Gavin Jackson

23rd Oct 2013

The Last Stand (2013)

Revealing mistake: When Gabriel Cortez reaches the bridge at the end, he sees Arnold standing there waiting for him. It's blatantly obvious in this shot that all he is looking at is a rear projection backdrop of Arnold and the background. (01:25:40)

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: He's initially playing Missile Command, then he goes to play After Burner.

envisaged0ne

2nd Sep 2013

Airplane (1980)

Question: In the film Elaine is going around taking dinner orders on paper like a waitress which has never been the way airlines do it. They bring the cart down the aisle and then ask what you want. So my question is, is this an in-joke, a goof, or did some airlines really do it this way back then?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Airlines have done this in the past. Remember that back in the late 70's when this was filmed, flying was still somewhat of a rare occasion for a lot of people, and airlines treated customers much better.

LorgSkyegon

29th Aug 2013

Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

Chosen answer: All the flashbacks are archive footage.

Ssiscool

Question: One of the taglines for this film is "It's nothing personal". I have no idea what that has to do with the film and was hoping someone could explain it.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Two possibilities. 1: The Terminator is emotionless, so the killing isn't personal, but rather what it's programmed to do. 2: Sarah Connor's plan to kill Miles Dyson to stop Skynet's creation.

Captain Defenestrator

It's also a sly nod to another famous tagline, Jaws: The Revenge. "This time it's personal."

BaconIsMyBFF

Chosen answer: Their score was pretty bad, but just good enough to win the bet. Getting the money was the important part - they didn't really expect to win the competition.

3rd Jul 2013

Superman (1978)

Question: Jonathan Kent dies of a heart attack. So why does he look at his arm in shock before he collapses? What does that tell him?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Massive heart attacks are often preceded by pain in the left arm before it is felt elsewhere. The aorta, the main artery leading away from the heart runs down the left arm. There can also be pain in the right arm, but the left one is more common.

raywest

5th Jun 2013

Stripes (1981)

Question: Given that Sergeant Hulka was only the platoon's drill sergeant, that means his authority should have been done once they graduated from basic training. So why did he turn up in Germany and continue to give them orders?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: According to the movie's premise and plot, once they (the platoon) impressed the brass at graduation and was assigned to the Germany gig with the "EM-50", Sgt. Hulka would naturally be with them as he was their original commanding officer. Plus, it would be logical to suggest that he would personally assign himself the detail of overseeing his platoon as they were his to begin with.

CCARNI

He's assigned as a Drill Sergeant, that is his job. Once he was fully healed he would have been assigned another group of recruits.

Answer: He wanted to make sure that they don't screw up this very important assignment, which they did.

Question: OK I have a few questions about this. (1) Who blew up the car with Hannah? Was it Jim or Clare? (2) Ethan taunts Krieger because he has the real NOC list, but was it also because Ethan knew he was a traitor and wanted him to walk out? (3) At the end when Ethan is disguised as Phelps, he is wearing the same trenchcoat as the real Phelps (who then shows up). Is this because he knew Jim was onboard, or simply cause he knew how his old boss loved to dress? (4) And lastly after Clare is killed, Hunt acts devastated and goes after Jim in anger. Given that she was a traitor who was always on Jim's side (and might even have killed Hannah), why would Hunt feel this way at all?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: 1) Jim most likely did it when he emerged from the water (as seen in the flashbacks/Ethan's theory, but it's hard to be 100% certain). 2) Ethan was just fooling Krieger. He didn't know he was a traitor yet. 3) Ethan likely knew exactly what Jim was wearing, as he planned the whole thing all along. 4) He's upset because Jim just murdered his wife to escape, someone who until very recently Ethan still considered his friend. You can't just turn loyalty off like that.

LorgSkyegon

Answer: Claire killed Hannah. Ethan didn't want to believe it. Jim had no way of knowing when Hannah was in the car.

15th May 2013

Vegas Vacation (1997)

Chosen answer: No it isn't. Brinkley has three kids. One born in 1985, one born in 1995 and one born in 1998. Vegas Vacation was made in 1997. This was before her third child but 2 years after her second child. The kid in the car is shown as a baby, not a two year old.

oddy knocky

21st Apr 2013

Jurassic Park (1993)

Question: Why would Alan test an electric fence by grabbing it with both hands? That's like clicking a gun at your head to see if it's loaded. Couldn't he have tried kicking it or maybe tapping it with his hand?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Alan already knew the electricity wasn't turned on when he grabbed it. He first tested the fence by throwing a stick at it and nothing happened. He could also see that the warning lights on the fence post were off. He only touched the fence cables to play a joke on the two kids, to lighten the mood a little.

raywest

Throwing the stick was meaningless and would not have told him a thing. Perhaps, he did so to set the kids up for his questionable joke, given what they'd been through and still were in the middle of.

