Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: During the conversation between Magneto and John on the X-Jet, why did Magneto refer to "The X-Men" as the real bad guys? Didn't he try to kill Rogue in the previous movie?

Answer: Because the X-Men are his enemies. Magneto does not see himself as the bad guy.

MasterOfAll

Since Magneto and Xavier were formerly best friends, and he knows that Xavier formed the X-Men, he doesn't really consider them to be "the real bad guys" they are just obstacles in his way. He will always consider humanity to be "the real bad guys" and in the context of the film, his helmet is the only thing that would protect him from Stryker's corrupted version of Cerebro.

Question: When Michael Palin is thrown into the fiery pit, he is either saying Yeeeoohhhhhhh or Yelllowwwww (meaning that was his favourite colour). Despite watching it many times, I'm still not sure which one it is...so does anyone know?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: It's kind of both. He says "Blue", then realises he got it wrong and starts to say "No, yellow!" but then screams as he is thrown into the pit, so it's like "Blue. No, yell. Ooooooohhhhh!"

Sierra1

Answer: There was once a published Script. It was Yellow. The joke was he died because he changed his mind mid-answer.

Question: What was the whole purpose of Nightcrawler trying to assassinate the president?

Answer: In the first X-Men movie, the proposed "Mutant Registration Act" was called off. William Stryker, who was anti-mutant, wanted to force the issue by having a mutant kill the president, to show how dangerous mutants are. Nightcrawler was brainwashed by Stryker to attempt this.

Bishop73

Question: When Mystique was disguised as a girl named "Grace" was this supposed to be her normal human side (except with a different name), or was she just transforming into someone else?

Answer: Just a random transformation.

MasterOfAll

Question: If Christof didn't want Truman to escape on his boat, rather than trying to kill him with huge waves, why didn't he just leave the water completely flat? With no wind Truman would not be able to reach the edge and leave, but he still would've lived.

Answer: He'd been hoping the waves would discourage Truman and make him turn back. It's a lot easier to agitate water than it is to calm it, so by the time he saw it wasn't working, even if he's thought of that, it would have been too late.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: How are Cecil and the other guys able to "come to life", in other words be able to do the stuff they were doing? Last time I checked, they aren't museum exhibits.

Answer: Even though they are human, they are able to enhance their abilities through the artifact they are stealing. It affects them the same way it does the museum exhibits.

raywest

Ahkmarah was not wax, he was actually a mummy who was given back his life and all his organs and strength as was his parents in last movie. So it would make sense that they would benefit from the magic to make them stronger when they were near the tablet.

Question: Lentz knew that the RDU-90 protocol drug Provasic was causing liver damage and was going to report it which is why he was murdered, but why try to kill Richard? At what point in the film was Richard trying to find out how the failed attempt on his life tied-in with Provasic and did he know that it was causing liver damage before his wife was killed or while searching for the one armed man? If it was while searching for the one armed man, then why try to kill him at all?

Answer: Richard had investigated Provasic and saw that it caused liver damage, including the man he had to perform emergency surgery for on the night of the murder. He spent most of the film trying to find his wife's killer and when he does, he discovers that he was the original target and the reason behind it. Lentz was a neutral party in the film and Nichols framed him as the one who planned the murder attempt.

Chosen answer: This is a fairly US-centric gag. In Archie comics, the titular Archie has two competing love interests: Betty and Veronica. Given the Hulk/Banner's history with Betty Ross being able to calm him down, Tony Stark has named the containment system/Hulkbuster armor "Veronica".

Question: Nothing very spoilery! The pool that Thor goes to with Erik Selvig - did I miss something, or was that just not explained much? It seems like he meets Erik, then they both go directly to a mystical lake in a cave that Thor just randomly happens to know about.

Jon Sandys

Chosen answer: The pool allowed Thor to relive the vision that Scarlett Witch made him see. It's through the vision that he finds out that Loki's staff contained an infinity stone and it would be to dangerous to destroy. He also sees the creation of Vision. He also sees that Asgard is in trouble. Since Selvig is an expert (as much as one can be) in Asgard and Earth he would be the one to help Thor find the pool. Many of the scenes relating to the pool were cut and could appear in the home release.

Question: Why is Loki immune to death? He is repeatedly blasted, beat by Thor, and smashed by the Incredible Hulk.

Answer: While Loki is not immortal, he's just as powerful as Thor, and many mortals would consider him a God as well. Loki is actually a Frost Giant taken in by Odin, but is just as invulnerable to many attacks. There may also be an element of magic involved in his survival as well.

