Question: In Biff's casino Marty is escaping Biff and his goons - he goes into the stairwell and jumps from one stair to another. What I don't understand is how this stairwell works as it seems to be double, with 2 sets of stairs ending up on the same floor parallel to each other, one on one end and one at another but on the same floor. Does this even make sense? Can anyone tell me why a big building would have 2 sets of stairs in 1 stairwell going parallel and end up on the same floors? Any special name for this type of stairwell perhaps? I can't find anything on it.
lionhead
13th Jul 2019
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
13th Jul 2019
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Stupidity: Immediately after Unkar Plutt makes Rey a generous offer for BB-8 and she refuses, he tells someone over his communicator to follow her and bring back the droid. He should have at least waited until she was out of earshot before he said that, especially if he was trying to be covert about it.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: But he was out of earshot of her.
I posted this immediately after watching the scene in question, and it looked as though Plutt spoke into his communicator right after Rey turned around and went on her way; certainly too soon for her to have gotten more than a few steps away. Also, he spoke at a normal, conversational volume rather than anything that sounded like a whisper or "sotto voce", so unless he was relying on the ambient noise of other nearby activity, I still believe this "stupidity" is valid.
That depends on how sneaky you think Plutt is. Rey walks away in quick paces, so she is out of earshot. Also I don't think it bothers him that much if she heard, she is just a scavenger, what can she do about it?
Rey was definitely out of earshot. Rey walks completely out of the shot, which appears to be about 10 feet away. Unkar Plutt then angrily swipes the portions off the counter and picks up his communicator. At the pace Rey was walking she would have been a considerable distance away from him when he spoke. In addition, Unkar Plutt lowered his voice when he spoke because he was being sneaky. She might have been able to hear him speak, but it is totally reasonable that she wouldn't be close enough to make out exactly what he was saying.
30th Jun 2019
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Question: Why did Rocket deliberately hide the fact that he knew where Thanos was? Cap told Tony they couldn't find him but Rocket detected him two days ago.
Answer: They detected an energy surge that they suspect to be Thanos 2 days ago. Tony and Nebula had only just returned and Nebula confirms to them that's where Thanos is. Rocket didn't hide anything, they just hesitated to act on it.
Cap told Tony that they had done various forms of searches and scans and they didn't know where he was. So they didn't know. So it wasn't a matter of "hesitating to act." "Hesitating to act" is also out of character of all the heroes and makes no sense that if they did all that searching only to hesitate when they found him?
No no no. I mispronounced. Nebula tells them where he is, probably told Rocket on the spot where the planet was located and Rocket explains that an identical energy surge that occurred on Earth occurred there as well. They didn't know that was Thanos, they didn't look for it, it may have happened 2 days ago but they didn't notice it. Not until Nebula told them he is there, the energy surge simply confirms he is there and that he used the stones again. I do still think they hesitate, they got no plan, no confidence. They all feel defeated and unable to beat him. They just do all they know, react.
That's not what happened in the movie. Rocket announced the surge and what planet it was and Nebula confirmed it. Not "probably" the other way around. How could they not notice a power that strong? They aren't incompetent. Especially when half of the universe is destroyed. Who else is going to create that? No plan, no confidence? They have Stormbreaker and it stood up to the power of the stones. To the point Thanos had to run and hide. Cap America has never been one to simply "react" when he has time to create a plan. Even if, as you said, all they know is react...You just said they hesitated. Which one is it? They had almost a month. Lastly, again why are they searching for Thanos, if they are defeated and without a plan? what were the expecting to happen when they found him? Send him a postcard?
They wanted revenge, they are the Avengers after all. The plan was to take the stones, but they aren't sure if they could since they failed the last time and Thanos is pretty much unstoppable with all stones, so they are hesitant. Thanos didn't run and hide from Stormbreaker, he just retired and prepared to destroy the stones, he could have turned Stormbreaker into bubbles. Nebula first said she knew where Thanos was, in the next scene Rocket tells about the planet and the power surge there. He talks about it because Nebula told him that's the right planet. Captain Marvel convinces them to just act right now, so they go there. They don't have anything else anymore.
Thanos took an axe to the chest. He isn't unstoppable. "The plan was to take the stones, but they aren't sure if they could..." that's not a plan. Thor had the ability to kill Thanos in his hands. They just needed to find him and take his head off. Thanos couldn't turn Stormbreaker into bubbles. He didn't do it when it was coming at him the first time. Nebula said he had a plan for retirement. Not where exactly. All of this is pointless. I figured it out. Two days is how long it took for that energy surge to reach Earth and be detected. Much like any other interstellar event. When we finally see it, it happened in the past.
