TedStixon

23rd Nov 2008

Saw V (2008)

Question: Jigsaw tells Detective Hoffman (While he is in the chair with a shotgun to his throat) that "Unlike you, I have never killed anyone. I give people a chance" In Saw II, one of the traps was a revolver behind a door, barrel aiming straight through the eye slot. There is no sign of this from inside the room, where the victim is. Person turn a knob on the door and the gun fired and killed them. How is that giving someone a chance or not killing them? He didn't give them an option beyond getting killed. This person didn't have any chance, unlike every other trap.

Answer: What fired the gun was not the knob turning, but the key turning in the lock, and the occupants of the room were specifically told not to use that key on the door. Had they just waited long enough, the door would have opened without anyone getting hurt.

Answer: Best part of this is not the fact that you point out this trap but there are a ton of Jigsaw traps that break his I don't kill code. Like Amanda's trap in Saw. No matter what either the drugged guy on the floor must die or Amanda must die either way someone has to die. Second showing in this is the Saw 6 opening trap, same with Saw 7. In both traps someone has to lose and die for the other to live. Actually all the Saw 6 traps are like that for the most part. Most of Jigsaw's traps are just listening to the way he tells you the rules and you'll survive.

The saw 6 traps were Hoffman's, not Jigsaws.

Ssiscool

Answer: From the beginning, Jigsaw has always been hypocritical and inconsistent. Every film has displayed this. You gotta remember - he's a psychopath. Even though he puts people into tests where they will likely die and even gives some people no option other than to die, he doesn't consider himself a murderer because he doesn't directly kill them. Also, in the scene in question from "Saw II", he does indeed give a warning to the group not to open the door (read aloud by Xavier) - they ignore him, hence the man who tries to open the door dies.

TedStixon

13th Jun 2018

Mr. Deeds (2002)

Question: What does Babe mean when she says "our sense of ironic detachment" (stating that Deeds doesn't share it)?

Answer: Irony is basically the opposite of expectation, whether it be intentional or not. Ex. A children's party clown is diagnosed with clinical depression - ironic, because that's the opposite of what you'd expect. People who are purposely ironic are often that way because they either are overly pretentious or just don't care. Detachment is typically being purposely removed, overly objective or aloof from a situation or even life in general. Ex. A jaded individual who doesn't like to do things most people enjoy because he finds it tedious or pointless. In this context, it appears Babe is trying to imply that as glorified gossip-pushers, she and her boss are badly disconnected from the norm and are jaded, to the point they generally no longer actually care about people or stories - they're just in it for money and exposure. Whereas Deeds is a genuinely good guy who doesn't buy into this way of thinking/living.

TedStixon

Question: At the very end of the movie after Dorothy says "Oh, Auntie Em, there's no place like home," normally, it fades out to the credits, but once - and only once - when I was very young, I thought I remembered seeing the camera pan away from her face and down to the foot of the bed where you see the ruby slippers tucked underneath the bed, then a fade to the credits. It is obviously a black-and-white shot, but there were the glittering shoes. Has anyone else seen this version of the ending?

Macalou

Answer: Another fine example of the Mandela Effect. None of the "making of" books reference this alternate ending. The original book ends with Dorothy losing the slippers on her journey back to Kansas.

wizard_of_gore

I also remember this scene; however, I remember it in a television movie, and it was at the beginning, not the end, of an entirely different movie.

Chosen answer: Yes. I'm sure I've seen that version. It shows that Dorothy didn't just dream about Oz and makes for a more satisfying conclusion. This version was original but edited out because it didn't follow the book's storyline for "Return to Oz" and the other long series of Oz books. The sequel pertains that she loses the slippers in transit back to her home and falls to the gnome king who destroys Oz which in turn causes Dorothy to return. So seeing the slippers at the end of the bed, while more satisfying, wouldn't really stay true to the Oz series.

I absolutely remember that version with the shoes at her bedside, but nobody I know remembers it.

Thank you! I remember that too but everyone I know thinks I'm nuts.

