Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: Why does Alice team up with Carlos after he points a gun at her in the school?

Answer: The movie quite literally explains it. They've both been contacted by the same person with the same offer, so even though their initial meeting is tense, they quickly team up. As the phrase goes... strength in numbers. It's easier to complete a difficult task with more allies.

TedStixon

Question: Why is a toad, a cat or an owl a requirement for first year students?

Answer: Witches are said to have familiars. Animals that act as guardians, protectors, and mascots. Merlin, Circe, and Morgan Le Fay all had familiars.

Answer: It was not a requirement. The students were allowed to have a certain type of pet at school if they wished. The choice was an owl, cat, rodent, or a frog/toad. Not every student had one; most were seen without a pet.

raywest

Question: What were the police whispering to Father Tom during Mass?

Answer: He didn't think it sent a good message, saying that the changes to the McFly family at the end boiled down to "success = wealth." He thought it should have ended with everything going back to normal, to show that there are no magical fixes to problems. Failing that, he just felt the ending should be less materialistic in its message.

Question: When Sollozzo offers Vito 30% of the drug profits for his financing and political protection, Vito asks him why he (Vito) deserved such generosity. Was Vito being sarcastic, or was it actually a good deal?

Answer: Vito was being sarcastic, but it's also a negotiating tactic. Vito is uninterested and considered it a meager offer. Sollozzo naturally would offer a low-ball price as an opening bid to test Vito's reaction. He would then negotiate further, gradually upping the amount. I took it as Vito testing why Sollozzo is coming to him with the deal rather than the other crime families and is gathering intel. He doesn't trust Sollozzo and likely suspects there is some collusion going on with another don, which was the case.

raywest

Given Vito's aversion to getting involved in the drug trade, I doubt it's about negotiating or getting a better offer. He has already decided not to go into business with Sollozzo even before meeting him. I think it's more the second part of the answer, about feeling Sollozzo out and trying to find out more about him and which of the other families he's already involved with.

Aloha (2) - S2-E19

Question: When the kids win the sand castle contest and get the free helicopter ride, since they are all under age, wouldn't they be required to be accompanied by a parent for the duration?

luke f

Answer: Probably not. Just like when airlines fly unaccompanied minors, the responsibility for their care and safety passes to the airline and the captain of the flight. The legal responsibility is called "in loco parentis." This is based on the child's parent or guardian knowingly placing the child in the care of the airline.

Question: Why did Detective Breer want to provoke Vanessa with the "doing what comes naturally" comment? (Or did he actually not intend to upset her?)

Azalea

Answer: Police will often attempt to anger people they are interrogating, so they accidentally make a confession.

LorgSkyegon

Margaritaville - S13-E3

Question: When Stan first tries to return the drink machine, an employee explains that the store just takes an initial payment, then remaining payments are handled by a separate finance company. How does the store even make a profit if they only get the initial payment? I know this is a TV show, but it sounds like the banks who let people mortgage homes for small down payments in the late 2000s, then sold the debt to other companies.

Azalea

Answer: The store sells the debt (at a discount) to the finance company, which then has the right to collect the balance due. This frees the store from the administrative burden of tracking payments and transfers the risk of non-payment to the finance company. This scheme usually works best when there is a huge markup on the product.

Question: Why was Hal mad and blamed Gabe for Sarah's death? It wasn't his fault. Also, how did Sarah get to that height at the beginning of the movie with no climbing experience? I mean, I can barely climb an indoor climbing wall, but she can climb a mountain like a walk in the park. (02:16:00 - 02:16:35)

Answer: There was no realistic reason. First, the steel buckle on the safety harness would never just bend and break like that. The accident was not Gabe's fault, but Hal is supposedly so angry and grief-stricken that he unfairly claims Gabe ignored his advice when rescuing her. The movie uses melodramatic plotting to contrive a conflict between the two men. It's also unrealistic that Sarah, an inexperienced climber, was able to make such a difficult climb, even with Hal's help. The movie had many plot holes.

raywest

Question: To become master of the Elder Wand, it must be taken from the wizard who owns it. How could Harry become the new master of the wand when it was buried with Dumbledore and Harry took away Draco's own wand?

Answer: The wand chooses the wizard. Draco disarmed Dumbledore to satisfy the wand's allegiance, and Harry disarming Malfoy and taking his was enough for the Elder Wand, the most powerful wand in the world, to change allegiance.

Answer: You don't have to physically take the wand to become the master; you have to disarm the master. When Harry disarmed Draco, the wand became his. Even though the wand was not present, it still knew. Call it magic.

lionhead

In addition to winning the Elder Wand, Harry also physically captured Draco's wand, and it switched its allegiance from Draco to him. In the book, Harry found that Draco's wand performed quite well for him.

raywest

Answer: The Elder Wand or Deathstick must be removed by force from the current owner. Draco disarms Dumbledore at the top of the tower. Thus, its allegiance passed to Draco and he becomes the wand's master. When Voldemort takes the wand from Dumbledore's grave, he's not taking it from the wand's master. Later, Harry disarms Draco and as such Harry is now the wand's master. This ultimately proves helpful and a key point in the final showdown in the Great Hall. As Lionhead said above, it's magic. But at its deepest level, as explained by Mr. Ollivander at Shell Cottage.