I said this before on this website, Thor caught him by surprise, probably the last time anyone could. Thanos had only just gotten the stones and was distracted. We don't know how much power he really has when he had all 6 of them (not as much as in the comics) but I'm pretty sure that if you can eradicate half of all life in the universe you can destroy a simple little axe with them as well. Nebula said she knew exactly where he is, even named the planet. Rocket said there was another power surge 2 days ago, not that it took 2 days to detect the surge.
14th Jun 2019
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Question: Why did 2014 Thanos bother to come to the future? As we are already aware, changing one time doesn't affect the other, and whether he knows that or not is sort of irrelevant. He could have stayed in 2014 and completed his mission, in fact he could have done it even more easily with the Pym particles he obtained without anyone ever knowing. He really had no reason to need to come forward in time. Knowing that Thor kills him in the future just means he could take steps to prevent that if/when it happens, he didn't need to act right then.
Answer: As an alternative to the above answer, another thing to keep in mind is that Thanos believes that his vision of a better world shouldn't be fought against. Finding out that an alternate universe version of himself wins the battle and then ends up having his plans ruined makes him believe that the heroes of that universe are ungrateful, and that he should help the alternate universe version of himself that died to stay the winner. He's evil. He doesn't just want to win in this universe. He wants to win in all universes.
Answer: He probably also realises that if the Avengers can get all 6 stones, stealing them all at once would be easier than trying to collect them himself.
19th Jun 2019
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Question: When Mola Ram is smiling, what is he looking at? Is he looking at the Maharajah or is he looking up at Willie, Indy and Short Round? (01:01:45)
Answer: It doesn't look as if Mola Ram is smiling at the trio, because they're standing to Mola Ram's upper right. The Little Maharaja is seated in front of the Thuggee high priest, but I don't think he's specifically looking downward, directly at the boy either. To me, it seems as if Mola Ram is smiling because while he's confident in his control of the Little Maharaja, it's the fact that he knows another human sacrifice is being brought out for the Kali sacrificial dark ritual.
The question gives the exact second.
Great, but I don't currently have a DVD player or have a copy or access to every movie someone asks a question about. If someone is asking a question, they shouldn't expect anyone to actually take the time to set up and watch the film in order to answer a question for them. Just give a brief description of the scene.
That's what the time stamp feature is used for. The question is asking what exactly Mola Ram is looking at in a specific second of time in the movie. Explaining the scene wouldn't help anyone answer the question. To answer, you will have to look at the movie and pay specific attention to that time stamp. If you can't do that then you can't answer the question and should just ignore.
I get what you're saying, but I've been able to answer many questions without having to re-watch a movie because the question contained enough specific information so that I knew which scene they were referring to. Based on the information given in the question, I can check movie clips on YouTube or get the answer by reading online movie synopsis. Every little bit of info helps.
Tough luck I guess?
14th Jun 2019
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Question: Why did time not end when Thanos destroyed the stones, and what happens in now there aren't any? The Ancient One stated that the stones control the flow of time, and removing even one of these opens up the world to unimaginable horror. Well why did nothing happen after Thanos destroyed them all? And now that our timeline has no stones, how would Dr. Strange be able to stop Dormammu from coming back?
Answer: The way I understood it, removing the stones from one timeline into another timeline is what The Ancient One was talking about. The "new branched reality" is what would be overrun by the forces of darkness. But, even if she meant this reality, the reality where Thanos destroyed the stones, The Ancient One said it was their chief weapon, not their only weapon. Bruce then tells her Doctor Strange gave the time stone to Thanos and The Ancient One says maybe she made a mistake. However, since Thanos eliminates half the population of the universe, including the forces of darkness, whatever forces she was talking about may not have been around to try and attack Earth. Or in the 5 years that we don't see, there was an attempt and other weapons were sufficient.
Answer: In the comics the stones will be replaced by something else equally powerful to compensate for their loss. I suppose the same applies to the MCU. These powers need to have a physical presence in the universe, in one way or another.
The only problem is the films never insinuate this at all. The Ancient One flat out states that not having the stones would be bad for the universe, and yet Thanos destroys the stones with absolutely no adverse affects to the universe whatsoever. This movie played very fast and loose with the rules they established regarding the stones and time travel and I feel like things like this were massive flaws.
