he kill him intentionally?

MikeH

Chosen answer: A 12g shotgun blast at that range would cause an incredibly bloody death, especially as there is a good chance it hit the man in the face. Exley has killed a person in the line of duty before this, but not in such a spectacular way. And while he may not have meant to kill him he chose to shoot over letting the man escape.

Grumpy Scot

16th Mar 2015

Batman Begins (2005)

Question: Why would Falcone's assassin kill Chill in front of many cops? Why would she choose to go to jail just to protect one person who was already in jail? And if she was so intent on protecting him, why would she say "Falcone says hi"? That would just make Falcone even more indictable.

MikeH

Chosen answer: Falcone has the entire justice system of Gotham in his pocket. He'd believe he could beat any charge and probably convinced the assassin that he'd do the same for her.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: When the man was hanged on the fan, what exactly happened? It seems like he was cut by the fan, but then there's no blood or anything. How exactly did he die? And why did the fan suddenly stop when he hit it?

MikeH

Chosen answer: His neck was snapped by the whip getting caught in the fan. There isn't always blood with a hanging. Since the fan wasn't designed to hold a man's weight, the motor in it would have stopped or given out.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: Why did McGonagall send all the Slytherins to the dungeon? It was only one Slytherin who wanted them to turn in Harry, and many times in the series people say not all Slytherins are bad.

MikeH

Chosen answer: Not all Slytherins were bad, but many were and they would fight against Harry. McGonagall did not have time to pick out which ones were allies or enemies. It was simply more efficient to lock them all up at once. Also, even though there were good Slytherins, they would know that taking sides against Voldemort and failing to fully support him could result in later retaliation against them or their families.

raywest

16th Mar 2015

The Truman Show (1998)

Question: How does Christof talk to the actors? They don't look like they have earpieces, and if they do, why didn't that make Truman suspicious earlier?

MikeH

Answer: They do have earpieces, just minuscule ones that can't be seen unless you are looking directly into a persons ear. As shown in the scene with Marlon on the beach, he is being fed his lines by such an earpiece. They are also present when Truman is in his car and he picks up the signal they are using to show where he is at the given time. Also, even though you can hear what someone is saying, you can't talk back to them which is why Meryl and Marlon had to talk to a camera when requesting help/confirming Truman wasn't there.

Yep, that's it. Also, the earpieces might not even be that small but Truman isn't looking for them and thus doesn't see them.

lionhead

Chosen answer: It appears that Christof and the control team in the moon did not, in fact, have contact with the actors very often. It is more likely he had contact with people on the ground who could make things happen per his instructions. But there were inconsistencies. For example, how could he create instantaneous traffic jams at a moment's notice, and set up a hazardous spill scene on the outskirts of town to prevent Truman from leaving Seahaven, but he couldn't get anyone to interrupt or vary the cycle of movements by extras that Truman watched in his rear view mirror when he was trying to convince his wife something in their town was amiss - even when he was talking aloud, anticipating the next extra's move before it happened? Christof could arrange for a road race to happen by and to have people almost instantaneously hustle Truman's father onto a bus when he showed up in town as a homeless man, but it took quite some time to get Sylvia's father onto the beach to whisk her away to Fiji, even though Christof knew exactly where they were headed. And when Truman and Meryl were having their major argument in their kitchen, Christof could engineer Marlon to show up with a six pack of beer, but he couldn't communicate with Meryl to provide her advice on how to handle the situation, and she ended up screaming for help into a camera. I think Christof did place some sort of communication/listening device on some actors at critical times. We saw that in a couple of instances (e.g. When Marlon went into Truman's basement looking for an already disappeared Truman, Christof was feeding him direct instructions). But I don't think it was routinely done. And when it was, Christof's surely would have had the technical know-how to create a supremely inconspicuous piece of equipment.

Michael Albert

11th Mar 2015

Goodfellas (1990)

Continuity mistake: When we see the close-up of Tommy pulling the ice pick out of Morrie's head, there's lots of blood on the ice pick. But in the next shot, there's no blood on the ice pick. The next shot is a little quick and blurry, but we can still easily see the ice pick's silver when it should be red.

MikeH

11th Mar 2015

La Confidential (1997)

Continuity mistake: When White shoots Fitch in the chest, at first there's only a little blood around the bullet hole, but in the next shot there's instantly much more blood.

