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: What exactly is Leo talking about with the processing of laundering money? Neither Riggs or Murtaugh get it and I don't either.

Answer: Leo is describing a money laundering scheme, with the intent of taking dirty drug money and making it legit. Money laundering is largely about confusing the source of the money, to make it look like it came from a legitimate source. Leo is saying that the dealer gives the money to a courier, who gives it to a guy to put it into a dummy company. The dummy company writes a check to the courier in the dealer's name. This puts about 5-6 steps in the chain of custody of the money already. The dealer takes out a loan using the check as collateral (let's say a $10000 loan with a $10000 check as collateral). The dealer never repays the loan, so the bank keeps the check (nobody loses because the amounts are equal). This puts even more steps in the chain of custody. If a law enforcement agency wanted to try and track the money back to the source, they would have to unwind all those steps, being able to prove each step occurred with evidence. Very hard to do.

oldbaldyone

Question: Why shut down their game system for only two days out of the week? Why not let it be on for only the weekends as they fix the world?

Rob245

Answer: Why not shut off TV or the internet so we can can concentrate on real world problems in our own universe? The game system is pretty much the only source of entertainment and joy for most of the world's population, and the kids don't want to take it away.

Brian Katcher

Answer: Not to mention that kids use the OASIS to go to school.

LorgSkyegon

Answer: She was worried that Jack would come to regret his decision. She thought at some point in the future he would marry and want to have children.

LK

Answer: There could be any number of reasons. Some people believe any form of birth control (even for men) is wrong. Janet might (erroneously) think Jack is being selfish and immature by avoiding fatherhood, and so on.

raywest

Question: Why do Chris and her friends bully Carrie? She's never done anything to them and I've read the book which also provides no answers.

Rob245

Answer: Bullying doesn't have anything to do with whether or not someone did anything to someone else. Bullies zero in on people they know are emotionally weaker and less able to defend themselves. Carrie was extremely shy, awkward, naive, etc. These are traits that bullies tend to exploit for their own amusement and to make themselves feel superior.

raywest

Question: Luke lost his lightsaber in Cloud City, how has it been retrieved?

Rob245

Answer: It has not yet been answered in a canon source. The novel series that continued the stories after Return of the Jedi had Luke's lightsaber being found along with his severed hand which was then used to make a clone. The new movie series has made those stories no longer canon. It is possible Rise of Skywalker will answer this question.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: In "Return Of The Jedi", after Luke turns himself over to Darth Vader, he is handed Luke's lightsaber to which Vader says, "I see you've constructed a new light saber." This would mean that after Luke lost his first lightsaber at Cloud City, he made himself another one.

Luke did make a new lightsaber after losing the first one, but he was the sole owner of it. In The Force Awakens, when Rey finds the lightsaber in the dungeon, Maz Kanata tells her that it once belonged to Luke Skywalker, and before him, it was his father's (Darth Vader). This would mean it is the same one that Luke lost when Vader sliced off his hand that was holding the lightsaber during their duel in Cloud City (The Empire Strikes Back). Somehow, that lightsaber was found on the planet's surface and made its way into Maz's possession. It now belongs to Rey.

raywest

Answer: When asked about how she came into possession of Luke's old lightsaber, which once belonged to Anakin Skywalker, Maz Kanata says that it's a tale for another time. Presumably it will be explained in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

raywest

It is not.

Question: After CJ went to the party with Shane, the police arrest CJ and let the others get away. It's kind of ridiculous. Why would they catch her only?

Bunch Son

Answer: Just because they only caught her doesn't mean that they didn't get anyone else. She was there at the party so she may have been able to tell the police who all was there that night or give descriptions of people.

Question: For the New York Continental and the Rome Continental, are they real hotels or just fake sets? If they're real hotels, does anyone know the names? Because the hotels look like they'd be awesome to stay in.

Answer: The exterior of the New York Continental is a real building, known as the Beaver Building, on 1 Wall St. Court. NYC. It is not a hotel. The interior lobby of the Continental is not the actual interior of the Beaver Building.