The universe is a pretty big place, though. There could very well be bad things in another part of the universe that have yet to affect our galaxy. Additionally, the forces of darkness that could potentially threaten the universe may be curbed by a cosmic entity such as the Living Tribunal, whose existence in the MCU was acknowledged in "Doctor Strange" and could very well appear in "The Eternals" or "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3."
I just believe the ancient one didn't even know. The ancient one isn't always correct, as Bruce proved. And the bad thing was taking the stones away from their timeline, creating timelines where they are not supposed to be, it says nothing about destroying them.
That to me is still bad writing. You have a character whose entire purpose in the movie is to give exposition, and the exposition she gives is apparently incorrect. That's all well and good but that still needs to be addressed at some point. Some character should have brought up the fact that the stones were destroyed (and incidentally, remain destroyed in the main timeline) and the Ancient One should have addressed that fact. Otherwise, like the original question points out, it leaves a bit of a gap in the film's logic.
Answer: I believe the filmmakers have said that the energy of the stones was dissipated into the universe when their crystal vessels were destroyed. So that while they didn't have a physical form anymore, their essence remained and continued to regulate the flow of existence of the Universe. Presumably the energy can't then be reconstituted into the stones without some sort of profoundly intricate magic/science, the kind of power only possessed by gods and/or ancient elemental beings. Also, the Ancient One says that Hulk taking the time stone would be good for his timeline, but would leave hers without their weapon, which I presume means they wouldn't have the time stone to help the Sanctum's usual efforts in holding dark magic at bay. The actual effect of removing the essence of a stone from its timeline is still open to speculation.
If the ancient one was only talking about the time stone then Cap wouldn't have to bother bringing all stones back. No, she was talking about all infinity gems. Remove a stone and that universe is doomed.
Answer: The sorcerers may have other ways to stop Dormmamu from returning (even if those ways are currently unbeknownst to them). This could be addressed in the sequel. Additionally, since Dormmamu would have to know that the Time Stone was destroyed in the first place, he may well just stay away rather than falsely believing that he can be trapped in a time loop again.
Answer: She said the world not the universe. She said "without our chief weapon against the forces of darkness our world will be overrun." Theory: since Thanos used the stones to destroy the stones and Hulk heard what the Ancient One said, he could have used the stones to bring back their stones along with everyone else. He couldn't have know who all died in the universe, he could have just undid everything from 5 years ago.
10th Jun 2019
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Question: Instead of telling Stark to turn the donut around why doesn't he use a sling ring?
Answer: The range of the sling rings hasn't been defined. They were in deep space at this point, so they may have been too far away for Strange to open up a portal on Earth for them to step through.
In Endgame, Strange opens at least one portal from across the galaxy. For example, we see the one opened from Titan that he, Spiderman, and the Gaurdians all come through. Unless his sling powers suddenly increased after the great purge, he should have been able to open a portal from deep space on the ship.
Answer: The Q Ship was travelling in some form of hyperspace. It would be reasonable to assume that the slingring could not work under those circumstances. When he does use it later, it is from the surface of the planet Titan.
And when they arrive on Titan his idea to protect the time stone changes. He instead looks at different time-lines.
Why would it be different in hyperspace? The ship has its own gravity.
By definition, hyperspace exists outside normal time and space. Depending on how the sling ring works, it may not be able access normal space.
5th May 2003
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Corrected entry: In the German version the Americans are translated, so they speak German... but the Germans also speak German, yet they don't understand each other.
Correction: This is not a mistake, but an extremely common technique used to make viewing the film easier for speakers of a particular language and avoid the need for extensive subtitles. German viewers are expected to take it as a given that the American characters are actually speaking English to one another and that Upham is the only character that can actually speak and understand fluent German.
Makes me wonder how they explain "fubar" though.
I'm always curious how slang terms that are that specific are translated into other languages. Take it to the forums and see if anyone who speaks German can watch that version. I'd be curious to see the answer myself.
21st Jun 2004
Aladdin (1992)
Corrected entry: The rule of entering the "Cave of Wonders" spoken to Aladdin by the Cave itself is, " Touch Nothing But the Lamp". It is not until Abu snatches the ruby in the Lamp Room scene that the Cave qualifies the original edict to, " You have touched the forbidden TREASURE". Aladdin and Abu have touched the Magic Carpet plenty of times before this point.
Correction: The cave is able to determine who is "worthy" to enter through whatever mystical charms have been placed upon it. It is very likely the cave can also determine "intent", just as it has determined that Abu is Aladdins "pet" and not a second individual. Aladdin and Abu did not intend to take the carpet or other treasure they happened to inadvertently touch. It is not until Abu purposely and intentionally goes to take the ruby that the cave determines the rule has been broken.
