Mike Lynch

21st Apr 2021

Capricorn One (1977)

Plot hole: Further to the comments about the Lunar Lander being useless as a Mars Lander - who is going to believe that three men spent eighteen months crammed into a tiny Lunar Command Module? Not only would they go out of their minds, where would they store the tonnes of water and food they would need in that tiny capsule? How could the Service Module carry enough oxygen or have enough battery power to make the trip?

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Suggested correction: You're assuming they travelled from Earth to Mars in the lander alone. The astronauts didn't do this when they went to the moon. The Lunar Lander was attached to the command module during the 3-day journey. When the astronauts reached the moon, they detached the lander from the command module and landed on the surface. It is reasonable to believe the astronauts for Capricorn One did the same thing, except on a much bigger ship for a journey that lasted over a year. We just never saw it.

Mike Lynch

The posting did not refer to the Lunar Lander, it referred to the tiny Lunar Command Module, the only part of the Saturn V that returned to Earth. From 44:00 to 48:08 of the film we see a live broadcast, supposedly from Martian orbit, showing all three astronauts crammed into a Lunar Command Module. The posting is absolutely correct.

This is another Deus ex Machina explanation for a blatant film mistake. The astronauts launched into orbit in a standard Saturn V rocket which could not possibly carry anything like a spacecraft large enough to make the trip to Mars. There is nothing in the film to suggest that there was a "much bigger ship" involved.

They are also shown seated in the tiny Apollo command module, supposedly transmitting messages from orbit around Mars. The posting is absolutely correct.

You're assuming the astronauts were launched in a standard Saturn V rocket, but with all the resources needed for a journey to Mars that took 18 months round trip, NASA would have to send them on a larger rocket to accommodate the required oxygen, water, food, spare parts, supplies, etc. needed to bring them back safely.

Mike Lynch

Did you watch the film? From 1:54 to 2:25 we see an establishing shot of a perfectly ordinary Saturn V rocket on the launch pad. From 6:05 to 6:43 we see all three astronauts strapped into the tiny, Lunar Command Module. As has already been pointed out from 44:00 to 48:08 we see a live broadcast, supposedly from Martian orbit, showing all three astronauts crammed into a Lunar Command Module. There is absolutely no mention of a larger spacecraft and none is ever shown.

11th Jan 2021

Common mistakes

Revealing mistake: In many in-car scenes, the background shown outside the windows either doesn't change or is the same scene used over and over.

sexxypeety

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Suggested correction: I don't think I've ever seen this outside of animation. It certainly isn't a common error. Can you cite some specific examples?

What is more common in driving scenes, especially in crowded cities, is drivers never having to stop for street lights or make turns. They continue driving through the city in a straight line as the characters talk.

Mike Lynch

13th Mar 2020

What about Bob? (1991)

Plot hole: When Dr. Marvin is trying to get Bob to leave the night before his television interview, he can't leave because it's pouring rain. He also can't drive him because their car was left at the boat dock. However, Dr. Marvin could have easily called for a cab to drive Bob back to where he's staying.

Mike Lynch

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Suggested correction: This assumes that there is a taxi service in the small town in which they reside.

LorgSkyegon

This is obviously a tourist town, which would likely create the need for a taxi service.

Mike Lynch

It also seems to be a fairly secluded and very rich tourist town with cars almost necessary to get around.

LorgSkyegon

Suggested correction: At that time of night in that condition, I highly doubt calling a taxi cab would be easy, especially since Bob lives right down the road, no taxi far away would come just to drive someone a short distance like that.

29th Dec 2019

Kelly's Heroes (1970)

Corrected entry: When Kelly convinces the German tank commander to blast the door open so they can get the gold, an 88 mm shell at that close range would have blown the bank apart. But only a relatively small hole is through the doors and the gold in the middle of the floor lies undisturbed.

Mike Lynch

Correction: If the shell fired was a high explosive shell, then yes, maybe the bank would have been blown apart, as you say. Since the German tank commander just needed to "blow a hole through that door", then an armor piercing shell would have done the job (as was likely ordered by the Tiger commander) with little damage to the interior of the bank.

Scott215

Your suggestion doesn't fit the facts since there's no hole in the back of the bank.

Mike Lynch

Corrected entry: When Indiana Jones is told about the tablet discovery by Donovan, Indiana says the three knights who find the grail during the first Crusade are French. When Indiana meets the last knight at the end of the movie, he speaks perfect English, and with an English accent.

Mike Lynch

Correction: He's also almost 900 years old and imbued with power by God Himself. I think a simple language would be no big deal at all.

LorgSkyegon

How is he imbued by power from God?

lionhead

How else do you explain him being almost a thousand years old?

LorgSkyegon

Drinking from the cup. How does that make him speak English?

lionhead

The Grail is imbued with the power of God because it held the blood of Christ. One would think that since he is essentially the God-appointed guardian of the Grail, he would have any knowledge needed to guard it.

LorgSkyegon

Thats a lot of assumptions. The cup grants immortality, that's it. It doesn't make you a polyglot.

lionhead

He's the appointed guardian of the Holy Grail, an artifact that grants eternal life and is protected by miraculous and physically impossible traps. The guardian is given whatever power needed to keep the Grail in the chamber.

LorgSkyegon

He doesn't have to do anything to keep the cup in the chamber. The seal does that.

lionhead

I suppose you can make the case about God giving the knight the ability to speak English, but why in an English accent? I would think he'd speak in a French or American accent.

Mike Lynch

Why? An American dialect is no more neutral than an English one. People who speak with a French accent do so because they are still using rules and habits learned speaking French when trying to speak another language.

Because languages and the people who speak them change over time, especially that long of a period, by the immigration and emigration of people, influence of other languages, etc... What he would have spoken then would have been Old French, not modern French. While they do share a modicum of similarity, they are not mutually intelligible due to changes in grammar, syntax, and word use. Old French, for instance, contains far more influence from the Germanic Frankish language and Celtic Gaulish than modern French.

LorgSkyegon

A French accent from 900 years ago would sound nothing like a modern French accent. In the same way, what we consider to be a modern proper English accent is actually a fairly modern phenomenon designed to distinguish upper from lower class people.

LorgSkyegon

5th Sep 2019

Common mistakes

Corrected entry: Whenever a character comes home at night to their house or apartment, every single light has been left on.

Mike Lynch

Correction: I wouldn't really call this a mistake. Especially depending on the area they live. Often times people leave their lights on when they are away to make it appear that people are still home so it's less likely they get broken into and robbed.

Quantom X

Agreed. My family frequently left lights and/or the TV on when we were away when I was growing up.

Phaneron

Also agree. It's not uncommon to see especially in more rural areas.

Ssiscool

Yes, leaving lights on in your home when you're away is normal, but it seems that every single light in every room is a common occurrence in movies and TV shows.

Mike Lynch

Could you give some examples? I don't remember ever seeing this happen. It certainly doesn't happen every time.

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