Question: Would the army really take a guy with a low I.Q., much less one with a cleft lip?
LorgSkyegon
6th Oct 2019
Forrest Gump (1994)
Answer: I can't even guess why you think a cleft lip would disallow someone from being admitted into the Army, or anything/anywhere else for that matter.
Because an unrepaired cleft lip is a disqualifying disability. You can't join the US military if you have one.
22nd Mar 2021
The Karate Kid (1984)
Corrected entry: Daniel and his mother supposedly moved from Jersey to LA, but the opening travel scenes are desert, palms, and tumbleweed, nowhere near Jersey.
Correction: They first show them leaving the city in New Jersey, crossing middle American farmland, a desert area (likely the Chihuahuan Desert in southern Texas and New Mexico), the Canyon Portal Hotel (which was a real hotel in Arizona before being torn down), a mountainous desert (likely the Mohave in southeast California) and finally the apartment complex in Reseda. They travelled across the country by car. They were bound to see multiple types of landscapes, including the American deserts.
Again, this is the very opening of the film when they are DEPARTING New Jersey. Not the traveling parts following minutes later.
Here is the opening scenes for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK1xslvKteE&ab_channel=LightningBoyXXX You can see them traveling exactly how I described: city, farmland, sand desert, motel, mountainous desert, apartment complex.
26th Nov 2021
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Corrected entry: Cloning was neither "Dark Science" nor "Secrets only the Sith knew." It was a massively common practice used for decades before this movie, by both sides.
Correction: Presumably the "dark science" that is referenced has to do with cloning someone without having any of their biological matter to duplicate. Palpatine's body is entirely destroyed in Return of the Jedi, and as Poe (in an unfathomably stupid line) states "Somehow, Palpatine has returned." Cloning was obviously well known but the means to bring back Palpatine, though never explained, were secrets only the Sith knew. Somehow. It's contrived and terrible writing but that's what the lines mean.
In addition, other clones (like the clone army from 50 years earlier) were individuals who were individually taught and trained. Palpatine managed to clone himself and keep all his memories intact.
20th Oct 2021
Grease 2 (1982)
Continuity mistake: Dimucci is wearing grey trousers when they start singing Prowlin, but he has jeans on for the second half of the song.
Suggested correction: That's because it's gone from the night out with the gang to the next day at school.
I'm not sure about this "correction." Every other song in this film is done in real time, why would this particular song take place over 2 days? Since the rest of the T-Birds are in the same clothes, and Dimucci is wearing the same shirt, I would say it was a mistake that his pants changed.
They are all wearing different clothes except possibly Johnny. Goose goes from a flannel shirt to a blue T-shirt. Davey goes from a brown shirt to a yellow shirt. DiMucci goes from a red shirt to a blue/grey shirt. Johnny is wearing all black, but he does so in every scene except at the bowling alley. The start of the song is at night and the second part is at school, meaning they would have to be there during the school-day or just after when they would have access to the auditorium.
2nd Apr 2019
Game of Thrones (2011)
Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things - S1-E4
Corrected entry: When Jon talks to Sam about almost having sex with Ros, he says that their child, in case of a pregnancy, would have been a bastard named Snow as well. This is impossible, because the bastard surnames (like Snow in the North) are only for acknowledged children of noblemen. Jon's children wouldn't have the right to carry a surname, as he's not a nobleman.
Correction: Actually, it is just for noblemen. Bastards of smallfolk (the peasantry) in Westeros do not receive a bastard surname, only those of noble birth do. But Jon is not smallfolk. Despite being a bastard, he is indeed of noble birth and children of noble bastards are allowed to take the surname for themselves and most do.
Correction: Any child born out of wedlock is a bastard. It's not just a name for noblemen, even peasants have to get married to legitimize their children. Snow is also not a surname, so if Jon and Ros would get married and have a child that child will not be called Snow like his/her father.
Bastard surnames are indeed only for high-born because smallfolk in Westeros do not have or use surnames. Children of unmarried smallfolk may be bastards, but they do not get a bastard surname. Trueborn children of high-born bastards may take the bastard surname or change it if they like.
1st May 2007
General questions
Bear with me, it's been about 8 years since I've seen this movie. I remember something about cyborg teddy bear toys, like plushies, and there was some sort of plot where they were turning evil, not sure if they were lethal or not. But their eyes would turn red and stuff. (Sorry it's not more descriptive; can't think of anything else.) Do you know what the title of the movie is?
Answer: It is an episode from Honey I Shrunk the Kids The TV series. The episode is called Ho eat the Bear is Bad News. I remember this episode back when the show was on TV and one of the stuffed bears became infected with a computer virus and it passed it on to all of the other bears.
Answer: It's possible that it's Gremlins [1984]. Gremlins were little bear-looking creatures that would turn evil when fed after midnight. Water made them multiply.
