Question: What is the most likely explanation for what was in the case?
The_Iceman
23rd Feb 2024
Ronin (1998)
Answer: Regarding the movie question, there's no way of knowing what was in the case. It is a plot device called a "MacGuffin," a term coined by director Alfred Hitchcock. It doesn't actually matter what the object is but it just drives the story. It can be any type of object or device such as a "secret formula," "enemy war plans," "nuclear weapon," "treasure map," and so on that the characters are either searching for or protecting. There was never any intention to reveal what it was. Its purpose is to motivate the characters' actions and tell the story. Most likely it was intended to be McGuffin just to keep the audience thinking about the movie long after it ends.
11th Jan 2024
Lucifer (2015)
Save Lucifer - S4-E9
Question: Can a time of death really be pinpointed with such accuracy that someone there half an hour later must be innocent? (00:23:25)
Answer: Yes and no. After the body dies, it loses about 1.5°C per hour until it reaches ambient temperature (i.e. the temperature where the body is found). But there are factors affecting the rate of loss, and one has to assume a starting temperature of 98.6°F. In this case, after factoring in the time from when the police were called to when the body temperature was checked, it would have been determined some time had passed, just not a lot, before Beth saw Moira standing over Megan. Really, what they were saying is Moira's story is believable: that she found her sister dead and picked up the hammer right as the garage door opened.
8th Jan 2024
Lucifer (2015)
Question: What is the red stuff on Lucifer's wings? I first thought it was Chloe's blood, but there was too much and she wasn't bleeding anyway. Lucifer had his wings out to stop the bullets, so he wasn't hit. So, what was on his wings?
Answer: It's Lucifer's blood from when his wings got hit by the bullets. As Lucifer spreads his wings, they're white, and before he wraps them around Chloe, you see a bullet hit his wing above his right shoulder, and the spot turns red. After that, he continues to get shot in the wings before fleeing.
31st Jul 2023
Over The Top (1987)
Question: Wouldn't betting on yourself be illegal? I get that betting on yourself to lose would be a no-no, but wouldn't betting on yourself at all be against gambling rules?
Answer: Short answer is no, it's not illegal. For example, boxers are allowed to bet on themselves. There may be leagues or clubs that prohibit their players (and even staff) from any form of gambling, not just betting on themselves or their team. But it doesn't mean it's illegal. Some casinos or bookies may not take players' bets unless it's a straight bet to win, as opposed to a player betting he'll win in the 6th round.
10th Jun 2023
Rabbit Hole (2023)
Weir: The person you have is not my ex-wife. It's the person I sent in to get her. So, good luck with that motherfucker.
22nd May 2023
The X-Files (1993)
Deep Throat - S1-E2
Mulder: They're here, aren't they?
Deep Throat: Mr Mulder, they've been here for a long, long time. (00:49:58)
22nd May 2023
Spin City (1996)
Charlie: Paul someone wants you outside.
Paul: Who?
Charlie: Everyone in here.
22nd May 2023
The Simpsons (1989)
22nd May 2023
Modern Family (2009)
Luke: Ew gross. I didn't know Grandpa could still do it.
Phil: Don't be stupid Luke, anyone could do it with Gloria.
13th Dec 2021
Die Hard (1988)
Continuity mistake: After John has crawled through the vents and enters the room where Hans shot Takagi, the amount of blood on the window is a lot more than was thereafter Takagi got shot.
15th Sep 2021
24 (2001)
Question: When the FBI enter the Starkwood compound, they are surrounded by Starkwood militia and Hodges threatens to open fire if the FBI don't leave the property. They are federal agents. Would opening fire on them not still be a crime? Hodges seemed sure he could order it to be done and be within his rights so why was that?
Answer: Hodges had a warped, extremist view of individual and property rights. Harassing, impeding, threatening, or interfering with federal agents engaged in their official duties is against the law, even if the actions of the agents are found later to be unlawful. Once he knew they were feds, threatening to shoot them was a crime.
6th Jul 2021
Jaws (1975)
Question: During the USS Indianapolis speech, Quint says a "big fat PBY" came to pick them up. Whats a PBY?
Answer: He's talking about a Consolidated PBY Catalina, which was an amphibious plane (meaning it could land on water) used in WWII. PB stands for Patrol Bomber (the Y designated the manufacturer, Consolidated Aircraft).
6th May 2021
General questions
I once read about a film about an immortal woman that the townsfolk thought was a witch, so they sealed her in a barrel and threw it on the ocean. The ending showed her coming back to life, drowning and coming back to life. Does anyone know what this movie is called?
