raywest

24th Feb 2006

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Question: What did Ennis mean at the end of the movie when he says "Jack, I swear"? It seemed really out of place.

Answer: I feel it meant "I swear our love will never die." Or "I swear I'll love you forever."

Answer: There's been a lot of discussion as to what this line actually means, but there's no definitive answer.

I feel like it is a statement of loss, what they had, what could have been, but Jack is now gone. They will never be together again, but the strong feelings of love and hurt that Ennis has been, and always will be, there.

6th Feb 2006

The Godfather (1972)

Question: When Clemenza is explaining to Michael how to shoot Sollozzo and McCluskey, he says to take no chances and shoot them both twice in the head. I know he shoots McCluskey twice, but am I correct that he only shot Sollozzo once in the head? (I realize this was Michael's first murder and he was extremely antsy and nervous and may have forgotten and it doesn't really matter since Sollozzo died anyway.) I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing a shot.

Answer: He did shoot Sollozzo only once. This is explained in the book. After shooting Sollozzo, Michael instinctively knew the first shot was fatal, and he purposely ignored Clemenza's instructions and immediately turned his attention on McCluskey.

2nd Feb 2006

Stand By Me (1986)

Question: What does Teddy mean when he says to Vern "did your mother have any kids who lived?"

Answer: Teddy's making a joking but also insulting remark to Vern. He has a rather low opinion of his capabilities and intelligence.

2nd Feb 2006

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Question: What exactly did Jack do with that man in Mexico?

Answer: The man was a male prostitute. Jack engaged him to have sex.

7th Nov 2005

Flightplan (2005)

Question: Can someone please explain to me who those men were that Jodie Foster saw out of her daughter's window in the beginning of the movie if they were not the individuals on the flight?

Answer: It was the men seen early in the film who murdered Foster's husband. When her daughter disappeared on the plane, Foster suspected the Muslim passengers were the kidnappers, believing they looked similar to the men she saw when her husband died. However, they were never involved in the plot. Because Foster was under extreme duress and somewhat irrational, she jumped to a politically incorrect assumption based on their ethnicity.

What do you mean by it was the men seen early in the film who murdered? Are you saying it was Carson, and Stephanie wearing masks, or were they people hired by the hijackers to murder Kyle's husband?

There were people hired to kill Kyle's husband-wheels within wheels, it's a convoluted plan.

16th Sep 2005

Pearl Harbor (2001)

Question: Rafe's fighter combat experience is in Europe. How does he know the capabilities of a Zero?

Answer: Presumably fighter pilots were instructed about Japanese technical capabilities before they were transferred to the Pacific.

22nd Nov 2005

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (1969)

Question: What was the point of the dialogue between Butch and Etta when she wonders if they might have been a couple? There are no other moments in the film where she seems to want Butch more than Sundance so why bring it up for no reason at all?

Answer: It's to show how Butch and Etta care about each other as friends and that Etta is not just someone Butch has to put up with because she's Sundance's woman. A strong bond unites the three of them.

22nd Nov 2005

Sweet Home Alabama (2002)

Question: At one point, Melanie mentions that Jake got her pregnant several years ago. Was the baby stillborn or did she get an abortion?

Answer: She had a miscarriage.

Answer: She says something to the effect of "mother nature had other plans" leading audience to believe she had a miscarriage.

Answer: She had an abortion because she said it would have altered her future plans and admitted to feeling so ashamed.

Melanie did not have an abortion. When she's talking to Jake's mother, Stella Kay, at the bar, it's mentioned that Melanie had a miscarriage. Melanie felt ashamed because after losing the baby, she ran out on Jake and their marriage to pursue her own goals in New York.

Doesn't Melanie say she's ashamed for being relieved about losing the baby?

Saying "losing" a baby indicates it was unexpected event and not a deliberate action. Melanie only means she was relieved her pregnancy didn't naturally continue.

23rd Nov 2005

Chicago (2002)

Question: I noticed that during the Cell Block Tango, "Pop" shoves the Hungarian girl pretty aggressively. Is this a mistake?

Answer: It is not a mistake, it is choreographed that way. "Pop" is deliberately pushing the Hungarian girl ("Uh Uh") out of her way as she walks to center stage.

23rd Nov 2005

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (1969)

Question: The beginning of the film states that most of it is true. Are there any specific happenings which can be pointed out as not true?

Answer: It's doubtful Butch and Etta rode around on a bicycle together, and Butch and Sundance did not jump off a cliff into a river.