Bishop73

Question: What happened to Rose's mother after the sinking? I'm curious because she made it very clear while she was lacing up Rose's corset, that she was entirely dependent on Rose's match with Cal to survive. Whether she was exaggerating or not, she made the statement that she would be poor and in the workhouses if not for the marriage and Cal's fortune to support them. Obviously, since Rose is presumed dead after the sinking, she did not marry Cal and her mother was not able to benefit from his money. So would she then, in fact, end up poor and in the workhouses as she said? Rose didn't just abandon Cal and that lifestyle to start anew, she also had to abandon her mother. So did she leave her mother to be a poor and squandering worker? At the end of the movie, Rose gives her account of Cal and what happened to him in the following years, but never anything about her mother. I realize this question would probably be more speculation than a factual answer, but I just wondered if there were some clues at the end that I maybe didn't pick up on or if there were some "DVD bonus" or behind the scenes I haven't seen that answered this.

lblinc

Chosen answer: Because she is considered, in a minor sense, a "villain" in this film for forcing her daughter into a loveless arranged marriage to satisfy her personal wants, most fans probably speculate that she became a poor and penniless seamstress and lived out her life working in a factory. Of course, this is possible, without the financial security of the arranged marriage between Cal and Rose. However, it is difficult to believe that a woman of such status, and who has so many wealthy and powerful friends, would be allowed to languish in abject poverty doing menial labors. I would tend to believe that she probably sold a number of her possessions for money (she did mention that as part of the humiliation she would face if Rose were to refuse Cal's affections), and probably lived off the kindness of others. Given that her daughter was betrothed to a Hockley, his family might have felt an obligation to assist her in finding a suitable living arrangement and a situation for employment. It is also possible that she re-married into wealth. However, this is more unlikely, mainly because back in 1912, it was considered scandalous to re-marry, especially at Ruth's age. However, since Ruth does not make an appearance after surviving the sinking of the Titanic in a lifeboat number 6 (next to Molly Brown), nor is she mentioned again, her fate is left unknown and subject only to speculation.

Michael Albert

In that era, with Rose betrothed to Call, Cal would most definitely have provided for Ruth in the lifestyle she was accustomed to. As Cal angrily raged at Rose the morning after her excursion below decks, "You are my wife in custom if not yet in practice ", thus, society would have viewed him a villain had he not cared for Ruth once it was assumed Rose was dead.

Answer: I've wondered that too. I think it was easier to find out what happened to Cal because she said "it was in all the papers." As for her mother, it likely would have only been in the papers local to where she lived when she passed away. This was in an era before television and of course way before the internet. So I think the only way Rose would have been able to keep track of her mom would have been to live in the area or do some investigation. It seems unlikely she wanted to do either one, especially since it would have 'given it away" that Rose had survived in the first place. I agree with the other statements that Cal would have felt obligated to take care of her, and that the people she owed money to would have tried to collect on it as it would have been in "bad form" under the circumstances.

Answer: Her mother's big problem was a heap of debts. It would have looked badly on the debt collectors to go hovering around her after what was assumed to have happened, and in a society where one's reputation was valued highly. They probably simply gave her a degree of debt forgiveness in her bereavement, then Cal, insurance, and even her Mother herself taking a second (rich) husband could've taken care of what was left.

dizzyd

Question: When Kimble got his foot stuck in the door and was trying to escape, Gerard shot him in the chest several times. A little excessive and unnecessary, but Kimble was convicted of murder and was running the streets, so to Gerard he could've posed a severe threat. But then once Kimble fell down and was apparently subdued, why would Gerard shoot him in the head? He was supposed to take him in, not kill him. If the glass wasn't bulletproof, surely Gerard would've gone to jail himself. I know in action movies the characters have the right to kill whoever they want whenever they want, but this just seems way too far-fetched and actually rather comical in a really dark and sadistic way. I'm not talking about Gerard repeatedly shooting the glass after it's clear it's bulletproof, I'm talking about before that. Gerard shoots Kimble repeatedly in the chest thinking he actually got him, Kimble fell over in shock and Gerard thought it was because of the bullet wounds, but then while Kimble's on the floor, Gerard points his gun at Kimble's head and shoots.

Answer: In this whole scene what bugs me (and I consider this a major error in the character development) that by the time of the attempted head-shot (because it was one), Gerard had already started second guessing himself. It was obvious that something's not right about Kimble's guiltiness even for this non-negotiating old dog and it was beautifully portrayed throughout the movie including the touching ending scene. However, at the above moment, everything fell out of character and all of a sudden, the Marshal wants to kill the man and let the mystery never to be solved.

Watch the scene again. He mouths something to Kimble after shooting at him when he is down, like "get out of here". He is trying to help Kimble and pretending to shoot at him towards what knows is impenetrable bulletproof glass.

That is not what happens. Gerard mouths "son of a..." because he's constantly a step behind Kimble.

