Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: Why was Epps's dead crew involved in taking the gold onto the new ship? Wouldn't their souls have gone to Heaven when the ship sank?

Answer: No, they succumbed to their sins so their souls are eternally damned.

Phixius

Question: Two things in this make me think they have some meaning behind them. At the cemetery, after the memorial for Billy's mom. Costigan is standing by the grave when everyone's gone already and looks up to the flowers sent by Costello. The note signed by Costello has been shot twice (it switched to Costigan in between). And if you look closely the signature and the picture of Mary changes, as if it would be two completely different notes. And I have no idea why Scorsese would do that. The second shot that bothers me takes place in Sullivan's apartment, while Colin is unpacking Madelyn's boxes. Right before he picks out Madelyn's graduate certificate there's a very short clip where television showing a woman's hand reaching for a phone is filmed. What's that?

Answer: While I love this film (and anything Scorsese touches for that matter), there are many continuity issues throughout the whole movie. It's easy to think that there is meaning behind every shot in a film, but sometimes it is simply sloppy continuity (which doesn't necessarily reflect on Scorsese). Jack Nicholson's scenes in particular seem to always have glaring continuity issues - this probably has something to do with his acting style. At the end of the day, the movie rocks. And that's all that really matters.

Question: Why does the Station Inspector chase children who are on their own and threaten to send them to an Orphanage? Is that what it was like in the 1930s?

Luka Keats

Answer: He's not making it a point to chase down random children - he's like a security officer at an airport. It's his job to apprehend thieves and troublemakers and keep the station safe, and he only threatens to send children to the orphanage if they don't have parents for him to return them to. Also, it's implied once he finally apprehends Hugo that his particular harshness toward orphans (and most of his character flaws in general) is due to apparently having been one himself. He spells out the kinds of lessons he was forced to learn by growing up without a family, explaining how he became so cold, bitter, and antisocial.

Chosen answer: It is more than likely an early form of our modern day child protection. Just as today if children are found to be at risk, they can be and are taken away by social services and put into foster care. In the film, orphans may have been seen as a plague in an area that attracts posh looking people in stark contrast to urchins in rags eating out of bins. Most European orphanages/care homes/hospices/whatever you want to call them at that time were no better than anything depicted in Charles Dickens 50 years previously.

Neil Jones

Question: This film tells a little about different clans and how some Predators hunt others (smaller ones, how they ever came to be and are not extinct I'd beyond me). But is it every mentioned anywhere just how Predators are created/born? The films never give an indication towards there being any female Predators. We know Aliens have the Face-Huggers and they spawn Aliens from Humans. What about Predators? Is it ever noted if they do something similar, mate like Humans do or are created using some kind of technology? Always been curious about this, thanks for any answer.

SWAN1878EFC

Chosen answer: Female predators (or Yautja) do not hunt, and are therefore rarely seen off their home world. Predators do have a mating season and females choose their mates based on how accomplished a hunter they are.

Question: Why do the Predators care about the PredAlien so much? I know it wiped out a few of them and is a monstrosity of a hybrid. However, why did they have it locked up on the ship? There is no way it got to full size (taking a few months I assume) or crawled around as a baby without a single Predator noticing. It must have been locked up, but if it's so bad, why keep it alive?

SWAN1878EFC

Answer: They were not keeping it alive. Once it birthed it went somewhere to hide until it grew to full size. Much like in every other Alien film, the predalien grows to full size remarkably fast. It usually takes less than a day in most situations. Once it grew to full size it began slaughtering the Predators and proved to be more than a match for the average Predator. They were most certainly not keeping the predalien alive purposefully, they had no idea it even existed until it began killing them.

BaconIsMyBFF

Chosen answer: The predalien, like all other alien species, is a trophy. They were probably keeping it alive so they could hunt it later.

lionhead

Question: Was the Predator in this film dishonorable at some stage in its life? Its pincer (not sure the actual name) things on its face, one is half gone and he has scars. Is this because he's experienced (hence why he's there) or does he do it because he needs to earn honor back for something (again, hence why he's sent on a suicide mission)?

