Question: How come all news networks refused to show Apollo 13's live TV broadcast?
Charles Austin Miller
29th Jul 2018
Apollo 13 (1995)
9th Dec 2017
Deepwater Horizon (2016)
Question: What causes pressure in an oil well?
Answer: That largely goes back to how oil is formed: from dead organic material. That sinks to the bottom of the sea, and if certain layers of sediment build up over that, it gets buried deep enough that's it's compressed, and after enough time passes, it becomes oil. But that pressure from the massive weight of miles and miles of rock on top of it never actually goes away, so when you poke a hole in it, that pressure suddenly has a way to go, via the oil spewing up through the well.
So basically the pressure is created by massive weight of miles and miles of rock on top of the oil that creates the well pressure. Is that correct?
Geologic forces are one thing, but there are different types of petroleum wells, ranging from crude oil to natural gas to combinations thereof. The lattermost, a oil/gas well, is most dangerous because it can suddenly start spewing natural gas when crude oil was expected. Tapping into an oil/gas well can be like popping the top on a can of soda: Gases are released from the fluid and expand rapidly, creating immense and unexpected pressure. In the case of the can of soda, the thing unexpectedly spews soda all over you and your clothing. In the case of an oil/gas well, the thing unexpectedly undergoes a gas blow-out and, potentially, a catastrophic explosion when it reaches the surface.
28th Jul 2018
Deepwater Horizon (2016)
Question: Why did Vidrine not think there was anything wrong with the drill pipe, even though the drill pipe test showed a lot of pressure? Second, why did the test on the kill line show no pressure?
Answer: Vidrine didn't think there was anything wrong with the the drill pipe because there was nothing wrong with it. The problem was the cement cap they tried installing to seal the well. The thing to keep in mind is that British Petroleum didn't intend to immediately tap that well. Managers and crew of the floating platform rig planned to just cap the well and let another rig come along to handle actual production later. The crew was thus a little anxious to cement the well closed and abandon it. Some think it was this anxiousness to move on that produced the blowout. Of many procedures performed prior to abandonment was the "negative test" (whereby drilling mud was pulled out of the well to determine whether the cement cap could withstand the pressure). The negative test was bad, showing pressure in the drill line, an indication that gas had entered the well because they were applying suction to it, and the integrity of the cement cap was compromised. That's when Vidrine ordered the second test, this time on the kill line, and got a reading of no pressure (which was good, but was probably a false reading). Obviously, something wasn't right; but Vidrine, anxious to wrap the operation, decided to trust the kill line reading and basically ignore the drill line reading. This was a major mistake. As they continued pulling the drilling mud out, highly-pressurized gas shot straight up the drill pipe to the rig, and that was the end of Deepwater Horizon.
In the movie, the reason the kill line got no pressure is because the pipe got clogged. (if you listen to the audio description, you'll hear the audio describer the mud clogs the pipe during the kill line pressure test scene).
I thought it was mud that shot straight up from the drill pipe to the rig.
They were sucking the drilling mud up the pipe, but there was high-pressure petroleum gas behind it. They only realised too late that they had failed to cap the well; and then hell, as they say, broke loose.
Then what was that fluid flying upward through derrick?
You can liken a gas blow-out to somebody popping the top on a pressurized can of soda; gas and fluid alike come spewing out of what was, a moment before, a fairly stable fluid. Under tremendous pressure, all you need to do is give natural gas an escape route and all kinds of stuff comes up with it, including crude oil, asphalt, drilling mud, water, etc. The gas is blasting out of the earth and carrying anything and everything with it.
The mud contained a certain methane gas proportion, which ignited and caused the explosions.
Authorities don't think Vidrine was ultimately responsible though. They believe the an employee who died in the disaster was, because he was responsible for the bladder effect hypothesis. I think what the film is actually trying to say is that the person who made the mistake of trusting the kill line was ultimately responsible.
In real life, it was Vidrine who chose to trust the kill line reading and ignore the drill line reading.
