Twotall

Question: Why does Boba Fett have a braid of blonde hair on one of his shoulders?

Answer: Those are Wookiee scalps he has collected in his years as a bounty hunter. He wears them as a "badge of honor", to prove that he is capable of taking down even very dangerous opponents in single combat.

Twotall

Question: In BTTF III, the 1955 Doc is worried about sending Marty back to a "populated area" in 1885, so he insists on using the drive-in, which is way out of town. However, in BTTF II Doc repeatedly travels back and forth from 1985 to 2015 to 1985 in plain view of any number of onlookers. What could've caused Doc to stop caring if people saw his time machine appear and disappear into and out of thin air?

Answer: In 1985 and 2015 people would not have noticed a DeLorean on the streets, as they are used to seeing cars. By going to 1885, there was the added risk of people seeing a car decades before it was common, which would attract a great deal of attention and jeopardy to the time line.

Twotall

11th Mar 2007

General questions

About ten years ago, I was watching a movie or show while trying to fall asleep. I was only 6 years old, so it is no wonder why I cannot remember anything about it other than this: A female was tied to a tree and she was being tortured. She at one point, she had twigs replaced for her hands, in her head, and her feet. This was not a cartoon so it scared me alot. Then there was a dinner scene, and a large group of people were sitting and a fight broke out and someone stabbed the other person with a fork in the throat. Then large white laundry looking bags were put over all the dead bodies. I could have sworn that I saw Alan Cummings but I was very young at the time so who knows.

Answer: It sounds a lot like "Titus", starring Anthony Hopkins. It's a somewhat different take (visually, at least) on Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus".

Twotall

10th Mar 2007

General questions

I am trying to figure out the name of a movie I watched. It started with a scene in a hotel, where a girl/hooker was killed in the bathroom. She was cut up in the bathtub. It was released around the same time as "Wild Things", as that is what I thought it was, but that wasn't it.

Answer: That would be "Very Bad Things", starring Christian Slater.

Twotall

Question: How did the droid in the beginning of the film know that Qui-gon and Obi-wan were both Jedi?

Craig Bryant

Chosen answer: Because word had arrived that two Jedi were arriving to handle the peace negotiations. When the two delegates then arrive, and both of them are wearing the distinct Jedi robes, with lightsabers in their belts, it is not exactly a difficult conclusion to draw.

Twotall

4th Jan 2007

Fantastic Four (2005)

Question: Do Sue Storm and Reed Richards eventually get married? And if so, how many kids do they have?

Answer: Yes, they do marry, producing two children, Franklin and Valeria. Franklin turned out to be an extremely powerful mutant who could alter reality, while Valeria could generate her own armor, travel through time and project force fields (though in later stories this has been changed, and Valeria is an ordinary human).

Twotall

4th Jan 2007

X-Men 3 (2006)

Question: Why did they cast an English actor to play Juggernaut when in the comics he is born and raised in America?

Answer: Because they felt Vinnie Jones was best suited for the part. Movie-makers are in no way required to adhere to every single little detail about the comic book characters, and in fact made several small changes to better suit the story and the media of film.

Twotall

Question: Can someone give me the top 5 most powerful characters in middle earth? Including Gandalf the White and Grey as different characters.

Answer: It really is impossible to give a completely accurate list about this, as there are many meanings to the word "power", and no measuring unit for it. But here's my attempt: 1. SAURON, since he can take on the rest of the world, including the other people on this list 2. TOM BOMBADIL. He is in the book, but was left out of the movies. Within his own realm, the Old Forest of the North, he is all-powerful. Everything, including the Ring, is under his command as long as they are in his territory, but he does not have any power outside it. 3. GANDALF THE WHITE, since he is given additional power after his return, and becomes the most powerful of the wizards. 4. SARUMAN. Head of the White Council, and the wisest, most knowledgeable and powerful of all the wizards, except Gandalf the White. 5. GANDALF THE GREY. One of the first Maia spirits to be chosen to go as wizards to Middle Earth, and with his strength increased by wearing Narya, the Red Ring of Fire, he would have to be very close to Saruman in power. We never really see Elrond and Galadriel put forth all of their powers, so it is impossible to say where they fit into this "hierarchy", but as Elf-Lords (and with their Rings of Earth and Water, respectively) they possess tremendous power as well. Also, Aragorn (as king) and Treebeard have power of their own, but of different kinds, in the ability to lead Men and make Nature rise up in anger, so they could also be candidates for this list.

Twotall

Question: Are there any scenes or references to black holes in any of the "Star Wars" episodes?

Answer: The only reference is a rather obscure one - Han explains in "A new Hope" that the Millennium Falcon did the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs. The Kessel Run is a smuggling route through a cluster of black holes - the faster your ship, the more direct route can be made. The results is measured not in time, but by how close you could cut the black holes, hence the use of "parsecs" as a measure.

Twotall

Question: What is the song that Cab Callaway sings to stall the crowd?

Answer: It's called "Minnie the Moocher", and was first recorded by him in 1931.

Twotall

Chosen answer: According to Wikipedia: "Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants made by combining two high explosives: nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin, i.e. it is a double-base propellant. However, Cordite N, a triple-base propellant is also used. Cordite is classified as an explosive, but it is normally used as a propellant for guns and rockets." So yes, it works.