SWAN1878EFC

Chosen answer: Although not proven, the injuries and the wide array of trophies and equipment may imply a long life of hunting. Further as it is receiving official distress signals from what may have been the home world, it is possible it plays the role of 'clean up crew' to mitigate exposure of Predator activity and lost equipment to prey species.

According to the directors, the injuries were a direct homage to Broken Tusk, the primary Predator character in the original Alien vs. Predator comic book.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: Why didn't the Predator who gets attacked by the face-hugger know? He must have known what had happened to him when he woke up, shouldn't he have killed himself? Or at least let his fellow Predators know before resuming the mission? I understand he needed to stop the Aliens reaching the surface, but surely he should have known or done something.

SWAN1878EFC

Chosen answer: The predators are proud creatures, and stubborn. He probably knew but couldn't be 100% sure. He only just killed an alien and marked himself with this trophy, making him victorious in his quest. Killing himself or telling his mates he is incubated right after that achievement is not in a predator's nature.

lionhead

Additionally I think he would have told the other predators if he hadn't been killed by the alien queen. Before reaching the surface he was probably not in a position to remove the creature from his own chest. Maybe he thought that he would make it to the surface and get it dealt with when he is back in the ship. Instead things took another turn and the alien queen killed him before telling the adults. To be fair, scanning any surviving warriors left after battle, knowing what these creatures do to reproduce, would be a good standard procedure for the predator race in my opinion. But they apparently don't.

Question: What are the three curses Mad-Eye Moody taught (or you can say Barty Crouch Junior)? Cruciatus and avada kedavara - what's the third?

Answer: The three curses are the Unforgivable Curses. The Cruciatus Curse (crucio) causes intense pain. The Imperius Curse (imperio) puts someone under mental control. The Killing Curse (avada kedavra) kills instantly.

Question: I may have missed something. If JK Simmons was fired, how could he conduct the band at the end?

MikeH

Chosen answer: He was fired from the university, but the band at the end was a hobby group he had started conducting for.

Chosen answer: No, it is not normal to bleed while playing drums, as callouses develop on a drummer's hands through constant practising and playing. But, if a drummer plays hard enough and fast enough using the same drum sticks, friction between wood and skin can develop and rupture toughened skin. In the context of the film, the drummer is being pushed beyond his limits by the music conductor. Additionally, he is pushing himself to be better, so the bleeding is a consequence of that drive for excellence.

Scott215

Question: Is there a significance to Jane choosing Alice Ayer's name? As on the plaque she died to save 3 lives. Is this meant to draw another parallel comparison of her saving these 3 characters (Anna, Larry, Dan)?

Answer: A possible parallel is that she sensed a chance to "save" Dan from his life, which he seemed to be bored with at the time. Overall, though, she probably looked for a female name and chose one at random. She preferred keeping some secrets from Dan, never trusting him fully.

Answer: She chose the first name she remembered when Dan asks her name. She did not say her real name because she wants to be somebody else, possibly because Jane came from NY to escape a life she had there and wanted to reinvent herself.

The question is about why she chose that particular name, not why she is hiding her real name.

Question: Why didn't Buttercup leave Humperdinck's castle and search for Westley? When Westley and her are surrounded in the woods by Humperdinck, Rugen and the soldiers, she only agrees to return with Humperdinck if they spare Westley's life and asks that they return him to his ship etc, and then after Humperdinck tells her he's going to send a messenger out to look for Westley, she asks him each day if they've heard word, to which he says no. So couldn't Buttercup have just left and looked for Westley herself? She is shown to be able to look out for herself, think on her feet and if she really wanted to find Westley again, she would have done everything in her power to search for him.

Heather Benton

Chosen answer: Even if Buttercup was able to leave the castle (she was probably under house arrest at the time), she wouldn't have much luck finding him. She has no money, no tracking or survival skills, and no experience beyond the castle and her farm. Besides all that, she's the typical storybook "damsel in distress", waiting for Westley to save her.

