What action or otherwise "exciting" movies have quite a low-key ending? It's fairly standard now for action movies to build to a massive crescendo, a final all-out action sequence with CGI destruction running rampant. Do any relatively modern movies buck that trend?
raywest
13th Mar 2019
General questions
Answer: First one that comes to mind is The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (if the ending is the same as in the book, that is-not 100% sure), but ending with a battle of words instead of an action sequence like most of the other Twilight movies.
Answer: Doctor Strange comes to mind - not *that* low key, but the actual climax is him in a time loop negotiating Earth's safety rather than a massive epic battle.
7th Sep 2019
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Question: If Aayla Secura's a Jedi Master then why does she wear a skimpy brown leather outfit? She should be dressed more like the other Jedi masters.
Answer: In-universe, it is the typical clothing of a Twi'lek female. Jedi are allowed to wear whatever clothing they want, though most choose the robes fitting the ascetic life of a Jedi.
Answer: Several possibilities. There are cultural differences in how the different races dress that may supersede the traditional Jedi uniform. However, and more likely, movies often sexualize women characters by dressing them in skimpy, skin-bearing costumes, even when it is out-of-sync with how others are dressed.
Answer: Going along with LorgSkyegon's answer, the clothing is common for female Twi'leks. Many Jedi observe a few traditions, customs, etc. of the worlds they came from. Since they are guardians of peace across the galaxy, they need to respect all cultures. It can be helpful for a Jedi to acknowledge their background, especially if they ever need to deal with a situation involving their species/homeworld.
5th Sep 2019
A Christmas Story (1983)
Question: At the Christmas parade, What is Mickey Mouse doing with Dorothy when all the Wizard of Oz Characters shoo him away?
Answer: He appears to be trying to either tickle her or "feel her up." Either way, it's unwanted and the other performers shoo him away.
6th Sep 2019
...All the Marbles (1981)
Question: Given that Las Vegas is the bigger more glamorous and more well known on sporting events, why didn't The California Dolls vs Toledo Tigers Tag Team Title match take place there instead of Reno?
Answer: No reason is given but there could be any number of factors involved in why this location was chosen. However, it appears to be less about the plot than about real-life logistics. The event takes place at the MGM Grand Hotel in Reno. MGM financially backed this film, so this was an opportunity for them to showcase and promote their expensive hotel in the movie. Also, filming on MGM property would have given the production greater freedom on when, where, and how they wished to film, avoiding many of the costs, restraints, and restrictions often encountered when filming a movie.
5th Sep 2019
Rush Hour (1998)
Question: Isn't a flight from Hong Kong to LA 13hrs? How then is Lee able to arrive during the daytime if the Consul's daughter was kidnapped that same morning?
Answer: It's a movie. Due to filming logistics, factual details sometimes are purposely skewed to serve the plot or accommodate technical issues in shooting scenes. Time is compressed, geographical details are altered, and so on. Audiences are expected to employ a "suspension of disbelief" in order to allow the story to unfold in a smooth, consistent, if sometimes unrealistic, way.
Then what about the end of the movie when Lee told Carter that the flight was fifteen hours?
It takes longer to fly west than east due to westbound headwind and eastbound tailwind.
19th Nov 2005
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Question: If Crouch used the polyjuice potion to be certain people, how was he able to take their voice as well? When Harry and Ron used the potion before, they kept their normal voices.
Answer: In book two it states that the voices DO change.
To quote from chapter 12 as read by Stephen Fry: "Are you two OK?" Goyle 's low rasp of a voice issued from his mouth.
Answer: This is never covered in the book either, but Crouch was a fully trained wizard while Harry and Ron are not. It's not unreasonable to think that there is a spell that allows you to imitate voices perfectly. There were candies in the last film that made people sound like monkeys and lions. A voice spell wouldn't be that different.
Answer: In the books, the polyjuice potion changed the person's voice as well as the physical appearance of the person who was impersonating someone else. The movies made a decision to have Ron and Harry keep their own voices, presumably so the audience could more easily keep track of which one was Goyle and which one was Crabbe. The other characters using polyjuice varied on whether or not they kept their original voices. Crouch Jr.'s voice was the same as the real Mad Eye's. When Hermione impersonated Bellatrix LeStrange, she sounded like herself. This really comes down to movie-making logistics. If Crouch kept his own voice, then the movie makers would have had to dub David Tennant's voice over all of Brendan Gleeson's dialogue.
Answer: In the movie Barty Jr (as Moody) imitates voices, including Hagrid's. When Harry returns from the graveyard and Barty Jr takes Harry into his office or living area.
28th Aug 2019
Hide and Seek (2005)
Question: I have watched the move both on DVD and on TV. When I watched it on TV the ending was different than the one that the DVD had. The ending shows Emily in a hospital room of some kind - why was this ending shown?
