Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: During the big battle between Kylo Ren and Luke Skywalker (as a force projection), Luke appears with his blue lightsaber. While I assume that a force projection probably appear any way he wants, and he did choose to look younger, Luke had lost his blue lightsaber decades ago during his battle with Vader on Bespin Cloud City. He had already built a new green one by the time Return of the Jedi started, so why would he appear with the blue one? It should have immediately given away to Kylo that he was a force projection and not the real Luke.

Answer: He knew that his blue lightsaber still existed because Rey brought it to him. He chose to show the blue lightsaber because it belonged to Anakin and Kylo Ren was obsessed with it. He knew that Kylo Ren would be angry at Luke wielding a lightsaber that looked like Anakin's and that rage would help keep him distracted. Here is a quote from Rian Johnson regarding this: "He knows that Kylo's Achilles heel is his rage, and so that's why he kind of makes himself look younger, the way Kylo would've last seen him in their confrontation at the temple, and that's why he decided to bring Kylo's grandfather's lightsaber down there - the lightsaber that Kylo screamed at Rey, 'that's mine, that belongs to me.'"

Question: Why doesn't the FBI call at Alex's house when learning that he got the chip?

Answer: Imagine getting a phone call from the F.B.I. saying your son is in possession of a computer chip wanted by a group of international thieves and a terrorist cell. You either think it was from a crank call or a nutcase. Either way you'd be leaving in fear. Plus the F.B.I. didn't know the circumstances of how the kid got the chip. They may believe the kid stumbled upon it or the family was involved.

Answer: Bourne was supposed to assassinate a man aboard a yacht. Because the man was with his family, Bourne found he was unable to carry out his mission. An unknown shooter then shot him twice in the back, causing him to fall into the sea. The trauma triggered amnesia to where he completely lost his identity. As part of Bourne's CIA assassination training, he had been tortured and undergone extreme mental conditioning to breakdown and remake his personality. This may have had been why his dissociative amnesia was so extreme and long-term.

raywest

Answer: Miranda didn't assign anyone to work with Holt. She used her considerable power and leverage to essentially blackmail Irv Ravitz, who had planned to replace Miranda with Jacqueline Follet. When Miranda found out what Irv was intending to do, she showed him the list of all the designers, photographers, writers, etc. who had promised they would follow her should she ever leave Runway for another magazine. It would have been a huge blow to Runway if Miranda took those people with her. To compensate Follet, Miranda used her influence to get Jacqueline the position with James Holt's new company that was supposed to go to Nigel, though it's not explained exactly how she did that.

raywest

Answer: There have been several conflicting reasons given as to why this movie is called "Movie 43." Some people claim it's a reference to "rule 43 of the internet." (Although there are also several different conflicting versions of the 43rd rule of the internet, so this explanation is pretty shaky.) Some claim it's an inside joke between the main producer and his kids about a fictional "banned film" they heard about called "Movie 43" that didn't really exist. And some people claim it's just a random title they attached to the film with no actual meaning.

TedStixon

Answer: If by your question you are referring to all the complicated math formulas in the film, if Affleck and Damon themselves aren't well-versed in that area, then they would have hired an advisor for the film.

Phaneron

Answer: The answer is not necessarily one or the other-geniuses sometimes do extensive research. The answer also depends on how "genius" is defined/measured. I have read several online articles asserting that Matt's [and Ben's] IQ is "as high as 160." One definition of genius is having an IQ over 160, suggesting that maybe he is and maybe he isn't! (Real helpful, huh?) But there are different tests to measure IQ and IQ scores are only based on certain factors. Many experts assert that the really high IQ scores don't exist and/or there is no known test that can accurately measure very high IQs. I wondered about the math questions/proofs in the movie and don't know if they are real examples or if they are just a bunch of symbols slapped together to give the appearance of advanced mathematics. High IQ people tend to be eccentric, socially awkward, and/or loners who "do their own thing"; Matt does not appear to fit this profile. Psychologists, such as Matt's mom, have access to IQ tests.

KeyZOid

Question: I'm a huge Spider Man fan, but I've never understood Venom's weaknesses. Why would he be affected by sonics and fire?

Rob245

Answer: It's from the comics and much like Superman's weakness to kyptonite, it was just written that way. Venom is part of a species of extraterrestrial symbiotes that were forged in the head of a dead Celestial (which would later be known as "Knowhere") by an evil deity known as Knull. One of the unintentional effects of the forging in the head is weakness to sound and fire.

Bishop73

Question: Did Stone have a motive for all that she did or was she nuts and doing it all for fun?

