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 ribbons does General Waverly wear and what is the one by itself on the right side of his uniform?

Answer: The ribbon worn by itself on the right side of General Waverley's uniform is the Army Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon. It is a citation issued in the name of the President of the United States to Army units for outstanding performance of duty after 7 December 1941. The design consisting of a 1/16 inch wide Gold frame with laurel leaves which encloses an ultramarine blue ribbon was approved on May 30th, 1942. The rest of the ribbons on the left side of the general's uniform are presented to individuals who perform various duties and/or achieve successful milestones of military service. A chart of medals and ribbons can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awards_and_decorations_of_the_United_States_Armed_Forces.

Michael Albert

Question: I understand how Neo has powers and can use these powers with his mind within the Matrix, but how does he have the power to stop the sentinels with his mind in the real world after they leave the ship? They are under attack and Neo just waves an out-stretched hand and they fall to the ground. How is this possible when not in the Matrix?

gk68

Chosen answer: The Oracle tells Neo that his powers extend beyond the Matrix and into the real world. By returning to the Matrix and the real world instead of returning to the Source, Neo is now connected to both, through a sort of organic wireless signal.

Greg Dwyer

Question: Is it an error when Andrew says "I got a meet this Saturday..."? Doesn't the movie take place ON Saturday?

Answer: He was referring to the following Saturday. He didn't want to get another detention and miss his meeting.

Gavin Jackson

Question: Why did Snape take Wormtail on as a house servant?

Answer: To keep a close watch on him for Voldemort. He wasn't trustworthy, and both Snape and Voldemort knew that.

raywest

Question: I don't understand why Hoffman isn't electrocuted at the end. He was connected to high voltage cages and his feet came under water, so how did he and/or Jigsaw plan so he wouldn't be electrocuted under any circumstances?

Answer: The chair wasn't actually electrified. It was just made to look that way in order to hide his involvement in the game.

Phaneron

Question: When Costner meets Jack Ryan for the first time he calls him John P. Ryan twice instead of Jack. Nowhere else in the movie did I here him referred to as John. Am I missing something? (00:08:15)

Answer: This is true of all versions of the character - his name's officially John Patrick Ryan, but he always goes by Jack.

Answer: In all the original movies he was Jack his sons name was John so I thought he was the son of Jack.

Question: Probably a dumb question, but is this the only film in which Miguel Ferrer has ever received top billing? Usually in everything I have seen him in, he is in a supporting role, so I was just wondering.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: He's received top billing at least 6 times, most notably "Hard Ride to Hell" and "The Harvest", but he's also shared in top billing another half dozen times or so.

Bishop73

Question: Why didn't Kayo get any credit at the end for his help? Mcquade and Jackson got a rousing public celebration for their work...but Kayo got nothing. I never understood that.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Part of it could be because more people in the crowd know McQuade or Jackson personally. We know McQuade's daughter and ex-wife are there. However, Kayo is also given the Texas Award of Valor, same as McQuade and Jackson.

Bishop73

Question: I have two questions. Firstly, who shot Virgil and Morgan. I'm guessing it was the Mexican speaking guy from the opening who we saw hiding during the whole scene, but I'm not sure. And secondly, why did Wyatt pick up McMasters' red sash? Was there a reason?

Answer: Since we never see the shooter's face, it is left open to speculation as to who shot them both. Wyatt picked up McMasters' red sash because he realized that McMasters was serious about leaving the cowboys.

Answer: When Wyatt picked up the red sash, it was then that he decided anyone who wears a red sash is marked; marked for a reckoning that would soon come.

Maybe that was also the moment that Wyatt realised that the "Cowboys" could actually be broken and ended permanently?

Question: What did Flynn mean when he said gesundheit after Rapunzel corrected him on her name and also, why does he call Pascal a frog?

Answer: It is a common joke where one with a semi-difficult name, is responded with the term "gesundheit" as if they were sneezing. He calls Pascal a frog because he's not that bright, and does not know what he is. Both are used for comedic effect.

MasterOfAll

Answer: Flynn is a sarcastic character. When he hands Pascal to Rapunzel, he's being sarcastic and inconsiderate. He does not care about either of them (at first). His entire goal is to get the crown by helping Rapunzel so he is doing just that, nothing else matters.

Question: So what happens to Dale and Laketown and the body of Smaug? It appears that Dale was renewed after the refugees of Laketown moved in?

Answer: In the book, many of the refugees from Lake-town move into Dale, with Bard as their king. While Esgaroth/Lake-town has been destroyed and the lake putrefied by Smaug's body, they rebuild a new town with their share of the dwarves' treasure to the north of the original town (under the Master, who is not crushed by Smaug in the book, but does later die in the Wastes after fleeing with the town's gold).

