Question: Genie tells Aladdin he cannot kill, or make anyone fall in love, or bring people back from the dead. He also tells Aladdin he cannot wish for more wishes. Shouldn't that make four rules not three?
lionhead
3rd Apr 2018
Aladdin (1992)
Answer: The three rules refer to what he could wish for, not how many. It's like a coupon that tells you both what it's good for and limit one per customer. The rules about distinct things that don't affect each other.
Answer: The Genie never actually says that he has "3 rules", he just numbers the three you mentioned as he is explaining them. He told Aladdin about the "no more wishes" rule before he sang "Never Had a Friend Like Me." He doesn't include "no more wishes" in his list of rules because Aladdin already knew about it.
Yes of course it's a rule. What difference does it make?
I meant yes it would make four rules.
He says there are a few "provisors", a few "quid pro quo's" (which doesn't make any sense) to the 3 wishes he can do. That's what he can't do because he is limited into doing them. However, the not getting more than 3 wishes is something the Genie himself won't do for him. The 3 limitations he sums up are about the wishes itself, the fact he can do only 3 is a separate rule the Genie himself won't do. So the wishes have only 3 official rules because the Genie can't do anything about them, and 1 particular wish the Genie simply won't grant.
21st Mar 2018
Gladiator (2000)
Question: In the first fight scene as gladiators they are chained up together as pairs. Maximus continues not saying anything...then the next battle scene Maximus walks across all of the gladiators and is greeted just like he was when he was a general to his soldiers, and he has a battle against 6 or 7 people. Why was he singled out to fight all by himself? The movie didn't portray him as standing out in the first gladiator battle when he was chained with the Nubian.
Answer: After the first battle he was quickly identified as being General Maximus Decimus Meridius, the great leader of the roman armies, by his fellow gladiators and Proximo. Although the outside world didn't know, Proximo put him up for more prestigious battles because he is a great warrior and leader.
2nd Mar 2018
Predator (1987)
Question: Why did the Predator laugh after activating its self-destruct?
Answer: Note that he had just learned to laugh from Billy (after hearing the silly joke of Hawkins). Maybe he misinterpreted the situation or redefined the sense of laughing for his purpose.
Answer: The predator began laughing knowing that he was about to kill himself and his greatest rival.
Answer: Dutch may have won the battle, but he lost the war. Even though Dutch beat the Predator, the Predator - by blowing up both of them - was the ultimate winner. The Predator was telling Dutch, "Got ya!" - despite your strategies, persistence, and effort, they were all in vain. But the Predator wasn't around to see that Dutch was able to flee in time and save himself. (Now who is laughing?)
4th Mar 2018
The Dark Knight (2008)
Question: Did Harvey Dent know that Bruce Wayne was actually Batman? His quote "Rachel's told me everything about you", and him telling Rachel that they were coming for her seems to imply this to me.
Answer: No, he doesn't know. His comment to Bruce is a very common expression, and it makes sense that Rachel would have told Harvey all about her childhood friendship with Bruce. Bruce's response, 'I certainly hope not', is a reference to his being Batman and he and Rachel's romantic history, both of which he would rather Rachel not broadcast. Harvey telling Rachel that they will rescue her is just to try and keep her calm while they try to figure out how to escape.
Answer: Additionally, if Harvey knew that Bruce is Batman, he would have had even more of a vendetta against him once he became Two-Face, since Batman rescued Harvey earlier and not Rachel. He may have even revealed Batman's secret identity to Commissioner Gordon at the film's climax.
On the other hand, knowing that Batman is Bruce Wayne could cause Dent to realise he is not the only one of who has lost something, Bruce did too. Batman would have a right to speak about whats fair.
19th Jan 2014
Jumanji (1995)
Question: At the end, how is it that Alan and Sarah remember Judy and Peter, if they grew up as if nothing had happened?
Chosen answer: Alan and Sarah remember everything that had happened during the course of the game's length, as would Judy and Peter if they'd been alive yet when the game started. All players retain their memory of the game after it ends, except in this sort of unusual circumstance where two of them didn't exist at the time the game began.
With the logic of Jumanji 2, Judy and Peter will also remember Jumanji in 1995. They still do not remember it because the final scene of the first film is at Christmas 1994.
Too bad Jumanji 2 has no logic and has nothing to do with this one except the name.
The logic of Jumanji 2 (which this is) doesn't apply because the idea is in the original Jumanji film, Alan and Sarah changed Judy and Peter's history and they ended up never playing the game. In Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Alex does nothing to change the history of the 4 main characters, therefore, they go on to play the game after Alex returns to his own time.