Rob245

Answer: She is portrayed as a psychopath with an uncontrollable urge to kill.

raywest

I wouldn't say that she had an "urge" to kill. Rather, she was willing to "dispose" of people by killing them. She would kill people who were in her way or were no longer interesting/useful.

Question: The T birds were talking about "jugs and nets" what are they referring to?

Answer: The line is, "Nobody's jugs are bigger than Annette's." He is referring to actress Annette Funicello, one of the original Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeers during the 1950s. She was known for her voluptuous figure.

raywest

Question: I don't understand Max's punishment. In the ending, Max says "a month in the hole", but his father tells him that birthdays, holidays, and summers are cancelled. He also tells his son that "the devil lives inside him", to no longer call him "Dad", takes away his electronics, locks him in his room, and says that he will always love him, but no longer likes him. So, is Max grounded for life or is it "a month in the hole"? Are his birthdays, holidays, and summers really cancelled? And does anyone else find this ending to a comedy actually depressing because of the way Max's father treats him in the end?

Cody Fairless-Lee

Answer: Max's dad probably over-reacted out of anger/rage over the drone and destroyed room and might have made changes after he cooled off. Plus, it was meant to be humorous. A "month in the hole" was immediately imposed; no more birthdays, holidays, summer, etc. would refer to after the month in the hole. Max's dad did not say he couldn't attend school-related events, such as the "Rock of Ages" show. Parents are supposed to give their kids unconditional love. A father can continue to love his son while disliking his behavior. Max's dad may have been unduly harsh (again, out of anger), but he still loves Max - which shouldn't be depressing. I don't think Max's dad said he was grounded for life, just grounded. However, Lucas told his parents that Max was grounded for life - an exaggeration.

KeyZOid

So, even after being grounded for a month, he can't celebrate his birthday or summer vacation?

Not necessarily. Max's dad said those things in the heat of the moment. Although it is possible that Max's dad meant what he said (at least at the time), it isn't probable. The severity of the punishment given to Max was a reflection of how angry Mr. Newman was. A proud and loving father who tells his son "I will always love you..." is more likely to forgive Max so that they can return to their good father/son relationship.

Answer: He is grounded for a month, although he cannot have birthday parties or summers or anything.

So, even after being grounded for a month, he can't celebrate his birthday or summer vacation?

Cody Fairless-Lee

It's entirely understandable that Max's dad is totally peed off with Max for what happened with the drone and accidentally thrashing the house and probably said a lot of what he did in the heat of the moment. To totally deny the kid a vacation is one thing (and makes sense considering the grounding is for a month as the time frame is around that time of year) but a birthday as well? What the dad probably meant was no birthday party (and no fun) for that year, its not like four years later and "we're not going on vacation this year because you did something stupid when you were 12."

Neil Jones

And Mr. Newman saying, "No more summers" is probably meant to be an exaggeration to get across to Max the authority he has over him and ability to stop him from engaging in fun activities. Similarly, Mrs. Newman said, "Winter is coming!" The restrictions they put on Max might make him feel as though there are no fun, sunny, carefree days. The parents obviously cannot CHANGE what season it is, but they can impose restrictions that will make him feel as though it is a different season.

KeyZOid

Question: I never got the scene in the flat with Wanda and Archie when he strips naked and a family walks into the flat. He tells them to leave because they are obviously in the wrong flat and some friend gave him the key and then the man says they leased the flat from the agents last weekend and that immediately changes Archie's tone. Why? What was the confusion about? Were he and Wanda in the wrong flat?

lionhead

Answer: My impression is that (possibly through Wendy) Archie has friends who are rich enough to happily let each other use their London flats while they are overseas or in their country homes. But in his haste he hasn't checked what the owner is actually doing with the place. He realises he has been too impulsive and won't be able to bluster his way out. Since these are strangers he goes to politeness instead. (This doesn't explain why a flat for rent still has family pictures on display but that's the setup for the comedy).

Answer: They are a real device. You can find more information online. Just google "stun-cuff."

raywest

Question: In the automated car garage, why did Hendricks jump to his death holding the briefcase rather than just dropping it down?

Answer: Knowing he was trapped, he may not have wanted to be taken alive, preferring death over capture.

raywest

Answer: As a way to prevent Ethan from quickly stopping the countdown. It's a big distance Ethan would have to drop in quick amount of time in order to stop the detonation. He was most likely going to die, so he takes his own life in order to (unsuccessfully) prevent Ethan from stopping the detonation.

Question: Why do the elders of the village want the villagers to stay in the village and not leave? If the monsters are fake, then why do the elders not want anyone to leave their village?

