Question: In this film, two Jedi show they have the power to block Force Lightning: Mace Windu does it using his lightsaber, and Yoda does it unarmed. Given this, is there any reason why Yoda would not have taught this to Luke in Episode 6, especially since - having fought him - he would know that Palpatine had that power? Even if Luke wasn't as powerful as Yoda, he still could have done the Mace Windu version since he had his lightsaber with him.
Tailkinker
1st Jun 2005
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
26th May 2005
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Question: I was wondering if there were any plans to bring out a special edition DVD of Shaun Of The Dead, or should I just buy the normal version rather than wait?
Answer: The regular DVD has four commentaries, outtakes, deleted scenes, assorted featurettes and a number of other extras ranging from the mundane to the utterly bizarre. Hard to imagine that they've got anything left that could be added to a future special edition. I'd just go for it, if I was you. And I did. Even though I'm not you. Just in case you were worried.
18th May 2005
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Question: How did the Emperor know that the rebels were going to destroy the new and improved Death Star and that other rebels were going to Endor?
Answer: He has a galaxy-wide intelligence network, plus the insights gained through the Force. He's aware that the Rebels have obtained information about the new Death Star - he claimed to have leaked it himself as part of a trap, but it's possible that he was lying. Either way, he knows that the Rebellion can hardly pass up a chance to destroy the Death Star before it's completed, particularly as they believe that it's not yet operational. As for Endor, it's stated quite clearly that the Death Star is protected by a powerful force field projected from a shield generator on Endor. As no ships can get through the field, that generator has to be the initial target for the Rebels - unless it's taken out, the attack on the Death Star itself cannot proceed.
18th May 2005
The Matrix (1999)
Question: After the opening credits, during the short dialogue between Trinity and Tank, they talk about Neo and he says, "We're gonna kill him, understand that". Why are they going to kill him?
Answer: They're not going to kill him themselves, the statement is meant to refer to the fact that the course of action that they're going to take is likely to lead to his death - possibly because he's really too old to be freed, or because he'll do something stupid because he believes that he's the One, something that the rest of the crew seem less than convinced about.
20th May 2005
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Question: In the Attack of the Clones DVD commentary, Lucas promised that in this third movie we would finally find out who Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas is, and how he managed to place the order for the clone army without the Council's authorization. I didn't notice any explanation at all - was there one given?
Chosen answer: There was no explanation in the film. An explanation appears in the (authorised) book called, I think, Labyrinth of Evil, which was released shortly before the film and deals with events leading up to the events of the film. To sum it up, Sifo-Dyas was a respected Jedi who had become disaffected with the policies of the Jedi Council. Encouraged by his colleague, Count Dooku (by then secretly studying the Sith arts), he placed the order for the clone army before being killed by Dooku to prevent anyone from finding out about it.
18th May 2005
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Question: Who is the Jedi Syfrideous (sic) that is mentioned in conversation between Obi Wan and the prime minister of the cloning community?
Answer: Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas was a respected member of the Jedi Council. Secretly, he was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the Jedi policies, and foresaw a future where an army will be required. Encouraged by his Jedi comrade Count Dooku (who was, by this time, quietly learning the ways of the Sith), he asked the Kamino cloners to prepare the clone army, based on the template that Dooku (under the name Tyranus) recruited. He was then eliminated by Dooku to prevent the Jedi from finding out about the army before the time was right.
19th May 2005
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Question: I know this may seem like an odd question, but WHY did David choose the 'real life'? Surely, when he wakes up he'll have no one, all his friends will be dead, he might not be allowed to take back control of his company, etc. Also, if he won't remember anything, won't be like a baby, starting life again with 35 or so years on the clock? This choice really confused me, why would he choose this over a perfect life?
Answer: Because he wants a life that's real, not one that lost in the past, that he'd always know wasn't really real. The life that he faces in the future might not be perfect, but it'll be real, not just a dream.
19th May 2005
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
Question: In the prison, the priest has several books, a chair, table, etc. Where did he get these things? I assume he wasn't given them, as the prisoners are expected to live with absolutely no creature comforts. He could have made the chair and table, but out of what? He wouldn't have been given any materials. How would he make something out of nothing?
