Corrected entry: The Terminator runs his finger down the phone book to look up the Sarah Connors. Why would a cyber with enhanced vision need to do this?
Bishop73
27th Aug 2001
The Terminator (1984)
Correction: He probably does not technically "need" to do this, but he also "wants" to get it right the first time (i.e, not make a mistake). The print in phone books are often quite small. So using a finger reinforces what the eyes are seeing. [The running of his finger down the page might be more for the audience to see what he is doing (looking for), but that wouldn't mean a terminator could not do it to facilitate speed and accuracy, too.].
The idea that a highly advanced machine with targeting systems, etc. needs to use its finger to help it read slightly small print which any human with 20/20 vision would have no problem with is a bit of a stretch. There's zero reason why with a futuristic CPU driving its every action it would need to validate what line it's reading with a finger. Hell, Google Lens on a smartphone can read a page of small text and accurately make the printed words machine readable, and it definitely doesn't need a finger's help to do that.
I wrote, "He probably does not technically 'need' to do this..." Need and want are two different things. Terminator 2 was more advanced. Did he need sunglasses?
It is possible that seeing so many Sarah Connors (as opposed to just the one he was looking for) caused a problem. If he was programmed to stop at Sarah Connors, using his finger enabled him to override the first and each successive one until he found the one (s) that looked most likely to be the correct Sarah Connors.
8th Jul 2009
The Terminator (1984)
Corrected entry: Sarah Connor's time card at the restaurant gives her last name as Sarah ConnEr, with an E.
Correction: And my work has my name spelled wrong too after 18 months. It happens.
Correction: No, it's spelled with an "or."
31st Jan 2019
The Terminator (1984)
Continuity mistake: As Kyle and Sarah hijack the black pick-up truck, the bandage on Kyle's hand is missing.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: No, the bandage is still on his right hand the whole time. There's a few moments you can see it when he's pulling the man out of the truck. There's no camera cut when he starts to back up and you can see a little bit of the white bandage. But with the shadow and the way he's holding his hand, it could look like it's not there.
11th Mar 2004
The Terminator (1984)
Continuity mistake: When Sarah is sitting in the bar after talking with the police, there is a drink in a glass on the table in front of her. The scene cuts away and when it cuts back, it is a small bottle, not a drink glass. (00:33:45)
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: When she sits down, there's two empty mugs and two bottles, but she doesn't have her own drink. The scene cuts to the Terminator coming in, and then we see her with her drink (a bottle and the glass). But enough time for someone to bring it to her.
4th Apr 2009
The Terminator (1984)
Revealing mistake: In the scene where the tanker explodes, we see the cabin of the truck getting blown up. Then in the next shot, we see no flames have even reached the cabin, and it explodes again, this time with flames.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: This is one of those incidences where they intentionally show the scene multiple times. We in fact watch the semi blow up three times.
14th Jun 2007
The Terminator (1984)
Revealing mistake: When the Terminator invades the police precinct to kill Sarah, there is a part where he shoots a cop in the butt with his shotgun (right before he short circuits the building's wires). If you pay attention, the cop is smiling and giggling as he takes cover - before he is blasted. (01:00:45)
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: He's definitely not giggling and I wouldn't call it a smile. Maybe he's grimacing, but I seen him just wincing at the situation he's in. At best you could say he's a bad actor, but poor acting isn't a valid movie mistake that I know of.
27th Aug 2001
The Terminator (1984)
Corrected entry: At the end of the film just before the tanker truck explodes you can clearly see the tow rope pulling the tanker forward. (01:29:00)
Correction: I thought it was some tow-rope too at first, but it appears just to be a piece of metal stuck into the bumper. You can see the piece of metal sticking out of the truck right after it crashed into the blue car. In that shot, you see just the piece sticking out and it's not attached to anything. Plus, in the next shot of the piece of metal, you can see it's not attached to any part of the truck that would allow it to be towed from.
1st May 2004
Pitch Black (2000)
Corrected entry: As cool as it looks, it is impossible for a planet to have two sets of parallel rings, because rings only circle a planet's equator.
Correction: It's a sci-fi film. Anything is possible with sci-fi. I suppose getting an eyeshine and deadly creatures using sound to hunt their prey at night are impossible too? It's not supposed to be realistic. EDIT: I'm not going to engage in this conversation any further as it's starting to turn hostile. I stand by what I said 10 years ago. Good day, Gentleman.
Please don't say, "it's not supposed to be realistic." That's a cop-out. Fantasy is not supposed to be realistic. Science Fiction IS supposed to be realistic.
