Carl Missouri

Question: When Doc is writing on the chalkboard he says the alternate 1985 is alternate to him, Marty, and Einstein, but reality to everyone else. What about Jennifer? Wouldn't it be alternate to her as well? That probably wasn't even her porch they left her on.

Carl Missouri

Answer: Yes, if she had woken up before they fixed everything, she would have been in the same position as Marty and Doc. In the heat of the moment, Doc just neglects to mention Jennifer...although Marty does ask about her just before they travel back to 1955, Doc insists that when they fix the past and re-establish the original 1985 timeline, it will transform around her and when she wakes up she won't notice anything amiss.

Answer: As response to the porch, that was the only known house to Marty that Jennifer lived at. If it was no longer her house, the people living there may not have looked outside to see her there. However, odds are that the same family lived there (as probably most cases there). Remember, the only reason for the different family living in Marty's house is because of the connection to Biff (he married Lorraine and shot George) so that house would have a different owner.

28th Sep 2014

Groundhog Day (1993)

Question: I read somewhere that for Phil to be as good as he is on the piano in the jazz club scene he would have had been trapped in that day for about 10 years. Is it known anywhere (DVD, directors, actors) that say about how long Phil actually repeated the same day?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: Harold Ramis, who wrote and directed the film, had said the in the original draft Phil spent a total of 10,000 years trapped in his timeloop. They ended up scaling that back quite a bit for the final version, but it's still in the ballpark of 100 to 1,000 years. Quite a broad window, I know, but the point is it's easily plenty of time for Phil to have become a master pianist along with all the other skills he appears to have mastered.

Phixius

Answer: Harold Ramis flat out said it was about 10 years. I think the final numbers calculated by some groups said it needed to be just over 8 years, to learn and do all the things he did. I'm not sure how they actually calculated it, but I'll go with the writer and directer of the movie for 10 years.

21st Apr 2014

Pacific Rim (2013)

Question: What I don't get about this movie is when ever they fight one of these giant monsters, why do they always engage in hand to hand combat for most of the fight? Its not until the end of most of the battles that they remember they have weapons to fire at these beasts and kill them which works with the category 1-3 beasts just fine. Why not just shoot the things?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: Most likely they only use it when they know they have a guaranteed shot and won't waste it. It can't be reloaded that easily. Like having one bullet to kill a zombie vs a sword so go for the sword save the bullet it's more valuable. That's typical military tactics. Possible firing whatever weapons could cost a ridiculous amount of money just like missiles do. It's not exactly like Yeager weapons were mass produced they are all different. Last reason is reducing extra casualties by making sure they don't miss when they fire or making firing weapons the last resort. And just for the movie's sake it would be boring as crap if they just blew the heads off in seconds.

Question: Maybe I missed something, but didn't Jack murder a guy in the beginning of the film and was about to get life in prison before he escaped? How is it that at the end, he flies back home with John and meets with his sister and they live happily ever after as if nothing happened? Is he not a fugitive from Russia?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: It can probably be assumed that they didn't just turn up to Domodedovo Airport and board a plane in the normal way. As Jack is a CIA agent, it is likely that the Agency had some way of getting the McClanes out of Russia via covert or diplomatic means.

Sierra1

Question: When Marty and Doc arrive in the bad 1985, they learn that 1985 has changed and are told that alternate versions of themselves exist. Alternate Doc has been committed and alternate Marty is at a boarding school in Switzerland. Nice movie trick to keep them from running into their alternate selves. Question though, isn't the 1985 at the start of this movie also an alternate 1985? This too has been altered from the original 1985 as seen at the beginning of the first movie. So, where are the alternate Marty and Doc in the timeline when Marty's family is actually upper middle class? Since this is an alternate 1985 as well, where is "rich" Marty? Why didn't he bump into his other self, the Marty that owns the black pickup truck?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: We see the alternate Marty depart for the past at the end of the the first movie. As for Doc, as he's simply lived through the thirty years from when the timeline was changed, rather than jumping through time to get there, he actually is the alternate Doc.

