Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: When Chakal demands Joaquin to relinquish the medal of eternal life, he merely says to him, "Give me that medal right now." Maria then removes Joaquin's medal sashes, sees the medal of eternal life, and realizes that is what Chakal is after. How does she know which medal Chakal is referring to?

John Ohman

Chosen answer: Maria had already seen the medal of eternal life and Joaquin had already talked about all of his medals. He told Maria about how he got all of his medals but not the medal of eternal life.

Answer: She saw the medal, realised that it was different from all of the others, and that he didn't want to talk about it either, so that probably made her realise that it was special or different.

Question: How does he do the sword trick?

Answer: The trick is done with electromagnets under the stage holding the sword upright and stuck to the floor (switched off when Leopold takes the sword). Audiences at the time would have been unfamiliar with such a technique.

Sierra1

Question: I've been reading fan-fictions of The Phantom of The Opera, and most fan-fictions - when in the phantom's (Erik's) POV (Point Of View) - say the word 'fop' describing Raoul, I'm wondering why?

PorkieBuddie

Chosen answer: A "fop" is defined as a man who is concerned with his clothes and appearance in an affected and excessive way; a dandy who often lives beyond his means. There is also a connotation of femininity or homosexual tendency, or at least a lack of sexual virility that (sadly) is considered one of the worst slurs available to a rival for the affections of a woman. And let's face it - Raoul, much like many of the men of his time and of a certain status, is required by societal norms to be well dressed, well groomed, well presented, well educated and, apparently, a tenor. Raoul certainly fits the bill. Erik, though certainly a man of breeding and finesse, is denied a place in polite society, whether ultimately he would want it or not if not driven to the dark recesses of homicidal madness by (also sadly) only the presence of disfiguring scars. The term "fop" seems the descriptor that not only rings with a kernel of truth, but also best sums up Erik's anger, disdain and, perhaps, jealousy.

Michael Albert

Answer: My internet searching yielded the most common answer of 76 killings by Keanu Reeves' eponymous character, in addition to 8 killings by others, and the death of one dog. One writer suggested John Wick killed 78, but that was an outlier.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: There was no explanation about why she did not attend.

raywest

Slapstick - S3-E9

Question: What does ISD stand for in Baltimore police? It is mentioned by major Colvin to Carv after police officers correctly guess that somebody (Carv) has moved the dead body (Internal affairs is called IID during the show). It is mentioned again in Season 4 episode 8, when Herc worries about how to get back an expensive camera that Carv helped borrow to that ISD department.

Answer: ISD was the Inspectional Services Division, a controversial intelligence arm of the Baltimore PD which operated from 1966 to 1976 and reported directly to the commissioner, Donald Pomerleau.

Sierra1

Question: When Lawrence follows Sir John into the crypt, why was he carrying a rifle?

Answer: He must have felt he needed it for protection.

raywest

But why exactly? He didn't need it if he was simply going to follow his dad into the crypt.

Question: At the wedding, Vito Corleone says that Carlo is to be given a living, but not allowed in the family business. Before Michael has him killed, he tells him that his punishment for setting up Sonny's murder is that he is out of the family business. When was he let in?

Iain

Chosen answer: He was initially let into the family business when he married Connie, the Don's daughter, but only in a minor way. Vito Corleone knew Carlo only married Connie for her family connections, and that Carlo was now expecting an important position within the Corleone empire. Because he was mediocre and incompetent, he was relegated to a minor job, and never allowed into the upper ranks, making Carlo angry and resentful. When his involvement in Sonny's murder was discovered, the Don was unable to have Carlo killed, not wanting to be the one to make his daughter a widow. He knows that Michael will execute Carlo after he becomes Don. Michael kills Carlo for revenge, but he waited to aid his plot to murder the heads of the five families. Killing Carlo before then would tip them off that the Corleones knew Carlo was involved in Sonny's murder. Michael even lulls Carlo into believing he will play an important role when the family moves to Nevada. Michael waits until the opportune moment to execute him, first confronting Carlo to extract information.

raywest

Question: What happened to Little Bo Peep? Was she given away or her voice actress was unavailable? Why isn't she in Toy Story 3?

Answer: The toys make reference to her loss, but it's never stated what happened. We're left to wonder.

Answer: It is explained in the short lamp life. She was given away to another family and in that time the light bulb in the lamp caught fire and burnt her hat. After a while she was lost and found and given to a grown man as a gift and endured constant ridicule until she was lost on the street and found by the old lady at second chance antiques. She made friends and got bored and left with giggles and the sheep for seven years.

Question: In a post-credits scene, Lola tries to find Oscar in his penthouse, but Crazy Joe pops up instead. I can't figure out Lola's fate, but does she stay with Crazy Joe or does he scare her away?

