Question: This has a always perplexed me about Ocean's Thirteen and the egg. Danny/Rusty already had the real egg before Toulour got to the museum. So when Matt Damon and Julia Roberts went into the museum, they were actually trying to steal the fake egg. But when Matt Damon did the switcheroo and took the fake egg and placed the hologram on the pedestal, that meant there really was no egg there. So when Toulour went in to steal the egg, what could he have stolen?
Garlonuss
3rd Feb 2010
Ocean's Twelve (2004)
2nd Feb 2010
Avatar (2009)
Question: What do they need masks for when Pandora has enough oxygen to sustain fire?
4th Jan 2010
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
3rd Jan 2010
The Lion King (1994)
Question: How does the "Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" song go after the line "Ones as big as your head!"?
Answer: The lyrics go: --- I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts / There they are, all standing in a row / Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head / Give 'em a twist, a flick of the wrist / That's what the showman said. --- There's much more to it, but that's how that section goes. For more, look here.
3rd Jan 2010
General questions
Hello. I'm looking for the title of a children's animated movie, probably 80's-90's, that features a villain with a glass eye and a black bird that constantly calls out: nevermore. At the end, a flock of these black birds covers the villain, and, when they disperse, all that's left is the villain's glass eye, suspended in midair, which then drops to the ground.
2nd Jan 2010
Avatar (2009)
Question: Although it is not mentioned in the film, I assume that unobtainium has antigravity properties, since it floats in the air in Parker's office. If this is the case, the logical thing to do would be to mine the floating rocks in the hallelujah mountains, which obviously contain loads of the stuff. Why mine it out of the ground at a much higher expense?
Answer: Unobtanium is a superconductor which creates an antigravity effect in a magnetic field. The places where the rocks are floating indicate that the magnetic field is stronger there, which reduces the effectiveness of the human machines and makes using them more dangerous. In fact, they specifically mention that fact when hiding among the floating rocks. They can't be tracked as easily so the odds shift a bit in their favor. Add to that the fact that human technology is geared toward surface mining, not mining floating rocks.
20th Oct 2009
Men in Black (1997)
Question: When we first see MIB headquarters, K says that the little destructive energy ball thing is "a little practical joke by the Great Attractor." As far as I can tell, the Great Attractor is just a gravitational anomaly, so how could it play practical jokes?
Answer: Yes, "the Great Attractor" can refer to a specific anomaly in the Centaurus Supercluster, but that is a far cry from saying that the term can only refer to that specific anomaly. It is completely possible for a high-tech prankster and/or performer to use the name "the Great Attractor." It's like saying "the Boss" when referring to Springsteen. The term means a manager over a group of people in a place of work, but he can still use it as a stage name.
19th Aug 2009
Alien (1979)
Question: Throughout the movie, Ash does a few weird things, such as that jogging motion that he makes in the cockpit and the "poor baby" expression he gives Ripley just before he attacks her. Aside from driving home the fact that he's an android, do these actions have any meaning? (Unless he's being sarcastic, the expression doesn't seem fitting, since he doesn't seem to feel any particular empathy toward humans.) Also, what causes him to suddenly start bleeding? And finally, why does he try to stuff a rolled-up magazine down Ripley's throat? My interpretation is that he's trying to implant her with an embryo, since he also starts making weird gagging noises at the same time; but if that's the case, where/when did he get it?
Answer: I can't speak to the running motion exactly. I've always wondered about that myself. Maybe it was a quick systems check of sorts. Beyond that, the 'poor baby' expression and odd noises he makes are because he is damaged. There is a quick, light scuffle with Ripley before he starts bleeding where she throws him against the wall twice, and that's where the 'blood' comes from. After that, he's trying to kill her with the magazine in the throat. As Bishop points out in Aliens, that model has always been 'a bit twitchy'. He's trying to protect the mission by any means necessary, and she was in the way.
Just before he runs on the spot. Ash put on a flight suit and blows into his hands. The gesture suggests to me that he is old and is trying to warm him self up. The running on the spot action could be to get warm or to ensure the flight suit doesn't restrict his movement. It's a very nice bit of foreshadowing. If you play the alien isolation game, the working joe androids do that when they are 'bored'.
