Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: When being questioned by police at the beginning, Tony says he did time for 'buying dollars'. Does this mean he traded for US dollars, and if he did, what did he hand over in exchange?

Answer: It meant that he was buying US dollars from tourists or businesspeople and selling them to refugees who are willing to pay far above the normal exchange rate to have American money for when they attempt to flee Cuba to America. At the time, the Cuban Peso was supposed to have an exchange rate of 1:1 with the American Dollar, but offering someone 2-3 Cuban pesos per American one, then turning around and selling the American ones for 10-20 pesos each adds up. It's a "safe crime" to tell them he was in prison for, rather than being a killer.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: What is the song at the end of the film when they revealing how they stole the egg on the train? It was an homage to in-a-gadda-da-vida (the keyboard/bass solo bits). It is not the song on the soundtrack called "the real story" nor any other song on it. Thanks.

Kenneth Brown

Chosen answer: "Rito a Los Angeles" by Giuseppe de Luca.

Bishop73

Question: With all of the technology in the "Star Wars" universe, could Padme and Anakin really not know that she was pregnant with twins? Even our real-life technology usually makes women aware of this before the pregnancy is half over.

Answer: The level of technology within the Star Wars franchise is never fully explained within the films; also, most of the technology depicted deals with non-medical applications. Padme was also trying to keep her pregnancy secret since Jedi were not allowed to marry or become parents at the time this film is set within the Star Wars canon, so it's likely she rarely, if ever, saw the SW equivalent of a doctor during her pregnancy.

zendaddy621

Answer: Given that she gives birth at the end there is a 9 month time frame to work with. The pair could have easily seen a doctor and learned of the twins. Since it is not really the primary focus of this film we can pretty much assume anything.

This seems very unlikely. Anakin refers to "the baby" throughout the movie. And until the incident on Mustafar, there is no reason why Padme would pretend to only be pregnant with one baby. She doesn't even believe that he changed/turned until she goes to Mustafar.

Answer: Booth proposes to her and she tells him that she is not the marrying kind. She moves out of the apartment and they break up.

Question: Why didn't Rocky have a speaking part in the movie?

Answer: There are a number of possibilities: perhaps the studio did it to cut down on cost, as speaking parts require higher pay. Or perhaps they simply had nothing funny for the character to say. Or it could be intentional that they chose to have him remain mute.

Question: Please correct me if I am mistaken, but in the lyrics that the frog choir is singing in the first scene in the great, one of the lines is "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble." This is a direct reference to the witches spell in Shakespeare's Macbeth, is it not?

Shane Carlson

Chosen answer: That is correct.

raywest

Question: The lightsaber Anakin wields in this film is described as being his first lightsaber, so why does he say "Not again!" when it's destroyed in the Geonosis factory?

JohnShel91

Chosen answer: Because he dropped it earlier while chasing Zam Wesell on Coruscant. Obi-Wan caught it that time and scolded him for losing it.

Sierra1

Question: This is a two part question. 1) If Snape wants Harry to have the sword of Gryffindor, why would he place it at the bottom of a frozen pond instead of placing it somewhere more accessible? 2) Does the locket try to choke Harry because it senses the threat posed by the presence of the sword?

Shane Carlson

Chosen answer: 1) Snape's motive for hiding the sword in the pond is never explained "in the movie." As for the book, it explicitly states that Dumbledore instructed Snape to give the sword to Harry when possible, but make it so it takes bravery and courage to acquire, like a true Gryffindor. Snape then found they were in the Forest of Dean, and he himself placed the sword there. 2) The Locket was partially sentient and could sense that the sword was a danger to it.

raywest

If he placed it somewhere anyone could access, the sword might get into the wrong hands.

Chosen answer: The med pod was intended for Weyland's use after he was awakened from being in stasis.

raywest

Answer: While Han was in the Imperial academy, he was thrown into a pit to be killed and eaten by Chewbacca; however, the two of them ended up working together to escape.

