Character mistake: When the first case's true murderer is KO'd by Phoenix's amazing attorney skills, he is carried away from the courtroom. The Judge then asks to the prosecutor, "Mr Payne, your client?" He should have obviously asked, "Mr Payne, your witness?" And that's exactly what he asks in the Trilogy remake, that fixes this mistake.
Sammo
3rd Oct 2023
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
3rd Oct 2023
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Continuity mistake: During the first case, when Mr. Sawhit has the first of the series' patented witness breakdowns, he angrily tosses his toupee at Phoenix. However, in the courtroom shot from behind, he still has a full head of hair.
2nd Oct 2023
Kojak (1973)
The Chinatown Murders: Part 1 - S2-E1
Continuity mistake: Episode 2-1 "The Chinatown Murders; Part 1" - During Nino La Rocca's confrontation at the restaurant with his Chinese partners, Sammy Loo proclaims his true intentions about the "fat cats from Mulberry Street." He raises his right fist. In the reverse shot, the hand is still on the bowl in front of him. (00:11:45)
2nd Oct 2023
Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders
Other mistake: In the introduction of the game, Poirot reads the letter he receives from ABC. He reads it slowly and carefully to Hastings. It says, just to quote some of it: "You fancy yourself, don't you, at solving mysteries that are too difficult for our thick-headed British police? Let us see, Mr. Clever Poirot, just how clever you are. Maybe you will find this case a nut too tough to crack." Then he puts the letter on the table as the credits roll. The text on the letter is entirely different. ("I've heard that you are very good at solving problems which are too subtle for our poor British police officers and their slow minds. So, clever clogs, we are going to put you to the test.") Funnily enough, the first one, more concise and clearer, is the ACTUAL Agatha Christie novel version, it's not even a choice made to speed up the dialogue for a quicker pacing of the scene.
22nd Sep 2023
A Haunting in Venice (2023)
Factual error: Poirot attends a Halloween party in Venice in 1947. Halloween was never publicly recognized as a holiday in Venice or Italy in general in the XX century, especially with the traditional pumpkin-centered iconography. One could argue that, for the most part, Poirot is attending a private party organized by an American soprano. But, besides how unlikely it would be for 1947 Catholic nuns to take part in such a pagan-themed event, there are scenes showing Halloween decorations in the streets of Venice far away from the party location, as if it were a public holiday and not a private gathering from an eccentric foreigner.
Suggested correction: Besides what Oliver says to Poirot in the beginning about Americans bringing over Halloween to Italy, it's not true. Halloween has a European and Christian origin. A day called All Hallow's Day on November 1st has been a national holiday in Italy since the 9th century. There have always been activities in Italy the evening prior to All Hallow's day. This includes games, themes of death, carved pumpkins (turnips before), and masks ("guising"), all of which are very old traditions done all over Europe.
Being Italian and having lived in Italy for the past decades, may not make me an authority over all things Italian, but I can assure you that Ognissanti (which is what you quote as being "All Hallow's Day," since we obviously haven't been borrowing English names for our festivities) has never been observed as a national holiday with anything remotely close to what is shown here, which is, like Ariadne Oliver says, plain and simple Halloween. Like I said in the entry, it'd be perfectly fine for Americans to celebrate it, but no pumpkin banners in the public streets and parades with people shouting "Happy Halloween!" with nuns in full garb, no less! Halloween has never been celebrated here with any mainstream fanfare until the very, very recent years.
22nd Sep 2023
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
Other mistake: The opening montage shows the news story of the kidnapping of the Armstrong child unfold through newspaper articles. The kidnapping takes place in April 1930, but next to the headline of The Police Gazette about the getaway car, you can read a headline (incidentally, from a magazine with the name of the victim in place of the publication's name) that says "Snow-covered Rocky Mountain states feel first winter blasts." First winter blasts, in April. (00:03:45)
18th Sep 2023
A Haunting in Venice (2023)
Audio problem: At the beginning of the movie, a local errand guy delivers a box to Poirot from a gondola. The actor is supposed to be speaking Italian in his first phrase, but he says "Segnor Poirot, lo pesce!" (Mr. Poirot, your fish!), totally off in accent and grammar, obviously from an English-speaking actor poorly faking an Italian accent. Moreover, the box does not contain fish, but turns out a few minutes later to be a box of chocolates. In fact, the Italian version redubs this line entirely and the guy says the equivalent of "Mr. Poirot, your sweets" in a Venetian accent ("Sior Poirot, I suoi dolcetti!").
