Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: How did Alice get her waitressing job? Would she need some sort of paperwork or license with her fake name?

Answer: "Alice," whose legal name was later revealed to be Jane Jones, had a valid passport. She could have used that to get the job and said she preferred being called "Alice." An employer is not going to discuss an employee's credentials with anyone. Being that she was an American, she may also have been working illegally and was paid "under the table," getting less money than a regular employee.

raywest

Question: In this movie, the Death Star is barely completed. Until now, what motivated people, on multiple planets, to obey and fear the Empire? What stopped everyone from simply not accepting the Emperor and his organization? Similar to how Tattooine did not acknowledge the Republic during Anakin's childhood.

Answer: One simple answer is that even before the Death Star the Empire still had vast amounts of firepower at its disposal, Star Destroyers, Storm Troopers, TIE Fighters/Bombers. A longer answer is that like a lot of fascist governments it wasn't an overnight thing - he invokes emergency powers, makes the Republic population feel threatened and like he's the only solution, etc. He doesn't announce to everyone at once "I'm secretly evil and you are my subjects". I suspect also a great many people didn't notice a huge amount of change in their day to day lives - if they felt they had nothing to fear from any government they wouldn't object to the rise of the Empire until it was too late.

Question: At the college party, after Heather Chandler has a sexual encounter with her date, why does she spit water on her reflection in the mirror?

Answer: Heather regretted being coerced into having oral sex with the frat guy when she didn't want to but succumbed to needing male attention and approval. She was essentially spitting on herself in disgust.

raywest

Answer: According to Wikipedia: "It was a cross-section of 'domestic militia, anarchists, and religious fanatics' – terrorist groups that would never ordinarily collaborate, ideologically or politically. The only thing that connected them was the desire to take down the federal government of the United States. The entire plan was orchestrated by someone with deep resources, an ability to coordinate diverse groups, and by all indications, an American. After someone (believed to be Thomas Valente) tipped off the terrorists about the government's knowledge of the plot, they moved up the timetable for the attacks."

lionhead

Question: Because Collins stated that the gunmen screamed "in a foreign accent," and because the police might have thought the robbers were terrorist in nature, why wasn't the FBI called in to help resolve the issue?

Answer: From a movie standpoint, it would complicate the storyline and take focus away from Det. Frazier and his interaction with Dalton, which is a big part of the plot. Also, someone having a foreign accent does not prove it was something other than a bank robbery/hostage situation. The police know that calling in the F.B.I. immediately complicates matters, as once the Feds are on the scene, they take over the operation, relegating the police to a minor role. That can lead to conflict and resentment. I would say there was some artistic license being employed in how the operation was shown to be handled.

raywest

Question: During the opening bank robbery and shootout, why didn't the SWAT snipers just immediately take out both gunmen outside right there, instead of having the SWAT ground team confront them? Wasn't the objective to neutralise the threats immediately? The snipers could have ended that in no time at all.

Question: What did Colleen mean when she told Graham to "see"?

Answer: She meant for him to see, when the moment came, that he would see and understand swinging his bat at the glasses of water would affect the aliens and save their lives.

MovieFan612

Answer: In the context of the film and its message, it could be interpreted as her exhorting Graham to "see" how her death and what follows is all part of God's plan, which he rejects at first but then comes to believe is borne out by subsequent events and the film's conclusion.

Answer: Could you add a little more context about what Colleen said to Graham?

raywest

Question: When Ethan and Grace are "racing" with the Fiat 500, the sound of the engine does not sound right. To me, it should be rougher. To me, the sound was more of an electric car, especially during gaining speed. Or, did I miss something?

Answer: While it looks like a normal Fiat 500, this is a specialised IMF car, as evidenced by the controls inside and its ludicrously high speed. It being electric is in line with that.

Question: What would have been the correct thing for Luke to do in the cave?

Answer: I'm sure there will be many interpretations about this, and I can't wait to read them. My take was, Luke's mistake was ignoring Yoda's instructions to leave his weapons behind before entering the cave. Rather than using calm reason and logic, he confronted his fears with force and attacked an enemy that turned out to be something else entirely.

raywest

Answer: I wonder if Luke was supposed to allow the illusion of Darth Vader to "kill" him, similar to how Obi-Wan allowed himself to be killed. A lesson about how you can still lose in the long run, even if you win a fight with weapons. Obi-Wan trusted the Force and did not need to win the last duel with Vader. Vader won, but was still trapped by his choices and his obligations to the Emperor.

Answer: Somewhere in Fresno, California. I think, as for everyone else, his brother is mentally handicapped and his ex-wife is ignorant, lazy, and just plain mean.

Question: Are John R. DeMarco, Don Juan, and Dr. Jack (John) Mickler possibly all one individual contemplating romance at an older age? They can be considered the Id, Ego, and Superego of one person, for they all have the same first name. Jack, John, and Juan are all derivatives of John.

