Question: What did Hermione mean when she asked them if they thought that Sirius was trying to live through her, Ron and Harry?
raywest
11th Oct 2016
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
12th Oct 2016
iCarly (2007)
Question: When Freddie gets bullied by the kids at school or harassed by Sam, why doesn't he just tell the teacher/principal?
11th Oct 2016
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Question: Why does Indiana Jones wear glasses? We always see him wearing round-rimmed glasses in academic settings, which implies that he wears reading glasses. In the midst of high adventure, however, he never wears glasses; nonetheless, he's able to read cryptic inscriptions and even his father's diary in the worst possible lighting conditions. Are his reading glasses some sort of passive disguise, like Clark Kent's?
Answer: According to the book, he is far-sighted. In his office, he had to hold the package that contained the diary at arms length. He cannot read anything up close.
11th Oct 2016
Storks (2016)
Question: After shutting down their business in delivering babies, why didn't the storks destroy the baby-manufacturing factory?
Chosen answer: It could have been for a number of reasons. It would be expensive and time consuming to completely dismantle and remove a large piece of machinery. It may have been something that was being delayed until a later time or was to be sold. Perhaps the machinery, after retooling, would be reused for another purpose, and so on.
Answer: At around the end of the movie, you could see that when Hunter goes down with the package factory, you could see that the factory was connected to the Baby Factory off the side of the mountain. They probably didn't have the time to demolish that one and then rebuild the packages.
10th Oct 2016
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Question: Both the movie and book make it seem like Harry did a merciful act by sparing Peter Pettigrew's life and trying to take him to the Dementors instead. It even created a life debt that made Peter hesitate to kill Harry later on (during the "Deathly Hallows" events). But having your soul removed by a Dementor is supposed to be a fate worse than death. How has Harry been merciful at all?
Answer: It wasn't about his being merciful. Harry knew that Pettigrew needed to be alive long enough so he could exonerate Sirius Black by confessing his part in the crime. Sirius had been wrongly accused.
Answer: In the book Harry spares Peter's life to take him to the dementors, because he didn't think his dad would want his two best friends to be murderers.
10th Oct 2016
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
10th Oct 2016
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Question: If all of the staff knew that Gilderoy Lockhart was a fraud, then why would they let him teach at Hogwarts?
Answer: One of the running bits throughout the series was that no Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers lasted longer than one year. Few wanted or would apply for the job. Professor Snape always wanted it, but Dumbledore would not consider him, ostensibly due to his dark history, but also for other reasons. Lockhart was the only other applicant for that year and he was better than nothing. The extent of Lockhart's fraud wasn't known yet.
10th Oct 2016
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Question: When Harry sees into the past of Dumbledore's meeting with young Tom Riddle, Tom admits that he hurts people if they are mean to him. Since Tom openly admits this with obviously no guilt or remorse, why would Dumbledore take him to Hogwarts to learn magic instead of leaving him at the orphanage?
Answer: Leaving an untrained young wizard, who obviously has some behavioral issues and has no idea he is magical, alone in the Muggle world would be extremely dangerous. Dumbledore does not yet know that Riddle will become evil, but like any teacher, he wants to give a troubled youth an opportunity to find a new path in life.
10th Oct 2016
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
Question: Why did Vader cut off Luke's hand? It seems like a strange thing to do right before you request that someone join you.
Answer: The intent was to disarm Luke and end the fight and prevent Luke from gaining the upper hand (no pun intended). As seen at the end of the film, Luke received a new prosthetic hand that was nearly as proficient as his real one. There is also a bit of symbolism here. Vader had been severely mutilated by Obi Wan many years before, resulting him becoming more machine than man. As Palpatine later attempts to sway Luke to the Dark Side, Luke's lost hand serves to remind him that he could easily become a monster like his father.
22nd Sep 2007
Titanic (1997)
Question: Before dinner, when Rose is telling Jack the name of people who are gathered downstairs, she points out a man who has a wife who is Rose's age, and says that his wife is in "delicate condition", that she's trying to hide it, and it's "quite the scandal." If the couple is married, why does the woman want to hide her pregnancy?
Answer: At this time, and particularly in higher society, most personal matters concerning women, and particularly a pregnancy, was considered something extremely private. This would be never be discussed openly with strangers. The man in question is John Jacob Astor IV, and the woman is his second wife, Madeleine, who was 29 years his junior, hence the possible source of the "scandal."
Answer: At the time, it was a big scandal surrounding John Jacob Astor's divorce then marriage to Madeline, even his grown sons were in opposition. It wasn't until after the sinking that the sons met with her in support.
