raywest

Question: Why are all the men dressed in their best clothes for the physically demanding, dirty job of a barn raising? The "Town Men" in particular are in suits and ties.

Answer: No realistic reason. It's a movie artistic choice to contrast the more genteel townsmen with the rugged Pontipee brothers. The active dance sequence emphasizes the rivalry between the two groups, and the different costumes make it easier for the audience to identify the men who are vying for the girls' affections.

raywest

12th Feb 2024

No Time to Die (2021)

Question: Bond doesn't have actual proof that Matilde is his daughter, even though she has blonde hair and blue eyes like him. It could just be a coincidence. So why does Madeline tell him at the end that "she does have his eyes"? Did she tell him that simply to try to give him some peace in his final moments before his death?

Answer: Madeleine was being truthful that Matilde was his daughter, and Bond believes her. It was just a more poetic (and slightly corny) movie dialogue way to tell him that before he died.

raywest

12th Feb 2024

No Time to Die (2021)

Question: How was Bond able to get Madeleine pregnant after the sadistic torture he endured at the hands of Le Chiffre in Casino Royale, where that was supposed to disable his ability to procreate? Also, why did Madeleine insist that her child was not Bond's?

Answer: There's no explanation, but there is much Internet speculation that, without being too graphic, believes Bond's injuries were probably treatable and less extensive than was shown, leaving him fertile. Also, movies often change, minimize, or ignore previous plot points in order to fit the current narrative.

raywest

12th Feb 2024

No Time to Die (2021)

Question: What is the significance of the Roman/Greek soldier statue in the opening credit sequence?

Answer: Most likely symbolic foreshadowing of James Bond becoming a "fallen warrior" at the end.

raywest

12th Feb 2024

No Time to Die (2021)

Question: In the opening credit sequence, were the vines growing inside the statue of the woman supposed to hint at the fact that Bond's child was growing inside of Madeleine?

Answer: While it's open to individual interpretation, vines symbolically represent connections, strength, growth, and continuation. It could very well represent Bond's progeny. There was also some DNA symbolism/imagery in the opening sequence that further hints at that.

raywest

10th Jan 2024

Cowboys & Aliens (2011)

Question: Colonel Dolarhyde mentions about having participated in the Battle of Antietam and losing men in the Cornfield. Did he fight for the Union or the Confederacy?

Answer: I was unable to find any reference about which side Dollarhyde fought for in the Civil War. It may have been deliberately left ambiguous to make his political alliances more neutral, and instead, focus on his personal character and how it evolves during the film.

raywest

Answer: Wayne Pygram appeared briefly in "Revenge", and with no dialogue. It was a cameo role, and he was cast because he resembled the late Peter Cushing, who played Tarkin in the original Star Wars trilogy. For the character's expanded role in "Rogue One", an actor was needed who not only had a similar physical appearance to Cushing but could emulate his voice, vocal inflections, facial expressions, mannerisms, etc. This was achieved by using a live actor combined with CGI. Actor Guy Henry was cast, presumably because he was best suited to recreate Cushing's role.

raywest

5th Jan 2024

General questions

Do networks only make money by selling commercial/ad time? A relative of mine has long insisted that they need to create "hype" and "shock value", because companies will race to pay more for an ad slot during a certain show or news coverage. No content/subject matter will be in a TV show, or on the news, if it "doesn't sell advertising." I know that networks look at ratings, but does everything really revolve around selling the ad spaces?

Answer: Selling advertising space is a major revenue source for networks but they also profit from cable and satellite fees, syndication and licensing fees, product placement, home entertainment sales, streaming services, event sponsorship, etc.

raywest

16th Jan 2024

Titanic (1997)

Question: I know that scenes in this movie weren't filmed in chronological order. Which scene was the first one to be shot and which scene was the last one to be shot?

Answer: I only found general info, but the first scenes filmed were of the Titanic passengers boarding the ship. Also, early on was the scene of Jack sketching Rose in the nude. I'd guess the Titanic sinking was filmed at the end of the shoot.

raywest

16th Jan 2024

Us (2019)

Question: Why did the government want to control the populace by creating millions of clones of them?

