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
27th Mar 2018
American Gangster (2007)
13th Feb 2018
Designated Survivor (2016)
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?
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.
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.
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.
Next to that the pigs are trained to attack anything that screams. Hannibal stayed calm and thus was ignored.
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."
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.
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?
Chosen answer: The screenplay was written by Richard Matheson, who also wrote the short story. He based it on a similar experience he had with a trucker. That question is never answered, 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 crossed 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.
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.
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.
26th Feb 2017
The Godfather: Part II (1974)
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?
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.
26th Feb 2017
The Godfather: Part II (1974)
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.
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.
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.
12th Nov 2016
The Walking Dead (2010)
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?
Chosen answer: They were burned. Remember the military bombed the city.
12th Nov 2016
The Walking Dead (2010)
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.
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.
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?
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?
6th Sep 2016
Cannonball Run II (1984)
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.
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.
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.
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.
8th Mar 2016
White House Down (2013)
Question: Is it actually even remotely possible that the president would just happen to wander through while a tour is taking place?
Answer: President Trump did this on several occasions. Granted he was flanked by secret service the whole time while doing it, but yes it's possible.
1st Mar 2016
Breaking Bad (2008)
Box Cutter - S4-E1
Question: Why did Gus kill Victor?
Chosen answer: There are several possibilities. Gus primarily does it to make an example out of Victor. Victor is one of Gus' most loyal henchman, and yet he had no problem killing him. Meaning it doesn't matter how loyal or valuable Walt is, he can still be killed and it won't bother Gus. However, Walt tells Jesse that perhaps Victor "flew too close to the sun." Meaning, Victor over stepped his bounds by learning how to cook meth. Gus didn't appreciate Victor's initiative and Gus only wants his employees to do the job they're given. Again, telling Walt and Jesse to do their job or else.
I think it was a combination of anger over Gayle's death and Victor being seen by witnesses makes Victor very vulnerable and therefore a dangerous liability to Fringe's empire.
1st Mar 2016
Breaking Bad (2008)
3rd Feb 2016
Space Cowboys (2000)
Question: What are the chances of four guys of their age ACTUALLY passing the physical to the required standards? I know they all kept reasonably fit but they struggled with running etc. so it seems unlikely they would pass all the tests. I know movie rules dictate suspense of disbelief to a certain degree, I'm just wondering what their chances would be in reality.
Answer: Eastwood would be out on height alone and the rest probably have high blood pressure. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/606877main_FS-2011-11-057-JSC-astro_trng.pdf.
Chosen answer: It wasn't a matter of how physically fit they were, but that their particular combination of knowledge, skills, and past experiences were needed for this specific mission. The physical criteria would be amended in order to recruit them for that mission.
They were specifically told they wouldn't be given an easier ride and would need to pass the exact same tests as the younger astronauts. The physical criteria wouldn't have been amended to suit them so is it possible for 4 guys of this age to pass?
Remember that at some point in the process it became a political issue - the old cowboys were wanted for their PR value, so physical test results would have been "fudged", if not ignored altogether.
Agree that the physical requirements were a major plot point and part of the 'deal' for the team to go, but there was some relaxing of requirements and politics. In general, the answer is YES, old folks can go to space without major fudging of the requirements as was demonstrated by lots of astronauts in their late 50s, a few in their 60s, and John Genn at 77. Just recently an 82-year-old woman flew on Jeff Bezos' tourist rocket.
29th Dec 2015
Red 2 (2013)
Question: Wouldn't going into the Iranian embassy and opening fire with guns be seen as a declaration of war? Especially since they shot/killed dozens of Iranian citizens while escaping.
Chosen answer: Perhaps, but against whom? The Americans, the Brits, the Koreans? And having an American citizen found tied to a chair, abused, and murdered would be hard to explain. In addition, their involvement in a narrowly averted nuclear holocaust may keep them from saying too much.
15th Nov 2015
General questions
I'm trying to find the name of a movie I saw maybe 15 years ago. It was a comedy about a cop who got told he had a disease meaning he had x amount of time to live. He found out his work insurance only paid out if he got killed on the job so he spent ages trying to get shot by bad guys but kept failing. At the end it is found out that his records were mixed up with a bus driver's.
Chosen answer: Short Time (1990) with Dabney Coleman.
28th Jul 2015
Jurassic Park (1993)
Question: At the beginning of the movie, Alan grant is at a dig in Montana. They load what looks like a bullet into a chamber and fire it into the ground. What was it they fired underground and why did they do it?
Chosen answer: They are using a ground penetrating sonar device. A shotgun shell is discharged into the earth. The resulting blast creates sound waves that bounce off any underlying object, like fossils, and are transmitted to a receiver and seen on a TV monitor as images to reveal what is buried underground.
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.