Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more
These are questions relating to specific titles. General questions for movies and TV shows are here. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.
New this week Question: When the Cubs are playing the last game against the Mets, the last batter that Henry faces is Hedo. However, Henry has pitched three innings and only nine batters, so if you back up to the last batter Chet faced in the 6th inning, it wasn't Hedo. So how was he the 9th batter Henry faced?
Bigj0hns0n16Question: Doc Brown's workshop at the beginning of the movie strikes me as highly reminiscent of the one belonging to Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, right down to the elaborate food-dispensing mechanisms. Potts also had a dog named Edison in that movie, just as Doc has one named Einstein. Were these similarities intended as a deliberate homage, or are they just similar expressions of the "mad scientist" trope?
New today Answer: It's definitely a deliberate homage. The similarities between the two characters don't end there...in fact, both share the line "I've finally invented something that works!"
New this week Question: The final scene in the car at the red light in front of the Police station. They are discussing escaping to Mexico for the rest of their lives. They hold each other. The car doesn't move. Do they give themselves up to the police? Is that what the writer is implying?
New this week Answer: Although Connie wanted them to go to Mexico and assume new identities, it is implied that Edward, who initially goes along with that idea, will likely turn himself into the police. However, there's no definitive ending given, so the audience is left to interpret the outcome.
raywest
New this week Question: What song does the crew launch into immediately after Spanish Ladies?
Tom CleggNew this week Answer: I believe it's called "The British Tars." Not to be confused with "A British Tar" by Gilbert and Sullivan.
Bishop73New this week Question: Question about the franchise in general: would crowd funding be a viable method to finance new installments?
New this week Answer: Series creator Sam Raimi has said that there are three new ideas to continue the franchise, but there's no other information available at this time. Crowd funding could possibly fund another film, sure. But it's such a well-known franchise that it likely wouldn't be necessary. All we really know for sure is that the series "Ash VS Evil Dead" can't return, as it is under partial ownership by Starz, and producer Robert Tapert stated in a Q&A that they weren't interested in selling off the rights to the series. So if more "Evil Dead" is made, it likely wouldn't be a direct continuation of the series.
TedStixonNew this week Question: If Van Helsing is Gabriel "the archangel" then how did he become a "mere human" for 400 years? What did he do to have that happen? (03:00:00)
New this week Answer: It's never explained in the movie. Presumably it would have been expanded on in one of the sequels that was planned but never made. The only thing we can do as the audience is speculate.
TedStixonNew this week Question: What's the significance of the tattoo on the hands of the medjai?
New this week Answer: The tattoos they have are various symbols that mark them as Medjai. The sequel, "The Mummy Returns" confirms this.
TedStixonNew this week Yes, I know, but the tattoos on the top of the hands are different from the one on the forehead and the cheeks. It makes me think of pyramids.
New this week Question: At the end of their audit, the Solomons are ordered by the IRS to pay back-taxes, some of which for years they weren't even on the planet. Can the IRS actually make people pay taxes for years in which they had no income?
PhaneronNew this week Answer: No, the IRS cannot make you pay taxes during years in which you had no income but this family hasn't reported any income for years. You are still required to report your income every year, and if you fall below a certain threshold you don't pay federal income taxes. The IRS is assuming they are humans who have a house and careers but they have only filed taxes for a couple years (if at all). To the IRS it looks like simple tax evasion.
BaconIsMyBFFNew this month Question: How come this game has so much swearing compared to other games of the same rating?
New this week Answer: Perhaps due to the comical nature of the game, and that the violence wasn't too bad, the rating board overlooked it.
Dra9onBorn117New this week Question: House said he regretted not having his leg amputated. He could've done it any time, so why didn't he later?
MikeHNew this week Answer: As long as the leg remains physically viable, even if it's impaired and not causing chronic pain, a reputable doctor would not amputate simply because a patient wants it removed.
raywestNew this week Answer: This could be due to any number of reasons. Hospitals might not perform the operation so long after the accident especially since he is known to be working and living with the condition.
