Question: In the military warehouse scene at the beginning of the film, the huge sliding doors are designated "51" in numbers 30 feet tall, on the inside of the warehouse doors. If you were already on the premises of a top-secret government base, and already inside a top-secret government warehouse, why would you need a 30-foot-tall numerical designation inside the building?
raywest
9th Nov 2016
Storks (2016)
Question: When Nate writes a letter to the Stork company, he writes that he wants a baby brother, not a sister. If the baby-manufacturing machine can read Nate's letter, why does it produce a baby girl instead of a boy? Also, how come the baby girl has pink hair while her mother has platinum blonde hair and her father and brother have brown hair?
Chosen answer: The baby-manufacturing machine had been shut down for some time when Tulip wrongly inserted the letter requesting a baby boy. The machine, which presumably would not be working efficiently after such a long hiatus, accidentally produced a baby girl. That may be why the hair color did not match either parent. Also, this is an animated film that has little to do with the reality of biology. The baby is a girl, so pink hair would be an obvious choice. If it was a boy, it would probably be blue.
Answer: It could honestly be that he "needed" a little sister more than a little brother. Having a sister can be a completely different experience than having a brother, and the machine might have gone against his wishes because it would have been a better fit for their family. Additionally, it could also just be that there's a chance that the machine has the odds of having a boy or a girl at random, and that when a parent requests it, there's always a chance that it will not follow it to a tee.
12th Nov 2016
Big Momma's House (2000)
Question: When Malcolm was hiding in the shower there was a window on his left - why didn't he use it to escape?
6th Nov 2016
General questions
Recalling an episode of a courtroom drama, but not sure which one. (It could have been Law and Order, LA Law, or any of a few others.) A couple are on trial because their baby died a crib-death, but there was enough evidence of foul play to charge them with murder. Their defense attorney gets them found innocent, and then the last scene is him getting into the elevator with the couple to leave the courthouse and in the last moment, he sees them holding hands and realises they did it. Anyone know it?
Chosen answer: It was from L.A. Law, season 4, episode: "Justice Swerved." The couple killed their severely handicapped baby because they didn't want the financial and emotional burden of raising it. Each supposedly accused the other and the jury was unable to find either one guilty. After both were exonerated, while in the elevator, Victor Sifuentes is standing behind the couple. He looks down and sees them discretely touching each other's fingers and realises they are both guilty and were exonerated with his unwitting help. This episode is on YouTube.
6th Nov 2016
Lakeview Terrace (2008)
Question: What was Abel's problem? I don't really buy his wife having an affair with a white man and being reminded about it by Chris and Lisa's actions as a reasonable excuse for him going psycho. I think there was a bigger problem he had with them that may have made him snap.
6th Nov 2016
Home Alone (1990)
Question: I have never understood the scene where Kevin questions the store clerk about the toothbrush (whether the brush is approved by the American Dental Association). It just seems odd for him to be concerned with this. Am I missing something?
Answer: It has nothing to do with the plot. This is just a humorous bit that shows Kevin's quirky personality and thought process. He focuses on small, odd details that most kids his age would never notice. It shows how he is able to devise the rather unique plan to combat the would-be robbers. Even Kevin's father comments about what a funny (as in peculiar) kid he is.
6th Nov 2016
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
2nd Nov 2016
Night Court (1984)
Here's to You, Mrs. Robinson - S4-E20
Question: Quon Le wants to be sworn in as an American Citizen before the birth of her first child. Wouldn't being married to Mac already make her an American citizen?
Answer: Marrying an American does not automatically make one a citizen as well. If a legal alien married a U.S. citizen, and they also wish to become an American, then they must go through the legal process of being a naturalized citizen. Not everyone wishes to change their citizenship, nor are they required to give that up when marrying someone of a different nationality.
2nd Nov 2016
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Question: What does the potion that Snape made for Lupin actually do? I know it doesn't stop him from being a werewolf forever or stop him from being a werewolf the night of the full moon.
Chosen answer: The potion allows a werewolf to retain their own mind during the transformation period, rendering them harmless. Professor Lupin usually spent the night peacefully sleeping in his office. In the book, before the potion was invented, while Lupin was a Hogwarts student, each full moon he was confined inside the Shrieking Shack. It had been specially used for that purpose.
19th Oct 2016
Red Dragon (2002)
Question: Was there any specific reason that Dolarhyde chose his victims other than through home movies? Was there anything about the families that made him want to kill them?
Answer: His choices had to do with the layout of peoples' property. At his job, he studied customers' family video tapes that contained scenes of their homes and yards. He looked for seclusion around the properties, easy-access back entrances, whether there was a family dog that would bark, and so on.
But what was his reason for killing them? Was it because he saw a happy family and he was angry because he never had one or because he saw a life that he would never have?
He chose the houses that had big backyards. During the Edward Norton/Lecter interaction, Lector says something about how blood looks in the moonlight.
Answer: "Because it made him a god" as it was put early in the film.
