Question: During the credits, we see Mater finds his hood, saying he hadn't seen it for 20 years, and when he puts it on, he talks like a human would if they pinched their nose shut. Why is this? All other cars have hoods and talk fine with them. Certainly Mater's "nose" wouldn't just reject the hood from being separated for that long. Could someone explain this because it makes no sense to me.
Jazetopher
8th Dec 2006
Cars (2006)
7th Dec 2006
My Cousin Vinny (1992)
Question: Why did the sheriff claim that it was his own hunch that made him take it upon himself to see about any reports about a 1964 Pontiac Tempest stolen or abandoned? Shouldn't he have said something like, "At the request of Mr. Gambini, I investigated whether there were any"? Is the sheriff simply looking to steal some glory and take some credit for the turnaround of the case?
Chosen answer: He never says that it was "his" idea. The actual quote from the movie is that on "a" hunch he looked it up. From the way it is worded in the movie, it appears he said it this way in order to appear impartial in bringing any new evidence to the court's attention, not necessarily just information that would benefit the defendant's case.
Answer: The sheriff made a point of telling Vinny that he doesn't work for the defense and Vinny should "do his own investigation." He's the local sheriff in a small town, while Vinny and the kids are unpopular and unwelcome visitors. The sheriff probably didn't want to appear like he was doing them any favors.
7th Dec 2006
Minority Report (2002)
Question: After the pre-cogs are unsuccessful in their search for Anderton at Rufus Riley's virtual-reality/fantasy club, they search the other parts of the shopping mall with much determination, and eventually get a glimpse of him, almost catching him afterward. How could they possibly have known that Anderton was still in the mall, or that he even went to the mall and the fantasy club in the first place? Sure, they were right, but isn't that just a little convenient/lucky? A possible plot hole, perhaps?
Answer: They did not know for sure that Anderton would be there. But they know that the equipment to view the visions is not something you can buy off the shelf. That is when Witwer realises that Anderton's equipment is custom made and takes it apart to see who made it. So they assume correctly that Anderton will go to Rufus to be able to view Agatha's visions.
Answer: The "Pre-Cogs" are not zeroing in on Anderton only. Since he has Agatha with him, and she is the stronger of the three, as well as telepathically linked to the other two, it is much easier to locate him while he is with her. As far as knowing where he was "going" to be, that is how the whole process works in the first place. The Pre-Cogs see the "near future" and the police investigate these visions for clues to a location. If the Pre-Cogs could only see where someone is at that moment, and not where they are going to be in the near future, the whole idea of Pre-Crime would be impossible, as the crime would be happening "at the time" the police watch the visions, which would only show them who committed a crime, but the victim would be dead. The idea of Pre-Crime is to prevent the "victim" from being a victim, and to save their life.
25th Oct 2006
Back to the Future Part III (1990)
Answer: He simply has an absurdly low tolerance for alcohol, and whiskey is not a wise choice if this is the case. It helps set up the joke when Marty asks the bartender, "How many has he had?", and he replies by telling Marty, "Just the one", as we are meant to think Doc has been in the bar all night drinking away his sorrows.
24th Oct 2006
The Sentinel (2006)
Question: Is it really true that when you use a silencer the bullet slows down and is not as strong as if you did not use a silencer?
Chosen answer: Sometimes. A suppressor, known commonly as a silencer, works by reducing the sound of firing by manipulating the escaping propellant gas, and sometimes by reducing the velocity of the bullet. It all depends on the type of suppressor that is used.
24th Oct 2006
The Langoliers (1995)
Question: This is a very open-ended question which I doubt anyone could provide a definitive answer for, but isn't it extremely convenient for the plot that the author character (played by Dean Stockwell) is able to figure out more or less everything despite the absurdity of the situation?
Chosen answer: That's just it....if he had not been on the plane, then the story would not have evolved the way it did, and we would be given a different set of events. He writes mystery novels, and it is fairly realistic that he would have figured out most of the events as they unfolded, as he likely uses similar bizarre situations for his books, and is familiar with the strange and unusual.
28th Aug 2006
Men in Black (1997)
Question: When I watched both films in succession, I noticed the same person played both the man on desk at the morgue and Newton, the video store owner in the second film. Is there a reason for him being in both films?
Answer: The person in question is actor/comedian David Cross. In the first MIB film, Cross is listed in the credits as "Morgue Attendant," and he ends up glued to the morgue ceiling, presumably killed by The Bug. If he had survived, the Men in Black would have certainly neuralized him, anyway, and he would have no memory of the alien encounter or the Men in Black. In MIB 2, David Cross is listed as "Newton" (the video store nerd) who apparently recognizes K, because K had asked Newton to reserve a videotape for him at some time in the past. K made this video request before he ever met J, and then K neuralized himself after leaving a trail of clues leading to the video store. Newton remembers K, so Newton hasn't been neuralized in years. Therefore, Newton in MIB2 cannot be the same character as the Morgue Attendant in MIB.
Answer: David Cross plays Newton in both movies. In the first he is attacked by the Bug but survives and something went wrong with his neuralyzing as in the sequel he knows small things about the men in black like how they appear and he recognises the neuralyzer from his previous encounter with it, which isn't a coincidence. It appears J's neuralyzing of Newton did work and we don't see him in the 3rd movie (probably because he is in jail for the murder of his mother).
4th Apr 2006
Ghostbusters (1984)
Question: Why does Ray drop his trap on the altar? It can be seen all through the 'choose' conversation and when Staypuft first appears.
