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: McPherson broke the grandfather clock and nothing was in there. But then, the next time he opened it with Laura there, nothing was broken, and there was a gun in there. How did it get fixed? What did I miss?

Answer: It's a different clock. The first one is in Lydecker's flat, and there's an identical one in Laura's. McPherson finds the secret compartment in Lydecker's clock, and since Laura's is the same, he checks that one, too. The shotgun is in Laura's clock.

Question: Who and why was the highboy moved to cover the linen closet?

Answer: Mrs. Gardenia, the elderly previous resident, had moved the highboy dresser there to block the closet passageway connecting her apartment to the Castevette's. She was involved in the coven, but after realizing how sinister it was, tried to disassociate herself. The coven later cast a spell causing her fatal coma.

raywest

Question: Why was the "I'm Gonna Wash That Man" number severely hacked about for the film and is not the same as in the soundtrack recording?

Answer: The song was likely shortened to maintain the scene's brisk pace and keep the film's overall length to a certain running time. There were many other musical numbers and sequences in the movie.

raywest

Question: By what means did the pirates intend to escape from the ship when they originally boarded it, and before they were told about the lifeboat?

Paulspurs

Answer: They intended to sail the ship to Somalia, where they would hold the ship, cargo, and the crew for ransom. The crew managed to power down the ship, rendering it inoperative. This meant their only option was to use the lifeboat.

Question: What does the Predator say when he is in the slaughterhouse and looking at his hands in the gray/red vision?

Answer: Now you will die.

Question: Given the design of the rooms within the Cube, how do the rooms actually move? If you look closely, where 2 rooms meet, there is a zigzag pattern along the entrances/exits of each room which doesn't seem able to allow any shifting.

Question: When Frank travels into the future and sees an older Calvin sitting on the floor, Calvin glances up. Did Calvin see Frank?

Question: The ending of Back to the Future, Marty says he's not going to the lake as the car is 'wrecked'. All the family react as if he's talking about the BMW. They rush out and see it is fine. But they know Marty has the Toyota truck - why would they not think he meant his car is wrecked'? I know he says car not "truck" but he's talking about going up to the lake - he wouldn't be going in his Dad's BMW. So is this a mistake or bad script writing? (01:49:00 - 01:51:00)

blueslipper@gmail.com

Answer: Why wouldn't he go in the BMW? Going to the lake doesn't mean off-road driving, it might be a nice paved road all the way to a touristy spot. I don't think it's a mistake or bad writing.

Actually, Biff comes up to him with the keys to his truck, saying it is ready for his trip. So he was going with his truck.

lionhead

Answer: It would've simply been down to the pure shock of what Marty was saying. The second he said "The car's wrecked", they dropped what they were doing and went to check. They didn't even care about the first part of Marty's sentence at this point, as all that was going through their heads would've been "Has something happened to the car?"

Answer: Marty didn't know about the truck at that point. He was surprised when Biff handed him the keys, so it's not wrong that the family thought he meant the BMW.

Correct, but the family all knew he had the Toyota.

Question: How does Ted have so much time on his hands when he is a solo dad? He is able to attend his son's karate class, no problem. He has the time to shop for his son and make Howard look like a bad father. Also, he lives in a rather nice house, something that wouldn't be affordable if you were just working part-time, so Ted probably works full time. Howard, on the other hand, looks to be working hard to get ahead in life. He has the support of his wife, who also appears to be a stay-at-home mum.

Blair Howden

Answer: Since it's never explained in the film, everything would be speculation. There's a number of things Ted could do to have the type of lifestyle seen in the film. For example, he could be getting child support from his ex-wife if he has primary custody. He could even be getting alimony from his ex-wife. Ted could also be earning passive income (e.g. rental property or other types of investments). It also seem Howard is working a lot of overtime where Ted may have a regular full time job, but has hours set that make it look like he has a lot more free time.

Bishop73

Answer: As Bishop73 basically said, people have different circumstances and situations. It doesn't make sense to say that one single parent should, or should not, be able to do something, judging by the life of another single parent. Life happens to everyone differently. My husband and his five siblings had a single mother. She still attended some school events, worked part-time or temporary jobs, went shopping, and went on dates.

Question: Did Thomas know that he was allergic to bees?

Answer: I believe so. He was allergic to multiple substances, so he would have been thoroughly tested for just about everything.

raywest

Question: If Hermione doesn't believe, and thinks the Grim is rubbish, why is she scared when she sees the dog after Ron calls it the Grim?

Answer: She is scared of a big, snarling dog looking at them.

lionhead

Question: When Todd Parker comes up with his plan to rob the drug dealer, how was he so certain about where the dealer's safe was in the house and what it held?

Question: Why were the people walking towards the ferry so desperate to get Ray's car? Considering the power was on in that area, the ferry was operating, and the army were driving round in humvees, tanks, and trucks a few scenes earlier, then surely Ray wouldn't have been the only person with a car?

Answer: He may not be the only person with a car, but you can imagine there are fewer cars than people around, since a lot of the people there came from areas where the cars had stopped working. Or else they wouldn't be walking. That's why they were going on the ferry, for transport to anywhere.

lionhead

Answer: Agree with the other answer, but would add that Ray had figured out that cars were not working because the starter solenoids were knocked out by the alien's technology. He and his friend fixed Ray's car. Unlike military mechanics or marine engineers, most people were likely clueless about what caused the problem, didn't know how to fix a vehicle, or lacked the means, particularly in a crisis. People were desperate to acquire any car they could.

raywest

Question: Were the cigarettes in the film real or fake (prop, puff, or herbal)? I ask because I know that Natalie Portman was not a smoker before the making of this film started.

Answer: Actors are usually required to use movie prop cigarettes or herbal cigarettes that don't contain tobacco or nicotine. These usually contain marshmallow root, passion flower, cloves, or jasmine. While some actors might be smokers, prop cigarettes protect other actors and crew from second-hand smoke, especially during long filming sessions. There is debate about how much safer herbal cigarettes are compared to tobacco.

raywest

Question: I've never quite understood why Edward damages the curtains and bathroom walls at the Boggs' house. After he tells Kim that he only helped with the robbery because she asked him to, and then Jim shows up. Kim tries to convince Jim to tell the truth, so why does Edward act that way?

Question: In the Richard Donner version, after Superman reverses time so that the events of the movie never happened, why would he go back to the diner and get even with the guy who beat him up, when earlier he chose to remove his powers?

Answer: When Clark comes back for revenge, there are no references to the previous fight, nor of anyone knowing Clark from before. When the manager tells the bully, "I just had this joint fixed," it doesn't mean it was because of the previous fight.

Sacha

Citizens' Arrest - S7-E12

Question: Why does the police officer call this a citizen's arrest? Beavis and Butthead were more like hostages in the situation. They never caught/subdued the robber.

Question: Why did the military decide to blow the bridges instead of simply blocking them? Did they think it was simpler than to put armed soldiers at all the bridges and risk them being overrun by the panicked (and possibly turning) crowds of people trying to flee?

Answer: Yes, it was a desperate measure to prevent the spread of a disease which was horrendous, even though it was done too late to contain the outbreak. I'm sure it was a difficult decision for the military commanders, and given the civilian and economic consequences, probably had to be sanctioned by the National Command Authority or President.

Question: Apart from the chaotic evacuation at the pier, why does everyone in the city seem to be walking and driving like nothing is happening when they are in the middle of Ground Zero of a catastrophic viral outbreak?

Answer: Not everyone understands that the infection is airborne yet. People are mostly not fully aware of the dangers just yet, it seems. Even the dark seekers are uncommon at this time.

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