Question: This question might be more for the book, but Mad Eye said they would have to transport in ways the trace can't detect. But the trace would only detect magic used near an underage person. Harry is the only one who is underage. So they could have used a portkey. I understand that they need to cast a spell to make a portkey but they could have cast the spell before they were near Harry and then transported to the burrow. Or have I made a mistake?
lionhead
4th Nov 2019
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
Answer: Two things. 1. You are not allowed to create an unauthorized portkey. The ministry must be aware of it. I think the incantation (portus) is traced. 2. Using a portkey is magical use, so the moment Harry touches it, the ministry would be alerted and possibly know where the portkey transported to.
Then how did Dumbledore get away with it in Order of the Phoenix when he made a portkey to get the children to Grimmauld Place?
Well he is an extremely powerful wizard and the headmaster of Hogwarts. I think he made it at Hogwarts yes? He could have had a trick up his sleeve to do it. Might be a bit more tricky for Mad-Eye and the rest whilst the Ministry is under control of deatheaters. Just too risky.
Also, using magic near an underage wizard isn't traced. Just when it is used by an underage wizard.
No, the trace is meant to detect magic used near an underaged wizard.
The wiki specifically says it's a trace of magic in the vicinity of an underage wizard, not the underage wizard him/herself. It's mentioned working like that by Alastair Moody in the books too.
When Harry used magic to repel the dementors that attacked him and Dudley in Order of the Phoenix, the Ministry of Magic instantly detected that he cast a patronus spell. He was immediately "charged" for using underage magic. What would happen when a young wizard was at home for the summer and holidays and is around adult wizards using magic all the time? The trace would be going off continually for every underaged magic person. It was mentioned in the books that if an underaged wizard did use magic at home, it could be confused with the adults who were casting spells.
Harry once got a warning from the "improper use of magic office" for casting a hover charm, even though it was Dobby who did it. I don't know where you get your information from, but it is wrong. The trace can only detect magic has been used, not who used it. This is explained by Alastair Moody in Deathly Hallows Chapter 4.
3rd Nov 2019
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Question: What does the French soldier scream at Cole before he shoots him?
Answer: Cole is screaming "Stop!" so you can't hear what the soldier is saying. If you mean all of it, it's in the line of asking what he is doing there, calling the captain to have a look, ask him where his clothes are, and telling him to speak French.
17th Jun 2015
Friends (1994)
The One with Mrs. Bing - S1-E11
Question: When we first see Mrs Bing on TV, Jay Leno mentions that she recently got arrested and asks how it came about. Her response is "occasionally, after being intimate with a man, I just get a craving for Kung Pao chicken" This gets a lot of cheers and laughter from the audience and Chandler shouts "that's too much information!" at the TV. What was happening here? Why does what Mrs Bing said get so much of a reaction from everyone and not answer the question she was asked? Am I missing something?
Answer: This is a story about how Chandler's mom got arrested. So she is saying "after being intimate with a man I get a craving for Kung Pao Chicken." So what she is implying is that she is intimate with whomever, and immediately afterwards when orders Kung Pao Chicken. By this she is saying she got arrested at the place where they sell Kung Poa Chicken, because she was being intimate with the individual there. Conclusion she was openly having sex at a Chinese Restaurant.
Answer: I've seen a few answers that are similar to this. It's really unclear to me what the relation to being arrested is and/or why it's too much information. I feel like I'm missing a connection here.
Chosen answer: Nora Bing's remarks got a huge response by her being funny and making the incident about sex. Audiences tend react to titillating anecdotes. Chandler, of course, is always mortified by his mother for not acting her age and being sexually uninhibited.
This answers nothing really.
Answer: I honestly think part of it has been deleted since the original broadcast. I remember her saying something extra that carried on the joke, but watching it on streaming services, it isn't there.