The running motion could also just be to humanise Ash. His character does come off as a little cold and robotic, maybe Ridley thought some people might see the twist coming.
16th Aug 2009
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Question: Near the end of the film, from Buckbeak's execution, there are things that relate to Harry and Hermione going back in time, like the stones being thrown through Hagrid's window, and the wolf howl etc. But if they had already gone back in time to do these things, then wouldn't Buckbeak and Sirius have already been saved, meaning that they wouldn't have to go back and do all that in the first place?
Answer: Yes, they had already been saved. But the kids didn't know about either of them. And Dumbledore didn't yet know about Sirius. He did know that Buckbeak had mysteriously vanished, but the fact that these things had already happened didn't mean they didn't have to do them. To the contrary, it formed a bit of a prophecy, telling Dumbledore that they not only had to do it, but that they would succeed, at least in the areas he knew had already happened. When time travel is involved, you are not allowed to assume your job is done just because a task has already been completed. In fact, that it actually locks you into a path that eventually leads to performing that same task.
9th Aug 2009
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Question: On the Wookiepedia/Star Wars Wiki articles for Sidious, it has his age as 20 years younger than Dooku. Does Dooku really listen to someone young enough to be his son?
Answer: That's the master/apprentice mentality. It doesn't matter how old they are. The master has more experience (in this case, in the dark side) and can teach the apprentice. The apprentice needs to learn their place in the relationship in order to be a good vessel for the knowledge they seek.
30th Jul 2009
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000)
Question: While with family we started watching an episode of this, but never finished. It involved a convention or meeting of Achondroplasiacs/Dwarfs, and one part involved interviewing an Achondroplasiac while she was playing a slot machine, with a discussion on Achondroplasia and Psuedo-Achondroplasia. What episode is this called?
Answer: I believe the one you are thinking of is "A Little Murder" with Phil Fondacaro - season 3, episode 4.
28th Jul 2009
Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
Question: How did the emergency operator start the car when Matt tells them to start? And why did Matt do so when McClane was ready to start the car with just the wires?
Chosen answer: The on-board assistance system that Matt was using to contact the operator is specifically designed to allow for emergency usage in just such a way. They usually require a password to verify the user, which is exactly what Matt was trying to BS his way around. However, even though McClane is willing to hotwire the car, there are two problems with this. First, cars in recent years have become much harder to hotwire. Second, even if McClane was able to do it, the on-board assistance would have been triggered and it would assume (rightly so) that the car was being stolen and authorities would be alerted. With a likely GPS in the system, it'd be hard to get away from that one. By using and fooling the system, they now have the ability to get around unencumbered.
Also, the airbags wouldn't have deployed when he hit the bumper with a trash can. They're designed to go off only when the vehicle is in motion thanks to a vehicle speed sensor that arms the system over a certain speed to avoid costly repairs in the event you just bump something or vandals just wanna be vandals. I remember a funny commercial with an elderly woman using her purse to hit a car bumper when the driver honked at her as she slowly crossed the street. Hilarious, but not accurate.
10th Jul 2009
Star Trek: Voyager (1995)
Question: How did Magnus and Erin Hansen know about the Borg?
Chosen answer: Before Q sent the Enterprise to the beta quadrant to officially contact the Borg, there were already indications that the Borg was beginning to reach Federation territory. There were remarks towards the end of the first season of the Next Generation that several of the furthest Federation outposts were being attacked by some unknown enemy. They suspected the Romulans, but when contact with the Romulans was re-established, they learned that it was not them. The Hansens had simply figured things out much earlier than anyone else in the Federation. They learned about the Borg nine years earlier, but Starfleet mainly took notice when their outposts started getting wiped out. It is logical to assume that there were indications of Borg scouting parties and research efforts well before that.
Answer: Add to that the two transport ships at the start of Star Trek Generations were carrying El-Aurian refugees to Earth. It wasn't stated in the film what they were refugees of, but Guinan would state in TNG that the Borg wiped out her planet and most of people, so it's a safe bet that's what it was. And with 47 El-Aurians being rescued by the Enterprise-B, there were plenty of people to tell Starfleet about this cybernetic threat. At the time though, Starfleet did not have the ability or resources to investigate this further, and it was eventually forgotten when other things became important until the Enterprise-D encountered that cube at J-25.