SsiscoolNew this week Question: I'm watching on Netflix. Was this edited somehow from the original? In the Netflix version Brian enlists the help of Todd and Kiersten to rescue his brother. After escaping the dungeon, it shows them rearming themselves at the school. Then there's a cutscene where Maurice is in Ronnie's room and says "oh, Ronnie." Brian, Todd, and Kiersten are see walking into Boy's room a 2nd time, then all of the sudden Ronnie is there with the battery pack, and no-one seems surprised. In the original, was Ronnie recruited the first time around and then cut in the Netflix version? In the Netflix version Boy says the line "why lose 5 lives when you can gain 4?" when there's only 4 kids and not 5. So I feel like he must have been there. If Ronnie was edited out, why? Was it just to save the run time? If Ronnie wasn't edited out, who are the 5 lives Boy is talking about?"
Bishop73New this week Answer: They went back to rescue Brian's younger brother Eric. Ronnie was there after Maurice went and got him to come and help. So the five lives refers to the four kids and the one that he stole which was Eric.
New this week Question: What time of year is this film set? One day it's warm enough to swim outdoors in central Spain, the next day it's ski season in northern Italy.
New this week Answer: The time setting is vague, but both Italy and Spain have Mediterranean climates (mild wet winters, hot dry summers). However, climate also varies by altitude, and, at certain times of the year, it could conceivably be cold enough in the Italian Alps for skiing while it is warmer in Spain for outdoor swimming. Also, movies tend to ignore reality for the sake of storytelling.
raywestNew this week Question: Back in 1885 why doesn't Doc change the letter he sent to Marty, asking him to bring a can of gas?
New this week Answer: When Marty received the letter from Doc in 1955, as seen in the second movie, Doc wrote down that he didn't want Marty to go to 1885 to rescue him because he was happy living in the past. Instead, he wanted Marty to take the Delorean straight back to 1985 and then destroy it so it could never be used for personal gain again.
New this week But once Marty appears in the past Doc could easily change the letter, changing things such that Marty would bring gas with him.
New this week That wouldn't really work with Marty already there. Since Marty and Doc are occupying the same timeline, changing the letter wouldn't do anything until Marty traveled back into the future, at which point the altered letter would be unnecessary since they had found a way for Marty to return.
PhaneronNew this week Changing the letter wouldn't have made a difference. When Doc decides to leave 1885, Marty tells Doc that he ripped the fuel line so, with the fuel line damaged and no gas available, bringing a can of gas wouldn't have helped.
New this week Answer: That would not be possible as in 1885, Doc sent the letter on September 1st, and 1955 Doc sent Marty to 1885 on September 2nd so it was a day later and on the 1st, Doc was not expecting Marty to turn up. However, one CAN ask why Marty and Doc didn't go to the local Western Union office and change it (or write a new one) there since it was in their possession per the gentleman in part 2.
New this week Changing the letter while Marty is in 1885 with Doc would accomplish nothing, because it doesn't it instantly travel to the future. Marty at the end of Part II, for his part, may receive the letter almost immediately, but the letter itself had to wait 70 years to be delivered to him.
PhaneronNew this week Question: Regarding the flipped shot early in the film when Indy has a bloody face, is there any practical reason for this (or for any movie that flips shots for that matter)? This isn't like some ordinary continuity error that the director, script supervisor and editors overlook. This is something that has to be done deliberately in the editing process.
PhaneronNew this week Answer: Usually it is an issue of continuity. If two people are talking to each other, one should be on left side of the screen looking screen right and the other person on the right side looking screen left. Otherwise the cuts will be confusing. Sometimes a mistake is made when setting up a shot. Sometimes something was cut from the scene and there is no acceptable shot to cover it, so they have to modify a shot that is close.
New this week Question: There's a scene in this episode I haven't seen in over 30 years (edited out in more recent years) where the 4 kids upstairs are arguing (boys vs girls) and the kids continuously stamp their feet on the floor and then Alice is shown downstairs watching her cake in the oven. Periodically with all the stomping from upstairs, the cake gets flatter until very flat the end of the scene. Question is does anyone remember this scene and why does the cake in the oven get flatter every time a kid stomps from upstairs?
New this week Answer: I haven't come across a scene like that, but maybe over time what you remember got mixed up with episodes of other shows, so this is just a suggested episode. "Try, Try Again." In the episode, Mike is preparing a gourmet meal for Saturday. Jan is practicing tap dancing in the kitchen and his soufflé that he had spent 3 days preparing is knocked to the floor. While it is true soufflés can "fall" (meaning deflate), it's because the cooking time was wrong (or opening the oven door too soon) or the structure of the egg whites is too weak. Noises don't make them collapse.