By blaming someone who isn't around to defend themselves as they died in the disaster is considered cowardly. That's why in my opinion, money exchanged hands between BP and the Authorities to ensure no charges were brought against Vidrine. Again that's my own opinion. Here's a link to where the manslaughter charges against Kaluza and Vidrine are dropped https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/03/manslaughter-charges-dropped-bp-employees-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill.
Personally I think the idea that the actual villain was the guy who was responsible for the bladder effect hypothesis, and not the guy who chose to trust the kill line reading, and not the drill line reading is absurd.
11th Feb 2008
Mary Poppins (1964)
Corrected entry: When the cook attacks the chimney sweeps, she uses a non-stick frying pan. Non-stick frying pans weren't invented until the 1950s, and the movie takes place in the 1910s.
Correction: Upon closer inspection, the pan is in fact not non-stick. But instead carbon steel, which would be appropriate for the time period.
Cast-iron would be most appropriate for 1910. Carbon steel certainly existed at the time and was used in the manufacture of high-end swords, sawmill blades, cutlery, razors and the like, but would be prohibitively expensive for the manufacture of frying pans for the general consumer.
13th Jul 2017
Alien: Covenant (2017)
Corrected entry: The computer on board the ship mistakes David for Walter. This makes no sense as while a human being could be fooled by his appearance or his voice, a computer with detailed sensors and possessing the exact details of David's composition would not be fooled simply because the two "look" and "sound" alike. In fact, Walter, being a newer and more advanced model, should be composed of different chemicals and materials than the earlier manufactured David making it even less likely that the ship's computer would have mistaken the two.
Correction: Makes way too many assumptions about the manufacturing of either one.
Furthermore, we do not know exactly how the ship is supposed to be identifying the androids in the first place.
I feel like I already corrected a similar mistake. David is less advanced, but cleverer than Walter. The correction is right in saying there are too many assumption being made. Who knows what David did to be more like Walter, that might even be easy for a highly advanced android. Who knows how advanced and sophisticated the computer sensors are to detect an imposter android. I didn't think the computer or anything much is made with many defenses against sabotage. Its a peaceful universe. Also don't really remember but the first time David enters the ship couldn't he already have modified the computer? Hacked it?
Well, we do know that Walter is constructed much differently that David. David uses what he thinks is an android-lethal move on Walter, and David thinks he has killed Walter. Moments later, David is astonished to see Walter not only alive but ready to do battle again. At this point, Walter even says, "There have been a few upgrades since your day." Which means that Walter is different in ways that even David didn't imagine. So, the original post is correct: Even a cursory security scan of David would have instantly revealed that he wasn't Walter.
24th Jul 2018
Mary Poppins (1964)
Question: Was I the only person to be struck quite forcefully (metaphorically speaking) by the contrast between Julie Andrews' portrayal of Mary Poppins, as the ever-smiling, cheerful, friendly, vivacious character, who melts everybody with her charm, which seemed wholly at odds with PL Travers' portrayal of Mary Poppins as acerbic, dour, and cynical, who always seems to get her way by utter, overwhelming arrogance?
Answer: Travers, herself, was pretty much the model for the original Mary Poppins: an inflexible authoritarian who insisted on advising and reviewing nearly every aspect of the film's production. Which is why Disney had such a hell of a time securing the rights and molding Travers' story into a lighthearted romp.
Mary Poppins may somewhat resemble P.L. Travers, but her great-aunt, Helen Morehead, is largely considered to be the inspiration for the character. Travers' mother moved in with her aunts after P.L.'s father died when she was a young girl. The aunt would often say, "Spit spot, into bed."
Some aspects of Mary Poppins were based on Travers' great-aunt (the more positive aspects that Travers remembered from childhood) ; but the overall character was Travers herself.
Answer: No doubt many fans of the books and P.L. Travers agreed with your assessment. However, it was 1964 and Travers' book was heavily "Disneyfied," meaning they imprinted their particular syrupy, family-oriented wholesome stamp on the project, watering down Poppins' dour personality. Travers was appalled by it and would never allow another of her books to be made into a movie. There is a remake in the works, and, hopefully, the current Disney heads will give it a darker tone.