10th Jul 2009
Terminator Salvation (2009)
Question: Why doesn't Skynet kill Kyle Reese when he is their capture if it can recognize him as Kyle Reese?
Chosen answer: We are never given any direct indication that they know Reese's importance. They don't appear to know that Reese is Connor's father. They are merely using him as bait for Connor. They must know that John is interested in someone named Kyle Reese and figure that news of his capture would bring them the man they really want.
10th Jul 2009
Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
Question: Throughout the film, Thomas Gabriel is shown be to an extremely intelligent and talented computer hacker with enormous resources at his disposal as well as an equally talented entourage of computer hackers. My questions are, why did he hire other hackers to write code for him and then kill them? He must have realised that this would draw attention? Couldn't he or any of his colleagues have done it themselves instead?
Chosen answer: First off, from the time they started killing off their hired hackers, there wasn't much anyone could do about it. They weren't worried about calling attention to themselves because they were doing plenty of that with their fire sale. Secondly, the number of systems they would have to hack would require lots of different methods and directions of attack. Way too much man power for Gabriel to let them all in on the plot without risking exposing their plans way too early. The idea of one hacker breaking into all of the systems they need is a nice Hollywood cliche, but rather unrealistic. People spend hours, days, or even weeks trying to hack one single system. Gabriel doesn't have that kind of time. The reason his one "extremely intelligent and talented computer hacker" is able to do everything he does is because all of their hired hackers had already passed off all of the programs and algorithms they needed. That's why he appears to have "enormous resources at his disposal" at all.
10th Jul 2009
Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Question: How does Number Six appear in Gaius Baltar's' mind? Is she a vision of some kind? Does he have a chip inside his head? Or is it something else entirely?
Chosen answer: Well, that's one of the big questions of the show and it's answered in the final episodes. She's, to use Baltar's term, an "angel". Beings who appear in the form of loved ones to help and guide us. Most of the time, they only appear in the head of one person, but the final season had one angel that everyone could see and interact with.
10th Jul 2009
Star Trek: Enterprise (2001)
Question: Why did it take Starfleet 100 years to find the remains of the Borg and their sphere in the Arctic?
Chosen answer: That's just how long it took. We are still digging up artifacts that are thousands of years old. It takes as long as it takes. Add to that the fact that, at the time the Borg came, Earth was still recovering from a massive war, and it's safe to assume that it took a while for complete exploration and research missions to get going full bore again. Also, they didn't know to look there. There would be no reason to simply head off to some random site in the Arctic and start digging.
9th Jul 2009
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)
The Best of Both Worlds (1) - S3-E26
Question: Why did the Borg dispatch only one ship to sector 001 in their attempt to assimilate humanity? Why not three or maybe even four or five?
Chosen answer: One Borg ship is usually enough. You notice, they were only able to destroy it because their assimilation of Picard ended up giving his crew a unique 'backdoor' into their system. No one had ever tried to retrieve an assimilated crewman before, because it is usually such a futile effort. So if the Borg feel that one ship is enough, they will send one ship. They are big on efficiency. Sending more ships diverts ships away from other potential targets and missions.
23rd Jun 2009
X-Men (2000)
Question: Why is it that Storm has an accent in this film, but not in the other two?
Chosen answer: It comes down to the simple fact that Halle Berry can't do accents worth squat. Storm comes from Kenya, so Berry is attempting some form of Kenyan accent in this first movie, but even here it is uneven and inconsistent. The decision was apparently made in 2 and 3 not to use the accent at all.
16th Jun 2009
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Question: During the Battle of Hoth, why do the AT-AT Walkers have to land so far away? Couldn't a big ship just come right down close and destroy the base?
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Chosen answer: They never did make the switch at the museum. They'd already switched the egg before it ever got to the museum, so either way, Toulour was going to be stealing a copy. The reason they continued to keep up the act that they were trying to steal the egg was because they needed to string Toulour along just as LeMarque tells them in the flashback toward the end of the movie.
Garlonuss ★