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28th Apr 2017

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Question: At the very beginning of the movie, there is a shot of Andrea's diary. On the calendar page, it says "ELIAS-CLARKE HUMAN RESOURCES" and next to it, "Get a card + Prez for Jill." Who the heck is Jill? The name of Andrea's girlfriend who works at a gallery is Lily, though.

Answer: Jill is actually Andy's sister, not mentioned or shown in the movie but she's in several chapters of the book.

Chosen answer: Andy certainly has more girlfriends than only Lily. Jill is just someone she knows or who is a relative that does not appear in the film. This is meant to give substance to Andy, showing she has a busy life and interacts with many people.

28th Apr 2017

Ocean's Eleven (2001)

Question: When Saul is dressing up in front of the mirror for the final night, he collapses on the bed. Rusty, who's watching the scene, doesn't seem too bothered about it. Was Saul simply rehearsing his part, including the fainting, or did Rusty have enough confidence in him to believe he would not fail even if he felt ill?

Crisponzio Pastrelli Santangelo

Chosen answer: Rusty is aware that Saul is just rehearsing. He knows Saul well enough to be able to tell if he was really having a medical episode.

24th Apr 2017

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Question: If Blofeld wanted to eliminate Tiffany Case, then why didn't he kill her when he kidnaps her later on the film, instead keeping her alive and unharmed on his oil rig in Baha? In fact, he doesn't consider harming her in any way until he notices that she's helping Bond (with swapping the tapes round) on the rig.

Answer: It could be any number of reasons. For one, Tiffany's young and beautiful, and he may have been attracted to her. Some men, even evil ones, balk at killing a woman. She might also be more useful alive, at least for the short-term, to be used as a hostage or a bargaining chip or for information. He may also have intended to recruit her to his side.

Answer: He didn't kill her because she seduced him into believing she was sexually attracted to him, his power and wealth.

20th Apr 2017

Passengers (2016)

Question: At the beginning of the movie, was Jim purposely woken up to fix the Avalon's damage or was it because his pod malfunctioned?

Answer: Jim, who was a passenger and not a crew member, was not intentionally awakened to repair the damage to the Avalon. It was a malfunction, but because Jim happened to possess useful mechanical engineering skills (he "fixes" things), the ship's damaged computer system may have detected this information from his passenger profile and then mistakenly routed a signal to his pod, opening it.

Gus examined Jim's pod, and determined it had a malfunctioned clock circuit. The computer didn't wake him intentionally in any way.

Answer: He wasn't woken up deliberately because he didn't have a crew wrist pass to give access to all areas, which you'd need to fix the ship.

5th Apr 2017

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Question: When the staff become antiques after the last rose petal falls, do they die?

Answer: They will permanently turn into inanimate objects, so yes, their lives would effectively be ended.

6th Apr 2017

The Wolfman (2010)

Question: Even though not said outright, why would Inspector Aberline accuse Lawrence of the murder of his brother and the gypsies? He was with his theater troupe when his brother was killed and the gypsies were killed by Sir John as a werewolf. Not shot to death.

Answer: Aberline suspected Lawrence of murdering his brother and the gypsies because of his mental history and, as a Shakespearean actor, he often played mentally-disturbed characters. Aberline jumped to a conclusion that it might be a case of life imitating art.

30th Mar 2017

The Comancheros (1961)

Question: What does the term "grey dawn" mean?

Answer: There's no specific meaning. Metaphorically, it would mean that it is the beginning of something that is dismal, is going to be long and difficult to achieve, or may not end well. Basically, it's a "bad omen."

5th Apr 2017

Brave (2012)

Question: Why did Elinor throw Merida's bow in the fireplace? What happened to the bow when it was fished from the fire?

Answer: Merida had rebelled against her traditional female role and defied her mother by slicing the tapestry with a sword. As retaliation, Elinor angrily threw Merida's bow into the fire. The bow was fished out before any substantial damage was done to it, and Merida was still able to use it. Historically, wooden weapons (bows, spears, etc.) were often crafted with a process called "fire hardening" to dry out the moisture and make the wood stronger. The flames may have had this affect on Merida's bow.

16th Nov 2015

Wall Street (1987)

Question: If the beach house is in the Hamptons, why is the sunrise from the west?

Answer: It's probably just a movie inaccuracy. For whatever reason, probably technical, economical, or for artistic considerations, the scene could have been staged and shot during sunset rather than sunrise. Oftentimes, scenes are not actually filmed when and where they are supposedly set. Locations are often substituted for ones that are more private, more scenic, have easier physical access, are in a less expensive economic region (such as Canada), and so on.

6th Apr 2017

Prometheus (2012)

Question: Near the end, Dr Shaw is seen lowering something to the ground. It looks like a body - is it, or what is it?

Answer: Shaw is lowering David's android body from the alien craft to the ground. She is taking it with her to find the Engineers. David's detached head is stowed inside her utility bag. Presumably she will reassemble him during the journey.

27th Jul 2015

Sixteen Candles (1984)

Question: Has Samantha's birthday ever been officially said? She says she looks the same as she did that summer and all that shows is that she doesn't have a tan left. People are still wearing tank tops, dresses, skirts, shorts, etc. throughout the movie. It appears to be early to mid September but nobody says anything in the movie. Does anybody know?

Answer: Her birthdate is not mentioned. Regarding the weather and how the locals dress, it depends on where they live. California, for instance, has a fairly warm climate much of the year, so it would not be unusual to see the people there wearing summer-type clothing in early Autumn.

