Question: Has there been much in the way of controversy about Bart's, ahem, exposure?
Sam Johnson
13th Sep 2007
The Simpsons Movie (2007)
13th Aug 2007
The Simpsons (1989)
Answer: It's not, no. It is, however, the name of Matt Groening's real dad, which is why he named the father of the Simpsons' Homer.
11th Jul 2007
Hostel: Part II (2007)
Question: ***Question contains spoiler*** OK, maybe I'm dense, but what was the point of killing the kid? Was it just another scene designed to shock the audience?
Answer: The kids were beating on Beth. If she was beaten and bruised she's worth less money. So Sasha told the "leader" of the gang to choose one to die or he will.
Chosen answer: I think it was meant to show that there is a line that the kids can't cross - if they do, then one of them will get sacrificed...hence why the adult doesn't show any mercy in doing it, and the kids know that something nasty is about to happen.
23rd Jan 2007
Silent Hill (2006)
Question: To my understanding, the creatures only come out when the 'darkness' comes. But in the scene where Rose and Cybil run into the acid-vomiting zombies, there was no 'darkness'. Am I misunderstanding something?
Answer: In the games at least, the monsters are present even when the darkness isn't there - they could be a sign to indicate that the darkness is coming. It's not until the darkness comes that they are bombarded with them, and the most fierce creatures come out (in the case of the film, Pyramid Head - though he appears in the second game where there isn't a 'darkness' per se).
6th Mar 2007
The Vicar of Dibley (1994)
Question: At the end of this episode, there is a joke about two nuns in a bar with some soap. Does anyone understand the joke? I can't get it.
Answer: Yes - I think it was two nuns in the bathroom, and one says 'Wheres the soap' and the other one says 'Yes it does a bit'...it's a play on words. The first one is asking a question (Where is the soap) but the other one thinks she is saying 'WEARS the soap'.
11th Feb 2007
24 (2001)
Question: If Jack and Graem are brothers, why has there never been any mention of their relationship before, even in passing? And I'm talking beside the fact the producers didn't make them brothers until season 6.
Chosen answer: There really wasn't any need for us to know he had a brother before - for all we know, he could have more than one brother but the need for us to know isn't there...just like there isn't any mention of his mother - who, for all we know, could be the mastermind criminal behind everything. Bear in mind over the near 10 years in the show's time that have elapsed over the 6 seasons, we've only spent 6 days in Jack's company - no reason his brother would have come up.
26th Jul 2006
General questions
How exactly does film crediting work? I know of several examples where a "major" actor/actress is in the film, but is not credited. (Whoopie Goldberg in Star Trek Generations, for example). How can someone be "introduced" if they've been major players in earlier films? (Julia Roberts in Ocean's 11 & 12).
Chosen answer: The Julia Roberts thing in Ocean's 11 & 12 was a joke by the writers. Credits usually work on the theory that the first person listed is the most important role in the film, and the 'good guy' is listed first. (Example, Robert De Niro is credited before Al Pacino in 'Heat' - both top class actors but De Niro is the good guy. Same with Face/Off with Nicholas Cage and John Travolta). Some actors/actresses don't want their names listed in the credits, usually because they don't want the film/TV show to sell on their name alone. One more interesting fact - in Se7en, Kevin Spacey's name isn't listed on the opening credits, or any of the posters/promotional material surrounding the film, but in the ending credits he recieves top billing. He agreed not to have his name in the opening credits/promotional stuff as he wanted his appearance as the bad guy to be a suprise to people (thus they don't know who the bad guy is) - but he did this on the understanding he'd recieve top billing in the end credits. Ultimately all unusual credits (cameos, etc.) are generally decided on a case by case basis.
11th May 2006
The Simpsons (1989)
Question: In the showcase episode, where Troy McClure shows deleted scenes and the alternate endings for Who Shot Mr. Burns. Were these really alternates and deleted scenes, or just made up for this episode?
Answer: They probably never intended for anyone other than Maggie to shoot Mr Burns, but by having the animators animate all the different characters shooting him, it meant that they couldn't spill the beans before the episode was shown. Other than Maggie, the only other real possibility would have been Waylon Smithers, because they didn't just animate him shooting Mr Burns, they animated the whole scene (including Mr Burns revealing who it was in the hospital). By doing two endings, it meant that the people working on the show wouldn't be able to leak the ending. It is not uncommon for this to happen - it happened with season one of 24 which is why there are two different endings on the DVD.
24th Feb 2006
Saw II (2005)
Question: Jigsaw intended for Xavier to go in the needle pit, but Amanda is thrown in instead. Did Jigsaw anticipate that it might be someone besides Xavier, so that all the needles looked dirty, but weren't going to infect anyone with anything? Did Amanda know that she had nothing to worry about, besides the pain of the needles stuck in to her?
Chosen answer: This is probably the case - although knowing Xavier's mannerisms, it wasn't out of the question for him to put someone else through this torture, so it was always a possibility that she could be thrown in instead. Amanda would have known that the excrutiating pain was the only thing to worry about.
