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 did Han and Chewie get off the desert planet at the end?

Answer: Or they could've hitched a ride with the Cloud Riders.

Answer: By the end of the movie, Han and Chewie have been left with some items of worth, plus their smarts and charm. We don't see how exactly but we can assume that's enough to get them into their next adventure.

Answer: I would classify this as the traditional movie serial "cliff hanger" ending where the audience is purposely left pondering what happens to the protagonists and must wait until the next installment to learn the outcome. Considering Solo underperformed at the box office, there is the possibility there may not be another independent Han Solo film. However, the characters would likely reappear in another stand-alone Star Wars film, thus answering how they escaped their situation.

raywest

Question: If Overgirl is Supergirl from Earth X, and Supergirl gets her powers the same way that Superman does, from sunlight, then how is The Ray, whose powers are based on using yellow light, able to hurt her with his powers? Wouldn't his blasts help her?

Quantom X

Answer: My understanding is the Ray uses pure light for his powers while Superman and Supergirl get their power from the solar energy of a yellow sun, not yellow light.

Bishop73

I see. But if it was from pure light, wouldn't his powers have a white glow and not a yellow glow?

Quantom X

Most likely just a styling choice. I just know the basics details of his powers and not sure why it comes out yellow (or if it's even stated.) Perhaps for the the same reason the sun appears yellow, short wavelength light becomes scattered.

Bishop73

Question: In the US, can you really be taken to a police station for (presumably) making a phony phone call? To me it seems like a waste of resources since it is probably a common occurrence. Also Jeannie would have stuck to her story that it was true...as break-ins do happen all the time.

Gavin Jackson

Answer: In the United States, phoning in a false report to police can be treated as either a misdemeanor or felony offense (depending on jurisdiction). A false report is considered obstructing law enforcement, which is pretty serious. A misdemeanor offense can result in jail time of a year or less, while a felony offense can result in more than a year's jail time and heavy fines. The important factor that makes it a crime is knowingly trying to mislead the police, not accidentally reporting false information. In "Ferris Beuller's Day Off," Jean was not trying to mislead the police; but, lacking evidence, the police assumed she was knowingly phoning in a false report, so they arrested her (probably on a misdemeanor).

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: Illinois law makes making a false report on 911 a form of disorderly conduct.

LorgSkyegon

Answer: I think the main thing was Jeanie wasn't in school and was probably taken in for truancy as well as the supposedly phony call. But it's unlikely that they would have taken her to the police station if she was picked up at home.

Bishop73

Question: How is the hologram artificial intelligence system still operational and has power after 800,000 years?

Answer: We don't know what kind of power supply the AI system is running upon, but it's possible it's a system that works on some unlimited energy source that doesn't need fuel or uses very little energy.

lionhead

Answer: It's a plot hole. Just as, in the original 1960 George Pal movie, the Eloi are still human and speaking 20th Century English. After 802,000 years, all artifacts and traces of our modern civilization will be long, long, long vanished (excepted perhaps for a handful of fossilized bones). Additionally, after such a long time, the human species will probably be long extinct.

Charles Austin Miller

Question: What type of ring are Ellie and her father wearing? It looks like other cast members are wearing a blue ring as well and both of them have the rings on when her father holds her hand.

Answer: The ring looks like sterling silver with a semi-precious Lapis Lazuli stone (not terribly expensive, even today). The name Lapis Lazuli literally translates (from Latin and Persian) to "Stone of the Sky," which probably explains Ellie and her father wearing the rings. Her father always encouraged her interest in astronomy and radio communications, and she spent much of her career waiting for "a voice from the sky" (as is also mentioned in the movie's dialogue). Other characters in the movie wearing replicas of Ellie's ring could be interpreted as their support for Ellie unravelling the alien message and going on the space mission. Another interpretation could be that the blue-stoned rings in the film are a tribute to astronomer and author Carl Sagan, who famously described the Earth as a "blue dot" decades ago. Sagan, who wrote "Contact" and consulted on this film, died during the movie's production.

Charles Austin Miller

Question: In the opening of the movie, the Grimm brothers meet the elderly queen in her castle. Several people in the castle are crying and dressed in black. She herself is wearing a black veil, as though she is in mourning. Why? Who was supposed to have died? These things are never addressed in the script.

