Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: I get that the DADA role is cursed because of Voldemort being denied the role when he applied for it at Hogwarts, but why does Dumbledore not let Snape take the role like he's wanted to every year? I thought Snape was a double agent (he spies on the Death Eaters and Voldemort for Dumbledore, and he pretends to be on Voldemort's side too), so unless Voldemort decides that he wants to get rid of him for being in the role, he's okay to take it on provided he's given it, and yet every year, Dumbledore turns down his application. Is it because Snape's too involved in Voldemort's side of things or some other reason? I hope I explained it well.

Heather Benton

Chosen answer: There are several reasons. First, the position is cursed, so there is little reason to give Snape the job when he will not last any longer than all the previous instructors. If Snape did become the DADA instructor, something could happen to him that could result in his being harmed, having to leave Hogwarts, or be otherwise incapacitated in some way; that would render him useless to Dumbledore as a double agent. Also, Dumbledore trusts Snape, but putting him in an environment where he is teaching about dark magic on a daily basis would be too tempting and emotionally compromising to someone who had been so easily seduced by the dark side. He could possibly relapse. It would be like having a recovering alcoholic work as a bartender. Of course, he does eventually become the DADA instructor, and lasted no longer than his predecessors.

raywest

In the movies it is never mentioned that DADA role was cursed by Voldemort.

This is true; though it doesn't say it's not either. With trying to fit 7 long books and years worth of pages of HP information in 2 and a half hours; as long as the movie doesn't say it's not cursed, with our knowledge, there is no problem with reporting that it is. Even directors of non-book movies do this all the time; leave background information out that helps explain things they just didn't have time so they explained it behind the scenes.

Question: Why does Barty Crouch Jr. flee when the prisoner says his name? Surely the minister's son could easily claim that the desperate prisoner trying to get out of jail's claim is completely false. And was the man in prison in that scene the Damstrung headmaster, and if yes, is that why he and Moody (Crouch) were so suspicious of each other in the trophy room right after Harry's name was drawn?

bomberswarm2

Chosen answer: Even though Barty Jr. could claim he was being set up, he would have been interrogated using veritase serum, a potion that forces wizards to tell the truth. Some can circumvent its effect, but Barty was not a talented enough wizard to do this. The prisoner who implicated him in that scene was Igor Karkaroff, who became headmaster of Durmstrang, the wizard school that was participating in the Triwizard Tournament. Karkiroff was a Death Eater who defected to Dumbledore's side. Moody (a disguised Barty Jr.) would never have trusted him under any circumstances. Karkaroff had been previously pursued and captured by the real Mad Eye Moody, and would naturally have a negative reaction to being around him.

raywest

Answer: Barty Crouch Jr. appeared to be a fanatical Voldemort supporter, not unlike Bellatrix Lestrange and several other death eaters. They refused to deny their allegiance. This differs from the book, where Barty does protest his innocence, but his father refuses to spare him mercy to set an example.

Chosen answer: Snape wants to know how Harry knew Sectum Sempra. As shown by him using Occumelancy to see where his copy of Advanced Potion making is. But at the same time, if Snape punished Harry for a spell in a book, Harry could show it to Dumbledore, who would recognise Snape's handwriting. Additionally, Harry was certainly punished in the book - he got detention with Snape every Saturday for the rest of the term. The movie most likely had to cut this for time issues, and also perhaps because the scene is more dramatic if Snape only silently glares at him.

Ssiscool

Question: When Hermione goes to Gringotts disguised as Bellatrix, the bank manager asks to see her wand. Hermione has Bellatrix's wands from the previous film. Why does she not simply show it?

bomberswarm2

Chosen answer: Hermione knows this is an unusual request and she and (and Harry) suspect the bank knows that Bellatrix's wand was captured by Harry Potter (at the end of Part 1). Showing the bank manager the real wand would prove that this is not Bellatrix. The bank and Voldemort's minions expected that Harry and the others might go to Gringotts searching for a Horcrux in the Lestrange's vault. They are setting a trap for Harry and his accomplices.

raywest

Incidentally, if I remember right, in the book Hermione actually does hand over Bellatrix's wand, not realizing the Gringotts goblins already know the wand is no longer in her possession, forcing Harry to cast a timely Imperius Curse to avoid the entire plan being exposed.

Question: Neal Israel is the writer for the film (and the series) and Richard Israel is in the film (as Adam Sharp). Are they related at all? Or is this just a coincidence of last names?

Bishop73

Answer: They are not related. It is a coincidence.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: Who handed Sean the blunt in the scene where he was brushing his teeth in the bathroom? The next scene shows D Loc waking up from under a comforter, as if he hadn't set foot on the floor that morning. And Diane was still asleep on the floor in the living room, guarding her personals for dear life.

