Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

These are questions relating to specific titles. General questions for movies and TV shows are here. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.

Question: Why would the loco derail if the siding switch was set to the siding where the freight train went?

Answer: It wouldn't derail, it would break the bolt on points - the part of switch that moves, causing the points.

Question: Baron Wolfgang von Strucker stated in the after credits scene, "Sooner or later, they will meet the twins." Who exactly is "they"?

Chosen answer: By "they" he means "Captain America and his colorful friends", in other words the Avengers.

Sierra1

Chosen answer: It isn't a song in its own right. It's incidental music. It sounds like a variation in the style of "I'll Be There For You."

Michael Albert

Question: This actually refers to the whole arc of Harry Osborn's role: Why did the film-makers want him to become a villain? I know they needed one for the third movie, but why make it one of Peter's closest friends? Was it an illustration of how big a difference, for good or bad, a single misinterpretation can make? A lesson in knowing how to look at a situation from someone else's perspective as well as your own? Or, was it just a really tragic way of showing that not all of Spider-Man's foes are going to be people he feels no regret over beating the pants off?

Answer: Well the major reason is because it happened in the comics. Harry took the Goblin formula and became as crazy as his father. Here Harry is less a villain and just confused. He believes Spider-Man killed his father and wanted revenge.

MasterOfAll

Question: Why did Elliot let all the frogs out? And why was he asking one if it could talk? I realise he was drunk (or ET was), but this doesn't explain such behaviour.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Elliot, through a psychic connection to ET, is experiencing the effects of the beer that ET is drinking. It has impaired Elliott's judgment and unleashes his inhibitions. He frees the frogs because he doesn't want them to be killed and dissected in class. Talking to one is just a side-effect of being intoxicated and he may be identifying it as a sentient being like E.T.

raywest

Question: Has JK Rowling said what happened to James Potter's parents and Lily's? They were only 21 when Voldemort killed them, and most people of that age still have living parents.

Answer: James had older parents who died of some type of wizarding ailment. It's suspected to be Dragon Pox as that can be fatal to elderly wizards. All that is known of Lily's parents is they died of a normal muggle death. As to what "normal" means though and the age of her parents, that has never been said.

Question: Near the end of the credits they list a URL for some related food or charity or something for more information. Does anyone recall what it was?

Answer: The line is as follows: Continue the journey of culture through food at takepart.com/journey.

Ssiscool

Question: What is the Big Band song playing as the taxi drives over the bridge?

Answer: It's called Empire State Montage by Hugo W. Friedhofer.

Question: If King Triton is the king of the sea, wouldn't he knew where Morgana was hiding? Do the humans know that Ariel and Melody are mermaids then if they do, do you think that those snotty kids would had told Melody?

Answer: King of the Sea does not mean psychic powers that allow him to be able to snuff out everyone's location. Only power he has is through the trident, which obviously cannot pinpoint location as he couldn't find Ariel when she was missing. It's likely the humans have no idea of the family's mermaid history, because yes, the snotty kids probably would have greatly teased Melody for it.

Question: 2 questions, 1. When Nathanial (the second Vampire to die) is face to face with Raze, as Raze begins the transformation, Nathanial just stands there hissing, does he know he has no chance whilst unarmed and just tries to look as intimidating as possible, if so why did he pursue Raze to begin with, no point in suicide just to hiss at him a few times, 2. Soren and Raze have a rather obvious dislike for each other, in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, we see Lucian being whipped by a Vampire, is this meant to be Soren? Because in the first film Soren has whips, I can't remember but I'm certain the Vampire that was torturing Lucian dies when Lucian breaks out, if so, why do Soren and Raze have a rivalry (besides the obvious war between Lycans and Vampires) and why, in this film, does Soren have whips?

Answer: For your first question. I always felt that scene was showcasing the fact that the vampires weren't just aristocratic poofs. Even in light of certain death they'll stand their ground and go down fighting. Nathaniel was there to fight no matter what.

Answer: To the second question: The vamp with the whip in RotL does die and is not Soren. Soren likely just has whips because they are cool. I always understood the rivalry to be because Raze is Lucian's Second and Soren is Kraven's Second so they are like head bodyguards of opposing forces forced to play nice even though they really don't want to.