Question: Let's say Adam did get the key and unlocked his shackle. What would he have been able to do? He could have gotten the tape recorder out of Jigsaw's hand and been able to retrieve some other stuff, but he did all of that when he was locked, so what was the point of him walking around? And the door was locked too, Dr. Gordon checked it.

Answer: He would have been able to get the tape recorder and the gun much easier and would've had free roam of the room. Adam was never meant to be locked up in his chains, else Jigsaw would've never gave him that type of power.

Answer: Any person confined in that way is going to do whatever they can to free himself. The first step would be getting the ankle shackle removed, then attempt other methods to escape. Even if he never got out of the room, it's still more comfortable and less cumbersome to not be chained to a pipe. Adam doesn't initially know the outcome, so he's not going to just lie there and wait for inevitable. Also, as he's being electrically shocked through the chain, removing it would prevent that.

raywest

Question: One thing confused me. If Penny Fleck abused Arthur and was confined to Arkham, why was Arthur living with her for most of the film, wouldn't he have been separated from her by the state?

Answer: In the movie Arthur is an adult. He would have been separated from her as a child but, once he turned 18, if he wanted to live with his mother as soon as she was released nobody could stop that.

lionhead

Question: How do they know when someone in the arena is dead?

Answer: The tracking chip that is inserted into their arm tracks their vital signs. From this, the control centre is able to monitor all the tributes heart rates. As such, they can see when their heart has stopped and declare them dead and fire the cannon. Plus they have got the ability to bring a camera up at any location to help visually confirm the death of a tribute.

Ssiscool

Answer: They are tracking and watching everyone. They have a whole control room to run the games.

Answer: As mentioned, the tracking devices would indicate if a person was dead. However, even if a fallen tribute was still alive when removed from the arena, the evil and inhumane capital would execute them. Up until Katniss and Peta were declared dual victors, there was always only one survivor/winner of the Hunger Games.

raywest

Would the Capitol just simply not remove the tribute if they're still alive? At least in film 1 the bodies aren't removed straight away. Take Rue for example - she was killed and Katniss had plenty of time to arrange her body.

Ssiscool

It really depended on the circumstances. If a tribute was barely alive with no hope of recovery, then the game keeper could decide when to remove them, dead or not. Other bodies may have been removed at a time that was simply convenient to do so. It did take time to remove Rue, but basically, because of Katniss arranging the flowers around Rue's body the way she did, singing, mourning her, saluting Rue's district, etc. Seneca Crane, the gamekeeper, knew it made a good show for the television viewers. He was wringing out all the drama and emotion that he could because the viewers loved seeing that. That was the way the games were operated.

raywest

Question: What is the connection between Wombosi and Kane, i.e. how does Wombosi know/recognise Kane's corpse and make the connection to Bourne? Are we assuming that they had prior contact before Bourne tries to kill him on the boat?

Answer: If they had no prior contact, how would Wombosi have known the name Kane and to go check the morgue?

Answer: In fact on the yacht Wombosi had fired 3 bullets at Bourne. He checks that the corpse has no impacts. That is how he understands that the corpse is not the one of the killer of the boat.

Answer: Wombosi is aware that the CIA is responsible for the attempt on his life. He is also aware that the CIA attempted to kill him because of his threats to go public with information about their activities in Africa. Conklin is unaware, however that Wombosi got a good look at Bourne's face. When Wombosi sees the body in the morgue is obviously not the man he saw on the boat, he correctly suspects the CIA is trying to fool him and will likely make another attempt on his life. Wombosi and Bourne had no prior contact before that night on the boat.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: When Mace reflects the force lightning back at Palpatine, did it reveal his true form, or make him that way as a result?