MikeH

10th Mar 2015

La Confidential (1997)

Revealing mistake: When the two men in the car are shot with machine guns, there's a bump on each of their foreheads even before they're shot in the head. This bump was so it could disappear and reveal the bullet holes when the bullet hits their heads.

MikeH

Question: Why is Sean happy that Will rejected the job interview to go to California? I know he thinks love is important, but his goal was to stop Will from wasting his potential.

MikeH

Chosen answer: Will is not wasting his potential. Sean knows that Will has overcome many of his emotional difficulties and with his exceptional abilities, there will be many other job opportunities, regardless of where he lives. Sean believes it is far more important for Will to pursue a lasting relationship with a woman for the first time in his life.

raywest

Will had multiple job offers - someone of his intelligence could pick up any job he wanted hence he wasn't disappointed.

Question: Why did Will lie about having twelve brothers? What did he think it would achieve? And why would someone as smart as Skylar believe it?

MikeH

Chosen answer: It's just part of his personality. He had become used to keeping people at a distance and made up stories so they didn't know what he was actually like. There's no reason for Skylar not to believe him at first. Large families with ten or more children are not unheard of, particularly if the parents have been married more than once.

raywest

Answer: The judge pointed out that Will "went through several foster homes." Whether the foster parents had their own biological children and/or other foster kids, Will could have easily had twelve "brothers" who were the functional equivalent of biological brothers. Using his own operational definition of "brother", Will had twelve, so was not lying. However, using a more common definition of "brother", Will was not exactly telling the truth. Will can be said to have told her a "white lie" - only telling her what he wanted to and omitting the details. This can be a type of defense mechanism, giving her the impression that he - like almost everyone else - grew up in a family with his siblings. In a way, he was protecting himself by hiding the way in which he was raised. Because it wasn't typical for Will to become attached to whatever girl he was seeing, he saw no need to reveal his past (although, unknown to him at the time, this relationship would turn out differently than previous ones).

KeyZOid

Why would she think that he was making up something like how many brothers he has? Not only did Will go through the names of his twelve "brothers", he was able to convincingly repeat the twelve names after she asked him to. IF he had not been able to quickly repeat a sequence of twelve boys' names, it would have been a giveaway that he was lying. Common sense was more significant than intelligence in discerning whether or not Will was telling the truth. (But common sense often does not match reality).

KeyZOid

5th Mar 2015

The Dark Knight (2008)

Question: How can you die instantly from a small quick cut to the cheek?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Because the camera cuts away before we see the slash, we don't know how ferocious the Joker cuts him. Mind you, the knife was halfway inside his mouth and it did seem like a deep cut, so he possibly died due to the knife slashing an essential artery or vessel.

Dra9onBorn117

5th Mar 2015

The Dark Knight (2008)

Chosen answer: There was not enough time. Only the Batmobile was fast enough to save one of them, hence the police being late to the other location. The Joker made sure one would die.

MasterOfAll

Assuming they sent all the other units to find Dent (Rachel instead), wouldn't it have been helpful and faster to send some cop patrolling near that location to save her? As fast as Batman was with his technology, another cop who might have been close to the location could have gotten there in time I would guess. Or am I missing something?

Paradox Rastafa

I think several things are in play (but me speculating). First, the cops were busy trying to safeguard Dent and then apprehend the Joker. Think Die Hard 3 were all the cops were so busy "you could steal City Hall." So while there might be some cops on patrol, not close enough. But given the level of precision in Joker's plan, it seemed like the explosion was going to go off when the cops got there, so even if they got there sooner, the place would still explode.

Bishop73

But I will admit that the Joker's "precision" really seems to be sheer dumb luck that we're suppose to accept as his criminal mastermind plan.

Bishop73

Yes, it could be indeed or maybe like Nolan said: Joker is a mysterious unstoppable force (resourceful one at that) that suddenly appeared. Gotham's extreme corruption at the time allowed for a psychotic (or anarchist if you will) one like Joker to play his cards with more freedom as well, which I think some people forget to consider. In that sense, Bane had to do things differently because the aforementioned aspect was highly reduced after TDK events.

Paradox Rastafa

True. With many things at play, possible situations and Joker's preparation, there can be multiple reasons why everything happened the way it did (the film makes a wise decision to not over explain this and leave it to imagination), specially because Joker most likely wanted one of them to die, or they would have both died anyway since explosion occurred either way. Based on everything Joker did, maybe it was always supposed to be Rachel. He wanted to make a point with Dent and Bats after all.