Question: Toward the end, in Stryker's island compound, Logan is astonished to see Kayla still alive. Kayla explains that Victor only gave her an injection that simulated her death, and we then see a flashback clip of Victor sloshing a container of blood on Kayla's unconscious body to complete the illusion that he had murdered her. What did Logan do with Kayla's body after discovering it? Did he take her body to a hospital or at least to local authorities, where it would certainly be determined that she had no wounds? Being so much in love with her, why wouldn't Logan himself inspect Kayla's body for actual wounds? How is it possible that Logan was fooled by a little spilled blood on her clothing when he had personally witnessed Victor's savage work many times in combat settings over the previous century? Is there any official explanation for this glaring plot-hole?

Charles Austin Miller

Chosen answer: There's enough in the film to give a number of plausible reasons for Logan's action, however, the film makers wanted to move the plot along and not exploring a side story isn't a plot hole. First, it was more than simple spilt blood that tricked Logan. Victor gave her an injection that simulated her death (although one could take issue with the fact they used hydrochlorothiazide to achieve this). We know Logan has hyper senses and the simulated death could have been enough for him to think she was beyond help (i.e. He couldn't hear her heartbeat). Second, his first thoughts were revenge, so rather than tend to the body, he immediately sought after Victor, which led directly to him becoming Wolverine. But we also know Kayla (Silver Fox) is a mutant who can manipulate people's minds, so she could have manipulated him into the actions he takes, or doesn't take (although it could be debated if she could fully manipulate Logan, we know she had some effect on him and was able to calm him). Additionally, since she was a mutant, Logan may have also been skeptical about bringing her to a hospital.

Question: Two Questions about the Cave of Wonders: 1) The Cave states that only Aladdin can enter, but Abu enters the cave as well. That suggests that Aladdin is just the only human welcomed into the cave while the rule does not apply to animals. Why doesn't Jafar send Iago into the cave to retrieve the lamp for him? 2) The Cave also warns Aladdin not to touch any treasure besides the lamp, because if he does the cave will erupt and collapse on him. The cave is also where Aladdin and Abu meet the Magic Carpet. Clearly, they touch the carpet. Why doesn't the cave erupt and collapse when Aladdin and Abu touch the carpet?

John Ohman

Chosen answer: The cave has some level of sentience. It is aware of who is entering the cave, and decides whether to allow them to enter. It is able to tell that Abu is with Aladdin. It seems to keep a watchful eye on the person in the cave, and when it says "touch nothing" what it means is "don't try to take anything. It seems it was fine with them interacting with the carpet, and only had an issue when Abu was attempting to actually take something.

Question: If it really is so important for Scott to find a wife, then why didn't Curtis and Bernard tell him about it earlier? Why put that pressure on him, when they could've just told him after his first year or two? They seriously waited that long just to tell him "you need to get married"?

Answer: There could be any number of possible reasons that could be speculated on. However, the most likely answer is that after the first movie became a big hit and sequel was to be made, this was the plot line that was developed "after the fact."

raywest

He says in the movie that it was his "first mistake in 900 years" meaning he didn't realise about Mrs. Claus.

Question: What is the situation with Mary Jane's mother? In the previous movie, Mary Jane's father refers to her as "trash", and in this movie, Mary Jane mentions that she is ill.

Answer: She is a victim of domestic abuse - saying that she is ill is probably covering up for her so she does not have to show her bruises.

Answer: Mr. Burns, being over 100 years old, holds very old fashioned views. One such view is that business is a man's world. So, he's basically saying that, despite the fact she is a woman (wears a skirt), Lindsey Naegle is still capable of rebuilding the church.

Michael Albert

Answer: No; it was left strictly to the imagination of the audience.

zendaddy621

Question: If the lightsaber that Rey touches was Luke's and his father's before him, how did it get there? Luke's saber, given to him by Obi Wan, was lost in the fight between Luke and Vader on Cloud City when Vader cut Luke's sword hand off. It fell down with Luke's hand into the disposal tube, then out and down to Bespin's swampy surface.

Movie Nut

Chosen answer: When she is asked about the light saber being in her possession, Maz Kanata explains that it is a question to be answered at another time. Presumably this will be explained in a future episode.

raywest

Question: Why did Teddy growl in the helicopter when the trio arrived at Manhattan?

Bunch

Chosen answer: It was dangerous for Mecha to go there; he was afraid for David's safety.

David R Turner

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