28th Oct 2019
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
26th Oct 2019
American Psycho (2000)
26th Oct 2019
The Terminator (1984)
Question: Why would a gun store have ammo on display? Would it make more sense to have it behind the counter or a hidden place so customers can't take some when the clerk's not looking?
Answer: Things that are sold are on dispay or people wouldn't know you got it for sale now would they? The clerk is alert for shoplifters, its his risk. No difference from a gas station.
I think the question is referring to why would they have the ammo on the counter and not on a shelf behind the counter or in a display counter? Having live ammunition on the counter is, as you say the clerks risk. But it does seem rather foolish.
I think inexpensive things are common to be put on counters to sell. Like cigarette lighters, candy and lottery tickets. Bullets seem a bit dubious as this scene shows someone can load their gun on the spot, but I don't think in reality anyone would do that.
9th Feb 2004
The Ring (2002)
Question: When does Rachel realise if she shows the film to someone else she won't die? And if she knew, is that why she showed it to Noah, to kill him on purpose?
Answer: At the end of the movie, she is crying about why she wasn't killed and Noah was. She vocalizes "What did I do, that he didn't?" That's when she sees the copy she made. It wasn't that she just showed it to someone else. She made a copy and Aiden watched that copy. Aiden is why it skipped her.
Almost right. It's just the copy. Copying the video makes it skip you. That's why she has Aiden make a copy as well.
You have to show the copy to someone else as well. That's why Aiden asks Rachel at the very end "What about the person we show it to? What happens to them?"
But doesn't he have less than a day left by then? Hardly a time to relax, they need to make a terrible decision, quickly. I always had the idea making a copy was enough because of that.
He watched the tape the morning of either Rachel's 4th or 5th day, so he should have at least 3 days left by this point. Though it appears the film was being inconsistent with the markings that Samara leaves on the tape's viewers, since Rachel noticed Samara's hand print on Aiden's arm and then his nose started bleeding. For Rachel, she got her nosebleed before receiving the mark on her arm.
Actually, you need to do both: make a copy and show it to someone else. This is further explained in The Ring 2. At the beginning, the guy had made a copy but since the girl covered her eyes and didn't watch the whole thing, he was still killed by Samara. So making a copy is not enough in itself to be spared if no-one else watches it. The same goes for Rachel. She made a copy on the 2nd day, but Becca tells her she only has 4 days left when she visits the psych ward indicating she hadn't been spared yet. It's only after Aidan watches the copy she made that death skips her for good.
Answer: No, it's wrong. Just making a copy won't save you; you need to show it to someone else, and then this someone else is cursed instead of you. The Japanese movie explains it well. Plus, in the official second movie, a man dies from Samara after making the copy because nobody watched it. Also, at the end of the 1st movie, Aiden asks from the copy, "What will happen to the one who will watch it?"
17th Oct 2019
Joker (2019)
Question: One thing confused me. If Penny Fleck abused Arthur and was confined to Arkham, why was Arthur living with her for most of the film, wouldn't he have been separated from her by the state?
Answer: In the movie Arthur is an adult. He would have been separated from her as a child but, once he turned 18, if he wanted to live with his mother as soon as she was released nobody could stop that.
23rd Feb 2019
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Question: When Mace reflects the force lightning back at Palpatine, did it reveal his true form, or make him that way as a result?
Answer: It was as a result of the lightning over his face.
I do not believe Lucas has ever stated the cause, but it is most likely a combination of things. Palpatine was using a considerable amount of dark force power to hold Mace, and Mace was redirecting it back at him. He may have also allowed the disfigurement on purpose, to get more sympathy from Anakin. An out of left field idea is that this is how he has looked for a while, and Palpatine has been using the force to project a nicer image until it was no longer necessary.
There is no evidence in any of the Star Wars movies that dark force users change in appearance simply from using the dark side of the force, only scarred from facing hardships. His face got badly burned and scarred from the lightning redirected at him. Yes he did it on purpose to show his suffering to Anakin, but it didn't reveal his "true face" or anything. Darth Maul, Dooku nor Kylo Ren ever show any changes in appearance. Vader, Snoke and Sidious are all simply scarred.
