The_Iceman

25th Jul 2018

Casualties of War (1989)

Question: When the guys are getting ready to go into town, one of them says about the sarge "as short as he is he's out of here in 30 days." Someone also said "anyone as short as Brownie shouldn't have been out there". What do they mean by short?

The_Iceman

Answer: "Short" in this context is military slang for someone whose tour of duty is coming close to an end. It's a derivative of "short-timer."

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: I have a few questions about this movie. 1 - Who is the character played by Stephan Root? ie., what is his connection to the money? 2 - What is Woody Harrelson's job? What is his role? I presume a bounty hunter type person. 3 - Why did Anton kill the two men at the shootout scene? 4 - What were they to him and to the drug deal gone bad?

The_Iceman

Answer: 1. Stephen Root's exact identity is unknown, but the film establishes him as an agent of the "legitimate" business that acts as a front for the drug deal (and others like it), from which he and his business turn a profit. His exact role in the organization is unknown. 2. Carson Wells is a contract killer, same as Chigurh. 3. Chigurh kills the two men because they have seen his face and can identify him; he kills anyone with such knowledge (Carson Wells being the temporary exception). 4. They were strangers to him, simply operatives of the company that ran the deal sent, like Chigurh, to investigate the stolen money.

11th Jul 2018

Scrubs (2001)

Season 9 generally

Question: Does anyone know if the reason most of the main cast didn't return for season 9 is due to the actors' decision or was it a show makers' choice?

The_Iceman

Answer: A lot had to do with the direction Season 9 went, and some of ABC's influence. Show creator, Bill Lawrence, was approached by ABC to continue the show and he wanted to more or less do a spin off and call it "Med School" since he felt Season 8 was the last season for "Scrubs" (even Zach Braff thought that and joked about it on Twitter a few times). However, ABC rejected the idea of a spinoff, and I think ABC felt the actors didn't need to be brought back because they would be working on other projects. It should be noted, while only John McGinley and Donald Faison signed on to be regulars for Season 9, Judy Reyes was the only regular not to return. She wanted to sign on as a regular, but her character did not fit in with the show's new direction and wasn't offered a contract. When she was offered a guest spot, she turned it down. The other regulars only returned to help transition the show into something new, which because of ABC was still considered to be "Scrubs." Most of the writers also did not return.

Bishop73

Question: When Jordan is at the club and the lemons kick in, he crawls to the stairs to get to his car and when he is looking down them he says "the kid makes this look easy" What kid is he talking about?

The_Iceman

Answer: His own little baby.

Friso94

6th Jun 2018

Blue Bloods (2010)

Show generally

Question: I am trying to remember the episode that ended with Frank and Jaime fishing on the pier. A police officer says to Frank it's no smoking before he realises he's talking to the commissioner. I didn't get at the time why Frank seems so blase about the law and want to re watch to see if its any clearer to me now but can't remember the season or even what the rest of the episode was about.

The_Iceman

Answer: It's in S2xE1 "Mercy" at the very end of the episode, they're at Valentino Pier in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Super Grover

24th May 2018

Robocop 2 (1990)

Answer: They're not related. Hob was just a skilled fighter and leader and Cain essentially made Hob his apprentice in the Nuke Cult.

Bishop73

13th May 2018

Scrubs (2001)

Answer: Eight days a week by the Beatles.

27th Mar 2018

American Gangster (2007)

Question: What was the whole thing of not wanting to turn in the $987,000 they found in the car because it would make them appear untrustworthy? Why would all cops distrust them for handing it in? I get that dirty cops would be annoyed but when they were counting it in the precinct, every cop was drawing them daggers.

The_Iceman

Answer: The idea is if cops wouldn't take a million dollars for themselves, free and clear without risk, they are impeccably honest. Therefore, they wouldn't accept bribes and probably not hold still for shakedowns or payoffs. They wouldn't cover up drug or weapon planting and would testify against crooked cops.