Correction: The magic carpet was presumably an exception, as it's not really treasure but more of a guide to lead them through the cave of wonders.
Also, he did not so much "touch" with his hands as simply walk on it underfoot, couldn't entirely be helped (he comes into contact with the treasure on the floor the same way, no ill result), thereby awakening it, and further contact is initiated by Carpet himself.
21st May 2019
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
23rd Nov 2017
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Question: When Commissioner Gordon is talking to the crowd about Harvey Dent, he takes out a speech and is about to read about what really happened to him but then chooses not to as he wants the people of Gotham City to remember Harvey as a hero who stood up for justice while letting everybody believe that Batman was a killer. Even though he never read his speech, why didn't he simply tell people that contrary to what many people believed in the second movie, that Batman was innocent and didn't kill anybody? Why not just blame everything on the Joker who was truly responsible for the murders of so many people?
Answer: He was about to admit Harvey Dent is responsible for multiple murders, but he realised that would end his career and probably bring back the old days with the mob and gangs running wild. Even though indirectly the Joker was responsible, the public would still see Dent as a murderer and still cause the system to collapse. Batman was able to be blamed for the murdering Dent and those other people instead of the Joker, who was already in custody and couldn't have killed Dent.
15th May 2019
Back to the Future (1985)
Question: Given that the entire McFly family's circumstances have changed at the end of the movie due to Marty altering the past, shouldn't Marty's whole life have gone down a completely different path from childhood on? What are the odds that he even still knows Doc and Jennifer in the revised 1985 (let alone has the exact same date planned with Jennifer for the very same evening), given that everything else has changed?
Answer: The suggestion is given that he was the only "normal" person in the family and when he changed the past his parents and siblings became more "normal" people as well whilst he stayed as he was, despitegrowingup with different parents and siblings, since he was "normal" anyway. This totally ignores the linear timeline idea given during the entire movie, but it's obvious that was the idea.
You're absolutely right about Marty being the only "normal" one in the family, but that doesn't ignore the linear timeline idea. There are two different Marty McFly's by the end of this movie. There's the one we follow, who grew up with unhappy parents, and then there's the other Marty McFly who grew up with cool parents. We see the 2nd Marty go back to 1955 when Marty gets back to the Twin Pines mall. The idea isn't to ignore the linear timeline idea, but rather to imply that unhappy parents or not Marty will still always be Marty.
Except for the fact Marty kept being in danger of disappearing if his parents wouldn't get together. If his old self would disappear from his parents not getting together then so he should if his entire life is different and he would be a different Marty just like his siblings. Even if it's only memories rather than an entire personality.
Answer: It's definitely a paradox. Marty actually goes back to the life of 2nd Marty, but if that's the case then original Marty should have still faded away since he created a new timeline when he gave George confidence. Original Marty shouldn't exist anymore at all, he should have faded completely away on the stage. I've said it before and I'll say it again: time travel movies are a mess.
The new Marty isn't a different person entirely; he's just the same guy who was raised in a slightly different environment to the original timeline. Marty's actions in 1955 have ensured that his parents will have three children, and he will be one of them. His existence is completely secured in the timeline.
12th May 2019
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Corrected entry: The Wasp showing up at the end battle makes no sense. She didn't even know what was going on when they disappeared and came back, and Dr. Strange didn't know where or even who she was, so nobody would think about bringing her there. It's also too paradoxical for Dr. Strange to know she was needed there because he saw the future, simply because there was only 1 chance.
Correction: I don't see the paradox. Dr. Strange saw over 14m futures - seeing the one where they won would include seeing a shrinking flying woman. Enough time passes between the "return" snap and everyone appearing for him to spread the word around every fighter in the MCU - wouldn't take too much of an effort to track her down as well.
The good guys were able to get loads of heroes together including Valkyrie on her flying horse, the Ravagers and Howard the Duck. Clearly adding Wasp wasn't a problem.
Yeah but how did Strange know where to find her? She and the other Pyms were on a random roof somewhere, only Ant-Man knew where they were and Strange couldn't have talked to him about it, not knowing him either. Didn't really have time to ask anyone or do a search. He was kinda busy rallying everyone else.
He's Dr. Strange, so the simple answer is he used magic. A wizard who can look into the future and see over 14 million alternate versions of it would have no trouble finding anyone he wanted to.