It can't be gremlins because the Mogwai weren't cyborgs or even looked like a bear and it was only the gremlins that had red eyes.
Answer: Another possible answer is the 1995 horror film "Screamers." One of the titular robots is a red-eyed teddy bear.
No, the screamer is a little boy holding a teddy bear.
The teddy bear at the end revealed that it was a screamer as well, the missing model the humans never discovered.
No, Jessica is the screamer model they missed. The teddy bear and little boy are one screamer model together.
26th Feb 2013
Grease 2 (1982)
Corrected entry: When the T-birds begin singing "Prowlin'" at the gas station, Louis is wearing light grey pants, but when they are shown on the stage he has blue jeans on, while everyone else is still in the same clothes they had on at the gas station.
Correction: So? It is obviously a different day. Just because the other Birds are wearing the same or similar clothes doesn't mean Louis has to as well.
This correction is illogical, why would the T-birds break up a song over the course of two days, and have only one guy change clothes, when every other song in the film is done in "real time"? This entry does not need a correction.
The only one who appears to be in the same clothes is Johnny, wearing black pants and shirt. The others have different shirts. As for the pants, many people wear pants multiple times before they are washed. For Johnny, he likely has a wardrobe that consists heavily of black clothing - to make him look cooler. It could still be a different set of clothing. As for the song, it is sung earlier in the film as well - during the T-Birds' audition. The singing at the station and the stage is practice.
31st Aug 2021
Beetlejuice (1988)
Answer: Lydia is being possessed, like during the "Tally Me Banana" scene earlier in the movie.
Let me clarify: like the others at the dinner party during the "Tally Me Banana" scene.
29th Dec 2018
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Question: Why was Merry's hand burned when he stabbed the back of the witch king's leg?
That's caused by his breath and I don't think he breathes from his leg.
How was Merry even able to stab the witch king's leg anyway? It's been said that no man can kill the witch king.
Going back to the books for more explanation: First: it wasn't a protection. It was a prophecy/prediction by Glorfindel a millennium earlier. Second: the weapon Merry had in the books was a barrow-blade recovered by Tom Bombadil while saving the Hobbits from the barrow wights and had been enchanted directly against the Witch King. Since the scene (and Tom) were not in the film, they went with a more specific interpretation. The Witch King was not killed by a man, but by a Hobbit and a woman.
Answer: Because of what the Witch King is made of, his blood (or whatever) burns the skin of a mortal. Maybe even being too close will cause burns.
22nd Sep 2017
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Question: Why didn't they just tell Cochrane about the Borg? Why didn't Cochrane want to be famous?
Answer: Telling him about the Borg would violate the Prime Directive by giving too much information about the future. The Borg were not supposed to be in that timeline, unlike the Vulcans who, historically, made First Contact with humans at that time. Cochrane does not say why he doesn't want to be famous. There are many reasons people shun celebrity-some are shy and prefer privacy, others don't want to deal with the pressure of having to live up to a reputation that may be inaccurate, it interferes with the work they are trying to achieve, and so on.
Actually, they did tell him about the Borg. You can tell they told him about the Borg because he said a group of cybernetic creatures from the future have traveled back through time to enslave the human race.
They told him a general story about what's going on. They don't reveal their name, where they are from or their nature.
What harm could telling Cochrane about the Borg possibly do?
That could potentially change the timeline too much. They want to preserve the timeline they came from.
I'd care more about saving humans from being killed, or enslaved, than about preserving timelines.
It might set humanity on the wrong path, that will lead to more deaths. For example, it could prevent the federation alliance. One can only imagine how the Alpha quadrant will survive Romulan, Klingon and Dominion attacks without the alliance.
"Telling him about the Borg would violate the prime directive by giving information about the future." Which is more important, obeying the prime directive, or stopping the Borg from enslaving the human race?
They are first attempting to give as little information as possible to anyone in the past in an attempt to follow the Temporal Prime Directive. Any small change could have larger changes in the future via the butterfly effect.
Answer: When Riker and Cochrane are doing the pre-flight check in the ship, Riker is talking about the historical significance of this launch. Cochrance tells him to shut up, he is tired of everyone he meets telling him what a hero he is, and what this launch means to mankind. He says, "You want why I want I'm doing this. Money and women. I want to buy an island and be served drinks by native girls. I hate space travel. I take trains." However, once the Vulcans land, he truly realises what he's done.
Answer: Cochrane wanted to be famous but in order to get money and women. Cochrane didn't want the hero title and was sick of hearing about all the good he had done.
12th May 2017
War of the Worlds (2005)
Question: Why do the tripods make a horn sound?
Answer: Adding a horrifying sound is also intimidating to the people they're attacking.
