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: What do the Wakandans chant when lined up, ready for the battle?

Bishop73

Answer: From what I've read, they are chanting "yibambe," which is Xhosa for "we hold our ground."

Phaneron

Question: Why doesn't anyone ever destroy the stones? What purpose do they serve other than no one person should have them?

DetectiveGadget85

Answer: "Doctor Strange" demonstrates that the Infinity Stones are useful in the most dire of situations, when Strange used the Time Stone to prevent Dormammu from taking over the Earth. It's also possible that some of the stones are indestructible. Wanda is able to temporarily destroy the Mind Stone by using her own powers, but the Power Stone will destroy any being that doesn't possess the strength to wield it, and the Reality Stone is shown to have a will of its own and defended itself when it bonded with Jane Foster.

Phaneron

Also, in the comics, if the stones are destroyed they will simply be replaced by something else or even stones again. They represent the existence of the universe and cannot be destroyed for real. Always only temporarily.

lionhead

Question: Why was Charles Wallace being sent to the office? For calling out on the two teachers or for causing Meg to hurt Veronica? Also, why aren't the two teachers in trouble for making fun of the Murry family?

Cody Fairless-Lee

Answer: We are never told why Charles Wallace was sent to the office. Perhaps the principal wanted to hear his side of the story seeing as he saw what happened. He may have also told the principal what the teachers said as well.

Question: Why did the exit randomly appear when the rooms converged? I much preferred the original's exit being a puzzle the characters had to solve, rather than just holding out, but perhaps there's a more clever solution that went over my head.

Answer: The nature of the original cube was a puzzle that needed solved to escape. This cube was more like a time trial you had to survive to the end of in order to escape. The appearance of the exit was not random however; the cube collapsed upon itself until it no longer existed in three-dimensional space, leaving the survivor standing in the area the cube had previously occupied.

Phixius

Question: Is the original cut of the film available in Region One territories on either DVD or Blu-Ray? I have the standard DVD and Blu-Ray editions, but they are pretty sparse on content and only seem to have the cut US version of the film, which is missing some plot and comedy beats.

TedStixon

Question: Why did they put "A special thanks to Mexico City: A very special place" in the credits? Was that supposed to be a joke? The movie didn't portray it as very special.

MikeH

Answer: This was likely meant as an appreciation to the city and its people for their support and assistance during the film's production, and was not a jokey reference to how Mexico City was portrayed in the movie. It's typical for movies to express gratitude to a city, state, the citizens, etc. for their cooperation.

raywest

Answer: It could also be sarcasm cause I read that the crew was robbed at gunpoint several times during filming.

Question: Why do the bad guys want the video tape that they are after?

Answer: The cocaine deal, that had gone bad, between the mob and gang. They were afraid it would be turned into the police.

Bishop73

How did the video get recorded in the first place?

The two reporters, Diana and Richard, were hiding above and filming it. After the shootout there's a explosion which exposes them. The mob boss sees them and tells his men to go after them.

Bishop73

Answer: TV Reporter Diane, played by Gabrielle Fitzpatrick, and her crew film the drug deal between the mob boss and the street gang.

Answer: Because of what George said to him in the house after he was robbed. He hurt Dennis' feelings so he ran away.

Answer: Maybe Meg hadn't hugged her mom in a really long time so the mom must be thinking that she is dreaming that Meg is hugging her.

Question: Do we know that Michael is dead for sure? It seems way too abrupt, against character and anti-climactic for him to have died in the manner alluded to in the film. Or should we assume that not seeing his corpse or hearing 100% confirmation of his death means he might still be alive?

TedStixon

Chosen answer: Selena herself said, that Michael was dead. The actor who played him really didn't want to return to the role.

Question: How did the single souls on the boats die? Did they also die by drowning at sea like the others swimming in the water and why are they in individual boats? Are they special souls?

Answer: They died at sea or their bodies were dropped in the sea (like Elizabeth's father). These are the souls that are at peace with their deaths and are being transported calmly to the other end, opposed to ones in the water who are not at peace and supposed to be escorted by Davey Jones to find it.

lionhead

Question: When private investigator Milton Arbogast is attacked on the stairway, this film inserts two non sequitur pieces of footage right in the middle of the attack sequence: Just as Arbogast's face is slashed twice, a shot of a virtually-nude woman wearing a sleep-mask is inserted for a split-second, followed a moment later by a split-second insert of what appears to be a small calf standing in the middle of a road in a rainstorm. What is the meaning of those two inserts?

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: I'm sorry. There are no answers to your question. Or. The inserts were added to make the movie, which I liked, even more horrible.

ChristmasJonesfan

Answer: His life flashing before his eyes? Snapshots of Norman's fractured psyche? The director's vision?

Alan Keddie

Those are just more questions.

Charles Austin Miller

Question: When Kirk and McCoy try to rescue Chekov at Mercy Hospital, Kirk removes the 20th Century medical team into an adjacent room and uses his phaser to instantly fuse the metal door lock. The medical team cannot directly see Kirk do this, as they are visibly several feet away on the other side of the door. It's also safe to say that the medical team has never seen a phaser and can't comprehend its function or capabilities. As Kirk turns away from the door to rejoin McCoy, the trapped medical team only then rushes up to the door, and the trauma surgeon exclaims, "He melted the lock!" However, it seems that you'd have to laboriously dismantle the doorknob to determine that the lock's internal components were fused. So, how did a 20th Century surgeon deduce at a glance that Kirk had somehow melted the lock?

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: The lock, and the area around it, would have become hot as a result of melting the lock. The hospital staff would then jump to the conclusion that the lock was melted. The real reason they mention it, however, is so the audience knows what he did to the lock.