Season 1 generally

Question: If there were two designated survivors (Kirkman and Hookstraten) then why was it decided so quickly that Kirkman would be president instead of Hookstraten?

The_Iceman

Answer: The line of succession is VP, Speaker, President Pro Tempore, then the Cabinet Secretaries in the order the department was created. If none is qualified, then the Chief Justice or senior member if no Chief or Chief is ineligible or declines, acts as POTUS until either the House chooses a new Speaker or the Senate chooses a new Pro Tempore, whichever is first.

Answer: While both parties picked a designated survivor, only Kirkman was a cabinet member and in line for succession. Hookstraten was the Majority Whip leader for the House of Representatives and not in line for succession. She would only have become president if something happened to Kirkman.

Bishop73

8th Feb 2018

Hannibal (2001)

Question: Why did the pigs not attack Lecter when he picked up Clarice? They went straight for the fat guy handcuffed to his accomplice and also to Verger but by passed Lecter. I thought it might be a blood thing which is why Lecter picked Clarice up after she was shot but A - Lecter doesn't know anything about the pigs and B - Mason wasn't bleeding before he got eaten.

The_Iceman

Answer: The implication is that the boars are afraid of Lecter, which is why they don't attack him - he shows no fear and exudes dominance.

Sierra1

Next to that the pigs are trained to attack anything that screams. Hannibal stayed calm and thus was ignored.

lionhead

Didn't Verger describe the pigs (by mentioning their molars and incisors) to Lecter when he was first brought to Verger strapped to the dolly?

He also didn't scream or make noise to get their attention.

I'm inclined to agree here. The boars could sense that Lecter was the most savage predator in the pit, and the animals steered clear of him for that reason. Call it "professional courtesy."

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: The implication is that savage animals recognize Lecter as another, even more savage animal. Call it kinship. Lecter has the same effect on attack dogs.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: Probably the same reason the Alsatian dog of Krendler didn't attack him either.

28th May 2017

Duel (1971)

Question: I know it's never answered in the film but is it explained in the book just why the truck driver takes such a dislike to David Mann - he behaves this way after just a couple of overtakes?

The_Iceman

Chosen answer: That is never answered for the film, and not knowing adds to the mystery and intrigue. No mentally stable person would target someone just because they overtook their vehicle on the road. It appears that Mann happened to cross paths with a psychopath. Steven Spielberg has commented that the multiple out-of-state license plates attached to the truck's front bumper may be "trophies" that indicate that the trucker is a serial killer who has run down other drivers. This could be a deadly game to the truck driver.

raywest

I just wonder why the driver's door on the big rig was open while it took a dive over the mountain.

Perhaps a hint that the truck driver escaped. You notice that the truck doesn't explode on impact, although the studio insisted it must; Spielberg fought the studio over the inclusion of a cliched fiery finale, as he wanted the crash to convey an ambiguous ending, suggesting that the driver might not have died. Spielberg even explained that the red liquid seen in the truck cab was not blood, but was some sort of automotive fluid. This all lent to the mystery of what actually happened to the driver, whose body we never see.

Charles Austin Miller

The stuntman driving the truck had to jump out of the truck right before it went over the edge, and due to equipment issues barely made it out, without having time to shut the door.

Question: After Vito kills the black hand he goes back up to the roof and smashes the gun into about 6 pieces. He puts the parts down spouts sticking out from the roof. What were these spouts and where did they go? He also put one piece down what looked like a chimney. Wouldn't that land in someones fireplace and be discovered?

The_Iceman

Chosen answer: They are vents from furnaces and ovens. They wouldn't fall into the tenements because of things like filters and flues blocking the way.

