Corrected entry: At the beginning of the movie, when Lorraine is telling her children about the dance, she turned to George and said it was the same night as the terrible storm. At the courthouse, the storm was fierce - wind, thunder, and lightning. At the dance, however, it was a pleasant evening. No evidence of a storm whatsoever.
mikelynch
30th Oct 2023
Back to the Future (1985)
Correction: The school is some distance away from the courthouse, and the storm simply hadn't arrived there yet.
18th Jul 2018
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Corrected entry: Throughout the movie the cars and building are shrunk down to size and carried by people. Though the size has changed, their mass hasn't. In this and the original film it is specified that the Pym Particle works by reducing the distance between atoms. That's absurd, but in the context of the film that is what happens. This means that a human reduced to the size of an ant would have an unimaginable density, and thus his mass and weight would stay the same. There's no way the characters could carry those things with little or no effort, they would weigh as much as they did before they were shrunk.
Correction: While it's easy to miss, there actually is some brief dialogue in the first film when Scott is learning about the suit that establishes the rules. In addition to shrinking and growing, things like mass, energy and weight are also affected by the Pym-Particles. Sure, perhaps it's not 100% realistic, but the films do address these issues and offer explanation. Hence people can carry around shrunken buildings, tanks, cars, etc.
In this, and the previous film, it is specified that the Pym particles work by reducing the distance between atoms. That is utterly impossible, of course, but in the context of the film that is what happens. This means that shrunken or expanded articles or people retain their mass and weight. This is an inescapable mistake for both films, and the original posting is correct.
Here's the problem with this reply - the first film specifically states that it's not just the distance between particles that's being altered - other properties change along with them as a result of the Pym particle. The fact of the matter is yes, you can try to apply real-world logic to it and pick it apart, but the films do an adequate job explaining why it's possible to do things like carry buildings or tanks around so long as they are shrunken down, or for a plastic children's toy to become a destructive object when enlarged, as they are effected by the mysterious properties of the Pym particle. Hence, it shouldn't be considered a mistake unless a specific scene contradicts something else shown earlier in the film.
The shrinking works differently on inanimate objects. It's the suits that let the person being shrunk to maintain its mass, anything else being shrunk loses its mass. Blowing stuff up works differently though, the technology to do that is just different. The way Pym particles work is one thing, but how all of the technology involved works is a totally different thing.
Correction: This isn't a mistake so to speak. The abilities of Ant-Man and the whole shrinking and growing thing is very much a comic book thing. And the only way these movies even work at all is through the suspension of disbelief.
Maybe, but in the first film they explicitly state that even though the shrinking technology makes objects sizes' smaller, it doesn't change their mass.
16th Nov 2017
Starship Troopers (1997)
Corrected entry: When the shuttles are descending on the bug planet for the first time, the troopers are shown sitting in their restraints. Just a few seconds later, the shuttles land on the planet. The doors swing open, and the troopers storm onto the planet. There isn't near enough time for them to go from sitting to standing in line, ready to attack the bugs in the time allotted.
Correction: Films often jump cut to skip an otherwise-boring period of time. Not much point showing a potentially dreary trip to the surface.
16th Nov 2017
Star Wars (1977)
Corrected entry: After Luke, Han and the others make it into the communications center on the Death Star, R2-D2 says he found the princess. Luke immediately says she's the one in the message, and have to rescue her. When Luke saw the holographic message on Tatooine, C-3PO only said she was a passenger of importance. Never does he say she's the princess.
29th Oct 2017
Star Wars (1977)
Corrected entry: At the end of the movie when the rebel pilots are attacking the Death Star, red leader was able to get a shot off at the thermal exhaust port. He reports the proton torpedo didn't go in. Rather, it impacted on the surface, evidenced by a massive explosion. but when Luke gets off his shot, there is no visible damage to the exhaust port.
Correction: There is an extreme closeup when Luke's torpedo enters the port. If Red Leader missed by a significant margin, we wouldn't see the damage.
4th May 2017
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Corrected entry: In the temple scene when Satipo betrays Indy and he leaves with the idol, he is running away from Indy. but when Indy bumps into Satipo impaled on the spikes in the next scene, he is facing Indy.
Correction: Since we don't see Satipo get impaled in the front and then change position, it's not a mistake. When he realised he set off a trap, he could have turned around trying to escape but didn't make it.
4th May 2017
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Corrected entry: At the beginning of the movie when the temple is falling apart and Indy is clinging to the plant, the stone door is slowly coming down. The implication being Indy will be trapped there forever if he doesn't get out in time. However, there is a shot from the bottom of the pit looking straight up. The scene shows trees and sky above Indy. It would be a simple matter of him climbing up the temple walls to escape.
Correction: From all we see, climbing the temple wall would be anything but a simple matter. In fact, it would most likely be impossible. Even if Indy knew he could try to climb the wall, it would be a last resort. This would be like letting the boulder trap him and Indy hope he can find another way out when it's easier, faster, and safer to escape through the actual opening.
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Correction: "Same night" doesn't mean "at the exact same time". The dance and the storm both happened the same evening.
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