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

Audio problem: In the scene when Eddie goes to give Maroon the fake will, Maroon says "I'm a cartoon maker, not a murder!", when he says "Murder" his lips aren't moving at all. (01:06:35)

Carl Missouri

Question: When Eddie is fighting Doom at the end he spots a box with a singing sword in it. He whips it out and sure enough, the sword starts singing. My question is, why would there even be a singing sword? Is this a reference to something else?

Carl Missouri

Answer: Valiant also shares his name with Arthurian comic strip hero Prince Valiant, who wields a singing sword, Flamberge.

Chosen answer: One of the legends of Excalibur says that the sword sang when Arthur pulled it from the stone. Bugs Bunny went on a quest for the singing sword in a cartoon once, so there's historical AND cartoon precedence for singing swords.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: It's likely just meant to be a nonsensical gag. Notice how Eddie and Doom both give the sword a questionable look, like they're also confused as to why such a thing even exists.

Answer: This is also a gag factory where such things like that would be made for cartoons.

Rob245

Question: I never understood the "shave and a haircut" trick that Doom uses to lure out Roger. Why does Roger burst through the wall and yell "Two bits!" just to get caught? I never got it and its never explained.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: The musical notes that accompany the lines are a staple in nearly every cartoon ever drawn. Hence Doom's insistance that "no toon can resist" it. It drives Roger nuts that Doom isn't finishing the ditty.

Phixius

Question: Why did Elle kill Budd? Was it really just to get her hands on Kiddo's sword? or was it more to it? As poor as he was seems like she could have just offered him a small amount of money for it. Why kill him?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: The way she talks to Budd as he lies dying, seems to indicate that she has disliked and hated him for years, plus the fact that she feels that he was not "worthy" of killing Kiddo (seeing how Kiddo was a fantastic warrior, while Budd is an alcoholic hick). However, it would be difficult for her to get close enough to kill him earlier, as he would not buy any excuse why she just came visiting. But when Budd actually invites her over, she gets a chance to get back at him, and in the same while take the credit for killing the Bride and retrieving her Hanzo sword for Bill. Vengeance and personal gain in one swoop.

Twotall

14th Dec 2009

Halloween (2007)

Question: From what I understand in this movie Michael Myers is some psycho kid that grew up to kill again. How is he surviving direct gunshots? Is he somehow bulletproof? I don't get it.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: In the original "Halloween" movie series, the Michael Myers character is evil personified. He is SO evil, in fact, that he is bulletproof and killproof. He survives all attempts to destroy him much like Jason Voorhees in the ALL the "Friday the 13th" a series.

CCARNI

Yes, but that is because of all that cult of Thorn crap that is revealed in part 6, The Curse of Michael Myers. In Rob Zombie's version, Michael seems to be a "normal," as in human, kid.

But the cult storyline wasn't in their wheelhouse when they made the original. Michael would have had to been a regular child before the murder of his sister. He wasn't regarded as super human in the first two movies. In the original and Rob's remake, Myers survives being shot multiple times.

Answer: He is still a human, but in John Carpenter's version he can't die because of the curse, and in Rob's version though, he's practically a tank.

14th Dec 2009

Shrek (2001)

Question: In a movie with talking ogres, pigs, mice, wolves, and all sorts of animals, why is everyone so surprised to find a talking donkey?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: Who is "everyone"? The only person surprised he can talk is the one human who is processing the fairytale creatures for banishment, and this was used as a plot device to highlight a joke (between him flying and talking).

MovieFan612

Fiona also says "it talks", after he "saves his ass."

To be fair, she was locked in a castle for the majority of her life, so she wouldn't know that donkeys would be able to talk.

And yet he wasn't the only one surprised by it; watch the scene again and Fiona was surprised, too.

Question: When Abbot is walking down the aisle at the wedding, everyone says "Good morrow Abbot", but one guys says "Hey Abbot!" and Abbot says "I hate that guy!" Is this a reference to something? I never got the joke.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: The scene is an homage to the late, great comedy team, Abbott and Costello. Bud Abbott was the straight man and Lou Costello was the goofy laugh-getter. Part of their act was Costello getting frustrated trying to understand Abbott and yelling "hey Abbott" at him.

