Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: Why wasn't Carl put back in the retirement home at the end? A court order is a court order.

MikeH

Answer: He was. In the series of images we see him surrounded by old people.

Chosen answer: Who's to say he wasn't? The film ends after he takes Russell to his award ceremony, so we won't know.

Question: When Michael says to Tom, "if history has taught us anything, it's that you can kill anyone." Who is he referring to?

Answer: No one in particular. He was simply meaning that many historical figures who were extremely powerful (Julius Cesar for example) were assassinated. He means that no one is untouchable.

The_Iceman

I disagree. I think he was referring to when he assassinated that police captain and the Turk and everyone in the room told him it was impossible.

Question: In the lunchroom cafeteria scene after Cheng sadistically and purposefully slams Dre's lunch tray all over him and knocking it over, Cheng says something to the teacher in Mandarin that is omitted by the English subtitles before Dre yells "Whatever he's saying, he is lying." What is Cheng saying?

Answer: Whatever Chang said, he said it too fast. I am Cantonese but I understand a bit of Mandarin. Even in 0.5 speed I either can't understand it or he said it too fast. I made out his last words (in ping ying), "ta Dar wour," that means, "he fought me." However, the rest might be the other reason why he flipped Dre's lunch.

He said, "I bumped into him and I apologised but he hit me."

Question: On the Air China Boeing 747 plane, Dre hesitantly mumbles something in Mandarin. What is Dre saying before the Asian businessman on the same plane across the row is insulted and replies "Dude, I'm from Detroit"?

Answer: "Nihaw, mao"

Show generally

Question: In a few episodes, notably "Jewpacabra" and "Le Petit Tourette", Kyle is literally saving Cartman's life, which, as shown in "Le Petit Tourette", Cartman thanks him enormously for. But if Kyle's done these things for him, then why does Cartman still rip on him for being a Jew? And why doesn't Kyle remind Cartman of the fact that he's saved him numerous times and he should be grateful instead of mean?

Answer: Simply put, Cartman will ultimately never stop being a selfish, spoiled brat no matter how anyone treats him or what they do for him.

zendaddy621

Also, the boys go to the same school; they see each other around town, and their parents know each other. So, for the time being, it's easier for Kyle to grudgingly tolerate Cartman's behavior. As Mr. Garrison says in one episode, "Just because you have to tolerate something doesn't mean you have to approve of it."

Question: Where were the penguins going to fly the baby to in their helicopter?

Johman

Chosen answer: Hunter had allowed the penguins to take care of the baby, and will then be returned to the human world when she is an adult. The penguins were taking the baby back to their home to raise it.

Casual Person

Question: Why did Sophie have blood on her mouth before The Bride cut her arm off? And why didn't she try to fight back or run away? Why didn't anyone else try to stop her?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Just before that, we saw her in the bathroom, oblivious to the Bride's presence, and the Bride about to get the drop on her. It's safe to assume that the blood on her mouth was a result of whatever the Bride did to her off-screen between that moment and when she presented her to O-Ren. It's hard to "try to fight back or run away" when your assailant is brandishing a katana and is literally the deadliest person in the world with that weapon. And plenty of others tried to stop the Bride...she just killed them all.

Question: Why was only one officer (Captain Willard) sent to assassinate Colonel Kurtz? Isn't it very unlikely for a captain like Willard to be able to kill a powerful and influential and "insane" colonel like Kurtz?

L0gical

Chosen answer: Kurtz was protected by political connections and his military record from being relieved of command, and the Montagnard people whose village he was in were considered American allies, so they couldn't just send a force in to kill him or relieve him of command, but an individual assassin. (The US Government's "official" policy is that they do not engage in assassination, which is why "this mission does not exist, nor will it ever exist").

Captain Defenestrator

Chosen answer: The gold dome is part of the Massachusetts State House and it represents his ambition to rise up in the legal ranks, regardless of the means. The view of the State House is why he decides to rent the apartment.

Phaneron

Question: Why did Wilson drop some white bead things to the floor at Sara's wedding? In order to let Phillip slide on them? But Wilson knew Phillip wouldn't show up at the wedding.

Bunch

Chosen answer: It was rice and he just simply dumped them on the floor because he knew he wouldn't be needing it after the wedding to throw at the bride and groom because the Professor didn't show up.

Question: I understands that all the 10 characters at the motel actually exist inside Malcolm's head, and the fact that their date of birth are same (i.e. 10th May) is to support this. My question is: if Malcolm's head was able to come up with 10 different names of the characters, then why wouldn't he come up with 10 different date of birth as well?

L0gical

Chosen answer: The date of birth is significant because that's the day the identities were "born" in his mind. It's not that he couldn't come up with different dates, it's that his child's mind saw them all as being "born" on that day.

Question: When Biff and his gang are first chasing Marty on the skateboard in 1955, Marty escapes by grabbing the tailgate of a passing pickup truck which tows him around the corner. The gang jumps into Biff's convertible to continue the pursuit, and Biff's convertible actually has a rear-end collision with the pickup truck, barely missing Marty. How is it that the truck driver doesn't even react to all this insane activity and the rear-end collision? Rather than stopping and demanding an explanation, the truck driver continues away from the scene without even slowing down.

