Question: When Clark gets the lights to work, Eddie shows up. Eddie calls to Rocky and Ruby Sue to come see what Uncle Clark has done to the house. Then in the scene where Clark's boss is at the house, Clark refers to Eddie as his Cousin-in-law. Is this a mistake or is the word uncle just being used as a pet name for Clark for the kids?
Bishop73
30th Dec 2019
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
30th Dec 2019
The Simpsons (1989)
Question: Surly Duff tells a kid to "Take a picture, it'll last longer" - just what does this expression mean?
Answer: It's just a sarcastic response people say when they catch someone staring at them. As if the person staring is trying to burn an image in their mind of what that person looks like and a picture will last longer than the memory.
Answer: Along with the other answer, it's a sarcastic thing that people say to someone who they don't want to be friends with or date. ie. a group of "cool" kids not letting a "loser" type into their group, or a woman rejecting a guy who wants to date her. They are basically saying "I want to get away from you as fast as possible, so you might as well take a picture - it'll last longer than our friendship/relationship would."
29th Dec 2019
Logan (2017)
Question: When Laura's foot claws come out why aren't there any holes in her shoes? Only the skin can heal from wounds, not objects.
Answer: It's just a continuity mistake. The blade rips a hole in the shoe, but the hole disappears later on... that's a continuity mistake. It's definitely not a plot hole. A plot hole is more a gap or contradiction in a film's internal logic, or when a film leaves out vital information. (Ex. If a character is established as having a deadly nut allergy, but is eating nuts later on with no ill effect... that would be a plot-hole).
It would only be a plot hole if somehow the lack of holes in the shoes was written into the plot that some effect on the plot. Of course, someone would probably correct the entry by saying she could have had a 2nd pair or they bought a new pair if it was integral to the plot.
29th Dec 2019
A Christmas Story (1983)
Question: Right after Ralphie takes off the Pink Bunny suit his aunt Clara made him, the camera pans on Ralphie's younger brother sleeping in midst of Christmas wrapping and opened gifts...at the upper right just above the kid's head is a head that looks just like Herman Munster (The Munsters TV series began in '63 I think) The story is supposed to be in the time 40's time frame. Doesn't it look just like Herman Munster?
Answer: That's not Herman Munster, it's the Frankenstein Monster. Specifically, it's Boris Karloff as the monster (from the original 1930s films), which is what Herman Munster was modelled after.
Answer: It's just a Frankenstein's monster mask, which Herman was anyways. I think a Herman Munster mask would have a bigger nose and a smile.
27th Dec 2019
Home Alone (1990)
Question: When Kevin is shooting Buzz's Starting Lineup figures down the laundry shoot with the BB gun, who are the two figures left of the spatula? I know the one on the far right is Larry Bird, and I believe next to Bird is Walter Payton.
17th Dec 2019
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Question: Where exactly is Whoville located? And what year is the movie meant to take place?
Answer: Then why does it appear as a tiny speck in Horton Hears A Who?
In "Horton Hears a Who", both the book and the animated film, the speck of dust lands on a clover. In the 2000 Grinch film, the speck of dust has now landed on a snowflake because it's winter time. It should be noted that it's only the 2000 Grinch film that has Whoville as a speck similar to Whoville in "Horton Hears a Who." In the book and other adaptations, Whoville and the Whos are normal sized and probably located somewhere in Massachusetts.
Where are you getting Massachusetts from?
Dr. Suess was born in Springfield, MA and there are some that claim the drawings in the book are similar to Easthampton, MA and Mt. Tom (although others say it's La Jolla and Mt. Soledad in California). Residence of Easthampton put on an annual "Whobalation" to celebrate the legend Whoville is based on them.
Answer: According to the introduction, Whoville is located on a snowflake. Therefore they don't keep time like we do.
28th Nov 2019
South Park (1997)
Question: What is the name of the song that the band plays at the beginning of the announcement of Hat McCullough's release from prison? It's a pretty common song used in films and television, but I've never heard its name. I tried to use the Shazam app on my phone to identify it, but no luck.
20th Nov 2019
NCIS: New Orleans (2014)
Question: How does Bakula afford that bar he owns? Do Feds really make enough to make such purchases?
Answer: It should also be noted, just because someone owns a small business (in this case a bar) doesn't mean they're rich, or they had to be rich or make enough money from another job in order to afford it. Banks provide small business loans and having steady employment, good credit history, solid business plan, etc would allow someone to get a loan. Most business owners even say they "own" whatever bar, restaurant, store, or business they run even if it's leased or mortgaged.
