Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: I was wondering, at the beginning when the cop is about to shave him, why does he freak out about the knife but can kill people with his own knife?

Metalligod666

Chosen answer: Because it's a knife that someone else is holding and can use against him. It's common for people in dangerous professions to regard their weapons as tools. For example, police officers who commit suicide by handgun rarely use their service weapon, but rather a personal firearm.

Captain Defenestrator

Additionally, I believe it is made clear during that scene that Rambo had previously been tortured at some point, and one of the tools used was a knife. So the combination of being restrained and having someone approach with a knife caused him to basically have extreme PTSD and so he attempts to escape.

oldbaldyone

Question: If the Fallen can teleport (or open space bridges, whatever), why does he need an alt mode?

Answer: The alternate form is a type of camoflauge to hide in their surroundings, it's got little to nothing to do with their traveling needs. Legs, wings, or wheels, it's all the same to them; just some can teleport also.

Phixius

Question: Two questions: In the bar, Obi Wan's lightsaber is purple, not blue. Is there any particular reason for this? Also, the trivia section for this movie mentions a scene with Han Solo and Jabba the Hut that I have never seen before in the movie. Can somebody explain where the scene is and what happens in it?

Answer: The different color is likely due to the lighting of the cantina. The scene with Jabba is in the remastered version of the film and takes place as Han and Chewie are preparing the Falcon for takeoff. Han tells Jabba that he'll have the money to repay him as soon as he gets back from the job of taking Luke and Obi-Wan to Alderaan and Jabba tells him that if he doesn't, he's going to have to send Boba Fett after him.

Captain Defenestrator

Lucas filmed the scene during the production of Star Wars but dropped it because he didn't have the technology at the time to replace the stand-in with Jabba the way he wanted. Later during the remaster, now equipped with the right technology, they added Jabba and included the scene in the film.

jimba

Question: Why does the Comedian say, "I'm sorry, Mother," in the movie? He says this as he is dying and also when he visits Moloch. Could "Mother" be a reference to the two mothers of his children - the Asian one that he killed as well as Laurie's mom whom he raped? If this is not the case, then I just don't get it.

Answer: I always took it to mean that he was apologizing to his own (presumably dead) mother for being the kind of man he is; one he feels she'd have been disappointed in.

Phixius

Question: Do the creators ever plan on making a sequel? The ending is such a good cliff-hanger that I assumed it would return, although it has been over six years since the film's release that it looks doubtful.

T.Rex.Sheffield.Can+Ash

Chosen answer: The film was critically panned and a commercial failure. While the possibility of a franchise would obviously have been considered, the poor box office returns would have put paid to any studio interest in a sequel.

Tailkinker

Question: Are the Na'Vi aware or at least able to sense if one of their kind is an Avatar? They don't seem all that surprised when they encounter one of their own kind wearing army clothing and wielding a human weapon (they actually go so far as to dub Jake a 'dreamwalker,' which I took to be their term for a Na'vi body being remotely controlled by another being), yet later on when Jake and co.'s true status as impersonators is revealed, Tsu'Tey makes a huge uproar of disgust about it.

Answer: The Avatars have five fingers while the Na'vi only have four - the avatars' eyes are larger and they have eyebrows and avatar noses are more humanlike vs the na'vi's more catlike noses; the Na'vi simply tolerate the avatars (remember Neytiri tried to kill Jake). Tsu'Tey isn't angry that they are actually human, he's angry that their ulterior motive is trying to get them to leave their home.

Sanguis

Question: One burning question: Why do the machines need to capture the humans? What do they need them for? Surely a neurotoxin introduced to the atmosphere or water table would eradicate all non-mechanical life?

Answer: The new T-800 model that Skynet's working on is the first to use real human tissue. The humans are being captured for use in experiments related to that. It is also stated in T1 that some humans were kept to work in the camps.

Tailkinker

Question: I never understood the "shave and a haircut" trick that Doom uses to lure out Roger. Why does Roger burst through the wall and yell "Two bits!" just to get caught? I never got it and its never explained.

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: The musical notes that accompany the lines are a staple in nearly every cartoon ever drawn. Hence Doom's insistance that "no toon can resist" it. It drives Roger nuts that Doom isn't finishing the ditty.

Phixius

Question: When Eddie is fighting Doom at the end he spots a box with a singing sword in it. He whips it out and sure enough, the sword starts singing. My question is, why would there even be a singing sword? Is this a reference to something else?