Chosen answer: In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Han was an Imperial pilot several years before the events of "A New Hope". Han refused a direct order to execute a group of Wookiees which included Chewbacca; Han was subsequently dismissed by the Empire. Chewbacca, however, was bound by a Wookiee tradition that dictates that they become the lifelong protector of anyone who saves their lives; thus, he quickly became Han's companion as well as his bodyguard and copilot when Han began his new career as a smuggler. That said, the Expanded Universe isn't canon, so we may get an "official" story in the Han Solo prequel film that's in production.

zendaddy621

Question: The creature comes to the village and Ivy waits for Lucius to grab her hand. But Noah was in the house under the house floor with Ivy's family. So who was dressed as the creature?

Answer: It was one of the male village elders who was disguised as the creature. The elders had perpetuated the hoax that strange, dangerous beasts lived in the woods and would attack the village if anyone strayed beyond its borders. It was all part of the ruse to frighten and restrain the younger villagers when they became too curious and adventurous and tried to cross the perimeter. The elders wanted to prevent the youth from learning about the modern world outside. Noah later found his father's costume under the floorboards and secretly began pretending to be one of the creatures.

raywest

Question: When the HAB blows and he loses his crop of potatoes, how do the other potatoes already harvested survive? They are just sitting in trays in the HAB and surely should have been destroyed by the vacuum.

Answer: Given the thin atmosphere and cold, the potatoes would have been nearly instantly frozen and partially dehydrated. They would still be edible and nutritious.

Grumpy Scot

Indeed-in the book, he mentions storing the extra potatoes in bags outside, so they would freeze and not rot. This especially came into play when he was making the journey to the other landing site.

Smokyoak

Brother From Another Series - S8-E16

Question: In this episode, Sideshow Bob seems to no longer want to kill Bart (shown by his happiness at seeing him near the dam, and later on, saving his life, as well as Lisa's). But in episodes after this e.g. "Funeral for a Fiend" and "The Great Louse Detective", Bob suddenly wants to kill Bart again. What caused him to change his mind after this episode? It can't be because he thinks Bart is responsible for sending him back to jail because in this episode when Bob and Cecil get arrested, Lisa defends Bob and says he had nothing to do with it, and Lou even backs her up by saying that Cecil confessed to the whole thing.

Heather Benton

Chosen answer: While Sideshow Bob does rescue Bart, he never is truly over his hatred of him. At the end of "Brother From Another Series", Cecil is actually able to trick Bob into swearing revenge on Bart, which is why Bob is sent to prison despite being innocent of trying to blow up the dam, and Bart is once again his nemesis. Although time rarely passes in the show (i.e. Bart stays 10 for the most part), it's not until season 12 when Sideshow Bob appears next, and it's clear he's been in prison the whole time, with plenty of time to rebuild his anger and hatred over Bart (and Krusty).

Bishop73

Question: Is the shark in this one at all related to "Bruce" (the shark from the original film). The woman's line "Sharks don't take things personally Mr Brody" made me suspicious.

Connor Noiles

Answer: For what it's worth, in the novelization the shark is a female and pregnant with the offspring of the first movie's shark, but that's not brought up in the film at all.

Chosen answer: That is highly unlikely. The woman is only pointing out to Brody that he is making it a personal issue when what he is dealing with is an animal that lacks emotion, intelligence, or self-awareness and is only acting on its primal instinct.

raywest

The ironic thing is that is the entire plot line for Jaws: The revenge.

Question: In the pond scene, after the shark attacks the poor man on the paddle boat, why didn't he go after Michael too? He just swam past him, sparing him.

Connor Noiles

Answer: In addition, the original scene called for Michael to be in the arms of the man, with the man in the jaws of the shark. Michael is carried across the water and the released by the man just before the shark takes him under. Spielberg ultimately felt that this was over the top gruesome and changed the scene.

