Question: I don't fully understand the Game Show part in the beginning. What was the significance of that?
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25th Jan 2011
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
17th Jan 2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
Question: How did Grindlewald know that Dumbledore was buried with the wand?
Chosen answer: This is actually never explained in the movie. In the book, Voldemort located Grindelwald in Nurmengard prison so he could learn the whereabouts of the Elder Wand. Grindelwald lied to Voldemort about ever having possessed the Elder Wand, perhaps in a belated effort to protect Dumbledore, his former friend and foe. Voldemort read Grindelwald's mind using Legillimancy and learned that Dumbledore had captured the wand from Grindelwald after defeating him in their epic duel many years before. Voldemort murdered Grindelwald, then deduced that the Elder Wand must have been entombed with Dumbledore.
Question: In the final battle scene, Jack was protected from death because he had possession of a single gold coin from the Aztec loot. If possession of a single gold coin could turn Jack into an invulnerable, living skeleton under the moonlight, how did the curse not affect Elizabeth after she had in possession the medallion for so many years? I believe she should have been turned into an undead person as well, since her gold coin was indeed part of the loot.
Chosen answer: Elizabeth was unaffected by the curse because she never removed the coin from the Aztec chest. Neither did Will Turner, who Elizabeth took the coin from, then hid it. It was only those who stole a coin from the chest who were cursed. Losing it, having it stolen, or giving to someone else does not pass on the curse to the new recipient. Jack delibertately took a coin from the chest, therefore cursing himself, albeit to protect himself so he could defeat Barbossa.
17th Jan 2011
General questions
I was wondering if anyone knows the name of a movie about two people who fall in love in heaven before being born. Then the woman is chosen to be born and the man asks to be born too, to try to find her on earth. They keep almost meeting throughout the movie before finally finding each other.
Chosen answer: You're thinking of the 1987 film, "Made in Heaven," starring Kelly McGillis and Timothy Hutton.
6th Jan 2011
Titanic (1997)
Question: When Cal says to Rose,'I should have kept that drawing it would be worth a lot more in the morning'. What does this mean?
Chosen answer: Cal sarcastically means that he expects Jack Dawson (who drew the picture Cal is referring to) will die when the Titanic sinks. It is a morbid fact that, historically, an artist's body of work becomes more valuable "after" their death, even doubling or tripling in value. Cal is saying Jack's drawing would be worth more once Jack is dead.
4th Jan 2011
General questions
I remember a movie from the 80's where a redheaded girl had pigtails that spun around and her father was a pilot. What was the name of that movie?
4th Jan 2011
Superman II (1980)
19th Jul 2010
Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman: The Movie (1999)
Question: At the end of season six, Grace told Robert E she was pregnant. Throughout this series finale, which is fast-forwarded three years, there is no such child. Do we assume she miscarried?
29th Dec 2010
Titanic (1997)
Question: When Jack and Rose go to dinner, Rose is pointing out many first class people. Then she explains that the richest man on the ship's wife is Rose's age. Isn't she a little young to be married to him?
Answer: Some people may have the opinion that she is too young, and you may have that opinion yourself. However, the technical answer to your question is yes, she is much younger than her husband. If two people are consenting adults, they are legally allowed to be together if they wish. Madeleine Astor was eighteen years old and her husband was forty-seven. A large age gap is not what many people prefer, but this couple wanted to be together anyway.
Chosen answer: Well of course she is too young. Men, regardless of their age, typically prefer young attractive women. Wealthy and powerful men like John Jacob Astor (who Rose is pointing out) are able to attract beautiful young girls who want a rich husband, regardless of how old, unattractive, or physically infimed they might be.
8th Dec 2010
General questions
Whenever there's a scene in a movie where a character is looking in a mirror, how do they make sure that the camera isn't seen in the mirror?
5th Dec 2010
Superman (1978)
Question: One thing I don't understand about the movie is why kryptonite is so harmful (almost making him drown in a pool), yet he was born there and he didn't die. Kryptonite did come from his home planet, Krypton, right? How come he didn't die when he was born?
Answer: When Krypton exploded, the resulting debris was chemically altered through nuclear fusion, converting it into kryptonite. Bits traveled through space, some eventually ending up on Earth, where it is now lethal to anyone who was from that planet.
Pieces of Krypton that exploded in the Red Sun were made radioactive, and the Red Sun is one of the weaknesses of the Kryptonians.
I thought the Red Sun was poisonous to Kryptonians and caused the remnants of the planet Krypton to become radioactive and also absorb some of the solar energy from the Red Sun. I was under that impression, maybe I'm mistaken.
24th Nov 2010
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
Question: When Harry finds the Sword of Godric Gryffindor in the frozen lake, why doesn't he just use the Wingardium Leviosa spell to levitate it out of the lake instead of diving in to get it himself? I assume that this is how J.K. Rowling wrote it in the book, but does this still count as a mistake?
Chosen answer: It is not a mistake. Harry does attempt to summon the sword with a spell, but like the locket horcrux in the sea cave in (in HP and the Half-blood Prince), all the horcruxes, as well as other particularly strong magical objects (like the three Deathly Hallows), are impervious to all types of summoning charms. They therefore must be retrieved by other means.
17th Nov 2010
General questions
What is the name of the 70/80's TV miniseries that was about a man making incredible wealth in African diamonds and later trying to buy the US presidency for his son? I recall some dialog "I'll pay 50 million, 100 million, 150 million or any multiple thereof ."
Chosen answer: Sounds like the 1976 TV mini-series, The Captains and the Kings. Set in late 19th-century America, it stars Richard Jordan as a penniless Irish immigrant who rises into a rich and powerful business mogul. The series covers several generations in his family.
