Question: What is a talking walnut? Details please.
Grumpy Scot
2nd Jan 2005
Bad Santa (2003)
Answer: My guess is that they are characters of the Christmas story.
14th Dec 2004
Jaws 2 (1978)
Question: When the shark has deflated Doug's boat, Andy exclaims, "Hey Bligh, someone popped your balloon?" Why does he call him Bligh?
Answer: He is referring to Captain Bligh from Mutiny on the Bounty. Its an insult as Captain Bligh was a real jerk.
27th Nov 2004
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Question: Did the Warden know about the "Randall Stevens" character? At first it would seem that he didn't, since Andy used the identity to clean out the bank accounts and escape to Mexico. On the other hand, how could the Warden make deposits and withdrawals (before Andy's escape) from his bank accounts without noticing?
Chosen answer: He probably only knows the name. He doesn't want to know anymore, so he can pin the blame on Andy should anything go wrong. He no doubt hasn't even considered that Andy might have ID so he can access the accounts after his escape.
Also, Andy indicated that the deposits were night deposits, which were in envelopes. So, the warden may not have known the "Randall Stevens" name.
27th Nov 2004
Back to the Future (1985)
Question: When Marty returns to 1985, we see that the "Twin Pines Mall" sign has changed to "Lone Pine Mall," but then Marty sees himself travel to the past. Wouldn't we see it alter the instant the DeLorean vanishes, not before he goes back (because technically, he hasn't changed the past yet)?
Answer: This is a time loop type of question that could be argued for a lifetime. Basically, he did already change the past in the "universe" the movie is set in, so seeing the sign is correct.
27th Nov 2004
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
Question: How does Brodie know Dante and Randall?
Answer: Brodie and Randall are cousins - they share the same cousin Walt and the same Grandma.
Answer: He must shop at the Quick Stop regularly, it's only a minute or two from the comic shop (I've been to both.)
27th Nov 2004
Shrek 2 (2004)
Question: Why, when Shrek pushes over the potion, do the two birds in the cage become dancers and two guys turn into Cogsworth and Lumiere (from Beauty and the Beast) while almost everybody else in the room turn into doves?
Answer: They are jokes making reference to Disney films.
27th Nov 2004
South Park (1997)
Question: Throughout the series Cartman makes a lot of money (His double myrrh Christian album, the theme park he briefly owned, etc) Any idea where it all goes?
Answer: He always loses it in some way because he is a stupid jerk. His amusement park money was taken by the IRS for example.
27th Nov 2004
Spaceballs (1987)
Question: When Dark Helmet says that there are two sides to every Schwartz, is this an obscure reference to something else, besides the obvious light side and dark side of the force?
Answer: "There are two sides to every sword" is a common saying.
27th Nov 2004
SpongeBob SquarePants (1999)
Question: In regards to two of the characters, Plankton and Sandy Cheeks. I have seen all the episodes but cannot figure out a few things on them. Sandy - Can someone tell me why Sandy lives under the ocean? I know she is very smart and is a keen scientist but what exactly made her move to the bottom of the sea? She seems to miss Texas a lot and it seems strange she decided to move to the bottom of the ocean. I know it's a cartoon but what's her motive? Plankton - I understand Plankton is always trying to steal the Krabby patty secret formula but has there been a reason exactly for stealing it? Was it to try and run Krabs out of business or use it for his own restaurant?
Chosen answer: Plankton has his own restaurant that is a flop. He wants the secret formula so he can be successful and beat Mr. Krabs in business. No reasons have been given for why Sandy moved underwater. Though she is an extreme daredevil personality, so maybe she did it to be different.
spongebob squarepants episode chimps ahoy. Sandy's bosses are coming to evaluate her work undersea and if she passes she can stay if she fails she has to go back to Texas.
27th Nov 2004
The Thing (1982)
Question: So what happen to the two guys at the end of the movie? Are there any stories about them in the PC game or an alternate ending or something like that?
Answer: The Game shows Child's frozen body where we last saw him in the movie (Whether he is a thing lying dormant or not, we never find out) There is a comic book series that continues where the movie left off, where MacCready and child's are rescued by another research team on a ship. And it is discovered that Childs was in fact a Thing, spawning a whole new generation of things among the team.
Can you tell me what comic book series that is? I'd like to read it.
The comic series is called The Thing From Another World, just like the original movie from the 50's. It was published by Dark Horse comics. Besides some decent artwork, especially on the covers, the series isn't very good and actually contradicts the movie in a few areas.
Thanks! I read it, it's not bad.
Answer: No one knows what happened. They had no transport and couldn't make radio contact, so very likely they froze to death. If one or both are Things, then they just went dormant until rescue shows up. There is nothing in the game or on the DVD that answers this for sure. BTW It's very hotly debated amongst Thing fans, that Childs is a thing because you cannot see his breath in the cold. (It's very difficult to tell if you can or not because of the scene's lighting).
Answer: Just to add to the other answers, I actually saw an interview with Keith David recently where he explained that it was purposely shot to be ambiguous. They shot two different versions of the scene - one where they played the scene as though neither was the thing... and another where they acted more suspicious of one another. And they built the scene out of the footage they had. He also debunked the popular fan theory about how you couldn't see Childs' breath being a hint... he explained that the way the scene was blocked, the air around him was slightly warmer than it was around Kurt Russell due to the fire and the debris around them - hence you just couldn't see his breath while you could see Russell's, who was about 5 or so feet away. (Not to mention you can actually see a little bit of his breath once or twice.) It wasn't a conscious decision to try to hint that Childs might be the thing. The scene really is just meant to be super ambiguous and unexplained.
