Gavin Jackson

17th Sep 2014

Near Dark (1987)

Plot hole: In the morning at the motel, the vampires have a big shoot-out with local law enforcement, which results in one at least one cop being killed. But when they escape, the police don't bother pursuing them or even giving them a another thought. Even for an 80's film, this is beyond ludicrous.

Gavin Jackson

Question: What could possibly have made Teasle think that it was Rambo who killed Gault? Teasle was fully aware that Rambo was injured and unarmed and that Gault was in a helicopter trying desperately to shoot him (against orders). So how the hell did he come to that conclusion?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Rambo essentially admitted responsibility, when he tried to make peace with the officers as he stood near the body. As well, we can assume the chopper pilot reported the incident - while he may not have seen Rambo, rocks don't throw themselves at helicopters.

DavidRTurner

Answer: In Teasle's mind, anything that happened after Rambo escaped would be his fault - he put in motion the sequence of events that lead to everything happening. Additionally, he isn't exactly in his right mind with all this.

Question: Why did Elliot let all the frogs out? And why was he asking one if it could talk? I realise he was drunk (or ET was), but this doesn't explain such behaviour.

Gavin Jackson

Answer: Those are interesting takes, but I always viewed it as ET was physically (Elliot gets drunk when ET drinks) and telepathically linked. I felt ET was seeing and acting through Elliot, almost like he was possessed.

kayelbe

Chosen answer: Elliot, through a psychic connection to ET, is experiencing the effects of the beer that ET is drinking. It has impaired Elliott's judgment and unleashes his inhibitions. He frees the frogs because he doesn't want them to be killed and dissected in class. Talking to one is just a side-effect of being intoxicated and he may be identifying it as a sentient being like E.T.

raywest

Answer: I always interpreted freeing the frogs as Elliot seeing a similarity with them and ET. ET (who in a weird way kind of looks like a frog), also is captive, and would risk being dissected if captured by the government. This is reflected at the end of the film as he helps ET escape from the government.

Question: Could someone please tell me where all the other walking apes/chimpanzees/orangutans came from? Caesar was the only surviving ape from the last film, so where did all the rest come from?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Caesar wasn't the only surviving ape, just the only surviving talking ape. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is set roughly 20 years after Escape from the Planet of the Apes, and in that time man began to keep apes as pets (disease wiped out dogs and cats) and (most likely through breeding), the apes evolved into what we see in the film.

Bishop73

8th Aug 2014

Young Guns (1988)

Question: Did that bounty hunter in the bar ever realise that he was in fact talking to Billy the Kid... Prior to being shot?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: He may have. When Billy started whistling, the bounty hunter's face changes. He continues to speak to Billy in a dismissive tone, but does eventually pull the trigger (although Billy had unloaded the pistol). Hard to believe he would just shoot some mouthy kid in a bar.

Question: I have two questions. Firstly I read that Liev Schrieber makes an appearance. Does anyone know which one he is? Secondly, given how much Hunt admired Jake, why didn't he warn him that the gang had a new leader and that he risked death by going back due to his betrayal? Seems odd to me that he said nothing.

Gavin Jackson

Answer: Don't recall seeing Liev, as for your second question, maybe Hunt figured it was nothing Jake didn't already know, or at least conclude.

6th Jul 2014

Blazing Saddles (1974)

Question: At the beginning, Lyle refers to the song Camptown races as "The Camptown lady"? Is this simply cause he's stupid, or is there any other reason?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: The opening line of the song refers to the Camptown Ladies and the phrase "Camptown Races" never appears anywhere in the lyrics. If nobody told him otherwise, Lyle may simply have assumed that some variation on "Camptown Ladies" was the actual title.

Tailkinker

The actual title of the song was "Gwine to Run All Night, or De Camptown Races," written by American lyricist Stephen Foster and first published in 1850. Over many years on the minstrel show circuit, the title was shortened to "Camptown Races" and was sometimes erroneously called "Camptown Ladies." While the phrase "Camptown Races" doesn't appear in the lyrics, the phrase "Camptown Racetrack" does appear in the second line: "Camptown ladies sing dis song, doo-dah, doo-dah, Camptown Racetrack five miles long, oh-de-doo-dah-day." The song refers to Camptown, Pennsylvania, a real town with a popular horserace in the mid-1800s.

Charles Austin Miller

26th Jun 2014

The Woman in Red (1984)

Question: How did Miss Milner know that it was Teddy who (unintentionally) asked her out on a date? She couldn't see him and he didn't introduce himself so I am very confused.

Gavin Jackson

Answer: She had a secret lust for him. She was the office (Sex and the City) Samantha Jones. Plus they were married in real life, so the joke was that he despised her, while she wanted him.

24th Jun 2014

Ghostbusters (1984)

Chosen answer: For scenes like when Bill Murray is covered with it and it gets in his mouth, it's gelatin mixed with food coloring. For other scenes it's various plastics.

