raywest

18th Dec 2022

Monster-in-Law (2005)

Question: What's the drama about the color peach in this movie?

Answer: Then I would say it was about the overall color theme for the wedding. Viola immediately took over planning every detail for the wedding, even choosing what color she liked, without any input from the bride (Charlie). Viola was deliberately provoking Charlie to stop her from marrying her son.

Answer: If you mean the peach-colored mother-in-law dress, it was specially made for Viola to wear at the wedding. Instead, she showed up wearing a long white gown. It is NEVER socially acceptable for any wedding guest to wear white. That color is only for the bride to wear. It is her special day and no-one is ever supposed to do anything that takes attention away from her. Viola purposely wore white to disrupt the wedding.

I meant the peach photo album at lunch and the peach dress. I know about anyone other than the bride wearing white. Did Viola or Charlie say they didn't like the color peach?

28th Dec 2022

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016)

Question: At the end, why did the Turtles decide to keep their existence a secret from the public? If they are introduced to them, the city would likely appreciate them for saving the city and seeing them as the greatest heroes.

Answer: It would be nearly impossible for the Turtles to continue their crimefighting crusade if the public knew of their existence. They would become instantly recognizable international "celebrities" who were constantly in the public eye, allowing criminals to avoid and work around them.

4th Jan 2023

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

Question: How was Umbridge able to cast a patronus?

Answer: She casts it like any other witch or wizard by using her wand and saying "Expecto Patronum". It is considered advanced magic, but most magical people can learn how to do this. When Harry (disguised as Runcorn) entered her courtroom, she had already cast her cat patronus to keep the Dementors at a distance.

Casting a patronus requires a very happy memory, though. And considering that she seems to be very angry and never felt that she was given enough power, she must have never had a happy memory.

If I recall, At this point she's head of the Muggle-born Registration Committee. A powerful position in her mind and as Umbridge is all about power she would have been very happy indeed.

"Must" is total conjecture. Perfectly possible for an angry resentful person to have one happy memory to call on.

Villains still have personalities. Depending on what specifically makes Umbridge happy, she could easily have a lot of happy memories.

Umbridge seemed quite happy while torturing Harry with the punishment pen, when she was ejecting Trelawney from Hogwarts, when she ousted Dumbledore as Headmaster, happy in her devotion to Voldemort, and so on. Happiness is an individual thing. Her sense of happiness was quite perverse.

Only those who are pure of heart are capable of producing a Patronus. Those who aren't would be devoured by maggots that shoot out of the caster's wand. Umbridge wasn't pure of heart because of all of the horrible things she did, so shouldn't she have been eaten by maggots?

1st Jan 2023

Ever After (1998)

Question: When Prince Henry almost marries the Spanish woman, why are the Baroness and her daughters there? At the ball, he told Danielle "You are just like them", referring to his dislike of them.

Answer: It would be expected that people of a certain social rank are invited to important ceremonies and events, regardless of one young prince's personal feelings about anyone in particular. It's about the monarchy maintaining strong social and political ties to aristocratic families and retaining their loyalty and influence for their own power. Not inviting them or others over petty squabbles would be insulting and potentially weaken alliances.

1st Jan 2023

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Question: Would Claire's sushi, handed to her by her Dad in the morning, still be a fancy treat after sitting at room temperature for five hours?

Answer: It would probably be OK. It would depend on the type of ingredients, how cold the sushi was when it was handed to her, how it was wrapped and insulated, and how warm it was during the intervening time.

1st Jan 2023

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)

Question: What would happen if two or more houses won the House Cup? Would there be some kind of contest to decide who should get it or would the houses share it?

Answer: Agree with the other answer, but would add that Dumbledore could also devise some sort of tie-breaking task or contest to determine who wins the House Cup. It could even be a coin toss. There's actually some online discussion about this and some have suggested the same possibilities. It's apparently never been explained by J.K. Rowling.

Answer: While there is nothing definitive known, it most likely would be shared between the two houses. Remember, the great hall can easily be decorated in multiple colours.

1st Jan 2023

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

Question: The 'shooting off sparks in the maze' at the end feels particularly clumsy...was the book the same way? Like, if this is all magic, why would the maze not be able to recognize who shot off the sparks, and make sure that person was ejected from the maze? Otherwise, it seems like you could use this to sabotage a competitor (e.g, if Viktor knew Cedric was coming around the corner momentarily, then he could shoot up sparks and run away, so that Cedric would be in place to be sucked up by the maze).