27th Nov 2004
Starship Troopers (1997)
Question: What are the themes of the film and the novel it was based on?
Chosen answer: Mainly the book is about the war against an alien enemy in a facist society. It goes into considerable detail about the facist society being fully functional, unlike those in the past.
12th Nov 2004
Speed (1994)
Question: When Jack is fighting on the roof of the train,he makes the quip "yeah..but I'm taller" just before the other guys head is knocked off. What does he mean by this? He was laying down at the time, height doesn't come into it.
Answer: He's taller now because he has his head while the villain does not!
12th Nov 2004
Robocop (1987)
Answer: When Bob Morton is told by a tech that one of Murphy's arm was saved, Bob stated that he wants total body prosthesis. Meaning Robocop's entire body was synthetic. None of his actual body was used. The only thing that was used was Murphy's actual face.
Also, his human brain, and possibly his spine, where OCP could wire him into the suit.
Answer: Most of his head and brain, about 40% of his upper torso, none of his pelvic area or limbs.
12th Nov 2004
The Truman Show (1998)
Question: There seems to be a major plot hole in this film. A big deal is made about dissuading Truman from leaving the town. If he was raised and educated in the studio, surely they could have simply taught him that there was nowhere to run to, that the town where he lived was all that existed. Is the answer to this ever explained in the film?
Answer: Doing this will immediately take out the realism from the show. The reason so many viewers watch Truman daily is because he is living a "normal" life in a "normal" world. Doing anything out of the ordinary will dilute this feeling of realism so they try to persuade him not to leave instead of telling him there is no where to go.
Answer: Also, Seahaven isn't very big. All those manufactured goods and foods have to come from somewhere.
Answer: Truman is a natural explorer, the only way you could convince him of this would be to say he is living on a colony on another planet, which would make for a much different show. Truman is also an explorer, so unless he believes that going out will kill him, he's not going to be dissuaded.
Answer: Even though Truman cannot leave the town because it would ruin the show, they're still trying to emulate a (somewhat idealized) average American life and community. Truman is taught the same things as everyone else in school, buys products from all over the world and presumably meets people from many different places, even though he cannot go there. Clearly, he is also well aware that the Earth is round and that Fiji is on the opposite end. It's possible that they considered coming up with a reason for why Truman physically cannot leave, but in a promotional video for the movie, it is the revealed that the show started in a single room and that the set was constructed gradually during Truman's childhood. With this in mind, it would have been difficult to retroactively explain to Truman why he cannot leave after never mentioning it during his youth.
That's the point though - why teach him the earth is round, why teach him Fiji exists? They must have realised this would be a problem, but they took no steps to compensate for it.
Because, as stated in previous answers, the entire point was to have him live in an idealized, but still real, version of the real world. If they'd created a false reality for him where things were altered (i.e. the Earth not being round, etc.) the show wouldn't be so popular. Part of the appeal of the show, as shown in the viewers' reactions) was watching to see if Truman would figure it out.
12th Nov 2004
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Question: How closely does the movie match the comic? Was that how Doc Ock get his tentacles? Were any of the fights similar to those in the comic? Did Doc Ock have an honorable death like he did in the movie?
Answer: Comic continuity is constantly being changed particularly in different comics (Amazing Spiderman, Spectacular Spiderman and Ultimate Spiderman are 3 comics in the same universe), . For each thing that happened in a movie, you could find one way that happened the same and two that it happened differently in the comic universe. So it's really best these days to take the movie on its own.
12th Nov 2004
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Question: In the next few months, the Extended Edition version will be released. Why did Peter Jackson remove about fifty minutes of footage (which will appear in the Extended Edition) for the theatrical release?
Chosen answer: The movie was already 3 hours long and he removed footage not strictly necessary to make it that length. Movies are shown to test audiences for things like length, proper ending etc. His said that while good, it was just too long.
12th Nov 2004
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)
Question: I'm probably going to regret asking this but what is Buck supposed to have done with the tub of Vasalube to account for how it looks in the film?
Answer: It's been used by him and many a dirty perv during Buck's nasty little side business, not caring if it gets dirty or attracts stray hairs.
12th Nov 2004
It (1990)
12th Nov 2004
Aliens (1986)
Question: Is the military privatised in the continuity of the films? Do they operate at the behest of the Company? Any official or generally accepted answer is appreciated.
Answer: From the books and comics, the answer seems to be that the Earth government still controls the military, but the megacorporations like Weyland-Yutani have so much influence, they can dictate pretty much what they want the govt to do with them.
12th Nov 2004
Alien Vs. Predator (2004)
Question: Does anyone know what the worldwide gross of AVP was worldwide, or at the current moment? I've tried looking on IMDb but it doesn't have the worldwide listing.
Answer: As of 9/16, $92,481,503. This is a great site for such info. www.the-numbers.com.
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Chosen answer: It's just something the kid came up with. He is not quite all there. It's just something that illustrates how odd the kid is.
Grumpy Scot