Question: How did Balian, a peasant, get to be literate at the beginning of the film, before he leaves with his father? He reads what's carved into the wooden beam over his workplace.
Krista
21st Jul 2005
Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
13th Jun 2005
General questions
I saw on TV a long time ago (early 1980's) a scene where lobsters were crawling out of everyone's drains and chasing people. It was live action, not animated, but I don't know if this was a TV show or a movie. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?
Chosen answer: I believe this was a commercial for the Nickelodeon network.
13th Jun 2005
General questions
I saw a film as a kid that I think was Chinese or Japanese. There was a giant that looked like it was made out of metal. It was walking through towns and people were running and screaming, and it was also walking through water- a lake or the ocean. In a later scene was a very violent martial arts fight, with guys throwing each other against the walls. Anyone know what it is?
Chosen answer: Not sure, but it may be the movie Daimajin or one of its two sequels. They were made (Japanese) in the mid-late sixties and concerned a giant warrior that could be summoned to help the villagers against evil invaders. I found the first movie on vhs from e-bay. The tape was released by a.d.v. films in the U.S.
12th May 2005
Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
Question: It seems like a glaring factual error that Balian is able to read and write, given that he was raised as a peasant in the Middle Ages. Did I miss some mention as to how he became literate?
11th May 2005
Nicholas Nickleby (2002)
Question: When Nicholas and Mr. Squeers arrive at the school, Nicholas asks, "Is this Dotheboys Hall?" and Squeers replies something I can't understand, followed by, "We call it that in London because it sounds better." Anyone know what he says?
Chosen answer: Squeers says, "No need to call it a hall up here" and then he says "We call it that in London because it sounds better."
11th Apr 2005
Twister (1996)
Question: It's obvious that Jo still has feelings for Bill at the beginning of the film, so why, after he sort of admits that he still has feelings for her, does she purposefully go ahead and sign the divorce papers, after purposefully not doing so in the beginning?
Chosen answer: Jo finally signs the divorce papers after she sees how upset Bill's fiance is getting after all the near misses with the tornados. She also sees that Bill does care for his new fiance and she finally decides not to stand in the way of his new relationship, even though it did not work out in the end.
Answer: She signs it as at the time she was very annoyed with Bill. She wanted to stop and pick up the sensors but Bill dragged her into the truck instead and then even reversed and hit the machine.
11th Apr 2005
Monster (2003)
Question: Was Christina Ricci's arm cast written in the script, or was her arm really broken and they kept her in the role anyway? The cast just seems like an inconvenient and cumbersome thing for an actor to deal with, given that it really lends nothing of importance to the story.
Chosen answer: It was very relevant to the story. Because Sadie's arm was in a cast, she couldn't get a job. Without a job, she had to move back home to her parents.
1st Apr 2005
Monster (2003)
Question: Is it true that Lee was able to steal enough money from her victims to buy a house (or even just put a down payment on it?) I would assume she could only use cash, and it seems unfeasible that she'd be able to acquire that much cash from people's wallets without murdering hundreds of them.
Chosen answer: In the story it shows she does not kill every man. It is possible she had sex with multiple men without killing them and got more money (but maybe not that much) than just what she stole from the men she killed.
1st Mar 2005
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Question: Are we ever told why Maggie's family cares so little about her? I can only assume it's because they think she's run off to California and left them (and returning later with lots of money doesn't help) but that's just my interpretation, unless I missed something.
Chosen answer: We might just call it an exaggerated portrayal of the "white trash" family. Part of what makes Maggie so endearing is that she struggled and made herself out of nothing, and to create this history, it is expected that her family is awful, and never expected anything out of her.
1st Mar 2005
The Notebook (2004)
20th Jan 2005
Traffic (2000)
Question: Catherine Zeta Jones' character is the daughter of a Mexican drug lord, but she tells her upper-class friends that she's European. I'm assuming she's trying to pass herself off as Spanish or maybe Portuguese because it seems more exotic and socially acceptable among the upper class than being Mexican. Is this correct?
Chosen answer: The upper classes in Spanish-speaking countries tend to be more of Spanish ancestry, decendants of the original conquistadores. As such, some consider themselves Spanish, distinct from the lower-class Mestizos.
11th Jan 2005
The Aviator (2004)
Question: When Hughes is scrubbing his hands so hard that he cuts them, what exactly causes them to be cut? Is it something in the soap, or his fingernails? I wouldn't think, his being a man, that his nails would be long enough to do any damage, at least not to the extent shown.
Chosen answer: Hughes has obsessive compulsive disorder. He washes his hands so often, and so intensely, that he's literally worn away his skin. This is common with OCD sufferers.
11th Nov 2004
The Karate Kid (1984)
Question: At the end of their date, Daniel and Ali run into some of her snobby friends who insult Daniel and drive off. Then Ali seems irritated at Daniel, but why? She's the one who is more laid back about their relationship and the fact that Daniel doesn't fit in with her friends. You'd think if anything she would try to reassure Daniel and say it's no big deal. So why is she mad at him, especially since he didn't say or do anything to make her so?
Chosen answer: She is irritated because he told her she could have gone with her friends if she wanted. I believe she got annoyed because Ali thought Daniel should have realized by now she wanted to be with him and didn't care what her friends thought.