Answer: It is a signal to the other tripods. They coordinate their attack with the signals. For instance, a specific horn sound is heard when a tripod discovers a group of humans and other tripods come to assist.
But if it is the case, there would probably be a more efficient way to communicate. They can travel through the lightning but they can't use a walkie talkie.
We know virtually nothing about the aliens or their culture. Using the horns in this manner could be ceremonial. It's also a misconception that a society more advanced than ours must have mastered everything our society has mastered. Just because they built death machines millions of years ago doesn't necessarily mean they ever developed a walkie talkie. The Martians seem to be perplexed by the wheel. The scene with the wheel also occurs in the source novel, wherein the narrator theorizes Martians never invented the wheel, "skipping over" this crucial milestone in human advancement.
In addition, it can be used as a way to intimidate the populace of Earth, to try and make them panic into poor decisions.
I mean, from a cinematic standpoint it definitely darkens the mood even more. A walke talkie wouldn't hold the wow factor as a loud sinister horn sound did.
Each tripod seemed fully capable of destroying anything (and enough) around it. Your idea is as good as any, but it seemed like the tripods just came out wherever they were buried and did their own thing without assistance. Besides, didn't a lot emerge from the water?
Answer: The sound of the said to be *horn* could be a way of asking for assistance or giving off their location to other tripods.
Answer: I thought it happened when the tripods flushed waste. Kind of like grunting is to humans.
Answer: I "thought" (guessed) it was to blow out any dust/debris that may have accumulated while underground and/or "fire up" (energize) their weapons before shooting.
7th May 2021
Mortal Kombat (2021)
Factual error: When Jax's SUV is hit by ice it punctures the body but the windows remain intact. (00:21:26)
Suggested correction: I didn't see any ice puncture the body, certainly not any that would break any window. Later you see dents in the hood, but that doesn't mean the windows should be broken. I've had severe hail damage in real life where the body of the car was dented without any windows being cracked.
At 22:54 you will see multiple dents into the hood up to about an 1-2" deep. At 27:35 you will see multiple dents so deep that the paint is gone and the bare body is showing. Sorry, at that force the windows would at least cracked if not more.
The glass used in car windshields is about a quarter inch thick, seven times thicker than the sheet metal used in body panels. It is also about five times stronger. It wouldn't necessarily break or crack.
Well you have your view and I have mine. Cheers mate.
20th Jul 2020
Clue (1985)
Question: In the "Real Ending", if Mr. Green was actually an undercover FBI agent, who was the fake informant that gave fake info to Wadsworth to make him invite Mr.Green to the party in the first place? Wouldn't Wadsworth have thought it was strange that that was only informant that didn't show up to the mansion that night?
Answer: All the informants showed up. They were the murder victims. The Cook, Yvette the Maid, the Policeman, the Singing telegram girl, the Stranded Motorist and Mr. Boody. Each of them were the informants to the guests.
The questioner is asking why there isn't an informant for Mr. Green. The Cook informed on Peacock, Yvette on White, Policeman on Scarlet, Singing Telegram on Plum, Motorist on Mustard. "Mr. Body" wasn't an informant, he was the real Mr. Body's blackmailed butler.
24th Jan 2018
It (2017)
Question: Why is Beverly accused by the whole town of being promiscuous?
Answer: Kids are vicious and make up rumors about eachother. Given she obviously has some hangups and acts awkwardly around others due to her sexually abusive father, rumors simply spun out of control and it became popular for bullies to claim they had fooled around with her.
But it's not just the kids who have accused her. Adults like Eddie's mother have also slut-shamed Beverly.
Once the rumors got out, lots of people spread them despite not knowing anything about her.
They probably overheard the kids saying it and thought it was true what they said about her. Then they probably spread it throughout their friends/family.
There's also another factor: IT's malign influence. While it's unusual for a whole small town to spread such vicious rumors of a 13-year old kid, IT influences the townsfolk, amplifying their resentment, hostility, bitterness, jealousy, and other negative emotions. Derry is IT's feeding ground, and its mental presence permeates all levels of town. A select few, like the Losers Club, are able to resist it.
10th Oct 2017
The Patriot (2000)
Question: At the end of the movie, Martin stabs Tavington in the stomach, and then in the throat. How does he know Tavington is really dead this time? Earlier in the film, Tavington pretended to be dead twice after Martin's sons shot him.
Answer: Guns were less powerful during Revolutionary times and the wounds were more survivable. Deep and ripping knife stabs to areas like the abdomen and the neck area are more likely to be fatal. Tavington may not die instantly, but he would probably bleed out and/or bleed internally fairly quickly.
Would being stabbed in the stomach, and in the throat have been enough to kill a person as tough as Tavington?
