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: While re-watching "Sin City" on HBO recently, I realised that the closed captioning for this film has been noticeably censored. While the audio track seems intact, every instance of the word "fag" results in that entire line of dialogue being omitted from closed captioning. Is this strangely selective closed captioning censorship featured on the original "Sin City" DVD, or is this HBO's own particular brand of censorship?
Charles Austin MillerQuestion: Why, in the credits and trailers, does it say "and introducing Daniel Craig as Joe Bang"? Isn't introducing used for new actors, not really famous ones?
Answer: Established actors are not normally listed in the cast credits this way. This appears to have been done as an inside joke.
raywest
Question: What was that photo Liz showed Peter in the car?
THE GAMER NEXT DOORAnswer: It's probably the photo they took at her house of them going to the prom.
lionheadQuestion: Just before Peter's suit was taken by Tony he said he warned him about the weapons but during that phone call he just lied to Tony and hung up. So when did he warn him about the weapons?
THE GAMER NEXT DOORChosen answer: He told Happy.
Question: Tony says he was the one who called the FBI but then why would they aim their guns at Peter? Tony wouldn't tell them to shoot at his recruit.
THE GAMER NEXT DOORChosen answer: Tony wouldn't tell them anything about Peter because he didn't expect Peter to be there.
MasterOfAllQuestion: Why did the spitfire pilot land on the beach at the end of the movie facing certain internment when he could have ditched and be taken back to Blighty?
Answer: After running out of fuel, he kept his craft aloft as long as he could so he could shoot down the enemy plane. He then landed when and where he safely could, which was on the beach but in enemy territory. Ditching a plane in water is dangerous and would have meant far less chance of survival.
raywestQuestion: Why was Liz so interested when Peter said he doesn't work for Stark anymore? She doesn't consider Peter as that much of a friend. She barely talked to Peter and spent the whole ride on her phone and tried to make Peter give her the corsage and only went with him to the dance cause she didn't have a date.
THE GAMER NEXT DOORChosen answer: She didn't "only go with him because she didn't have a date". She was interested in dating Peter, and knew he was interested in her. She had been waiting for him to finally build up the nerve to talk to her about it. She was interested in Peter leaving the Stark internship because she was genuinely interested. The awkward silence before hand was due to her dad being in the car (as it would be for a shy teenage boy with his date's father present).
Question: Is it true that the actor who plays Flash received death threats after he got the role?
THE GAMER NEXT DOORChosen answer: Actor Tony Revolori, nee Anthony Quinonez, was a controversial choice to play Flash. In the comic books, Flash is a jock of European descent. Mr. Revolori is Guatemalan, and not particularly athletic in appearance. Some comic book fans are notoriously traditional. Often, when the race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation of well known comic book characters are changed for modern portrayals, a segment of the fan base reacts negatively. In an interview with the website CBR.com, the actor stated: "I'm not what the character was in the comic books...and there's still people who will hate that fact. It was very disheartening to receive hate mail and death threats and things like that." There is no mention of the exact nature of the alleged threats, nor how seriously Mr. Revolori took them. There is also no indication of formal police involvement.
Michael AlbertQuestion: When the Inspector said "We discovered your husband's body lying next to the tracks," I assumed that meant no one actually saw Dyle toss Lampert off the train. And since Lampert was killed in his pajamas before daylight, I assumed that meant Dyle first confronted him in his compartment. So after the murder was committed but before it was discovered, why didn't Dyle retrieve the travel bag, or at least take the agenda, letter and key with him?
Answer: Dyle didn't know that what he was looking for was inside the travel bag. Lampert had used the stolen gold to buy the rare and valuable collector stamps. He then affixed them to the envelope to look like ordinary postage. Dyle, who was impersonating a government investigator, was also letting Reggie (Dyle's widow) figure things out about the key, letter, etc. As Lambert's widow, she had access to her late husbands property and, eventually, would have unwittingly led Dyle to what he sought.
raywestQuestion: Near the end of the movie, Kevin makes the 911 call because of the bandits. Why couldn't he had just done this instead of bothering to set up all the traps in the first place? Was he possibly trying to see if he couldn't kill them first instead, then call? Either way, the police were coming over with the call.