Answer: She's listed as Grande Dame in the credits and is addressed as "Your Majesty" by her servant and by Jacob Grimm. Many believe that the Grande Dame may be the fictionalized version of the real Marie Therese of France, a descendant of Henry II. It's in the last scene, when the carriage is leaving with the Grimm brothers, that we see in the overhead shot the Grande Dame's chateau is the very same royal palace where Prince Henry had resided. During the first scene, as Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm enter the Grande Dame's chamber, when the camera pans slowly from right to left we see a man (behind the candles) who has been leaning over the Grande Dame at her right side, then a servant leans over at her left side announcing, "The Brothers Grimm," and just as she greets the brothers the two women dressed in black are seen standing nearby, one of whom is weepy. At the start of the next shot we see a man exiting in the background, and he may be the same man who had been leaning over the Grande Dame in the previous shot, so perhaps he is her doctor. After they've had tea, offscreen, we see the Grande Dame is sitting up in bed, and there are apothecary bottles on the bedside table. She herself is not dressed in black, she's wearing white/grey ruffled lace, with only one piece of black lace over her white lace cap. I don't get the impression that she's in mourning. It seems reasonable to infer that the Grande Dame is ill. This is strong motivation for her to have written to the Brothers Grimm. Her desire to tell the truth of her great-great grandparents' romance and life, so she could set the record straight about her great-great grandmother, before she herself is gone.

Super Grover

Answer: The woman is not a queen but a grande dame who tells the brothers Grimm that Danielle was her great-great-grandmother. It's unknown why she is dressed in black other than it appears she is in mourning for an unknown person.

raywest

Question: Was Red/Warren's wife in on it also, or was she truly unaware of her husband's kidnapping lifestyle?

Joey221995

Answer: She was not in on it. However, once she turned against Jeff by encouraging her son, Deke, to shoot him, Jeff suddenly felt her to be as much as a threat as the others involved. This would explain why he had her and Deke into the cellar to be locked up with the others. Also, don't forget she was startled to see the freezer and Amy popping out of it.

Question: When Arnold Schwarzenegger is in a solitary cell and pretending to go on a psychotic rant, he says in German, among other things, "I'll rip your eyes out!" Does anyone know what the exact German words he is saying are? I can only make out "augen raus!"

Phaneron

Chosen answer: He says "Ich reiss euch eure Augen raus!" The full text from when he starts speaking German is "Ich kann's nicht aushalten! Arrgh! Ich kann es nicht mehr aushalten! Ich kann nicht mehr! Helft mir. Hoert auf mich zu quaelen. Ich Kann Nicht Mehr!" At this point Stallone opens the tunnel and focus is back on Schwarzenegger. "Ich kann das nicht mehr aushalten! Ich halte die Hitze nicht mehr aus! Ihr bringt mich um! Helft mir! Hoert auf mich zu quaelen! Hoert auf mich zu quaelen! Ich sterbe! Ich kann nicht mehr!" Here camera malfunction is detected. "Mein Herz!" Short break while others are yelling. "Ich hoere euch. Ihr Schweine! Ich hoere euch! Ich bring' euch alle um! Ich reiss' euch eure Augen aus! Ich schneid' eure Eier ab und stopf' sie euch in den Arsch! Oh ja, da sind Sie, oh ja!" Lights are switched off. "Oh nein! Nein! Ich fürchte mich vor der Dunkelheit! Ich habe Angst!" Warden enters the box. "Oh Gott, bitte hilf mir!" Here he starts praying The Lord's Prayer. "Vater unser im Himmel, geheiligt werde dein Name, dein Reich komme, dein Wille geschehe, wie im Himmel, so auch auf Erden. Unser tägliches Brot gib uns heute, und vergib uns unsere Schuld, wie auch wir vergeben unseren Schuldigern, und führe uns nicht in Versuchung, sondern erlöse uns von dem Bösen." He starts yelling again. "Du bist der Böse! Du bist der Teufel!" Stallone climbing, then back to Schwarzenegger. "Habt ihr nicht von jenem tollen Menschen gehoert? Der am hellen Vormittag eine Laterne anzuendete und auf den Markt lief und unaufhoerlich schrie 'Ich suche Gott! Ich suche Gott!'" Translation is: "I can't endure it! Arrgh! I can't endure it any more! I can't endure it! Help me! Stop torturing me! I can't take it any more!" At this point Stallone opens the tunnel and focus is back on Schwarzenegger. " I can't take it any more! I can't bear the heat any more! You are killing me! Help me! Stop torturing me! Stop torturing me! I'm dying! I can't take it any more!" Here camera malfunction is detected. "My heart!" Short break while others are yelling. "I hear you. You pigs! I hear you! I'm going to kill you all! I'm going to rip out your eyes! I'm going to cut off your balls and shove them up your asses! Oh yes, there you are, oh yes!" Lights are switched off. "Oh no! No! I'm afraid of the dark! I'm afraid!" Warden enters the box. "Oh God, please help me!" Here he starts praying The Lord's Prayer. Then he starts yelling again and points at the warden. "You are the evil one! You are the devil!" Stallone climbing, then back to Schwarzenegger. "Didn't you hear of that great man? Who lit a lantern in the bright morning, went to the market place and yelled non stop 'I'm looking for God! I'm looking for God!' "