Guy

16th Nov 2009

The Fifth Element (1997)

Question: During the scene when the blue alien is singing at the opera, Leeloo begins her fight scene with the big aliens. She fights them one by one. Why don't the aliens simply shoot Leeloo? They all simply stand around as if they don't know what to do. One finally takes a couple shots at her and he quickly runs out of ammo. Three or more turn up and they too simply stand there as Leeloo winds up a punch for like five seconds while one big alien is standing right behind her watching the whole thing. This enitre scene never made any sense to me.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: As demonstrated several times throughout the movie, that particular species isn't particularly intelligent, that they didn't do the obvious thing that you mentioned further enhances their status as being quite stupid. They are also planting a bomb and need to remain quiet or risk alerting security.

Plus it's just a well sequenced and choreographed fight scene highlighting the uniquely artist and fun vibe of this movie. And maybe a small reference to the typical sitcom type shows from that era. Where it's always a group of enemies that seem to wait to take turns to fight the hero, or only in small groups, when they could easily swarm the them. This allows for a show casing of different knock out moves, which we all enjoy when done right.

Nikita Moon

21st Oct 2009

Home Alone (1990)

Question: Maybe I missed it, but did the McAllisters even bother to call home? I don't remember them calling the house at all. Why wouldn't that be the first thing they do? Kevin seems to be pretty independent for his age. He might have not answered the door, but I'm sure he would have answered the phone.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: They did but the power and phone lines were down due to a tree branch that had fallen on them the night before the family left. A flight attendant on their plane mentions that attempts had been made to call the McAllisters' home but "the phones are still out of order".

Jeff Swanson

But how did he call the police at the end if the phone lines were down.

That was several days later. Clearly the phone lines were repaired over the course of the film.

The film takes place over 3 or 4 days.

Ssiscool

After the storm the lineman tells them the power has been restored but the phone lines are "a mess" and that it would take several days to get them fixed. They were out initially, and then in various stages of repair afterward.

Also explains calling for a pizza.

Ssiscool

It's ridiculous though that the phones are apparently working by the time they land (Kate's SIL calls everyone on their street). Yet none of them try the house again.

Answer: That is also how Kevin was able to order his cheese pizza from Little Nero's.

zredman

Answer: The phone lines were fixed by the end of the movie. Remember, this takes place over the course of several days.

Answer: It's also possible they don't think he's at the house still since the cops did attempt to stop by and see if he was home, but received no answer after ringing the bell. Or they did try to call and left a message, but Kevin may not have thought to check the phone messages if he was out of the house and didn't expect anyone to call. He also didn't want anyone to return until the day prior to Christmas, by which point the mom was already en route and the dad and remaining kids had a plan to come home on Christmas morning.

Answer: The next day, after the cop shows up to check the house, while the Wet Bandits are in the house next door, the phone rings and the answering machine picks up, allowing Peter to leave a message. If the next-door neighbor's phone is working, wouldn't it only make sense for Peter to immediately call his own house? Even if Kevin hasn't returned home from shoplifting a toothbrush and doesn't answer the phone, Peter should still be able to leave a message on an answering machine and most likely keep calling over and over until Kevin answers the phone.

20th Oct 2009

Home Alone (1990)

Question: Why does Kevin scream when he slaps the aftershave on his face? He didn't shave so he doesn't have any cuts, so it wouldn't burn at all.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: Kevin did shave his face. His skin is sensitive from his first shave so the alcohol in the aftershave makes his face sting. Hence, the screaming.

Shannon Jackson

Answer: The high alcohol content could hurt/sting a very sensitive (such as a kid's) skin even without cuts or abrasions.

20th Jul 2009

The Goonies (1985)

Question: At the end, when they see the ship floating away, Data says "Wow" followed by something in Chinese. However, what he says is subtitled in Chinese instead of English. Why subtitle Chinese dialogue with Chinese? Was there a reason the filmmakers did that? Some joke I missed?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: "Wow" is English, its simply a film joke. Whenever Datas parents speak in their native tongue, it puts English subtitles onscreen, and as a joke when Data responds in English it puts the translation in Chinese.