Answer: If Kevin called 911 sooner and was found to be "home alone" he knows the police would probably put him into Child Protective Services, leaving the house unguarded. His parents could face some legal issues for having left him behind. Since the burglars hadn't actually done anything yet, the police could not have taken any action against them. Also, Kevin's a kid. He was not trying to kill the burglars, but by his reasoning, he thinks it's his duty to protect the family's home.
raywestQuestion: These two questions apply to the entire Twilight saga. 1. Why do Rosalie and Emmet repeatedly marry each other? One time is enough. 2. Since the Cullens have been around for a very long time, why do Emmet, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice and Edward keep going to different schools and applying for colleges? Considering their immortality they're really just learning the same stuff they've learned years before, plus there's always the possibility of running into a human who chose to move to Forks from their past who might begin to question why they haven't aged.
Answer: 1. They get married repeatedly for two reasons, one of which is the same reason they go through high school and college over and over again. The other reason is that they love each other very, very much, and are more than happy to speak their vows over and over. 2. They go through high school and college repeatedly because they look the age of people who'd be going to high school and then college; it's how they fit into society without raising any suspicion. They don't run into people from their pasts because they have several towns they cycle through, never moving back to the same place again until the people who lived there when the Cullen coven last called the place home have died of old age.
PhixiusQuestion: Why were the X-men planning to escape in the helicopter instead of the jet they came in? Did they forget that Rogue and Bobby and John were waiting for them?
THE GAMER NEXT DOORChosen answer: The dam was breaking and at any moment they could all be killed. The helicopter was merely the quickest way to escape since they were much closer to it. Presumably they would have contacted Rogue and Bobby as soon as they got in and guided them on how to escape, or tried to go and pick them up.
Question: During the Mansion attack scene, Stryker and his men are presumably defenseless against Wolverine with their guns because of his immune regenerating abilities. So why not just stay at the Mansion and kill them all off, securing the Mansion, while the other students escape with Colossus. Was it because of the remaining students who refused to leave?
Answer: Firstly, Wolverine is not invulnerable. A later scene shows him being knocked out cold when he is shot in the head. Secondly, the best plan was to escape. The mansion was being overwhelmed and even with his abilities Wolverine would have a hard time fighting that many soldiers without casualties on his side.
BaconIsMyBFFQuestion: During his private interrogation with Morpheus, Smith reveals to him that Zion is going to be destroyed, so there will be no need for him to be in the Matrix. But why would he want to get inside Zion? He would probably be eliminated together with the fallen Zion. Even if he somehow got free, would he survive in the form of a program residing in Zion's mainframe? His underlying motive to get the codes is different from the other agents' assigned purpose. What was their purpose and what was Smith's purpose?
Answer: In the first movie, Smith is a particularly vicious Agent, but he is still just one of several Agents following a search-and-destroy program against Matrix rejects and Zion rebels. It's Smith's pre-programmed job to ruthlessly, almost maniacally seek the destruction of Zion, but it is all part of The Architect's cyclic creation-destruction plan to keep the Matrix in balance. Neo destroys Smith, corrupting his code, at the end of the first film. When Agent Smith's code is resurrected in the second movie, Smith has acquired from Neo a taste for true freedom, making him a much more deadly, independent entity that operates outside of The Architect's grand plan, threatening to overthrow the Matrix, the Human World of Zion, and the Machine World, as well. As demonstrated in the third film, Smith was able to function in both the cybernetic world of the Matrix AND in the real world (by overwriting human consciousness with his artificial intelligence). But he didn't possess this latter ability until after Neo destroyed him in the first film.
Charles Austin MillerQuestion: When Edward Snowden obtains the MicroSD card after downloading all the data, he and Patrick Haynes (who's fully aware what he's up to) start communicating via sign language before he leaves to avoid their conversation being recorded. Does anyone know what they are saying to each other?