23rd Jul 2018
General questions
I've been quoting a movie for years now. When I stop to think about it... I can't remember what movie the quote is even from! So I'm trying to find out of anybody can name the film that this quote is from. But someone is in a public bathroom of some sorts, possibly a truck stop and is hiding in one of the stalls. I think they may have been on the phone, but I'm not sure. An old man comes in and does his business then gets up and whips and you just hear him speaking through the wall. "Corn? Why is it always corn? I didn't even eat corn!" I've quoted that line as a joke many times now over the years but I can not remember what movie, TV show, or possibly YouTube video that was from. Google search doesn't help me it seems.
Answer: You're probably thinking of Mike Myers as "Fat Bastard" in the 2002 comedy "Austin Powers in Goldmember." We see the silhouette of Fat Bastard against the paper wall of a geisha house, peering into the toilet and exclaiming, "Oy, I dinna have any corn!"
I looked up the quote. And while it is similar, I don't think that's exactly the one I'm thinking of. I remember the movie saying the quote that I remember being almost word for word how I mentioned it. I almost want to say it was in a Jackass movie or similar. I just can't remember for sure.
This is the Mike Myers "Fat Bastard" scene. Look familiar? https://youtu.be/f71VqFgwPy4.
Answer: There is a scene in Senseless (1998) where Darryl (played by Marlon Wayans) is listening in on the two girls in the bathroom and Tonya (I think) says the line "Corn? I don't remember eating no corn." Although, it's obvious that the corn-in-poop joke is common toilet humor, so I'm sure a dozen other movies have had the joke and similar lines.
23rd Jul 2018
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Corrected entry: When Diana opens the email sent by Bruce, the attachment containing the LexCorp Meta Human Research videos lists the file size of the entire attachment as 24MB. However, the file sizes for the four video files inside the attachment are listed as 12MB, 503MB, 32MB and 214MB. This equals to a minimum file size of 761MB, greatly exceeding the 24MB listed as the attachment file size.
Correction: The email attachment contained metadata to reach the files, not the video files themselves. You can see on later screens the videos have addresses like smb://170.161.20.51/... indicating a network address. (For the curious, 170.161.20.51 in real life belongs to a New York Long Island school district).
An email containing nothing but a few hyperlinks wouldn't be 24mb. More like 400k.
The email contained a digital copy of Diana's photograph. When Bruce was looking through the data he stole from Lex (after making the spear head) and came across the image, the indexed file size was 31.8mb. If you account for a bit of compression or resizing to send it through email - there's your 24mb.
It could contain icons or thumbnails, or embedded decryption keys, or description text blocks, or many other things that could add up to 24MB.
27th Aug 2001
The Terminator (1984)
Corrected entry: After the car chase in which Kyle and Sarah are being chased by Arnold, Arnold's stolen cop car crashes into the parking lot wall. When the trailing police haul Sarah and Kyle away, Arnold is missing from the car he's just crashed. Kyle has clearly stated that the Terminator will absolutely not stop until Sarah is dead. Why would he flee the scene from a few cops - given his resilience - when he could have kept after Sarah and killed her right there? Was he "afraid" of doing it in front of the police? Was he concerned about getting away?
Correction: The terminator was injured in the crash as we see later when he repairs his arm and eye. He also has no way of knowing that the police don't have weapons that could damage him (he asks for a plasma rifle at the gun shop, implying he knows little of 1980s weapons).
Yet the Terminator apparently does possess a 1980s database, allowing him to instantly operate a variety of 1980s automobiles (including tractor-trailers), use telephone directories and telephones, and even select appropriate curse words of the day. He also, obviously, possesses a database of current 1980s road atlases (allowing him to track Sarah and Kyle by physical address). It would be inconceivable to equip the Terminator with all of this 1980s data and yet not equip him with full knowledge of available 1980s weaponry, given the purpose of his mission. Thus, the "plasma rifle" request at the gun shop was either a glitch in his programming or it was a plot-hole in the movie. Just as his fleeing the scene of the car wreck was a plot-hole. The Terminator had absolutely no fear of 1980s law enforcement, as is made apparent when he destroys police headquarters single-handedly.