He claims to the Senate that the Jedi attacked him, and he has the scars to prove it.
That's true too.
Why wasn't Mace scarred when he didn't have his lightsaber anymore and Palpatine used even more powerful force lightning?
Before he goes out of the window, you can briefly see he isn't when the lightning isn't in the way.
That's a good question. I'd say it wasn't as intense. Palpatine's exposure was quite intense and close to his face whilst Windu got it all over his body. As you know Luke was hit by lightning as well in ROTJ, but also more on his body and from a distance.
My strongest idea is that Mace's lightsaber had a lot of impact with the force lightning towards Palpatine, being up-close to him. I also think he did do it to be disfigured in appearance and gain more sympathy from Anakin under the impression that he was "weak," along with the the force lightning itself.
I also think the scarring story to the senate was an afterthought at some point, but he intentionally allowed the disfigurement with the force lightning for more sympathy along with the pain of the lightning itself.
12th Oct 2019
Joker (2019)
Question: Does Arthur kill Sophie when he realises he's hallucinated their relationship? I know there may not be a concrete answer to this.
Answer: Yeah it's completely up to the viewer to believe he killed her or not. I don't think he did, he liked her, just like Gary. I think he visited to see if it was all in his head, with that confirmed he just left.
Answer: Todd Philips actually answered this in an interview on IndieWire; "As the filmmaker and the writer I am saying he doesn't kill her. We like the idea that it's almost like a litmus test for the audience to say, 'How crazy is he?' Most people that I've spoken to think he didn't kill her because they understand the idea that he only kills people that did him wrong. She had nothing to do with it. Most people understood that, even as a villain, he was living by a certain code. Of course he didn't kill this woman down the hall."
7th Oct 2019
Joker (2019)
Question: Spoiler! The scene at the very end, with Arthur locked up talking to the doctor/social worker - is that meant to be later, after he's been captured again, or is it a flashback to when he was hospitalised before, as was referenced earlier in the movie?
Answer: This is later, as the building appears to be Arkham. He's committed there instead of going to jail based on his insanity. It appears he is laughing about the death of Thomas Wayne, we see a flash of that scene again for a reason.
12th Oct 2019
Stripes (1981)
11th Oct 2019
Stargate SG-1 (1997)
The Serpent's Lair (3) - S2-E1
Question: How did Daniel get into the sarcophagus all on his own in order to heal his staff weapon wound? Then how did he operate the sarcophagus while inside it? Finally, how did he get it to open while inside it? How lucky that he got it opened in time to escape through the gate. Or maybe the real question is, who loaded him in, healed him, and then released him without ever being seen?
Answer: The Goa'Uld who use it do it by themselves as well as observed on many occassions. The sarcophaguses are fully automated. You open it, get in, the thing closes on its own and after a certain period (after the wounds are healed or some preset time) it opens again.
9th Oct 2019
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992)
Question: When Pinhead kills JP Monroe, what is the device that is affixed to Monroe's head that is also part of his Cenobite form?
Chosen answer: It's a piston. 2 piston rods are jammed through his head and they move powered by something unknown. You can see the crank shaft and part of some sort of cylinder. A piston is part of an internal combustion engine. It's part of his cenobite form since he liked cars.
1st Oct 2019
Preacher (2016)
Question: I missed something somewhere. The whole way through, Humperdoo is viewed as the "real" son of God, whereas Jesus seems like an afterthought. What's the difference? Why is everyone obsessed with Humperdoo being more important than the original Jesus?
Chosen answer: God made Humperdoo part of his apocalypse plan, whilst Jesus is left out. Jesus died on the cross and went to heaven, Humperdoo is the descendant of Jesus and is actually alive. Thats why he is more important, a living heir of God.
