Sierra1

3rd May 2017

Skyfall (2012)

Question: Moneypenny is ordered to shoot Bond, to get to the man Bond is fighting on the train, so why does Bond, later, in MI6, dig the fragments of the bullet out of his shoulder and ask them to be analysed, which does reveal that the bullet is very odd?

kh1616

Chosen answer: The bullet fragments are not from Moneypenny's shot - earlier on Bond is shot in the shoulder by the assassin Patrice when he is in the cabin of the excavator.

Sierra1

24th Apr 2017

Logan (2017)

Question: I have some questions. 1) When exactly did Logan and Charles plan to rescue Caliban? 2) Why does Charles call Logan a disappointment at the start? 3) When does Charles mention Paris? 4) Why did Charles act so strange and treat Logan so coldly when we first see him? 5) What happened to Caliban? 6) What happened in Westchester? And 7) Why does Charles blame himself for whatever happened in Westchester?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Chosen answer: I doubt they planned to rescue Caliban as they didn't know where he was or if he was even alive. Caliban is killed when he sets off two grenades in the van to try and stop Pierce. With all the questions regarding Charles Xavier, he is suffering from dementia, hence the rambling, mood swings and memory loss. Without his medication, the condition can also cause psychic storms like at the silo and the hotel - it is implied that the Westchester incident was such a storm which killed a large number of students at Xavier's school.

Sierra1

12th Apr 2017

The Fifth Element (1997)

Question: Early in the film, the Mangalore warrior Aknot mutters "Showtime" as he leads the attack on the Mondoshawan transport ship, destroying it. Shortly thereafter, at Zorg's factory, we see Aknot shape-shift between his human disguise and his natural Mangalore appearance. Much later in the film, we see Aknot in his same human disguise again aboard the Fhloston cruise ship, where Aknot again mutters "Showtime" before leading a murderous assault. So we recognize Aknot by his appearance and his mannerisms throughout the film. But wait: Presumably, Zorg killed the Mangalores who failed him (including Aknot) with a powerful explosive booby-trap at his factory, early in the film. So, how did Aknot appear much later aboard the Fhloston cruise ship? (There is no reason to assume that the Mangalores were capable of surviving the powerful blast at Zorg's factory, because we see Mangalores killed by smaller explosions and small firearms throughout the film).

Charles Austin Miller

Chosen answer: Aknot wasn't killed, just injured in the explosion - he didn't seem to to be too close to the Mangalore whose weapon exploded. You see him later with several wounds, when he resolves to get the stones from Fhloston to get revenge on Zorg.

Sierra1

4th Apr 2017

General questions

I remember a movie about an African American female ice skater. The movie started off when she was a child, and she was paired with a male ice skater during a recital. These two ended up skating together all the way up until adulthood. One day during practice the female skater was dropped and fell on the ice and ended up getting some really serious injuries, that affected her career. I think she ended up trying to commit suicide, Does anybody remember the name of this movie? I think it was The (insert ice skater whose name I can't remember) Story.

movielover1

Chosen answer: This is almost certainly "On Thin Ice: The Tai Babilonia Story" (1990).

Sierra1

22nd Feb 2017

Inside Out (2015)

Question: Near the beginning, in the new house, when Disgust, Fear, Anger, and Sadness mess with the panel, it turns into their colors including Sadness' color, then orbs came out with the colors of Disgust, Fear, and Anger, but why not of Sadness because she touched the panel too?

Roman Curiel

Chosen answer: If you mean the bit where the dad says the moving van won't be there until Thursday and they start pressing buttons, you see Sadness kind of tentatively reach for one of the buttons but then it cuts to the shelf, so you don't actually see her touch it.

Sierra1

Chosen answer: In the book, yes, Starling knew that Senator Martin was not aware of the deal she and Crawford were offering Lecter. However she only inferred it because Crawford wanted her to be able to swear under oath she was not told this explicitly.

Sierra1

Answer: In the movie, yes, she admits that the bio-research island was her idea.

6th Feb 2017

Angry Birds (2016)

Question: Whenever we see Terrence facing forward (the camera), why is his beak always seen sideways?

Roman Curiel

Chosen answer: In most shots he is looking from the side and downwards because he is so large. His beak appears almost always sideways because the shot is supposed to give the impression he is glaring menacingly or disapprovingly (i.e. Giving "side eye").

