raywest

Question: Why did Willi Cicci testify against Michael in court? Michael didn't do anything to Willi. In fact he even took part in the assassination of the other 4 families on behalf of Michael.

Answer: Willi had mistakenly believed that Michael had betrayed him and was behind the attack that almost killed him.

raywest

Question: In a deleted scene Lockhart gives a quiz in his first class, and after it he mentions Hermione knowing his greatest ambition, Susan Bones smiles at Hermione. Why?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Chosen answer: There is not a particular reason. All the girls had huge crushes on Gilderoy Lockhart. Susan Bones also is taken with Lockhart and she is just enjoying the attention that Hermione is receiving.

raywest

Question: I have 3 questions. 1) Did Sirius really care about Harry or was he just using Harry as a chance to have his best friend back? 2) When did Sirius ever treat Harry like Harry's dad if he ever did treat Harry like James? 3) Why did Sirius say Harry only might be able to live with him if Harry was expelled from Hogwarts and then not talk to Harry when he found out he could go back to Hogwarts?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Chosen answer: Sirius truly loved his godson. Sirius didn't specifically treat Harry like he was James but he did see him as something of a substitute. This is better explained in the novels. Sirius was incarcerated in Azkaban as a very young man, resulting in his emotional maturity being stunted and his judgment impaired. He sometimes acted recklessly and treated Harry more like his friend and equal rather than his ward who he should be mentoring and setting good examples. He sometimes unwisely supported or encouraged Harry's acting inappropriately as he and James had done at that age. Sirius never would have shirked his responsibility as godfather and would have made sure Harry always had a home. Harry believed that Sirius, who was lonely and isolated from being in hiding, may have been hoping Harry was expelled so he could live with him and keep him company. Because Sirius was a hunted fugitive, he could not openly talk or visit with Harry once he returned to Hogwarts. That would risk Sirius being captured and also implicate Harry as abetting a convicted criminal (although Sirius was innocent).

raywest

Question: Two questions. First, why is Hagrid sent to tell Harry about the wizarding world and escort him to Diagon Alley? Being a half-giant, he would attract attention from a lot of Muggles. Second, have no Muggles noticed that several children arrive at King's Cross Station with owls every year? The owls would be seen before the wizarding families approach Platform 9 3/4.

Answer: I would guess Dumbledore sent Hagrid to fetch Harry solely because he knew the half-giant would frighten the Dursleys, who wanted to stop Harry from going to Hogwarts. Hagrid was also on a mission to fetch the Philosopher's Stone from Gringott's Bank at the same time. Magic was apparently used to mask the comings and goings of wizards whenever they were out and about in the Muggle world. Sometimes people noticed odd things happening, but then tended to shrug it off.

raywest

Question: If Dumbledore wanted to take the Philosopher's Stone and hide it at Hogwarts in order to lure Voldemort out (as answered in another question), isn't that taking a huge risk in regards to Harry's safety? Dumbledore knows Harry is starting that year and also that Voldemort wants to eliminate Harry, so isn't he potentially putting Harry at risk by attempting to lure Voldemort to Hogwarts (to get the stone). I mean after Harry defeats Quirrell/ Voldemort in the chamber and Dumbledore visits him in the hospital wing, he doesn't even apologise for risking Harry's life by moving the stone from Gringotts to Hogwarts.

Answer: Dumbledore did not bring the Philosopher's Stone to Hogwarts to lure Voldemort there. He brought it to the castle to protect it after hearing that one of Voldemort's servants may attempt to steal it. No one knew then that Professor Quirrell was that agent. Dumbledore did not know for certain that Voldemort had returned, only that it was probable.

raywest

28th Jun 2016

Star Trek (1966)

The Corbomite Maneuver - S1-E11

Question: In this episode, the navigator, Mr. Bailey, has an earpiece only for the length of time it takes to notify the crew of the message coming in over the navigation beam. Why is it that no time before, or since, that anyone at the conn or navigation positions never had one?

Movie Nut

Chosen answer: This was an early episode and TV shows often make small changes to set design, props, equipment, and so on as the program progresses. Most likely it was felt that this particular prop was not effective and the producers decided to eliminate it.

raywest

28th Jun 2016

The Edge (1997)

Question: To find south why not look at the sun. East to West?

Answer: That would only work when the sun is visible. In Alaska there are frequent rainy and overcast days where the sun is completely blocked by heavy clouds, making a precise directional determination difficult, if not impossible.

raywest

Answer: Cooper's CIA superior, Ross, learns that Cooper is attempting to oust him by making false accusations so he can become the CIA director. Ross devises his own plan to fool Cooper into believing that someone who can exonerate him is arriving at the airport. Ross sends one of his agents to the airport to randomly chose a man to appear to be the person that Ross is expecting. The agent selects Richard Drew because he is wearing mismatched shoes, the result of a trick a friend played on him. Cooper, who had bugged Ross' house, overheard the fake conversation and fell for the bait. He sends his own agent to the airport, who spots Ross' man with Richard and begins trailing him. Of course, Richard has no idea what is happening.

raywest

Question: When the lady knocks on the door and says "House keeping" which causes some monster wind thing, If you look on the right side of the screen, what's inside the room?

Cloude2

Chosen answer: It's not known what it is. It is left to the audience's imagination of what exactly is in the room or what some witch or wizard was doing in there. This is only meant to be a humorous bit and is unrelated to the plot. It didn't happen in the book.

raywest

14th Jun 2016

Roseanne (1988)

Halloween - The Final Chapter - S8-E5

Question: Who is in the picture at the end of this episode? Roseanne is holding a baby, and there is a blonde guy in the picture. It's right after the dedication to Jerry Garcia, the 3 of them are wearing tie died shirts.