Correction: I disagree with why this is in the corrections as this assessment as earlier in the film, Sarah asks Kyle "Can you stop him?" And Reese replies "with these weapons, I'm not sure." So, obviously, the weapons that are carried around couldn't have stopped the terminator. Plus the terminator wasn't worried about the weapons being used as we see later on it goes into the police station to kill Sarah Connor, so this proves it wouldn't have been worried about the weapons being used. Also, Kyle has said to Sarah, the terminator will stop at nothing to kill her, so why stop here?
I think the weaponry concern was less of an issue than him being injured. With a damaged arm and eye and facing reinforcements he opted to withdraw and repair himself before trying again. Not to mention that Reese doesn't say: "With these weapons, I'm not sure." He specifically says, with a doubtful tone of voice: "With these weapons, I don't know."
Exactly. Not stopping for anything doesn't mean he isn't tactical.
22nd Jul 2018
Apollo 13 (1995)
Question: What made the banging the sound the crew heard before the oxygen tank exploded?
Answer: When Mission Control asked Jack Swigert to "stir" the No. 2 oxygen tank, Swigert complied; immediately, the astronauts heard and felt a loud banging noise followed by an actual explosion. As it happened, there were damaged electrical wires powering the "cryo-stir" fan inside oxygen tank No.2. Those wires violently shorted out when Swigert activated them, sparking an intense fire (fueled by the ship's pure oxygen atmosphere), destroying vital tank insulation, and overheating the No.2 oxygen tank to the point of rupture in a matter of seconds. So, the banging noises they heard just before the explosion were the result of electrical wiring violently shorting out and a flash-fire erupting, which precipitated the tank explosion.
Oddly enough, Jack Swigert had stirred the No. 2 oxygen tank a couple of times earlier in the mission, with no problems whatsoever. Why the wiring suddenly failed on this last attempt is still a subject of debate.
Why would it be subject to debate? The further into the flight, the less liquid oxygen in the tank. The frayed wires were not exposed until this point in the flight. Exposed wires allowed the arc. The arc caused the explosion.
What does the "ship's pure oxygen atmosphere" have to do with it? The ship didn't explode or burn. Apollo 1, yes, the command module did, but not 13.
6th Jul 2018
Jurassic Park (1993)
Corrected entry: When Tim is holding onto the fence, when the power came on, it would cause his hand muscles to clench the cable.
Correction: You haven't been electrocuted before. Otherwise, you would know that a powerful electric shock will knock you backwards by several feet.
Depends on whether it's Alternating Current, which would do as the original mistake says, or Direct Current, which would do the second option, like the correction. Insufficient information is given to say solidly which the fence uses.
We can reasonably assume that Jurassic Park was using Direct Current, wisely intended to repel the dinosaurs away from the fence line. If it was Alternating Current, then the multi-billion-dollar menagerie of ultra-rare specimens would be fried to a crisp (or at least seriously injured) on a daily basis, as they would be unable to release the charged fences. Therefore, Direct Current is the only fiscally-logical choice (and it explains Tim being repelled from the fence).
17th Sep 2005
Never Say Never Again (1983)
Audio problem: When Bond shoots Fatima with the pen, first the is a small puff-sound, and then a larger boom-sound after the projectile hits her, but before it explodes. What makes the second sound? (01:28:35)
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: The pen rocket didn't use an impact detonator, so the miniature rocket had to expend all its fuel before its explosive payload detonated. That was the weapon's malfunction when Bond tried to use it on Fatima Blush: the rocket did not expend all its fuel and simply lodged in her clothing. Then the rocket fuel reignited, producing a sputtering hiss for a moment before the powerful explosives actually detonated, blasting Fatima into confetti.
It's also a three-stage blast. The first bang is Fatima's torso detonating (which is actually not that large an explosion), followed by another blast that disperses fuel for the third blast, which was pretty powerful for an indoor explosion.