Answer: It was as a result of the lightning over his face.

lionhead

I do not believe Lucas has ever stated the cause, but it is most likely a combination of things. Palpatine was using a considerable amount of dark force power to hold Mace, and Mace was redirecting it back at him. He may have also allowed the disfigurement on purpose, to get more sympathy from Anakin. An out of left field idea is that this is how he has looked for a while, and Palpatine has been using the force to project a nicer image until it was no longer necessary.

oldbaldyone

There is no evidence in any of the Star Wars movies that dark force users change in appearance simply from using the dark side of the force, only scarred from facing hardships. His face got badly burned and scarred from the lightning redirected at him. Yes he did it on purpose to show his suffering to Anakin, but it didn't reveal his "true face" or anything. Darth Maul, Dooku nor Kylo Ren ever show any changes in appearance. Vader, Snoke and Sidious are all simply scarred.

lionhead

He claims to the Senate that the Jedi attacked him, and he has the scars to prove it.

That's true too.

lionhead

Why wasn't Mace scarred when he didn't have his lightsaber anymore and Palpatine used even more powerful force lightning?

Before he goes out of the window, you can briefly see he isn't when the lightning isn't in the way.

That's a good question. I'd say it wasn't as intense. Palpatine's exposure was quite intense and close to his face whilst Windu got it all over his body. As you know Luke was hit by lightning as well in ROTJ, but also more on his body and from a distance.

lionhead

My strongest idea is that Mace's lightsaber had a lot of impact with the force lightning towards Palpatine, being up-close to him. I also think he did do it to be disfigured in appearance and gain more sympathy from Anakin under the impression that he was "weak," along with the the force lightning itself.

I also think the scarring story to the senate was an afterthought at some point, but he intentionally allowed the disfigurement with the force lightning for more sympathy along with the pain of the lightning itself.

Knight Rider [Pilot; a.k.a. Knight of the Phoenix] (1) - S1-E1

Question: At one point, after promising help, Michael parks, and goes to a pay phone to call Devon. As he gets to the booth, over his left shoulder, there is a badly altered Pepsi sign. Black tape has been put over the word 'PEPSI' in the familiar logo, and also over the "si" in the phrase 'say Pepsi please'. What type of mistake would this be?

Movie Nut

Chosen answer: Before "product placement" became common, name-brand products were rarely, if ever seen in TV shows, mostly due to avoid advertising conflicts with program sponsors. The Pepsi logo may have been taped out to prevent any commercial infringements.

raywest

Are you kidding? Product placement was so rampant in the 50s that sometimes you'd wonder if you were watching a TV show or a paid ad.

Brian Katcher

Knight Rider wasn't produced in the 1950s. TV shows of that era had advertising more similar to the old radio shows from the 30s and 40s. The early 50s series often had a sole sponsor, so their product (and related items) was likely seen in a program. An announcer also informed the audience at the beginning that, "This program is brought to you by (insert brand name). " From the 60s on, brand-name products weren't generally seen in TV programs. Networks sold air time to multiple advertisers, and their ads were shown during the long commercial breaks. So no, I'm not kidding.

raywest

Answer: It wouldn't be a mistake. Anyone could have taped the sign for a number of reasons.

Brian Katcher

Question: Why in the world is Alex, when unmasked at the end, wearing lipstick? Symbolic or something?

Rob245

Answer: Alex is not the typical one dimensional slasher serial killer, but rather a complex individual with conflicting motivations. The lipstick is a symbol that he is portraying the hurtful people from his past even as he kills them.

Answer: The film doesn't provide an answer (which I think is a good thing). My interpretation is that Alex has somehow absorbed his sister's spirit, symbolically (not literally), and is avenging her death *as* Robin, in a way. Her name is his last word before he dies. A scene was shot but cut which revealed that Robin and Alex were twins. That scene was added back to the television edit of Prom Night.

I thought they said that when Kim was telling Nick on the hilltop where the beach was that Alex and Robin were TWINS! And what happened to Mr. And Mrs. Hammond? They "disappeared" after Kim and her father danced! So many QUESTIONS! And when did they say LOU was KIM'S EX? Missed that one.