Sierra1

24th Jan 2017

Batman Returns (1992)

Question: When the Red Triangle Circus approaches the Batmobile to attach the transmitter, we see one clown with the schematics of the Batmobile. How the hell did they get hold of such plans? I highly doubt Batman/Bruce Wayne would let such information get out.

Russel Denton

Chosen answer: In the novelization of the film, it is implied that Max Shreck used his money to bribe the original designer/fabricator (or one of their disgruntled employees) to give him the plans.

Sierra1

Question: I am wondering what the deal is with Ahsoka Tano's chains in her hair. In season 1 episode 7 I think of the clone wars, Ahsoka gets her chain taken off and when she defeats the bad guy she takes it back and says "I think I have earned the right to wear this again" or something to that effect. I have tried Googling this many different ways and I can't find the answer.

Answer: They are called silka beads. Jedi Padawans from species with no hair (such as Togruta and Twi'leks) wear them in place of the Padawan braid.

Sierra1

Question: 3 questions: Was the planet Krennic goes to to talk to Vader supposed to be Mustafar? If so, why would Vader want to go there of all places? Lastly, what was the reason Krennic went to visit Vader?

Answer: Yes, Pablo Hidalgo from the Lucasfilm Story Group confirmed Vader's palace was on Mustafar. Gary Whitta who wrote the story, suggested that he lived there because "he wants to punish himself" for turning to the dark side. Krennic visits Vader because he wants him to arrange a personal audience with the Emperor and cut Tarkin out of the equation.

Sierra1

2nd Jan 2017

Ant-Man (2015)

Question: Where did that hydra boss go? I didn't see him on the helicopter.

Answer: Ant-Man punched him, knocking him unconscious, when they were in the vault, so he was presumably killed when the Pym Technologies building exploded.

Sierra1

1st Jan 2017

What Women Want (2000)

Question: Why is the Apple logo on Nick's laptop upside down?

Answer: Apple PowerBooks of the time (around 1999 to 2001) had the logo the right way up to the user when closed, supposedly to prioritise the experience of the user over that of onlookers. According to former Apple employee Joe Moreno, Steve Jobs later changed his mind and after 2001, Apple notebooks had the logo right way up when opened.

Sierra1

Question: At the very ending, now that Dennis is a vampire, can the sun harm him even if he is the son of a human and a vampire?

Roman Curiel

Chosen answer: Not in the vampire sense as he is half-human, but he prefers to stay out of the sun. He is also a redhead so would sunburn easily as a human would.

Sierra1

3rd Oct 2016

Hannibal Rising (2007)

Question: Hannibal is shot in the back, then turned over as the villian plunges a knife into Hannibal's thigh three times, saying, "He's paralysed, he can't feel this." But Hannibal stands up and is perfectly fine. There's no damage from the bullet or the knife. How is this possible?

kh1616

Chosen answer: Hannibal has the Japanese dagger on his back, and when he gets it out you can see there is a bullet hole on it indicating that the bullet hit the dagger. Grutas just pokes Hannibal in the leg with the knife, he doesn't actually stab him, it doesn't even tear his clothes.

Sierra1

Answer: As an aristocratic Lithuanian family living in a castle, the Lecters would probably not have still been living there by the time of the German occupation when the film starts. That's because the Soviet Union invaded and annexed the three Baltic states in 1940 (including Lithuania) and deported many so-called 'class enemies' to 'special settlements', many of which were in remote or internal regions of the USSR. The Lecters would have likely been gone by the time Nazi Germany invaded in 1941, let alone 1944 when they were retreating. Author Thomas Harris and the subsequent film screenwriters overlooked this obvious historical fact when writing the story.

30th Nov 2016

General questions

I remember seeing part of a live action movie on TV that showed a puppy playing with an old woman who lived on the street and she later dies from an illness. The puppy also has dreams of a past life, and later joins with an older dog and he grows up with him in a junkyard. When he is all grown up he attacks a man for stepping on his tail and the man takes his revenge on him by kidnapping him and taking him to a place where he is used in some sort of a test. I didn't watch the rest of the movie after that because it bothered me so much. Can anyone tell me what this movie was called?

Answer: This is Fluke (1995), starring Matthew Modine at the voice of Fluke the dog.