Tailkinker

Question: During the clock tower scene at the end, why is it necessary for the DeLorean to be going 88mph at the exact moment lightning hit the clock tower? When the Delorean was struck by lightning while it was in mid air at the end of the second film, it wasn't going 88mph at all, yet it was still shot through time. Seems the Delorean could have been parked in the street in front of the clock tower connected to the wire and just wait to be struck by lightning and sent back to 1985, no?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: The DeLorean was spun on its axis at 88mph when it got struck by lightning, that's what caused the backwards 99 and the time jump. Unbeknownst to Doc he'd accidentally switched on the time circuits.

21st May 2013

Looper (2012)

Question: Is there any particular reason why loopers must kill themselves to close their loop? Would it not make sense to send the future loopers back to some random looper in the past? Old Seth got away because he was singing a tune he knew his younger self would recognize, had he been sent to another looper instead, that wouldn't have worked. They can still collect a gold payday, just by closing other loopers' loops instead of their own, right?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: They are sent to themselves for symbolic reasons also. As you can see, once their loop is closed, they cease to be Loopers. It's the show their work is over, kinda like a forced quit to the job. Not only this, but Loopers killing other Loopers' future selves, even when unknown at the time of the shooting, can cause feuds between Loopers. Like one getting mad at another for the death of his future self.

Quantom X

21st May 2013

Looper (2012)

Question: How old is the boy in this movie? The mom tells the guy that he is 10, but I assumed she was lying, because the little boy appears no older than 5 or 6.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: When Sara explains to Joe the code from the map she says that 071539 refers to her sons DOB. so 07/15/39 gives out that he's 5 years old since the movie is set in autumn of 2044. she may have lied about the age, as a father taking his 5 year old son to the city sounds a bit odd as opposed to 10, considering the futuristic city was not safe even for adults.

19th Jan 2013

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Question: In the scene when they kill Bret, Jules gives his Bible quote and they both shoot Bret down, then the screen goes red and scene ends. I see this whenever its on Cable and on my DVD, yet I have seen a clip on the internet when a guy runs out from the bathroom and shoots at Jules and Vincent, completely missing them, and they kill him too. Is this some deleted scene? Was this extra scene shown in theaters? And why was it removed?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: That scene IS in the movie. It's just a few scenes later. The film's structure is out of order.

Brad

Answer: That scene is actually shown twice in the movie. The first time, toward the beginning of the movie, the scene ends after the shooting. Then later in the movie, they show the scene again, only this time with the guy running out of the bathroom and shooting them.

Ray

Question: For Doc to be so worried about corrupting the timeline in this movie (especially when it comes to falling in love with Clara) he surely doesn't seem to think twice about destroying the locomotive that will no doubt have a huge effect on the timeline. I doubt there were many trains on that railroad, with that mode of transportation now gone, Hill Valley itself could be wiped out.

Carl Missouri

Answer: Doc must have reasoned that the loss of the locomotive would have a minor impact on Hill Valley, if at all. The railroad company would likely have replaced the destroyed locomotive. Obviously Doc was correct as there seems to have been no impact on Hill Valley's economy whatsoever and the train lines continue to run into the 1980's.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: Corrupting time was a worry for Doc, however, he also recognized that it was at least partially unavoidable. Otherwise, Doc would never even be able to go buy food, because how would he know that the meal he ordered wasn't one that someone else was meant to choke on? Occupational hazard of time travel.

Captain Defenestrator

Chosen answer: In the timeline that the original Marty and Doc came from, Hill Valley exists so that town obviously survived that incident. An accident already occurred on that day in their history. They just didn't know it was them that caused it.

XIII

That is not how time travel works in these movies. In fact, the entire series revolves around the timeline being changed whenever they travel into the past. There are no stable time loops. The train was not destroyed in the original time line.

It's tough to say whether or not the train wasn't destroyed in the original timeline. Maybe by some lucky chance the train would suffer an accident similar to that anyways maybe just a bit earlier. There's really no indication either way. It's also possible they build another train or had others in service. I doubt they didn't have some backup plan in case the train was out of commission for a long period of time or destroyed.

Question: Heres something that never made sense to me. I could see how Marty's great-great-grandfather Shemus could resemble Marty (so Michael J. Fox plays him), but why would his great-great-grandmother Maggie McFly resemble his mother when this is his father's side of the family?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: This has been covered before. Men tend to be attracted to women who remind them of their mothers, so the McFly men would be attracted to a certain "type" throughout the years until we get to George meeting Lorraine.