Answer: Priests, as men of God, tend to be considered differently from others - it's reasonable to think that the guards would have allowed him a few privileges denied the other prisoners.
19th May 2005
La Confidential (1997)
Question: What is Lynn's connection to the Nite Owl killings?
Answer: She doesn't really have one - not directly, anyway. The only link is that Susan Lefferts died at the Night Owl, and Bud saw Lynn with Lefferts when he was buying the alcohol for the party. Lefferts had the bandage on her nose at the time, which sparked Bud's curiosity and prompted him to seek out Lynn after Lefferts was murdered.
19th May 2005
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Question: Is the song 'Into the West' by Annie Lennox, about Frodo leaving Middle Earth?
Answer: Essentially, yes, although much of it was actually inspired by the death of Cameron Duncan, a young filmmaker who was a friend of the cast and crew.
18th May 2005
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Question: At the very end of the movie, when Harry discovers the secret room, he sees many vials of the performance enhancer that his father was working on. Why did Norman Osborn need so many?
Answer: It seems likely that a large number of samples would have been created during the initial experiments - Norman simply took them away and stored them to prevent anyone else from doing what he did. It also gives him the option to repeat the experiment if he feels that the effects are wearing off - remember, it was highly experimental so it would be hard to predict precisely what would happen in the long-term.
18th May 2005
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
9th May 2005
The Incredibles (2004)
Question: I have a collectors edition DVD, and on the second DVD it says the first DVD has a thing called "Cars". I couldn't find it. How do you get to it?
Answer: On the Region 2 discs the Cars trailer is located directly off the main menu. On some versions it plays automatically when you put the disc in, so long as you don't press any buttons on the remote.
9th May 2005
Angel (1999)
Question: In the opening credits, just before the shot of Phantom Dennis, is the shot of the girl crying Darla? What episode is that from?
Answer: Nope, it's not Darla - that's Rachel from the episode "In The Dark", the third episode of the show (the one with Spike's magnificent opening monologue).
9th May 2005
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Question: Sometimes it's difficult to tell which events are real and which aren't. Which events actually happened, and which ones did Verbal make up?
Chosen answer: There's no particularly good way to tell - one good rule of thumb is to consider which events the police would be able to quickly check themselves. So, for example, Verbal's description of the attack on New York's Finest Taxi Service would have been substantially factual, as he wouldn't want to risk contradicting anything that the police might have found out from witnesses. Likewise the deaths of Saul Berg and his bodyguards would be largely correct. The most likely scenario is that large parts of what Verbal says are reasonably close to the truth - by doing that, it would make it easier for him to stick to a consistent story.
Answer: I believe everything is factual up to the point they go to L.A. Agent Kujon confirms the lineup and taxi service bust.
29th Apr 2005
Shrek (2001)
Question: I've seen the French version of the film, and the opening credits have been taken out. Can someone please tell me why this might be?
Answer: Because none of the English-speaking cast 'appear' in the film, as all of the voices were redone by French-speaking actors. As such, the original credit sequence is pointless, and it would have been a lot of work to redo the credit sequence for every single different language that the film had to be redubbed into. Hence the choice not to have one.
Answer: The French dub of the movie has all the songs translated into French. I suppose that with the song "All Star" by Smash Mouth in the opening they weren't allowed to do it so as a result they removed it instead, resulting in the removal of the entire opening. This is sort of a French thing, to translate the songs.
2nd May 2005
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Question: I understand that most living Elves are really old by human standards and are immortal, but I have a few questions about the elf "life-cycle." First, ARWEN is the last Elf born but how old is she? Second, how do Elves reproduce and how often? Given their ages, wouldn't an elf child be a super-incredibly rare event such that most humans would never live long enough to see one? Third, when ARWEN weds ARAGORN, she has presumably given up her immortality. How does that work? Is it a biological change or a decision made by the gods - the ones who created the Undying Lands for the Elves? Fourth, would ARAGORN and ARWEN's son have merely human-like mortality or would he be somewhat superhuman - perhaps live longer? I am reminded of the half-god heroes of Greek mythology. I know Tolkien was fascinated by Norse mythology (dead Rohan Kings go to "their father's" like Vikings). Does Tolkien ever explain the elf life-cycle and the logistical problems associated with immortality?