19th Sep 2002
Signs (2002)
Corrected entry: The aliens are obviously very intelligent creatures - after all, they mastered space travel, and presumably travel at or near light speed, in order to get to Earth. Considering that exposure to water is deadly, why would such intelligent creatures choose a planet which is three-quarters covered by water?
Correction: The aliens have arrived to harvest humans, rather than take over the planet. We don't know why they want them and they probably do not plan to stay. Humans routinely travel into places hazardous to themselves to gather valuable resources (space, oceans, poisonous mines).
Correction: We are talking about a species that is not an inhabitant of Earth. The aliens are from a completely different world, in which its atmosphere and resources are likely going to be vastly different from that of Earth. The reason as to why they came to a planet that is 70% deadly to them is simple - the aliens are unaware of what water is or the dangers it can bring to them. The aliens' planet is never seen, so it is not too far of a stretch to assume that water is not a substance belonging to their planet, nor is it a substance that is in their knowledge.
The only thing we humans really know about Life (aside from how to kill it) is that Life is dependent on water. We can't even imagine a form of Life that is not water-based. Water is an abundant compound in this universe, both a fuel and a vehicle for Life.
15th Jul 2018
Van Helsing (2004)
Question: How did Verona know Carl and why did she cry out his name after going after the decoy carriage with the stake bomb?
Answer: There is a lot of backstory to the Van Helsing film, because they intended to do sequels and prequels (if this film was successful, which was not the case). Carl was a well-known agent for the Vatican who supplied Van Helsing with numerous and ingenious weapons for fighting werewolves, vampires, et cetera. When Verona screams Carl's name, she's acknowledging that Carl bested her.
If Van Helsing was James Bond, then Carl would be "Q "Carl made the devices and tricks that made Van Helsing physically invincible.
I just watched that clip because I didn't know she said his name but I'm pretty sure she says "no" not "Carl".
14th Jul 2018
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Corrected entry: There is no way that the SS Venture could plow into the dock as depicted. Easily pulling a 30-foot draft, the Venture would have grounded out a mile away from the shoreline, unless the ocean was 30 feet deep right off the beach.
Correction: Of course it wouldn't have grounded, it was meant to dock at the pier. They had everything ready at the shore for unloading the ship once it was docked. The bay and dock is thus deeper than 30 feet.
Which does not negate the fact that a super-freighter-sized vessel cannot dock at a beach pier. The ocean floor would have to be at least 40 feet deep right off the beach.
It's not a super-freighter sized vessel, its a medium sized cargo ship, probably around 250 or 300 meters long with a draft of 30 feet at max, if it was full. The scene is shot on a fictional location outside of San Diego on a small dock, you have no idea how deep it is there. I don't see any beaches either so I don't know where you get the idea that its a beach pier.
The scene is post-production CGI, it wasn't shot at any location.
Have you ever seen a pier constructed elsewhere than on a shallow beach? No. Piers are not constructed in deep water.
A pier can be build at any type of location including a full fledged constructed harbor where cruise-ships or even aircraft carriers can dock at them, like in San Diego itself like the USS Midway Museum (called the navy pier). Piers can be constructed in very deep water, have to be in order for big ships to moor at them.
A dock is different from a pier, in case you didn't know. The construction in this movie is a wooden pier, not a dock. There is no way that a cargo ship (or a super freighter in this case) could pull up to a pier.
Doesn't matter what you call it, it's a place ships moor at. It's a fictional location and the fact it's wooden is totally irrelevant. If this ship is supposed to moor at it, then the water is deep enough for it to get there. Even if it had a 60 foot draft. Ingen built the dock, the pier, the harbor, everything, for loading and unloading supplies onto big ships.
Umm, yeah, it makes a difference what you call it. A dock is where ships moor (deep water). A pier is where people fish (shallow water). The SS Venture crashes into a wooden pier.
In American English the word is synonymous to dock. Doesn't matter, like I said, the place is meant to have a ship moored at it, it's not a fishing pier.