10th Oct 2005
Lost (2004)
Question: I was just wondering what those things are that Charlie wears on his fingers. He wears them in the first few episodes, and writes stuff on them, and stops wearing them at about episode 6. They look kind of like plasters. I was just wondering if anyone knew what they were?
Answer: I think they are exactly that - plasters...a bit like someone who would wear a wristband saying hope/fate or something like that.
21st Sep 2005
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Question: Can someone explain the significance of Draco Malfoy tearing out and pocketing the page from the book during the scene in the bookstore in Diagon Alley in the beginning of the movie?
Chosen answer: I think it is just meant to show that he has no respect for other peoples possessions. He must have seen a spell he liked, and 'stole' it. I have read the book and don't remember any significant reference to it in there either.
24th Jul 2005
War of the Worlds (2005)
Question: Near the beginning of the movie during the lightning storm Ray says "where's the thunder?", Isn't thunder just the sound lightning makes and if you were close enough to the lightning wouldn't the sound occur at the same time as the flash?
Answer: Precisely - Ray is seeing the lightning but there is no sound of thunder at all - there is also no sound of the thunder as the lightning is getting closer too, it's just the lightning itself and that 'whooshing' sound, but the sound doesn't sound like thunder.
29th Apr 2005
The Simpsons (1989)
Question: Can someone explain why Marge frowns when the art teacher is explaining The Lombardo theory, the one where he says "And here we have an adorable little bunny rabbit. It's just that easy." Why Marge seeming upset with what he just said? The reaction shot is a couple of seconds so I am assuming there is something that I must have missed.
Chosen answer: I think it's because the art teacher is making it seem so easy when in fact it is really quite difficult. I think the line he says is something like "Yes, even a rhombus can create an adorible little bunny rabbit" - it's obviously much harder than just putting shapes together. It could also be an inside joke by the animators maybe - Marge could be frowning because it's not 'that easy' to create an animation (which she is, obviously) and could just be a joke. Knowing the Simpsons, this wouldn't be too far-fetched.
29th Apr 2005
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
Question: Maybe I'm missing something, but why is it such a big deal that Trinity and Morpheus have to take the freeway when they're trying to escape with the Keymaker? Link reminds them that it's never been done, suggesting it's an incredibly risky manoeuvre, but why is this?
Chosen answer: Well, when they're on the freeway everybody in the cars are potential agents...the reason it's so dangerous (as opposed to, say, going by foot) is that agents in large vehicles are obviously more dangerous than agents on foot. The agents fear nothing, which is shown when the two agents in the lorries collide with each other. There are also fewer avenues of escape.
6th Jan 2005
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
Question: When Daniel is changing back into Mrs. Doubtfire, why does he/she pour the whole bottle of perfume over him/herself?
Answer: To get rid of the smell of alcohol, although it's pretty obvious Mrs Doubtfire is drunk anyway.
6th Jan 2005
Goldeneye (1995)
Question: What exactly happens between Trevelyan and Ourumov in the pre-title sequence? Is this just a staged hostage situation to get Bond's guard down? Or, if Ourumov really shot Trevelyan, how did he come back to life?
Answer: Yep it's a staged hostage situation. Trevelyan and Ourumov are in on it together and the gun was filled with blanks. The purpose of it was to get Bond to surrender, but it backfires and Bond sets the timers to 3 minutes instead of the planned 6 minutes - so Trevelyan and Ourumov have less time than they realise - hence the bad scarring on Trevelyan's face later in the film because presumably he got caught in the blast.
8th Nov 2004
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
Question: Does anyone know how long the war with the machines has actually been going on or what year it actually is in the real world?
3rd Mar 2004
The Terminator (1984)
Question: When Reese hot wires the car what's the name of the song that starts playing?
Answer: When they are in the car park? If that's the case, it's just called Tunnel Chase - written specifically for the film. It is located on the official soundtrack.
18th Sep 2004
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
Question: The Burly Brawl doesn't make sense in this movie. Neo as "The One" knows he can win a fight against hundreds of Smith agents , but he does not need to fight. He is not defending anyone at that moment, or fighting for his own survival. Since he is now a super hero, he could simply fly away. Besides he had the important mission of looking for the keymaker in order to save Zion in the real world. The burly brawl was only a waste of time for him. Am I right?
Answer: Technically, he could have flew away sooner...but the Burly Brawl is a sort of introduction to him of the millions of Smiths. He probably thought if he could just destroy the first 5 or 6 then they would be gone forever. After several hundred start attacking, he doesn't really get a decent chance to get away before the end of it. He keeps having to fight them off to get away, and as soon as he can, he does.
16th Sep 2004
Titanic (1997)
Question: Why didn't Jack say I love you to Rose when she said it to him in the end? I thought they both loved each other.
Answer: They do - but saying I love you in a situation like that is almost like you're saying goodbye...Jack didn't want to say that he loved her because he didn't want to seem like he was giving up - presumably he thought he'd get the chance to say it many times in the future, rather than saying it on their death bed.
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Answer: Not really - firstly, it's only a cartoon, and although Bart is only a child, his manhood is so crudely drawn it isn't exactly the most authentic (or anatomically correct) drawing of his 'winkle' - pretty much just a harmless joke.
Sam Johnson