GalahadFairlight

Question: When they discover they have no gasoline for the DeLorean, they go through all sorts of trouble to get it up to 88mph. Now it's obvious things fade away and into existence in this movie, as it did with the newspapers and matchbook. Wouldn't it have made more sense to go to the mine where the time machine was buried and write on the wood, "Bring can of gas"? Wouldn't a can of gas then materialize in the trunk of the DeLorean and they could go home?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: There's already been enough meddling with the timeline without deliberately resorting to that sort of thing. If they can get the car up to speed with the stuff they've got available to them in that time period, it's the safest option to take.

Tailkinker

Question: We see Biff groan in pain as he returns to 2015 with the stolen DeLorean. In a deleted scene we actually see Biff fade away as he is erased from existence by his actions. I assume this is because an alternate Biff now exists (or could have been killed) and so he is erased from time. If this happens to Biff, why doesn't this happen to Marty, Doc, and Jennifer? They too are replaced by alternate versions of themselves when they return and even before they return to 1985a. 1985a Biff even says in the film that Marty was in school in Switzerland, and Doc has been committed, so they too should fade away as Biff did, shouldn't they? I would say "time" was giving them time enough to correct things like in the 1st movie, but Biff faded away almost a soon as he arrived back in 2015a.

Carl Missouri

Answer: I read somewhere the reason Biff faded away was Lorraine shot him in the alternate timeline for murdering her husband, George.

I hadn't heard that one, could be in a novelization or something. This is entirely my own speculation with nothing official to support it; however, it could be that because Doc and Marty are trying to correct the timeline, he and his siblings' removal from history happens gradually, as they get closer or further from the act of their trying to set things right. Biff doesn't know or care and is actively trying to change history, so the moment he returns to 2015, he vanishes all at once.

Captain Defenestrator

If you have the DVD or Blu-ray, watch the deleted scene of Biff vanishing and turn on the commentary. It will confirm that Biff was murdered, which is why he was erased from existence.

Chosen answer: Biff faded away because he completely changed his own past. When Marty, Doc, and Jennifer return to 1985, they're returning to the alternate timeline that Biff created. They still exist and remember their own history because without it, Biff's timeline couldn't exist and a paradox would be created.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: The comics answer this question. In 1986 in the alternate timeline, Biff forced the committed Doc Brown to send him forward in time to get more sports results, but Doc tricked him and sent him back to 1884 instead, where he was shot by his own great-grandfather Buford. When he reappeared in his current time (that's how the time machine worked in this timeline), he was dead. Old Biff faded from existence because Biff never grew up to become Old Biff (because he was dead), so Old Biff no longer existed.

30th Mar 2009

Smallville (2001)

Show generally

Question: Whats the deal with Michael Rosenbaum? Did he leave the show? I find it strange that he is nowhere to be seen in the show or in the opening credits. If that is the case, is it known why he left? Or is this just some plot device to build suspense?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: He simply chose to leave the show. He wanted to move on; seven years is a long time to devote to a single project, so he felt it was time to move his career onwards. As a result, the character of Lex, which they'd taken as far as they realistically could anyway, was written out of the show. It's certainly not out of the question that he could make a guest appearance in a future storyline, much as Kristin Kreuk, who also left the show at the end of season seven, did in the middle of season eight, but so far this has not occurred.

Tailkinker

7th Jan 2009

Weird Science (1985)

Question: At the very end when Lisa is a gym instructor, when they pan from her feet up, on VHS and on my DVD the Rocky theme is played. But whenever I see it on cable, the Weird Science theme is played instead. Why is this?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: They probably only had permission to use the song at the cinema and take home releases, so when shown on broadcast TV they'd have to use another song.