Also, you have to take a look at the snobby friends involved. Johnny and Dutch, two of Daniel's tormentors, were in the front seat and another one, Tommy, was in the backseat with two of Ali's friends who have always looked down on him. This came on the heels of another of Ali's snobby but nicer friends chatting with the two of them from a brand new sports car. Not to mention that at the start of the evening he met Ali's parents who made him uncomfortable. Although it is true that she would have been irritated with Daniel because he hadn't figured out that she didn't care what her friends or parents thought, he couldn't see past the fact that Johnny and his friends were part of her circle. He believed that she would look down on him and wouldn't be any different, which she picked up on, sparking her irritation when he told her she could have gone with them if she wanted to.
11th Nov 2004
The Karate Kid (1984)
Question: Is the healing technique that Mr. Miyagi uses where he rubs his hands together real, or just something made up for the movie?
Chosen answer: That's debatable. Some Chinese people believe that they can heal injuries with the power of their hands, but it has yet to be proved by science. They added it into the movie to make Mr Miyagi seem powerful and mysterious.
Answer: The rubbing of the hands is to get Miyagi's chi flowing - the Eastern cultures believe this to be inner energy of the spirit. A Western perspective would be to say Miyagi did this to warm his hands. The heat generated would help massage Daniel's injury (think of a hot stone massage). He then focuses on the pressure points and eases the knots in Daniel's body (or in the leg injury scene, his pain). He didn't 'heal' Daniel; he simply numbed the pain, which is why Daniel was still limping.
8th Nov 2004
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Question: Can someone please explain how the apes ended up taking over present-day Earth since the future apes never got hold of the time machine? I can't find anyone who can make heads or tails of it.
Chosen answer: Tim Burton has been quoted MANY times as saying it isn't supposed to make sense. Best guess is Leo travelled not just into the future, but into another dimension as well. Ironically, this ending is far more true to Peirre Boulle's original ending than the first Apes movie.
Answer: I have, if not an answer, then a sharpening of the question. A number of fanboys have suggested Thade retrieved Leo's pod from the bottom of the lake, then used it to travel into the MagnaStorm, thereby reaching Earth centuries before Leo's arrival, and inciting Earth Apes to rebel. The problem with This explanation is, once you get past how helpless the Apes are in water, How did Thade, a person who comes from a society without even gunpowder level technology, Repair A Spaceship?! Nevermind learn to use it?!?!?.
16th Sep 2004
Memphis Belle (1990)
Question: At the briefing it's pointed out that there's a hospital, school, etc. around the factory they're bombing, and Dennis is very adamant about getting the bombs "right in the pickle barrel" so a lot of innocent people don't get hurt. But the planes are spread out over a large area in the sky, and are also moving when the bombs are dropped, so wouldn't the bombs land over a large area and not just in the limited vicinity of the factory?
Chosen answer: It would seem that every plane's Norden bombsight would drop from different angles, etc., each designated for a common target. So, 2 planes could be higher, lower, ahead or behind the target and each hit the target, if the bombadiers had an accurate fix on the target.
Answer: Even with the Norden bomb sight, during WW2 bombing was generally very inaccurate.
3rd Aug 2004
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Question: Maybe I missed a major plot point, but why exactly does Tom kill his lover at the very end?
Chosen answer: Tom & his lover are travelling on a boat. The rich girl, who knows Tom as Dickie is also on the boat. If they were to meet, Tom's false identity would have been revealed, and the lover would have been able to figure out that Tom actually murdered Dickie.
Answer: He had to kill him. Tom couldn't kill Meredith because she wasn't alone and Peter was.
23rd Jul 2004
Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Question: What does the title have to do with the story, other than the reference to a work of art? I know many people think that the real Mona Lisa has a mysterious smile, but does that have anything to do with the film?
Chosen answer: There is a short discussion (I believe between Kirsten Dunst and Julia Roberts) about things not always being what they seem. They are speaking about the girls' lives, but it also is symbolic of the Mona Lisa smile. Whether she is really smiling is left up to the person viewing the portrait: is she smiling because she is happy? Is she trying to cover up grief/sorrow? Is she smiling at all?
15th Jun 2004
Jurassic Park (1993)
Question: When the tour group is heading back to base camp, Richard Attenborough is complaining about how the tour was unsuccessful. Samuel L. Jackson says very seriously, "It could have been worse - a lot worse." Is he referring to the fact that the dinosaurs could have escaped, or that they knew the security was faulty? If this was a real possibility, why would they have sent the tour group out, especially the kids?
Chosen answer: I don't think they're thinking along that sort of lines - I think it's more that this is the first test of the tour systems with a 'real' tour group and they're concerned about technical difficulties. Hammond is complaining because it didn't all go perfectly - Arnold is merely reminding him that they had a lot of technical systems that worked fine. If they'd had problems as well, the tour could have been appalling. At this point, they wouldn't even be considering the possibility of a dinosaur breakout or security problem - they're worried about the technical aspects of the tour working properly.
27th May 2004
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Question: Can anyone who speaks Japanese tell me what Jim says to the guard who's beating up the doctor? He says a few lines, then bows. The guard seems embarrassed and walks away.
Chosen answer: The first time, Jim says "Nanika no machigai desu. Bokutachi wa minna tomodachi desu yone. Senso no sei desu." This roughly translates to "There has been some sort of mistake. We are all friends aren't we? It is the war's fault." The second time, Jim only says "Nanika no machigai desu. Bokutachi wa minna..." and then gets pushed aside. "There has been a mistake, we are all...". I hope that helps.
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Chosen answer: Who says he was reading it, someone could have told him what it said, so he knew what the beam says rather than read it.
jennie87