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: How is it that Dr No can grip and crush a statue, but not be able to pull himself out of a cooling vat?

Answer: His metal hands were not able to grip the smooth, metal pole. He was also submerged in boiling liquid, so he would not have had long to attempt to pull himself out before dying and sliding back down the pole.

Question: How did Anton not remember that he murdered his own parents when he was a killer all along?

adamjustus

Answer: He was either too high, sleepwalking or under the evil hand's control.

Question: Tyler triggers the explosives in the tunnel and dies - how does that happen? Is it literally just coincidence/hubris that he made a mistake/the card didn't work?

Jon Sandys

Chosen answer: The card didn't work.

Question: At least a couple of times the grenades make a clear "clockwork" noise before going off, which I don't recall happening in many other films. Do any grenades actually make a noise like that? Or is it actually accurate, and silent grenades are the inaccurate "movie" versions?

Jon Sandys

Chosen answer: Grenades generally do not make any sound until they detonate. When you release the spoon (lever) as you throw it, it can make a "ping" sound as its separates from the grenade. No clockwork noises. (I'm ex Army).

stiiggy

Question: When the line breaks Brody's head is cut. It looked like a real cut and he did looked dazed. Was that fake? Or did that really happen by accident?

Answer: There are so many anecdotes regarding the numerous accidents, ad-libs, gaffes, rewrites, mechanical breakdowns, personality conflicts, budget overruns, delays, and offscreen cast and crew antics during production of "Jaws" that you could compile it all into a book (or a movie-mistakes website). Seemingly, every bit of trivia from this film (both real and fabricated) has been published at some point over the last 45 years. But if Roy Scheider ever suffered a real-life head injury in this film, it's not among that collection of trivia; so, it's fairly safe to say that the injury was entirely scripted. In a word, fake.

Charles Austin Miller

Question: What happened to the clerk and the others at the convenience store when Pierce and the Reavers showed up? If they are killed then why?

adamjustus

Answer: The clerk was definitely killed, as we see his body on a slab later in the movie. Presumably he was killed for seeing too much.

Phaneron

Why did he get killed for seeing too much? Does Pierce tries to cover up what's going on?

Trainman

Yes, the work that Dr. Rice is doing for Alkali Transigen is illegal, so they are eliminating any potential witnesses to their activities.

Phaneron

Question: Why did Ace lie about killing the Terence brothers?

Answer: He's a fraud and he's trying to impress people and create a reputation. Most of what he brags about is likely either made up or was actually done by someone else.

A Man About the House - S1-E1

Question: I never understood the meaning of the dialogue in a scene with the Ropers in the first episode. Stanley says to Helen something like "Too bad you're not from India - you'd be sacred there." Helen then comes back by saying "and contented." What did both of these phrases mean?

Answer: Mr. Roper was basically comparing Mrs. Roper to a cow, which is a sacred and highly revered animal among Hindus; Mrs. Roper's retort meant that she wasn't happy with her marriage or current station in life, so she'd be happier as a cow in India.

zendaddy621

Question: I think it is the scene near the end when they are singing "Make the world go away", they pan the audience and zoom in on Amy Irving. Is that Arlo Guthrie in front of her? Sure looks like him.

Answer: I think so.

The Tale of the Virtual Pets - S6-E4

Question: When Kate first sees her friends Isabel and Tom both trapped in the handhelds, Why did she ignore the other two also trapped in it as well? She never talked to them the whole scene.

adamjustus

Question: After the rex attacks the trailer, Eddie arrives and the first thing Ian asks is where Kelly is. Eddie's response is "She's in the high hide." We see that it is lifted and lowered using the winch on the Mercedes car. They took two cars and the trailers to the island, one car is the one Nick and Sarah used to take the baby rex back to the trailer (and is later knocked over the cliff). The other car is the one that WAS powering the hide. How can Kelly still be in the high hide if Eddie uses that car to try and pull the trailers back up?

Answer: He probably went down the same way Malcolm did and somehow locked the hide into position so he could detach it and use the jeep. Without a winch it only could not go up or down again. Later the other people got her out of the hide using the same type of winch.

Question: What is the song when Evan is in the lecture room talking with his professor and then he rides his bike to his dorm? Not the Ap2, but it sounds like an electric guitar with distortion and an acoustic guitar.

Answer: The Shazam app on my phone didn't recognize it, so it is probably just some nameless incidental music composed for the movie.

Phaneron

Hear You Me, performed by Jimmy Eat World.

Question: As we learned later that Lt Einhorn killed Roger Podactor, how did Einhorn get out of the big apartment after murdering him without being seen? The manager who is at the crime scene doesn't seem to recognize her.

adamjustus

Answer: The old lady said that she heard a scream and called the police. That could easily leave several minutes when she could escape through a back exit or merely hide in the building until after other police get there and said she just arrived. There is no reason to assume that the manager knows everyone who comes into the building, especially if she had only been there a few times.

LorgSkyegon

Question: Just before Ferris makes it into his house, Ed Rooney appears and finally catches Ferris. Just as he's about to lay into Ferris, Jeanie appears and covers for him. As soon as Ferris gets in the house, Jeanie shows Ed Rooney his wallet and mentions that she found it on the floor causing him to be shocked. After being chased off by the dog, why did Rooney simply give up?

Answer: Rooney had gotten so carried away with trying to catch Ferris skipping school, that he illegally entered the Bueller house. Jeannie found his wallet and had proof that he had trespassed, an act that could get him arrested and fired from his job. She is blackmailing him to leave. He knew he'd lost and left.

raywest

Question: When they were about to blow up the one guy's car but wouldn't because his wife and kids got in it, I was wonder what kind of car was that the target was in?

Quantom X

Answer: '72 Citroen DS 21.

Whirlpool - S6-E3

Question: Why did the police officers shoot Rolanda after she got out of the elevator when she hollered "No!" at them and wasn't going to do anything?

adamjustus

Question: Why do they look into the scope soon as it starts to rise? The view part would still be in the water.

Answer: A good submarine skipper ensure he always has a low periscope profile, as it's easily seen when out of the water too much. That's why he looks through the scope even while underwater, so the scope is only just out of the water.

stiiggy

Answer: It was probably a deliberate mistake by the filmmakers to keep the action and plot moving quickly, rather than realistically waiting for the periscope to be fully out of the water.

raywest

Answer: DJ ratted them out, told the First Order their entire plan and to look for the little ships.

Quantom X

Question: This is about the assembly cut. Why does Dillon go from not caring if the company gets the alien to wanting to kill it, despite the rescue team being only a few hours away?

Sam Montgomery

Answer: Ripley tells the prisoners after the disastrous attempt to lock it in the nuclear waste tank, that when the "rescue team" arrives, they will likely kill everyone and take the xenomorph back. This prompts everyone to attempt to kill the creature, as everyone is going to die anyways, why not try?

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