Trainman

Answer: The government's intent was to create completely controllable and compliant clones to do whatever they wanted them to do. Their plan did not work out, however.

raywest

17th Jul 2018

Flubber (1997)

Question: What's the music playing at the end of the basketball game when the Medfield Squirrels win?

Answer: "Get Down Tonight," originally released by KC and the Sunshine Band.

raywest

Answer: I've searched the Internet for any Star Wars references in this movie, and I didn't see anything listed. If there is something, fans usually spot and post things pretty quickly on different websites. There may well be some SW references that are so well hidden, that no-one's spotted them yet. I'd love to know if there is something. If I ever find anything, I'll update this, or hopefully someone else will spot something and post it.

raywest

11th Jan 2024

Hush (2016)

Question: How did the guy know Maddie couldn't access the neighbors' WiFi and call for help? Yes, it was password protected, but there was no way he could've known she didn't know the password. If I go round my friends, I have their WiFi password. If they come round mine, they have mine. It would make sense that at some point in time, the two neighbors would've shared their details with each other.

Answer: It was probably an assumption. I doubt most people know their neighbour's WiFi password. I don't know any of my neighbours' passwords, regardless of how well acquainted we are. That's different from friends who are visiting from some distance away from their home WiFi signal. Even if a neighbour is in your house with their own electronic device, they would still be close enough to their own Internet service to get a signal.

raywest

8th Jan 2024

Speed (1994)

Question: When the bus enters the airport and drives over the spike strip, the tyres should have been shredded. Why did the bus not lose speed and therefore blow up?

DEvans

Answer: Also, when the bus runs over the spikes, the camera is more close-up on it, and possibly some of the tires may have just missed hitting the spikes out of view of the camera. So, that would keep it speeding OK with just SOME of the tires shredded (but not all).

Answer: You wouldn't necessarily lose speed just because you've got a deflating tyre. It would become harder to control as the tyre deflated, but with an engine that can produce a lot of torque, there is no reason why it should slow down much, if at all. Also, as a heavy vehicle, it featured dual tyres on the rear which would've aided the drivability of the bus.

Answer: To add to the other answers, larger trucks and buses use different types of tires. Regular cars and light trucks usually have tires lined with two steel belts. Heavier vehicles use tires with four steel belts, making them more durable.

raywest

Answer: Spike strips are designed to deflate a tyre over a short time, not instantly, so as to avoid a blowout and possible accident. The tyres are going down over time as they should. That's why Jack has to tie the steering wheel in place, as it's harder to control the bus with the tyre shredding.

Ssiscool

Show generally

Question: I vaguely remember one or two promo ads for this show, which quoted reviews by critics, basically saying that it was better than "The Simpsons" and a refreshing change. However, many sitcoms have come and gone throughout the run of "The Simpsons." Is there some reason why this particular show was being promoted as an alternative?

Answer: I wouldn't read into it too much. It's not uncommon for a few critics to really love a particular film or TV show and compare it to other works in their reviews. ("It's better than XXX!" or "The best show/movie of its genre since XXX!") And since it makes for a great piece of promotion, a lot of times commercials will use these quotes in advertisements as a way to get publicity. Again, something that happens all the time. I've seen plenty of commercials for different films, TV shows, video games, etc. like the one you're describing.

TedStixon

Answer: It's an obvious and typical advertising ploy designed to catch people's attention and entice them to tune into the show and see if reviewers' claims are true. New shows need good ratings early on to avoid cancellation.

raywest

11th Jan 2024

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Question: Why did Desmond's father show up to the hearing in his Great War uniform instead of a suit and tie?

Answer: Likely an act to support his son by showing his solidarity, patriotism, and his own war service. It also makes a visual statement to the audience about a father standing by his son.

raywest

8th Jan 2024

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Question: Why didn't the Japanese just cut the rope net off the cliff side to prevent the Americans from climbing up and attacking? Common sense would have been to inhibit their advance any way they could.