Answer: The brother is constantly wearing Chicago gear. I'd bet Chicago. You can lose your tan in one month. That's a long time to a kid back in school. Plus the dance they go to is called the New Faces dance which may be a beginning of the school year.

I did a little checking on the movie production. According to the Wikipedia entry for this film, "Sixteen Candles was filmed primarily in and around the Chicago North Shore suburban communities of Evanston, Skokie, and Highland Park, Illinois during the summer of 1983." The summers in this region are usually quite hot and humid which may account for why the cast was wearing lighter clothing throughout the film, even though it was supposedly taking place in Autumn.

16th Nov 2015

An Affair to Remember (1957)

Question: When Nikki came to see Terri, he laid his hat and coat in the chair - no package. Later, he went to the chair and got the package that contained the scarf. Was the package placed there at a later time?

Answer: This sounds like a movie mistake rather than there being a reason in the plot for it to happen.

3rd Apr 2017

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Question: How long were the Beast and the servants cursed?

Answer: It was never specified how long the curse had been in effect.

4th Apr 2017

Sing (2016)

Question: In the trailer it shows a pig singing "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga but this song is not on the soundtrack. Why is that? Also "Anaconda" on the soundtrack is "Oh.My.Gosh" instead of its proper title. Again, why is that? It doesn't make sense for one song to be in the movie but not on the soundtrack and for another song to not have its proper title.

Answer: It would have to do with paying royalties to the artists if the songs were included on the soundtrack album. The artists would be paid a one-time flat fee for their songs to be used in the movies or the trailers, but for albums being sold would mean some of the profits would have go to the artists. The movie studio can make just as much on the soundtrack album without certain songs being included. Regarding the title, it may be the artist wanted it changed for some reason, or the filmmakers felt it didn't fit in.

3rd Apr 2017

Rango (2011)

Question: How was the mayor able to drown Mr. Merrimack in the desert?

Answer: The Mayor, along with Bad Bill and his crew, drowned Mr. Merrimack with the water from the jug. That's why his glasses are seen in the jug after the chase seen with the dysfunctional family.

Answer: It's not specifically explained how but it's a clue about the water pipeline that runs to Las Vegas. It has a secret shut-off valve that the mayor has been manipulating to create a drought so he could buy the land cheap.

3rd Apr 2017

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Question: Inside the volcano, how the heck didn't Frodo spot Smeagol sneaking behind Sam before turning invisible, if he was looking in Sam's direction?

Chosen answer: Frodo is not completely in his right mind. He's been affected by the ring and the extreme physical and mental toll on him. He could very well have not seen Smeagol.

3rd Apr 2017

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Question: When Eddie is going up to what he believes is Jessica's apartment, how was he able to survive being flattened on the elevator floor and then slammed on the roof of the elevator while all it took to kill his brother was a piano? Eddie even mentions that Teddy died in ToonTown.

Answer: It's possible that Teddy was crushed by a live-action piano rather than a cartoon piano.

Answer: Because the killer's intention was to murder Teddy all along, and saw to it that the piano would be lethal to him.

But how could a piano kill him if he was in Toon Town? When Eddie went up in the elevator, he was flattened against the floor and that didn't kill him considering that all of his organs were also flattened which should have resulted in his death. So, a piano being dropped on somebody should have the same affect as long as they're in Toon Town.

Answer: It's because he's now in the unreal cartoon world where characters suffer the most horrendous mishaps and injuries without being physically harmed.

3rd Apr 2017

Titanic (1997)

Question: Why'd Cal shoot at Jack and Rose? Besides, he didn't know she had the diamond til after they got away.

Answer: He wanted to kill Jack because he knew Rose preferred Jack to him. Cal intended that he and Rose would survive. He wanted to make sure that Jack did not. It didn't have anything to do with the diamond.

30th Mar 2017

Phineas and Ferb (2007)

Question: In the beginning of the "Star Wars" special, at the end of the opening titles credits, the narrator says "And none of this is canon, so just relax." Is he referring to it not being canon to "Star Wars", "Phineas and Ferb", or both?

Answer: Mostly it refers to Star Wars, but it applies to both.

31st Mar 2017

El Dorado (1966)

Question: What was the mixture that Mississippi gave to JP Harra?

Answer: The prime ingredient was Ipecac, a nausea-inducing compound (still used today) which so inflames the stomach lining that it's impossible for the patient to hold anything down. Hot mustard in large doses has a similar effect. The other ingredients (croton oil, cayenne pepper, etc) acted as powerful laxatives, so the entire gastrointestinal tract is evacuated in short order. The gunpowder was a fantasy ingredient, no doubt, as gunpowder is known to cause gangrene of internal tissues.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: It was an old folk remedy for a hangover. It was supposed to make someone unable to drink liquor for a short period of time. The fictional potion's ingredients were not specified.

The ingredients of Mississippi's hangover concoction are very surely in the scripted dialogue. Mississippi: "Johnny Diamond had a recipe. Let's see. Cayenne pepper, mustard-the hot kind, ipecac, asafetida, and oil of cloves or was it? No, it was croton oil." Bull: "Croton oil?! I'll be a suck-egg mule. You know what that mixture'll do to a fella?" Mississippi: "Guaranteed kill or cure." The final ingredient is gunpowder.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: Croaking oil, gunpowder, hot mustard, ipecac, asafetida.

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