Chosen answer: Because in Episode I, she was the Queen of Naboo. Viceroy Gunray had blockaded the planet with a trade boycott and then tried to take over the planet at the order of the Sith Lord Sidious. But he failed, her forces prevailing and destroying his droid army and capturing him. So in the second movie, which takes place 10 years later, he wants revenge on her for his failure, blaming her.

Quantom X

Question: When did Zola experiment on Barnes? Didn't Zola get captured by Captain Rogers on the same train as Barnes fell out of? I know he experimented on him before because he survived the fall. But in a short flashback, Zola is standing next to Barnes while he has his metal arm.

richard.carlsson@hotmail.com

Chosen answer: Hydra was working with SHIELD since the 1940s. After he was taken into custody, Hydra would have eventually taken in Zola, where he experimented on Bucky, giving him the metal arm.

Casual Person

Question: How can Superman breathe in space? On Krypton they needed spaceships to travel in space and needed spacesuits when going to other planets.

Answer: Earth's yellow sun supercharges his body enough that he can hold his breath for extremely long periods of time.

Answer: Clark doesn't spend any protracted periods travelling through space. Since his body can withstand the cold and lack of pressure all he would need to do is hold his breath for these short periods.

Question: I don't know if this was answered in the comic books, but here goes. Wolverine's claws were irregularly shaped before the bonding. So, how could they become perfectly razor shaped after the procedure all by themselves? I don't think that adamantium itself would perfect the shape of the claws all by himself, so how it is possible? And how come his teeth remained unchanged?

Domagoj Rimac

Chosen answer: The claws could have been "pre-installed" before the skeletal bonding process, as simply as Wolverine extending his bone claws into blade-shaped moulds of liquid adamantium. Teeth aren't actually made of bone but enamel, so the bonding process may have been specific to bone.

Sierra1

Answer: Because of the ALZ-113 drug. After they were infected by the drug, the apes practically mutated from it, which must have included their size.

Casual Person

Question: The main villain of the movie goes a few scenes with you never seeing his face, until later on. And he just seems like the ordinary evil business man type of villain. Nothing special that I could tell. So what is the point of having his face hidden for so long in the film?

Quantom X

Season 1 generally

Question: Kevin Carroll was impersonating Alan York, Janet York's father. When Janet is in the hospital and her "father" visits her, shouldn't Janet have been able to tell that that wasn't her real father?

Answer: That's why he killed her. When he entered her hospital room she was drowsy and didn't realise straight away that he was not her real father - he suffocated her before she could tell anyone.

The_Iceman

Question: Why exactly is the girl called The Full Metal Bitch by the other soldiers? I know she did a heroic battle before, but why that name?

Quantom X

Chosen answer: It's a nickname referencing her attitude, and the fact she is wearing a suit of metal, probably referencing the movie (or ammunition type) "Full Metal Jacket".

MasterOfAll

Question: Can a general change the DefCon unilaterally?

Answer: It's unlikely. To my understanding, the DefCon level, which ranges from 5 to 1, with level 1 indicating almost imminent nuclear war, is changed by orders of the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the U.S military joint chiefs of staff. In the film, it's probably safe to assume that General Beringer (Barry Corbin) was working under orders in consultation with higher-ups at the State Department, and had instructions as to what circumstances would warrant a change in the DefCon level, and given the authority to do so. In U.S History, our DefCon level has only been ordered to level 2 one time, during the Cuban Missile crisis. The 9/11/2001 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon resulted in an order by then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to DefCon 3. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEFCON).

Michael Albert

Question: When Joshua calls David back, why doesn't David just instruct Joshua to "end game"?

Answer: The short answer to your question is that, had David instructed Joshua to "end game," and had it succeeded, there would be no movie. In context, at that juncture, he was just freaked out about being unable to lose the connection to Joshua. Further, he probably didn't try at that point because he did not yet realize the magnitude of what was transpiring. Recall it wasn't until later in the film that he even realized that Joshua didn't draw distinctions between fantasy and reality, or that the game was running to its logical conclusion with actual weapon systems. Had David even tried to end the game, it probably wouldn't have worked. Joshua had to learn the lesson of futility (playing tic-tac-toe) before abandoning the game's objective.

Michael Albert

Answer: David couldn't tell Joshua this because he didn't know exactly how to end the game until the end of the movie.

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