Absolutely. A deep stab to the stomach/intestinal area would be very deadly even today. Being stabbed directly in the throat would kill someone very fast due to a lack of air and inhaling blood into the lungs.
16th Aug 2016
Bruce Almighty (2003)
Corrected entry: God tells Bruce he can't mess with free will. However, he does when he makes Evan say lots of crazy stuff on TV.
Correction: He doesn't change Evan's mind such to make him want to say the gargled messages, he's merely controlling Evan's mouth as opposed to changing his thoughts. His will remains unchanged. On the other hand, forcing Grace to love him would be different than simply forcing her to utter the phrase "I love you" without her meaning it.
Except that Bruce is making Evan say gibberish against his own free will.
Free will is based in the mind. Bruce is only controlling Evan's body.
I think it could be argued either way. Bruce was controlling Evan physically (in addition to the gibberish he makes his voice higher), but Evan may still have had the free will to not open his mouth. We don't see the extent of Bruce's power though. Could he have forced Evan say something against his will? (i.e. something he would never say or believe). Since we don't see that, the correction seems more valid than the mistake.
20th Jul 2008
Jurassic Park (1993)
Factual error: At the beginning of the film we are shown an amber mine in the Dominican Republic. This amber is only 45 million years old, Hammond would never bother buying the amber from there as dinosaurs disappeared from the fossil record 65 million years ago.
Suggested correction: This is assuming that Hammond would restrict himself to a specific period of the earth's history, which makes no sense. Of course Hammond would also be interested in Paleogene or early Tertiary fossil blood! All the proto-birds, giant birds (just think about a Gastornis! What a sensation in a zoo!), not to mention giant mammals like the Megatherion, proto-elephants, proto-rhinoceroses.
There is absolutely no suggestion in Jurassic Park - film or book - that Hammond has any interest in any animals except for dinosaurs. We see no facilities for cloning extinct birds or mammals, nor are they mentioned in his promotional film. The post is correct.
It's specifically mentioned in the book that Hammond was buying huge quantities of amber, even museum-quality jewelry. He was likely getting hold of everything he possibly could to increase chances of finding blood-carrying insects.
There is also absolutely no suggestion that he wouldn't be interested. Surely these would make excellent alternatives / backups in the event he couldn't source enough mosquitos of the era he was most interested in.
As has been pointed out on this site before, inventing deux ex machina explanations for plot holes and factual errors does not invalidate them. Cloning non-egg laying mammals would require vastly different technology to that seen in Jurassic Park. Nowhere in the film is it indicated that Hammond is interested in anything except dinosaurs, nor that he is in any way equipped to clone anything but them.
Hammond buying up any mosquito-containing amber is not a plot hole. He didn't say he wanted exhibits from 45 million years ago, but he also didn't specifically say he wasn't interested. Lack of a statement in a film is not a plot hole.
28th Nov 2014
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Question: How did Jack save Sally and Santa Claus in Oogie Boogie's lair by transporting them from the lava pit to the Iron Maiden? Wouldn't they be killed by the Iron Maiden?
Answer: Except they're a reanimated corpse and a skeleton. They are either already dead (or undead), or, given how things seem to work, the normal natural laws don't apply to Halloweentown.
But how did Santa survive the Iron Maiden? Especially with how big he is, he certainly would have been killed.
You're trying to apply the rules of the real world to fictional magical beings.
Answer: He was hiding behind Sally.
20th Nov 2020
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)
Question: How did Hector Savage get killed in Jane's apartment?
Answer: Frank stuck a fire hose in his mouth and turned it on, causing Savage to explode.
Why couldn't Savage just remove the fire hose, especially when he began inflating with the water? Plus, how could water possibly be spraying from his chest?
Because this a ridiculous parody movie and it's funny.
Answer: How did a dead lobster claw the first lady's boob? Why was Daniel Boone at a police shootout? It's a silly, cartoonish movie.
20th Nov 2020
Jumanji (1995)
Question: Why didn't Alan show the board game to his parents?
Answer: Why would he? He knew what happened to Sarah when she told people about it, and his parents hardly seem like the sort who would a) believe him, or b) indulge him in his "fantasy." Better to simply get rid of it (as he and Sarah do).
I was pertaining when Alan was still a kid not as an adult.When he discovered the game and he went home immediately. Remember his mother called him and then Alan keep the Jumanji under the sofa.
Given their wealth and status, Alan's parents may not appreciate him bringing home stuff he found buried. In addition, he's probably having difficulty himself believing the game is making the drum noises and wants to investigate first.
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.
Answer: The Army doesn't issue IQ tests upon enlistment. Given that Forrest had a college degree, and passed basic training with flying colors because of his amazing ability to follow orders, he would be allowed in just fine. And Bubba didn't have a cleft lip, just big gums.
LorgSkyegon