2nd Aug 2023
Secret Invasion (2023)
Plot hole: The Skrull base is inside an abandoned nuclear power plant with enough radioactivity to force any human (like, say, Nick Fury) to constantly pop iodine pills to fight the symptoms of a poisoning that would kill them in less than half an hour. Despite that, Skrulls also detain prisoners, for years in some cases, in rudimentary shackles without any sort of shield or protection against the radiation.
Suggested correction: Iodine pills don't fight the symptoms of radiation poisoning; they prevent the body from absorbing radioactive iodine. It does not protect from exposure to radiation; it won't save you from it. Secondly, it's all an act by Gi'Ah posing as Fury anyway. Thirdly, they are in the reactor control room where Gravik says the radiation is higher. The prisoners are in a low radiation room, which could be extra shielded from radiation. It could also be that the prisoners are fed iodine to block radioactive iodine.
We can make up if we want that there's a special, super-secret anti-radiation serum and/or super-effective shielding, helping humans even during an exposure that lasts years (a decade in the case of Rhodey!), but there has to be something in the actual visuals that remotely hints at it. It's hard to headcanon that the dingy area of the plant where they are racked together, strapped to bed nets behind tarps, can be "low radiation", or that they are given anything to counter it. In particular, in the ending, the rescued people leisurely walk around the plant with zero radiation protection, even casually in the open yard where "Fury's" Geiger counter was going mad earlier. And the radiation was not something induced by the Skrulls that just ended when the baddie died. Not only is there no techno-babble justification (one could argue it's simply a pedantic detail not unlike the lack of hair growth or muscle atrophy), there's a direct flagrant contradiction in how the environment of the location - which is the only reason why they picked that site as a base - is deadly to humans only to a dramatic degree only when it's convenient.
12th Jul 2023
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
Continuity mistake: At the farewell celebration for Indy's retirement, the dean calls for the gift to be presented to him, mentioning it is "a token of our gratitude." There's a cut in the middle of the sentence, and Prof. Plimpton is waving a young student in with his left hand, then the right hand.
11th Jul 2023
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
Stupidity: Despite being wanted by the law, quite possibly the most wanted man in the US for multiple murders, disrupting the most historic parade of the century, and with CIA agents on his tracks, Indy just gets on the commercial flight to Morocco the same evening without the slightest problem.
11th Jul 2023
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
Other mistake: In Tangiers, Indy's cab pulls over in front of the mob-owned hotel where the famous illegal auction is taking place. It's dark outside, but when we see Indy in the hotel, and more evidently when they get out of the hotel and the car chase starts in the span of 5 minutes, it's broad daylight. That also means that just before 6 AM (when dawn would take place in August), the hotel is chock full of normal people boozing, playing cards, plus an assembly of rich baddies from all over the world who just happen to wait to have an auction.
22nd May 2023
Ninja III: The Domination (1984)
Doctor: No evidence of any abnormality in the brain, no tumor, you have a strong heart, your diet is better than average. You are under severe stress, of course, but otherwise doctor Bowen, the psychiatrist you saw, says there's nothing out of the ordinary...aside from your exceptional extrasensory perception and your preoccupation with Japanese culture. No harm in that! (00:41:10)
22nd May 2023
Where's Officer Tuba? (1986)
22nd May 2023
Scream 4 (2011)
22nd May 2023
Scream 2 (1997)
22nd May 2023
Ghostbusters 2 (1989)
Dana Barrett: Don't put any of those old, cheap moves on me, okay?
Dr. Peter Venkman: No, no, no...
Dana Barrett: It's different...?
Dr. Peter Venkman: I have all new cheap moves. (00:54:00)
22nd May 2023
Rules Don't Apply (2016)
18th Mar 2023
Death on the Nile (1978)
Mrs. Van Schuyler: Well, rules are made to be broken. At least mine are. By me. (00:33:10)
26th Feb 2023
Lovejoy (1986)
12th Feb 2023
Alligator (1980)
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.