20th Nov 2019
Twilight (2008)
Question: How come the vampires don't die during the day and are awake? How can the werewolves transform at will instead of by a full moon?
Answer: Because they are fictional characters, and Stephanie Meyer made up new rules for them to suit her narrative.
She should've still respected the lore as most do. This series is her as Bella and the two guys are based on guys she lusted for in high school who ignored her. Read between the lines people.
Answer: The moon has no effect on the Quileutes because they are not werewolves. In the books, they are shape-shifters that can change at will. Rather than being created by a werewolf's bite, some Quileutes are born with a gene that becomes active and transforms them into wolves when vampires are near. They cannot turn other people into wolves. The movie series glossed over this fact, apparently to avoid confusion about the differences. Even though they are called "werewolves" in the movies, that is not what they are.
In addition, actual werewolves do exist in the Twilight universe. They are called "Children of the Moon." They follow most of the standard werewolf myths: changing only during the night of a full moon, feral behavior, infecting others by biting them, etc... They are also immune to vampire venom. The Volturi hunted them nearly to extinction after one nearly killed Caius.
Answer: It seems like you already decided your own answer, but like a lot of mythology and lore, hundreds of variations occur. Most often werewolves can change at will once they've gone through their first transformation. In a lot of lore, the full moon only forces them to change, even if it's against their will. It does not mean it's the only way to change. Meyer did add a twist to vampires in the sun, but in many stories, sunlight is not fatal, they can be safe in the shadows, or the sunlight only weakens, not kills, them, and/or they are strengthened by the moonlight (which is why they came out at night).
Didn't decide, only observed what I'd seen with the like of Chaney's Wolfman and Lugosi's Dracula, that's all.
The horror movies of that era, like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolfman, etc. freely adapted their own interpretation of traditional folklore.
20th Nov 2019
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Question: Why did Thanos destroy the stones?
Answer: He does it for three reasons: 1) They served their purpose. His goal was to wipe out half of the universe and he succeeded. 2) To avoid the temptation to use them ("they served no purpose, other than temptation.") and 3) So that the destruction (his "work") will always be, that is to say it can't be undone.
Answer: He said "they had served their purpose" So he is arrogant enough to believe that once the stones had done what he wanted them to do he destroyed them as they were no longer useful. But its also possible he didn't want anyone to reverse what he did.
16th Nov 2019
Pushing Tin (1999)
Question: The title - what does it mean/refer to?
Answer: In the film, it's a phrase used to describe the job of an air traffic controller. They're responsible for maneuvering the airplanes around in the skies. "Tin" refers to the airplanes and they're moving, or "pushing", them around. I tried to find if this was a real reference or phrase used in air traffic controllers prior to 1999, or just made up for the movie. It seems it's a phrase made up for the movie (but I can't say for certain as I have no experience in that field).
10th Nov 2019
The X-Files (1993)
Question: Do Mulder and Scully hook up? They also ever marry and have kids?
Answer: SPOILER ALERT: Hook up, yes. Married, no. Children, maybe. The rumors that Mulder and Scully were married started when David Duchovny (Mulder) called Scully "Mulder's wife" when discussing the return of "The X-Files" show. However, series creator Chris Carter said "they were together but never married." In the 2nd X-Files film, "I Want to Believe", they are in a romantic relationship. But by Season 10, they are broken up as Scully has left Mulder. It is revealed that Scully's son, William, is the son of The Smoking Man, who is Mulder's father as well. In Season 11, Mulder and Scully hook up again and in the last episode of Season 11, Scully tells Mulder she's pregnant with his child. As of now, there are no plans for a Season 12 and Gillian Anderson (Scully) has no intention of returning to her role in "The X-Files."
10th Nov 2019
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
Question: Within the movie itself, they introduce the fictitious ADAA instructional film reel which shows a closeup of the lead based paint Timmy is using. You can see the name 'Lead Shield' on the paint can, but does anyone know what phrase is written above the name? (00:22:22)
Answer: "You get better yield with"
Thank you! I had a feeling that's what it read, but since I figured it would be more humorous, I had to ask. Thanks again, I can now sleep at night :).
I looked to see if it was a reference to an old slogan or something, but couldn't find anything, so it seems to just be something to rhyme.
4th Nov 2019
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Question: Is the song "The French Mistake" a real song or was it made up for the movie?
Answer: It was made up just for the movie, and I believe we only hear the chorus. Mel Brooks wanted to do an homage to Busby Berkeley's style of choreographed dance number.