Question: Was Steph, played by Leslie Ash, supposed to be a mod girl or just a girl who hung around with with mods?because her clothes which was mainly dresses and skirts and a leather coat wasn't really mod girl clothes, her hair was long and in no particular style and wore very little eye make up.A classic mod girl would would have worn ski pants, have a short hairstyle like a bob and would wear dark eye make up like other girls in the film.

Answer: Your description of "Mod" is too limited. It included a wider range of fashion styles beyond what you've described and included mini-skirts, geometric-patterned dresses, casual hip-hugger pants, leather coats and jackets, and so on. The same with hairstyles which varied from short, angular bobs, to beehives, and long tresses with feathered bangs. The "natural" look was also in style then, along with the more extreme make-up type. Steph certainly fit into the overall Mod style and culture.

raywest

Question: What happens to the rest of the kids? We only see Job and Sarah leaving with Vicky and Burt.

Answer: In the second movie the children from the town are taken in by people in the next town Hemingford.

Question: Shouldn't opening the Palace of Eternity (pulling out of the stone heads and falling in the place) only have to be done once (Oxley mentions he was there before)? Because who's gonna fill all that sand back up and replace all the stones that keep the sand in?

Answer: Oxley had been there before but couldn't figure out how to get in, so the stones were never removed by him.

That is true, but... There are dead adventurers inside... And this place is a LOT harder to reset than e.g. the one with the golden idol.

Spiny Norman

The Woman in the Car - S1-E11

Question: Pickering is interviewing the team from the Jeffersonian. When she gets to Bones, she mentions someone's name and Bones rings a phone number and Pickering is told not to move and all her notes are to be destroyed. What is Bones' relationship to the person Pickering mentioned?

Ssiscool

Chosen answer: Pickering states the name "Juan Guzman" and during the run of the show we are never told who he is, or why Brennan had been in Cuba and met with this Juan Guzman. We don't know if there is any kind of "relationship" between Brennan and Guzman. A bit frustrating, but I like how this short scene shuts down Agent Pickering's entire review, and it hints at Brennan's career history and her level of security clearance.

Super Grover

Thanks for the clarification. It's been a while since I watched the series start to finish. It also adds to show how much power Brennan actually has.

Ssiscool

Do you remember when Bones was telling Angela about the time she was on one of her out of the country trips, and she was thrown in a dark cell for what she later found out was 3 days? She was crying and looked terrified as she remembered this. She had that same look as someone who was remembering past trauma when Pickering said this name. I kind of always thought that "Juan Guzman" was the one who did that.

Question: What's the name of the song/music playing in the background when Veronica and Helen are chatting in Escupimos en su Alimento?

Answer: El Jarabe Tapatío - The Mexican Hat Dance.

Question: One thing I've never got is why Snape is so rude to Harry when he first meets him in Potions class in this movie. I get that he hates Harry because he looks like James, and James and his friends made fun of him when they were younger, and Lily chose James over him, but if his love for Lily is so strong that he's willing to protect Harry (along with the other teachers and other people throughout the movies and books) for her, then why is he so horrid to him?

Answer: I always figured it boils down to doing the right thing in terms of the big picture, but that doesn't mean he has to like it, or be nice about it.

Jon Sandys

Answer: Snape was a complicated and conflicted man. His hatred for James Potter was so irreparably deep, it made him uncivil to Harry. Harry's strong resemblance and similar personality and temperament to his father didn't help. When Snape looked at Harry, he saw James. It wasn't fair or right, but it was a personality flaw Snape never overcame. Snape's undying love for Lily and his commitment to defeating Voldemort propelled him to protect Harry. Also, Snape's hatred toward Harry may seem extreme, but it is used as a literary device to create conflict and tension within the story. If Snape had acted kindly to Harry, it could have revealed his true intent and allegiance. Readers are deliberately kept in the dark about his motives and anti-hero character until the end.

raywest

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