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: When Jigsaw tells the victims, from one of the tapes, that the order of the combination is 'over the rainbow', what does he mean or how does it work?
Chosen answer: Each of the numbers on the victims' necks are a different colour. If these colours are then put into the order of the colours of the rainbow, the corresponding numbers will be the correct combination.
Kayleigh GreenQuestion: After watching "Donnie Darko" I watched another film which also featured a character identical to Frank. He too appeared in the dreams of the lead role and had all the traits of Frank. I am pretty sure it was not the film "Harvey", as I do not believe it was a film as old as that. Can anyone help me identify what the other film was?
Chosen answer: I believe this film may have been 'Sexy beast' starring Ray Winstone. It's a British film, and is even listed on the IMDb as similar to Donnie Darko in this sense. In 'Sexy Beast' a human height sized bunny rabbit stalks the dreams of the lead character, played by Ray.
Question: Has there ever been explained why the blood effects were done so weird?
Chosen answer: Quentin Tarantino has stated that he deliberately went over the top with the blood effects, as a homage to a lot of old Oriental martial arts movies in which the spurting of blood was also (unintentionally) over-exaggerated.
MankyQuestion: What is the meaning of the scene with the hooded blond woman throwing her child in the street? Frankie sees her, starts yelling, and the scene creates a mysterious mood, but I don't really see any connection to the plot.
Chosen answer: Earlier in the movie Frankie thinks she's pregnant and is contemplating abortion. Hence the throwing the child away reference here.
edelianQuestion: At the end of the film, Lestat bites Malloy, then offers to turn him into a vampire, much the same way he did to Louie. Does Malloy agree to become a vampire, and if he does, what kind of "life" does Malloy live then on?
Chosen answer: In the books, Daniel Molloy isn't attacked by Lestat at the end of the film - Lestat doesn't appear at all. Molloy began a quest to locate Lestat, a quest that fails, but he does meet Armand instead. For some years the two travelled together, with Armand occasionally granting Daniel a sip of vampiric blood, but refusing to fully turn him. Daniel would frequently run away and sink in an alcoholic despair, but the two would always link up again in the end, usually when Daniel had really hit rock bottom. Eventually, Daniel's alcohol abuse did such damage to his body that Armand was forced to turn him into a vampire to stop him dying altogether. The two seperated shortly after, no longer able to tolerate each other. Daniel vanished for some time, eventually resurfacing, having lost his mind, in the care of Marius. What happened to him after that is unknown, although Marius stated that his insanity was only temporary (although precisely what 'temporary' might mean to the 2000-year-old vampire is anybody's guess).
Tailkinker
Question: On disc 2 of the DVD version of Star Wars Revenge Of The Sith, i noticed as i watched the trailers that, in some of them, when Darth Vader's platform that he is lying on is being lifted up, that in some trailers his hands are bolted down pointing upwards, but in the film they are pointing downwards, would this be a deliberate mistake or just something they hoped people won't notice?
Chosen answer: It's something that was changed from the time the trailer was made until the time the film was released. Since the shot with his arms up was not in the actual movie, it is not a mistake.
K.C. SierraQuestion: I've never seen the show myself, but I was wondering what kind of a name "Inara Serra" is. I'm assuming Inara is of Portuguese origin, but mostly because the actress was born in Brazil. Can someone please help me with this?
Chosen answer: Inara is actually Arabic in origin; it means "ray of light" or alternatively "heaven sent". Serra, on the other hand, is Portuguese and means "mountain range" - derived from the same word in Latin, where it means 'saw' (as in the cutting implement, which a mountain range might resemble, rather than the act of seeing).
TailkinkerQuestion: What is the song played at the credits (the one that is also played when Charlie travels with Irene from Rhode Island), and who sings it?
Chosen answer: It's called 'The world ain't slowing down' by Paul Ellis.
Question: Was there ever a name provided for the character who was dancing with Ivy when she heard the children's screams? He also was one of the men carrying the sacrifice of meat, and might have been the Villager in the tower in the opening credits. He is tall and bearded, and seems to be the "go-to" guy here in the Village.
scwilliamChosen answer: There was no name, and I was not under the impression he was indeed the "go-to" guy. Other than dancing with Ivy and participating in the meet ritual, he was not seen in the movie at all.