But you would think, if the doorknob was still searing hot two seconds after being fused, that the first thing out of the surgeon's mouth would be a scream of pain, rather than "He melted the lock!"

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: The doctors were watching through the window the entire time. There was a visible red laser beam from the phaser, culminating with a puff of smoke or vapor emanating from the knob. It wouldn't be a huge leap for anyone to surmise that the knob had likely been melted.

Try watching the scene. No doctors are looking through the window when Kirk phasers the door lock.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: Or perhaps the part of lock on the doctors' side is visibility melted.

Answer: The knob would have been super-heated by the phaser blast. Enough that it could be felt without touching, and he simply could have come to the conclusion that a metal object that hot would likely have its internal components melted without a systematic analysis of the doorknob. He's also a surgeon and needs his hands. He wouldn't last long at the job if he was someone who went around putting his hand on glowing-hot doorknobs.

Captain Defenestrator

He could've also been guessing as it appears he tries opening the door. Why they don't break the glass is beyond me, but that's a character mistake, and not up for debate here.

Question: Why do those charms disappear at the end? Does Ren use the force to destroy them?

Answer: Luke took them from the Millennium Falcon and gave them to Leia. He wasn't actually there, and was instead a force-projection. When he died and his projection disappeared, so did the illusion of the dice that he had brought with him.

Luke disappears well before the charm. Also, the charm had a physical presence (I.E. you could pick them up) whereas Luke did not.

Luke didn't disappear "well before" the charm. The scene of his death plays out first for the audience but his disappearance and the disappearance of the dice were supposed to be concurrent. It's also not entirely true that Luke didn't have a physical presence. He holds Leia's head and kisses her physically. Presumably he could choose what was physical and what was not and chose to not have a physical presence when he dueled Kylo Ren. This is further evidenced throughout the film when Kylo Ren's hand gets wet from the rain after "force Skyping" with Rey and later on when the two are able to physically touch.

BaconIsMyBFF

The Cover-Up - S6-E23

Question: In the beginning, when Jim and Pam are supposedly communicating through Morse Code, do they actually saying anything? What about the end with Pam and Dwight? What is said? Or is it just random clicks, taps, and blinks to seem like Morse Code for the audience?

Bishop73

Answer: This is what a person on Reddit wrote regarding Jim and Pam: I know Morse code well, and most of it was gibberish, especially Jim's clicks. Pam's second transmission was almost intelligible as SE HE IT (3 clicks 1 click, 4 clicks, 1 click, 2 clicks and long click). "

raywest

Answer: I only know the part about the detonator, the rest might be random but Jim said "There is a detonator in this office."

Is that what is actually clicked out? Seems way too long for what how short the scene is. Or are you just guessing that's what was implied because of Dwight's reaction.

Bishop73

Answer: I tried to solve it, seemed like random clicking to me.

Question: If Voldemort wants Dumbledore dead, then why didn't he just kill him, instead of giving the mission to Draco?

DFirst1

Answer: It's a little complicated. Voldemort never intended that Draco would succeed in his mission to kill Dumbledore. He wanted Dumbledore dead, but it was also his plan to punish Lucius Malfoy for his failure to retrieve the prophecy at the Ministry of Magic (in Order of the Phoenix). Any follower who failed the Dark Lord suffered severe consequences, often fatal. Voldemort intended to execute Draco when he failed to kill Dumbledore. His purpose was to devastate Lucius by taking his son's life.

raywest

Answer: Despite being removed as CEO, Norman would still own the stock, which would then be passed on to Harry.

Greg Dwyer

Did Harry have to take over or was it his decision?

It's always a choice to become CEO of a company.

lionhead

Answer: Norman killed the other board members at the World Unity Festival. If he did so before all the legal requirements of removing him from the company were completed, then their intentions would effectively be null and void and Norman would remain the owner.

Phaneron

Answer: Well Harry did want to keep his father's "Honor" and quoting from the first film, "become half of what he is." He didn't want to disappoint his father even after death. Or has a bigger goal in mind. But he did it on his own.

Question: How does Wade have a photo of Francis for his board, if he doesn't know how to find him?

Answer: Because it's much easier to find a photo of someone than it is to find the actual person. Law enforcement agencies very often have photographs of wanted criminals on file, even if they're still at large. In addition, it's a pretty common movie trope for a hitman to be given (or otherwise acquire) a picture of his target, then be told to find him/her (which may or may not be based in reality...more likely, it's just a film cheat to give the audience a visual reference and help them follow along).

Answer: He didn't have the money to pay the diner bill, so he called the operator, in the phone booth, to call the diner number to test the line.

Question: Was the fairy godmother the one who cast the ogre spell on Fiona?

Answer: In the first movie Fiona says that it was a witch that cast the spell on her when she was a little girl.

That witch could have been the fairy godmother disguised as a witch.

Fairy godmother is a witch too.

Answer: Possibly. It's confirmed the fairy godmother locked her in that tower, and her son Prince Charming was supposed to go there and kiss her so she would not transform into an ogre anymore. However the curse worked in reverse and the fairy godmother told Fiona she was still cursed because she was still an ogre. But it is never stated she put the curse on her.

lionhead

Answer: My theory is that the fairy godmother turned Fiona into an ogre for her son, Prince Charming, to marry her later on to become king. Harold was a frog when he fell in love with Lillian, so he asked the fairy godmother to turn him into a human. In return, the fairy godmother asked for Fiona to be locked up in a tower and await Prince Charming. It was a "favor for a favor" scenario. It is not sure who cast the spell on her, witch or fairy godmother, but the fairy godmother was the one to lock her away in a tower.

So, Fiona would've been born before Harold ever married Lillian?

No, it was an exchange "I give you access to the love of your life, you give me your firstborn daughter's hand in marriage to my son" kind of deal.

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.