Question: Was it ever revealed how the Psychlos invaded and conquered the Earth?
Grumpy Scot
18th Apr 2009
Battlefield Earth (2000)
Answer: I believe that send an entire fleet of their mini-ships to earth by teleporting them (catching them off guard) and after settling on earth in the aftermath built a teleported on earth to survey the planet of its resources (unfortunately they couldn't find the gold which extremely valuable to them which was in Fort Knox, vaults and the Federal Reserve) and find an intelligent species to enslave to mine it.
18th Apr 2009
Battlefield Earth (2000)
Question: What exactly are 'gas drones'?
Chosen answer: Huge robotic ships programmed to fly on a set course and drop poison gas.
Question: I still don't understand the purpose of the little boy Armand has with all the bite marks.
Answer: Because his blood tastes really good. The vampires keep him around like a bottle of fine wine. They are careful not to kill him or turn him into a vampire. He must be treated very well in return as he is clearly loyal to Armand, rescuing him from the fire later.
30th Mar 2009
Con Air (1997)
Question: What is the actual likelihood that a decorated serviceman, with no prior criminal record (we know this because if Poe had any priors he wouldn't have been in the Army) would actually get prison time for killing two men who attacked himself and his girlfriend? Seeing as there were witnesses (said girlfriend and bartender) I find it hard to believe he would have gotten more than an extended period of probation. A prison term, even a year or two, seems severely harsh considering the circumstances.
Chosen answer: Zero. As you said, he was attacked and there are witnesses that he tried to avoid the fight and the killings were in self-defense. It is an extremely weak plot hammer to get Poe onto a plane full of criminals. It's foolish as well. The writers could have had Poe framed for a crime then exonerated and put in the same situation much more believably.
It's in Alabama. People are put in prison here for much less.
First, Poe is a federal prisoner, not subject to State laws or legal procedures. Secondly, he is not in Alabama. During a conversation with Billy Bedlam we hear that he is incarcerated in the "Q" - prison slang for San Quentin in California. It makes you wonder why a Federal prisoner is in a State prison, but that's another type of mistake.
Would it really be considered self-defense, though? After he beat the guys to the ground he could have just stopped and walked away, but he didn't. He kept beating them until they died.
He is defending his wife against two armed assailants, and use of lethal force is allowable. No DA in the United States would even think about pressing charges, knowing full well a grand jury would throw them out in a second.
26th Mar 2009
Ghostbusters (1984)
Question: Why would Ivo Shandor and his followers possibly want to summon Gozer? For what reason?
Chosen answer: Because Shandor believed that human society was too sick to survive (to quote Egon). Gozer was supposed to destroy human civilization in the hope (apparently) that something better would rise to replace it.
20th Feb 2009
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Question: If the T-1000 doesn't have a central processor, then how was it programmed?
Answer: I'm not going to give the whole long answer here. Look up distributed processing and nanobots on Google. Basically millions of tiny processors doing one job each is equally efficient or actually superior to one processor doing multiple jobs.
20th Feb 2009
Stargate: Atlantis (2004)
Question: Sheppard (under orders from Jack O'Neill) is sent to Earth to operate the chair weapon in case the Wraith make it there. Why wouldn't O'Neill man the Earth chair himself? He's the one that operated it in the first place, and Sheppard has lots of experience with the Atlantis chair. Pulling Sheppard from Atlantis leaves a very inexperienced and nervous Beckett to fly and defend the city, as well as leaving Atlantis without its military commander.
Answer: Because Sheppard instinctively operates Ancient technology very well. He is better at it than any one else Earth has ever found. O'Neill has to think hard and work at it. Sheppard is the best choice with the fate of the Earth at stake.
14th Feb 2009
The Cable Guy (1996)
Question: How much does Chip tip the bathroom attendant to make him leave?
Answer: A $50 Bill.
Chosen answer: $247.19 and a coupon for free HBO.
Answer: $1.
1st Feb 2009
The Monster Squad (1987)
Question: When the dad and his cop friend are heading to 666 Shadowbrook Road, they drive through Dracula's hearse, but in the next scene Dracula gets out of the hearse. So when did Dracula turn into a ghost?
Answer: Being able to turn into mist or dust is a an ability often attributed to vampires in fiction.
18th Dec 2008
General questions
I'm trying to remember the name of a Christmas movie that I think was on Nickelodeon around 2000, or so. It was about a bunch of toys who desperately wanted to see what kind of new toys would be coming to the house. They were lead by a stuffed lion. It had basically the same premise as 'Toy Story', but this one was more puppet-y, kind of like Sesame Street puppets. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
Chosen answer: The Christmas Toy. (1986) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099263/.