Answer: He places it on the altar just after they believe they have vaporized Gozer with the proton packs. At this point, thinking the ghost to have been destroyed, he sets it down as he believes the job is done and he will not need it.
Answer: Ray realised Gozer was too powerful to be caught in the trap, so why carry the extra weight?
30th Aug 2006
Rush Hour (1998)
Question: When Inspector Lee is in the Foo Chow Restaurant, why is the waitress's necklace so important? In a later shot, Lee grabs the necklace from the waitress and runs. Was that Soo Yung's necklace?
Answer: Yes, it was. It is the necklace that he gives her at the beginning of the film, before they leave for America. He takes it from the waitress so that he can give it back to Soo Yung when he rescues her.
28th Aug 2006
I, Robot (2004)
Question: What was the exact significance of the "bread crumbs?" It still confuses me.
Answer: The doctor who was killed had a copy of the book Hansel and Gretel in his lab. He knew that Detective Spooner would see the book during his investigation, and that would prompt him to follow the first clue he found to the next clue, and so on. The trail of breadcrumbs were used by Hansel and Gretel in the children's story as a way to find their way home. For more info, check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hansel_and_Gretel.
Spooner is old school. He knew Spooner would understand that breadcrumbs meant a series of clues to follow that he left.
26th Jul 2006
The Shining (1980)
Question: Early in the film the hotel manager mentions that the Overlook was built on an old Indian burial ground and that builders had to repel several Indian attacks during construction. Indian attacks? During the 20th century? And why mention this detail, since it was never mentioned again or became part of the story.
Answer: "Indian attacks" just means attacked by Indians who owned the land. It does not necessarily mean Indians with warpaint/horses/etc., just that the attack came from the tribe who owned the land. As for him mentioning it to Jack, he is just giving him a brief history of the Overlook Hotel, as Jack will be the caretaker and might want to know about the history surrounding the Overlook.
4th Aug 2006
Stargate (1994)
Question: Who plays the man who rides in the elevator with Jackson when they go to Creek Mountain Facility?
Answer: I am assuming you are refering to the man in the elevator who also goes with them on the mission? If so, it is John Diehl. Most recognized from "Stripes", "The Client", and he played a recurring character as a detective on the TV show "Miami Vice".
26th Jul 2006
The Princess Bride (1987)
Question: Has anyone verified that Christopher Guest has six fingers on his right hand in every scene? There are a few shots (other than the one showing off all the fingers) where his right hand is visible, but the black gloves make a finger count difficult.
Answer: Not meaning to shoot down your idea, but since he is wearing gloves, even if the gloves only had five fingers, it would still not be a mistake as he could easily tuck his two smallest fingers into one of the glove's fingers. I would guess that this is why he wears gloves throughout the film, as the director would surely not have gone to the trouble of making 6-fingered gloves, and the actor does not really have 6 fingers.
They did make a six fingered glove. It's visible when Count Rugen knocks Westley out with his sword. Just before that Westley observes "You have 6 fingers on your right hand. Someone was looking for you."
13th Jun 2005
Donnie Darko (2001)
Question: Two questions I had about the cellar at the end. What was the point of Donnie and his friends going to the cellar towards the end? Was he looking for something in particular? And the second thing was why were those bullies from school there at the same time? Did it have something to do with the story told in the film about how kids would try to steal stuff from Sparrow's house?
Chosen answer: By going to the cellar, Donnie has continued to set in motion the events that will return the engine to his proper time. He burns down Jim Cunningham's house, which causes Kitty to be at his trial, which causes Donnie's Mom to take the kids to California, which causes her to take the earlier flight causing the engine to fall back through the portal to the normal universe. In much the same way, his Mom had to leave so they could have a party, which is where Donnie and Gretchen make/fall in love. He takes her to that house to talk to Roberta Sparrow, and it is when he notices the cellar door that the events unfold to motivate him. If Donnie lives, Gretchen dies. He must sacrifice himself to return time to normal so that Gretchen will live. The boys were taking stuff from Roberta's house as referenced earlier in the movie, but played a key role in the events unfolding correctly.
22nd Jun 2006
Spider-Man (2002)
Question: When Aunt May says to Peter in the hospital, "Everyone else knows", why does Peter suddenly look scared/concerned?
Answer: Remember that Green Goblin (Norman Osborne) just found out that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Aunt May's comment about everyone knows he loves Mary-Jane concerns him because he now realizes that Green Goblin might find/kidnap Mary-Jane just to lure Spider-Man into a fight. This is the basis for the whole reason he can't be with her, as he would be potentially putting her in harm's way all the time if they got together.
16th May 2006
The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
Question: Does anybody know what game the two guys are playing in Andy's apartment, the part where they are saying "you know how i know your gay?" Graphics-wise it looks like X-box, but they are holding N64 trident style pads.
Answer: The video game being played is Mortal Kombat: Deception. It is available for PS2, Gamecube, and XBOX. Based on the controller, I would say they are playing the Nintendo Gamecube version.
16th May 2006
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
Question: What make/model of car does the female Terminator steal from the nice lady? It's the scene where she's naked and the woman says "Oh my god, do you need help?"
Answer: The car she takes from the woman is a 2003 Lexus SC 430 Hardtop Convertible($42,000 new).
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Answer: The movie is implying that the "pinched nose" voice is his real voice, and that the voice we hear throughout the film is what he sounds like without a hood. It's more of an inside joke than anything, since Larry the Cable Guy voiced Mater for the film. To get to hear him speak in a normal tone of voice of sorts is what makes this so funny, since his southern drawl is largely exaggerated for his stand-up performances, and he is capable of talking without it, as heard in the movie.
Jazetopher