Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: When Scott starts slowly turning into Santa, everybody believes he's dressing up as Santa on purpose. Why didn't Scott simply tell people, "I don't think I'm Santa Claus. I'm not pretending to be Santa Claus. I know I'm not Santa Claus. I'm not even trying to look like him." Granted he could never tell anybody how it happened but if he simply said that he isn't pretending to be somebody he's not people might ease up a bit?

Answer: If he told people he was not deliberately trying to look like Santa Claus, that would cause them to be even more suspicious of Scott Calvin having a mental disorder, not a physical one. Remember, Scott went to see his family doctor, Pete, and Pete tried to explain to Scott his physical changes as a matter of changing his diet from milk and cookies, and Scott suffering from a hormone imbalance. Scott tried, but not even Doctor Pete, a professional in the medical field, could help him.

Scott215

This question is about his mental state. Not his physical transformation. In other words, he could say "There's nothing mentally wrong with me that would make me think for one second I am Santa." His physical transformation could be explained by people thinking he's overeating, growing facial hair and his hair turning white.

Except, Doctor Pete was incompetent. Nobody has the drastic physiological changes that Scott had, and Dr. Pete seems committed to blaming them on 'routine' aging and diet factors. In real life, a competent doctor would be submitting Scott to a continuous battery of tests, cancer screenings, CT scans, etc.

Question: Why is the secretary was so rude to Howard when he tried to find the job?

Trainman

Answer: As she said to Howard, she believed that he was using his "outlandish" appearance to be unable to find work and collect money through unemployment. She's probably dealt with people who did the same thing and was eventually sick of it.

Question: The Connors and Dyson go to great lengths to make sure the original T-800's chip and severed arm are destroyed so that it can never be rebuilt by CyberDyne. However, the "good" T-800's arm was also severed and left inside the heavy cog machinery during the fight against the T-1000 at the steel mill. Surely this leaves a plot hole, in that someone could retrieve THIS arm and still use the technology to recreate the T-800 one day? (albeit without the chip).

DEvans

Answer: The chip was the main reason they could replicate the technology, the arm an added bonus. The first arm was intact too, this one is crushed, probably beyond recognition. When the factory gets remodeled, they will probably simply break it all out of the machinery and throw it away without knowing what it is.

lionhead

Answer: From a real world perspective, the film was pretty long with a dense plot. Besides a lot of changes occurring, a lot was left out and the decision to show what Sarah and John ultimately did to the crushed arm may have just been left out. However, in Randall Frakes' novelization of the film, it mentions that John remembers the crushed arm and retrieves it and throws it in. As an audience, it seems we are to assume it being crushed was the same as it being destroyed.

Bishop73

Question: A technical question about the movie. How exactly did they film the scene where the camera keep circling around the car Ray and his kids are fleeing the city with? There're no cuts or any visible sign of a camera platform or other classic filming tricks. It looks awesome.

Dangar

Answer: The corridor crew on youtube talked about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkvXGI6bk2Q&t=1017s Timestamp is 15:35 to skip to the scene you want.

lionhead

Question: Why didn't Arleen Sorkin reprise her role of Harley for Arkham City and Arkham Knight?

Answer: Arleen Sorkin had retired from voicing the character around the time this game was being made. Her last voice role as Harley Quinn was in DC Universe Online, which was released the same year as Arkham City (2011).

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: In the original, Andy slides toys down banisters, crashes them into stuff using RC, use a reclining chair to fire them across the room... Not forgetting Molly repeatedly whacking Mr Potato Head on her crib loads of times. Yet in this film, when other kids "play" with them they seem to have an issue with it. Why?

Answer: The kids at the day care center are overly rough to them because they don't love the toys like someone who owns them would.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: One of the plot points is that Charlie is acting out due to his dad not being around and him not being able to tell people who his dad really is. If Scott doesn't have to be up at the north pole all year round, why can't he live at home with Charlie most of the year and then go up to the pole closer to the fall/winter? In the first movie he didn't have to report back until Thanksgiving. Can't he do the same the other years as well?

Answer: Bernard said, Scott has a year to get his affairs in order and be back by next Thankisgiving, to forgo his old life and adjust to his new one. By Thanksgiving, the Naughty or Nice list would have been compiled, the toys ready for packing and the reindeer prepared for flight.

Answer: Being Santa Claus is a full time job, keeping updates on the children who are naughty or nice year round. Plus, kids change their mind constantly about what they want for Christmas. One minute it's Star Wars, the next it's Marvel. Technology is also changing, the latest computer game becomes obsolete in 6 months.

This answer doesn't address the fact that in the first film, it's made clear that Santa doesn't report to the North Pole until Thanksgiving. Plus, the naughty/nice list is sent to his house, by FedEx of all things.

wizard_of_gore

Question: When Dr. Strange separates Peter's spirit from his body how is Peter still able to make his arm move?

Answer: His spider-sense is probably somewhat aware that his astral form has been separated from his physical body, so it is taking over and controlling his movements.

Phaneron

I concur with your answer because while he is separated from his suit you can see the aurora of his spider tingle all around his head.

Answer: I guess I missed something because I thought that suit was made with Stark tech and has nanotech in it. I figured it was the suit keeping the box away and Doctor Strange thought it was Peter.