Answer: In both the book and movie, the contestants sent up sparks. However, all were pre-warned of the dangers and that they were pretty much on their own upon entering the maze. In the book, the maze is filled with hazardous objects and creatures that each contestant had to overcome. In the movie, the hedge itself is the danger, and it appears Voldemort (aided by Barty Crouch, Jr.) manipulated it to ensure that Harry reached the middle while it sabotaged and controlled the other competitors. Therefore, the maze would not protect the contestants. The four were unaware the maze was corrupted and were so focused on winning that they ignored the dangers. All were determined to continue as long as they could.

1st Jan 2023

A Christmas Story (1983)

Question: Was Ralphie's family poor? Their house and furnishings seem pretty low class, but they never seem stressed about money, and they have a fairly extravagant Christmas.

Answer: They weren't poor and appeared to live a fairly comfortable middle-class life within their modest means. They could probably afford to splurge a little on Christmas. People who went through the Great Depression during the mid-20th century tended to hang on to old items, even if they could afford new ones and, unlike today, had lesser interest in material possessions. My own parents grew up in that era and rarely bought anything new, no matter how dated or worn. Also, situations (like holidays, social gatherings, special events, etc.) tend to look a bit exaggerated in movies and TV for visual effect.

I've also noticed this among my family members who grew up in the '60s through the '80s. They don't buy new things if the older ones are just fine. Since the late 2000s, it's more common for people to think that possessions and decor need to be "updated."

1st Jan 2023

Picture Perfect (1997)

Question: Kate says that Sam will always be a guy who sees what someone else ordered at a restaurant, and wishes he ordered that. What does she mean?

Answer: She means that he always doubts himself and the choices he makes.

1st Jan 2023

A Christmas Story (1983)

Question: Why was Ralphie wearing his glasses at the Chinese restaurant? I thought he broke them when he shot himself.

Answer: He has another pair of glasses - his mom even says that he should just wear the other pair of glasses that he has with a little chip in them.

Answer: Like most people, (including kids) he had more than one pair of glasses.

1st Jan 2023

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

Question: It's been stated that the wand chooses the wizard. Why then, is Voldemort able to use Lucius' wand if the wand chose Lucius as his wizard?

Answer: A wizard can use any wand, but it will not perform as well as one that "chose" them. For example, although Voldemort could use Dumbledore's "Elder Wand", it resisted his commands because it was unknowingly (to Voldemort) aligned to another wizard after Dumbledore's death (first Draco and then Harry). By contrast, when Harry captured Draco's wand, it changed its allegiance to him and performed well. If Draco had merely been given his wand back, it would not have worked as well for him as before.

1st Jan 2023

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

Question: Anybody who puts their name into the Goblet and is selected is bound to a magical contract to participate in the tournament. Since Harry never actually put his name into the Goblet, shouldn't that void the contract?

Answer: The selection process was corrupted by Barty Crouch, Jr, who cast an exceptionally powerful "Confundus" spell on the Goblet of Fire. The Cup was somewhat sentient and wrongly sensed that Harry was a student from a (non-existent) fourth school who'd entered his own name, even though someone else submitted it. Once a name was entered, a student was magically bound to compete in the tournament.

1st Jan 2023

Speed (1994)

Question: What did Payne mean when he told Jack "Do you know what a bomb is that doesn't explode? It's a cheap gold watch, buddy".

Answer: He meant that when he retired after years of hard, loyal work, he had little to show for it other than a small pension and being given a cheap gold watch. He felt cheated, used, and angry, causing him to resort to the extortionist kidnapping plot. He was basically a "ticking time bomb" that had been waiting to go off.

1st Jan 2023

Body Heat (1981)

Question: Why didn't Edmund or Heather (Edmund's niece) recognize that the girl posing as Matty wasn't actually Matty? More specifically, with regard to the restaurant scene (where Ned runs into fake Matty and Edmund), wouldn't Edmund obviously realise that the girl he's with is NOT actually his wife? Also, during the scene where they meet with Edmund's lawyer and discuss the invalid will - wouldn't Heather (Edmund's niece) have recognized that the person masquerading as Maddy wasn't actually Maddy?

Answer: Neither Edmund or young Heather had ever met the real Maddy. The fake Maddy, who is Mary Ann Simpson (played by Kathleen Turner), had stolen the real Maddy's identity before meeting Edmund. She was specifically looking for a rich man to victimize (and murder) and also for an incompetent lawyer (Ned Racine) to drag into her plot. The real Maddy discovered Mary Ann's scheme and showed up to blackmail her imposter, for which Mary Ann later murdered her. Mary Ann and Maddy attended high school together and had a similar appearance, which is why Mary Ann stole her identity.

