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: Why is Harry Bailey wearing a uniform at the end of the movie?

Answer: He left in the middle of the banquet they were giving him for winning the Medal of Honor and immediately flew to Bedford Falls when he heard his brother was in trouble.

Brian Katcher

Answer: Agree with the other answer but would add that, from a moviemaking perspective, the film was released shortly after the end of WWII when American patriotism was extremely high. The filmmakers emphasized Harry's status as a military hero and George's role in having saved him when they were boys. It visually reminds the audience of who Harry is and what he did.

raywest

Question: Why does the male MUTO mate with the female if she is already pregnant?

Answer: The female produces the eggs, and then the male mates with her to fertilize them. She is technically not "pregnant" until after the mating.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: At what point does Peter change his mind about his allegiance?

Question: What is the song from George Logan's headphones?

Answer: It was cancelled. Originally, the show was supposed to have five seasons, with the fifth season having Jack discovering a spell that would remove the curses on all of the items that were collected during the show's run.

Question: Why was this movie a box office flop?

Answer: This was the fifth movie in the series, and it was not critically well-received. Most reviews felt it was unoriginal and unfunny compared to its predecessors and should probably have been released straight to video. With tepid reviews, audiences probably were willing to wait until it was available on DVD or streaming. Although not as financially successful as its predecessors, it did make around $408.5 million against a $105 million budget, so it did not lose money.

raywest

Question: Why is the movie called Songbird?

Answer: In an article for The LA Times, producer Adam Goodman says: "The reason why the movie is called 'Songbird' is it's about hope. It's about resilience. It's about the strength of the human spirit."

Ssiscool

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-12-10/songbird-explained-coronavirus-movie.

Ssiscool

Question: Why isn't the old Chinese man's grandson in this film? Whatever happened to him?

Answer: He wasn't relevant to the plot.

Rob245

Question: I have a question regarding some of the slang used in the film. During the briefing just before the marines go down to the planet, Hudson asks, "Is this going to be a stand-up fight or another bug-hunt?" And what does Gorman mean when he says they think xenomorphs are involved? People say xenomorph is a fancy term for the species of aliens in this film series, however, it's made clear that at the beginning of the movie this is an unknown species, so that term couldn't refer specifically to them.

Answer: In addition to the other answers, I'd like to point out that xenomorph simply means strange or alien form.

Answer: It wasn't exactly an "unknown" species. "The Company," the commercial operation funding everything, knew the alien creatures existed and had wanted them as bio-weapons since the first film. It's unclear what Gorman knew but likely little more than his troops. Burke knew about the creatures and his purpose was to collect one, the same as Ash in the original "Alien." The term "xenomorph" is a general term that could be applied to any extraterrestrial non-humanoid species. Hudson is asking if they're hunting a non-sentient being.

raywest

Yeah, Gorman had no clue about the xenomorphs whatsoever. No way. The Company did, Burke is part of the Company, but Gorman isn't. He, like the others, is just cannon fodder. The term is used as you describe it though. You gotta understand that the Company itself probably doesn't know how a full-grown xenomorph actually looks like. Not until Alien 4. They just know there is alien biotech to be claimed.

lionhead

Question: At the end of the film, Wonka mentions his golden ticket contest was for a "child" to take over for him. Even though more likely, children would be the ones to eat the bars and find the tickets, many adults worldwide were trying for the tickets as well. What if one of them found the ticket and tried to enter?

Answer: For argument's sake, he would have let them in and filtered them out in the same way he filters out the "unworthy" children before Charlie wins. Even the finding of the Golden Tickets was not entirely random (evidenced by the fact that Slugworth/Wilkinson is already present when Charlie finds his). Wonka planned the factory tour to test each individual's weaknesses, and anticipated "losing" people along the way (which is why the foam-powered car is only big enough to seat Wonka and two pairs, instead of all the original entrants, for example). So, if an adult had won and entered, Wonka would simply have adjusted the tour to create some kind of temptation for them, geared to their individual idiosyncrasies.