9th Jun 2014

General questions

I saw a film not long ago but can't remember the title. It features a bumbling spy, and in one scene when he is trying to break into a place, he pulls out a credit card, types some numbers on the side and it emits a laser beam. When he is finished, he can't turn the laser off properly and it burns a hole in his pants. Does anyone know this film?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: I haven't seen the film in a few years, but I believe it's from the movie Johnny English. Starring Rowan Atkinson.

Question: Could somebody tell me once and for all why every mutant in these films have nicknames?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Because just like in the comic books, all super heroes and villains have names that are a representation of either the abilities they possess, paraphernalia they use, their personalities, and/or the circumstances of their origin. Magneto is a much more compelling and memorable name for a character than simply calling him Erik. Presumably it also avoids confusion if there are several mutants with the same "regular" name, to have a unique nickname for each one.

Phaneron

Answer: In addition to what was said, the nicknames also provide the individual mutant a way to identity more closely with the fact that they are mutants. As Mystique said in "X-Men: The Last Stand" when addressed as Raven, "I don't answer to my slave name." Many mutants are rejected by their parents when they find out they're mutants, so the "nickname" serves as a way to distance themselves from those that rejected them. In addition, at times their nicknames are called "code names." In this case, it would be a way to address a mutant without using their real identity, in essence a secret identity that's common in almost all superheroes and super villains.

Bishop73

Question: Joan wilder is a successful author with a nice apartment and is financially well off. So why wouldn't she pay Jack the $500 he originally wanted for his help? Given her situation, I didn't think it was too much to ask.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: She's lost in Columbia and doesn't have access to money beyond what she has with her. She doesn't want to give him everything she has because she doesn't know when she'll be able to get more.

14th May 2014

Speed (1994)

Question: What did Harry mean when he said to Jack "And I got shot... Another few inches and they would have given the medal to my wife." I still can't make complete sense of that line.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Jack shot Harry in the upper leg, and Harry is presumably referring to the proximity of the femoral artery, a large and vital blood vessel in the thigh. If Jack's shot had hit him there, he would almost certainly have died within minutes, and they would have to give the bravery medal to his widow.

Sierra1

23rd Apr 2014

The Client (1994)

Factual error: When Mark pranks the detective by using his credit card to order 20 pizzas, he only reads out the card number on the phone. To order via credit card, you must say the expiry date as well.

Gavin Jackson

22nd Mar 2014

Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)

Question: Why didn't Kayo get any credit at the end for his help? Mcquade and Jackson got a rousing public celebration for their work...but Kayo got nothing. I never understood that.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Part of it could be because more people in the crowd know McQuade or Jackson personally. We know McQuade's daughter and ex-wife are there. However, Kayo is also given the Texas Award of Valor, same as McQuade and Jackson.

Bishop73

18th Mar 2014

Death Race 2000 (1975)

Question: I have two questions. Firstly, was getting to shake the presidents hand all the winners got, or was there anything else? And secondly, were the drivers allowed to kill the other competitors as well? Just seems odd to me that the officials who kept track of every killing in the race covered up the fact that Frankenstein had killed Joe Viterbo at the end (blaming the resistance instead).

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Like the Olympic gold medal winners, the winner gets t.v. exposure, acting roles, product endorsements, VIP treatment into exclusive parties and bragging rights. By blaming the Resistance, that paints them as the villains and keeps the race going.

24th Feb 2014

Stir Crazy (1980)

Chosen answer: Because his employers discovered he had put grass (marijuana) in the salad and got all the dinner guests high. Well, he didn't, the cook did. But he brought it into the house so he was fired.

24th Feb 2014

RoboCop (2014)

Chosen answer: He most likely has an artificial heart or some type of system that circulates his blood, this system doesn't necessarily have to take the shape of a typical human heart. However if his biological heart is still functional, it may be behind the lungs.

Answer: Watch again the scene (s), especially close to the end when his armor is reverted to silver and just between his lungs; his heart is just behind his lungs and beating, though if you blink you might miss it.

Erik M.

Except the heart is located in front of the lungs, not behind them.

lionhead

Why Murphy's heart isn't where it should be in a normal human is up to speculation-perhaps the transformation into a cyborg necessitated it's being repositioned, perhaps. The heart is there, though.

Erik M.

Normally, yes, but who's to say they didn't have a reason to move it behind his lungs when they rebuilt him?

Nottaproblem

Question: When Hauk reads Plissken's military history to him, he refers to him as SD Plissken. Does anyone know what the D stands for?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: I searched this character on the internet, and it's mentioned in several places that Plisskin's full name is never given.

raywest

9th Nov 2013

Flash Gordon (1980)

Question: Why did Prince Barron hate Flash so much? His burning desire to kill this complete stranger left me somewhat baffled.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Prince Barin was the fiance of Princess Aura, who took a shine to Flash. He was quite simply jealous.

Ioreth

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