Answer: The elders made a pact to leave the modern world and never to return to it. They adopted a 19th century way of life, rejecting all modernity. If the younger members started leaving, they would be faced with a modern, technical world they had no idea existed or know how to function in. The elders also did not want any of their descendants to be subjected to the violent society they had escaped. The elders created the fake monsters to frighten the younger members from ever wanting to leave the safety of the village.

raywest

Question: How did Truman get out of his basement without anyone seeing him?

Answer: He deceived them into thinking he was still downstairs sleeping, but he snuck out through a hole he had made. The cameras aren't on everywhere, just where Truman is.

lionhead

I have a problem with the fact that Truman dug a hole to escape because wouldn't the camera watching him crew have heard the sound of him digging the hole?

Well their focus is on him, I think it's one of the major mistakes they made to keep all audio focussed on him sleeping instead of the entire room. That's why he was able to sneak around and then dig the hole without being noticed. They do switch cameras around but the audio stays on him.

lionhead

"He deceived them into thinking he was still downstairs sleeping," by placing a large inflatable snowman under the blanket?

Yes, exactly.

lionhead

Answer: If you mean why didn't Hermione freak out its been proven time and time again that Hermione is a lot more calm and in control of herself than Ron is. She was able to keep cool around him. Plus Ron was pretty hurt and probably in shock. If you mean why she didn't save Pettigrew its because she knows who he is and what he did, she finds him quite repulsive.

lionhead

What I meant was she didn't seem weirded out when Pettigrew was all "sweet girl, clever girl" and I wondered why.

Answer: Ron's still in a bit of physical and emotional shock. He was dragged into the Shrieking Shack by what he thought was a vicious animal (Sirius Black) that was going to kill him. His leg was injured when he was being pulled through the tunnel and he's in pain. The biggest issue is his learning that his "beloved" pet rat, Scabbers, was actually Pettigrew, who, for the past few years, was constantly with Ron, being held by him, sleeping in his bed... Ron was totally disgusted by finding out of the truth. That's why Hermione's reaction is different.

raywest

Answer: Ron's shoes that were taken off him when he was put into the bed. That's why they disappear when Harry and Hermione go back in time. If you play it in slowmo, you can see it when they disappear.

lionhead

Why were they taken off him? Pomfrey could still fix his leg if they were on.

Probably because it's simply more comfortable. Odds are good he would be spending the night in the hospital wing, so he wouldn't wear them to sleep.

LorgSkyegon

Question: If Harry's relatives hate him, then why are they against him going to Hogwarts to study magic? Why wouldn't they be excited to be rid of him most of the time?

Rob245

Answer: Because they know of his wizard heritage and they hate it. They think he and his parents were freaks.

lionhead

Good answer, but I'd add they also knew it was something Harry would very much want, and they would always deny him simply to be as mean-spirited as possible.

raywest

Not to mention one of Vernon and Petunia's overriding motivations is to appear normal to their neighbors, and the more magic Harry knows, the less likely they are to achieve that. It could presumably also be dangerous for them, as future books/movies confirm.

1. They were constantly being barraged with letters from Hogwarts in an increasingly disruptive manner. Eventually, this would be noticed as something weird by their neighbors, which is something they REALLY don't want: anyone to know about Petunia's magical relations. 2. They were flat out threatened by Hagrid and terrified on both him and Dumbledore Better to let him go there then have to spend their entire lives on the run without it even working.

LorgSkyegon

They were against it long before the barrage of letters or Hagrid showing up. They knew about the school, Petunia's sister went there and she told Vernon. They don't want to seem weird to the neighbors in general, they aren't afraid people around them will think they have a wizard in their family because nobody believes in wizards.

lionhead

Question: When Obi Wan tells Padme the truth regarding Anakin's turn to the Dark Side, he mentions to the Senator that, "He was deceived by a lie. We all were." I don't know what he means by that sentence. Can someone explain it to me?

DFirst1

Answer: He's referring to the revelation that Palpatine is the Dark Lord of The Sith. Palpatine presented himself as a champion of peace and democracy when in reality, everything he did was a ploy in his quest to rise to power, and everyone fell for it until it was too late.

Phaneron

Question: Towards the end of the movie, after Sarah has smashed the Terminator onto the guardrail, she rolls over with her pickup. The Terminator is then subsequently hit by a truck. At this point Sarah is stuck in the pickup only a few hundred yards away. Why doesn't he simply run there and kill her but feels the need to hijack the truck and hit the pickup with the truck instead?

Konitzlee

Answer: The Terminator's leg is injured after either the motorcycle crash or the truck hits him and he can't run anymore. He limps rather slowly for the duration of the film.

BaconIsMyBFF

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