Gavin JacksonChosen answer: The scene is captioned as follows - Snowden: "I might not see you again." Haynes: "You 'gonna leave me here...with Captain America? Thanks a lot." Snowden: "NSA may come after you." Haynes: "I don't know what you're talking about. [walks away.]" I should note that my profession is that of an American Sign Language interpreter. From my observation, they are signing pretty much correctly, if not artfully. The only difference is that what the movie translates as "I don't know what you're talking about" would probably be more accurately stated as, "I don't understand your comment." And there really isn't a sign used for "gonna'." Hayes just says, "you're leaving me here with him? Captain America!"
Michael AlbertQuestion: It's approximately 100 ly to Qunos. Captain Archer says it'll take four days. How long will it really take at warp 4.5?
Answer: Warp factor has always been inconsistent and hard to pinpoint, or there's too many episodes that contradict the conversion rates. Changes were made in converting warp factor into actual speed between TOS and TNG. It seems ENT reverted back to using TOS method, which is "warp factor cubed" equals how many times the speed of light they traveled. So warp 4.5 means 91.125 times the speed of light (c). Although in "Broken Bow", with the travels from Earth to Neptune and back in about six minutes means warp 4.5 is about 86*c. However, in "The Expanse" episode, warp 5 was 200*c (instead of 125). 1 ly at 91.125*c is about 4 days, but 100 ly would be 400 days.
Bishop73Question: Why is Anna Morgan wearing a nineteenth-century dress when she pushes Samara down the well? The event happened in the 1970's.
Answer: The Morgans may just be old-fashioned. It wasn't uncommon for women in the 1970's to wear dresses. The family also lives on an island that is secluded and didn't have to worry about being judged as much as they would have in a city or rural community.
Question: Why didn't Tai Lung kill Zeng? And when Tai Lung says to Shifu "I have come home, master" why did he call Shifu master? Was it to show that he still had a bit of respect for him after everything he did for Tai Lung?
THE GAMER NEXT DOORChosen answer: He didn't kill Zeng because he wanted Shifu to know he was coming. And he called Shifu master because he was mocking him.
MasterOfAllQuestion: How did Anakin Skywalker survive Order Sixty Six? Since Anakin was a Jedi until around the time of the Order, how did the troopers know not to kill Anakin?
DFirst1Question: Why was Boromir allowed to join the Fellowship of the Ring? Since he is vulnerable to the Ring's corruption.
DFirst1Chosen answer: Virtually everyone was vulnerable to the Ring's power to some extent, even Frodo Baggins. Frodo's purity of heart and incorruptibility made him the least affected by the Ring and made him the only logical choice to actually carry it for the duration of the mission; but EVERYBODY was vulnerable to its seductive power, some just more so than others.
Charles Austin MillerBut prior when the Fellowship was formed, he was tempted by the ring. He even tried to convince the council that bring the ring to Gondor would destroy Sauron. So why did Gandalf or Elrond accepts Boromir as a member of the Fellowship?
DFirst1Well, Boromir's younger brother, Faramir, would probably have been a better choice for the Fellowship, if he had been available. But Faramir wasn't available and Boromir was. Boromir also wasn't actually "chosen" for the Fellowship, he simply went along out of loyalty to Aragorn. Gandalf and Elrond may have suspected Boromir's weakness (possibly even as a threat to the Fellowship), but Boromir was a seasoned warrior whose skills in battle would be valuable on this incredibly dangerous mission. Also, you may recall that Boromir wasn't even nearly as weak or unbalanced in the actual Tolkein story; rather, director Peter Jackson made Boromir more of a loose cannon in the film, which is not how he was portrayed in the book. In other words, Jackson wanted an even more unbalanced element threatening the Fellowship from within, so he amplified Boromir's weaknesses.
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Chosen answer: The word "fag" is only used once in the entire movie, spoken by Becky who refers to a club called the Amigo as a "fag joint." The omission in the subtitles might just be an oversight. HBO is known for having original content that pushes the envelope of what people consider to be tasteful (such as "Game of Thrones" and "The Sopranos") so it's highly unlikely that they would be resorting to censorship.
Phaneron