Answer: Actually I believe the kids did remember there was a silent look shared between all them at the end when they meet up that many people say is confusion but I think its more along the lines of "hey don't blow this shared secret none of us can explain"
Nah there is no indication that Peter an Judy remembered as well. Think about it, they would have remembers from since they were born. Also, they would then also know their parents will die in an accident. Thats crazy. They had that look because Alan and Sarah reacted that way and were wondering why they did that. They didn't say anything and even wondered why Alan and Sarah so emphatically said "no" to their parents going skiing (where they would have their accident).
I feel Judy and Peter remember Alan and Sarah because when Alan and Sarah shouted that Judy and Peters parents cannot go for the skiing vacation Judy and Peter did not have a shocked look on their face instead they had a smile on their face.
2nd Mar 2018
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
Question: I've been wanting to finally watch the TV series, but I've never understood one thing... I know the movie is technically not 100% canonical with the series, but I've heard they later tried to connect it with the series with a comic-book adaptation. So should I watch the movie before the series? Or should I just go ahead and watch the series on its own, and treat the movie as an entirely separate "thing"? Or can it be done either way?
Answer: I'd say you treat them as 2 separate things. My personal opinion is that you should just watch the series and forget about the movie.
22nd Feb 2018
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Question: Why did Barty run away, letting Harry go at the world cup? I know he heard the voices of Hermione and Ron but he's smart enough to know that he could've killed them and then just taken Harry. After all, isn't that why he was there in the first place?
Answer: Taking Harry and killing Ron and Hermione at that time would have made it too obvious that Voldemort was behind it. Voldemort's plot hinged on abducting Harry in a way that no one would immediately know what had happened to him. The TriWizard Tournament was traditionally extremely dangerous, resulting in students in past events being killed while competing. Harry's disappearance in the maze would initially be attributed to some tragic mishap, giving Voldemort time to complete his resurrection.
Yeah, the ritual needed to be made ready too I think, for Voldemort's revival.
22nd Feb 2018
Jumanji (1995)
Question: Why did anyone believe Sam killed Alan? Nobody saw it happen and everybody knew Sam loved him. What made anyone believe that Sam killed his own son?
Answer: People believe the craziest things. I don't think it was widely believed Sam killed Alan, but that he ran away from home. Through the passed time stories pop up about murder and hiding Alan behind the walls of the house. It was just a rumour.
Answer: The only mention of the rumor we hear is from the exterminator in 1995. Maybe he just made it up to try to spook Judy and Peter, or he heard a rumor that got distorted over time and didn't question it himself.
Actually Sarah also mentions the same rumor.
Answer: I think it was a way to solve the mystery of the town. All kinds of theories are created.
Even though Sarah Whittle was the only witness to Alan's disappearance.
20th Feb 2018
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Question: Why does Darth Vader's mask need to alter his vision (there are digital symbols and a red shade to the lenses)? I had a classmate who had been burned in a fire, including his face, but he could see normally.
Answer: Anakin Skywalker's eyes were fine, the mask visor just gives him extras probably like heat vision and a HUD. Since he was wearing the mask, he might as well wear a visor with technology that enhances his vision.
He had become Darth Vader before the fight with Obi-Wan on Mustafar. He is no longer Anakin Skywalker when he first receives the mask.
11th Feb 2018
The Truman Show (1998)
Question: What did he see in the picture book which made him suspicious?
Answer: Meryl's fingers were crossed in their wedding picture, which made him think she was hiding something or that it was fake somehow. Later when he sees her, he says "I'll cross my fingers for ya" indicating he realises something is up.
Answer: In addition to what Bishop73 responded, he also notices other oddities. For example, the "Mount Rushmore" they allegedly took a vacation to was, in retrospect, pretty miniature.
I don't think he suspected much from the mount Rushmore miniature, he probably doesn't really know any landmarks that well. You see him wonder for a moment but that was only what spurred him to look closer at his wedding picture.
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.
5th Feb 2018
Logan (2017)
Question: When Logan received the Adamantium which was grafted to his bones he was fully grown. The girl though is just a little kid who has a lot of physical growing to do. My question is if the Adamantium was given to her the same way, 1 wouldn't it prevent her bones from properly growing (she would end up all deformed from bones growing that are not attached to the metal among many other problems), and 2 the movie takes place in 2029 and Logan got the metal in the 80s yet he's been alive for like 200 years. So he's only had the metal inside him for about 50 years and he states in the movie the metal is slowly poisoning him to death. Which brings me back to the girl. Wouldn't it do the same thing to her and slowly start poisoning her but at a much younger age?