28th Sep 2016
Bewitched (1964)
Question: Is there some reason why Samantha wears the same exact "Heart Pendant Necklace" in every single episode? It seems odd that she only has one necklace all the time.
Answer: The original diamond and white gold heart necklace was given to Elizabeth Montgomery by her then real-life husband, William Asher, who also directed the show. She wore it in nearly every early episode. When the necklace was lost or stolen about mid-way through the series, Montgomery had two replicas made from rhinestones. She wore either one of those for the rest of the show's run.
8th Sep 2016
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Question: If I am correct, this movie takes place about one year after Luke left Yoda's training in "Empire Strikes Back." Why does Yoda think that he requires no further training? In the prequels and the "Clone Wars" TV show, Jedi apprentices went through several years of difficult situations and trials before finally being named as Knights or Masters.
Answer: Luke was not being trained under normal circumstances, and the Jedi order no longer existed. Darth Vader is on the verge of defeating the rebel alliance and controlling the galaxy. Luke is the alliance's best hope and there is no time left for years of extensive instruction. He is literally getting a "crash course." Yoda likely also knows he has little time left to live and can no longer teach him. Luke will have to rely on himself from here on.
5th Sep 2016
Inside Man (2006)
Question: Why would Arthur Case keep incriminating documents? Why didn't he destroy them after the war?
Answer: Illogical...he only kept them because the writer of the movie needed him to do so...anyone with half a brain would've burned any incriminating evidence linking himself to the holocaust.
People don't always act logically. Some people do keep incriminating evidence.
5th Sep 2016
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Question: When they are in the hospital wing why did Madame Pomfrey take off Ron's sock? it was his leg that was broken, not his foot. Besides why did Ron need a cast on his leg if Hermione cleaned up all the blood on Ron's leg?
Chosen answer: It was never stated that Ron's leg was broken. Sirius, in his dog form, grabbed him by the lower part and pulled him into the Shrieking Shack, injuring him. Hermione did only minor treatment on Ron's leg until they could get him to the infirmary. Madam Promfrey would naturally remove a dirty sock to more thoroughly treat and clean his wounds.
23rd Aug 2016
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Question: When freeing Sirius Black, then flying around the School, why did they whoop and holler and make so much noise if they were trying to be secretive?
Chosen answer: They were still high enough in the air where there was little chance of being heard or if they were, it would be muffled. Also, they're kids. They are not always capable of restraining their emotions or enthusiasm when they should. It is also a means to heighten the scene's mood (enthusiasm and success) and show the audience what emotions the characters are feeling at the time.
16th Aug 2016
Licence to Kill (1989)
10th Aug 2016
Taxi Driver (1976)
Question: When Travis first entered the porn theater, why was it blurred? Was that Martin Scorcese blurring the picture to avoid an NC-17 rating, or was the porn movie supposed to be blurry?
Chosen answer: It could be for several reasons. As you pointed out, it could be to avoid an NC-17 rating, though Scorcese could easily have used scenes that were not specifically pornographic. It may also be to keep the audience's attention focused on Travis and what was is going on in the scene and not be distracted by any pornographic material. Also, if you are referring to when the movie was being aired on TV, then any pornographic materials would have been blurred out to comply with FCC standards. Nudity and pornography cannot be shown on general TV stations.
10th Aug 2016
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Question: I'm just wondering from the way how Hermione says she has non magic parents, is she ashamed of her parents?
Chosen answer: She was not ashamed of her parents. Because she was raised a Muggle, she was never exposed to the magical world. She feels awkward and out-of-place and at a disadvantage compared to those who were born into magical families. Hermione does not like feeling inferior to others.
7th Aug 2016
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
Question: A few questions about Snape's death: How did Voldemort slice Snape's throat with his wand without saying anything? Where exactly did Nagini bite Snape? Did he die from wounds or from venom?
Answer: Nagini kills Snape by biting him in the neck, it was in the movie.
Chosen answer: More magically advanced wizards do not need to speak the name of the spell to cast it. In the books, Harry and other students spend time learning how to cast spells silently. It is not specifically explained how Nagini kills Snape, but most likely it is a combination of various bites over his body and the venom.
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Chosen answer: Because Sirius was imprisoned when he was still young, he'd become emotionally stunted, lacked maturity and sometimes exhibited poor judgement and often thinks and acts like someone much younger. Hermione thinks he is trying to relive his lost youth through them.
raywest ★