Sierra1

30th Nov 2016

The Witches (1990)

Question: After having so many disappointments over the way that Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was filmed, Roald Dahl swore he would never be involved in any movie that was based on one of his books. How then was the rights to turn the novel "The Witches" into a movie acquired? Wouldn't the director have needed Roald's permission?

Answer: "The Witches" was made twenty years after "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", and in that time television adaptations had been made of "The BFG" and "Danny the Champion of the World" of which Dahl approved, so presumably he had relaxed his view of adaptations of his books - however he did hate the ending of The Witches film.

Sierra1

30th Nov 2016

The Dark Knight (2008)

Question: At the beginning of the film when Gordon is turning on the Bat signal, Ramirez asks Wuertz something about an investigation on the Batman. Wuertz replies that is an ongoing operation and throws some rubbish into the bin. At that moment, you can see a board with pictures of "possible Batman suspects", and you can see a picture of a "Man in the mountains, dressed in black." This man dressed in black looks like the "suit" Bruce Wayne wore when he was training with Ras al Gul in Batman Begins. My question is, how did the cops get that picture?

Answer: It's not a photo of Bruce Wayne in the mountains. The three pictures on the board are Elvis Presley, Abraham Lincoln and Bigfoot - in other words the police have no idea who the Batman is.

Sierra1

Question: This film is directed by Mike Bigelow, but I can't find anything else he directed or was a part of. Is this a fake name used by Mike Mitchell, the director of the first Deuce Bigalow movie? It seems too coincidental for this director to have the same last name as the title character (albeit an "e" and not an "a"), have the first name of the first director, and not have any other working credits. Plus, Mike Mitchell has worked on several kids films and may want to avoid association with this film?

Bishop73

Chosen answer: Mike Bigelow is a real television commercial director, but yes, "European Gigolo" was his only feature film and the similarity of the names is a coincidence.

Sierra1

11th Jul 2016

Spy Game (2001)

Question: Given that the whole break between Redford and Pitt is over Redford's willingness to sacrifice people [even Pitt's girlfriend is given to the Chinese] what explains Redford's sudden change of heart and willingness to risk all to save Pitt AND his girlfriend?

Answer: Muir has become frustrated with the CIA as a whole - now carrying out bugging ops on trade talks so the US can sell more "toaster ovens", as opposed to the 'righteous' work he's done all his career. This is compounded when he sees that the CIA are prepared to let a man (Bishop) be killed over it, which also cements his determination to stop it. Although he has underestimated Bishop's feelings and determination to rescue Hadley, that's not really the point. He sees that Bishop is doing something righteous, 'the right thing' so to speak, and sees rescuing Bishop and Hadley as a chance to a) do something worthwhile again before he retires, b) redeem himself for past sins (sacrificing people/Hadley), and c) poetically stick it to the CIA - using their own resources to carry out the rescue mission amidst the trivial 'work' they're doing now. Muir knows that when he retires he'll be broke, but he'll be able to live with himself - he did something that was morally the 'right thing', as opposed to being the cold calculating operator he's been all his career, with that conditioning being another reason he now resents the CIA (he doesn't like what he's become). He's kicked against the bureaucrats who are doing all the wrong work for the wrong reasons. Also, there's a parallel between Bishop's feelings for Hadley and his attempted rescue mission, and Muir's feelings for Bishop (he loves him like a son or a star student). Muir certainly sees Bishop as family, and you don't mess with an Amercan's family. Muir says as much in the film with the analogy about his uncle's plough horse. The student is now teaching the master - about doing things for the right reasons (love and loyalty as opposed to death and toasters).

Answer: Several reasons: Muir felt no loyalty to Elizabeth Hadley, but he did to Tom Bishop. Muir had faked a letter to make Bishop believe that Hadley had ended the relationship, so he was not supposed to know that she was in Chinese custody. Muir had underestimated Bishop's feelings for her, and his capacity to work out the deception and attempt to rescue her. Also, Muir believed that Hadley was a threat to Middle East ops, however as he was now retiring from the CIA he no longer had responsibility for this area.

Sierra1

19th Nov 2016

Angry Birds (2016)

Question: What's the story behind Red's job as a clown shown in the beginning of the movie?

Answer: It is almost certainly playing on the trope that clowns (and comedians) often have issues with anger or depression, although they are assumed to be happy and fun.

Sierra1