Show generally

Question: OK, why does the title song have nothing to do with the show? It keeps saying "haaaawaii!" over and over, yet the show takes place in Vegas, not Hawaii. I never got that.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: It's actually "Who Are You," which is the title of the theme song by The Who. A bit more fitting for a crime show's theme than constantly saying Hawaii.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: One thing I never got is why Marty is so shocked that the Cubs won the World Series in 2015. He was then going to say something like "It's just that Miami..." but stops and asks another question. Was it ever said anywhere what he was going to say about Miami? That always perplexed me.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: The Cubs aren't exactly known as World Series contenders. Put it down to bad luck, but over 100 years, they only have one World Series championship. The last time they won the Series was in 1908, and the last time they were even IN the Series was in 1945. Being a Cubs fan myself, Marty's reaction isn't that much of a stretch. The Miami reference is because they didn't have a baseball team in 1985, which is all Marty knows of course. Since the movie was made, however, Miami has acquired an MLB team called the Miami Marlins (formerly the Florida Marlins).

Cubs Fan

22nd Jul 2008

The Dark Knight (2008)

Question: How is it that nobody would notice a school bus driving out of a broken wall to a bank? People and cars were going by as the bus drove out of the rubble and mangled building as if nothing was out of the ordinary. I know this is Gotham, but wow.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: Some of the cars would have seen it, but what matters is that the police arriving did not see it. By the time the police start taking statements from people on the street or inside the bank (they would have seen the bus too), the bus would be long gone.

21st Jul 2008

Next (2007)

Question: I don't get the joke Chris told Liz in the cabin motel about the Zen master that ordered a hotdog with everything. What was funny?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: The Zen master tells the hotdog vendor to "Make me one with everything," a pun, of sorts, on the Zen philosophy of becoming one with the universe.

Jean G

Chosen answer: He had two other movies come out that same year (High Spirits and Cocoon). He chose to do those movies over Police Academy.

Paul Brannon

13th Jun 2008

Cars (2006)

Question: Does anybody know if the "Our Town" song was written just for this movie, or was it a pre-existing song? Who performs it as well? Thanks.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: The original song 'Our Town' was created for Cars by Randy Newman and sung by James Taylor. It was nominated for the 2007 Academy Award for the best Original Song.

Super Grover

10th Jun 2008

Cars (2006)

Question: In the trivia section it says, one of the cars leaving during the "Our Town" song is the one and only Christine. Who is Christine? I don't remember anyone mentioning any Christine in the movie.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: Christine was a 1957 Plymouth Fury from the movie "Christine" based on the book with the same name by Steven King.

papajim

Answer: Michael Jackson was slated to record a song and music video for the film. The music video had him living in the Addams family mansion with angry townsfolk trying to drive him out of town for being scary and weird. The scene in the film was suppose to reflect that he scared "normal" kids, it had nothing to do with a scandal. When Evan Chandler started talking about his son being molested by Jackson, the song and music video were pulled and not included with the film. But the poster scene was left in. Later, when the scandal fully broke and more accusation were made, the joke of the scene took on another meaning.

Bishop73

Good thing the accusations were all false! :).

Answer: If memory serves, it's a poster for Heal the World? I think he probably screams because this song was WAY over-played on radio stations at the time! It certainly was in the UK where I am from so I imagine in America it was over-played so much more.

Chosen answer: Not only is it a reference to Jackson's general scary weirdness, but also his alleged pedophilia (child molestation), causing the boy to react in fear.

raywest

Impossible, the first pedophilia accusations were made just a few months before the movie came out.

Those accusations had been an open secret for a long time, though.

Question: Healy tries to impress Mary by pretending to be an architect, drugging the dog, getting new teeth, liking the same movies, and by saying he works with handicapped children. Why then would he call them "r***rds" and say he keeps one in a cage and puts him on a leash like a dog?! Wouldn't he think this would piss Mary off? I never understood that scene and why he would say this.

Carl Missouri

Answer: Because he is ignorant and doesn't know anything about disabled people, he actually doesn't realise what he is saying is offensive.

Chosen answer: Apparently he didn't consider that - either he's just being an idiot or he's trying to make an extremely ill-considered joke. Either way, that's a character mistake, not a movie mistake.

Tailkinker

13th Nov 2007

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Question: In the scene where Spider-man is given the key to the city, when he swings in, I recognized that the song the marching band was playing was the spider-man theme song from the old cartoon. I think we first heard this in Spider-man 2 when that Asians lady was singing it on the corner. Where would this band hear this song to be playing it at the ceremony? How do they know of it?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: Given his popularity by the 3rd movie, it is not unlikely that a cartoon has been made based on him or that someone wrote the song about Spiderman and it has become popular. Also, we hear a (slightly modified) version of the song in the first movie as well...the singing cowboy. So the song has clearly been around for some time.