Answer: There is an Italian fairy tale movie, "Move than a Miracle." (1967) A cinderella type story. A prince, Omar Sharif, falls in love with a peasant girl, Sophia Loren. There is no witch, but through a series of misadventures she gets stuck in a barrel, falls over a cliff and into the ocean. When it washes ashore, a group of boys find her and thinks she is a magical creature. Witch, fairy or angel.
No that's not it. This was a lot more modern.
26th Feb 2021
Designated Survivor (2016)
Question: Just rewatched the series and in the episode where they are operating on President Kirkman to remove the bullet fragments I noticed what I think was a secret service agent in the background of the OR. Is this normal practice for when a president is under anaesthetic or a medical procedure, or was this just because it was after an attempted assassination?
Answer: Yes, it's normal. When President Reagan was shot, they were in the OR with him.
Answer: It would be normal procedure, yes. The Secret Service accompanies the president everywhere, except in very limited circumstances (for example, they don't go into the bathroom with him, or stand in his room while he sleeps). When Bill Clinton had an operation to fix a torn tendon, there was an agent in the operating room throughout the procedure.
18th Dec 2020
The Sweeney (2012)
Question: When DCI Lewis finds Jacks glasses after he's had to let Tom Allen go, He says "It's WHERE I found them that's important." I might have missed it but I don't recall it being explained where he found them. I thought it would be somewhere that proved he was sleeping with his wife.
9th Oct 2020
In the Line of Fire (1993)
Question: When he was looking through the seating chart, how did Frank know that Boothe was James Carney at the presidential dinner?
Answer: Frank had reviewed and was familiar with the list of the attendees since he was concerned about an attempt, and when he looked at the faxed list of new bank accounts, the name Carney jumped out at him.
Answer: John Wilkes Booth killed Lincoln.
Not the question. "Booth" is just a pseudonym used by Mitch Leary (John Malkovich) at the beginning of the film, until Frank and the FBI figure out his real identity. Your answer is right insofar as that's why Leary called himself "Booth." But the question is, how did he immediately connect Leary with the name James Carney on the seating chart.
When he spoke with Sandy Riggs, the organizer of the event, Sandy Riggs said, "Be right back, Mr. Carney." Then when he read the name James Carney on the guest list, he made the connection.
21st Jul 2020
Gavin & Stacey (2007)
Trivia: The three main families in the show are named after British serial killers (West, Sutcliffe and Shipman).
11th Jul 2020
My Name Is Earl (2005)
Police officer: It's police policy not to waste resources looking for a missing person in the first 24 hours because they usually show up on their own, and after 24 hours, if they're still missing, it usually means they're dead and we don't look for them that hard then either.
24th Jun 2020
Live and Let Die (1973)
Continuity mistake: When Bond is secured to the chair just before Kananga reveals himself, Teehee has his claw hand at a 90 degree angle in the shot of them both from the side. The very next shot in front, focused more on Bond, has Teehee's arm down by his side.
12th Jun 2020
Dirty Dancing (1987)
Question: Was Baby a virgin before she was with Johnny?
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Answer: Sorry for posting an off-topic comment, but why are so few questions and mistakes posted anymore?
In large part it's reduced traffic, sadly - I'm always running a bit of a backlog of submissions (about 200 currently), because life gets in the way, but some get auto-approved so there's often a trickle of new content regardless. Mainly though it's just that thanks to search algorithm updates the site's now getting half to a third of the traffic it was about a year ago. I think also there are just fewer mistakes being made! Going back a while a DVD would come out and people would spot a lot of relatively obvious things. Now so many get fixed with CGI before release, and with streaming being wholly digital, lots of things are fixed even after release.
Jon Sandys ★
Thanks for all your hard work.
Brian Katcher
You're welcome! I've got no intentions of abandoning it, whatever the traffic. Still enough regular and irregular visitors to keep it trundling along!
Jon Sandys ★
I second that! Jon does an amazing job.
raywest ★
Thanks! I've got no intentions of abandoning it, whatever the traffic. Still enough regular and irregular visitors to keep it trundling along!
Jon Sandys ★
I have to assume it's just down to 1) maybe less people are submitting, and 2) the site primarily being run by one guy (Jon), and I have to imagine that he probably doesn't have the time to constantly check the site and do updates. I've noticed that sometimes it can take a while for things I submit to be posted, but they usually are within a week or two. To be fair, there's also been in excess of 600 mistakes posted within the last month, and I have around 60 mistakes waiting to be approved (going through the "Chucky" movies and shows looking for mistakes), so it's still happening... just a bit slower than it used to be back in the day.
TedStixon
I don't think it's a problem with fewer submissions. I've submitted several questions that have not made it onto the site yet, and mistakes were that were finally posted after an unusually long time.
I know there have been volunteers who do a lot of work here, but maybe that has dropped off.
raywest ★
Have been wondering the same thing.
raywest ★