Paradox Rastafa

Chosen answer: When they left the L Street Tavern, Skylar said she wanted to meet Will's brothers and Chuckie gave him a curious look which she picked up on.

Sierra1

25th Feb 2015

American Reunion (2012)

Question: Can someone please explain the photos in the yearbook? It seems like it was the gang in 1999, but they never posed for those photos in the first American Pie.

MikeH

Chosen answer: They have been friends for a long time. They had plenty of time to take pictures. We only see them on screen for a few hours of their lives spread over a short while.

Greg Dwyer

Chosen answer: In a nutshell, tax evasion. He's running the prison like a company doing building work with, as its described by the builder in the movie, a pool of slave labour to allow him undercut other contractors. He is skimming profit for his own pockets, along with taking bribes, etc. that Andy's creative book keeping is hiding from the IRS.

25th Feb 2015

La Confidential (1997)

Question: Was the police force in the 50s really that corrupt and brutal?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Yes.

Answer: Yes indeed. Example: "Bloody Christmas," which takes place in the beginning of the film, was based on a real incident, when on Christmas Day, 1951, some 50 officers, many of them drunk (in violation of the LAPD's alcohol policy), beat six prisoners to a bloody pulp in revenge for an assault on a fellow officer. At least 100 people knew about or witnessed the beatings.

25th Feb 2015

Pay it Forward (2000)

Question: I might be mistaken, but I think I saw the bullies at Arlene's house at the end. Were they there, and if so, why?

MikeH

Chosen answer: The one who stabbed him was not. The others were there because they did not mean for Trevor to get stabbed and killed so now they feel guilty. They were showing Arlene they were sorry.

They were sorry for killing him.

Only one of the bullies killed him. The others were bullying, but didn't think the other would kill him. However, they still had remorse and were showing that remorse to the mother.

Question: What was the point of the ending? What message was it trying to send? We have a whole movie sending an anti-racist message, but then a black guy kills Danny for blowing smoke in his face. I'm sure this wasn't the movie's intention, but it kinda seems like we're supposed to believe Derek was originally right and shouldn't have changed.

MikeH

Chosen answer: No, the message is absolutely not that Derek was originally right. The last part just shows there is evil on both sides and not only the neo-nazis need change. Danny changed, but too late to be saved from being murdered for racist reasons. Its a classic Shakespearean tragedy.

lionhead

Answer: In the original unaired ending of the movie, it shows Derek staring in the mirror at his home. He takes his shirt off exposing his swastika, then you see hair falling into the sink as he shaves his head.

Anywhere to find that alternate ending?

lionhead

25th Feb 2015

22 Jump Street (2014)

Question: In the "My name is Jeff" videos where they actually show the video from the movie as well as the voices, sometimes they show a close-up of his face, but sometimes it's from more of a distance. Which one do they use in the movie, and where's the other one used?

MikeH

21st Feb 2015

Up (2009)

Question: How did the movie get nominated for Best Picture? I thought there was a separate category for animated films.

MikeH

Chosen answer: There's a separate section just for animated films to highlight them and give a wider selection recognition, similar to foreign movies, but they're not excluded from the best picture category, which is open to every feature.

Question: How come Hadley was arrested for Tommy's murder but nobody cares about Fat Ass's murder? There were hundreds of witnesses.

MikeH

Chosen answer: 1) This is almost twenty years down the road. Many of those witnesses are either gone from the prison, dead, or may have forgotten any details. 2) Hadley beat Fatass because he wouldn't stop talking, breaking the rules. Tommy was just standing there talking to the warden. It's cold blooded murder vs. Simple brutality. 3) Prisoners are often reluctant to testify against guards because of fear of retribution from other guards.

Greg Dwyer

Question: How did the movie win Best Picture? I thought there was a separate category for foreign films.

MikeH

Chosen answer: There's a separate section just for foreign films to highlight them and give a wider selection recognition, similar to animated movies, but they're not excluded from the best picture category, which is open to every feature.

Question: If the police were so sure Jamal cheated, why are they so desperate to find out how?

MikeH

Chosen answer: It's not enough to be sure about a crime or other wrongdoing. It has to be proven with facts. They want to show how he did it.

raywest

Question: Why was Oz considered a con man? He was simply doing magic tricks, which everyone should know aren't real.

