Greg Dwyer

14th Dec 2015

Law & Order (1990)

Show generally

Question: There were a few times during the series when the police would be looking for information from, say, a group of prostitutes on the street, or a group of men involved with buying/selling drugs in an alley, or some low level criminal they were questioning. Detective Briscoe would pull out one of his business cards, and announce something like, "this is a get out of jail free card" for the person who would come forward to tell them where to find the person they were looking for, or to identify a photo. I always wondered, would some future police officer or detective investigating some new crime really honor that? What if it was a more serious crime? Or even if it was just another simple drug or prostitution bust, and not something more serious, wouldn't that later officer lose the leverage of that arrest, and maybe the possibility of finding a "bigger fish" or whatever they were trying to do?

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: If the prostitute with the card was arrested, she would likely ask to speak to Briscoe. Briscoe would visit, recognize her, and have her released because of it, if it was simply prostitution or a drug Possession charge. Those crimes mean nothing when looking for a murderer or rapist.

Greg Dwyer

16th Dec 2015

Casino Royale (2006)

Question: How can Bond beat Le Chiffre in the final hand? He has $40.5 million and the other 2 have $5 and $6 million, leaving Le Chiffre with more than Bond, or am I wrong?

Answer: No. Mathis mentions there is $115 million in the pot. Subtract the $24 million it started with and the $11 million from the other two players and you have $80 million. If Bond has $40.5 million, Le Chiffre has $39.5 million. Technically, if Le Chiffre won, Bond would have gotten $1 million back to play again.

Greg Dwyer

10th Dec 2015

The Good Dinosaur (2015)

Question: When Arlo and Spot first see another human, Spot moves toward that human as if he was willing to join him to bond as a family. Arlo stops Spot from approaching the other human and places him on his back so to continue taking him home. Arlo decides he wants to share his family with Spot and keep him safe in his family house. By the end of the film, the same human Arlo and Spot saw in the distance earlier shows up along with his family. Spot joins the family. Why does Arlo decide to let Spot go this time?

John Ohman

Chosen answer: Because he's realized that Spot wants to go and should go with his people. Before he was afraid of losing him.

Greg Dwyer

20th Nov 2015

House, M.D. (2004)

Whatever It Takes - S4-E6

Question: In this episode, Cuddy gives House crap about lying that he was working for the CIA. Exactly how did a CIA helicopter land on the hospital roof, and the hospital's dean not notice it?

Answer: She would have No Reason to know it belonged to the CIA. If she did know he went off in the helicopter, all she would know is that it wasn't an ambulance helicopter.

Greg Dwyer

Question: Why are there 2 swords on the plane with the bride?

Answer: Because they are being carried by the other passengers.

Greg Dwyer

Answer: There are more than 2. They are positioned similarly and look similar to The Bride's. So, Tarantino is saying The Bride isn't the only passenger with a kill list. This is where Tarantino reminds us that this is an allegory with The Bride representing all good people seeking revenge against the evil people who wronged them. A common theme in Tarantino films.

11th Nov 2015

Rocky IV (1985)

Question: Why and who were the guys following Rocky in the car when he was training?

Jcbhager

Answer: They were Rocky's chaperones. They were even seen in the cabin Rocky was staying in and playing chess with Duke.

Chosen answer: People who worked for the Soviet government assigned to spy on Rocky.

Greg Dwyer

9th Nov 2015

Jurassic World (2015)

Question: Since dinosaurs are cold blooded reptiles, why do they try to observe and detect them with heat-seeking cameras? They would have been of the same temperature as their surrounding and therefore invisible from the get go.

Answer: Dinosaurs aren't cold-blooded reptiles. They are warm-blooded (or possibly somewhere between) and are more closely related to birds. Remember the first movie where Dr. Wu told Ellie that dinosaurs hold a temperature above that of the air.

Greg Dwyer

Dinosaurs and birds have different blood temperatures so I highly doubt that they're related. Lizards, like dinosaurs, are cold-blooded; birds are warm-blooded.

The most reliable and modern research shows that dinosaurs were not cold-blooded and were more similar to birds or mammals than modern-day reptiles.

LorgSkyegon

Warm-blooded means the animal's body attempts to maintain a relatively constant core temperature, and cold-blooded don't. This is because many of the body's systems work better when warm, like muscles. But all animals generate heat when expending energy, like when their muscles are operating for movement, so a "cold-blooded" animal will still normally be at a higher temperature than its surroundings unless it has been staying still for a while. Even then, heart and digestive action is still generating at least a little heat. It is the issue of being warmer, even by a small amount, that allows a thermal device to see the difference.

29th Oct 2015

Amistad (1997)

Question: In the last scene of the film the ship appeared to me to be sailing in a westerly direction (sun sets in the west). Wouldn't the ship need to go east from USA to sail to Sierra Leone?

Maureen

Chosen answer: It's likely that the scene was set in the morning, meaning they would be going east.

Greg Dwyer

Chosen answer: The character is Beorn and it is played by Mikael Persbrandt.

Greg Dwyer

Question: The Collector was already a holder of the Aether (reality stone). Once the Orb destroyed the majority of his place, where do you think he hid the Aether?

Answer: It's unlikely that the place on Knowhere is the only location he has. He could easily have moved it to another.