Twotall

Answer: Yes, cordite is classified a an explosive, but it's rarely used as such. It's a common propellant for artillery shells etc. Realistically, the Jackal would have used a plastic explosive such C4 or Semtex for a bomb. And the mercury fulminate tipped rounds are a fantasy, it's so unstable, it would explode before it had left the barrel.

stiiggy

Question: Malcolm asks Roland why he'd kill a T-Rex. Roland proceeds to tell a story about a guy that went up a mountain and came back barely alive, and when asked 'did he go up there to die', responded 'no, he went up there to live'. I sort of get the point of the story, but could somebody clarify it for me?

Answer: It's basically about facing one's own mortality. Many humans feel that they 'feel the most alive' when facing (and overcoming) dangerous situations, the more challenging, the better. Roland is a big game hunter, to him, the ultimate challenge would be to hunt the biggest and (presumably) most dangerous predator ever to exist. Facing the danger of the T. Rex would make him feel better and mightier than he had ever felt in his life.

Twotall

Answer: It's called "You belong to the City", and is by Glenn Frey.

Twotall

Question: Why did Bootstrap Bill join the dice game that Will played with Davy Jones? Will knew that Jones had the key to the chest on him, so just how did Bootstrap help him by also playing?

raywest

Chosen answer: Bootstrap did not want his son to lose and have to become an undead. By joining the game, he made it possible to save Will if it looked like Will was losing, by placing a ridiculously high bet himself. And as we can see, this is what happened. When Will was losing, and Davy Jones was about to call him a liar, Bootstrap makes his absurdly high claim, thereby sacrificing himself, but getting Will out of the game debt-free.

Twotall

26th Jul 2006

Meet the Fockers (2004)

Question: What is all this about "Muscrat" or something like that? Dina keeps saying "Muscrat" when Jack is a bit rude to Greg, but I don't understand the whole point of that.

Answer: It's a "safety signal", a word they have agreed she should say to remind Jack to keep his cool. Like most such words, they have chosen one that will not come up in a normal conversation, as it would then not have the impact needed to remind Jack to calm down. One can only guess as to where they picked up this technique, but it does not seem unlikely that Jack has had to have some anger management courses.

Twotall

13th Jun 2006

X-Men 3 (2006)

Question: Why at the end is Rogue allowed back to the mansion to rejoin the X-men if she is no longer a mutant?

Answer: Because the people living there are her friends. It is never stated that she comes back for good, but she wanted to see them and explain what she had done, not to mention physically touching Bobby. Also, Rogue might not have that many places to go, since the school has become her home. The X-Men would be willing to give a friend and former comrade a place to stay while she rearranged her life.

Twotall

Question: Darth Maul had to feel that Anakin was very Force-sensitive, so why would he almost hit him with his speeder (it looks intentional)? And why wouldn't he tell Darth Sidious about a very Force-strong boy being with the Jedi?

Answer: There is nothing to indicate that a Force-user should automatically detect Force sensitivity in others. In fact, in the books it is made very clear that this is not the case (as Luke has to discover a way for himself to detect potential Jedi candiates). As Anakin did not use the Force while Maul was present, Maul would not pick up any indication that Anakin could use it, and would therefore not suspect Anakin to be any more than a slave.

Twotall

Question: There is a LOT of changes if you compare the film to the book, and most of them I understand, since you always have to make some changes. But why did they change such things as characters names and genders?

Answer: The film makers changed the name of Amelia Sachs because it sounded too much like 'sex'. I have not been able to discover for certain why they made Thom into a woman, but possibly this had to do with Thom's homosexuality. It could be viewed as controversial that Rhyme's nurse is a gay man, and could possibly also bring Rhyme's own sexuality into question. To make the nurse female would avoid all such issues.

Twotall

2nd Feb 2006

Saw (2004)

Question: At the very beginning of the film, Adam was seen waking up in a bath full of water. How did he breathe when he was unconscious? If Adam hadn't woken up he would have drowned, but there would have been no way for Jigsaw to know exactly when Adam was going to wake up so that he could put him in the bath at the right time. Dr. Gordon's lack of hysteria suggests that he has been awake for some time, so wouldn't he have heard Jigsaw putting Adam in the bath and guessed where he was?

Answer: Jigsaw put Adam in there when everything else was set up, to revive him and get the game started. It is logical to assume that Jigsaw knew approximately how long Adam would be unconscious, and that the shock of cold water and drowning revived him quickly. True, Lawrence was probably awake at the time, but he would not hear much,other than the sounds of a body moving around, which he would later conclude had been Adam waking up and trying to move about.

Twotall

Answer: What I don't understand is that Adam was already submerged when Amanda closed the door, hence he would have awoken probably only seconds later. but Dr Gordon tells Adam that he'd already been screaming for help and what not, so you'd assume he would have been awake at least a couple minutes before Adam, which would mean he would have been screaming for help whilst Amanda was still present which we know wasn't the case. Just makes no sense to me.

He wasn't submerged when Amanda closed the door. Go back and watch the flashback in "Saw III." He's still above water. He slowly slipped under over time.

Question: If Maggie wanted to die, and her leg had to be amputated to save her life, why didn't she simply refuse to have the leg amputated?

Answer: As we can see, Maggie stays in the hospital for a very long time. When she got the infected bed sores, she had not yet made up her mind that she wanted to die, so she allowed the amputation. It is not until weeks or months later that she decides not to live like that.

Twotall

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.