Greg Dwyer

Question: Maybe its my maths or I misheard something but the figures don't seem to add up for me. In Godfather 2, Vito Corleone is about 7 yrs old in 1901 and moves to New York after his family is killed. In Godfather 1, it is said the year was "almost 1942" (I think). So that makes Don Corleone about 50 ish when he died of a heart attack. Is this correct? He looked a lot older, plus head of a crime family in his early 40s doesn't seem right to me either. Am I missing something? I'm not listing this as a mistake as I'm unsure of the timings etc. so if anyone can shed any light on this for me it would be appreciated.

The_Iceman

Chosen answer: Vito was born December 7, 1891, so he was 9 when he moved (Godfather II states: "In 1901, the family of nine-year-old Vito Andolini is killed"). However, it was by the early 1930's that Vito had established his criminal organization as the Corleone crime family, with him at the head. He died in July of 1955, making him 63 when he died. In real life, Marlon Brando, who played Don Corleone, was 47 at the time of filming.

Bishop73

23rd Jan 2017

General questions

I remember a movie where two women were training to be lawyers or cops. The teacher assigned the class unsolved cases as a test. The two women got one about stolen sheets or towels from an industrial laundry. They tracked the guy down and got a confession out of him. He said "are you going to arrest me?" and they replied "No, we're not cops. We are only in training." Think this movie is mid 90s.

The_Iceman

Chosen answer: This sounds like the 1988 light-comedy film, "Feds," starring Rebecca DeMornay and Mary Gross as two unlikely F.B.I. trainees who support each other through the rigorous program.

raywest

12th Nov 2016

The Walking Dead (2010)

Crossed - S5-E7

Question: When Rick and the group are chasing the cops, they turn a corner and see a tower with "evac here" on it, then the camera pans to lots of walkers on the ground who look like they have been melted and stuck to the tarmac. What happened to them?

The_Iceman

Chosen answer: They were burned. Remember the military bombed the city.

MasterOfAll

12th Nov 2016

The Walking Dead (2010)

Us - S4-E15

Question: How did the claimers know it was Rick who killed their friend? They never saw him as he ran away while they were inside the house.

The_Iceman

Answer: The Claimer in the headscarf saw Rick hiding under the bed just before being rendered unconscious. Also, Rick was wearing a jacket he took from the Claimer he killed.

Chosen answer: They saw Rick run off with Carl and Michonne.

MasterOfAll

30th Sep 2016

Old School (2003)

Question: At the end, the Dean has been arrested for bribery. Would the student who exposed him (Wang?) not have been expelled for accepting the bribe and abusing her position and shutting down a frat house?

The_Iceman

Chosen answer: No. Because it could be viewed more as extortion than a bribe.

28th Sep 2016

Sons of Anarchy (2008)

Giving Back - S1-E5

Question: In this episode, the guy is punished by SAMCRO for not having his biker ink covered up. Also, Clay had to have his covered in (I think) season 5 or 6 when he left. Why was Opie allowed to keep his though? He had effectively left yet in this episode he is topless and all his ink is showing. Why did he not need his covered when he left the gang?

The_Iceman

Chosen answer: Former members only have to have their tattoos covered up if they are voted out of the club.

Phaneron

Question: What kind of car is the yellow one the two ladies drive after they ditch the Mercedes? The one where the top comes comes up to let people in.

The_Iceman

Chosen answer: It's called a "Nova" (but not as in the Chevy Nova). It's a kit car, in the U.S. and for the film, it was made by the Sterling Sports Car company. Although the Nova kit car originated with the English company Automotive Design and Development Ltd.

Bishop73

23rd Aug 2016

Duel (1971)

Question: Where was David Mann actually going? And where from? As in, which states? He seemed to be travelling for hours even before he met the truck and seemed to have a long way to go yet.

The_Iceman

Chosen answer: The movie opens with him in downtown Los Angeles, California, so he's probably from there or somewhere in Southern California. He's heading to Bakersfield, California, which is north, about 2 hours away. In the short story, he's heading to a client in San Francisco. However, in the film he gets off the main freeway running from LA to Bakersfield (IH-5) and takes Highway 14 towards Canyon Country.

Bishop73

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