I remember that version and after that I expected to see the same ending but no I never saw that ending again. I got the response that no-one I know saw that ending of the movie where the ruby slippers being on her feet in her bed. Thank you for that answer. This was a long time mystery.

I absolutely remember that scene.

I remember that too - and I've asked so many people and they said no, I must have dreamed it. Thank you.

I saw that version once when I was a little kid too! I remember it vividly. Now I know I'm not crazy.

Answer: https://criticsrant.com/mythbusters-dorothys-ruby-slippers/ This website gives some confirmation it's one of those myths that spread around and get mixed up in people's memories to being convinced they have seen it despite no evidence of it existing. In a film as big as the Wizard of Oz where die hard fans have collected original scripts, notes, and "lost" imagery over the years; we certainly would have something to back this up other than eye witness memory. Especially if it supposedly made it to the final print for viewing audiences as the original Wizard of Oz footage has been carefully preserved, as it's considered one of the most important films of all time. This footage wouldn't be completely lost if it made it to final showing print. Surely somebody would have posted it by now on YouTube. It is possible somebody made a skit or parody of this though contributing to the idea that it was actually in a print of the real movie.

Answer: This seems to be one of those mass examples of people remembering something that never happened. There are also other variations, like people claiming to remember the film switching to color as the shot pans down to her slipper-clad feet, or the slippers being in color against the sepia-toned B&W footage. But sadly, it seems no officially released version of the film has had such an ending. It's similar to how everyone thinks Darth Vader says "Luke, I am your father," or how everyone thinks Humphrey Bogart says "Play it again, Sam!", even though neither of those lines are real, and people are merely incorrectly remembering them. The film is so ingrained in pop-culture, that people think they know it forwards-and-back, and false memories are created.

TedStixon

I agree that people think they remember things that never happened, but usually for things like this, remembering a scene wrong misquoting a movie lines, it comes from parody versions and people are (correctly) remembering the parody. I've never seen "Silence of the Lambs", but I know the line "Hello, Clarice" from films like "Cable Guy" and not from a false memory of the film.

Bishop73

Answer: I remember this being part of a special that was hosted by Angela Lansbury in 1990 and they showed that this ending was considered for the movie. For many years I couldn't remember why I remembered that ending and Angela Lansbury until I looked it up. I wish that it had been left like that. Kids always want their dreams to come true.

Answer: I and a friend of mine remember seeing the ruby slippers under Dorthy's bed at the end of the movie. Glad to know we didn't imagine it.

Question: Since this movie is a prequel to the events of the first Amityville, why isn't the name DeFeo used since the murders were committed by Ron Defeo Jr.

Answer: It is unknown why the changes were made, only theories as to why. There has been speculation that because they film took so many liberties and based some of the events (like the incest) on rumors rather than proven facts, that the names were changed to avoid trouble. There's also the fact that the films becoming increasingly fictionalized with each installment, hence they might have changed the names to indicate that the film was only loosely inspired by true events. Finally, there has been some fan speculation that the movie is actually a sequel, and we're merely seeing the DeFeo crimes being recreated in another family, though this is a bit shaky.

TedStixon

13th May 2018

Logan Lucky (2017)

Chosen answer: Earlier in the film, it's mentioned that he had some money buried in a special spot in his yard, but that it had been dug up. When he saw the shovel at the end (which indicates that something was buried that he should did up), he realised that the new money stash had been buried in the same spot as his old stash. They basically gave him the clue, and he put two-and-two together on his own.

TedStixon

Question: Why didn't Carlos turn into a zombie when he got bitten on the leg like Sgt. Peyton?

Roman Curiel

Answer: As shown in the first film, the virus doesn't necessarily hit at a consistent rate. It depends on the individual subject and the severity of the wound. Carlos managed to survive just long enough to get the anti-virus. Also, Peyton was shot and killed by Nemesis, thus he re-animated at a quicker rate, as his body shut down.

TedStixon

2nd May 2018

Silent Hill (2006)

Answer: In the context of the movie, the air around the area is toxic due to the coal-mine fires underground. Therefore, it's a prohibited area. Additionally, there had been illegal activity in the past (like Cybil says, a child-abductor once used the area to store the boy he kidnapped), which is also likely a factor as to why it's completely fenced in.