27th Nov 2008
General questions
Movie from the mid-90's or early 2000's. A creature from the deep attacks a cruise liner in the South China Sea. A team of thieves board the ship to raid the vault as part of some insurance fraud plot. Violence ensues, good guys escape; they use some jet skis to get to nearby island. Please help me think of the title.
Answer: Deep Rising. 1998. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118956/.
6th Nov 2008
The X-Files (1993)
Question: I didn't understand why Darryl's rain business had been working (before the agents arrived). If Holt was the one who had been changing the weather, and he didn't like Darryl, why was he creating rain and allowing Darryl's business to be successful?
Answer: The rain were Holt's tears, not his happiness. Whenever Darryl did his rain dance, Shelia was in his corner, like a cheerleader, praising him. He caused a tornado, when she confessed her attraction to Agent Mulder.
Answer: Because Darryl's success makes Sheila happy. Holt loves Sheila and is happy when she is happy. Ergo, Holt makes Darryl successful.
6th Nov 2008
Batman and Robin (1997)
Question: Is there any logical explanation for the lavish costumes used by the characters in the Shumacher films? For example, Poison Ivy always wears lavish outfits (ludicrous tights and heels and multi-thousand-dollar-looking outfits and robes); or Two-Face from "Forever" and his split suits). I know it is for the style, but is there any realistic explanation as to how this could happen?
Answer: You answered your own question. "Realistic". This is a movie trying to look like a comic book. Comic outfits are drawn on, no seams, no underwear/bras, etc. So live action costumes are just going to look odd.
6th Nov 2008
Stargate: Atlantis (2004)
Question: Doesn't it seem like the Wraith have been scaled down over the course of the season? In the beginning, they were beings with superhuman strength and speed who could heal bullet wounds (The Defiant One) and create illusions. Now they are only slightly faster/stronger than humans, and Ronon beats them on a regular basis, as does Sheppard. Doesn't it seem a bit too convenient?
Answer: Not necessarily. Atlantis has had several captured Wraith to study and they have been fighting them for years. They've clearly learned Wraith vulnerabilities. Sheppard also carries a much more powerful .45 instead of the 9mm M9 after the first season. Ronon never had much trouble beating a Wraith and he and Teyla have both been training Sheppard. Wraith darts create the illusions, not the Wraith themselves. And finally, the Wraith are slowly starving as they were awakened far too early and are correspondingly less powerful.
Answer: It was very obvious that they nerfed the Wraith a lot during the course of the show. No question about that. Probably it had to do with the access to food was limited thanks to the Replicators, and also because they needed to give the humans a chance to beat them. But in universe it is explained that Wraith who feed at slow intervals are not that strong. And it makes sense when you think about the Wraith and how they survive.
6th Nov 2008
Family Guy (1999)
Brian Does Hollywood (2) - S3-E2
Question: I didn't understand why there was a woodpecker on Keanu Reeves' head. What was the joke?
Answer: The joke is that Reeves is a "wooden" actor.
29th Sep 2008
General questions
Does anyone know the name of this 1980's (I believe) movie? There's this mad scientist guy who's trying to clone his late wife. He has a handsome, young lab assistant. When the assistant's girlfriend falls into a coma after an accident, the scientist offers to clone her. The assistant declines, saying the clone wouldn't be the woman who fell in love with him. The girlfriend later recovers. The scientist realizes he's living in the past, gives up his experiments, and marries a much younger woman.
Answer: Creator (1985).
24th Aug 2008
Alien (1979)
Question: If Ash's job was to get the Alien specimen back to "The Company", why wouldn't he have just advised Dallas to put Kane in hypersleep, claim that it was too advanced for him to handle and let The Company gather the specimen when they arrived back to Earth? The way it was done resulted in a failure to get the Alien back and cost lives.
23rd Aug 2008
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (2005)
Question: Why does everyone laugh at Cody for having the superhero initials BM in the super hero episode?
Answer: BM is a common abbreviation for bowel movement.
21st Aug 2008
Stargate: Atlantis (2004)
Question: The protective suits Teyla & Sheppard put on to keep them from getting infected have a "helmet" piece that does not appear to have an airtight seal; the bottom of the hood just sort of lies on top of the body suit (it's not even tucked in). Is there some way they would be protected from the airborne virus even with what appears to be a very viable opening?
Answer: Those are actually suits that protect from hazardous chemicals. They are cheaper for the prop department and look nearly the same as biohazard suits. A real biohazard suit would indeed have a helmet that seals to the neck.
21st Apr 2008
Nim's Island (2008)
Question: I can't figure out why the lizard is screaming when he is flying through the air because I'm sure that lizards don't scream.
Chosen answer: Because it's funny.
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Chosen answer: They teleported a gas drone into Earth's atmosphere. The drone flew around the entire world and dropped poison gas which killed Earth's population.
Grumpy Scot