1st Jan 2023

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Question: Picard kills crew members who have only just been assimilated and justifies it by saying something along the lines of they will be better off dead and inferring that they will be put out of their misery. Yet Picard himself was assimilated and returned to normal and survived. Why is it different for Picard?

Answer: The Borg left Picard sentient to utilize his Starfleet knowledge, to communicate with the Borg queen, and act as the liaison with the Enterprise. Seeing and interacting with their captain as a Borg would have a debilitating effect on the crew. The less-valuable crew members were turned into fully compliant drones. Also, the Enterprise crew were not in their own time and were actively fighting the Borg for their survival and to save the future of humanity. The Borg had infiltrated the Enterprise, so there was no time, opportunity, or means to try and save any assimilated crew.

1st Jan 2023

Better Off Dead (1985)

Question: Why did the paperboy keep saying "two dollars" every time he showed up?

Answer: The family owed him two dollars for their newspaper subscription. He's obsessed with collecting it and the family, for some reason, won't just pay him.

Answer: He wants payment for delivering the newspaper to their house. Paper carriers not only deliver the daily paper, but also collect the monthly fee. Every time he shows up asking for the two dollars, he is blown off.

Thanks. I never got a chance to see the whole movie so that always confused me.

1st Jan 2023

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Question: How come there are jugs beside all the beds in the hospital wing?

Answer: Presumably, the jugs are for the patients. Many of them will come into the hospital wing with injuries or fevers and will have to stay for a period of time, so the jugs are put there so they can stay hydrated while recovering.

Answer: They are water pitchers that can be filled whenever a patient is in the bed. It's just a convenience to have drinking water handy when needed. It's fairly typical in most hospitals.

It's also handy for Madam Pomfrey to simply use the water charm to fill it quickly if it's on hand as suggested.

21st Dec 2022

Secret Window (2004)

Question: In the short story, Fred Evans (from the assurance company) fatally shoots Mort while Mort tries to kill Amy. Amy marries Ted. Does anyone know why this was changed? Has Stephen King commented on it?

Answer: One reason was that the filmmakers wanted a more "realistic" ending. In the story (SPOILER ALERT), it is revealed that Shooter is in fact real, a supernatural manifestation borne from Mort's mind (à la The Dark Half). To keep the film grounded, it was changed in the film to Shooter being all in Mort's mind, a symptom of his split personality disorder.

In addition to your answer, I think the movie version makes the audience feel more sympathy for Mort. Amy is more "at fault" for having the affair with Ted. In the book, Mort considers how the marriage had issues before Ted. He wonders if his relationship with Amy never really "existed" anyway.

Answer: Movies often change details to achieve a different effect and/or add an element of surprise. In this case, it was to streamline the ending, giving it an unexpected dark twist and a sad fate for the victims which erases any sympathy for Mort's situation and his mental illness. Movies tend to like shock value and more gruesome scenes. It also leaves open whether or not Mort will ever be proved guilty.

I know that movies often have changes from the books - it's why I asked the question in the first place. I was wondering if anyone knew the specific reason behind this particular change.

18th May 2022

Doctor Strange (2016)

Question: When Strange is surgically removing the bullet from the patient's brain, why did he ask the one doctor to cover his wristwatch?

Answer: I took it to mean Dr. Strange could hear the watch ticking, and he wanted complete silence.

Answer: Perhaps to also protect the watch from getting blood-stained.

That's quite a blood spray you would need to reach him.

Chosen answer: The watch was reflecting light into his eyes.

That makes sense, as the light would distract him while performing a delicate procedure.

28th Nov 2022

The Wedding Planner (2001)

Question: Why did Mary's parents have an arranged marriage? If her father is around the same age as the actor who plays him, then he was born in the 1930s. Probably got married in the '50s. Were arranged marriages still common in Italian families?

Answer: In the early-to-mid-20th century, arranged marriages were not uncommon in immigrant families. Ethnic groups tended to prefer matrimony within their own culture to preserve religious beliefs, old traditions, and way of life, especially as immigrants became increasingly dispersed and the American population grew more blended through inter-marriages. While a family could not legally force their children to marry, they could exert tremendous pressure to do so. Also, people did not always wed for love but for more practical reasons and relied on families to help arrange a suitable match. For women, it was often about finding a good provider, raise a family, and having a certain social status. Men preferred an attractive woman from a suitable family, who would be a good homemaker, provide children, and support them in their careers.

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.