Answer: The movie actually had five alternate endings, ranging from Emily having the dissociative identity disorder to her not having it and living happily with Katherine. Each ending depended on which theatrical market (U.S. or International) the movie was shown. You happened to watch two of the different versions, the one shown on TV and the other on DVD. The DVD has a special section showing all five endings. The Wikipedia article on this film has a section that describes the five various endings.
27th Aug 2019
Tarzan (1999)
Question: After Sabor the leopard jumps on the net to kill baby Tarzan, it instead launches him up to Kala, who catches him by the diaper. Why does Kala move Tarzan up and down several times?
Answer: Kala, who was on the floor above the netting, was attempting to pull baby Tarzan up through the space around the pole, but it was too small for an infant to fit through. Kala instead pulled Tarzan by his diaper along the slit between the boards to the end of the floor where she could then reach over and pick him up.
23rd Aug 2019
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
Question: When Chitty goes over the cliff and the wings come out, where does the picnic basket on the back go?
22nd Aug 2019
Unfaithful (2002)
Question: The final scene in the car at the red light in front of the Police station. They are discussing escaping to Mexico for the rest of their lives. They hold each other. The car doesn't move. Do they give themselves up to the police? Is that what the writer is implying?
Answer: Although Connie wanted them to go to Mexico and assume new identities, it is implied that Edward, who initially goes along with that idea, will likely turn himself into the police. However, there's no definitive ending given, so the audience is left to interpret the outcome.
An alternative ending was shot in which Edward says goodbye to Connie in the car and walks into the police station. The director discusses this on the commentary track. The alternate ending is on the DVD.
Answer: Connie wants to say she is guilty and asks her husband to forgive her.
Answer: I think that they had already decided that Edward would turn himself in after the school event. That's why the were so sad when they danced and why they engaged in an escape fantasy conversation at the red light. They knew that the police would soon figure it out and it was only a matter of time before Edward would be arrested. Rather than live in fear, they decided that it would be better for Edward to turn himself in. That's my answer but I have two other questions that I can not answer. 1. WHY did she do it? 2. How long did the affair last? I can't figure out the season but m y guess is between fall and the end of November but I can't be sure because the seasons don't seem to be correct. Is it sunny/warm enough to plant a garden in November in NY? I don't think so.
"Why did she do it?" I think that is the question she asked herself once she realised that she had made a terrible choice. Initially, it made her feel alive and young and excited. She had everything, but she began to feel invisible. Ultimately, her son will suffer the impact of her choice, and she will never have peace again.
20th Aug 2019
House, M.D. (2004)
19th Aug 2019
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Question: What time of year is this film set? One day it's warm enough to swim outdoors in central Spain, the next day it's ski season in northern Italy.
Answer: The time setting is vague, but both Italy and Spain have Mediterranean climates (mild wet winters, hot dry summers). However, climate also varies by altitude, and, at certain times of the year, it could conceivably be cold enough in the Italian Alps for skiing while it is warmer in Spain for outdoor swimming. Also, movies tend to ignore reality for the sake of storytelling.
19th Aug 2019
The Brady Bunch (1969)
Question: There's a scene in this episode I haven't seen in over 30 years (edited out in more recent years) where the 4 kids upstairs are arguing (boys vs girls) and the kids continuously stamp their feet on the floor and then Alice is shown downstairs watching her cake in the oven. Periodically with all the stomping from upstairs, the cake gets flatter until very flat the end of the scene. Question is does anyone remember this scene and why does the cake in the oven get flatter every time a kid stomps from upstairs?
Answer: I think I remember that episode - but, more importantly, my mother always told me (and my siblings) to stop jumping/ stomping, running in the kitchen, and opening the oven door when a cake was baking... because these could make the cake fall. I believed my mother... and I, as a child, also caused a few "fallen cakes" because I didn't quite always listen (right away, anyway). I'm sure Alice's fallen cake episode was exaggerated, but cakes really CAN fall from stomps and opening the oven door too soon. Usually, it has something to do with the baking powder and how the air bubbles change during the baking process. Doing something that might cause the oven and cake inside to move/shake can suddenly change the air bubbles inside the cake and cause a collapse. I don't know all factors that have to occur for a cake to fall (collapse in the middle), but I've seen fallen cakes during my adulthood and... well... caused at least a few myself. Regarding Alice's cake falling each time one of the Brady kids stomped upstairs, I'm not sure if a series of falls could occur. IF it is possible, I think there would have to be way too much baking powder in the batter or some other inaccurate combination of ingredients that alter the chemical process during baking.
Answer: Realistically, a cake would not deflate in that way. There are some desserts, like delicate, airy souffles, that can deflate during and after baking, and that must be served almost immediately from the oven. The scene, broadly played for humor, is merely meant to show the argument's growing intensity gauged against the rate of the deflating cake.