11th May 2015
Event Horizon (1997)
Question: 1) In the big finale where the gateway was opened: was the ship destroyed before it went through the wormhole or did it blow up as it was going through - trapping everyone in Hell? 2) In the final scene just before the gateway is opened, there is an argument going about whether Miller's crew are alive or dead and talk about them belonging to the ship. We saw the crew die, so I fail to understand the mental imagery of their suffering Miller was shown. Also, if the crew belong to the ship to replace her old crew - why haven't we seen anything of the old crew?
Answer: As a representative of Hell, Dr. Weir was torturing Captain Miller with all sorts of horrific mental images. Miller cared very much for his crew, so Weir fabricated hellish visions of his crew. And the aft section of the ship didn't blow up, it was sucked into the Hell dimension.
Answer: The only ones who were sucked into Hell were Captain Miller, and Peters...as her body was in the same core room with Miller and Dr Weir. When Miller detonated the explosives he separated the rest of the ship, leaving only the stern to be sucked into Hell. It's a very sad and dark ending.
Justin ("Baby Bear") was the first crewman visibly sucked into the Hell dimension, which pretty much destroyed his mind.
27th Aug 2001
The Mummy Returns (2001)
Factual error: When Brendan Fraser & his son are running to reach the pyramid before the sun hits it, the sunrise line approaches the pyramid along the ground, but the sun would naturally have hit the pyramid at the top first and worked its way down to the ground. [Some people insist on trying to correct this - think of it this way. If the sun's illuminating the ground from way up in the sky, what's keeping something higher up than the ground in darkness?] (01:34:40)
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: Despite the additional comments this posting is wrong. The terminator line - the distinct boundary between sunlit day and dark night - moves horizontally across the surface of the earth, from east to west. It is perfectly feasible for the land behind Rick (i.e. to the east) to be in bright sunlight while the pyramid - to the west - is still in darkness. What is not feasible is anyone outrunning the terminator line, which moves at around 1500 kmh in the latitudes they are in.
Try it for yourself - get a round object, such as a basketball, a map tack and a flashlight. As you shine the flashlight on the ball you will see the equivalent of the day/night terminator line. Now stick the map tack into the ball and slowly rotate the ball with the light still shining on it. As it moves, the terminator moves and the map tack will become illuminated before the surface of the ball at the base of the tack. The light will move down from the top of the tack. The only way it would work as shown in the movie is if everything is exactly flat - with no differences in altitude above the ground. Obviously that is not the case. (Of course, if you don't want to poke holes in your basketball, you can use any combination of something round and something to stick to it.)
The original post is correct. Because of its sheer height, the top of the pyramid would receive direct sunlight first, just as a mountaintop receives sunlight before it appears on level ground.
It is perfectly possible for a mountain to be in complete darkness and the low lying land nearby to be brightly sunlit if the mountain is to the west and has not yet been reached by the terminator line. I repeat, the terminator line moves horizontally (in all practical terms) across the surface of the earth and as a result anything west of the line will be in darkness regardless of its height and will stay that way until the line reaches it.
Look, you're talking about mountains miles away beyond the terminator (so far away that they would be beyond the range of sight anyway). We are talking about a pyramid, easily the tallest thing in the immediate vicinity, in the near background, only a mile away at most. Under the physical conditions and locations present in this film, the pyramid should be illuminated top-down. Period.
6th Jul 2018
30 Days of Night (2007)
Question: Billy admits that he shot his wife and daughters to save them from a more horrible death at the hands of the vampires. Grieving, he says, "I tried to shoot myself, too, but the fucking gun jammed." But Billy is a deputy sheriff, and any competent law officer can resolve a jammed gun in a matter of seconds. Did Billy actually chicken-out of killing himself after murdering his family?
Answer: Perhaps Billy was not a competent law officer. Or maybe you were right he chickened out. Billy could have killed himself in other ways. Other ways more quiet than gunshot.
