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.

Answer: No, it was just the illusion that she was on stage.

raywest

Death and a Sunset - S2-E1

Question: All of Cooper's wells hit oil, and they are really excited, but then later in the episode, he speaks to Tommy and tells him it's 5,000 barrels a day (I think), yet this is a problem. I don't understand how it's a problem, as I would imagine the more oil the better, so why is it such a huge issue?

The_Iceman

Answer: Possibly several factors. Producing too much oil too quickly can be dangerous, particularly with methane gas leaks that can cause blowout explosions. Escaping hydrogen sulfide gas, which is odourless and toxic, can be deadly to workers. Also, faulty and old equipment is a concern, making oil production more dangerous. Economic issues of producing too much oil can create storage issues and having a higher inventory on the open market, which lowers prices and profits.

raywest

Answer: Because he is working in a jewellery market for his advertising company.

Question: Is it me, or do the actions of the party of vampire hunters not seem to make a lot of sense? I realise that there are five of them and at night vampires are incredibly strong; however, there's a single one inside a little hut away from everything. Leaving the vampire free to do whatever he likes feels like a terrible idea; they could deal with a whole town, leaving him to be with no opposition. They don't even monitor his movements. It's kind of absurd that we just never see a single trace of them anymore.

Sammo

Answer: It was the director's first attempt at writing his own original screenplay. A good attempt, but many subplots were ignored or forgotten. The Native Americans were searching for the creature, possibly helping the trapped people. Using only the white people as vampires, fighting against the African Americans. A stand-off. Good vs evil.

Question: The scope of this question may go beyond the movie itself, but I got curious about the word often used in the movie to refer to the ladyparts, "cooze." Yes, I know it's a thing (Sopranos and all) but it sounded anachronistic to me. And, in fact, according to all published dictionaries I could find, it's a word used only after WW2. However, Wiktionary says it was blues slang as early as 1929. But no source, in fact all the quoted sources of the page contradict that... Well, except, buried in the source code of the wiki page, actually, there IS a quote. In "Diddie Wa Diddie" by Blind Blake, 1929, there supposedly is a verse that goes "I went out and looked around / Somebody yelled; 'There's a cooze in town!'" Only. No, it's not! Listen to the song; it says "Somebody yelled 'LOOK WHO'S IN TOWN!'" I am so confused. Did someone make this up one day and somehow it became a thing or...? I mean, it's a cute word and all, but I don't think it's appropriate to use it in 1932. Does anyone have any info on the subject?

Sammo

Answer: Only that it's possibly derived from the Dutch word, "Kusse." It's no different from the rap stars of today using vulgar and racist language in their song lyrics.

Question: What phone was used by Nicolas Cage while in the car towards the end? (01:47:10 - 01:49:31)

Answer: Blackberry.

Question: After Millie killed her roommate's boyfriend for raping her, why did the roommate deny everything? She could've saved Millie from going to prison.

Cody Fairless-Lee

Answer: Probably because she was either: 1. in a fragile emotional state of mind and shocked she'd do such a thing, or 2. actually lying about him abusing her and tricked her into committing the crime.

Rob245

Question: When Duncan tried to shake off the Mosasaurus, he drove the boat into shallow waters, which is a logical choice. But then, why did he have to crash the boat? Couldn't he just stop close to the shore instead of running aground, making the boat completely useless?

Dangar

Answer: It could be argued that he was panicked and not thinking strategically, but realistically, this is an action movie, and that means more crashes, explosions, and mayhem for audience entertainment. There has to be a plot device as to why the group no longer has a boat, stranding them on the island.

raywest

The Party's Over - S3-E8

Question: When Fran and Maggie are looking at the RSVP notes for the "singles party," Maggie reads one from a man who hopes to meet a Catholic woman. Fran says, "He's Jewish!" Why does she think this?

Answer: Like a man who's attracted to African or Asian women. He was looking for something different. Someone that would cause a scandal. Imagine a Jew bringing to his mother a Catholic girl.

Answer: Yes.

May I ask how?

Cody Fairless-Lee

Answer: They don't. Movies and especially television shows often depict the legal and judicial systems in the United States as moving very quickly, despite the fact that, in reality, the wheels of justice turn very slowly.