4th Jun 2005
Resident Evil (2002)
Corrected entry: Why does Umbrella know that Red Queen killed everyone, but not that the virus is loose? Is there no way to see into or receive data from the Hive other than Red Queen? Does every communication in or out have to be approved through her? And even if she is the sole conduit for information into and out of the Hive, her primary purpose for existing is to keep the T-virus from escaping. Umbrella THINKS that Red Queen has malfunctioned. BUT, she is working perfectly! So suppressing info that the T-virus is loose in the Hive would contradict her core programming. So why doesn't Umbrella know?
Correction: Umbrella knows the T-virus is loose, they wanted that to happen. They send the team in there to fight their creations, to test their creations. Not to shut the hive down, that was just a ruse. Also, it's possible the Hive Queen was never meant to keep the T-virus from escaping, Umbrella was the one to program her and Umbrella wants a whole lot of things to happen except containing the T-virus as we learn from the future movies. The hive Queen was just a controlling unit for the experiment of the hive, to help the experiment succeed.
Umbrella staging this experiment, is that why the Red Queen didn't just have all staff come to a security room to obtain the cure? Because we know there is a cure, and we find out later from the Red Queen herself that if you administer the cure soon after the virus, the individuals might survive. Yes, I realise my question is based on a movie based on a game.
It's unclear why the Hive Queen acted as it did, either as part of the experiment or because the security measures just happened to help the experiment along. The original staff were never safe with the type of security it activated, the compound was already deemed lost, just containing it within was all the Hive Queen did. The rest is just a ruse.
I don't believe that is true either. It is canon now that Paul W S Anderson changed it but that is a plot hole within another plot hole because Spence didn't work for Umbrella and his motivations were not to spread the virus to start an apocalypse but to cover his tracks and steal the T Virus to sell on the black market. So in reality that is a plot hole even if the writer tried to change it.
It's not about spreading the virus, it's not about saving the people working at the hive. The Red Queen deemed the compound lost instead of trying to contain the virus and save the employees. Spence's actions were just convenient for Umbrella because it gave them the opportunity to test the virus.
I still don't get this. This makes sense for the most part concerning the reason why the Sanitation team was sent down there as a result of the story playing out like RE1, but... It doesn't add up on account of Spence himself, the guy who started all this. That means, somehow Umbrella knew of his plan to sell the T-Virus to black markets? And his backup plan to use it to cover his escape? If this is true why does the Red Queen prevent him from escaping? He gave them exactly what they wanted.
6th May 2019
Free Willy (1993)
Question: In reality, do orcas actually understand English? Willy seems to understand Jesse when Jesse teaches him tricks.
Answer: While sounds and words can be used to alert orcas and dolphins, they recognize the hand signals and movements as to what to do.
Answer: Dogs can learn words up to the level of a 3 yr old, and whales are smarter than dogs, so definitely.
Dogs don't learn words, they start to recognize the sound that comes with a certain word like "stay" or "fetch", it's got more to do with the intonation than the actual word. They don't know what the word actually means. They can't imitate it nor can they recognize it in a sentence.
13th Dec 2018
Common mistakes
Other mistake: The hero can usually knock out henchmen with one or two punches, but the main villain (as well as the hero themselves) can take much more punishment. This is practically akin to enemies in video games. In fact, heroes are so confident of their abilities that they can knock an opponent down and know that they are down for the count without even having to verify.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: How is this a mistake? Of course the main villain, the boss, is hardest to knock out. If his henchmen were just as strong or stronger, why are they just henchmen? See it like a race, the champion is hardest to beat, that's why he is champion.
Just to give an example, at the beginning of the movie "Goldeneye," James Bond knocks out a henchman sitting on a toilet with one punch. But at the end of the movie, Bond and Trevelyan are beating the crap out of each other and neither is knocked unconscious. It's certainly reasonable for someone to be a more formidable fighter than their underlings, but it wouldn't make them magically impervious to blows to the head.
The mistake is that the hero of the movie very rarely checks to see if a disabled opponent got back up. They are supremely confident that they are out, even if the hero literally just rolled them on to the floor. Makes for good movie magic, but is totally unrealistic.
This mistake has four aspects. (1) The hero knocks someone unconscious for good with just one hit. (2) The hero does this to several enemies in succession, with the same results. (3) The hero shows no signs of fatigue. (4) The hero takes on the tougher villains and takes them down too. Doing all of these requires immense superhuman strength. In films about superhumans, this is not a mistake. But there are films that deliver this and are cheeky enough to give the appearance of there being a modicum of reality in it.