Captain Defenestrator

2nd Oct 2012

Puss in Boots (2011)

Video

Deliberate mistake: In the opening title sequence, just after the title of the movie is shown, Puss cuts a P with his sabre into a curtain or flag. In the middle of the P, there is cloth remaining, but since he cuts edges all around this to make the Capital P, this cloth should fall away as it is no longer attached to anything, yet it floats in mid air.

Carl Missouri

25th Jul 2012

Blankman (1994)

Question: Arsenio Hall is credited for starring in this film. When does he appear and what character does he play? I have seen this movie multiple times and don't recall ever seeing him in it.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: He filmed a fake episode of his talk show for the film. You can see Kevin watching it (it has superheroes Gay Man and Midget Man).

LorgSkyegon

11th Jun 2012

Men in Black 3 (2012)

Question: When K is killed in the past, why is it that nobody remembers K (beyond '69 that is) but J remembers everything as it once was?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: This is answered in the movie by the character that gives J the time traveling device. The character tells J that he can still remember K because he was involved in the events. The young black child at Cape Canaveral was a young agent J. So he was there and at least passively involved.

Answer: He meant that adult J already time traveled. In the 1960 's, K met J for the first time, when K met Detective James Edwards that was the second time, which is why he had him apply for MIB.

1st Jun 2012

Cars 2 (2011)

Trivia: While racing in Paris (also in the closing credits) you can spot a sign for a restaurant called "Gastows" which is a shout-out to Gusto's restaurant in Ratatouille.

Carl Missouri

6th Apr 2012

Beetlejuice (1988)

Question: Why does Bettlejuice give Lydia some BS reason why he can't tell her his name, but them puts her through a ridiculous round of charades for her to guess it?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: Because he can't say his own name, therefore the charades is the only way he can get her to figure out what his name is to say it.

Guy

18th Mar 2012

Fast Five (2011)

Chosen answer: At the end of the film the girl in his car says "I thought you wanted to go to Tokyo?" to which he replies "Yeah, we will. Soon" Indicating this film took place before Tokyo Drift.

Ssiscool

Answer: In the overall timeline of all the films, the events of Tokyo Drift take place after the events of Fast and Furious 6. However, there is obviously something major involving Han coming in Fast and Furious 9 (2021) given what's seen in the trailer.

Answer: First of all, F4, F5 and F6 all take place before Tokyo Drift. In F9, it is revealed that Han has been alive this whole time and had gone into hiding after working with Mr. Nobody.

hsssjusuh

Question: Optimus refers to two autobots called "wreckers". Are these two autobots Bulkhead and Wheeljack? There aren't mention by name, so I was wondering.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: No. In Dark of the Moon, the Wreckers are the three NASCAR Autobots. Their names are Roadbuster, Leadfoot and Topspin.

GalahadFairlight

28th Dec 2010

Twilight (2008)

Question: I know different vampire movies have different rules, but one that is always true about vampire folklore is that sunlight kills them. How is it that sunlight doesn't kill them in this movie, yet only makes them sparkle?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: Actually, you're wrong about the whole sunlight thing. While it is commonly believed to be a fundamental constant in the vampire mythos, in Bram Stoker's original Dracula book, which can be seen as a primary progenitor for much of the modern vampire stories, the character of Dracula is not harmed by sunlight, although it reduces his powers. Likewise the character of Carmilla in the 1872 novella of the same name (which influenced Stoker's work), who can be seen as the prototypical female vampire, is merely weakened by sunlight. So there is considerable precedent for vampires who are able to move about freely in sunlight. Meyer decided to make them sparkle because the idea for Twilight came to her in a dream, I believe the concept of vampires sparkling was part of said dream.

Tailkinker

Question: As far as I know, there were no plans for another trilogy after the first one released over 30 years ago. My question is, did Episode V always appear during the opening credits or was that added later in the special addition? If it was always apart of the credits, didn't people wonder why it was called episode V when it was the second movie? Would seem confusing.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: "Episode V" was in place right from the beginning, and the "Episode IV" tag was added to Star Wars in a re-release the following year. By this point, Lucas was already talking about doing a prequel trilogy covering the rise of the Empire at some future point, with allusions to a possible sequel trilogy consisting of Episodes VII though IX to follow.

Tailkinker

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