Greg Dwyer

Question: When Christine commits suicide, there's a note that said something like "For my sister." My question is, why would the note say that? I know that Christine had a sister with some kind of condition but before that, Christine found out that Louis was responsible for Raoul's death and was very upset by it, so shouldn't the note have said something like, "For my Raoul" or "For Raoul"? Why was it for her sister? I'm confused by that part. Can someone please explain?

Answer: I believe the "for my sister" note referred to the jewelry she left behind, meaning to give it to her sister.

Greg Dwyer

Question: Is there any actual historical evidence that the Gypsies were persecuted during the time the film was set? In my study of world history I don't recall any major event when there was a mass persecution of Gypsies. Also, could this film have been set at the time when the Inquisition was at its height? This might make a lot more sense.

joshtrivia

Chosen answer: Gypsies have been persecuted for centuries, from enforced slavery to bans on travel and immigration.

Greg Dwyer

Answer: As said, they have been persecuted for centuries, especially in the Middle Ages. Frollo's anger against them is not far from what actually happened in history (you know, besides the lust).

Answer: It should also be noted there have been several instances of mass gypsy persecution throughout history. Some examples being the Holocaust, the Diet of Augsburg, and The Holy Roman Empire under Joseph I.

Question: In the Astronomy tower, Dumbledore tells Harry to go and get Professor Snape, but then Harry has to hide. So, how did Snape know that Draco and the Death Eaters were in the Astronomy tower with Dumbledore? Draco would not have told him because he did not want help with the mission.

Answer: Snape was acting as a double agent for Voldemort. He knew because the Death Eaters who invaded told him.

Greg Dwyer

28th Jul 2015

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

Question: Why was the detective tortured? I don't get it. Who is the girl that brings the detective to Verone?

Amirul Hazri

Chosen answer: The detective was tortured because Verone needed a window of time without any police presence and the detective refused to allow it. The girl is just some random hottie that works for Verone.

Greg Dwyer

20th Jul 2015

Inside Out (2015)

Question: When Joy and Bing-Bong fall into the pit of forgotten memories, why doesn't Joy start to fade like Bing-Bong does?

Answer: Because Joy is an emotion, not a memory.

Greg Dwyer

10th Jun 2015

General questions

In what movie is there a scene where I think someone is talking and says something along the lines "fed the fish" then it shows pizza crust in the fish tank? it came up at dinner and now all my friends are trying to recall the movie and it is bothering me please help.

Answer: Sounds like a scene from "Just One of the Guys".

Greg Dwyer

26th May 2015

Riddick (2013)

Question: As the rain comes and the creatures come out and start to damage the station and kill people, why did the entire crew not seek refuge in their ships? Obviously, if the ships were meant for the harshness of space travel and some offensive/defensive capabilities, wouldn't they most likely have provided enough protection from the organic weapons of the creatures? It would make the plot not work but maybe should have been eliminated as a possibility.

Answer: The walls of the settlement are likely to be just as strong as the hulls of the spacecraft. It's likely they are even stronger because the settlement doesn't have to worry about weight limits. Remember also that they had to worry about Riddick hiding and getting the units back.

Greg Dwyer

Question: Even despite the extreme circumstances as presented in this movie, does any producer or director of any live show have any real control over whether a network goes to commercial or not?

Neil Jones

Chosen answer: Yes. Any live show can go to commercial at any time. It's a way to have a check against things going wrong.

Greg Dwyer

Question: How does Kevin manage to keep quiet the events of the first Home Alone movie involving Harry and Marv without anyone else in the family knowing, especially the parents? I imagine that Kevin would've had to take time off from school to testify against Harry and Marv in courts. And even if the trial took place during the summer months, I would think Kevin's parents would have had to consent, or at least have knowledge, to their son testifying in court against the two burglars.

jmmoosey2015

Chosen answer: Remember that Kevin didn't give his name, nor did the police ever see him. When he called, it was from a different address and he gave his name as "Murphy." There is no reason to think that Harry and Marv would tell the police about Kevin, since they would have to admit being outsmarted by a child and also admit to kidnapping, assault, battery, and a wide array of charges for what they tried to do to him. Even if he did testify, there is no reason to think his parents wouldn't know.

Greg Dwyer

And by the way Kevin knew nobody would believe him.

Not entirely correct - He rang the Police from the phone in his parents bedroom just before the spider scene.

Answer: Harry and Marv were career criminals, who expect to spend some time in jail or prison. Considering how they were caught and the police being able to link them to burglaries where the water was left running, it would be likely that they pleaded guilty (meaning there was no trial or need for anyone to testify) in exchange for a shorter sentence.

KeyZOid

Question: Just wondering what finally became of Alfrid, the Master's clerk and Bejorn, the skinchanger.

Answer: In both the novel and the movie, Alfrid's (who is not named in the book) fate is unknown. Beorn, in the book, stopped his reclusiveness and became a leader of the local woodmen and protected the area from orcs and goblins. He died sometime before the War of the Ring and was succeeded by his son Grimbeorn.

Greg Dwyer

Answer: The Extended Edition of this film shows Alfrid being inadvertently catapulted into the mouth of a troll during the eponymous battle, and it is heavily implied that he dies from the ordeal, as he is motionless when the troll collapses to the ground.

Phaneron

Answer: We don't know what happenned to Alfrid and the Master, but in the book we know that the Master took his bit of the gold and ran off somewhere, leaving Bard to bring Lake-Town into the re-established Kingdom of Dale. Beorn continued to guard the High Pass, eventually had children and grandchildren called the Beornings, who still charge tolls for Dwarves to cross the bridge across the river.

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