Bishop73

That's a possibility I didn't think of, and it admittedly makes more sense than my answer.

Phaneron

Question: After Kevin finds out he is in New York why doesn't he say anything to the lady behind the counter? He could have very easily told her where his family was so that they could have been notified, but he doesn't. Why doesn't he say anything?

Answer: He very openly stated to his mom earlier that he wanted to have his own vacation away from the rest of the family, so he got exactly what he wanted.

Phaneron

Question: How many times does Chuck get injured while stranded on the island?

Answer: 4.

Question: When Buttercup confronts a masked Westley, she says that she loved more deeply than a killer like him ever dreamed. Westley's response is to raise a hand as if to hit her, but he stops and says that was a warning and that where he comes from, there are penalties when a woman lies. In what way was Buttercup lying?

Answer: Westley comes back from the sea, only to find that his one true love is engaged to another man. He feels her love for him wasn't true if she could even think of getting married again, at least so soon.

Brian Katcher

Question: Why does Natalie look upset at the end of the Choosing Ceremony? The book says she smiled at Tris. That and why is Jeanine presiding over it? Marcus did this in the book.

Rob245

Answer: For one, Natalie is upset that both Tris and Caleb have chosen different factions from her and Andrew's, which means they will have little future contact with their children. Also, Tris chose Dauntless, the faction that Natalie was born into and chose to leave. The movie audience has to be able to see how Natalie truly feels about this and a smile would give the wrong impression. Also, Jeanine presiding over the Choosing Ceremony instead of Marcus is a common book/movie type of change that often occurs in films. Here it introduces and places emphasis on Jeanine and foreshadows the importance her character will play.

raywest

Question: When Batman and Alfred look at the memory card and come across Slade Wilson, Batman says that Slade's part of a failed experiment. In what way was the experiment a failure considering how efficient a killer Slade is?

Answer: Maybe it's because he's a loose cannon who kills for money.

Rob245

Question: What is the significance of having four tardies in a row? Is there a special penalty of some sort for that?

Answer: In some schools I've worked at, 3 tardies equalled 1 unexcused absent. This school may have a similar policy, where a set number of unexcused absents results in detention.

Bishop73

Answer: Well first, it implies that Marty is irresponsible, and it also doesn't do any favors for his reputation since people already doubt him. And second, at least when I was in school, having too many tardy-slips or unexcused absences could get you into more serious trouble. (Suspension, etc).

TedStixon

When I was a kid, four tardies was grounds for detention. Marty might not have got a detention for being late four times since he's later seen with Jennifer after band auditions but there's always a possibility he might get detention or temporary suspension if he was late one more time.

His detention could also be on Saturdays, as was practised in Shermer Illinois in the 80's.

Question: In the beginning of the film there is a pole thing with a circle on it sticking out of the ground, what is that?

Answer: That would be a crucifix using a "breaking wheel" or "Catherine wheel", which was erected on a pole to display the body. As a death sentence a person is bond to it, his limbs are broken in various manners, and then a colourful way was thought up to kill the condemned (decapitation, disembowelment, garrotte). Usually the body was left up on the wheel as a warning to others.

lionhead

Question: Why was the Walther P5 used in this film, instead of the PPK? Bond refers to it as the PPK, when he informs Q he 'misplaced it' but, the prop used was the P5.

Answer: From what I could gather online, it was simply done to appease Walther who wanted to promote the new firearm.

Invader_Gir

Question: Hagrid is determined to be innocent after this year, so why is he still banned from using spells and charms?

Answer: According to J.K. Rowling in an interview with Southwest News Service, Hagrid was allowed to openly use magic after he was exonerated. However, because he never completed his training, he was always a bit inept. The movies just glossed over this as there was little need plot-wise to show him casting spells.

raywest

Question: One thing I didn't understand. If Chiffre's organisation had kidnapped Vesper's boyfriend already in return for the money, how could Vesper have struck a deal for them to spare Bond in return for the money? Couldn't they not accept since they already have the upper hand (Vesper's boyfriend)?

Answer: Vesper's boyfriend was a member of Quantum himself. He wasn't actually in danger, but his kidnapping was staged to gain leverage over Vesper. Since they were getting the money anyway letting Bond live didn't seem much of a stretch, he was only a raw agent at the time.

Question: Any reason why the new 2021 MVD Blu-ray is so heavily edited? Bought it online, and was extremely disappointed to see that virtually all the gore was edited out. Why bother doing a new restoration if it's going to be of the edited-for-TV version and not the full uncut version?

TedStixon

Answer: MVD posted on their Facebook page that they're looking into what happened. The master copy they were supplied was the Abridged Version. It may take them a couple weeks after the holidays to get an answer and see if they can get the original master copy and issue replacements.

Bishop73

Thanks! Honestly wasn't even expecting a response. But it's cool that they're looking into it, because the disc was otherwise really fantastic, and they did a good job with it.

TedStixon

Question: What are the symbols behind Mr Incredible's head at Edna Mode's house? What do they mean?

Answer: If you mean the mural in the background as they enter the house, it's a depiction of Perseus fighting medusa. There are several ancient greek symbols visible also. Probably depicting names.

lionhead

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