Answer: No, Claude Rains was not a trained musician. He was coached on how to play the violin and piano, but Rains' playing was dubbed over in post-production.

raywest

Question: After Veronica convinces Heather McNamara not to kill herself, she suggests they "knock off early". Are they just going to skip class, or are they possibly allowed to leave school if they are seniors? At least, during the time when this movie was made (before the increased security concerns of recent years).

Answer: Yes, Veronica meant skipping class. And, as seniors, they may have been allowed to leave the school grounds.

ChristmasJonesfan

Answer: She means to leave school early; whether they are allowed to or not cannot be determined from the context of their conversation.

Question: Were the scientists involved really concerned about igniting the atmosphere?

Answer: The short version is "no, not really". Much like in the film, the possibility was considered, a lot of calculations were done, and it was agreed by everyone privy to them that the chance was basically zero. Also like in the film: "what do you want from theory alone?" - it couldn't be guaranteed to be absolutely zero, but then the chance of almost anything happening is never absolutely zero. A 1946 report by three of the scientists stated: "whatever the temperature to which a section of the atmosphere may be heated, no self-propagating chain of nuclear reactions is likely to be started. The energy losses to radiation always overcompensate the gains due to the reactions."

Days Gone Bye - S1-E1

Question: When the Linden County units are chasing the bank robbers, and the car crashes, why does Rick leave the safety of cover to approach the car? Why can't they just order all suspects out of the car via the PA system on one of the cars? The bank robbers are armed and dangerous, and Rick should remember that they are most likely going to come out heavy - despite being injured in the crash.

Answer: The car had just crashed, and there was no movement. There was no way to know whether the suspects were alive or dead.

Question: After Cage loses his power to reset the day, he and Rita go back to the barracks and try to recruit J Squad for their own small mission. If this was the next day, wouldn't J Squad already be dead by then? If it's the same day, how is it possible for them to do all that at the general, get knocked out for a while, and catch J Squad before they get sent out into battle?

Answer: Time resets 24 hours before the original battle, so everything happens in one "day." On the final loop, Cage escapes the barracks, meets with the general, then loses his powers after being injured. That night, J Squad is recruited for the mission. The attack on the Louvre happens just hours before the original battle on the beach that started Cage's time loop, during the time when J Squad would have been sleeping the night before the battle.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: In the opening scene, when Vera was looking intently at a painting depiction of an underwater scene, we cut to her being underwater, taking off a coat, and then lingering underwater, looking up. What was going on that made her go underwater, take off her coat, and float in the water?

Question: Baby's dad comes by to check on Penny after her botched abortion and confirms she can still have kids in the future... Wouldn't further tests have been needed to establish this? Not just a house doctor examination?

Answer: It seems unlikely that the doctor could confirm that Penny could have children without her having a complete medical exam to ensure there was no internal injury, infection, complications, etc. I think this was merely a plot device known as "suspension of disbelief." It's meant to tie up that part of the story so the audience isn't left wondering what happens to Penny. The movie can then focus back on Baby and Johnny and the rest of the story.

raywest

Question: Looking at how this movie opens, it is the same night the first film ends. April's apartment burned down. How could she have a new, fully furnished apartment for the turtles to stay in? It's hinted that she has been there for a while based on the neighbor's comment about her "aerobics."

Answer: Who said or hinted it was the same night as the first one ended? It's a night shortly after the first movie. Regarding the new place, well that's what insurance does – provides you with a new place.

Rob245

I also think that it is the same night. The foot soldiers are still in their uniforms and show fresh signs of battle. Plus, when the garbage truck pulls away, we see Shredder lift his hand from that area, which tells us that he was just "dropped off" for lack of a better term. But mostly, the dialogue between April, the turtles, and Splinter indicates that they have been crashing at her place for an extended period of time, not just a few hours or days.

Question: Why did JD expect anyone to believe his plan for the bomb at school - that all of the students signed a mass suicide note? Nobody would think that so many people, with different personalities and interests, agreed to die together. He later tells Veronica, "Pretend I did blow up the school, all the schools" - implying that he wanted to do this again. He might be crazy, but he was careful in how he executed the murders of Heather, Kurt, and Ram. Why the ridiculous bomb plan?

Answer: He doesn't care if anyone believes it or not; he is trying to make a statement about society and that no matter how we see ourselves in life, we are all the same when we're dead.

Answer: Not only is JD crazy, he is overconfident now. He and Veronica got away with the other murders. He thinks a fake mass suicide could be successful.

Answer: The students didn't know they were signing a "mass suicide" pact. They thought it was a petition to win a free concert from a popular band. JD covered the suicide wording on the paper with a sticker that made it look like a contest entry. He pulls off the sticker and reads the real message after he finds Veronica hanging in her room.

That was not the question. It's a question of why JD thinks anyone will believe the note, after all the students are dead. Has nothing to do with the students knowing what they were signing.

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