Answer: Kimble doesn't fall from shock, he falls because his foot is caught in the door and he loses his balance. And Girard never thought he'd hit Kimble, which is why he keeps firing after Kimble is on the ground; he's still trying to incapacitate him. He's not aiming for Kimble's head per se, it's just that on the ground, Kimble presents a much smaller target, so his head is just as likely to be hit as the rest of him (his still-vulnerable foot, for example). Perhaps if the glass had not been bulletproof and Girard had, in fact, killed him, Girard would have been in trouble, but since Girard did not intend to kill Kimble, he probably wouldn't have been punished too severely.

It is fairly clear that Gerard is shooting to kill. Police officers and U.S. Marshals do not discharge their firearms unless they intend to kill. Upon observing that the bullets were stopped by the glass and Kimble was unharmed, Gerard shoots again, hoping that he would be lucky enough to breach the glass. Gerard is justified in shooting to kill. A convicted murderer (i.e., suspected armed and dangerous) who is fleeing arrest, has been given a lawful order to stop, and does not stop, is liable to be shot due to the risk they pose to other citizens. That he had entered and was fleeing from a penitentiary is even greater incentive for shooting. Kimble is innocent, but that is something that the audience knows and that Gerard does not. When Kimble claimed that he hadn't shot his wife, Gerard replied "I don't care!", suggesting he didn't believe Richard was innocent - at least, not at the time. (Tommy Lee Jones even insisted that his line "That's not my problem" be changed to "I don't care", because not-caring implies disbelief rather than willful blindness).

Question: If none of the cops knew about Trinity's abilities, why did they send so many cops to smash her door and hold her at gunpoint like she was a terrorist? To them she was just a hacker, which doesn't put anyone in physical danger, so wouldn't just one officer have been enough?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Trinity was a known associate of Morpheus, considered "the most dangerous man alive", so the police would have taken some precautions - even a hacker could be armed in any case. At least four units would be sensible for any kind of raid, regardless of how harmless they assumed the suspect was. However, the lieutenant only sent two units into the hotel to detain her so he didn't think it was that big a deal, and there were two more outside.

Sierra1

The Storm - S4-E8

Question: Why on earth would two men without so much as a mask rob a newscaster during a live broadcast? The news is being broadcast to the whole town, so everyone would be able to know what they look like. Even with the power out all over the town, the news station would easily be able to produce a tape for the police.

Question: When and where was Mystique captured by the army?

Answer: Mystique was captured trying to break into the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), presumably the HQ in Maryland, disguised as Secretary Trask - presumably recently.

Sierra1

Question: What made Pyro want to immediately kill his friend Iceman? I know that he is now a full member of the brotherhood and all, but doesn't he still care for his friends like Rogue and all?

Answer: Pyro didn't consider them friends. They are his enemies in a war.

MasterOfAll

Question: Why did Merope use her father's name as her son's middle name, after the way he treated her?

Answer: There's no explanation. I thought it was more an act of defiance to prove that no matter how badly her family treat her, young Tom Riddle will always be related to his mother's clan.

raywest

This is an interesting interpretation. Maybe she did.

Answer: Merope did not seem to know many people outside of her home and the nearby village. Apparently, she never went to Hogwarts. Perhaps she had no better ideas for a middle name. She may have also felt obligated to use her father's name, regardless of how she was treated. I've actually known a few parents who selected a name because they felt pressured by family expectations.

Question: It appears that the boomerang would have had to spin in the opposite direction to kill the blonde guy the way it did. Am I looking at this the right way or is my limited knowledge of aerodynamics totally backwards?

Movie Nut

Chosen answer: The filmmakers obviously didn't research the intricate logistics of aerodynamics of how a boomerang is thrown. It simply looked cool leaving the kid's hand and killing the blonde guy the way it did.

Dra9onBorn117

Question: How much water would actually be needed to cover the entire earth?

Answer: About 71% of the Earth's surface is covered with water. The website How Stuff Works suggests that the oceans hold approximately 326 million trillion gallons of water, or about 96.5% of the liquid. By extrapolation, one could estimate that 100% of the earth would require about 459 million trillion gallons of water. However, there simply isn't sufficient water in the ice caps and other water bodies to float Noah's Ark. The water over the land masses would not be as deep as the waters of the oceans, which would suggest a lower number is possible. However, if there is truly NO land on which to set anchor for the denizens of Waterworld, then there would have to be sufficient water to cover the mountains of the world. That amount would be astronomical.

Michael Albert

Question: What happened to Wolf Edmund? He was one of the dozen astronaut explorers that went into the wormhole to search for suitable planets. Anne Hathaway was in love with him. Did he die before she and Cooper reached Planet Edmund or was he still alive when Brand landed there?

raywest

Chosen answer: Per the novelization of the movie he was dead when they arrived. CASE and Brand gave him a burial.

Carol Lalonde

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