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: In the opening scene, why did Stauffenberg just sit in the jeep idly while watching the fighter's bullet path come towards him? Even if he saw that too soon, he could've at least tried to open the door and throw himself to the ground.

Answer: You have to understand, this is a dramatic reenactment of the incident which caused Von Stauffenberg to get his injuries. It is not based on reality. They are trying to add drama to the scene by having him watch his demise approach, which is common in movies.

lionhead

Question: Where did Mary Jane plan to go, just before getting kidnapped by Venom in a taxi?

Answer: She was wearing her work uniform, so presumably to work.

TedStixon

Question: We learn in the film that Shazam and Wonder Woman are friends, and (Spoiler alert) she brings him back from the dead at the end. So, why didn't she help him during the final battle or give any other much-needed assistance during the film?

Gavin Jackson

Answer: The dinner scene, where Wonder Woman has the head of the Wizard, never happened. There's no indication they knew each other, let alone were friends. In the realm where superheroes actually do exist, there'd really be no reason why she, Superman, who is supposed to know them too, or any other hero wouldn't be there to help. So the only answer would be an unsatisfactory one that sounds pedantic: she didn't help because it's a Shazam movie and not a WW or JL movie. One could say that she and the other heroes were busy with fighting crime/battles in their own city or they didn't know they needed help. She only appears at the end, it seems, to restore the god realm. It's also been said they didn't think Gal Gadot would be available to shoot her cameo scene, so Wonder Woman may not have been in the film because of a scheduling conflict. But to me, if she was meant to be in the film, they would have secured her availability long before shooting.

Bishop73

Answer: Where did you get the idea that they are friends? The movie makes it pretty clear they have never met before.

Cause they are having dinner together near the beginning. And you still didn't answer why she didn't help.

Gavin Jackson

Answer: The other superheroes don't sit around waiting for someone to call. Batman has a city full of rogues' gallery: Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, Catwoman. Wonder Woman also has the same. They're busy people! But they'll come if asked or if they find out another hero needs help.

Question: Why did Fromm unplug his telephone while admonishing Olbricht and Stauffenberg?

Answer: Probably to prevent any interruptions.

raywest

Question: Did Stauffenberg's adjutant really step in front of him to take the bullet for him as was depicted in this film? And why did he, if he knew all of them were going to be shot anyway?

Answer: Per Wikipedia, yes, he did, as a sort of final act of loyalty and friendship, as well as a gesture of defiance to his executioners.

Answer: No particular reason. She was an actress and wanted to pursue other things, like dramas and comedies. She was the Lifetime movie heroine during the 1990s.

Question: What does Dre's friend give him as a going-away gift?

Answer: A skateboard.

Question: When Annette tells Sebastian that she doesn't trust herself with him, what exactly does that mean? Does she feel too tempted to sleep with him, or is it something more?

Answer: Just that. She wants to maintain her virginity, but is so attracted to him and wants to have sex with him so badly that she feels like she'll let that desire take over if they're together.

I think it's a combination of this, plus Annette wants to think that she is too good for Sebastian. If she spends more time with him, she might like him more, making it easier for him to deceive her.

Question: If Kathryn doesn't really care about Sebastian (she thinks of him as "just a toy"), why does she even care if he falls in love with Annette? I thought she was more concerned with Court.

Answer: Either she does care about him and merely calls him a "toy" to conceal her true feelings, or she is jealous at the thought of him loving/wanting anyone more than her. Either way, she manipulates the situation to ensure he and Annette do not end up together. This is the same thing that happens in the novel upon which the film is based, "Dangerous Liaisons."

Answer: I agree with a suggestion made in the other answer: that Kathryn does not want Sebastian to love someone else. I've known people like this. They reject someone but enjoy being desired by that person. Then they become jealous when that person is interested in someone else because they don't want to lose the admiration. Kathryn does not want Sebastian to change his ways and start a new phase of life with Annette.

Question: I don't understand why the police haven't checked out Hopkins' gun when he was removed from the crime scene. Wouldn't they check the serial number to see where and when he purchased the gun? The movie mentions that the gun was bought a month prior. Since the gun is actually the officer's gun, wouldn't that registration information come up? Then they would know it was not the murder weapon.

Answer: Crowford (Hopkins) shot his wife with the gun that belonged to Nunally (Burke), but switched it with his at a moment of Nunally's distraction. The gun that the police mistakenly collected was not the murder weapon. This was a key plot point. Crowford goes on to gloat about it near the end of the film, saying the one piece of evidence Nunally needed was on his hip the whole time.

FleetCommand

Answer: Since he had meticulously planned every detail, Hopkins would have provided all the necessary information (serial number, date/place of purchase, receipt, insurance, etc.) during discovery. The gun was recovered from the scene, so the police and the prosecution, who believed the case to be open-and-shut, simply didn't check this information against the gun itself and just assumed it was Hopkins'. This is exactly what Hopkins was banking on happening, so the revelation that it the gun was not, in fact, the murder weapon would be a surprise during the trial.

Question: After the incident at the zoo, on Dudley's birthday, Harry is restricted to his cupboard until after the summer holidays start (see beginning of Chapter Three). If Dudley's birthday is before the holidays, then why does Mrs. Figg normally watch Harry that day (except this year)? Any year when Dudley's birthday was not on a weekend, Harry could have simply gone to school as usual.