Answer: The stick testing the fence would not work because wood does not conduct electricity.

Wood contains a good deal of moisture unless it has been completely dried out. That's why electric transmission companies and local electric distribution companies cut branches away from power lines and transmission lines. That said. The stick would have to touch a wire and ground simultaneously. In the movie it was thrown against the fence but was not grounded. I don't think I would have used this test.

17th Apr 2013

Jurassic Park (1993)

Continuity mistake: When the car with Timmy in it falls down the wall, it lands in a tree flat again the concrete wall. Yet later when Alan is rescuing Tim, this is no wall to be seen anywhere. Only other nearby trees.

Gavin Jackson

25th Mar 2013

The Night Flier (1997)

Question: Probably a dumb question, but is this the only film in which Miguel Ferrer has ever received top billing? Usually in everything I have seen him in, he is in a supporting role, so I was just wondering.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: He's received top billing at least 6 times, most notably "Hard Ride to Hell" and "The Harvest", but he's also shared in top billing another half dozen times or so.

Bishop73

11th Mar 2013

Police Academy (1984)

Question: Why did Mahoney get a medal at the end? All he did was run up a building and got himself taken hostage. Hightower deserved his cause he knocked the guy out, saved Harris and Mahoney and defused the situation. Even if it was for bravery or heroism, Mahoney achieved nothing with his actions and shouldn't have been rewarded.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Just because you fail in your attempt at heroics doesn't mean you weren't brave as hell for trying. Mahoney knowingly put himself in a very dangerous situation with the sole intent of saving two of his fellow officers. That's bravery.

LorgSkyegon

3rd Mar 2013

The Doors (1991)

Question: Did Jim Morrison really go around falsely telling reporters that both his parents were dead? Or was that just an Oliver Stone embellishment?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: That is actually true. Morrison grew up in a military family and his stern parents harshly disciplined their two sons by verbally assaulting them until they broke down in tears, were utterly humiliated and admitted to wrong-doing. Morrison broke off almost all contact with his family after graduating from college.

raywest

18th Feb 2013

The Terminator (1984)

Question: Some people think Ginger is Sarah's sister, but I have always thought she was just her close friend and roommate. Who's right?

Gavin Jackson

Answer: Ginger is Sarah's roommate and best friend.

Chosen answer: No mention is made of her being Sarah's sister. If she was, at some point in the other films, it would have been mentioned.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: I have two questions about this film. Firstly, was the black woman Hushpuppy was dancing with at the strip bar her biological mum? And secondly, were the huge pigs (whatever they are called) that appear at the end really there. Or were they simply imagined by Hushpuppy? Because the other kids responded to them, but they seemed way too oversized to be real.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Both questions are left open-ended. It is unlikely, but not impossible, for Hushpuppy to have found her mother (although I believe the music playing at that moment is a hint that she is a look-alike). The beasts are supernatural creatures; up to you whether they are literal or in her mind.

Question: When Bond goes to the fighting ring and discovers that Maud Adams is dead, was that really a dummy of her? It sure looked like one to me.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: No, it was the actor.

28th Dec 2012

Blue Thunder (1983)

Question: Why didn't Murphy tell his boss about Cochrane's plan to kill him? He tries to when he gets back, but notices some strange behaviour and walks off. Is it because he (a) doesn't trust the department and thinks the boss is in on it (b) doesn't think he will believe him (since Lymangood hid the proof) (c) decides to deal with it himself (d) just the writers' way of advancing the plot.

Gavin Jackson

Answer: Yes to A, B, and C.

10th Dec 2012

Star Wars (1977)

Question: Did that officer who Vader attempts to choke, throw up on the table afterwards? I can't tell if that's vomit or just some buttons on the table, but as I haven't watched the film in some time, any help would be great.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Every person on the table has a monitor in front of them, and what you see is a yellow button or some kind of mouse or joystick that glows.

Anastasios Anastasatos

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