Question: Am I missing something? Michael technically isn't the man of the house. The grandfather is as he owns the house. So when Max says that he won't come in until the man of the house invites him in, he wasn't asked by the right person, making his invite invalid.

Answer: The requirement isn't that the man of the house invites him in, just that he's invited in. He uses the "man of the house" line to trick Michael into inviting him in.

Answer: Didn't think he had to.

Answer: While it's purely speculation, here are few ideas: 1. He didn't think he needed to. He now possesses the most powerful weapon in the universe and thought hitting Thanos in the chest would be enough. 2. He may have aimed for the head, but Thanos was trying to repel the axe, which caused the aim to be off. 3. He wanted Thanos to die slowly so that he could deliver his "I told you..." line.

Plus, he didn't know Thanos already had all the gems.

lionhead

Or just because the head is a much smaller target and Thor was pretty far away, even when throwing a magic axe.

Friso94

Question: Was the daughter possessed the entire time before she died? I noticed at the end one of the cult members at the end said something about the demon being released from the female host.

Answer: As the film progresses, we learn that the mother's side of the family has a history of serious mental illness, and the maternal grandmother was a secret devil-worshipper who was trying to fulfill an evil prophecy (crowning one of The Eight Kings of Hell from her own family). The little girl, Charlie, did apparently suffer some sort of mental illness, and she was raised and heavily influenced for 13 years by her devil-worshipping grandmother. Near the end it is revealed that Charlie actually was, all her life, a temporary female host for one of The Eight Kings of Hell; but she had to die because the prophecy called for a male host to be crowned King. At the very end, Charlie's cursed soul migrates into her older brother Peter's body; whereupon, he is crowned one of The Eight Kings of Hell.

Charles Austin Miller

Question: Who killed Martha Tabram? Just like in the real world, doubt is cast on her murder as to whether or not it was Jack the Ripper due to the differences in her murder and those of the other prostitutes. So was it just another member of the Freemasons?

Phaneron

Answer: I've always suspected (thought) that the man who murdered Martha was the guy with the knife who threatened Mary Kelly and used the weapon to cut off her buttons. McQueen. Wasn't he the 1888s version of a pimp?

ChristmasJonesfan

I think that would make the most sense. If he didn't do the deed himself, then having one of his men do it to send a message to the other prostitutes tracks.

Phaneron

Question: Would any company in their right mind build a theme park (or any business for that matter) on a private island with a volcano? I know populated areas like Hawaii just assume the risk, but wouldn't a company that has the money to purchase their own island do their due diligence and make sure they won't be prone to a major catastrophe like that?

Phaneron

Answer: As it was stated in the film, the volcano had been dormant for many many years. Presumably even since well before the events of the first Jurassic Park movie in the early 90's. It was only recently, between the events of this film and the prior Jurassic World that the volcano had its surprise re-awakening.

Quantom X

For sure, but dormant simply means that the volcano could one day erupt again, so wouldn't it be pretty foolish to gamble on building a multi-billion dollar theme park with the hope that the volcano will never again erupt?

Phaneron

One would think. But just look at our world's history. Like Pompeii, an entire civilization wiped out cause they lived at the base of a dormant volcano. And then even in more recent history. Mount Saint Helens, which I've actually been to and seen the exhibits and footage of it's destruction. Foolish, yeah. But that doesn't stop us from still doing it repeatedly.

Quantom X

I think it's been made pretty clear over the course of all the films that the people building these parks did not exactly think everything through properly. They took a gamble on the volcano, and they lost.

wizard_of_gore

Answer: The volcano has nothing to do with reality. It is a plot device more than twenty years after the original movie. It is contrived for the purpose of telling a new story. Trying to give a logical or scientific explanation is pointless.

raywest

Question: When they are heading down in the lift to the vault in the SWAT suits, who is the character to left of Brad Pitt? Because as you can see his face he doesn't look like any of the Oceans 11 characters at all.