Answer: I've searched the Internet for any Star Wars references in this movie, and I didn't see anything listed. If there is something, fans usually spot and post things pretty quickly on different websites. There may well be some SW references that are so well hidden, that no-one's spotted them yet. I'd love to know if there is something. If I ever find anything, I'll update this, or hopefully someone else will spot something and post it.

raywest

Question: Dr. Jones is the prime suspect for the murders at Hunter College. He and Helena return from the Siege of Syracuse (212 BCE) to their time (1969 CE) but the actual murderers, Voller and his goons, do not. Assuming Indy isn't awaiting indictment, how do you think they absolved him? We will not accept Helena Paid Off The Police. Although such argument is clever, it breaks our suspension of disbelief. Two murders and assaulting an officer cannot be bribed away in NYC 1969.

Answer: Other than flimsy circumstantial evidence, there's no substantial proof that could be proved beyond a reasonable doubt in a trial that Indy was guilty, much less enough to charge him. Also, Helena could give a statement to the police.

raywest

Question: What song is the hobo playing when Hero Boy first meets him on top of the Polar Express?

Answer: It's "Good King Wenceslas," a traditional Christmas carol.

raywest

Question: Did Christmas Eve used to be a regular work day? The bank is open, the bank examiner is at the building and loan, and Zuzu had school.

Brian Katcher

Answer: Did they used to have school on Christmas Eve day?

Brian Katcher

Answer: Agree with the other answer, but would add that Christmas Eve was never a Federal holiday. It really depends on the individual company or organization on whether to give employees the day off. When I worked for the state, we used to get Christmas Eve off, but that was eliminated when MLK Day became a Federal holiday. Employees then had to use a vacation day if they wanted Christmas Eve off.

raywest

Answer: Yes, and it still is. The standard work day was 9:00 - 5:00, and Christmas Eve (not a "holiday") starts at 6:00 PM - after work. Christmas "breaks" may have been extended over the years, though.

KeyZOid

Question: In the restaurant scene with Mentalino, after the boys eat peppers, Mental goes out and calls in, then comes back and asks the boys why they travel so light - only saw a briefcase and some other stuff. So... Why didn't Mental just take the briefcase and leave? That's what he was along for - to find.

Answer: At this point, Mental still believes the boys are highly trained professionals. He wants to find out who hired them, and then eliminate them.

Brian Katcher

Question: Many people believe that Simone is a real person. But what about the actors that work with her? Clearly, they would know that Simone is not a real person but an A.I., since she's never actually in any scenes with them, and the actors themselves would say they never actually met her.

Show generally

Question: Why is this show called "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and not "Heracles: The Legendary Journeys"? Heracles was of Greek mythology and Hercules was from Roman mythology.

Answer: Because most Americans are more familiar with the name Hercules. The show, as I recall, wasn't exactly true to the original Greek mythology anyway.

Brian Katcher

Question: After Veruca goes down the chute, Wonka tells Mr. Salt that the chute leads to the furnace. Mr. Salt laughs and says that Veruca would be "sizzled like a sausage", but then gets scared when Wonka says that Veruca could be stuck inside the tube. Why would Mr. Salt laugh at the idea of Veruca being burned alive but terrified at the thought of her being stuck?

Answer: Because at first, he thought Wonka was being silly and making up the fact that she went down a garbage chute and then thought he was piling on the joking by saying it led to a furnace. So, he was playing along with the joke until he realized Wonka was being serious.

Bishop73

Question: Whip is talking to co-pilot Ken Evans in the hospital after he wakes up from his coma. When Ken is talking about Whip's health, he mentions him reeking of gin or something. If Whip smelled that bad of alcohol, why didn't Ken alert security before takeoff?

Answer: Possibly misplaced loyalty to a friend/co-worker and wanting to protect Whip's career. Ken may have believed he himself could handle any flight situation that might arise if Whip was incapable; he may have intended to confront Whip later to demand he get help or else he'd report him.

raywest

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