Carl Missouri

Answer: Valiant also shares his name with Arthurian comic strip hero Prince Valiant, who wields a singing sword, Flamberge.

Chosen answer: One of the legends of Excalibur says that the sword sang when Arthur pulled it from the stone. Bugs Bunny went on a quest for the singing sword in a cartoon once, so there's historical AND cartoon precedence for singing swords.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: It's likely just meant to be a nonsensical gag. Notice how Eddie and Doom both give the sword a questionable look, like they're also confused as to why such a thing even exists.

Answer: This is also a gag factory where such things like that would be made for cartoons.

Rob245

Question: Is it true that part of the scenes in which Mrs. Doubtfire are in is shot with a real english lady who looks like Mrs. Doubtfire?

Countryrunner

Chosen answer: No.

Tailkinker

Question: In the scene where Kirk boards the shuttle and bangs his head, is this by any chance a homage to the infamous Stormtrooper blooper in Star Wars?

Answer: No. There are plenty of scenes in movies where people bang their heads, including Scotty in Star Trek V. There is no evidence that this is intended as a specific homage to any of them.

Tailkinker

Chosen answer: He burned Nero's original plans for his New Rome, inspiring Nero to burn down Rome to rebuild.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: In Mrs. Lovett's song "By the Sea," near the end she sings "Bring along your chopper!" What is the word "chopper" supposed to mean? Sweeney can bring his what?

Answer: His knife/razor/sharp edge to kill someone with.

Chosen answer: Because Dalek toilet technology is the only area where they are inferior to the rest of the universe. Approximately 1960's. You'd have to ask the designer of The Daleks. It is shown in the new series to be a very nasty weapon indeed, some sort of point singularity projection device, like a mini-black hole launcher.

Grumpy Scot

There are lots of documentaries and DVD special features about The Daleks and how they made. It was due to budget costs that they use the plunger the idea was that it was able to suck or stick to anything push and pull.

Dan23

Question: How could McClane tell that the ammo in the blue labeled magazine were blanks?

Answer: If you listen, he says something to the effect of "I know I had that guy in my sights", meaning he is amazed he missed. So he checks the bullets in the magazine to see if that's the problems. Blanks are simply shells with no bullet that are crimped shut to hold the powder in. The difference between blanks and live rounds is very obvious even at a glance.

Grumpy Scot

Answer: Just before the attack on the church, Grant and his team switch the red taped clips from their weapons with blue taped clips. The blue clips carried blanks and the red clips carried real ammo. After firing on a guy but not hitting him, McClane checked the clip and realised that the gun he used had blanks and that Grant and his team were involved with freeing Esperanza.

Quite apart from the fact that anyone who has spent his whole professional life with guns would know instantly that he had just shot off a magazine of blanks – no recoil.

Chosen answer: It could be from many reasons. Speaking from my own experience, when an elderly family member has been in a long decline, has suffered from illness and/or age-related maladies, not only is their death expected, but it also comes as a relief that the person is no longer suffering. That may well be the case with the Gellers. We also don't know how long the Gellers mourned, it's not shown. Also, being a comedy show, it's unlikely this is something that will be ongoing in the storyline.

raywest

Question: In the Christmas party scene, when Harry and Cormac are behind the curtain talking, Cormac pops a dragon tart in his mouth then says something weird while his mouth is full. What did he say? I listened to that line over and over but couldn't make it out.

Answer: If I remember correctly, he says something along the lines of "what is this I'm eating?".

Cubs Fan

Question: Is there a reason why the white bird in the cupboard died? Also, why did it turn black when it came back to life?

Answer: There are two birds, as we see in the cage early on. Draco uses them to test whether the link between the two vanishing cabinets is working - with the white bird, the link is unsuccessful, so the bird dies. After working on it further, he tests it again using the black bird, which survives, telling him that the link is up and running.

Tailkinker

Chosen answer: Because he's a giant meat-eating spider. His love for Hagrid stops him and his children from attacking Hagrid. But beyond that, they simply want to eat whoever just meanders into their lair.

Garlonuss

Question: If Claude came to the US from Manchester when he "dropped out", why does he have an American accent?

lensloon

Chosen answer: Claude did not come from Manchester, England. He is from Oklahoma in the movie although in the original stage musical he is from Flushing, NY.

Myridon

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