15th Oct 2019
Baby Mama (2008)
8th Oct 2019
A Dog's Journey (2019)
Question: At Ethan's funeral at the end of the movie, his tombstone was seen. And there were names: "James W.", "Dorothy M." and "Ethan H." Who are James and Dorothy? These are definitely not Ethan's parents' names. I remember from the first movie "A Dog's Purpose" that Ethan's parents' names are Jim and Elizabeth. Then who? And what W, M and H next to the names refer to?
Answer: Jim is often a nickname for James. But I thought Ethan's parents got divorced, so perhaps Dorothy was his 2nd wife. Although there's no reference to that name in either film. I haven't throughly checked out of the books to see if they talk about if Ethan had a stepmom and what her name would be. The letter after the first names are their middle initials.
8th Oct 2019
Knight Rider (1982)
No Big Thing - S1-E8
Question: In this episode, in an aerial view of KITT travelling before meeting the semi, KITT is passing a parked car that seems to be one of the other cars used as the stand-in for the 'hero car'. Would that be any sort of error? (00:23:35)
Answer: I would say that unless there's visual evidence it was another K.I.T.T. car, as in you could see the bar scanner or cut steering wheel, people on here would correct the mistake by saying more than one 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am was sold and there's no reason it's meant to be a random car.
28th Sep 2019
General questions
Something I'm trying to find - basically a skit that makes fun of people who say the show Jackass was a bad influence and should be pulled off the air; in it a kid who watched Golden Girls died pulling a stunt from it which led to people railing against Golden Girls.
Answer: There was an SNL skit where MSNBC reports of a group of 4 boys liked to imitate the Golden Girls and one kid (Chris Katan) died from doing so. But there wasn't really people railing against the Golden Girls. https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/msnbc-investigates/3459076.
28th Sep 2019
General questions
What was Darth Maul's actual birth name?
Answer: His birth name was Maul. He has two brothers, Savage Opress and Feral, so it's possible his last name is Opress, although his mother is only known by one name, so that would be speculation.
29th Aug 2019
Wonder Woman (1976)
Question: It's never explained why she couldn't be Wonder Woman without doing that whirling transformation, shouldn't she still have super strength and all those abilities?
Answer: The transformation twirling was invented for the 1970s TV series only, to explain her quick change from Diana Prince to Wonder Woman. However, it would have been nice to do a little spin homage in the movie.
Answer: She does. However, if she were to use any of her abilities as Diana Prince, everybody, including her enemies would be able to make the connection that Diana Prince and Wonder Woman are the same person which could be used to get revenge on her. By not using her abilities in her civilian disguise, nobody would suspect anything at all and she could keep herself and her friends safe.
So it was more a choice that she decided an Ice Skating move was less conspicuous than say, ducking in a phone booth like Superman? If Clark Kent enters a a phone booth, and Superman comes out, don't you think even the dull of mind would get the connection?
That's because Clark Kent has super speed so he can easily run into a phone booth quickly and leave as Superman as quickly too or whenever Clark does need to change into Superman out in the open, there's never around to see him change. It's a plot device that's really effective.
Could one man or gal. We're supposed to just believe almost everyone these two are around can't figure out of the obvious. Characters like Spider-Man and Batman can do this because of their masks, so these excuses just don't pass with me.
Answer: As Diana Prince she didn't have the super powers that Wonder Woman has, although as an Amazon princess she does have greater strength than normal humans. Diana's mom taught her how to transform her ordinary clothes into her Wonder Woman outfit (as opposed to just doing a quick change like Clark Kent does). Her outfit, which her mother gives her when she leaves includes the "golden girdle of Gaea." The girdle provides enhanced strength and heightens her other abilities. As to why she spins, it was a stylized choice to add something extra to the show and hadn't been done in the comics. Although they did change it up a bit due to budget and time. Later, Wonder Woman comic writers would include the spin into the comics, but by then it was generally to put her into her secret identity, not to give her her powers. But as to why Diana Prince doesn't have super powers in the 70's show, as opposed to other incarnations of her; the original TV movie pilot had Diana powerless like the character was during the Bronze Age of Wonder Woman (late 60's) when Diana decided to stay on Earth and became mortal. That series was not picked up, but a 2nd attempt at it, starring Lynda Carter, was and the series loosely based Diana on the first pilot but through magic could transform into the superhero Wonder Woman.
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Answer: No mistake or pet name. In America it's common to refer to your cousin's kids as your nephews or nieces and thus you would be their aunt or uncle. Technically, they would be your first cousins once removed, but in the English language there's isn't a specific word for that relationship, so most stick with nephew/niece and aunt/uncle relationship.
Bishop73
Eddie and Catherine are on Ellen's side of the family that is why he calls him cousin in law.