16th Oct 2016
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Question: How would Jack get his "eternal life" reward if he was able to kill Jones? Is that what will happen, or I misinterpreted things? Was it because he's free from him due to Davey Jones' demise? Why would Jack want Will to kill Jones and have the immortality thingy if his dream was to sail to the sea forever? I thought Will and Jack weren't "friends" at all? Also, Calypso cheated on Davey Jones with whom? If Elizabeth did the same thing with Will after a span of 10 years had passed, would Will have a scary image like Davey Jones' as well? I mean his sort-of-like-an-octopus look? Lastly, if Davey Jones forgave Tia, would the curse be removed from him? Thank you in advance.
Answer: Jack, by killing Jones, would assume his place and become immortal. Jack gave up his bid for immortality to save Will. He cared about Will (and Elizabeth) more than he'd ever admitted to himself, and could not let him die. Calypso didn't cheat on Jones with another man. She simply chose to abandon him because she could not be committed to one person. As she said, it was her nature. Jones' appearance became corrupted because he had abandoned his true purpose of ferrying dead souls to the "other side." This does not happen to Will because he honored the duty that was imposed on him. Also, if Jones forgave Tia Dalma, it would have nothing to do with the curse.
11th Oct 2016
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Question: What did Hermione mean when she asked them if they thought that Sirius was trying to live through her, Ron and Harry?
12th Oct 2016
iCarly (2007)
Question: When Freddie gets bullied by the kids at school or harassed by Sam, why doesn't he just tell the teacher/principal?
11th Oct 2016
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Question: Why does Indiana Jones wear glasses? We always see him wearing round-rimmed glasses in academic settings, which implies that he wears reading glasses. In the midst of high adventure, however, he never wears glasses; nonetheless, he's able to read cryptic inscriptions and even his father's diary in the worst possible lighting conditions. Are his reading glasses some sort of passive disguise, like Clark Kent's?
Answer: According to the book, he is far-sighted. In his office, he had to hold the package that contained the diary at arms length. He cannot read anything up close.
11th Oct 2016
Storks (2016)
Question: After shutting down their business in delivering babies, why didn't the storks destroy the baby-manufacturing factory?
Chosen answer: It could have been for a number of reasons. It would be expensive and time consuming to completely dismantle and remove a large piece of machinery. It may have been something that was being delayed until a later time or was to be sold. Perhaps the machinery, after retooling, would be reused for another purpose, and so on.
Answer: At around the end of the movie, you could see that when Hunter goes down with the package factory, you could see that the factory was connected to the Baby Factory off the side of the mountain. They probably didn't have the time to demolish that one and then rebuild the packages.
10th Oct 2016
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Question: Both the movie and book make it seem like Harry did a merciful act by sparing Peter Pettigrew's life and trying to take him to the Dementors instead. It even created a life debt that made Peter hesitate to kill Harry later on (during the "Deathly Hallows" events). But having your soul removed by a Dementor is supposed to be a fate worse than death. How has Harry been merciful at all?
Answer: It wasn't about his being merciful. Harry knew that Pettigrew needed to be alive long enough so he could exonerate Sirius Black by confessing his part in the crime. Sirius had been wrongly accused.
Answer: There is no evidence Peter would be kissed. He would be charged with the same crime Sirius was imprisoned for, which seems to only be a life sentence.
Answer: In the book Harry spares Peter's life to take him to the dementors, because he didn't think his dad would want his two best friends to be murderers.
10th Oct 2016
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
10th Oct 2016
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Question: If all of the staff knew that Gilderoy Lockhart was a fraud, then why would they let him teach at Hogwarts?
Answer: One of the running bits throughout the series was that no Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers lasted longer than one year. Few wanted or would apply for the job. Professor Snape always wanted it, but Dumbledore would not consider him, ostensibly due to his dark history, but also for other reasons. Lockhart was the only other applicant for that year and he was better than nothing. The extent of Lockhart's fraud wasn't known yet.
10th Oct 2016
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Question: When Harry sees into the past of Dumbledore's meeting with young Tom Riddle, Tom admits that he hurts people if they are mean to him. Since Tom openly admits this with obviously no guilt or remorse, why would Dumbledore take him to Hogwarts to learn magic instead of leaving him at the orphanage?
Answer: Leaving an untrained young wizard, who obviously has some behavioral issues and has no idea he is magical, alone in the Muggle world would be extremely dangerous. Dumbledore does not yet know that Riddle will become evil, but like any teacher, he wants to give a troubled youth an opportunity to find a new path in life.
Answer: Not to mention, Hogwarts is not the only magical school in existence. A wizard as powerful as Tom Riddle, if Hogwarts had not taken him in, there's a good chance another school that was more willing to teach Dark Arts could have taken him in, which could have been a lot worse for the wizarding world. Good chance this crossed Dumbledore's mind, and he figured Tom Riddle had a better chance at Hogwarts, where they'd teach him to properly control his magic rather than another school that will just teach him more dark magic.
10th Oct 2016
Chosen answer: The filmmakers are employing some "artistic license" here so that the audience will know that this is the famous "Area 51." They have to be obvious about it.
raywest ★