I agree, this is a valid mistake. The events of this movie take place in our universe, and the most fundamental laws of physics of our Universe dictate that there can not be two sets of rings around planet. It can not be explained away by saying that it is a fantasy or magic.
Science Fiction. Emphasis on "Fiction." Like I said 10 years ago, it's not possible in real life for someone to have "eyeshine" surgery like Riddick did to see in the dark, but it happened in the fictional world of this movie. A fictional planet having two sets of rings is no different.
It is very different. The inability to have eyeshine surgery in the present is a technical limitation. One hundred years ago it was impossible to fly faster than sound. We can do it now. A planet having two rings breaks a fundamental law of nature.
But this isn't nature, is it? It's a sci-fi movie that does not adhere to the laws of our world. It's not a documentary.
That is incorrect. Sci-fi adheres to the laws of nature. You're describing fantasy. Plus, planets in the galaxy and other galaxies, still adhere to laws of "our world", so it's a ridiculous statement to make.
Whether it is an error probably depends on which type of sci-fi is used. With "hard" sci-fi, the two rings are contrary to existing principles, thereby constituting an error. With "soft" sci-fi, two rings are allowed, so not an error. The movie is set in the distant future, so it is possible known principles could be revised. Sci-fi may overlap with fantasy - where do "bioraptors" fall? Soft sci-fi includes human aspects - Riddick refused then agreed to save others. The movie is SOFT SCI-FI.
24th Jan 2011
Buried (2010)
Corrected entry: When Paul is patched though to Dan with the hostage working group Dan asks Paul how much battery life is left on his phone. When Paul pulls the phone away from his head you can see the Blackberry is upside down, qwerty keyboard in his ear and screen and speaker at his mouth. When the kidnapper calls in 1 minute later the phone is instantly right side up.
This correction was made without watching the scene. After Paul checks the battery life, the keyboard is on top. He puts the phone back up to his ear and keeps talking to Dan the whole time. When Paul gets another call he checks the phone and it has now flipped so the keyboard is on the bottom. The phone has flipped instantly.
9th Sep 2005
The Simpsons (1989)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge - S11-E21
Continuity mistake: When Homer is changing the oil in Marge's car, he is in his own driveway, but in the next, he is perpendicular to Flanders' house and then in Flanders' driveway.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: He is in his own driveway the whole time. There's never a shot of him in a different position and certainly never in Flanders' house. You ever see the brick wall from the Simpsons' house in the last shot.
19th Aug 2021
Downton Abbey (2010)
Episode #2.1 - S2-E1
Corrected entry: The new ladies' maid calls Anna "Miss Daisy" as she leaves the kitchen. (00:36:00 - 00:37:00)
Correction: She said "I'll go ask Daisy."
19th Aug 2021
Downton Abbey (2010)
Episode #2.1 - S2-E1
Corrected entry: During discussion in the servants quarters, John's estranged wife remarks "as if!" which is a noted 80s verbiage. Not at all early European nor American. (00:42:26)
Correction: Yes, it was used heavily in the 80's, but that's not when it originated. One of the earliest written use of the phrase comes from 1903 in the book "The Pit" by Frank Norris. And usually words and phrases that appear in print originated verbally before that (unless the author is credited with creating the word or phrase).
And usually words and phrases that appear in print originated verbally before that (unless the author is credited with creating the word or phrase Can you provide an example perhaps, outside the "The Pit"? Sometimes there is assumed history in wording or verbiage from a certain period, that never is actually found or proven.
14th Jul 2020
Nebraska (2013)
Other mistake: In the closing credits of the film the titles of production coordinator and assistant production coordinator are misspelled as "production coördinator" and "assistant production coördinator" respectively. (01:51:47)
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: Although the film was made by an American studio, that is British (and old American) spelling.
I'm British - no it isn't. The point is the umlauts on top of the second O, which isn't how "coordinator" should be spelled.
Suggested correction: For whatever reason, it was done intentionally (which would be the Dutch spelling of the word). Every "coördinator" is spelled that way, which appears at least 8 times in the credits.
24th Aug 2009
Heat (1995)
Corrected entry: When Waingro kills the prostitute at the hotel, the girl he kills is a fair-skinned African American, but when Vincent Hanna is called out to the crime scene, the dead girl under the sheet is a darker skinned African American with braided hair, obviously not the same person. (00:54:45 - 00:58:10)
Correction: The coroner at the scene mentions there were a series of murders with the same MO, and would probably find evidence of "the same guy" in this girl. The different girls were shown to show the first girl wasn't Waingro's only victim.
