Brad

Question: In the dark future where Sentinels rule all, Xavier and Magneto say that in 1973, Mystique assassinated Trask and was subsequently captured, tortured and presumably killed, leading to the Sentinels' creation. All fine and good, except in a world where Mystique has been dead for 50 years, how did the other X-Men movies happen? Mystique played a large part in those films, and when young Xavier reads Logan's mind, he sees the events of X-Men 3 almost uninterrupted.

Brad

Chosen answer: Evidently she wasn't killed. It took the manufacturers of the Sentinels decades to create Sentinels that could adapt to mutant powers. They likely wouldn't kill Mystique as she would be more useful to them alive, and she probably escaped.

Phaneron

24th Feb 2014

The Dark Knight (2008)

Question: How did Dent figure out that Lau was dirty? Before the rooftop scene, where he yells at Gordon for not keeping him in the loop, there was never any indication that Dent was aware of Lau's dirty dealings.

Brad

Chosen answer: Lau transferred all the mob bosses' money to China and fled to Hong Kong, because he said the DA's office was about to raid the banks. So if Dent's office was keeping tabs on the mob accounts in preparation for the raid, they would have detected the transfers and linked them to Lau.

Chosen answer: According to information on Wikipedia about FD3, the character's middle and last name is a nod to film director and producer, Robert Wise.

raywest

25th Apr 2013

Chasing Amy (1997)

Question: I've noticed that throughout the movie, the first two fingers on many character's right hand are orange. Most noticeable when Holden sees Banky at the end and in the lesbian bar when Banky is swapping stories with Alyssa. What's the significance of this?

Brad

Answer: I'm gonna be totally honest... I'm 99% sure there's no significance. In fact, I think it's just stained skin from all the smoking people do in the movie. Most people hold their cigarettes between their first two fingers. And most of the characters are depicted smoking throughout the film, which means they had to smoke a LOT during filming to maintain continuity. I used to get occasional orange (and sometimes yellow or light brown) stains on my fingers and hands when I smoked cigarettes. Especially if I smoked more than one in a short period of time and didn't wash me hands between them. So it's probably just smoking stains on the actor's fingers. In fact, I looked, and you see Banky holding a lit cigarette in his right hand and smoking during the story swapping scene you mentioned, with gives some direct evidence to my theory. (For reference, those stains can wash off with some good scrubbing).

TedStixon

26th Feb 2013

The Dark Knight (2008)

Question: The whole point of the ending is that if it was revealed that Dent was a murderer, the criminals that he locked up would be released. Same thing with the fake cop he was threatening. I get all this, but here's the problem: Dent falsely proclaimed that he was Batman in front of the press. Yes, he was lying and the real Batman later showed up, clearing his name, but wouldn't it be just as damaging to Dent's image to show him as a vigilante thug that half of Gotham hates for being responsible for the deaths of innocent people? Surely, at least for a brief time, the locked up criminals would have sufficient grounds for appeal.

Brad

Chosen answer: It might, had the story lasted more than a few hours. Immediately after the Joker's capture, which occurs on the same evening as Dent's press conference, reporters are already asking Dent about working with the Batman, indicating that they're already aware that the story is false. From the public point of view, Dent told a lie in order to set himself up as bait to draw out a dangerous criminal. This can only enhance his reputation, and, given that the story lasted, at most, a few hours, there could be no possibility of any criminals managing to get an appeal in.

Tailkinker

19th Feb 2013

The Dark Knight (2008)

Question: Where did Harvey get the gun that he threatens Schiff with while interrogating him after Commissioner Loeb's funeral?

Brad

Chosen answer: I don't recall that it is specifically shown on film where Dent got the gun, but in the chaos of the shooting at memorial service and all of the police officers present it probably would not have been too difficult for Dent to find a gun, or take one from someone.

Answer: He's Gotham's DA, he would likely just carry a gun at all times for his own protection.