Answer: Hmm, lot of questions. Okay, here goes. (1) Arwen was born in T.A. 241, making her 2778 years old at the time of the War of the Ring. However, there is no evidence in any of Tolkien's writings that she was the last Elf born in Middle-earth. (2) Tolkien never really goes into Elven reproduction, but there's no indication that the basic mechanisms aren't pretty much the same as humans (after all, elves and humans have bred successfully on several occasions in the history of Middle-Earth, so it's fair to say that the plumbing presumably interconnects). Elves don't reproduce terribly often - in 2401 years of marriage, Elrond and his wife Celebrian only had three children. Celeborn and Galadriel only had the one child in at least six thousand years of marriage. Arwen is only six generations removed from the first elves who awoke at Cuivienen, eleven thousand years before the events of the films. So, yes, it's fair to say that elven children would be pretty rare, enough so that most humans would never have encountered one. (3) Arwen's family are not pure elves - without going into complex lineages, her father, Elrond, is roughly half-elven. Elrond's father and all his descendants were given the option by the Valar to choose whether to be counted among men or elves - Elrond chose elvendom, his brother, Elros, chose to be counted amongst men, founding a bloodline that would eventually lead to Aragorn. So, basically, it's a mystical thing. (4) Eldarion, Aragorn and Arwen's son, will have a normal lifespan for a human of his bloodline (i.e. About two hundred years). His mother's former status as an elf shouldn't have any effect. The elven lifecycle is basically the same as humans, just very, very elongated - despite the prevailing view to the contrary, elves are not actually immortal. While they live long enough that humans think of them that way, Tolkien stated that they do age, just incredibly slowly, making a natural death an eventual possibility for an elf (after tens of thousands of years). Plus, of course, they can be killed in combat or accidents, being arguably less resilient than a human in that respect. So, between that and the very slow population increase, there's no real problem with overpopulation or anything like that.
30th Apr 2005
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Question: Could anyone tell me the species of the following Jedi: Shaak Ti, Kit Fisto, Eeth Koth, Barris Offee, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Plo Koon and Luminara?
Answer: Shaak Ti is a Togruta, Kit Fisto is a Nautolan, Eeth Koth is a Zabrak (the same as Darth Maul), Ki-Adi-Mundi is a Cerean, Plo Koon is a Kel Dor and Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee are both Mirialans.
17th Apr 2005
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Question: Who were the Army of the Dead and why do they hate everyone?
Answer: During the War of the Last Alliance (the battle against Sauron shown in the prologue), the men who inhabited the White Mountains (those between Gondor and Rohan) swore an oath of allegiance to Isildur. When he called on them to fight, they refused, so Isildur cursed them to walk the paths of the Dead until they redeemed themselves. In time, they all died, but their spirits remained - they were unable to move on to whatever awaits men after their deaths. At the time of the War of the Ring, they've been in this state for three thousand years, which has left them with a deep hatred for the living. Only when Aragorn, Isildur's heir, comes to them and calls upon them to finally fulfil their original oath, are they finally able to move on.
17th Apr 2005
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Question: At the end when David wakes up, who is the woman's voice telling him to open his eyes? Is it just a generic woman from LE, or is it someone more important?
Answer: There's no indication that it's not just one of the people at LE.
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Chosen answer: Yoda's got his work cut out condensing what would ordinarily be a lifetime of Jedi training into, at most, a few months, so it's hardly unsurprising that he wasn't able to cover everything. That being said, it's quite possible that Yoda did explain the lightsabre technique for blocking the Force lightning, but Luke doesn't have his lightsabre available to use - he throws it away when he tells the Emperor that he's a Jedi like his father was (after he cuts off Vader's hand). When he's subsequently being hit by the lightning, he's in too much pain to focus enough to pull his sabre back.
Tailkinker ★