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: When Pinocchio finds Geppetto inside Monstro's stomach, Geppetto has shoes and socks on. But when Pinocchio and Geppetto are escaping on the raft, he is barefoot. Where did his shoes and socks go?

Answer: It's not explained. This appears to be a plot hole or whatever happened somehow got edited out.

raywest

Question: At one point in the film, the Crypt Keeper tells the main characters he's trying to warn them about what could happen to them. Why would he tell them this if it's later revealed that they're already dead?

Answer: Basically, it's a plot-twist ending to surprise the audience. Telling the characters that they are already dead and going to Hell would certainly affect their reaction to the situation and it would ruin the shock value for viewers. The Crypt Keeper also has a perverse sense of humor.

raywest

Question: After watching Star Trek: Wrath of Khan recently, something I'd never noticed before... Why does the Kobyashi Maru have 300 passengers? It's an ore-carrier with just over 80 crew. You don't have oil-bearing ships ferrying holidaymakers about now, but maybe in a little over 300 years, things might be different.

Answer: Being that "Kobyashi Maru" is a Star Fleet Academy training exercise for a no-win situation that future officers might face, the details might be somewhat exaggerated for a more dramatic effect. It's conceivable that a civilian transport ship also carries paying passengers. Today's cargo ships also carry some passengers. It's a cheaper, no-frills way for people to travel.

raywest

Question: Regarding the subway bomb, if McClain and Zeus had actually made it to the payphone in time, then what would Simon have done to make sure the bomb went off?

Answer: The bomb was going to get off anyway, it didn't depend on them not making it in time. I don't think Simon cared much if they had made it or not. If they did, the bomb would have blown up anyway, and the game he was playing with him would simply be over. He'd probably have McClane killed right after that, before he might figure out the hows and whys.

lionhead

Question: On approach to the airport, the crippled 747 is shown lining up with the runway. Meanwhile, there are cars going back and forth on a service road right at the end of the runway. Why wouldn't they have momentarily stopped the ground traffic on that road until the plane had made a safe landing?

Question: Even though one of the bounty hunters took on Charlie's appearance in the first film, how and when did the real Charlie become one of the bounty hunters?

Answer: From what I recall, Charlie followed the bounty hunters as they walked away in the first film. So the implication is that they decided to let him tag along with them. (And that makes sense. After all, he helped them destroy the Krites in the first film, so he'd be useful.)

TedStixon

Question: Why didn't Loretta call 911 instead of just the Masonville Police station when she learned the two people her kids were staying with were not their Grandparents? In the event of two escaped psychopaths holed up in the house with two vulnerable kids, police would have connected the dots with a SWAT team, probably called in to rescue them. Tyler and Becca being in the house with the two unpredictable, deranged killers was basically the equivalent of a hostage situation.

Answer: 911 calls are usually automatically routed to the nearest local emergency dispatch center. From what I remember (haven't seen the movie in a while, so I could be wrong), the mother was still out of town, so dialing 911 wouldn't have been much help... she'd need to be rerouted, etc. Directly calling the police station was simply a faster way to contact the authorities closest to her children.

TedStixon

Question: Del was able to get a rental due to having Neil's card. Then, how was Neil able to get a rental card that eventually got him left in the parking lot if he didn't have a card?

Answer: He had multiple cards. He shows the burnt remains when he tries to rent a room.

Brian Katcher

Chosen answer: It's called a blackjack: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baton_ (law_enforcement) #Blackjacks_and_saps.

Brian Katcher

Question: In one scene, there's a newspaper that says "Wednesday, August 26, 2015" at the top. Why would it say that when this film was released on June 26 of that year?

Answer: Films are basically never set exactly when they're released. Most likely they just picked a random date around the likely time of release, but scheduling changed. Alternatively they just picked an arbitrary date in the future for the newspaper, but a date in the recent past would have worked just as well.

Question: I'm not an English native speaker. This can be more of an English-related question. There's a line of Han Solo that I don't understand. He said this line twice, during the conversations with Greedo and Jabba: "Even I get boarded sometimes." What exactly does he mean? What is "get boarded" here?

Bunch Son

Answer: To "board" means to step foot on a craft. Han is referring to random inspections, where stormtroopers will come onto the Millennium Falcon to search for contraband. He is saying it isn't his fault he had to dump Jabba's shipment. Even being as good a pilot as he is, he still can't stop the Empire from searching his ship from time to time.

BaconIsMyBFF

Chosen answer: Getting onto a ship or plane is called "boarding." Han is saying the authorities have come onto his spaceship (boarded his ship), which is why he had to get rid of whatever he was smuggling (bringing in secret and illegally) for Jabba. By saying "even I get boarded", he means even though he's the best smuggler, there's still times he gets his ship searched.