It's not necessarily a measure of strength, technique has got a lot to do with it. When one goes for the throat for example or the jaw a knockout is almost always certain, if you know what you are doing. You have to if you got no time to hit someone twice because the next opponent is not waiting.
You are right. But we don't see proper technique either. I really have issues with people getting unconscious for good from a punch between their eyes, especially when John Reese does it.
I agree with you that some movies take it too easy. But is it really common? The first knock out of Goldeneye example isn't all that unlikely, he may even have hit that guy twice, but a blow to the head, a surprise blow to the head can definitely knock someone out, happens in boxing all the time. Even between the eyes, as long as the head is knocked around.
30th Apr 2019
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Question: Spoiler! Given Gamora is brought to 2019 from 2014 with no ill effects, presumably just spinning off a new timeline with no Gamora in it (or Thanos for that matter, making that new timeline pretty peaceful), why can't the Avengers just go and "retrieve" alternate-timeline versions of the other people they've lost? They don't seem too worried about the timelines that have branched off due to their actions, eg. Cap going back in time (a whole other issue), Loki stealing the Tesseract, etc. They could hop back to a day earlier and basically get their friends back.
Answer: They actually do have some concern for the alternate/branched off timelines - that's the whole reason Hulk proposes returning the stones (after they're done with them) to the point they were stolen from, so that those branched off timelines won't be royally screwed with a stone (or 2) missing from their timeline (i.e. The Ancient One telling Hulk that the sorcerers need the stone in order to combat the forces of darkness). Granted, some of the changes they've made they can't do much about - not without spending more time and further interfering (Loki escaping with the Tesseract in the alternate 2012 timeline, or the alternate 2014 timeline's Thanos and co. Traveling to main-timeline 2023 - leaving alt-2014 without a Thanos, which as you say, may not be too bad). With all that in mind, I think they would be hesitant to 'steal' their friends from the past because think about what they were doing just a few days ago... trying to figure out how to unsnap the 50% of the universe that Thanos dusted. If they take their friends, who were pretty integral to figuring out how to/and carrying out the undoing of that, they would be dooming that new alternate 2023 timeline to failure in their endeavors.
Since Thanos coming from the past didn't change 2023, I don't think taking their friends from the past would change anything either. They are constantly creating new time lines/universes. However, the only people they lost were Black Widow and Vision, and Hulk tried to bring Black Widow back and failed with the stones whilst Vision lived on the mind stone, which is gone (brought back to it's own timeline). So bringing those 2 back isn't going to be happening. Who else did they lose?
Chosen answer: There's really no reason that they couldn't. Probably an oversight by the writers. I think an easy fix could maybe have been the Ancient One or Doctor Strange warning the heroes that continually altering the space-time continuum could potentially lead to paradoxes that threaten the existence of the multiverse and it's better to just let sleeping dogs lie. It would have been somewhat of a cop-out, but it would have at least addressed it.
Answer: That would be kidnapping. Also, you would be killing someone else who would need to take their spot. Either way someone dies. Are you going to keep going back and saving a fallen comrade?
Not kidnapping if they agree to it.
You assume they would agree to it. Why would they agree to it?
Because of their imminent death in their own timeline. If they get told they're going to die if they stay, but hop over to our timeline where they can still do some good, that may well persuade people. And yes it makes their timeline more uncertain, it's not guaranteed they'd choose to leave, but they may well be willing to. Regardless, "kidnapping" is a stretch.
Gamora - she's not going to die in her own timeline. Her timeline's Thanos is dead. He's not going to be there to throw her off the cliff. Black Widow - you have to explain to her that her being alive can kill countless others. If you remove her from anytime line she doesn't do the good that she has in the last Avengers movies and as a Shield agent or Hawkeye (or another Avenger) has to take her place for the soul stone. That's counter to her sacrifice. Vision - You remove him, you remove the mind stone from that timeline. Which isn't good. If you remove them from their timeline without telling them all of this, yes that would amount to kidnapping.
27th Apr 2019
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Question: How did Thanos get to the present timeline? Wasn't Nebula left with just one dose of pym particles, which she used to get back?
Answer: It shows Nebula presenting the vial of Pym particles to Thanos, it's probable that he (or someone like Maw) was able to reverse engineer the particles so that they had their own supply to use.
Answer: 2014 Nebula would have needed the vial to power her future self's suit to get to 2023 so she could impersonate her. But Thanos would have had to re-create enough of the particles so that the time tunnel could lock onto his ship and pull it through.