27th Oct 2007

Transformers (1984)

Show generally

Question: In the very first episode of Transformers, you see them on Cybertron, millions of years before they crash land on Earth. Why is it that Optimus already resembles a semi truck? The truck parts are visible, the windows, doors, and tires and such. They don't scan Earth to look like vehicles till millions of years later. I never understood that.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: The toys came first, the cartoon and the movies came later, they were hardly going to let a small detail like that get in the way of business. So basically it's a deliberate mistake.

Question: When Marty is playing the guitar after he get fired in the future, Jennifer is trying to sneak out and while he's playing, she stops and turns around to look at Marty. Why does she do this? It made no sense, she could have been caught. Was he playing their "special" song or something?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: It is because Marty used to be a very good guitar player. After his accident, when he broke his hand, he couldn't play very well anymore. Jennifer stops in shock that he is playing so horribly now. She is used to him playing the guitar greatly.

SAZOO1975

25th Oct 2007

Transformers (2007)

Easter egg: Not sure ifs it on the Standard DVD as well, but on HD-DVD on the 2nd disk, when you highlight 'Our World' and press left on the remote, Megatron's head pops up to the right and by pressing enter you view the DVD's credits.

Carl Missouri

12th Nov 2006

The Goonies (1985)

Question: Heres something I never quite understood. Back in One-eyed Willie's day it seems they were Spanish speaking. What with the Spanish Armada and all. So why is it that the Treasure Map is written in Spanish, but rhymes in English?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: Well, his ship is hidden in America where the people spoke english, so perhaps it was done for the benefit of those who were most likely to find the map. Must have been his idea of a joke. Actually though, I'm betting it was the result of the filmmakers not thinking that through.

Phixius

20th Oct 2006

The Addams Family (1991)

The Addams Family mistake picture

Revealing mistake: During the Mamoshka dance, right when Gomez throws the knife high in the air (the one that lands in Fester's mouth), the camera goes to a wide shot when the knife is in the air, and you can plainly see that the jugglers are Fester and Gomez's stunts.

Carl Missouri

3rd Aug 2006

Batman Forever (1995)

Question: Here's something I've wanted to know. I know that Gotham is a fictional city, as is Metropolis, but both are within the same universe (DC). So how is it that The Statue of Liberty resides in both Metropolis and Gotham? The Statue is in Metropolis Harbor in the Superman movies, but Two-face's chopper crashes into it in Gotham in Batman Forever.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: Mainly because the filmmakers, who operated totally separately, weren't too worried about being consistent, either with each other or with the comic universe. In the comics, New York exists alongside Gotham and Metropolis, so the Statue of Liberty is found there. The filmmakers presumably decided that they wanted to have something recognisable appearing, so decided that the statue would be located in the city that they were dealing with.

Tailkinker

11th May 2006

Bad Santa (2003)

Question: Here's something I've never understood. Who is that guy that attacks Willie in the parking lot near the start of the film? The guy that says "I am not gay". What the hell is he talking about? Then calls him "assclown". Who was that guy and why did he attack Willie for no apparent reason?

Carl Missouri

Answer: My guess is that when he was a child, he was molested by a man dressed as Santa Claus, and ever since then he has been holding a grudge against people dressed as Santa Claus. You can see him staring angrily at Willie in the bar even before Willie notices him.

Answer: Willie asks the guy if he's off his meds, to which the man replied, "Yes."

Question: An Easter egg is mentioned that you highlight THX and enter 11,3,8 to get a clip. But when I enter this, nothing happens. In fact, I can only enter up to 3 digits at a time, not 4. How do you exactly unlock this clip?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: On the main title menu, go down to "Options," and select it. Once in the Options menu, there should be a THX logo somewhere. Highlight the logo, but don't select it. Then type in 1-1-3-8 (or if your remote requires it, 10+1, 3, 8).

