Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

These are questions relating to specific titles. General questions for movies and TV shows are here. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.

Question: Was Spider-Man's identity ever made public at the end of this movie? He was without his mask several times during the final battle and there were a lot of cameras, so...?

Brad

Chosen answer: There's no evidence to suggest that his identity was compromised at any point.

Tailkinker

Answer: The fight between Sandman, Venom and Spider-Man was high up on a construction site so nobody watching the action from ground level would be able to see his face.

Chosen answer: The CSI team is very close-knit and use each others first name all the time. Calling him Dr. Ray is their way of including him in the closeness of the team and still giving him the respect of his title.

Guy

Question: The film states that Smith infected every single person in the Matrix. If that's the case, when the source deletes Smith, shouldn't that kill everyone in the Matrix? It killed Neo after all.

Brad

Chosen answer: It only killed Neo because the termination signal was sent directly through him. Everyone else was simply freed of Smith's corruptive programming.

Phixius

Flight - S1-E22

Question: In season one Terrence Steadman is played by John Billingsley as listed on prison breaks imdb cast list however why is this character played by Jeff Perry in season 2? Considering Steadman has a larger part in season 2, I thought John Billingsley would have been signed on to play him indefinitely. Was there some altercation between Billingsley and the director? Was he unavailable to work on season 2? Was he fired? Quit? I'd just like to know because it has been bugging me for ages now and I cant seem to find the reason.

Answer: According to the Internet Movie Database, Billingsley was unable to reprise the role due to his work on "The Nine".

Cubs Fan

Question: In the scene where Solara hijacks the car, why does the man who had Eli's sword in him stop her from starting the car, take out the blade, and get out from the car and kneel on the ground? Was he trying to say something to Solara or the leader?

Answer: Most likely, Redridge is giving Solara a chance to escape Carnegie's regime. At this point, he knows he's dying, but perhaps still wants the best for her. Remember, he had a crush on her the whole movie (blocking her while she was getting Eli's canteen filled, bargaining with Carnegie for her before chasing after them, even asking Eli nicely to give up the book after the gunfight in the house). I think it may also have been used as a self-redemption moment for one of the bad guys.

Jason Sieberg

Answer: Due to Eli's previous protections from harm, Redridge is already wondering if there isn't a higher power protecting Eli. When Redridge is impaled and realises he's in his last moments of life, he kneels, looks to heaven, and gives himself over to that higher power, hoping for redemption.

Question: Rapunzel's hair is usually 70 feet long, but it was shorter when she was a child. So how long does her hair grow each year?

Answer: If you divide the total length of hair by the age of Rapunzel, you get an average of about 4 feet of hair per year.

AJ Aneres

Question: After Elizabeth is brought to the Pearl, she threatens to drop the medallion overboard. Barbossa feigns disinterest but when Elizabeth pretends to drop it, the pirates gasp in panic. Why? So she drops it, big deal. They can't drown, the gold "calls to them" so what does it matter if she were to drop it?

Jacordx

Chosen answer: Because they'd have to find it. The gold may "call to them", but it obviously doesn't function as a millimetre perfect homing beacon or they'd never have missed the medallion years earlier when they attacked the ship carrying the young Will. Elizabeth drops it into the sea and they're going to have to spend what could be months trying to locate it - currents could take it well away from the dropping point. They've found the final missing piece; they're potentially just hours away from finally being cured. The last thing they want is to see it thrown into the sea.

Tailkinker

Well, if the crew was anxious to get the medallion then why did they act like they weren't interested in it before Elizabeth pretended to drop it?

Reverse psychology.

Ssiscool

What do you mean by reverse psychology?

By showing they are not interested in the medallion they are hoping Elizabeth will just drop it on the floor or chuck it to them as it's of no real value. However when she releases a bit of chain and the medallion drops, and the pirates lurch forward revealing that they really want the medallion and as such Elizabeth now has the upper hand in negotiations.

Ssiscool

I'm guessing Elizabeth wasn't fooled when the pirates showed disinterest in the medallion.

That's not called reverse psychology, which is used to encourage someone to change his or her mind. Doesn't work with a threat. They are feigning indifference to hide the importance of the object.

lionhead

Question: Why are there transports in the Battle Of Endor? It doesn't seem sense that transports were to go into to battle without any armament at all. Also, the Death Star II is seen firing on one of these transports. Wouldn't it be more reasonable to fire on Home One?

Answer: According to the novelisation of Return of the Jedi, the transports were loaded with large quantities of explosives, with the intent of using them in a kamikaze role. Given that role, it makes sense to target them as a priority, before they could be used to destroy a major Imperial ship, plus the premature detonation of the explosives could damage or potentially even destroy surrounding Rebel ships, weakening their fleet.

Tailkinker

Question: What was the technicality that got Seth Baxter's sentence reduced from life to 5 years?

Russco

Chosen answer: We are never told what the technicality is. Although it is likly to be something to do with the police's investiagtion.

Ssiscool

Question: I can't figure out how Rapunzel had the tiara to give back to Flynn in the boat scene, yet Mother Gothel found it in its hiding place after Rapunzel left the tower and gave it to the Stabbington brothers. Did I miss something important that explained this?

Answer: After tempting the brothers with the tiara, she got them to join up with her and she had access to the tiara again. Then, when she met up with Rapunzel in the forest, she gave it to her and told her to see if Flynn would still stick around if she gave it back to him.

Garlonuss

Chosen answer: No. It is a common misconception that he has a cameo in all of the movies/TV movies based on his works.

wizard_of_gore

Question: At the end of the movie, we see that the cure eventually wears off, but doesn't this mean that Rogue and Mystique's powers will return, and that she would join Magneto again, and Rogue stays as an X-Men?