Answer: She used the excess Pym particles that Tony and Cap brought back.
Is that your own personal interpretation of it? They don't show it in the movie, unless I am mistaken. And it should be Thanos to use the Pym particles to jump into the Quantum dimension, how does she having the particles in the present affect it?
Her robotic fingers seem to be red as they go into the machine, implying they're making use of the Pym particles. And they had Nebula's "GPS" unit they all wore on their hands - given Thanos' technology they could presumably have copied or adapted it in some way to work with the ship, positioning it in time and space if nothing else.
Yes that's my interpretation. The machine works differently than the suits. She did a lot of modification to it as well before activating it. She somehow managed to get an entire ship transported to the future in a matter of minutes. The only logical conclusion is that she used Pym particles to power the machine and then pull the ship through.
No. Thanos on his end, would need those particles to get small and enter the Quantum Realm. Like the others.
Answer: The directors have addressed this and confirmed that Thanos gave the Pym particles to Ebony Maw (a brilliant scientist) who then reverse engineered them and created more.
Answer: He could have gotten the Pym particles from Pym himself. Likely by force. He has Nebula's memory and saw their whole plan. But, the official answer that came out was Maw reversed engineered them.
19th Feb 2013
Aladdin (1992)
Question: Throughout the whole movie, why does Jasmine have such hostility toward Jafar? The scene where Aladdin was captured by the guards on Jafar's orders, she seems angry that Jafar had a stranger taken from the market place. In the scene of Jasmine's and Jafar's first appearance together, she confronts him angrily asking Jafar about the arrest. When his reply was justifiable she is still upset with him. And in the scene where the Sultan, Jafar, and Jasmine are all in the room discussing the incident, Jasmine says she wants to get rid of Jafar. (00:23:20 - 00:41:15)
Answer: Also, Jasmine reveals in that first scene that Aladdin's arrest wasn't justifiable. Jafar told her he had him arrested for kidnapping her, to which Jasmine reveals that he didn't kidnap her; she ran away. Then Jafar reveals that he had Aladdin executed, which can seemingly only be done upon approval from the sultan. Jasmine loathes him so much because he allowed for the death of an innocent boy without checking with anyone first.
25th Apr 2019
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Question: Spoiler! Time seems to be defined as somewhat linear, with alternate realities branching off rather than changing the past of any given timeline. But if that's the case, how can Steve go back in time and stay, which should branch off a new reality with him in it, but then "catch up" with "our" reality? Seems like if he stayed in the past he'll have made plenty of changes.
Answer: The Russo brothers have elaborated somewhat: "the old Cap at the end of the movie, he lived his married life in a different universe from the main one. He had to make another jump back to the main universe at the end to give the shield to Sam." They didn't explain his jump back, which leaves the door open for interdimensional travel. They certainly implied there's a bit more to the story which might get revealed in time. But thus far we know there's an alternate timeline where 2019 Cap was running around helping people (again, per Russo interviews), not interfering with "our" timeline.
Answer: He stayed behind but didn't reveal himself or change anything whilst there. That way the future isn't altered and stays "the same." This does mean that the timeline we have been following is the timeline where Cap stayed behind and there were basically 2 Steve Rogers at all times. That can theoretically work in a linear timeline idea.
True, I think that does mostly line up. Peggy told him she got married to someone he rescued, but that could easily have been a cover story so as not to tip him off about what happens too early.
He originally had the tools to go back return the stones and then return back to his timeline. Instead of returning back right away when the job was done he just hung around and lived his life. Then as an old man used the particle to return back to his original timeline effectively leaving the different timeline he had just been living in for the last however many years. He could always return back to the the original timeline at any point. He just decided to wait.
Yeah see I don't agre to this because if he had used the particles again to go back to the future after living his life in the past he would have ended up on the platform wouldn't he? I say he just grew old and waited for that moment of his younger self going to back to sit down on that bench.
That's not possible. (a) He was in the ice for 60 years. How would he know what not to do? (b) There's nothing he could do that wouldn't change the timeline. Anything he did means someone else didn't do it from the previous timeline. A house he rented, food he ate, places he went. Even whatever fake name he uses alters history as it wasn't there before.
The point is all those things did exist, but they didn't mess with the events that occurred in the movies. So not a different timeline than the one we have been following, but the same. This can only be done if the second Cap stays out of history. I'm not a fan of the butterfly effect, it doesn't have any basis, that's why I always explain timelines in this way. An extra spoon in the dishwasher or an extra tank of gasoline doesn't change the timeline so much that it can't be the one we were following anymore. So yes, he changed the timeline, but that's the timeline we have been following.
