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: Why didn't the ranger tell his supervisor about Ivy/the community?

Answer: He suspects that his supervisor already knows what is going on inside the reserve. If he says anything, he might be fired because he would then be considered a risk to reveal publicly about the people living on the other side of the wall.

raywest

Answer: Of course the Supervisor knew. It was the Village Elders who hired them. To keep people out and disturbing their way of life. If you're wondering why he seemed so nonchalant about the situation. I've been in security for thirty years, sitting outside and doing nothing is the most boring way to make a living.

Answer: I don't think the supervisor knew. I think the guy just felt bad for her or understood her. And if the supervisor found out about it, he probably would have reported it and it would have became public. IMO.

Question: I'm asking this as a question, cause I'm unable to determine if this is actually a mistake with the weird writing... or if I'm just missing something. Right after The Jackal kills Lemont, it cuts to the FBI in a room trying to piece things together. Witherspoon walks in and says "Here we go, sir. Eleven days ago, Charles C. Murdock bought himself a brand new Dodge mini van. Now, that was a big surprise to Mr. Murdock, whose passport and wallet were stolen 16 days ago at the Helsinki Airport." He says this to Preston and the rest as if this is brand new news, a new lead they have to go on and a break they've needed. But then Preston just looks at him contemplating this and immediately responds. "Anything from the border? We sent a description of the van to every crossing from here to Manitoba." Him saying this as if they had this information long ago and already had people searching for it. To me this doesn't make any sense with how either of those characters said their lines. Witherspoon has been with Preston and the others almost this entire time in on the investigation and would have known if they already knew about the van. And if the van was actually a new lead Witherspoon just found and was telling them. Then what Preston said makes no sense. So where is the error in this or am I just missing something? (01:01:35)

Quantom X

Answer: It seemed to me that they had a description of the van, but had not yet identified the owner. Witherspoon is saying the van was purchased with a stolen identity and therefore they still don't know who really bought the van.

Bishop73

But how did they even have a description of the van then? Up to that point it seemed they didn't know anything about a van. This is why i'm confused.

Quantom X

The film makers may have cut out some scenes that would explain it in better detail, but as it is, there's no mention when the FBI knew about the van. However, they did know the Jackal was using James' passport and flew into Montreal so they have been able to follow him, although they're always a step behind. I don't think it's a plot hole or bad writing though, but it certainly up for debate.

Bishop73

In the movie the Jackal (Willis) often changed the colour of the van, white, blue, red etc. So for a proper BOLO of a van especially in 1997 there are many (including currently) many colours of a minivan (family van) so the color it was sold as was changed and it showed him practising washing away one color over another and the last being red.

Question: Why doesn't Miguel fall through the bridge like Hector? Miguel doesn't have a picture on the table stand.

Answer: Miguel isn't dead yet. He's slowly fading away the more he stays in the land of the dead and will eventually be stuck there just like everyone else. Until he fades away he can still walk on the bridge but he needs a blessing from a family member in the land of the dead to actually get back.

BaconIsMyBFF

While yes he is not dead, the rest of the movie becomes entirely pointless since this means he could have just walked back. Security wouldn't have stopped him because he is alive so they know that it is urgent for him to cross the bridge.

He can't just walk back. He can walk on the bridge but he can't actually get back to the land of the living unless he gets a blessing from a family member.

BaconIsMyBFF

It was Miguel taking the guitar that put him in his dead/not dead state, not crossing the bridge. Miguel was already only able to be seen and interact with the dead while they were all still in the cemetery on the living side of the bridge. It stands to reason then that crossing back to where he started wouldn't help.

Question: Why did heat seeking missiles go after the fireball created by fuel instead of the fighter jet? I thought heat seeking missiles went after specific infrared frequencies, and specific temperatures.

Answer: Modern heat seekers are indeed designed to go after certain frequencies in order to better bypass countermeasures. It is still a pretty common Hollywood convention that heat seekers go after the hottest heat source in the area. Part of this is due to audience expectation, as the average viewer might not be aware of modern missile technology and would wonder the opposite of your question: why a heat seeker wouldn't go after a huge explosion that is hotter than a jet. It must also be noted that no system is perfect and in real world situations heat seeking missiles are still prone to be pulled off course by countermeasures, so it isn't entirely unrealistic.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: What was that big ball of flames that broke the jet in half?

Answer: Watching the scene it is the rest of the missile finally exploding causing the jet to split in half.

Ssiscool

Question: Why does Manolo prefer to be a musician instead of a bullfighter like his family?