Answer: That was Roseanne and her then real-life husband, Ben Thomas, with their baby son, Buck. Barr's pregnancy during Season 8 was written into the show.

raywest

Question: Why is Barbossa reluctant to hand over Elizabeth while making a deal with Sao Feng while Jack is talking with Beckett on his ship? And why is Beckett interested in Elizabeth (asking Jack about her when he fails to mention her)?

Answer: Barbossa does feel some loyalty to Elizabeth and considers her a comrade, and he would not hand her over to an enemy. Beckett would be interested in Elizabeth for a variety of reasons. She would possess valuable information. Having her as a captive would make it easier to ensure Norrington's obedience. She would also make for a good bargaining chip in his dealings with Jack. He may also fancy her.

raywest

Question: Ginny says that the last thing she remembered is Tom coming out of the diary, but we don't know where that actually occurred. Where is he coming out of his diary?

Jenny Smith

Chosen answer: In the Chamber of Secrets. That was when he revealed himself for the first time. Before that, he was merely a "presence" controlling Ginny through the diary.

raywest

Question: Why did Michael Douglas expect David to spend 2 hours in the back stairwell between entering the building at 8 p.m. and attacking Gweneth at 10 p.m. after the phone rings? He'd be sitting in the stairwell where anyone could see him, with or without his black ski mask.

Answer: It is unknown what Douglas' entire thinking was behind the plan, but if someone had spotted David in the stairwell, it would only help to support Douglas' alibi and point the finger at a stranger breaking into the apartment and killing his wife.

raywest

Answer: Good point. If a resident in an upscale apartment building like that were to see a suspicious-looking man loitering in the stairwell, he would tell the doorman, who would either investigate or call the police, or both.

3rd Jun 2016

Collateral (2004)

Question: When Max is pulled over by the cops because of the broken windshield and blood on his taxi, they immediately demand for him to open the trunk, which has the dead victim inside, and then to impound the taxi. When they receive a distress call on the radio, they let Max and Vincent go, feeling that it is more serious. Would this happen in reality?

Answer: It's quite possible it could happen. Max had told them that he had hit a deer, which explained the blood and broken windshield. The police did not suspect a taxi driver with a passenger in the car of any wrongdoing. Their concern was regarding the safety of the vehicle. When they got the emergency call on their police radio that became a more urgent priority than a damaged car, and Max was then instructed to get his cab off the road as quickly as possible. It's unclear why the cops wanted the trunk opened, but it really seems this was only to add to the scene's overall suspense before it is quickly diffused. It's a rather cliched plot device.

raywest

Answer: The cop says they need to do an itinerary, no doubt for legal reasons in case the cab driver claimed that they had stolen something after it had been impounded.

Question: After the witch is crushed by the house and confirmed by the coroner, a munchkin says, "This is a day of independence for all the munchkins and their descendants." After this, a different munchkin adds "If any." I have always wanted to know what is meant by "if any."

Answer: The one munchkin thinks they have been liberated by the wicked witch's death. The second munchkin, who says, "If any," apparently realises that the dead witch's more evil sister will probably seek revenge and kill everyone, which would mean there would be no descendants.

raywest

1st Jun 2016

Man of Steel (2013)

Question: Why didn't Zod just terraform a different planet, like Jupiter? Why did he have to choose Earth?

Answer: For one, Jupiter is a gaseous planet with no rocky surface, and cannot be terraformed into a terrestrial world. To sustain life, a rocky planet must be in the habitable zone of its host star and have liquid water, an atmosphere, and so on. Zod chose Earth because he trailed Superman there, and also, because it is already habitable. He only needs to adapt it to his specific conditions.

raywest

Answer: The codex and scout ship with the genesis chamber were already on Earth as well as Zod wanted revenge on Jor-El and he doesn't care about humans so he had no interest in going off to another planet.

30th May 2016

The Godfather (1972)

Question: In Godfather Part 2 Michael was convinced Fredo was the traitor in his family. Who opened the drapes in his bedroom, certainly not the nimble handed Fredo who couldn't hold a gun when his father was being gunned down. Who killed the 2 assassins after Michael told Rocco he wants them alive? If Fredo was the only traitor, as Michael said, can we really accept the premise that Fredo was capable of killing those two men? Fredo says to Michael "I got involved because Johnny Ola said you were being hard on the negotiations," letting in assassins to the compound doesn't fit with "being hard on the negotiations." It all doesn't make sense, can someone explain?

Answer: Fredo was not directly involved in the assassination attempt on Michael, nor did he know about it. He was duped by Ola and Roth into believing that they only wanted his help because Michael was being difficult during negotiations. Fredo was offered a large sum of money in exchange for some inside information that was then used to set up the assassination attempt. It's unknown who opened the drapes, how the assassins got in or who killed them, but it was not Fredo.

raywest

1st Jun 2016

Outbreak (1995)

Question: I never understood how, like in this movie, after they leave the lab of infectious viruses, does being sprayed down with hot water prevent them from being infected once they take the suit off. Can someone explain that to me?

lartaker1975

Chosen answer: They would be sprayed with an antibacterial solution, and it is to prevent any contagion clinging to the outside of the suit from being transferred from one source to another while the protective gear is being handled.

raywest

1st Jun 2016

Now You See Me (2013)

Question: What evidence is there for the plausibility of hypnosis as it's portrayed in the film?

Answer: Hypnosis as seen in movies where people are put into a mindless trance and can then be controlled is impossible in real life.

raywest

1st Jun 2016

La Confidential (1997)

Question: Smith asks Exley if he'd be wiling to shoot a criminal in the back to prevent a lawyer getting him off. Were the police really allowed to play judge, jury and executioner in the 50s?

MikeH

Chosen answer: No they were not legally allowed to, but corrupt, rogue cops who brandished their own form of justice would do that type of thing.

raywest

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