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.

Question: After Ariadne falls off the building, why does Cobb wash up on the shore of Limbo again? Isn't he already in Limbo?

Answer: He doesn't wash up on the shores of limbo a second time, he has been searching for Saito in limbo and wound up on the beach outside of the compound that Saito created. His exhaustion, haggard appearance, and confusion suggests that Cobb has been searching for Saito in limbo for years.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: When Daniel is organising a second date with Ali, Ali trips over the ball heading back to the cheerleader, who says "Way to go, Buttertoes?" What does 'Butter toes' mean?

Answer: "Butterfingers" is a common jab for someone being clumsy and dropping something. "Buttertoes" is a play on this, because she was clumsy with her feet.

Do you have any idea who actually says it? Can't work out whose voice it is.

Either Johnny or Tommy. It's hard to make out, but the other Cobra Kai didn't really interact with Ali, so it would be one of those two.

Question: What was the liquid that Will Smith pours onto the steps after he goes up the steps to his home? What is the idea of pouring the liquid on the steps?

Answer: Most likely bleach or some other solvent. He does this to remove his scent, to prevent any of the creatures from detecting which house he's in.

Question: Three here: 1. Does Myers pick Laurie for any specific reason? 2. His mask symbolic or something? 3. Why waste time killing Annie and Lynda if he was fixated on Laurie?

Rob245

Answer: The movie doesn't provide any reason why he targets the three girls, which I think is a wise decision, but you can interpret that Myers chose those three because of Annie's "Speed kills!" wisecrack. It was enough to get him to stop the car. Good enough reason as any.

Answer: (1) In the context of the movie, no. Michael is, as Loomis puts it, "purely and simply evil." He pretty much picks the girls as a target seemingly at random after Laurie drops the keys off at the Myers house. While future movies tried to provide him with a reason (such as saying Laurie is Michael's sister in "Halloween 2"), in this movie, it's pretty much just because Michael is a psychopath and they just so happened to become his target. That's part of what makes him so scary in this film. (2) The mask was picked by the filmmakers because it was the most unsettling. (A clown mask was also considered.) It also had the added bonus of having a vacant, emotionless face that also happened to reflect Michael's vacant, emotionless state. (3) Michael is a psychopath and simply decides to kill all of the girls and save Laurie for last for reasons unknown.

TedStixon

I think Michael zeroed in on the 3 girls from when Annie yelled at him while they were walking home from school.

Question: What does Tex mean by "I'm as real a donut motherf'r?"Something significant?

Rob245

Answer: To put some context into the scene, three members of the Manson family (Tex included) have broken into Rick Dalton's house and are holding Cliff Booth at gunpoint. Cliff, who is high on drugs asks "Are you real", to which Tex replies "I'm as real as a donut, mother fucker." Tex was trying to answer Cliff's question stating whether or not he was real, but in the most intimidating way possible, and I guess donut was the word that came to mind that described how real he was.

Casual Person

Question: Why did they change her name from Rita Desjardin, in the book, to Miss Collins?

Rob245

Answer: The only answer I could find online was that it was changed simply because "Miss Collins" was easier to pronounce/remember. It's also worth noting that it's really not all that uncommon for movie adaptations to alter and rename characters. Especially supporting characters. Given there are some other changes to the character in the movie, renaming her could have also been a way to distance her more from the character in the original book.

TedStixon

Question: Did Gulch say "damn"? It sounds like she says "If you don't hand over that dog, I'll bring a damn suit that will take your whole farm." But if she did, why is Gone With The Wind known for being the first movie to use the word?

MikeH

Answer: She said she'll "bring a damage suit."

Bishop73

Question: If the Toys always freeze around when humans present, then why they didn't freeze around animals like Scud or even Buster in the sequel?

Trainman

Answer: The reason the toys stay still in the presence of humans is because they need to keep their existence a secret from them. Animals cannot speak to humans, so the toys don't have anything to worry about when it comes to keeping their existence a secret.

Casual Person

Answer: The film was made for children and to make them think that their toys are real and care about them, I don't think the animals really factor in.

Jack Vaughan

Question: Alex's Seaplane McDonough avatar's weakness is being bitten by mosquitoes. He's also been in the game for 20 years. The region of the game that he's living in seems to be quite warm. It's literally impossible to go two decades without being bitten by a mosquito. So how is it that he went 20 years without being bitten?

Answer: Remember, the world of Jumanji operates on video-game logic in the context of the film. And in video-games, there are usually "safe areas," while hazards are often usually allocated to specific contained areas for the sake of creating dramatic gameplay. Something like mosquitoes, which are a character's weakness, might only appear in a few specific spots in the "map" of the game. So there's a very real chance he may not have encountered them because he just hadn't been in the part of the game map where they're located before.

TedStixon

Answer: They're in a video game, not real life, so it's possible mosquitoes are only in certain sections. Otherwise his character would be pretty doomed.

Brian Katcher

Answer: Also, his in game time was only a couple of months, not 20 years like in the real world.

Question: Near the end of the movie, Miller says "James, earn this. Earn it." What is he talking about?

Answer: A great number of soldiers died to save James' life. Miller is telling him to go on to live a life worthy of that sacrifice. That's why elderly James desperately asks his wife if he'd lived a good life.

Brian Katcher

I'm sure James was grateful that Miller, and his men were willing to risk their lives to save his.