Answer: I haven't come across a scene like that, but maybe over time what you remember got mixed up with episodes of other shows, so this is just a suggested episode. "Try, Try Again." In the episode, Mike is preparing a gourmet meal for Saturday. Jan is practicing tap dancing in the kitchen and his soufflé that he had spent 3 days preparing is knocked to the floor. While it is true soufflés can "fall" (meaning deflate), it's because the cooking time was wrong (or opening the oven door too soon) or the structure of the egg whites is too weak. Noises don't make them collapse.
This was not from "Try, Try Again" (though I do remember that scene too). That was in a later season when the kids were older. The one I was talking about was during the first season when all the kids were young. I know the scene in question were the 4 youngest kids and the scene started by each the boys and girls arguing that Greg/Marcia (running for student body president) doesn't stand a chance against him/her to win (boys for Greg, girls for Marcia).
That's "Vote for Brady", s01e11. I watched it and for some reason Carol tells Mike to be careful, after he makes too much noise, indicating noise will ruin the cake. Alice does keep checking on the cake with the oven light every time the kids make too much noise. However, the cake is always fine, and in fact getting bigger. Then, realizing the cake is fine, Alice is relieved and leans against the counter, knocking over the cutting board. The cutting board crashes to the ground, which this time does cause the cake to flatten. It seems like an exaggerated prop, I've never see a cake rise like that, it looks like how a muffin might rise. Then it's somehow deflated, as if it was hollow, like a puffed pastry, or too raw. If it was too raw, it shouldn't flatten in the oven. But the look of the cake doesn't remind me of any puffed pasty, which is made from a dough, not a batter and the cake looks like a batter cake to me. So, it just deflates for irony or comedy of error reasons.
19th Aug 2019
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Question: Is there anywhere I could find behind the scenes of Buckbeak's execution? From before they went back in time? If so, can I please have a link?
Answer: Buckbeak was never executed. Harry, Hermione, and Ron had mistakenly believed he was because from their vantage point on the hill, they could not see that Buckbeak had already disappeared. What they initially saw was the executioner swinging his ax in frustration because Buckbeak was gone. We learn later that the "alternate" Harry and Hermione had already rescued him before the execution. Therefore, there are no scenes filmed showing this.
I know that. I meant are there any behind the scenes videos for that scene at all.
Thank you. Please let me know if there's more.
Why would they film scenes that would never make it into the movie?
Happens all the time - they often end up on DVD. They're removed for editing or pacing reasons, or an alternative scene is filmed.
The request was for behind the scenes footage, not unused footage.
19th Aug 2019
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Question: Was Madame Maxime really half giant? Because when Hagrid says this to her in the book she is offended and says that she is just big boned. So is that true? Is she really big boned or was she lying?
Answer: She was half-giant, but Madame Maxine was extremely self-conscious about her heritage and denied it. Apart from feeling out-of-place due to her height, she knew giants were feared and considered lower-status denizens in the wizard world. They were generally dangerous, unpredictable, and not particularly intelligent.
19th Aug 2019
This Boy's Life (1993)
Question: In the book, Dwight and Toby paint the whole house white, including the piano. But in the movie, I don't remember that scene. They definitely have movie still photos though of Robert De Niro and Leonrdo DiCaprio covered in white paint. Anyone understand this?
Answer: It's typical in movies that more scenes are filmed than what makes it into the final film. This has to do with continuity, the film's overall length, plotting, etc. If a certain scene does not serve the overall story structure, then it is edited out. Sometimes the studio insists that certain scenes be cut, even over a director's objections. After a movie is released on DVD, the deleted scenes may be restored in a "director's cut" or there's a separate section showing all the edited portions.
Thanks! Just wanted to make sure I wasn't making it up.
12th Aug 2019
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Question: What did Rooney mean when he told Grace to "go soak your head"?
Answer: It's an old insult, somewhat equivalent to 'buzz off'.
13th Aug 2019
Timecop (1994)
12th Aug 2019
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Question: Why would the Trade Federation need the queen to sign a treaty to make their invasion legal if they've already invaded the place and taken over anyway?
9th Aug 2019
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Question: How could Bellatrix possibly have recognised Neville?
Answer: She's seen a picture? Been given his description? There are any number of possibilities.
Answer: I'd say this is a deliberate movie mistake to provide plot exposition. Bellatrix was one of the Death Eaters who tortured Neville's parents into permanent insanity when Neville was a young boy. It's unlikely Bellatrix would recognize Neville on sight, but this reveals her involvement in the Longbottom family tragedy, and shows that Neville fighting Voldemort and the Death Eaters is personally motivated.
Answer: He looks like his father, wears similar clothes.etc.
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: I would add, "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo." Lizbeth Salander exposes Martin Vanger as the serial murderer. He is killed when Lizbeth chases him, resulting in a car explosion. That is the film's climax, but in the side plot, Lizbeth then goes on to expose Wennerström's corruption, as well as removing billions of Euros from his secret accounts.
raywest ★