4th Jan 2013

The Dark Knight (2008)

Question: Why not just say that Harvey perished in the hospital explosion? It wouldn't cover up the people he killed, but still it would be painless and easy.

Brad

Chosen answer: Well, as you say yourself, it wouldn't cover up the people he killed. It would also immediately raise questions that couldn't be plausibly answered, principally why a senior public official was left to die in the explosion of a building from which everybody else had been evacuated. Likewise, it wouldn't explain how Dent's body was found a long way from the hospital a considerable time later - given the number of police officers who attended the scene, enough people would have seen the body that there's no realistic way it could have been kept a secret. Finally, there's a myth to be built; in terms of Dent's legacy, being brutally murdered at the hands of a crazed vigilante is a much better story to arouse public feeling than him simply dying in an impersonal explosion. For the apparently quite draconian Dent Act to be passed into law, Dent has to be seen as a martyr by the public, so that the public outrage is strong enough to allow such measures to be set up. The hospital explosion story, with all its holes, would never do for that; the story that they go with, that Batman killed him, works much better.

Tailkinker

Question: What does Hirsch mean when he tells Vosen, "Just remember why we put Landy there." They talk about framing Landy for BlackBriar, but that never goes anywhere. What was their plan?

Brad

Chosen answer: In the next film, "The Bourne Legacy", we see Vosen testifying against Landy before a congressional committee. He implies that Blackbriar was solely an operation to capture a rogue Treadstone operative (Bourne), and that Landy was responsible for the program as she had aided Bourne.

Sierra1

3rd Nov 2012

Seven (1995)

Question: I don't get why Mills gets arrested for killing John Doe. Yes, the killing was motivated by revenge, but Doe was a serial killer, so surely it was a justified death. Can anyone explain this to me?

Brad

Chosen answer: Doe was in police custody, being escorted by Mills and Somerset, to say nothing of the other units involved. He was not a physical threat to either, and thus his execution (no other word works to describe what happens) cannot be legally justified under any definition of the phrase. Mills killed a defenceless prisoner in his custody with multiple witnesses - there is simply no justification for what is essentially a murder. He would likely get off with a lesser charge, given the situation and his grief, a temporary insanity defence would likely work, but that doesn't lessen the fact that he did it. His arrest is absolutely warranted.

Tailkinker

2nd Nov 2012

Pokemon Heroes (2002)

Question: I read online that Mewtwo, Lugia, Entei, and Celebi are hidden in this movie. Can anyone tell me where they are?

Brad

Chosen answer: They're hidden on walls as artwork. They can be seen here: http://www.serebii.net/movies/latias_latios/cameos.shtml.

LorgSkyegon

19th Sep 2012

The Avengers (2012)

Chosen answer: Heimdall could definitely see where Loki is at any given time.

Question: What exactly was the point of Daggett? He funds Bane's endeavors with the promise that he will take over Wayne Enterprises, Bane sabotages the stock market to make Wayne go broke, and then, almost immediately after doing this, Bane kills him. Why even have Daggett in on the scheme if the (supposed) plan was to have Miranda Tate take over Wayne Enterprises?

Brad

Chosen answer: Because they needed somebody to be the fall guy. For Tate to take control, somebody needs to take Bruce Wayne's majority share out of the picture and the highly ambitious Daggett is the perfect candidate. They use him to further the plot to remove Bruce from his position, while Miranda cultivates Bruce's trust, positioning herself as the person that Bruce would turn to for help. Daggett's hostile attitude would alienate him from the other board members, whereas Tate, carrying Bruce's seal of approval as his nominal successor, would have a much easier time. They used Daggett to do the dirty work, then took him out of play, allowing Miranda Tate to step in unopposed and, importantly, still trusted by Bruce.