Question: What song is Sam singing along to while bathing?

Answer: "Ain't Got No Home" by Clarence "Frogman" Henry.

Bishop73

Question: Did Jamie acting like Michael at the movie's end happen because of the night's events, or when she touched his hand, or what?

Rob245

Answer: I think it's really up to the viewer to decide. I personally always took it as she simply snapped and briefly lost her mind and became just like her uncle for an instant. But given she and Michael share a psychic connection in the sequel, I've seen other people suggest that perhaps she was under his "influence" in some way.

TedStixon

Question: In 1985-A, when Biff threatens to shoot Marty, Marty says that the police would match up the bullet with the gun. Biff mentions that he owns the police and that they couldn't match the bullet with Biff's gun. How could the police be unable to match the bullet that murdered George with Biff's gun?

Answer: Because he owns the police, and ensured the forensics were rigged.

Question: How did Bruce actually find Barry? It says they have someone at the prison who will get the address, but when Barry visits all he does is sign, the guard touches the paper then calls Bruce, how does that help Bruce track him?

Answer: He tracks him from the prison. The same way Lex caught him: cameras. He just needed to know when Barry would be at the prison and track from there. Barry maybe fast but that isn't his only form of transportation. He uses up a lot of energy doing that.

DetectiveGadget85

Answer: The guard is letting Bruce know that Barry is there. He's nearly impossible to track because of his speed.

Question: There's talk of Rachel having to cancel her date with Brady. Why couldn't he just go along with her taking Jamie trick or treating?

Rob245

Answer: Rachel probably doesn't want to ruin his whole Halloween night by making him a third wheel. She likely figures they can just reschedule and he can find other stuff to do since it's a holiday. There's also the chance they had other certain "things" planned that they couldn't do around Jamie.

TedStixon

Question: What's his motivation for going after Laurie after all these years? That and why transfer him?

Rob245

Answer: You could argue that Laurie is "unfinished business" for Michael, since she escaped him years ago. But it's important to note that in the movie, Michael doesn't seem to be going after her specifically at first. He arrives in town and just begins to start randomly killing people again. He doesn't really go after Laurie until the doctor specifically drives him to her neck of the woods, because he (the doctor) is obsessed with the idea of Michael and Laurie encountering each other again. So there is also the chance that she wasn't really Michael's target at all. I think it's kind of purposely left ambiguous what Michael's "goals" are in the film. As for the second question, it's answered in the opening scene - he's been at the hospital to be studied. But the state has lost interest in the case since no real developments have occurred. So rather than wasting more time/resources on him, they're instead dumping him into a maximum security facility where he'll basically be left to rot.

TedStixon

Question: Why transfer him at night in bad weather? That and given his past why not have him cuffed to the gurney and have armed guards there regardless of his comatose state?

Rob245

Answer: The best in-universe answer I could give you to your first question is that Michael just happened to be scheduled to be transferred at night and the weather ended up being crummy. I've been transferred between hospitals at night before. (Albeit, I'm not a homicidal maniac.) But honestly, the real answer is simply... "because movie." It's a horror movie - it's just more dramatic for the scene to be set at night during lousy weather. It wouldn't be nearly as effective a scene if it was during the day in nice weather. A dark, stormy night is sort-of a convention of the genre. As for the second question, he was severely burned in a fire and has been in a comatose state for years and years. Realistically, it was safe to assume he wouldn't wake up, and even if he did, a normal person's muscles would have likely softened into jelly in the meantime. They assumed they'd be safe... but they were wrong.

TedStixon

The question would be why did the characters transfer him at night in bad weather, not why did the film makers set it up like that. The viewer may thought he or she missed the in-film explanation or was looking for someone with expertise in transferring patients to provide an answer. And again, was there any in-film explanation given or persons with experience in transporting patients like Michael (albeit without supernatural powers). Pointing out the caveat of character's actions isn't realistic because it was scripted that way is fine, but pointing out that a movie is a movie isn't a valid answer (or correction).

Bishop73

I did amend my answer slightly before I saw your response. I really don't think my initial answer was that invalid though. That's honestly the truth - it was done that way for dramatic purposes, and any other answer would be pure speculation.

TedStixon

If no in-film explanation is given, speculation is OK as long as it aligns with something that would happen in real life (although I would suggest saying it's speculation). Sometimes people do ask question about why film makers would do something, and an answer like "to make it more dramatic" would be acceptable.

Bishop73

Question: What animal power did Newt have, bursting into flames, and what animal power did the girl that turned into ice have?

Answer: Their power is thermoregulation. I don't think it's stated which animal it came from, but any animal that thermal regulates (i.e. warm blooded animal).

Bishop73

Question: Why are Riley's memories not seen from her perspective?

Answer: This is a common movie trick that is done for the audience.

Quantom X

Question: How was John expected to kill Winston? It's made clear killing anyone on continental grounds results in death, so why was the adjudicator insisting John kill Winston whilst inside the continental? Wouldn't he technically be excommunicado all over again for breaking the most important rule?

Answer: Winston had broken the rules by allowing John to escape in the first place before trying to kill him. This effectively nullified the Continental's immunity while Winston was in charge do to himself breaking the rules. Therefor, John would not be breaking any further rules by killing him on the Continental grounds as it had been desanctified, and thus John would have been cleaning it to allow it become such once more and clearing his own name.

Quantom X

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