8th Nov 2010
General questions
I'm trying to find the NAME of an old (ABC?) TV movie, circa 1970's, likely mid 1970's. All I remember is the (basic) plot AND the final shot. PLOT: the main character (Andrew Prine?) has been in accident (?), or was hurt in the military and he has a plate in his head or some sort of surgery was done to his brain. Something is "odd" about the new town he moves into and the main character thinks the Sheriff / Police Chief is controlling the people and might even be doing doing something illegal. Also, the main character falls in love with a mysterious woman in the small town, and through some series of events he finds out that the people of the town are being controlled by outer space travelers who are using the towns people to rebuild their space ship, at night, while they are hypnotized while asleep. The Sheriff and his new love ARE the head aliens. They are using the towns peoples 'bodies' to do the repairs because they don't have physical bodies, they are just beings made of 'energy'. The main character can't be 'hypnotized' because of the plate / surgery to his head. Near the end of the movie he actually sees the people wandering out toward a field where the busted space ship is being repaired. LAST SHOT: the final shot is the main character's body, lying in a field, in broad daylight. He's gone off into outer space (or just his 'life energy' has gone')with the woman with whom he fell in love. Roll Credits. 11:00 o'clock news. I started thinking about this because there was an episode of "Eureka" where the town's people worked on a 'project' at night, while they were hypnotized. Same plot, different out come. Thanks.
Chosen answer: This sounds like the 1970 made-for-TV movie titled, Night Slaves, starring Andrew Prine, James Franciscus, and Lee Grant. Leslie Nielsen played the sheriff of a small western town where some strange force has turned the residents into zombies.
4th Nov 2010
Carrie (1976)
Question: I've been wondering about this for a while: the teacher who befriends Carrie seems to care about her a great deal. Was Carrie just imagining that everyone (including the teacher) was laughing at her or was it real?
Answer: She was just imagining it. She had become so used to being ridiculed by many students, that she was unable to separate out those who actually were kind to her.
In the book, they were all laughing. Some did it intentionally, and some couldn't seem to help themselves, but it was not Carrie's imagination.
Question: When the Black Pearl arrives at Port Royal, and the two pirates, Ragetti and Pintel go after Elizabeth, she runs to her bedroom and throws fire on Ragetti's head. These pirates are cursed, and therefore cannot feel anything. Why then, does he yell as if he could feel the fire? Isn't that a mistake?
Answer: Ragetti (amongst others) is indicating that the undead pirates do feel pain. In example Ragetti talks about his wooden eye and how it "splinters terribly". He also screams that the coal is hot and that it burns him. Another pirate screams in agony when being stabbed. As Barbossa states; they can't feel pleasure in any form but mentions nothing about pain. The curse is meant to punish the greedy who stole/steals the gold. What better punishment than let them suffer by not feeling what wealth can bring in form of pleasure by flesh and food but only take away that part and leave the "bad" feelings like pain?
17th Oct 2010
General questions
I am trying to find the name of this movie. It was made around the late 70's to mid 80's and is a horror movie about a giant swarm of bees. The only thing I remember from it was the final scene took place inside the Louisiana Superdome, and the bees were swarmed around a car sitting in the middle of the football field. The main characters figured out that they had to freeze the bees to death, so the had to lower the air temperature to below 39 degrees which killed the bees. But the final scene reveals one bee was still alive, hinting that the swarm would rebuild. I have tried and tried to find the title of this movie and I can't. Please help.
Chosen answer: Based on what you've describe, this sounds like the 1976 TV movie, The Savage Bees. A swarm of South American killer bees escape from a foreign ship and invade New Orleans during Mardi Gras. It stars Ben Johnson and Michael Parks.
14th Oct 2010
Minority Report (2002)
Question: In the virtual reality bar, a man comes up to the operator with a request. On television I've seen this line as, "I want to kill my boss." But I remember the line being much less family friendly in the theater. Was this line changed since the move left theaters, or am I mistaken?
Answer: You are not mistaken. Movie scenes are filmed multiple times, often with small changes to the dialogue, actors reacting differently, and so on, to see which one works best. However, some more adult scenes that are appropriate for a movie theater or certain cable channels are also filmed with a more family-friendly version that can be edited into the film for later TV viewings. This eliminates having to "bleep" out offensive words, dubbing in non-offensive words, which sounds unnatural, or otherwise chopping up or cutting scenes entirely due to nudity. This method is less distracting and makes for better viewing. A good example is the TV series, "Sex and the City." The show actually filmed many racier scenes in two versions, one for the very adult-oriented HBO, and also tamer scenes that eliminated all nudity and offensive dialogue for later syndication to general cable channels while keeping the overall content intact.
14th Oct 2010
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Question: How did Will not recognise Viloa in her boy disguise? Even in disguise, you can clearly see it's her, and she didn't sound like a boy.
Answer: In real life, Viola, of course, would be recognized as a female in disguise. However, in literature, film, opera, etc, it often is necessary to employ what is known as a "suspension of disbelief." That is, the author expects the reader or audience to know something is impossible, unlikely, or completely unreal, but they have to accept a certain premise in order to allow the plot to unfold. We go along with the idea that no one realizes Viola is actually a woman, so that we can enjoy the overall story.
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Chosen answer: It's a recreation of when the real Frank Abagnale, Jr. appeared on the TV game show, "To Tell The Truth," that ran on CBS from the mid-1950s to late-1960s. A celebrity panel would try to pick out the genuine contestant who had an unusual secret from among two other imposters, who gave bluff answers to questions.
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