MikeH

Chosen answer: I believe you are taking a very modern day perspective. In our era of technology, scientific advancement, and general skepticism about everything, we are pretty jaded and cynical about things like magic and paranormal phenomena. At that time and place, audiences were far more willing to accept the possibility of true magic and sorcery, and weren't as prone to disbelieving what their eyes tell them. A "con" (short for "confidence") man is one who attempts to gain the trust of another, subsequently using deception, fraud and/or trickery for their own personal gain. I don't think it's unfair to label Oz this way, particularly at the beginning of the film.

Michael Albert

13th Feb 2015

Scarface (1983)

Revealing mistake: When Tony shoots Hector in the head, you can tell they stuck a red sticker to his head to simulate a bullet hole. You can tell this because there's a little bit sticking out, which is what they'd use to take it off.

MikeH

Continuity mistake: When Seso throws a sword into a warrior's head, the sword originally had the handle cut off, but when we see it sticking out of the warrior's head, it has a handle.

MikeH

Question: Why was there blood on Travers Goff's shirt when he died? I thought he died of tuberculosis. And what was the knife for?

MikeH

Chosen answer: The bloody shirt is from him continually coughing up much blood from the infected lungs, which is typical in people who had the disease. The knife isn't explained.

raywest

Question: At the start of the film, Danny is given the paper and told he has to hand it in the next morning. At the end, Danny is at school ready to hand it in. Does that mean that aside from the black-and-white flashback scenes, the movie took place over 24 hours? It's hard to believe so much happened in such a short amount of time.

MikeH

Chosen answer: Yes, apart from the flashbacks the whole movie is set over 24 hours.

The_Iceman

2nd Feb 2015

The Fugitive (1993)

Question: In real life, when are cops allowed to shoot people? I find it hard to believe Samuel Gerard would have been allowed to shoot Richard repeatedly in the torso just for running away from him. I know the glass was bulletproof in that scene, but Gerard didn't know that.

MikeH

Chosen answer: Richard is a convicted murderer on the run. A police officer would be justified in shooting him to prevent him from injuring anyone or taking a hostage.

Answer: The Supreme Court case Tennessee v. Garner affirmed that law enforcement officers have the right to kill fleeing felons if they have a reasonable belief that allowing the subject that they're pursuing to escape would possibly cause more harm to others.

Answer: Samuel Gerard was not a police officer. He was a U.S. Marshal, and they are not governed by the same rules as police. Also being a U.S. Marshal Gerard would surely have known that any glass in any government building would be bulletproof for just such an occasion.

ChristmasJonesfan

2nd Feb 2015

The Truman Show (1998)

Question: How could people sneak into the show? It's in a large dome, and I assume there's lots of security.

MikeH

Chosen answer: A motivated individual can find a way. One could get hired as an extra, or as a crew member. And one could certainly simply elude security. The larger the operation, the easier it is to find holes in the system. We have certainly seen many instances of that in real life, in museums, theme parks, celebrity residences, national landmarks, etc. Why not in a fictional, dome-enclosed town?

Michael Albert

Question: Why did Spielberg make Temple of Doom a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark? I read somewhere that he didn't want to make the Nazis the villains again, but that wouldn't be a problem since the Nazis never went to India or China.

MikeH

Answer: This is conjecture, but it seems the general function of setting Temple of Doom before Raiders of the Lost Ark is that it helps set audience expectations that the two movies are self-contained episodes. For instance, Karen Allen has said she wasn't disappointed about not being asked to return because she'd already been told that the next installment was being set in the past before her character is reunited with Indy. Conversely, since we're already aware Raiders makes no mention of the events of Temple of Doom, we know we shouldn't necessarily expect any further installments to continue directly from prior movies' storylines regardless if they are set forward in time.

TonyPH

Chosen answer: It was actually George Lucas who wrote the story, made it a prequel, and has stated it was because he didn't want the Nazis to be the villains again. The idea most likely seems if it wasn't a prequel, the Nazis could still be after Jones, even in China or India. But alas, there is really no other insight as to Lucas' prequel decision.

Bishop73

Question: The movie was released in 2004 and Season 4 was released in 2005. In the movie, SpongeBob is the manager of The Krusty Krab 2 and Plankton got the formula but went to jail. So then how come from Season 4 onwards there's only one Krusty Krab, SpongeBob's still just a fry cook in the original Krusty Krab and Plankton's free and is still trying to get the formula?

MikeH

Chosen answer: The movie is not in continuity with the series.

MasterOfAll

Question: How does curb stomping someone kill them? It will obviously destroy their teeth, but it doesn't look very fatal.