Answer: This is actually a mistake in the movie, there is an extra person in the elevator. It is listed in the mistakes.

lionhead

Question: In the last scene when Ripley is escaping in the shuttle, why is the Alien wedged awkwardly in the wall? And why is it so mellow about getting out and killing Ripley?

Answer: The xenomorphs are quite intelligent, despite their savage nature. In this scene, for example, the alien understands that the Nostromo is about to self-destruct, and it correctly anticipates Ripley using a shuttle to escape the blast. The alien carefully hides in the shuttle and goes into a dormant state (so as not to alert Ripley to its presence until they are well underway). When Ripley realises the alien is aboard, she dons her pressure suit and sprays the alien with fire-extinguishing gas to prompt a response. After a startled jump, the alien languidly reveals itself because it is emerging from its dormant state, but also because it knows there is no escape for Ripley in the tiny spacecraft. The implication is that it is in no hurry to kill her, which heightens the tension and horror of the scene.

Charles Austin Miller

Excellent answer.

raywest

Citadel on the Edge of Vengeance - S2-E8

Question: Mary talks about her time in Sokovia, a country which featured heavily in Avengers: Age of Ultron. But as far as the MCU has covered, it was only the Avengers who fought there, against Ultron and his army. Mary talks about being special forces and how "Sokovians like knives." What were US troops doing there, and why were they fighting the Sokovians? The altercation with Ultron seemed like everyone would be on the same side, trying to save lives.

Jon Sandys

Answer: Sokovia is a nation in the Iron Curtain. It is just as likely for a US operative to end up there as any of the other former Soviet nations. There is no reason to believe she was there at the same time as the Avengers. It was likely some form of covert mission there years beforehand.

Question: What game do the young men play to demonstrate their courage to one another?

Answer: To expand on the previous answer, the village youth were raised to believe the non-existent creatures would never harm anyone so long as they did not cross the boundary. The boys are engaging in a game of "dare."

raywest

Answer: There isn't a particular name for the game they're playing. It was more game of courage of who could stand on the stump with their arms spread out wide the longest without running away scared.

Question: Why did Jack and Max try to kill Mason's son Sonny? They have their masks on and there's no way that Sonny would have identified them.

adamtrainman@aol.com

Answer: He survived the first attempt of his family's murder. There's no telling what he saw or heard. As for the masks, the bad guys were taking no chances, security cameras, cell phones and the unexpected eyewitness.

Question: What is that green thing that Chuck tries to break open by throwing it against a rock wall, and then by hitting it with a rock? Is it really that difficult to break open?

Answer: They were coconuts. Coconuts come in a green shell which is their husk and they are hard to open up, especially when they get older. Most people use a machete or pick ax to get the husk off.

Bishop73

Is the shell as difficult to break open as shown in the movie?

The film does seem to accurately depict how hard it would be for someone who has never opened one before to get into a green coconut. I've never tried throwing one against a rock wall before though.

Bishop73

I was asking if the shell is as difficult to break open by hitting it with a rock as shown in the movie.

For someone who has never tried opening a green coconut, yes it would be.

Bishop73

The inner shell itself is not that difficult to open. Using a pointed rock, you can break through the round-shaped holes at the end to pour out of the liquid. By hitting the coconut's seam running lengthwise down the shell hard against a rock, it will completely split the shell in two around the circumference.

raywest

I'm talking about opening the outer shell, not the inner shell.

Answer: It sure is. You have to be gentle when you break it so all the water doesn't just go everywhere, like it would if you pounded it with say, a large rock.

stiiggy

Question: What was with the scene where John picks up and smells the grass after he's snuck out to help Melinda? And what did John mean when he said 'no matter how it happened, Del was the lucky one.' Did John somehow take all that pain so Del wouldn't? I never really got it.

Brandon York

Answer: He smelled the grass because he had missed it being locked up. As for the other thing, John was tired, he constantly felt the pain of others around him, he wanted it to stop. Del died, to John that's the way out, to get rid of the pain. Even though Del felt a lot of pain, for John it doesn't matter, as long as he gets out, so the pain stops. He didn't take Del's pain.

lionhead

Watch John closely during Del's execution. His body reacts the same as Del's throughout. He said Del's the lucky one because he wouldn't know earthly pain any longer, something that John is longing for by the time of his own execution.

MovieFan612

He didn't take his pain.

lionhead

I believe that John himself had lived a long time because of his powers, maybe he couldn't die from old age, but could be killed like other people, he was tired of being alive, so the execution was his way out.

Answer: He smells the grass, because it's pure.

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