Sierra1

Chosen answer: Because the only time Joey Tribbiani goes to Treager's apartment is when he has clogged the toilet.

MovieFan612

Answer: It implies that Joey has to call Treeger often for clogged toilets etc. so Treeger automatically assumed it was for that.

Question: When Gollum is wrestling with the orc, does he happen to be at just the right angle for the Ring to fall out of his pocket, or was it the Ring's choice to leave him, as in the book? Also, why does Bilbo just leave Gollum in the cave if he recognizes that Gollum is "miserable, lost, and alone?" Why not take him along and give him to Gandalf, then have Gandalf take him away so he could be with company, yet not hinder their mission?

Answer: Galadriel's narration at the beginning of "The Fellowship of the Ring" states that the Ring "abandoned Gollum", so yes, it chose to leave him in the film. Thorin's company had left Gandalf at Rivendell when they went to the Misty Mountains, so he was not there to hand Gollum over to. Also Gollum had just tried to kill Bilbo, so it would not be practical to bring along a hostile, murderous individual out of pity for his loneliness.

Sierra1

Question: Is there some reason why Lucius wanted to give the diary to Ginny in particular? Why did he not give it to someone else years ago, allowing Voldemort to return sooner?

Answer: Voldemort gave Lucius the diary with the intention he would sneak it into the castle so the chamber could be re-opened. Voldemort vanished soon after the diary was in the possession of Lucius, so he didn't get the go ahead from Voldemort. Malfoy was also unaware it was a horcrux, he just thought it was a dark object that would look bad if he was found to have it. Slipping it in with Ginny's books was killing two birds with one stone. Get rid of the diary and try to discredit Arthur. If he knew it had a part of Voldemort"s soul, he most likely would have treated it with greater protection. Remember, Voldemort never shared with anyone, even the death eaters, that he had made horcruxes. This is confirmed by Dumbledore in the 6th book while speaking with Harry.

Answer: Ginny's father had proposed a piece of legislation to the Ministry of Magic called the Muggle Protection Act, which offended much of the pure-blood population. The Ministry was about to look for dark artifacts in wizarding homes, and in fact Draco mentions this while Harry and Ron are disguised by the Polyjuice. Lucius wanted to get the diary out of his manor, and the opportunity to involve the Weasleys in particular was too much to resist.

clauclauclaudia

Question: What ever made Snape suspicious of Quirrell? He couldn't have known that Voldemort was attached to Quirrell, or even that Quirrell supported Voldemort, because he surely would have reported either detail to Dumbledore. Then Dumbledore would have stopped Quirrell. So it isn't clear why he guessed, correctly, that Quirrell let the troll into the school or tried to kill Harry during the Quidditch game.

Answer: In the 7th book when Harry is looking into Snape's memory in the pensieve, Dumbledore mentions, "Keep an eye on Quirrell." This shows Dumbledore was suspicious of Quirrell and how Snape knew Quirrell may be up to something.

Question: A small thing that I was curious about: when Billy and Sidney are in the police station, they are in two rooms/areas that are only separated by a glass wall. In real life, would a suspect be kept so close to the person they are accused of attacking?

Answer: No, this is completely incorrect from the film makers. US police stations by law have to have an interrogation cell deliberately so as to avoid the accused person intimidating witnesses or the victim, as billy does to Sydney. Even if the interrogation cell were being used when Billy is brought into the station, he would then be put in a holding cell to wait his turn - they categorically would not just allow him to sit in the public, non guarded part of the station near the accuser.

swordfish

Question: When they got ready to leave the train, Rosemary Clooney was helped down from an upper berth in a hallway. What happened to the private room that the sisters started out in?

Answer: The "up all night" refers to the original plan for Bing and Danny to exit the train in New York. When the plan was changed to continue on to Vermont then probably some people got off in New York (or elsewhere) and opened up a hallway berth. The sisters took that and Bing and Danny got a room as well.

Question: What happened to the dinosaurs on Isla Nublar? They wander around Isla Sorna on this movie, but no mention is made of the dinosaurs in the original. Does anybody know about their fate? Were they killed? Did they die naturally?

Answer: The dinosaurs on Isla Nublar are not mentioned. In the first book they are destroyed by bombing, which makes the second island more surprising - a lost world.

Question: What type of car is the brown muscle car that Creasy drives at the end?

Answer: The brown car with the chrome split grille is a 1972 Dodge Charger.

Show generally

Question: In Claire and Phil's house, what is the room behind the staircase that we never see? It wasn't there in the pilot episode but thereafter, it's got a window and supposedly a good amount of space, as it's in the front of the house, in front of the kitchen. Anybody have any idea?

MovieFan612

Chosen answer: There was a plain wall at the foot of the stairs in the pilot episode. Thereafter, there is a room, but we have never been shown what's in the room.

MovieFan612

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