Chosen answer: The horror of "Jaws" was not so much the physical trauma of being eaten alive as it was the terror of not knowing who would be next. So, we see the panicking pier fisherman spared although the shark could have easily taken him; we see the shark randomly select the Kintner boy while sparing hundreds of other terrified people in the water at Amity's public beach; and we see the shark just barely spare Michael after eating the man in the pond. Although he wasn't physically harmed, Michael was hospitalized in shock after the encounter with the shark; so, he obviously suffered unimaginable terror. It's that "almost eaten" factor that sells the film. Captain Quint's story of the USS Indianapolis drives home the point that waiting to be eaten is as terrifying as actually being eaten, and that's what film maker Steven Spielberg very successfully conveyed all throughout the movie.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: Excellent answers, and just to add one more point: the shark in the movie is not a normal one. He doesn't act just out of hunger, but also out of sheer malevolence: in fact, just like in the novel, it's implied there's *something* about him, something almost supernatural. He may have spared Michael because he had just secured a meal, to escape the gathering humans before they can harm him... or because killing the boy wouldn't have entertained him sufficiently.

Jukka Nurmi

Twenty-something girls vs. thirty-something women - S2-E17

Question: I have a somewhat odd question for everyone that watches Sex and the city. I got into the show about 2 or 3 years after it started running but I remember watching the episode "Twenty-something girls vs. thirty-something women" which was the episode about Carrie and the girls going to the Hamptons and renting a house. Charlotte dates a younger guy that gives her crabs. There is commentary about comparing 20 year girls to 30 year old women and when I watched this episode originally I swear there was a different ending then what is what is shown now. I want to know if anyone else has seen this or am I absolutely insane. In the episode there is a girl that pukes on the beach - her friend holds her hair back and Carrie makes a commentary about "counting on 20 year old girls to hold your hair back." Later when Carrie sees Big with Natasha she runs to the beach and Miranda runs after her. Carrie throws up because she is upset and Miranda holds her hair back, but the version I saw changes the commentary/narration and says that you can "always count on a 30 something year old friend to hold your hair back." I haven't seen that version again. Has anyone else seen it or did I just dream this, because I swear I remember watching this when it first came out?

Weeny Post

Answer: I'm a long-time fan of the show, having re-watched it many times, and I definitely remember slightly different dialogue at the end of that episode than what's on my DVD. I'm afraid I have no idea why this change might have been made or any other info, but you're not insane.

Purple_Girl

Question: I re-watched this movie recently. It seems everyone in the opera knows about the existence of the Phantom, which includes Christine. My question is does it ever occur to her that her angel of music = the Phantom (before he reveals this to her)? I know she doesn't from the movie obviously. But really imagine if you were her, it's hard not to relate your angel of music to the Phantom, both are hidden and happen only in the opera (coaching/singing etc) the years living there. And why are people afraid of the Phantom? Does he commit anything evil or murder before the movie (before Christine takes Carlotta's place)?

Answer: The "Opera Ghost" had actually been causing various acts of mischief and mayhem long before the events of the movie begin with the new owners purchasing the opera. The previous owners were being extorted for money. Fears and rumors about the Phantom were rampant. Early in the film, he causes a backdrop to fall near Carlotta, for whom he has had a lasting disdain. Christine probably should have made the connection between the Phantom and her "angel of music." But the "angel" had actually been introduced to her as a tutor and mentor by her father, whom she loved and trusted, so she had no reason to view him suspiciously. Christine was also very sheltered, incredibly naive, and captivated by her teacher and suitor. Their bond was so strong, and her dependence so great, she was blinded to what seems to us an obvious connection.

Michael Albert

Question: What is the song playing when Napoleon is riding the horse up to the wedding? It is a symphony playing with French horns and strings predominantly.

Answer: Forever young.

Question: What does Pi mean when he says "there was no question"?

Answer: He means that he is so hungry and thirsty, there is no other option than to create an opening to the tiger's den to access supplies.

Sierra1

Skin of Evil - S1-E23

Question: When the away team first beams down to the location where the shuttle has crash landed, the serial number on the separated nacelle is visible as 1701-D, as also seems to be inscribed on the shuttle itself. Shouldn't this serial number only appear on shuttles coming from the USS Enterprise?

Answer: The crashed shuttle is Shuttlecraft-13, which came from The Enterprise. Troi took it to the conference that she was returning from.

Bishop73

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