Answer: God was disappointed in Jesus, and chose to favour Humperdoo. Jesus initially wanted to be part of God's plan, but came to the realisation that it was wrong. He turned on Hitler and by the time God came back to Jesus, no longer wanted any part in it.
24th Sep 2019
Toy Story 2 (1999)
Question: After seeing Woody with Buzz's arm unattached, why did Slinky leave Woody with everyone else at the window when earlier he believed everything Woody did was by accident?
Answer: This is a scene from Toy Stoy 1, but the severed arm proves to them he has hurt Buzz, something Slinky and some others didn't believe yet. They just think that confirms it.
But didn't he think he accidentally knocked him out of the window and unintentionally hurt him at the time?
Yes, he along with Rex and others thought he didn't do it on purpose despite what Mr. Potatohead said. Until they saw him with the severed arm. Then Slinky went along with the group.
Woody using the arm as a prop was enough to convince Slinky it wasn't an accident.
23rd Sep 2019
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Question: Why doesn't JJJ look like himself? True he's being played by JK Simmons but here he's bald without the trademark Jameson hairstyle.
Answer: The general movie-going audience doesn't always know the difference between MCU movies and movies that are based on Marvel properties made by other studios. Jameson's different look might have been done to avoid confusing fans into thinking that this iteration of Spider-Man is somehow connected to the Sam Raimi films.
23rd Sep 2019
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
Question: During flight class, when we see Hermione's broom rolling just above the ground, there is something black in front of the broom. I don't mean Hermione's sleeve. What is it?
Answer: I don't think you mean this but you can see the shoe of the person standing next to her. If you mean on the bottom side of the screen then you can see Hermione (or whoever is standing there) kick the broom to make it move I think. But it's not causing all the movement of the broom though, but there is definite contact with a foot. You can't see the top of the broom (I'd say that's the front BTW).
20th Sep 2019
War of the Worlds (2005)
Question: I've been looking all over for this answer and can't find it. I know this has been asked, but it has not been properly answered to what I can find. At the end of "War of the Worlds", Tom Cruise saw the birds and realised the shields were down. How did the shields deactivate? I understand that the aliens got sick and died from bacteria, but there must have been something else. Even if there were designated aliens to control each tripod's forcefield, there is no way that every "Shield duty" alien died before the other members of their crew, leaving their tripod mobile and vulnerable... Were they getting low on resources because they had eradicated too many humans too quickly? Did they decide that since the majority of people died, that they could focus on using more of their "fuel" towards mobility and capturing instead of combat?
Answer: I believe its supposed to be the tripods work on the alien's biology, so its powered by the presence of a Martian inside. So if the martian is sick, the tripod is sick.
That's always what I believed. This is further evidenced by the fact the tripods themselves have actually been on earth for millions of years, but they get "sick" when the Martians do. It has to be tied to the Martian's own health for that to make any sense.
Answer: Bear in mind if memory serves we only see that one tripod with no shields - other than that we're just told another one "behaved erratically" then went down. So there's no evidence that all the shields on all the tripods went down by default. Could well just be that with the one we see the alien inside was seriously ill, flailing about and deactivated the shields by mistake not long before becoming completely incapacitated.
24th May 2018
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Question: Since the board fired Norman in the last movie, how come Harry became the new owner after he died?
Answer: Despite being removed as CEO, Norman would still own the stock, which would then be passed on to Harry.
Did Harry have to take over or was it his decision?
It's always a choice to become CEO of a company.
Answer: Well Harry did want to keep his father's "Honor" and quoting from the first film, "become half of what he is." He didn't want to disappoint his father even after death. Or has a bigger goal in mind. But he did it on his own.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: The trace detects when an underaged wizard casts a magic spell whenever they are away from Hogwarts. It doesn't detect adult wizards using magic near a minor. If a portkey was used to transport Harry, it could have been detected when he touched it because he would be using magic. The safest and least detectable way to move him from point A to B, was to fly him there.
raywest ★