Bishop73

The Pirates Are Coming - S1-E4

Question: Luffy says to the crew, "From now on, it's all gonna be smooth sailing," and then an explosion is heard outside. Nami says to Luffy, "You had to open your mouth." What does she mean by this? I'm a non-native English speaker who studies English by watching shows. Shouldn't she have said, "You shouldn't have opened your mouth"? (00:57:00)

Bunch Son

Chosen answer: "You had to" or "you just had to" is a sarcastic way of saying "you shouldn't have".

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: If Alex was being honest about being pregnant with his child and wanting Dan to take responsibility for it, then why didn't she just make an appointment with the authorities? If the child was proven to come from him, then surely he would be required to support it by law, at the very least financially.

Movielover1996

Answer: Alex is completely mentally unstable. She doesn't just want child support or a legal acknowledgement of paternity. She wants Dan, and she wants him all to herself.

Brian Katcher

Is it possible that she was not even pregnant? (I have not re-watched the movie recently, so apologies if I forgot something.) There are a couple of online discussions about this.

Of course, that was possible. I'd wondered about it too. She was either lying to trap him or allowed herself to get pregnant. The chances of her being pregnant were slim, however, since they basically had a one-night stand. She could also have gotten pregnant by somebody else. My own opinion is she was not pregnant, at least not with Dan's child.

raywest

That's true. However, they do say in behind the scenes though the her becoming pregnant was to be a motive to not move on from Dan. Though they probably decided to make it ambiguous. Though I'd say she's at least pregnant given the way she vomits unexpectedly when watching Dan and his family.

Movielover1996

Question: The second Nedry notices the Dilophosaurus in the jeep with him, why didn't he quickly get out and shut the door, trapping it inside? He had a second or two before the Dilophosaurus started growling and attacking him, plenty of time to get out.

Answer: There are some additional factors that would interfere with his ability to move quickly: He was obese (so not very agile) and his vision was impaired (he dropped his glasses and was sprayed with gunk in his eyes).

KeyZOid

Answer: In addition to what RayWest and LionHead wrote, I would like to point out that it's easy to say what a person should have done. You're watching the situation as an outsider. Granted, this is a fantasy situation in a movie about dinosaurs, but the mentality is realistic: people who are actually in a situation don't always think of something that seems obvious.

Answer: Nedry was incompetent and totally out of his element here, and rather than thinking logically, he reacted in an adrenalin-fueled, frantic panic.

raywest

Agreed, next to that, he had no time to get out. As soon as he would touch the doorknob, the thing would be on him.

lionhead

Answer: The fact that Nedry was in a car could've been giving him a false sense of security. Yes, he could've gotten out of the car, but then he'd be out in the open, making it easier for him to get attacked by any other dinos that were lurking about. In the car, he probably (incorrectly) assumed that the Dilophosaurus would have restricted movement due to how small cars are, making it harder for it to attack.

Question: What exactly was the issue with the telescope? Clara states that if you turn the dial one way, the image turns fuzzy, but if you turn it the other way, it becomes clear. I thought that was how telescopes (and binoculars, for that matter) worked, as you have to adjust the focal point. Is she just using it as an excuse to see Doc, or does she just not have a clue how telescopes work?

Answer: It was an excuse to see Doc. When Clara says, "if you turn the dial this way, everything is fuzzy," she's slyly putting her arm around Doc's shoulders. Doc is the one who says everything becomes clear when he realizes what's happening.

Answer: I believe it was just a way to try and show the suit is "oily" or reflective. It also helps define the character's features since otherwise, he'd just be a flat black color. It's similar to how the black suit Spidey had blue outlines. (I don't know why they chose a pink/red color... maybe because red is associated with power/fire/war, so it's a more "evil" color?)

TedStixon

Question: Since Norman doesn't die, does this mean Harry won't die either? What would happen to Oscorp once he's exposed?

Rob245

Question: How did the biker just happen to appear at the end? Where was he the whole time all that was going down?

Answer: I think we're supposed to assume he was either knocked out and/or hiding there, and finally decided to act, but it's very oddly portrayed.

TedStixon

Question: Why don't Riggs and Murtaugh pick up one of the dead criminals' guns upon running out of ammunition?

Answer: There's no reason given, but I have often seen this same scenario in movies where the good-guy characters thwart or ambush the villain, then run off, leaving the weapon behind. The villain comes to and resumes the chase with the gun. I can understand a non-law enforcement person doing this, but not two experienced cops. It's a dumb, silly plot trope to maintain suspense.

raywest

Question: As a non-native English speaker, I ask: At the dinner, Jim says to his boss, "I was thinking, with the numbers so high, maybe it's time I get off the road and take an office position." What occupation did he have? And what does he mean "get off the road" here?

Bunch Son

Chosen answer: I don't know what his specific occupation was, but the term to "get off the road" would refer to someone who constantly travels, either domestically or internationally, for their job, but they now want to work in their company office every day. The most common trope would be the "traveling salesperson" who was constantly "on the road," going town to town, selling their product.

raywest

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.