Exactly. How could he go on living after killing his whole family? A minor problem such as a gun jam shouldn't have prevented him from committing suicide. In fact, he couldn't become a law enforcement officer without demonstrating a proficiency with firearms, including the ability to field-service his weapon quickly in an emergency. The simple procedure for fixing a jammed firearm is at the top of the list of required skills.
Are we ignoring that he was obviously extremely distraught at this time? My take on this has always been that he pulled the trigger, the gun jammed, and he just gave up on everything. He literally didn't care enough about anything at that point to even bother taking his own life anymore. Let the vampires take him; or not. His family is gone, by his hand no less, nothing at all matters anymore. I didn't see it as an inability to clear the jam, I saw it as a psychological breakdown that resulted in complete and total apathy. The jam was nothing more than the straw that broke the camel's back.
If he gave up on everything, why did he covertly signal Eben with a flashlight? If Billy had truly given up, why not just walk out into the street and be slaughtered by the vampires, rather than continuing to hide?
31st Mar 2018
A Wrinkle in Time (2018)
Question: Why didn't Mrs Whatsit turn into a winged centaur as she did in the book? What made them alter the magic creature into a living leaf?
Answer: Like any other such change from the source material, it's just artistic license.
Answer: The biggest critical complaint about this film is that director Ava DuVernay and her screenwriters essentially gutted Madeleine L'Engle's award-winning children's book and turned it into nothing more than Disneyesque eye candy, discarding many important elements of L'Engle's story and arbitrarily refitting it with lightweight (and boring) motivational platitudes. In other words, DuVernay made the movie her soapbox for "social messaging" and tossed out much of the wondrous (and even miraculous) detail that made L'Engle's original book a huge success. Consequently, this movie was a colossal financial failure.
Interestingly, Disney had adapted this story for the screen before (in 2004), and the earlier version did include the flying centaur (albeit a bad CGI rendering). Unfortunately, the 2004 version was also a box-office failure for Disney, and for the same reason as the 2018 remake: Disney removed the magical and spiritual qualities that gave L'Engle's original story its depth.
Disney's previous adaptation was released in 2003 as a TV movie, so it wasn't a "box-office failure", it was just a terrible movie.
25th Jun 2018
Field of Dreams (1989)
Question: At the end of the movie, Ray realises that the messages he had been receiving were about his dad. "If you build it, he will come." Ray built the ball field and his dad appeared. "Ease his pain." Ray played a game of catch with his dad. How does the message "Go the distance" refer to his dad?
Answer: Ray's mission was not confined to easing the pain of his deceased father. Ray himself had a lot of pain and regret over arguing with his father about baseball. Ray was also supernaturally guided to seek out the angry writer Terence Mann (who had always dreamed of playing professional baseball, but never did). When he travels to Boston looking for Terence Mann, Ray and Terence both hear the words "Go the distance," convincing them to travel to Chisholm, Minnesota, looking for an ex-ballplayer named "Moonlight" Graham (who never actually got to bat in the big league, either). As it turned out, Graham was long-since deceased, but Ray and Terence meet Graham's young ghost who returns with them to join the cornfield team. So, "Ease his pain," applied not only to Ray's father, but also to Ray himself and to writer Terence Mann and to Moonlight Graham. "Go the distance" was about traveling to bring both Terence Mann and Moonlight Graham into this magical place where all of their lost dreams could be fulfilled, as well.
I think "go the distance" has a metaphorical connotation of seeing your choices through in life, and finding the beauty in them. It also implies doing the work you need to do confront your past, resolve your past hurts, and find the strength to move forward.
Well, in that sense, "Go the distance" is just a generic platitude. What we know is that each of the supernatural messages carried an urgent instructional connotation, calling for Ray to be proactive toward a specific goal: Bringing together these anguished souls (both dead and living) to live out their lost dreams and finally find peace.
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Answer: The US had been to the moon twice before. America had already become jaded with NASA's successes and weren't interested in minute by minute coverage before they'd even reached the lunar surface.
Brian Katcher
The American public was not jaded with the lunar program so much as it was the Big Three television networks that had become complacent.
Charles Austin Miller