Answer: I'd classify it as a deliberate mistake or choice on the moviemakers' part. It fit the plot to have it play out that way and have the Japanese being attacked.

raywest

A deliberate mistake is something like using an 8-month-old baby as a newborn, something done intentionally for filming purposes. Writing in a plot contrivance isn't a deliberate mistake. At best, it could be considered a character mistake if it's something a real person would do in the character's position or a stupidity, a stupid act by a character for the sake of the plot.

Bishop73

I have seen so many movies and TV shows where some contrived plot device is thrown in solely to make the story work, even though it makes little sense in a real-world context. If you're going to make an issue about it, you can call it whatever you want.

raywest

It was a plot mechanic. Unfortunately, resulting in a massive, obvious plot hole.

8th Jan 2024

Fall (2022)

Question: When the girls got stuck at the top of the tower on the first night, why didn't they think to climb to the very top to screw and unscrew the light bulb back and forth in an SOS pattern at alternate speeds? That surely would have been seen as out of place, and the SOS is universally known as a distress signal that would have alerted motorists and people on the ground. No doubt that would have been strenuous to perform, but at least they would have been trying everything to get help.

Answer: Most likely, that never occurred to them, or they had no idea about how to do that. Not to mention, it would be extremely dangerous, physically difficult, with no guarantee it would be successful.

raywest

Answer: To add to the other answer, while "SOS" as a distress signal is widely known, the Morse code equivalent (... - - -...) is not. So, unless they were educated in such signals, anyone seeing it probably wouldn't interpret it as a deliberate call for help...even law enforcement in this day and age couldn't be guaranteed to understand it correctly.

Question: Why were the people walking towards the ferry so desperate to get Ray's car? Considering the power was on in that area, the ferry was operating, and the army were driving round in humvees, tanks, and trucks a few scenes earlier, then surely Ray wouldn't have been the only person with a car?

Answer: He may not be the only person with a car, but you can imagine there are fewer cars than people around, since a lot of the people there came from areas where the cars had stopped working. Or else they wouldn't be walking. That's why they were going on the ferry, for transport to anywhere.

lionhead

Answer: Agree with the other answer, but would add that Ray had figured out that cars were not working because the starter solenoids were knocked out by the alien's technology. He and his friend fixed Ray's car. Unlike military mechanics or marine engineers, most people were likely clueless about what caused the problem, didn't know how to fix a vehicle, or lacked the means, particularly in a crisis. People were desperate to acquire any car they could.

raywest

Question: When Luke says he can't kill his own father, Obi-Wan tells him, "Then the Emperor has already won." But if Luke actually did kill Darth Vader, he would be left to fight the Emperor by himself, or could even be influenced to switch sides. The Emperor does try this later, suggesting that Luke replace Vader. How would that be a triumph for Obi-Wan and Yoda?

Answer: Obi-Wan didn't think it would be an immediate victory or Luke would rush to then combat the Emperor. His reasoning is that eliminating Vader would weaken the Emperor's power by removing his main enforcer. Once Vader was gone, Obi-Wan and Luke would have to devise a strategy on how to defeat the Emperor. Leaving Vader alive leaves the Emperor's power intact. Obi-Wan trusts that the Emperor will never sway Luke to the Dark side. However, Luke is unable to face destroying his own father.

raywest

So, you think they wanted Luke to fight Vader alone again, defeat him, and they would deal with the Emperor later? Instead of Luke allowing Vader to "capture" him and take him to the Emperor?

Facing his father would be facing his fears. Facing his fears is what will keep Luke away from the dark side. That was the first step in beating the emperor. Luke is understood enough in the end that killing his father is not the answer, but he did manage to beat him. And that was the victory. Because that caused Anakin to turn back to the light side and kill the emperor. Obi-Wan and Yoda can't tell Luke everything he needs to do, some he has to do himself.

lionhead

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