Answer: In the comics, Laura only had the adamantium coated to her claws. We see in one scene that she is in surgery with her arms and legs cut open. We can assume that this is the same in the movie, so no her bones will not be deformed while growing, but her claws may or may not grow. Now about the toxicity about the adamantium, Logan's healing factor is weakening which is why the adamantium's toxicity is killing him. Laura has such a small amount and is so much younger that her healing factor will probably keep her alive as long as Logan's did.
Answer: The various types of adamantium aren't discussed much in the film like they are in the comics. After "true adamantium" was applied to Wolverine, his healing factor converted it into "adamantium beta", which does not interfere with biological bone functions. Even after being fully grown, bones can't be fully covered in metal or it would prevent things like blood cell formation. However, adamantium is poisonous to the body and it's only Logan's mutant healing factor that cures him. Laura's mutant healing factor is what cures her. However, as you stated, Logan is very old and his healing abilities have diminished over time and thus are not sufficient to prevent the poisoning. If Laura becomes old enough for her healing abilities to fail, she too will become poisoned by the adamantium.
Isn't it assumed that his healing factor is failing because of the adamantium poisoning?
In the movie it is suggested that it is the adamantium that is killing him (the doctor tells him something inside him is poisoning him, to which Logan replies he knows). It seems this adamantium poisoning has slowly been leeching his healing ability, but it has taken time. However, there are other things that will stop a mutant's healing factor, such as the Muramasa Blade. In "The Wolverine", Ichiro Yashida was able to successfully drain some of Logan's healing factor (before being killed). So it's possible this draining is what affected his ability to heal fully from the poisoning, in the film series. (Unless of course one subscribes to the notion that "X-Men: Days of Future Past" altered the timeline to essentially make the events in "The Wolverine" never happen).
27th Jan 2011
Aliens (1986)
Question: This has been an endless point of debate among my friends and I; how sensible is the placing of the pulse rifle's ammo counter? It seems to me that it'd be very problematic since, if the operator were right handed, they'd have to turn the weapon on its side to read how many bullets they had left.
Answer: A digital ammo counter, like the ammo indicators on magazines, wouldn't be useful in the heat of battle. However, it would be very useful while not in battle. For example, with a real firearm, you would need to remove the magazine to check how many rounds remained in it. With a digital display, you could simply look. The larger issue, of course, is that with a display on the gun, your enemy would also know how many rounds you had left.
If you had the counter on the top of the weapon facing you, you could immediately see how many rounds you had left and the enemy could only see it if he were behind you.
Answer: Yes you're right, the ammo counter is badly placed, but then again a seasoned marine wouldn't need to rely on it in the first place as they'd know through experience when they are about to run out.
Answer: In all honesty you really wouldn't need an ammo counter. Either you shoot until the weapon runs dry and then you have to reload or you shoot until the threat is gone in which case you would do a "tactical reload" where you remove the partial mag and insert a fresh mag to ensure you have max ammo again for the next firefight.
That is, if you have another mag to do a tactical reload with. Real life is not like in videogames where you reload and only count bullets, you gotta have magazines.
11th Jan 2018
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
6th Jan 2018
Gladiator (2000)
2nd Jan 2018
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Question: We are told that Dave Jones and his crew were ‘fishified' (by Calypso?) because they stopped ferrying souls, because Davy Jones was mad when his girlfriend, Calypso, didn't show up after he had been ferrying souls for ten years. So was Davy Jones just pirating after that and always trying to staff up the ship? Why would he need to recruit if they were undead? And what was happening to the souls, before Will became Captain of the Flying Dutchman and fulfilled the duties?
Answer: The souls were just drifting around, not finding peace as we see when the black pearl sails away from Davey Jones locker. Davey Jones was just having fun killing shipwrecked people and recruiting anyone who feared death. The crews members don't stay on the ship indefinitely, some get off eventually and Davey needs to resupply the ranks.
1st Jan 2018
Monsters University (2013)
Question: Mike and Sulley are able to activate the door when stuck at the kids camp by harnessing enough screams to activate it. If laughter is 10 times more powerful than screams, then why wouldn't child laughter (especially if there is a Birthday party, etc.) not activate doors from the "human world" allowing kids to go into the factory (monster world) all the time?
Answer: Well a door first needs to be activated from the monster side. See the doors of the human world lack the receiver for the energy they need to open the doorway between worlds (the red light on top). That's why in the monster world they hook a door up to a machine to activate it allowing the passage between worlds before any scream or laugh is made. It costs power to activate a door to allow a monster in. Boo was able to activate doors because she was in the monster world and her screams and laughs triggered the devices on top of the doors, activating them automatically. This was the first time ever a human entered the monster world.