Answer: He has a natural talent that he wants to pursue instead of following family tradition. Being an artist and writer, I knew from the earliest age this was something I wanted to pursue more than anything else.

raywest

Question: After meeting Douglas at the gay bar, The Jackal heads out and walks up to a car while putting gloves on. He fakes a cough and presses something to the driver window and it shatters with a bang. What exactly did he use and how did he break the window so easily with whatever that was? It appeared he simple just pressed a knife lightly to the window. What did he do? (00:43:20)

Quantom X

Answer: He probably used a window punch. It's a small device used for breaking a car window in the event of an emergency. A recessed metal pin is within a plastic housing. When pressed against the window, the pin's pointed end pushes into the window, shattering it. I carry such a device on my key chain.

raywest

Question: Why did Hip and his two nieces leave Bond behind at the karate school? Didn't the nieces let him know that Bond was running behind?

Answer: Hip gets in the front and the two nieces get in the back and Bond slams the door shut as he passes to get in the other side, Hip naturally thinks Bond got in the car after hearing the door shut so drives off. The two nieces are shouting at him and for some reason ignores their pleas at this point Bond has to make his own escape.

Answer: Simple misunderstanding. The two nieces were attempting to tell Hip but he thought that Bond had gotten in the back with his nieces. That, or he wanted to spare the innocent parties harm, so he split up from them.

Alan Keddie

Question: At the end of Bride of Chucky, the Tiffany doll has a stitched scar on her forehead from being hit with an axe by Chucky. In the end of Cult of Chucky, the Tiffany doll is revealed and does not have the scar she had previously. What happened to it?

Answer: It's been years since the injury. Maybe she transferred her soul to another doll? Maybe she repaired her head? Maybe she copied her soul into another pristine doll as she can now inhabit multiple hosts at once? Take your pick, as it's a relatively insignificant matter.

TedStixon

Question: Why did Eddie smile when he received the Symbiote? I mean he seemed terrified at first but when he was on the ground he smiled.

Answer: The symbiote is shown to have an influence over its host, demonstrated by the change in Peter's personality after he bonded with it. Eddie, who was already bitter and angry by this point, could feel the symbiote taking over him, and while initially terrified, he quickly began to understand, accept and enjoy the change occurring within himself.

Phaneron

Party's Over - S2-E5

Question: Does the pharmacist that Longmire talks to violate any sort of confidentiality laws? Walt doesn't come in with a warrant, but the pharmacist is giving Walt information pertaining to other people still alive, not just the victim. I could see the law allowing him to tell Walt "no" that someone didn't pick up any prescriptions, but to mention she picked up antibiotics or that Gerry had back surgery seems unethical.

Bishop73

Answer: This appears to be movie fiction. In real life, a pharmacist could not legally give out confidential patient information without there being a search warrant. Not abiding by confidentiality laws could result in a pharmacist facing legal issues and losing his or her license.

raywest

Question: Near the end of the film a high school year book is shown. What school is it from and what year?

Answer: Hogan High School, in Vallejo California. 1968.

Bishop73

Question: Why does Logan cave in to Xavier's request to stop and stay with the Munsons when he knows they are being tracked by deadly mercenaries?

Phaneron

Answer: Logan likely assumed that they were in the clear. The mercenaries were able to keep finding them because they were forcing Caliban to track them, but Logan thought that they had killed him. He had no idea that Caliban was still alive and was tracking them, so he guessed that they were out of their reach.

Casual Person

How would that account for the Reavers finding them earlier at the casino hotel, though? Wouldn't Logan have been under the assumption at that time as well that Caliban was dead?

Phaneron

Logan may have questioned how the Reavers found them in the casino hotel, but probably not too much to think of which methods specifically were used to find them, since he was mainly focused on getting out of the Reavers' reach. As the casino hotel was a more populated location, he likely took a gamble and guessed that the Munson household was a far safer place to lay low since the house was in a secluded location.

Casual Person

Answer: He thought that she was getting back together with her ex, and Daniel's chief tormentor, Johnny. (I could be wrong it's been a long time since I've seen the film).

Alan Keddie

Answer: Remember the scene where they had an argument about Ali saying Daniel can't always run away from his problems (meaning the Cobra Kai). Daniel didn't appreciate the lecture, so snapped back at her and then avoided her until the Halloween party, when Miyagi convinced him to make up with her (young bee needs young flower, not old prune).

Answer: She was with her friends and her friends don't like him. So he probably just wasn't in the mood to deal with that. He also had some battle wounds from getting "pushed" down a hill on his bike and wasn't ready to face her yet.

Question: I loaded the film up on Netflix, and it seems that the dialogue in one scene was edited. In the standard cut of the film, Jeebs says "You insensitive prick!" to K, but in the version I saw on Netflix, Jeebs says "You insensitive jerk!" What's the deal with the Netflix version changing this one single line? The original "prick" line appears to be on both the VHS and Blu-Ray edition I own.