MikeH

Answer: The stomp is to the neck. It breaks the neck and causes death.

Chosen answer: "Curb stomping" is a form of assault in which a victim's mouth is forcefully placed on a curb after which the head stomped from behind. Depending on the force of the stomping, the practice may, indeed, cause severe injuries and sometimes death. Any time you have a person's head being crushed between a hard, immovable object and an object moving with force, it is not unreasonable to posit that death can result - either immediately from the trauma, or later due to internal injury and bleeding.

Michael Albert

2nd Feb 2015

Goodfellas (1990)

Question: When Jimmy and Henry torture the man into giving them money for a gambling dept he owes to Paulie, we then find out he had a sister who was an FBI informant. Henry says "She gave up everyone. Jimmy, me, even her brother." What did her brother do that was illegal? I thought he was just the victim.

MikeH

Chosen answer: Gambling, especially with a mobster bookie was and is still illegal in the US.

2nd Feb 2015

Matilda (1996)

Question: Did Miss Trunchbull really kill Miss Honey's father? If she did, why was she never arrested for it?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Yes she did. Whatever way she killed him she made it look like a suicide so that's what the police ruled it as. No reason to arrest her if they ruled it a suicide.

Question: In the book, it's revealed that Katie spent 6 months in hospital after the cursed opal necklace attacked her. How was it so harmful? It does seem fairly sharp, but there's no blood or cuts in her neck.

MikeH

Chosen answer: She wasn't injured by the necklace. Simply touching it cursed her. It was the curse itself that hospitalized her, not physical damage done by the necklace.

Phixius

Question: Does "pattycake" also mean something sexual? We were obviously at first supposed to think Jessica and Acme had sex, but if they were, why would she say "pattycake" and why does Maroon say "You're not the first guy whose wife went pattycake on him"? Am I missing out on something?

MikeH

Chosen answer: According to the director, Pattycake is the toon equivalent to sex.

Greg Dwyer

25th Jan 2015

Face/Off (1997)

Question: How could they possibly remove Archer's bullet scar? If they could, wouldn't that just create a bigger scar?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Surgical scar removal is a real thing, usually involving skin grafts or lasers. Keloid scarring is a result of the body aggressively attempting to heal/repair itself after trauma or injury (in this case, the gunshot). With proper surgical techniques, the body isn't traumatized to the point that deep scarring occurs. Of course, just like with the face surgery, the movie exaggerates the results of the scar removal.

Bishop73

I thought he kept it.

He says he wanted to keep it at the beginning of the movie, but when he is about to have his face changed back at the end of the movie, he says he doesn't need it anymore.

jshy7979

25th Jan 2015

Face/Off (1997)

Chosen answer: Because Eve told her.

Greg Dwyer

25th Jan 2015

Face/Off (1997)

Question: Why were Pollux and Archer sent straight to prison without a trial?

MikeH

Chosen answer: It's obvious that enough time hasn't passed for a trial of such magnitude to take place, meaning that the brothers have been remanded in custody to await trial. They should have been arraigned but we don't see that onscreen.

Answer: The speech Walton gives when Archer arrives implies it's a top secret Guantanamo Bay type of prison where due process doesn't exist.

22nd Jan 2015

Anger Management (2003)

Question: Is there another version of the movie? Because when I saw it on TV some scenes were cut or changed. It wasn't to remove swearing or anything, it was completely random, for example they cut Dave asking Buddy if he can eat Fiddle Faddles, and they changed Chuck's line "That's a letter I'm writing to Geraldo Rivera" to "That's a letter I'm writing to my father." This version is the version they use on the website Subzin, a website for finding movie quotes. Can someone please explain this version? What it is, how it's different, where it's used, etc.

MikeH

Answer: It's really not uncommon for movies to remove bits and pieces when broadcast on TV. Movies aren't just cut for content, they're also cut for timing. (Ex. "Shanghai Knights" used to be absolutely butchered when shown on cable - there were entire scenes missing, which created glaring mistakes.) It's also not uncommon for TV versions or foreign releases to change or remove cultural references, or use alternate takes depending on the language used. Depending on where you live, it could very easily just be that the version you're seeing is one of these alternate versions that was then also trimmed down to fit a TV timeblock.