1st Jan 2018
Passengers (2016)
Question: If he can't afford more than crappy coffee and oatmeal, then how does he afford all the alcohol and fancy restaurants he goes to?
Answer: I think the breakfast is free, however the lower class doesn't get a fancy meal for free but a more basic type. The restaurants and bar on the other hand cost money.
Answer: Perhaps customers at the bar and restaurant are allowed to run a tab that doesn't have to be settled until they are leaving the Starship Avalon and about to go to Homestead II. (This could be risky given the different resources of the passengers.) Or maybe the bar and restaurant are included in the fee for some passengers and staff would typically be at the door to allow admission to these passengers; Jim - awake and roaming - may be assumed to be eligible to use the bar/restaurant when, under normal circumstances, he would not be permitted to enter.
Answer: I wondered about this, too. His lower-class passage limits his breakfast choice. However, it seems that any passenger should be able to upgrade their individual meals at anytime and order what they want, as he does in the multiple on-board restaurants. It may be that breakfast, for whatever reason, is exempt from that option.
Yeah but they simply push a button for the breakfast and actually order food from the restaurants. You might think he would just go ahead and go to one of the restaurants to get his breakfast, but maybe they aren't open yet at that time. The ship seems to be more of a cross between a luxurious cruise and boot-camp. The breakfast is perhaps standard ship protocol.
I agree the paid for bar and restaurant don't probably open until 'Evening time' on the ship (You don't want your workers getting drunk all day, Jim is work group). The ship has a day and night clock system as heard by the announcer. I suppose Jim could change his wake up and sleep time to get a decent breakfast in the Chinese, but then his dinner would be basic and he wouldn't be able to have a drink before bed. What would you choose? Basic breakfast, good evening meal with drinks or good breakfast, basic evening meal and no drinks.
1st Jan 2018
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Question: Why do Borg always attack earth with only one single ship? We already know from ST: Voyager that Borg have so many ships in the delta-quadrant that they sometimes attack with 10 or more ships at the same time. Why don't they just send 2 or 3 of their cubes next time? Borg knows that the Federation needed their very last resources and a lot of luck to defeat the Borg Cube last time (Battle of Wolf359). So 2 ships at least should do the job this time. Instead they again send one cube and risk defeat.
Answer: The Borg think like machines. They have calculated that one cube is enough to conquer Earth so they send one cube. Both times they were defeated because of incalculable events. Both times they didn't have a reason to send more than one cube.
This is wrong. Borg do have a big reason to send more than one cube the second time. They know that Locutus (Picard) is there somewhere and can log-in into the Borg hive when Borg are near him. He received visions from the Borg shortly before battle and calculated with this information "unimportant" weak-spots which destroyed the second Borg cube. If someone knows your weak spots and this someone is nearby, then Borgs should be more precautious than last time.
The Enterprise was not at the battle, the Borg knew that, Picard went in against orders and intervened. This time the Borg took more than just a cube anyway, they took time travel with them. They probably had it as a contingency plan.
The contingency plan is even more brainless, explaining one plot hole with another one. There is absolutely no need to fly into the earths atmosphere to start their time machine. They could've done it even more safely before entering federation territory.
That doesn't make any sense. They didn't have to enter the atmosphere, I don't even think they did. The sphere escaped the exploding cube and almost immediately opened a vortex. Also, saying that they "could have done it even more safely before entering federation space" is nonsense since they needed to be in federation space for the contingency plan anyway. Nothing safer about it doing it outside of federation space, just takes more time.
Answer: The Borg don't care that much about Earth, or losing a single cube. They are mostly testing the water before fully expanding towards the Alpha Quadrant. Their space is in the Delta Quadrant and still a long way from expanding into the Alpha Quadrant.
Not entirely true because the Borg queen was on board the cube, and they had a contingency plan to go back in time, making their efforts quite elaborate. They have attacked Earth twice now, because they know about it from the Enterprise (and Q) and plan on conquering it and expand into the Alpha Quadrant. A cube is equivalent to an entire fleet of ships and Picard accurately calls this action by the Borg an invasion (the second one).
1st Jan 2018
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Question: After R2-D2 helps fix the escaping ship, Queen Amidala thanks the droid in front of Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and her handmaidens, but Amidala's decoy refers to her handmaiden as Padme. Why doesn't she refer to her as Sabe? Doesn't everyone know that Queen Amidala's first name is Padme?
Answer: Padme was impersonating a handmaid, using her real name. Sabe was playing her role of Queen Amidala. This was unknown to Qui-Gon.
But the point is that using the queen's real name seems like it's giving the game away a bit.
Answer: There is a difference between what he cannot do and won't do.
lionhead
You're going to going to need to be more specific.