Why on earth would they show a different dead girl right after the murder of this young prostitute in the hotel room? That makes no sense whatsoever. They obviously didn't bother to have continuity to the scene by showing the alive girl in the bedroom scene to be dead.
They are intentionally two different girls. Kai Soremekun is credited as "prostitute" and Rainelle Saunders is credited as "dead hooker." The scene is meant to show he's a serial killer, not a continuity mistake.
Thank you! The explanation above, about another victim being shown to show how many other victims Waingro had killed, is so ridiculously inaccurate it shouldn't have even been published. Makes absolutely NO sense whatsoever.
12th Aug 2021
The Queen's Gambit (2020)
Continuity mistake: The first time Beth plays Beltik she starts the game as black but finishes the game as white.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: Maybe you're thinking of a different scene. When she's waiting for Beltik, she's playing white. You even see she's moved her pawn and it's white. When Beltik shows, he moves his black pawn.
9th Feb 2012
Horrible Bosses (2011)
Corrected entry: Near the end of the movie when Jennifer Aniston closes the blinds, she isn't wearing examination gloves but when the scene goes to Dale then back to her she is wearing gloves.
Correction: Enough time goes by between shots, and she herself (since she does this for a living) could be good at getting them on and off quickly, as well as Dale recounting this in flashback. There are sufficient gaps in time to explain that.
Not enough time passes. After she closes the blinds, she's off camera for about 6 seconds, but when it cuts back to her, she's still by the door, which she had closed during that time but isn't near any gloves. Then the next time she's only off camera for about 2 seconds, but during that time has moved closer to Dale and the patient and she has gloves on.
8th Apr 2021
Common mistakes
Factual error: When a police officer finds a suspicious powder he or she puts some on his or her tongue and knows straight away what drug it is, in reality the powder would need a lab test to analyse it.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: Not true. Generally they are tasting it to see how pure the drug is. Hard drugs are often diluted with milk sugar, so they make a bigger profit. The higher the sweet taste, the less pure the drug is.
First, law enforcement officers don't ever taste drugs, it's a good way to die if you don't know what you're ingesting. But second, the mistake isn't saying they are tasting drugs to know it's strength or purity. The mistake is explicitly about a cop tasting a drug and positively identifying what it is based on taste, which happens a lot in cop movies. Such as when the cop says "that's cocaine", not "that's half pure cocaine."
7th Aug 2021
Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)
Plot hole: At the end, everyone was returned to their own timeline. Except for Ted's dad. He's shown still playing till the end and not disappearing like the others. However, this version of Ted's dad came from the future when he attempted to arrest his son at David Grohl's house. Therefore, he should have disappeared with the others and returned to his future timeline.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: That's not what happened at the end at all. Only those whose were time-displaced returned to their own timeline. Which is why we see Kid Cudi leave, he was time-displaced and not picked up in the time machine. You can even see Ling Lun is still playing.
Incorrect. Ted's dad was time displaced as well. He never arrived by the time machine, but was sent to hell after being killed by Dennis. Therefore, he should have been sent back to his future timeline.
Ted's dad was never time-displaced, nor did I say he arrived by time-machine. He was sent to Hell in his own time line and then went with the group to 2020. Unlike Kid Cudi who was time-displaced because he popped out of his own timeline because of time and space collapsing. Just being from a different time isn't what time-displaced meant.
6th Aug 2021
The Flash (2014)
Going Rogue - S1-E4
Deliberate mistake: When Capt. Cold is about to shoot Joe in the train station, Eddy "shoots" a pillar next to him to make him run. Eddy then comes from behind the pillar that got shot with no cuts. He would have had to been on the complete opposite side to shoot the pillar where it was hit. (00:32:50)
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: I watched the scene several times and nothing indicates the pillar was shot from the left side. It looks like the pillar was shot from behind (which is why there's no hole on the side or front), exactly where Eddie would have been standing.
6th Aug 2021
Cobra Kai (2018)
Corrected entry: The injury to Samantha's arm switches from left to right. (00:09:17 - 00:28:00)
Correction: It's always on her right arm. When she pulls the bandage down to look at her arm, we're seeing her image in the mirror, but the injury is still on her right arm.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Correction: The Terminators are designed to appear and, more importantly, act, as human as possible. It would look very suspicious if he were to just open the book and pick the names out without using some means of keeping his place on the page.
I think is an overused cop out of the Terminator doing things a machine wouldn't need to do. First off, it would have to be programmed or somehow learn that's how humans look up names in a phonebook. Also, a lot of people can look up names in a phonebook without running their fingers down the page and nothing would be very suspicious if someone just opened it up and started looking for a name using just their eyes. It's done just for the audience.
Bishop73