Phaneron

Answer: To add to the other answers, in the U.S. the average time on death row before execution is close to 20 years due to lengthy appeals, legal challenges, evolving state policies, and complex judicial processes. In modern times, it never happens as it does in movies and TV.

raywest

Answer: Time passes quickly. It doesn't show every minute of every day. When he was executed, several months, maybe a couple of years, had gone by. They wanted to show him finally deducing that Clark Kent was Superman.

Question: Mr Freeze wasn't arrested, nor did Batman take him in, so how did the police get hold of his gun from Arkham City?

Rob245

Answer: In Batman: Arkham City, Mr. Freeze's gun was taken by the Penguin, which he used in an attempt to stop Batman. After beating the Penguin and the eventual closing of Arkham City, the gun was then sent to the GCPD evidence room.

But Mr Freeze got it back for his fight with Batman, remember?

Rob245

Question: In the opening sequence, a tiered waterfall is shown with water spouting from the top tier. Were there electricity or water pumps for these tiered waterfalls available then?

Answer: While electricity was just coming into use during this era (the early 1880s), a small western town would not be equipped for it. Before electricity, fountains worked primarily through gravity and hydraulics, using elevated water sources like cisterns or aqueducts to create natural pressure that pushed water through pipes to create jets and flows, sometimes supplemented by water wheels or simple mechanical pumps. The water pressure in the fountain shown in the movie seems exaggerated for a movie effect.

raywest

Question: In his reaction to Rafe calling him "Grandpa," Will Smith says, "Just cause I f*ck your mother don't make me your Grandpa, right?" That's... not how it works. Wouldn't the joke be "Just cause your mom calls me Daddy," etc.? (00:46:30)

Sammo

Answer: It's not about the relationship. Calling someone "Grandpa" is used as an insult to mean they are old.

raywest

But the point is Will Smith's response - "f*cking your mother" wouldn't ever make them someone's grandpa.

The Orderly World of Mr. Appleby - S1-E29

Question: When Martha was first looking around the antique shop, why did Mr. Appleby refuse to sell multiple items to her? He needed money, so why not sell any of those expensive items to someone who was interested?

Answer: It's because he considers the items in his shop as his personal treasured possessions rather than items to be sold for profit. That was why he murdered his wife for the insurance money rather than part with anything.

raywest

Answer: Continually repeating someone's name while speaking to them is a common tactic that keeps them focused on what you're saying, can build rapport, seems friendlier, etc. It can also have the opposite effect, making one appear condescending, disingenuous, or even deceitful.

raywest

Question: When Snow suggested to Gaul to send the Peacekeepers into the arena, she replied, "Only for them to bolt and hide like a rabbit." Did she not realise that they were always heavily armed and those things they were carrying were guns?

Answer: Of course, Gaul knows that. She means that even with guns and other weapons, the Peacekeepers will still fear the tributes' desperate ferocity, making them far more dangerous by instilling psychological fear.

raywest

Question: 1. Why exactly is Mayor Lionheart thrown in jail? He kept dangerous animals away from the public to prevent city-wide panic while they searched for an answer. They accuse him of trying to protect himself from being ruined as Mayor, but protecting the city from mass hysteria seems to suggest the opposite. 2. As for the reasoning itself, why do both Judy and the Biologist come to the conclusion that predators are regressing to being primitive? Fourteen animals out of a whole city is a bit of a stretch.

Answer: For all they knew, a disease or virus was affecting the population. The public and the CDC should have been informed. Look at Covid. If ordinary people suddenly turned savage, wouldn't you be concerned? One minute an animal is friendly and kind, then for no reason turns savage.

Show generally

Question: Is it practical to have a shack with a living tree growing through it? I imagine the roots would eventually disturb the floor, and rain would get in at the 'exit hole'. A storm may also move the tree so much that it damages the roof. Additionally, does the tree get enough water with the ground around it covered?

Answer: In Texas, I've seen trees grow through fences. Uproot concrete sidewalk slabs. On another website, I saw a picture of a bicycle that had been chained to a tree and forgotten. Twenty years later, the tree grew around it, enclosing it in the tree trunk.

Question: If their red van was able to record the data at the end of the movie, why was Jo's yellow van not able to do the same thing when it was sucked up into the twister just before they went to visit Meg? It had the same DOT equipment on it, but all it did was fall to the ground after the tornado had passed.

Answer: The sensors didn't fly the first time. They didn't even manage to open the device to let the sensors out. Two times after they got out but didn't fly, they just stayed clumped together, giving no useful data. Later on, they added wings to the sensors, causing them to spread out into the tornado and actually give good data back to the van.

lionhead