TedStixon

22nd Jan 2015

Goldfinger (1964)

Question: How exactly did Tilly die? I know she got hit in the neck by Oddjob's razor-rimmed hat, but it doesn't make sense. Why didn't it cut her head off or at least cut her? There wasn't even a mark or blood. If it didn't even cut her, how did she die just from getting hit by it?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Oddjob's hat has a metal brim that's razor sharp under the cloth. It's possible for the hat to have hit her neck in a way that she didn't get cut (I've commented elsewhere about the number of factors that have to be just right to sever a head with a single blow), but the metal object hurled with Oddjob's strength was enough to snap her neck.

Captain Defenestrator

21st Jan 2015

Skyfall (2012)

Question: Why would M betray Silva like that? What was so bad about hacking the Chinese? If what he did was really that bad, why couldn't she just fire him or even sue him? Why would she try to have him killed? Everyone always talks about how horrible Silva is and how sad is is that M died, but why is there no mention of how despicable M's actions were?

MikeH

Chosen answer: MI6 agents operate in a very grey area legally speaking. Plenty of the things Bond has done over the years could even be classed as acts of war against foreign powers if they were discovered. For this reason, all agents know that if they are caught or captured their government will disavow all knowledge of them or their actions, meaning they're on their own. That's why we learn in Die Another Day that Bond had a cyanide capsule to commit suicide if caught (which he threw away years ago). M was Silva's mentor, meaning he took it very personally when she followed protocol and cut him loose after he hacked the Chinese and was discovered.

21st Jan 2015

Skyfall (2012)

Question: If the Craig movies are a reboot/prequel to all the other Bond movies, how do they explain M dying in Skyfall but the same M being alive in the Brosnan movies?

MikeH

Chosen answer: It's a reboot, not a prequel. They kept Judi Dench because she's a great actress, but from Casino Royale onwards, the previous Bond movies are ignored.

Not only that but 'Skyfall' COULD potentially sit in the previous Bond film line-ups anyways. This one isn't time-sensitive, doesn't make references to Craig's Bond films before this one therefore can sit nicely in there. And I've always thought this is more like 'Goldeneye' or 'Licence to Kill' in that it is a more conventional Bond movie than Casino Royale or Quantum of Solace.

9th Jan 2015

Goodfellas (1990)

Question: Why does Henry ask the taxi driver to take him to jail? Aren't the police supposed to take you immediately after the sentencing hearing? Why could he make his own way to jail when he wanted, and why didn't he just run away?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Convicted criminals aren't always taken immediately to prison upon their sentencing, especially when they're free on bail pending their trial and sentencing hearings. As is often the case in such instances, he was probably given a short time (usually a week) to get his affairs in order before reporting for his incarceration voluntarily; had he not reported on time, police would have been sent to procure him.

zendaddy621

Answer: He didn't mean to take him directly to prison, he meant to be taken to the court house or police station to be taken into official custody.

24th Dec 2014

The Green Mile (1999)

Question: Why do the guard do execution rehearsals with a man who's not going to be executed? At first I thought the rehearsals were so the person being executed would know what to expect. The guards know how to run an execution, so why would they need to practice without the one being executed?

MikeH

Chosen answer: They do it for the same reason people practice anything. It is to stay on top of how to perform a certain function or activity. The man is just a volunteer. Correction officers (prison guards) who do executions would particularly have to make sure they can perform flawlessly. The state and/or federal government would closely regulate and monitor this. If anything was botched, there would be severe legal repercussions, possible job dismissals, and even lawsuits by families of the condemned prisoner. Also, executions are not performed on a regular basis at any one penitentiary, so constant practice would be essential to maintain an adequate skill level. Most likely, regular drills are required by law. There would also be changing or rotating staff that needs to be trained and/or retrained. There's been much publicity recently about several executions using lethal injections being done improperly, so it is hardly surprising the procedures would constantly be reviewed and practiced.

raywest

24th Dec 2014

The Green Mile (1999)

Question: Why didn't Percy hit Wild Bill when he was strangling Dean? He enjoys hurting people, so what was the problem in that scene?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Percy is a coward and froze in the heat of the moment. He has no idea how to deal with dangerous people, only helpless ones who are behind bars, like Del.

MovieFan612

8th Dec 2014

Frozen (2013)

Question: Since the gloves do a good job at hiding Elsa's powers, why would she need to stay away from Anna?

MikeH

Chosen answer: They don't restrict her powers, as made obvious by the snow and ice in her room when she's locked in it. They just hide the obvious effects on her hands to try and keep her from thinking about it.

Greg Dwyer

Answer: "Conceal, don't feel, don't let it show." As her father said.

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