M0vi3

Answer: It is shown in X-Men: Days Of Future Past that both Rogue and Magneto have their full powers back (for Rogue, you would have to watch the extended edition, aka "The Rogue Cut", which was officially released on DVD). So yes, the cure was temporary.

jshy7979

Chosen answer: This is just a little tease thrown in at the end of the movie. Magneto's still got some power left. Will he get his full power back? They don't say. Will other individuals also get theirs back? We don't know. If another film in the series is made that follows this one, some of these questions may be answered - without that, speculation about what characters might do based on a tease shot is, for the most part, pointless. Their powers might return. Mystique might rejoin Magneto, although she might well not - she was pretty angry at him for abandoning her. Rogue might stick with the X-Men. That's it. A whole load of "might".

Tailkinker

Question: Every time I watch the movie, I can't work out why Batman tells Gordon that he is going to save Rachel (so that Gordon's unit saves Dent), but lies and saves Dent (Gordon unit are at Dent's place but Batman enters from the back door, leaving Rachel to die). Why would he do that to Rachel as she is his oldest friend?

Answer: Hate to say it, but you've got the situation completely wrong. Bruce thinks he's going to save Rachel, but the Joker lied to him, he reversed the addresses where the two were being held. So Bruce shows up, expecting to find Rachel, but finds Harvey instead and rescues him. Meanwhile, Gordon and his men, who think that they're going after Harvey, arrive at the place where Rachel's being held, but the bomb detonates before they can get into the building to save her.

Tailkinker

Question: In the first appearance of Laurence Fishburne where he starts by saying, "Over here," that sounds so much like when Mac wants to remove the scorpion from Dillon in the original Predator 1. I haven't found anything though, if it should be some trivia. Can anyone tell me if it is a trivia or just me thinking that it should be?

Wollabille

Chosen answer: Yes it is trivia. There are many homages to the original movie in this movie. Some are subtle some are cleverly hidden. From the big mini-gun used by a certain character, the stand-and-fight challenge by another character and even covering themselves in mud will camouflage them from the Predators. So many more obvious homages.

XIII

Question: I don't know anyone who stammers so I'm asking here: That trick Lionel pulled when he had Bertie reading with the earphones on and the music blasting - does it really work? Bertie obviously thinks he's still stammering, but don't stammerers sense if they're doing it even if they can't hear themselves speaking? And if it does work, why the drama with the radio broadcasts? Bertie could have put the earphones on and simply read the broadcast like he did "Hamlet".

Answer: The technique is called "masking" and all though it can sometimes help those who stutter it is not 100% reliable. It will make some stutter less, others will not notice any difference. It would probably be very inconvenient to Bertie not to hear himself at all during an important speech, not to mention that those around him might find the whole thing strange. You can read more about research on this technique and other similar ones here: http://ajslp.asha.org/cgi/content/abstract/16/1/77.

littlestar

Question: The sorting hat considered putting Harry in Slytherin. But if your parents or a past generation was put in Gryffindor, then wouldn't he have to be in Gryffindor? If not, then is it by luck that the Weasleys have been in the same house for so long?

moviefan2345

Chosen answer: No, there's no specific requirement that any individual has to be in the same house as their paren'ts or siblings. It's not uncommon that that's the case, admittedly, particularly as character plays a major part in the sorting process, so individuals brought up in the same household might end up in the same house simply by virtue of bearing similar character traits, but there are a considerable number of examples of family members being in different houses. Sirius Black, for example, was sorted into Gryffindor, despite his family's traditional presence in Slytherin. The Patil twins, who one might reasonably expect to end up in the same house, ended up being sorted differently, Parvati into Gryffindor and Padma in Ravenclaw (in the book, in the movie they are both in Gryffindor). So while it's quite common that house assignment runs in families, it's by no means a certainty.

Tailkinker

Question: When Jasmine is pretending to be in love with Jafar, why does Jafar look shocked? It wouldn't make sense for him to be, since he wished for Jasmine to fall for him and as far as he's concerned, his wish has been granted.

Answer: Yes, but the genie hadn't done anything yet. Quite obviously hadn't done anything. Jafar was in the middle of 'persuading' the Genie when she suddenly had this change of heart.

Garlonuss

Question: When Eduardo discovers the dilution of his percentage, he asks Mark if he did it because of the "article about the chicken", which accused Eduardo of forced animal cannibalism. Sean Parker hears this and says, "What's he talking about?" and then says "Seriously, what's the chicken?" Is this implying he was the one who gave the chicken story to Mark's lawyer so he could use it in the previous scene where he mentions it?

Answer: No, earlier when it came up in the lawyers office, Eduardo thought it came from Mark, but the lawyer stepped in and said they were able to find it themselves. Sean really had no idea what he was talking about, but didn't use it against him.

nbafanscw

Question: In the dentist office scene, Tim almost chokes to death when the toy puffer fish falls into his mouth, but the nurse saves him by pulling it out. Nora should be next, but Tim gets crushed by the glass pane anyway. This is a major mistake on death's list.

M0vi3

Chosen answer: No it simply means that Tim was not supposed to die by the puffer fish. He was meant to be saved so that he could die later. The movie shows multiple instances where someone almost dies, but at the last second is saved. It's a common way to build suspense.

shortdanzr

Question: In the scene where Malone is shot by Nitti, he crawls to a room and when Ness comes in he finally gets Ness to see the paper about the man coming into the train station. If that information was so vital why was he just roaming around his apartment instead of going to Ness to show him?

Answer: Ness was coming to Malone's apartment to discuss the information with him there, Nitti and his men just got there first.

Captain Defenestrator

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