Bishop73New this week This was not from "Try, try again" (though I do remember that scene too). That was in a later season when the kids were older. The one I was talking about was during the first season when all the kids were young. I know the scene in question were the 4 youngest kids and the scene started by each the boys and girls arguing that Greg/Marcia (running for student body president) doesn't stand a chance against him/her to win (boys for Greg, girls for Marcia).
New this week That's "Vote For Brady", s01e11. I watched it and for some reason Carol tells Mike to be careful, after he makes too much noise, indicating noise will ruin the cake. Alice does keep checking on the cake with the oven light every time the kids make too much noise. However, the cake is always fine, and in fact getting bigger. Then, realizing the cake is fine, Alice is relieved and leans against the counter, knocking over the cutting board. The cutting board crashes to the ground, which this time does cause the cake to flatten. It seems like an exaggerated prop, I've never see a cake rise like that, it looks like how a muffin might rise. Then it's somehow deflated, as if it was hollow, like a puffed pastry, or too raw. If it was too raw, it shouldn't flatten in the oven. But the look of the cake doesn't remind me of any puffed pasty, which is made from a dough, not a batter and the cake looks like a batter cake to me. So, it just deflates for irony or comedy of error reasons.
Bishop73New this week Answer: I have not seen the scene, but a cake, realistically, would not deflate in that way. There are some desserts, like delicate, airy souffles, that can deflate during and after baking, and that must be served almost immediately from the oven. The scene, broadly played for humor, is merely meant to show the argument's growing intensity gauged against the rate of the deflating cake.
raywestNew this week Question: Is there anywhere I could find behind the scenes of Buckbeak's execution? From before they went back in time? If so, can I please have a link?
New this week Answer: Buckbeak was never executed. Harry, Hermione, and Ron had mistakenly believed he was because from their vantage point on the hill, they could not see that Buckbeak had already disappeared. What they initially saw was the executioner swinging his ax in frustration because Buckbeak was gone. We learn later that the "alternate" Harry and Hermione had already rescued him before the execution. Therefore, there are no scenes filmed showing this.
raywestNew this week I know that. I meant are there any behind the scenes videos for that scene at all.
New this week There is this on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR8stMyZWq0.
raywestNew this week Question: Was Madame Maxime really half giant? Because when Hagrid says this to her in the book she is offended and says that she is just big boned. So is that true? Is she really big boned or was she lying?
New this week Answer: She was half-giant, but Madame Maxine was extremely self-conscious about her heritage and denied it. Apart from feeling out-of-place due to her height, she knew giants were feared and considered lower-status denizens in the wizard world. They were generally dangerous, unpredictable, and not particularly intelligent.
raywestNew this week Question: In the book, Dwight and Toby paint the whole house white, including the piano. But in the movie, I don't remember that scene. They definitely have movie still photos though of Robert De Niro and Leonrdo DiCaprio covered in white paint. Anyone understand this?
New this week Answer: It's typical in movies that more scenes are filmed than what makes it into the final film. This has to do with continuity, the film's overall length, plotting, etc. If a certain scene does not serve the overall story structure, then it is edited out. Sometimes the studio insists that certain scenes be cut, even over a director's objections. After a movie is released on DVD, the deleted scenes may be restored in a "director's cut" or there's a separate section showing all the edited portions.
raywestNew this week Thanks! Just wanted to make sure I wasn't making it up.
New this week Question: If Vesper was a traitor from the start, why did she save Bond in the car? Wouldn't it be easier to let him die and let Le Chiffre win the game to save her husband?
New this week Answer: Vesper had fallen for Bond and didn't want him to die. Later on she makes a deal with Mr. White to spare Bond's life when he comes for Le Chifre.
BaconIsMyBFFNew this week So she worked for Le Chiffre giving the location of the chip and the tic and then to Mr. White to save Bond's life?
New this week She never actually worked for Le Chifre, per se. She worked for Quantum (the organization Mr. White worked for). It's just that Quantum wanted Vesper to help Le Chifre get the money because he was also working for them.
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New today Answer: Since we never see Hedo on the field, it's certainly possible that he's kept solely as a pinch hitter.
LorgSkyegon