Tailkinker

Question: SPOILER: At the end of the movie, it is common knowledge that Bruce Wayne is dead. A tombstone is erected and Wayne Enterprises are executing his will. Since everyone knows Batman died, did Gordon (or someone else) out Bruce as Batman? Fair enough, they could've come up with a cover story for Bruce's death, but surely people would get suspicious if Bruce Wayne and Batman died around the same time.

Brad

Chosen answer: Given that no accurate records would have been kept of what occurred in Gotham during Bane's occupation, it would be very easy to claim that Bruce had been in the city when the bridges fell, been captured and subsequently executed by forcing him out on the ice, as had happened with many other socialites. Plenty of people died during Bane's takeover of the city, particularly in the final hours. There's no reason why Bruce would stand out among them as a candidate, and even if anybody did harbour some suspicion, it could hardly be proven.

Tailkinker

23rd Jul 2012

The Dark Knight (2008)

Question: How on Earth did the Joker know that Reese wasn't dead when he blew up the hospital? It seemed like he just guessed and blew it up anyway.

Brad

Chosen answer: Why not? That'd be Joker's style to blow up the hospital anyway, so it's very likely he didn't care whether Reese was dead or not.

Phixius

11th Jul 2012

Serenity (2005)

Question: At the beginning of the film, Simon gives Mal an injection in the sick bay. What is this for?

Brad

Chosen answer: Answering my own question: In the script, Mall specifies that it is an inoculation for the planet's atmosphere.

Brad

Question: Barbossa tells Sao Feng about Calypso to win him over to their side. Feng, mistakenly believing that Elizabeth is Calypso, wants Calypso for himself. Barbossa knows that Elizabeth isn't Calypso, so why does he allow her to be handed over to Feng? And what assurance does he have that Elizabeth won't spill the beans that she's not Calypso? Surely, that would just get Feng mad at Barbossa and wouldn't help matters in the slightest.

Brad

Chosen answer: They need Feng on their side. Elizabeth and Barbossa are both willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. If Feng is willing to help because he's smitten with Elizabeth, believing her to be Calypso, then that's how they'll play it.

Phixius

28th May 2012

Firefly (2002)

Show generally

Question: On the back of the complete series DVD I just purchased, it says there are 14 episodes plus 3 unaired ones. The episode guide only lists 15 episodes (counting both parts of Serenity). Is this a typo or is there something I'm missing?

Brad

Chosen answer: I think you're misreading it. The fourteen count is the overall total inclusive (e.g. the 11 aired episodes + the 3 unaired ones).

Cubs Fan

12th Feb 2012

Collateral (2004)

Question: When Lenny calls the first time, Vincent looks at Annie's business card in the mirror and gives Max a look. Does this imply that Vincent knows that this is his last target? His conversation with Max about whether or not he should call Annie suggests otherwise, but I was curious.

Brad

Chosen answer: Vincent already knows that Annie is one of the targets on his "hit list." He was probably just surprised that Max had her business card.

raywest

Question: Are Carly's deceased brother (briefly glimpsed on a picture on Carly's dresser) and the British NEST soldier from Transformers 2 the same person?

Brad

Chosen answer: Yes, you can very briefly see him when Lennox is briefing everyone in the chopper, in the opening of Revenge of the Fallen.

Friso94

13th Dec 2011

The Island (2005)

Question: Say that a client of Merrick Biotech, like Starkweather who used his policy and had it terminated, needs another one for whatever reason. They'd have to regrow a new Starkweather 2 Delta and reintroduce him into the colony and everyone would say "Hey, isn't that the guy who won the lottery a few days ago? What's he doing here?" How would Merrick account for that? Whitman even says to Lincoln that they were going to "regrow" his policy.

Brad

Chosen answer: It would be easy enough for the administrators to fabricate some story as to why the clone needed to return to the colony. Doctors would most likely implant fake memories into the new clone's mind to convince him and everyone else that this was the same person as before. Also, if a client should ever need a new clone many years after using their original one, it is likely that most of the other clones would no longer be there--having been harvested to meet their host's medical needs.

raywest

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