Answer: Harry has already experienced a few magical incidents, as children from Muggle families usually do. For example, changing a teacher's wig hair to a blue color. If Dudley's birthday is on a school day, his parents probably don't want the risk of a problem at school. It's easier to make Harry stay with Mrs. Figg all day.

Answer: As I recall, Mrs. Figg had broken her leg so she was unable to watch Harry. The Dursleys were then forced to take Harry to the zoo for Dudley's birthday.

raywest

That is not the question. The question is why she has been watching Harry every other year, except for this time (due to her injury). If Dudley's birthday happens before the summer holidays begin, why has she been watching Harry during the years when Dudley's birthday is a school day? Harry could have just gone to school.

Thank you for clarifying as your original question was rather confusing. I was assuming that Dudley's birthdays were not celebrated on an actual school day, but later on the weekends and that is why Mrs. Figg watched Harry. I don't think Dudley would be staying home from school every year on his B-Day.

raywest

Question: Why did Stauffenberg have to put in his prosthetic eye whenever he had to be in Hitler's presence?

Answer: In real life, Stauffenberg regularly switched from wearing his glass eye and an eye patch. He wore the glass eye when meeting with senior officers, not only Hitler. At other times, he used the eye patch. This was attributed to the glass eye probably being uncomfortable. Presumably, he did not want to appear handicapped or weak to his superiors. He may also have felt the eye patch was a distraction or looked less dignified.

raywest

Question: What did Beck mean when he said "I'm thinking of earlier times"?

Answer: He speaks of the times when he and others weren't forced to become traitors and are about to die. Times when they believed in Germany.

lionhead

Question: Why did all of the officers and high-ranking officials put out their cigarettes when Hitler's plane landed at the airfield?

Answer: Hitler was fanatically anti-tobacco: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/07/the-nazis-forgotten-anti-smoking-campaign/373766/.

Brian Katcher

Answer: They are supposed to stand at attention when he arrives and salute when he walks past them. It is considered bad form to salute the Führer (or any leader) with a cigarette in your mouth or hand.

lionhead

Question: The pure-blood extremists, such as the Malfoy family, don't want Muggle-born children to attend magic schools. However, wouldn't this cause Muggle-borns to be out in the world, accidentally doing magic, without supervision? For example, the things that Harry did before his eleventh birthday.

Answer: Yes, but the pure-bloods don't care what happens in the Muggle world. What damage they do in the Muggle world, they don't do in the wizarding world. They don't want Muggle-borns to be called wizards; they think they are too weak to train in wizardry. If they stay in the Muggle world, they don't have to deal with them.

lionhead

Answer: Agree with lionhead's answer, but would add that without wands or proper training on how to use them or knowing the different spells, charms, and incantations, Muggle-born wizards' magical abilities would be limited. The pure-bloods would consider them generally powerless.

raywest

Answer: In the "Deathly Hallows" book, the Ministry of Magic, now controlled by Voldemort, has a statue that depicts a witch and wizard sitting on mounds of Muggle bodies. Some of the extremists might want to exterminate Muggles or force them into servitude.

Question: How could Harry survive the explosion that happened right next to him? This explosion should have torn off his right arm and completely destroyed the right side of his face. How is it possible that he was merely disfigured?

Answer: The Goblin formula makes him more durable.

Answer: It depends on the pumpkin bomb being used. There may have been many different types of pumpkin bombs.

High Noon in Mayberry - S3-E17

Question: When Luke Comstock called Andy to let him know he was coming over, why did Andy choose not to keep himself armed in the event Luke's intentions proved sinister? Andy had no way of knowing ahead of time if Luke was coming back to seek revenge on him. Barney even said that the person matching Luke's description was seen carrying a shotgun. Luke was armed, so Andy should have been just in case Luke tried anything.

Answer: Throughout the show, it is established multiple times that Andy doesn't use firearms. (At least not for police work.) He has the ability to de-escalate most situations without resorting to force or the threat of violence.

Question: When Harriet, wearing her orange pants and covered in blue paint, took her socks off and held herself up over the bathtub, looking down at the water, why did she just let herself fall (practically dive) into the bathtub instead of simply sitting in it to wash off the paint? Falling into it no doubt splashed water all over the floor.

Answer: She was upset and being dramatic. People do silly things when they're upset. She wasn't focused on the water that was going to come out... she was focused on just being sad and let herself fall in. It's like how sometimes people get mad and throw their controller if they lose a video game... logically, it could break the controller or make a mess, but you're mad in the moment and don't care.

TedStixon

Question: In the later scene where the two Asian gang members are being interrogated to discover who hired them, they jokingly say something to each other in their own language, the translator cop makes some smug comment back, and then reveals to Steven Bauer that their employer was Lauderdale. Is anyone able to translate what was said during this little exchange?

Gavin Jackson

Answer: More than likely, it was probably something made up and meaningless. But of course, we would never know because it's Vietnamese. The best you can do is have a Vietnamese person view that part of the film and get them to translate it if it was actually a real sentence being spoken, which I doubt.

Asspen - S6-E2

Question: Where is Liane Cartman during this episode? The Stotches talk about Butters' friendship with the other boys, including Eric, and they want to be friends with the other parents. But his mom doesn't come to the gathering at the Stotch house, nor does she go on the Aspen trip.

Answer: Maybe she simply couldn't come to the Stotch house or go on the trip, either. She might have been working, on a date, etc. Also, the other parents are couples. She may not like being the "seventh wheel" or "extra wheel" sometimes. Especially not on an overnight trip.

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