20th Nov 2005

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

Question: I don't know if this is answered in the books but exactly why did Neville get upset when Moody was doing one of the "Unforgivable" curses?

Answer: Because both Neville's parents, who were aurors, were tortured by Bellatrix LeStrange using the Cruciatus curse so severely that they suffered permanent brain damage. They no longer recognize anyone, including Neville. That is why Neville lives with his grandmother.

15th Nov 2005

Flightplan (2005)

Question: Are the Arab men in the plane the same men Kyle saw through the window of her house in Berlin the night before? If so, is it a coincidence?

Answer: No, they are not the same. She was jumping to a politically incorrect assumption they were involved.

19th Nov 2005

Independence Day (1996)

Question: What does the phrase "not until the fat lady sings" mean?

Answer: It's an opera reference. The common phrase is, "It's not over until the fat lady sings." Many operatic sopranos (female lead performers with high-toned singing voices) are of large girth. In an opera, the soprano usually sings a dramatic aria just before the big finale. Basically it means that unless every option has run out, there's still hope of succeeding.

22nd Jul 2005

Murder, She Wrote (1984)

Question: How did frank Die?

Answer: It was never revealed what caused Frank's death.

3rd Nov 2005

General questions

There was a weird sci-fi film from the 80's that dealt with a spaceship landing in a little boy's backyard. I remember something about a school bus and driver, like the driver was an alien, but not for sure. Can anyone remember the name of this movie/film?

Answer: This sounds like the 1986 Tobe Hooper film, Invaders From Mars. It starred Karen Black and Louise Fletcher. It was a remake of the 1953 classic of the same name.

15th Aug 2005

Sex and the City (1998)

An american girl in paris (part deux) - S6-E20

Question: Is there going to be a spin off series in the near future?

Answer: None have been announced. (To update, a limited series, "And Just Like That" is now on HBOMax. A second season has been announced).

Answer: 'And Just Like That...' is now available on Sky.

26th Sep 2005

Sex and the City (1998)

A vogue idea - S4-E17

Question: Why are the girls families never mentioned/they never mention them? I know Carrie talks about her father in series 4, episode 17, and I know Miranda's mum dies around then too, but what about Charlotte and Samantha? Where's all their family gone?

Answer: Introducing too many family characters would have cluttered the storyline and detracted from the show's basic premise of the single life in NYC. The focus remained on the girls' friendship, their relationships, and female views about sex and love. However, in addition to the relatives you mentioned, we also met Charlotte's brother--who slept with Samantha.

Carrie mentions her father disappeared when she was 5, and she never saw him again. Samantha mentions working at a Dairy Queen as a teenager, but other than that, not much mention of family life.

16th Sep 2005

Roseanne (1988)

Question: While the series finale was inventive for its epilogue (telling us Roseanne's life for some time has been a written work of fiction), there are some things that were never made clear. For example, Roseanne (in voiceover) tells us she switched Becky and Darlene's boyfriend's, then husband's, because she thought it seemed better that way. Which brings me to my questions, does that mean Roseanne's life has been fiction from the point when Dan builds her the room in the basement to write or did it start when Mark, her future son-in-law, showed up in the show? Also, do we have any clue (or has Roseanne said in any interview or other source) what her character has REALLY been doing when she began writing?

Answer: A definitive explanation was never given. Roseanne Barr had hoped to keep the show going after the departure of John Goodman, who would not do another season. That is why his character, Dan, died. The rather preposperous epilogue was a feeble attempt to erase the previous season's ridiculous plot line about the Conners winning the lottery. The change in the characters (Jackie was now gay and Bev was not, switching the daughters' husbands, etc.) seems to have been a misguided effort to give the show a new dimension.

2nd Sep 2005

Jurassic Park III (2001)

Question: After the first Spinosaurus attack, the survivors run into a feeding T-Rex and he roars at them. Right after the team leaves, Alan says something under his breath. Does anyone know what he says?

Answer: I watched this several times on DVD. After Grant says, "Nobody move a muscle," he turns his head to one side as the others run off. His next comment is inaudible, although it appears he's uttering an expletive. My guess is, "Oh sh**." It's also not on the DVD closed captions.

6th Jul 2005

The Mask of Zorro (1998)

Question: As the mine explodes at the end of the movie would it actually be possible for all of the prisoners to escape? Because the shots right before the detonation we see them still running down the steps and some just leaving the cells. How would they be able to get far enough away to be unharmed?

Answer: It's unlikely all the prisoners could escape unscathed. This is an example of suspension of disbelief.

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