Question: How many towers were in the valley? Only one is shown in a distant shot, but most scenes show it right up to, and overlooking, a thickly forested area. However, there is one view where the trees in the near background had bare, upright branches.
scwilliamChosen answer: There were two towers, one at the north end of the valley, and one at the south end.
scwilliamQuestion: I remember seeing a mini series about the Ripper when I was younger, in which Mary Kelley had a new young prostitute (Ada) "under her wing", just as in this film. Did Ada really exist, and if so are there any evidence that might support that she was murdered in Kelley's place?
Chosen answer: Kelly regularly spent time with several other prostitutes, as we see in the film, but there's no particular evidence that Kelly was acting in a sort of mentor role to any of them. There is, however, evidence that Kelly did share a room with another prostitute, so the fictional 'Ada' may have some small basis in fact. However, none of the reports of Kelly's murder give any indication that there was any doubt about the identity of the victim.
TailkinkerQuestion: When he stabs the Witch King Merry seems to be breaking his arm. Later when Pippin finds him he is close to unconscious. Éowyn on the other hand seems to be doing quite alright. Yet in the extended edition Éowyn is brought to a hospital and appears to be ill while Merry is fit to get back into battle the next day. Is this a mistake, or am I missing something
Chosen answer: Merry doesn't actually break his arm - it's more that the foul energy that surrounds up the Witch King affects Merry when he makes the stab. The energies have a detrimental effect of those exposed to it - Eowyn is close to the Witch King for longer, plus she's the one who makes the killing blow, so she gets a more potent dose. Also, her arm is severely damaged physically during the fight, making it necessary for her to receive greater care than Merry does. In the books, both are taken to the hospital and neither goes to the fight at the Black Gate - it was presumably considered better for a cinematic audience that Merry should go, rather than sidelining one of the Fellowship during the climax of the film.
TailkinkerQuestion: I have to question what killed the speedboat's crew at the beginning of the movie. I don't think the Pteradons would be that fast in attacking and they were locked in the cage. I doubt the Spinosaurus would go that far out to sea and kill the people that quickly. What other dino(s) could have done it out at sea and so fast (and were so messy eaters)?
Chosen answer: This passage isn't very satisfying. There certainly were a large number of predatory marine reptiles, but they would have difficulty with a speeding boat, and if they were out in the water, why would they stay just around the island? The Pterosaurs would have been visible, even if they were loose to attack. The Spinosaurus and other terrestrial dinosaurs might paddle across shallow water, but they're not going to grab people off a moving speedboat. Effective scene but hard to correlate to the local lifeforms.
scwilliamQuestion: On the time traveling train there is the initials E.L.B, does anybody know what this stands for?
Chosen answer: ELB are the Doc's initials - his name being Emmett L. Brown. Earlier in the film these initials were also seen on a plank of wood in the mine indicating to Marty where the time machine had been buried for 70 years.
ChimeraQuestion: No kids in the whole school go into the girls toilet because of Moaning Myrtle. Clearly even Dumbledore would know about this. Not judging Dumbledore, but wouldn't he have asked Myrtle at least 50 years ago when the chamber was re-opened after Myrtle died?
Chosen answer: Myrtle doesn't know anything Dumbledore doesn't already know. He already knew the Chamber was opened. He knew the kind of monster that was released. He just didn't know where it was, and Myrtle couldn't have helped him with that. (Also, there's no evidence that Dumbledore never questioned Myrtle. She just didn't have a lot of information, when you think about it).
K.C. SierraQuestion: I recently saw Ghostbusters 2 on Spike TV. when the broadcast came to the point where Winston is pulled into the river of slim, before Vigon and Ray, I noticed the river of slime looked odd. It was as the river had been shrunken down, or the Ghostbusters were enlarged. Am I crazy? If I am not, then why would they make such a trivial alteration?
Chosen answer: SpikeTV didn't alter the movie except for editing for time and content. The scene you saw was in the original film and the way the river looked was a combination of two things, the camera angle and the poor special effects of the time.
moviemogulQuestion: What was the red area on the alien's back which Merril hit with the baseball bat? A major organ? Its heart?
Chosen answer: He seems to have deliberately struck where a bipedal creature's spine would have been the most vulnerable. The color was a wound caused by water being poured on it earlier.
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Chosen answer: Graham Chapman.
Xofer