Charles Austin Miller

Chosen answer: It's likely any answer would be speculation at best, so it's hard to say. We can start with the fact that Biff barely taps the guy's bumper. He's seen stopping when Marty moves out of the way, although not enough, but I would not call it a "collision." Second, the style of the truck's metal bumper would have absorbed the impact to the point the driver didn't feel anything. In terms of if he actually felt an impact, in an era where you can't just call 9-1-1 on your cell phone to get police help, the man probably thought it prudent not to confront a car full of crazy teenage boys who just wildly rammed him for no reason. And if he did pull over, Biff had already turned the corner and so the man in the truck would have been off camera, so perhaps he does get out and inspect the damage and even sees Biff hit the manure truck, after which we don't know what happened.

Bishop73

Intermission - S1-E13

Question: At a certain point there is a cut to a studio scene of a supposed current affairs programme called, (title super on screen), "PROBE AROUND" on crime. There is a stirring piece of classical music used as an intro to the supposed programme, what is it? I know it, but I simply cannot remember the composer or the work. Could you possibly tell me what it is?

Answer: It is the second short-lived theme to the BBC's Panorama programme, itself taken from Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 1.

Neil Jones

Question: At the very beginning of the movie, Ben refuses to fire on anyone even though he was under orders to do so. I can understand him being court-martialed for this but, why would they alter the video to show him killing innocent people with orders not to? And why send him to prison for allegedly killing innocent civilians?

Answer: They needed a scapegoat, someone to blame. The government controlled the people through violence, but at the same time tried to convince the people the government was fair (i.e. Runners who made it through were given their freedom when in fact they never left the arena alive). The people at Bakersfield were still massacred (that part wasn't made up) by the government in order to control the riot, but just not by Ben. But people would just riot more if they knew the government ordered their killing, so the footage was faked to make people think Ben acted alone and against orders. And to continue the ruse, they convicted him to appease the people and prevent them from rioting.

Bishop73

Giving Back - S1-E5

Question: In this episode, the guy is punished by SAMCRO for not having his biker ink covered up. Also, Clay had to have his covered in (I think) season 5 or 6 when he left. Why was Opie allowed to keep his though? He had effectively left yet in this episode he is topless and all his ink is showing. Why did he not need his covered when he left the gang?

The_Iceman

Chosen answer: Former members only have to have their tattoos covered up if they are voted out of the club.

Phaneron

Question: We see the Constructicons use the military's Allspark shard to bring Megatron and a few other Decepticons back to life. Two things. 1) Why does the Allspark bring Megatron back to life if it's what killed him in the first place? 2) If it works on Megatron, why doesn't Sam use his Allspark shard to revive Optimus Prime?

Answer: Because that is what the allspark does. It healed Frenzy from the first film. It killed Megatron cause he was not capable of taking all the power. As for your second question, that has 2 answers, first, and most importantly, he didn't have it. Secondly, it wouldn't have enough power.

There is also another possibility. It is possible that Sam considered using shard of Allspark to revive Optimus but was afraid that it would cause some negative side effects. Considering the series of negative events related to this shard of Allspark (it turned kitchen equipment into an evil robots, not to mention that Sam inadvertently absorbed its energy before) there would be no doubt that Sam would be skeptical about using it.

Question: I am watching "The Naked Gun" on the IFC Network, and during one of the commercials they asked a trivia question about the movie that I never saw answered. The question was, "Which famous comedian contributed a scene or gag for the movie", and the choices were Mel Brooks, Steve Martin, and one other name that I do not remember. Does anyone know the answer to this question? I can not find any information about it anywhere. Thank you.

Hawk

Chosen answer: Mel Brooks. When Frank is undercover as the ump, one of the batters hits Frank in the face with the bat. This was a suggestion Brooks had made.

Bishop73

Question: When Richard accidentally pulls a coin out of his coat pocket, he sees that it's a penny and he is sent back to his own time. After being weakened upon his trip back to the future, why, after what was likely several days to get his full strength back, wasn't he able to return to the past? His mentor told him returning to his own time would leave him weakened but, given enough time to get it back, he could have gone back to the past again.

Answer: He was no longer able to put everything out of his mind, which was a requirement to successfully time-travel. He was distraught and unable to focus enough mentally. He stopped eating, and as time went on he became weaker and weaker.

Question: Daniel hates being a farmer and wants his father to sell their farm, but when J.P. Stiles offers Daniel's father money to sell, why didn't he convince his dad to accept?

Answer: Because he knows his dad is not going to sell no matter what he says.

Show generally

Question: Is there some reason why Samantha wears the same exact "Heart Pendant Necklace" in every single episode? It seems odd that she only has one necklace all the time.

Answer: The original diamond and white gold heart necklace was given to Elizabeth Montgomery by her then real-life husband, William Asher, who also directed the show. She wore it in nearly every early episode. When the necklace was lost or stolen about mid-way through the series, Montgomery had two replicas made from rhinestones. She wore either one of those for the rest of the show's run.

raywest

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