TedStixon

Answer: After a little research, I discovered that the line was changed in the UK release from "prick" to "jerk." So the most likely explanation I can find is that the Netflix version is taken from a UK master of the film. As mentioned in other comments, Netflix doesn't censor their films, so the other answer regarding the film being edited like movies shown on airplanes isn't accurate. (Not to mention, it'd make no sense for Netflix to edit this one profanity while leaving all the others intact if they were editing it for content).

TedStixon

I agree it's the UK version. I don't know if it's a licensing thing or cheaper, but I've notice Netflix will use the UK release version on a number of films. I'm not familiar with "prick" as a UK slang but I believe it's more graphic than US slang, similar to the word "fanny", and edited for the UK release.

Bishop73

Answer: In fact, it's done twice. When talking about Frank the pug, the standard edit has K saying "I just hope the little prick hasn't skipped town." The streaming version doesn't. I say streaming version because I just discovered that the Amazon version of this film edited out the word "prick," and I didn't realise the Netflix version had too. I'm in the US, so what's going on here?

Generally the changes people notice in films when watching Netflix or other services come from the fact that they're airing the UK release version (for whatever reason). I remember the first time people really noticed this was when Scooby-Doo 2 changed the product placement from Burger King to KFC (which I commented on).

Bishop73

Answer: As more films become available online and are accessible to a wider audience, the studios edit mature content that is unacceptable to under-aged viewers. It's the same as movies that are shown on airplanes where the adult content is edited or removed altogether.

raywest

Netflix doesn't censor their movies, though... So this explanation makes no sense.

It just seems odd, as Netflix basically never censors content in other films they host (since they're supposed to be hosting the officially released versions anyways), and the rest of the profanity/violence in this particular film is unedited.

TedStixon

Answer: That was the ejector seat. Triggering it with the car upside down flipped the car over.

Alan Keddie

Question: I know that nowadays, the F.B.I. does have operations abroad. However when this film was made 20 years ago showing the F.B.I. operating in Moscow... did the F.B.I. conduct operations outside of the country as depicted? I was under the impression that was the CIA's job.

Quantom X

Answer: It is stated that the FBI is working with their Russian equivalent, the MVD on a joint operation. The FBI primarily focuses on domestic issues but does on occasion engage in operations outside of the United States with the assistance and in the aid of foreign governments. The CIA would not be the appropriate government agency to handle the operation in the movie because that mission is a law enforcement operation. The CIA is strictly an intelligence gathering organization with no law enforcement authority.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: Since 1940 (prior to the CIA being established), the FBI have been stationed in various foreign countries. Usually agent don't have the authority to make arrests, however, they can if Congress has granted the FBI extraterritorial jurisdiction and the host country agrees. The FBI establishes attaché offices, commonly known as legats, in foreign cities. In 1993 there were 21 of these offices and the new FBI director, Louis Freeh, wanted more and by 1997 there were 32. So, yes, 20 years ago the FBI conducted operations in foreign countries. I know currently there's a legat in Moscow, although I don't know when it was established. However, given the nature of the film, it's not unreasonable to think the FBI could quickly set up operations in Moscow, if they were not already established there, with no explanations needed since it's already something the FBI does.

Bishop73

Answer: It is the C.I.A's job to conduct foreign investigations. You're right in that respect. Why the FBI is involved is either unexplained or not mentioned.

Alan Keddie

Question: When Major Koslova confronts Ghazzi in the club, he speaks first with a joke or line of some sort. "What, no kick back this week?" What is that supposed to mean? A google search revealed nothing to me. (00:05:55)

Quantom X

Answer: Kick back means bribe. He's insinuating that he can bribe anyone to look the other way whilst he continues his dealings.

Alan Keddie

Answer: A "kickback" (one word) could be considered a type of bribe, but more commonly it is an arranged pay-off for some type of business transaction. Someone does something to make money, either legally or illegally, and someone who aids or is in someway useful to them is paid a percentage of the profits.

raywest

Question: Was the spinosaurus following the group, if so how? Or were they merely bumping into each other?

Answer: Being a predator, it would probably have a defined territory that it roamed looking for prey. The group is always traveling on foot and in the time frame they have been on the island, they likely were always in close proximity to where the spinosaurus hunted. It could possibly have detected them by sight, sound, or smell, or a combination of those factors.

raywest

Answer: Probably by smell.

lionhead

Mr. Monk and the Election - S3-E15

Question: Mr. Monk, given all his quirks, is apprehensive to enter the voting booth and even comes back out due to his anxiety. My question is; do you have to be in the booth to vote? He had a paper ballot and there was no voting machine inside the booth. I saw a table and chairs in the background, so if Monk chose to, could he (or anyone) fill out the ballot at the table, in the open?

Bishop73

Answer: Yes, with a paper ballot, Monk (or anyone) can choose to fill it out at the table as long as they are not concerned about the lack of privacy.

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