Ssiscool

Question: When Bellatrix sees the Sword of Gryffindor, why did she assume that Hermione had broken into her vault when it was below the icy lake the whole time?

Answer: To protect the Sword of Gryffindor for Harry, Dumbledore had a replica made. Bellatrix acquired the fake sword (unaware it was a copy) and placed it in her Gringott's vault. Upon seeing the real one, Bellatrix assumed it was stolen from the vault. The genuine sword hidden in the pond wasn't there the entire time. When Snape discovered where Harry and the others were hiding in the Forest of Dean, he magically sent the sword to the frozen pond and then led Harry to it with his Doe Patronus.

raywest

Question: What is the liquid that comes out of the first tripod in the movie when it sounds the horn? I think it could be blood, but it was the first tripod to rise and it hasn't harvested any humans yet. Can someone please explain?

Answer: As it emerges, a lot of dirt is falling off it. I can see no liquid falling off. If you mean at the moment it sounds its horn, that's just more dirt falling off. It falls much later, probably because of the vibrations from the horn blowing.

lionhead

Answer: It looks to be a combination of dirt, dust, steam, and water. As it's breaking through the ground, spouting water is erupting, which could be a broken water main. The machine is probably generating heat, causing the steam. The dirt is covering the hull and falling off as it rises. The machine also appears to vent some type of gas or exhaust on one side after it's fully risen.

raywest

Power - S4-E12

Question: In a few episodes, the FBI agents will walk into a room and say "smell that?" and the reply is "shots fired", supposedly because they can smell the distinct odor of burnt gunpowder. Then they'll look behind a desk and find a dead body in a pool of blood. But wouldn't the smell of a dead person, or the blood, be way more overpowering? Or would it take too long for a dead body to start to smell? And how long would the smell of gunfire in an enclosed room last?

Bishop73

Answer: It takes 24-48 hours before a decaying body begins producing a decaying odor. It takes a number of days for it to intensify enough to be immediately noticeable when walking into a room.

raywest

Question: Voller's team is composed of himself, Klaber, Hauke, Gunther and two more goons (Fedora one and Moustache one). What's the name of the last two characters and their actors? (Voller mentions a Messner in the van but I don't know if he's one of the unnamed guys).

Big Game

Question: Unless it's an oversight, how did the family get their pickup truck from town back to the farm where it was in the first movie without making any sound to alert the creatures?

Answer: They may have just been lucky driving it back without being detected, unaware the aliens primarily used sound to navigate. At that point, there may have been fewer aliens in the first wave of the attack.

raywest

Question: How come Officer Ronnie pulled up in the squad car with lights and sirens near where Lee was parked, and just stood outside for a couple moments when there was no emergency in that immediate area (until the creek just started attacking)?

Answer: While what was happening was not yet considered an emergency, a situation was growing, and town residents were becoming somewhat panicked or were confused. Officer Ronnie used his siren and lights as a safety precaution to warn people milling in the street to move away. He also signaled Lee not to drive off because he wanted to talk to him. Ronnie didn't appear to just stand there. He was looking around and assessing the situation while Lee was walking up to him.

raywest

Question: What made Rose change her mind about marrying Cal? Jack talks to her in the gym. It then goes to a scene of Rose at dinner with her mom and two other women. What happened that made her change her mind?

Answer: When Rose is sitting with her mother and the other two women, she stares at a nearby table, where a woman is correcting her daughter's posture and movements. I think Rose imagined the future. Did she want to be like that woman in ten or so years? Married to Cal, and shaping her own daughter into a socially acceptable young lady?

Azalea

Answer: Not loving or having any feelings for him in the first place, combined with it being very obvious from the start that her mother only arranged it to get Cal's money, plus the fact that he is possessive, ignorant, emotionally abusive, and violent, combined with her reawakened sense of self and determination inspired by her meeting Jack. She put on a veneer of being committed to Cal and the marriage, and got defensive when Jack called her out on it, because she was trying to do what she was "supposed" to do. Gradually, however, she realised that it was possible to be with someone who valued her and made her happy (Jack), and that she shouldn't submit to marrying Cal just out of financial and societal pressure.

Some viewers think that Cal actually loved Rose and basically treated her well until she got involved with Jack. He only "snapped" because of the way she changed during the voyage. Of course, we can speculate that he would end up "snapping" someday, no matter what. Even if he and Rose proceeded with their marriage as planned.

Azalea

Question: In the end scene with the tripod that has no shield, what are the black tentacle things hanging from under the tripod?

Answer: They were flexible, cable-type appendages used to pick up items, grab people, or otherwise manipulate things on the ground. They weren't always seen, so apparently were deployed as needed.

raywest

Question: How old is Mikey when Matilda is born? He doesn't seem to age during the 7 years of Matilda's life in the film.

Answer: He is 5 years older than Matilda according to several sources online.

Ssiscool

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