TedStixon

7th Oct 2010

Halloween (1978)

Question: Why was Michael killing people? There was no mention of his history, or what made him the way he was.

Answer: The only answer given in this film is that Myers is purely and simply evil. He's just doing it because he's compelled to, and doesn't seem to have any trace of humanity left inside of him. Future sequels attempted to give an explanation, but to varying degrees of success. But as far as this original film is concerned - he's just pure evil.

TedStixon

Answer: The movie doesn't require a back story, although subsequent sequels, and the Rob Zombie remake address your questions. Then again, what makes any serial killer kill? The topic has been studied by psychologists for decades. Often serial killers lead normal lives, at least in public.

rswarrior

Question: What is Michael Myers' curse, and why does it involve him killing his relatives?

Answer: The other answer is based on a novel and not on the film itself. According to this film (and the alternative Producer's Cut), the curse of Thorn is an ancient druid curse that must be fulfilled - a chosen one is picked from every "tribe", and made into an almost superhuman figure. This chosen one will then be forever compelled to sacrifice and kill-off his or her own family on the night of Samhain (aka, Halloween night) every year until the curse is either stopped or passed onto another.

TedStixon

Answer: I read the movie tie in book after the first Halloween came out. As I remember it, a boy with a crippled leg was in love with his own sister. During the Samhain (harvest end/halloween) festival, he killed his sister and her soon to be husband with a knife. The tribe tore him apart, and the chieftain cursed his soul to forever repeat his crime forever, etc. The book or following books in the series described Michael Myers' grandfather or great-grandfather losing his mind at a dance and killing a dancing couple. Every other generation or so the soul takes over a decendant, leaving enough people alive to continue the curse.

Chosen answer: He's a multimillionaire with unlimited resources. He probably had his AI do some digging - facial recognition on the picture/video he had?

Annabel Keeley

As evidenced in "Iron Man 3", Tony can easily access GPS, satellite imagery, files, etc. and be able to investigate events even better than the authorities. (Remember that he was able to create an accurate 3D map of the Chinese Theater bombing and work it out when nobody else could.) He very likely was able to use the information available to deduce Parker's identity by tracing his steps, noticing patterns, working out likely candidates, etc., even though nobody else could.

TedStixon

20th Mar 2011

Saw VI (2009)

Question: Here's an interesting thought; Debbie was provided with a small power saw and told that to prevent a pipe piercing her skull, she would have to get a key, which is revealed to be in William's side. What was to stop her from simply using the saw to cut off the spear on her chest? Couldn't she have cut it off her chest, and had the harness taken off later?

Eyexpress333

Chosen answer: It's possible, but unlikely. 1) She was under great distress and might not have thought of that. 2) It would be easier (and more importantly, quicker) to cut through Easton's soft skin than the spear. 3) There is a good chance that tampering with the spear might have made it go off.

TedStixon

16th Dec 2008

General questions

I remember seeing a film when I was younger. It featured a group of children as the lead characters, and the main antagonist was an evil, magical ventriloquist dummy that resided in an eerie house. I seem to recall the lead character having a robotic toy that came to life as well, and I know that one of the characters was fixated on Darth Vader, and actually saw a vision or a re-creation of him near the end of the movie. (He says something about seeing his "hero" afterwards.) I think it was an 80's or early 90's release. Anybody have any ideas what this was?

Answer: I will have to answer my own question. The film is Roland Emerich's early film "Joey", which was released in some foreign territories (including the US) as "Making Contact.

TedStixon

13th Dec 2004

The Frighteners (1996)

Question: How did the people behind the film achieve the effect of making the actors look like ghosts. I truly have no idea.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: For the most part, the actors playing the ghosts were shot separately on blue-screens, and then comped into the scenes. (By removing the blue background through a process called "color keying", and placing them over the scenes) They were simply given a blueish glow and made semi-translucent to complete the effect. It was pretty cutting edge back in the 90's, but nowadays, it'd be very easy to make the exact same effect using a simple program like Adobe After Effects.

TedStixon

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