Answer: Snoop dog.

Question: How old is V in the movie and in the comic? is that V's real face in the comic or just Evey's imagination?

Answer: V is probably in his early to mid thirties, it is never mentioned, nor is his face ever seen.

MasterOfAll

Answer: Their ages are never made clear within the film. In the comic Evey is 16 when the story begins. However, since Natalie Portman was in her early 20s at the time the film was made, it can be presumed that Evey is also in her late teens or early 20s as well; since V was an adult during his imprisonment at Larkhill roughly 20 years before the events of the film, he most likely is at least in his early 40s.

zendaddy621

Question: Why, if Eddie came up to visit Clark from down south somewhere, did his gas give out in Gurney, which is north of Chicago?

Answer: It's possible he got lost, or took a way around traffic. Gurnee leads directly to Chicago on I-90/94.

Greg Dwyer

Answer: I don't know. In Vacation, they lived in Coolidge, KS. But they lost that house.

Question: I do not understand how Miranda and Chloe are both released from the psychiatric hospital at the end. Chloe is in there for a completely different reason, not tied to the situation with Miranda. There is no proven link between her and Miranda's husband and the other murderer, they are two people that met in the psychiatric ward and Chloe was being abused AFTER she was admitted, or have I missed something? Also, how exactly is Miranda released anyway? As I envisage it her court case defense went something like "Look here Mr. Judge and 12 members of the jury, I was possessed and that's what made me kill my husband. It was not me that did it, even though it was me I was not in control of my body, a ghost made me do it because my husband was a bad man" - and the 12 members of the Jury thought this was OK? and the judge was very much "Yes, of course, we all understand you were not in control of your own mind and body, a ghost possessed you to commit this heinous crime, I'll release you?" Seriously? In all likelihood this reason alone would have her stay in the mental hospital extended! It makes no sense why the two of them would be released at all. Regardless of the fact that her husband and his best friend's crimes have been exposed, she still murdered her husband and it was not in self defense. How could her and Chloe (who is unrelated to the case in every way) be released?

Answer: Plain and simple, it's bad script writing and there's a number of other examples of "that wouldn't happen in the real world" that unfortunately we're suppose to accept. Although, if one had to justify it, you could say; when Miranda was in the hospital, she had not been tried and convicted yet, so when her trial did occur, Miranda's lawyers did not use the "I was possessed" defense and was found not guilty because of reasonable doubt. Or the DA's office made a deal with her because she was a high standing member in the community who exposed a number of issues and may have gotten parole instead of jail time. And Chloe was Miranda's patient before she herself was admitted to the psychiatric ward. At that time, Miranda never believed Chloe was anything but delusional and after spending time in the hospital as an inmate, she believed her and once she was free, she worked on getting Chloe released by stating she was not insane.

Bishop73

Answer: Early in the movie we learned that Chloe's mental health was a result of rape related trauma and Chloe claimed to have been raped by "the devil" but Miranda did not believe her. She believed this was a memory of her being raped by her step-father resurfacing. But, later when she seen the tattoo on the chest of a man in Chloe's cell, she realised that she was really being raped by someone or something and just didn't know what it was but as the movie progresses Miranda begins to put the pieces together as the spirit of Parsons leads her to the truth. At the end of the movie Miranda tells the sheriff about her suspicions and what she believes "Not Alone" means. As the conversation deepens she realises that the sheriff, her husbands life long best friend, fit this description and her suspicions are confirmed when he confesses. Although she may not have learned that he was Miranda's rapist untill she sees the tattoo on the sheriff's chest. In the end when the rape stopped and the doctors realised that Chloe was not lying or delusional, her mental state improved and she was released.

Show generally

Question: There were a few times during the series when the police would be looking for information from, say, a group of prostitutes on the street, or a group of men involved with buying/selling drugs in an alley, or some low level criminal they were questioning. Detective Briscoe would pull out one of his business cards, and announce something like, "this is a get out of jail free card" for the person who would come forward to tell them where to find the person they were looking for, or to identify a photo. I always wondered, would some future police officer or detective investigating some new crime really honor that? What if it was a more serious crime? Or even if it was just another simple drug or prostitution bust, and not something more serious, wouldn't that later officer lose the leverage of that arrest, and maybe the possibility of finding a "bigger fish" or whatever they were trying to do?

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: If the prostitute with the card was arrested, she would likely ask to speak to Briscoe. Briscoe would visit, recognize her, and have her released because of it, if it was simply prostitution or a drug Possession charge. Those crimes mean nothing when looking for a murderer or rapist.

Greg Dwyer

Question: Near the end of the movie, at the prom, when Bella and Edward first walk in, Bella spots Jessica and signals something to her with her hand going across her chest. What was Bella signalling to Jessica?