Answer: Since Cap was frozen for 70 years, he could potentially live out his life back in that time without risking interfering with his future self's actions which would allow him to arrive back to the same point where he left. It's not too dissimilar from the first two "Back to the Future" films where Marty arrives back in 1985 from 1955. As long as Marty takes no actions to prevent himself from going back in time in that moment, then he can arrive back to the same point he left without causing a major disruption in the space-time continuum. Consequently though, since Cap married Peggy when he went back, this would effectively erase the marriage she revealed having had in "The Winter Soldier," which could cause minor differences in the timeline.
This is the point though - it's made clear that they can't change the past, just branch off a new timeline. And given we know she got married in "our" timeline, him going back created a new one, one where she married him instead. And that's all well and good, but that leaves him stranded in timeline "B", with no way to jump back to "A." That said of course there's no real reason this couldn't be hand-waved away as using Dr. Strange or other tech to cross dimensions somehow, it's just mildly annoying they didn't clarify it. :-).
Well the way they did it makes it complicated I think. The Pym particles made a certain type of time travel possible I think, a different kind than the time gem for example can do. It's irreversible, but not linear. The linear timeline is what the ancient one explained about the gems. They had to be put back in their place in time in order for the fabric of the universe to stay in tact. Only that had to be restored, but not what Cap did, or even creating alternate timelines in general (which did happen with Loki disappearing).
I feel though that since two Caps were existing in the same timeline, one of which was frozen for several decades, then the Cap that went back to be with Peggy can still end up in the same spot as long as he doesn't interfere with himself or his fellow Avengers in their "future" missions. He might cause a slightly different timeline to happen, but as long as he lets his other self play out the events as they originally unfolded, it allows that other self to be in the same position to travel back to return the Infinity Stones and then be with Peggy, rendering any branching timeline to be inconsequential because he is putting himself in a time loop. Just like Marty in "Back to the Future." Marty's actions in the past create a slightly new timeline, but he is still traveling back to 1955 at the exact same point in this slightly different 1985.
Can't compare it to Back to the Future, there was always 1 Marty in Back to the Future since he goes back to a time before he was born. The changes to the timeline in Back to the Future should have butterflied a lot away. Not sure what you mean with "still end up in the same spot" if there are 2 Caps. The Cap that went back to be with Peggy didn't have to "end up in the same spot", just stay out of history until his past self goes back. Like you say, it's a loop for him.
By "end up in the same spot," I mean the Cap that coexists with the Cap that goes back in time is allowed to play out the events from "The Avengers," "The Winter Soldier," "Civil War," etc. without his alternate self interfering in matters, thus he is able to reach the same point in time where he goes back to return the Infinity Stones and then be with Peggy, which is what creates/continues his loop.
He wouldn't be stranded in "B" if he still had his TimeGPS device (which I imagine he would've held onto). That could have allowed him to make the jump back to the "A" timeline. That device is what links/keeps the time traveler tethered/able to return to their original timeline and not get stuck. Either he used it to make the jump back as he normally would have, or he could've employed some of the great minds of the alternate "B" timeline he was living in (i.e. Hank Pym, Howard Stark (if he prevented his assassination in the "B" timeline), Tony Stark, etc...) to use the GPS's 'tether' as a way to get back to "A"
Exactly. What people seem to miss is that throughout the movie, the time travelers are creating alternate timelines, but always return to their original one. That's the way time travel works in the MCU.
That's a good point - if they go to the battle of New York and make any change at all, that's a new timeline which they're technically in, but they can still return to their original one without any problem. That new one then carries on without them.
Answer: What's interesting is that during Civil War when Peggy dies and people are carrying her coffin, there is a white haired man of Steve's build carrying one side, but it never shows his face. I believe this is a little Easter egg to show he was there all along.
Answer: Remember Cap took three vials of Pym particles. One for himself and Tony and another for this reason.
Answer: Theory 1: The MCU as we know it is a product of Captain America going back in time and returning the stones. Theory 2: the older Captain America is from another timeline. That's how he got a new shield.
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Chosen answer: Your assumption is pretty much correct. There are 2 staircases spiralling around each other like a double helix. It is a fairly common way of constructing fire evacuation staircases as it allows a greater number of people to use them at the same time.
I see, so it's purely for fire escape reasons or more to handle overflow capacity in general?
lionhead