Cubs Fan

18th Apr 2006

Quantum Leap (1989)

Mirror Image - August 8, 1953 - S5-E22

Question: I believe in the final episode, Al the bartender asked Sam where he would like to go and Sam said home. He then said he couldn't because he had a wrong to put right for his hologram friend Al, which he did. After telling Al's wife that Al is alive he leaps. I think it said after that that Sam never makes it home. So does he continue leaping forever or is he stuck in the last person he leaps into? I know he lost his memory but what happened after that?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: Per the Quantum leap page at http://www.scifi.com/quantum/episodes/season5.html. 8 August 1953: An enigmatic leap lands Sam in a Pennsylvania tavern, as his own grown self on the day of his birth. As Al and Gushie work frantically to locate him, Sam befriends a wise bartender (popular character actor McGill, who'd appeared in a different role in the very first "leap") and a group of coal miners. As a host of familiar-looking faces pass through the bar - with different identities than Sam remembers - Sam ponders his life of leaping with Al the bartender, who tells Sam he controls his own destiny. Pressed for more, Al the bartender simply shrugs and says, "Sometimes, 'that's the way it is' is the best explanation." Sam realizes he must right at least one more wrong before he can go home, and leaps back to tell Al Calvavicci's wife Beth (from "M.I.A.") to wait for Al, who will survive Vietnam and come home to her. The closing title cards state that Beth and Al have four daughters and will shortly celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary ... and that Sam Beckett never returned home.

Boobra

24th Feb 2006

24 (2001)

Show generally

Question: I seem to remember in Season 1 when the show starts, Jack would say as he always does "The following takes place between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m." and then says "Events occur in real time." When season 2 started however, I haven't heard that last line since. Is there a reason known why this line is no longer said at the beginning of each episode?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: This is because by the second series people were now well aware that the whole uniqueness was that the show was shown in real time, and therefore the line was no longer required.

Scrappy

Question: When Marty comes back to a "new" 1985, his family has money, his siblings are now successful, they treat Marty like he never left (except to go to the lake). But before he supposedly went to the lake, didn't Marty act normal? Didn't Marty grow up with this new and improved family and have different experiences that didn't happen when they were poor? If so, why does he have no memory of this? If Marty grows up with money, has a successful father, a sister that's popular, what happens to "this" Marty? The one that grew up differently now that he was born into a richer family? (This can't be the same Marty that goes back in in time that we see at the end of the movie, because if that Marty will do everything we saw in the movie, he's the same Marty before anything changed. Like when he said his dad never stood to to Biff in his life).

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: Yup, that's what happens in time travel movies. All sorts of paradoxes pop up. You could sit and ponder this for the rest of your life. Or you could just enjoy the goofiness of it all. If you get a chance, look up an old article called "Back to the Future with the Other Marty McFly." It theorizes that there are, in fact, two Marty McFlys whose lives intersect with the competing timelines. But if you're seriously trying to figure out the complexities of all this, take the advice given in Austin Powers II and just enjoy the movie.

K.C. Sierra

Question: When Harry's boggart turns into a dementor, Lupin dives in front and says "ridiculous". He then later says he did this because he thought the boggart would turn into Lord Voldemort. But the boggart wasn't Lord Voldemort, but just a dementor. So that excuse doesn't hold up. Why wouldn't he let harry fend off the boggart like the rest of the class?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: He says that he instinctively thought the boggart would turn into Voldemort. He jumped in front of this as Harry had already had dealings with a dementor, and the boggart would be able to weald the same powers a dementor has. He knew once Harry had seen the dementor that he would not be able to deal with it due to his past experience.

Scrappy

Chosen answer: Since Andy helped Hadley with the tax-free gift, Hadley realized that Andy could be of future financial use, which he can take advantage of considering he's in prison for two life-terms. The sisters beating up Andy would interfere with that-consider that Andy was in the infirmary for a very long time after the last attack. Beating up on Boggs sent a message to the sisters to leave Andy alone...or else.

randomguy

Answer: Norton had Hadley beat up Boggs because he and the Sisters would have eventually killed Andy and Norton needed him and his banking skills to cover up his scams.

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