Molly

Chosen answer: Earlier, when the girls were shopping for prom dresses in Port Angeles, Jessica commented that the low-cut dress she was trying on made her boobs "look good." She is wearing that same dress at the prom, and Bella is gesturing and then giving a "thumbs up" that Jessica's cleavage does look good. Jessica mouths back, "I know."

raywest

Question: What is the "discount credit card" that Del uses when checking-in at the motel? While Neal is paying, it looks like the staff switches his card for Neal's (Diner's Club), that Del later uses to pay for his car rental. However in the morning, once they realize they got robbed of their cash, Del says that he does not have any credit card (other than a Seven outlet one).

AnthonyA

Chosen answer: In the film it was called "Oversighters Discount Club". It did have a similar logo as the Diner's Club logo (with an "O" instead of the "CD" design). However, this isn't a real life credit card or company. Although there are "discount" cards, usually through an employer, where various companies agree to give discounts if one uses that discount card.

Bishop73

Question: Carrie is seen crying after she realizes that Tommy is dead. I can only assume that she actually cared about him but she still believes he was good and didn't take part in the prank, right? And at the end does she actually care about Sue and forgive her?

Answer: Since blood was dumped on him too she must have realized that he wasn't a part of it, so yes, she cared for him. In the book when Carrie touches Sue, they link minds and Carrie sees that Sue felt bad about teasing her and was trying to do something nice to atone, and had nothing to do with Chris' nasty prank. So yes it's safe to say she grieved for Tommy and forgave Sue.

Grumpy Scot

Answer: In this version, Carrie never weeps for Tommy's death, and it's never indicated whether or not she was even aware that he died. And she never directly encounters Sue in this version, so we don't know her thoughts about her either. The film was likely trying to leave some things open-ended, so that audiences could interpret them as they wanted.

Question: When Annie and her boys are coming home from the neighbour's place, next door, there's a blue light coming from the main bedroom. Leaving her boys, Annie goes into the house and there is all this noise that sounds like a radio not completely tuned in, of an evangelist preaching really loudly. Now, where is all this noise coming from: Annie's mind, Donnie's car radio parked outside? Or is it just for our benefit?

kh1616

Answer: The TV in Annie's room.

The TV wasn't on before, and Annie is suspicious of the noise and light, which she wouldn't be if it was just the TV.

Question: Towards the end of the movie, since everyone knew that it would be sunrise soon and since Stella was comfortable enough under the car, why would Eben inject himself and become one of them? Had he waited until dawn Stella could still be waiting under the car and everyone else could also be fine in the house.

Answer: It's stated in the movie they'll freeze to death under the car before sunrise. Whether that's true or not, Eben believes it, and that's why he acts.

Answer: The previous answer misses one very important aspect that forced Eben's hand. Prior to him injecting himself with the vampire blood, the vampires had broken apart the oil pipeline and set the oil ablaze to cover up their actions. The fire spread quickly and was nearing Stella's hiding place. As a result, Gail and Stella risked either burning to death or leaving their hiding place and being torn apart by the ten or so vampires who were standing nearby. Eben sacrificed himself so she could make a run for it. He understood - as well as stated in the film - they were in no shape to fight them as they were. The vampire blood was the only chance he had at saving her.

Invader_Gir

Question: Mary Jane said her father went to her play. Why would he if he is an abusive father who hates her?

Answer: He went to borrow money from her.

Bishop73

Question: What's the deal with Mary Jane's father?

Answer: He's an angry drunk. He's verbally, if not physically abusive to his family. He doesn't appear in many Spider-Man issues, but even in those he was a drunk and abusive, most likely due to his failed writing career. (Mary Jane's parents divorce in the comics).

Bishop73

Question: When Arlo and Spot first see another human, Spot moves toward that human as if he was willing to join him to bond as a family. Arlo stops Spot from approaching the other human and places him on his back so to continue taking him home. Arlo decides he wants to share his family with Spot and keep him safe in his family house. By the end of the film, the same human Arlo and Spot saw in the distance earlier shows up along with his family. Spot joins the family. Why does Arlo decide to let Spot go this time?

John Ohman

Chosen answer: Because he's realized that Spot wants to go and should go with his people. Before he was afraid of losing him.

Greg Dwyer

Question: When Chris and co are having dinner with an Iraqi family, why does Chris react the way he does when he sees the mark on the Iraqi father's left elbow? What does Chris think it is?

kh1616

Chosen answer: Chris has "shooter's strawberries" on his elbows, which are red callouses caused by lying in the sniper's position for long periods. He notices the same marks on the elbows of the father, and realizes that he too is a military sniper.

Sierra1

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