Answer: That's for you to interpret, but most likely she went swimming away screaming in terror, being chased by a crazy fish. Think "My Crazy Ex-Boyfriend" premise.

Question: Since Gandalf knew how dangerous the ring was, why did he give it to Frodo and tell him that he must destroy the ring? It would make more sense to either do it himself or find someone else to do it.

Answer: The temptation of the Ring is directly proportional to the power and ambition of the bearer. To someone like Gandalf - a mighty wizard who wants to save the world - the temptation would, over time, prove to be too much, and he's realistic enough to understand that about himself. With an ordinary hobbit who only wants a nice meal and some peace and quiet, the Ring has a lot less to work with.

Answer: Gandalf can't take the ring because he would be tempted to use it, and it would ultimately corrupt him. This is true for nearly anyone who has it for any length of time, except hobbits for some unknown reason. Gandalf recognized this in Bilbo, and later in Frodo.

Answer: It's part of his plan to ruin him. He trains him to be overly aggressive, which will not serve him well in the tournament. Also, he enjoys watching Danny suffer through the rigorous and painful training.

Question: Doc Brown strongly believes that nobody should ever find out about their own future. With such a strong conviction, why would Doc tell Marty that his children going to prison is the one event that would ruin the whole McFly family?

Answer: At the end of the first film, Doc says, "what the hell" in response to the letter Marty gave him. So this shows it is not that strong a conviction, especially in the face of definite knowledge about something bad happening. It is also a way for Doc to repay Marty.

MasterOfAll

Answer: Doc advises Marty to not tell him about his future because it may affect his life. It doesn't matter what happens to his kids at all.

Question: Near the end of the movie, Obi-wan does not seem at all convinced that Darth Vader has any good left in him. But in "Return of the Jedi", Vader tells Luke that Obi-wan once thought as Luke does (regarding the possibility of Vader being redeemed). What was he referring to?

Answer: The Jedi way would be to always strive for redemption. Even if he didn't really believe it possible, Obi-Wan hoped to bring Anakin back from the Dark Side up until the very end.

Captain Defenestrator

There was a question on this site, "Did Obi-Wan go to Mustafar just to kill Anakin, or possibly try to redeem him?" The answer is he went there to stop Anakin at any cost, whether by converting him back from the dark side, subduing him, or killing him.

DFirst1

Question: What is the music track that plays during the scene where Donnie is talking to Frank in the bathroom inter-cut with the teacher complaining about the book being read to the students?

Dra9onBorn117

Chosen answer: Song: Manipulated Living. Composer: Michael Andrews.

Question: I have always wondered how the movie crew and cast worked with Natasha Ryan, the actress who played young Sybil. There were scenes that were very frightening, dealing with terrible tortures. I always wondered if that was traumatic for the young girl? Or, if not, how was trauma avoided. More generally, does anyone know how movie productions deal with children on the set of films with frightening, traumatic and/or controversial themes?

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: In these types of movies, where young actors are involved in intense scenes, every precaution is taken to ensure that they are never frightened or emotionally compromised. Child psychologists, acting coaches, and the director are on set and work closely with them. A child's parent or guardian is also always close by. Child Protective Services oversee how child actors are being utilized in films and TV shows and there are strict laws and regulations regarding how child actors are treated, how many hours per day they can work, etc. Scenes are also carefully filmed and edited in such a way that can appear to be very intense, but were not emotionally stressful to the child. Also, stand-ins can be used for certain shots.

raywest

Question: In the beginning where Anderton and his team are having trouble identifying the house where Mr. Marks kills his wife and lover, why didn't the houses have numbers on them? That would have made it easier than just looking for the only house whose door was open.

jm1138

Chosen answer: The houses did have numbers, but the images from the precogs didn't include them. Part of the difficulty of their method is that they have to decipher the random, jumbled images the precogs send them.

Question: When Quentin is inside the Spike Room heading to the others, the lever on the other side of the room is being rotated. Was someone there doing it? If so, is it revealed who or what it was?

Answer: As Kazan crosses the room he catches the lever with his trouser leg and half turns it as he carries on walking. It then continues by it self to complete a full turn.

Answer: There are 4 years between Sam and Dean so Dean was 4 or 4 1/2 when he took Sam out of the house. Sam was 6 months.

Answer: Dean is 33 and Sam is 29 around season 9.

Answer: Early 30's. The flashback shows them 22 years earlier when their dad says "Dean take your brother and go." Dean looks to be 5 and Sam is just a baby.

Chosen answer: According to Wikipedia, "she speaks in Jamaican Patois ('Him carve out 'im heart', etc.) with a typical West Indian accent, pronouncing her 'th's as 'd's."

Phixius

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