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: Hitler refers to Bear Jew as a "Golem." What is that?

Answer: In Hebrew folklore, a Golem is an anthropomorphic creature made from the earth (stone, mud, clay, etc.) that can be brought to life by writing a specific word on its body or on paper and feeding the paper to it. It is then bound to obey the will of its creator. Golems are completely unintelligent, but unwaveringly obedient. Traditionally, they are very large and very strong; most likely because they were to have been used to perform tasks of brute strength that a human could not have accomplished. The specific word is pronounced "Emet," translating to "truth." If you remove the first letter from the word on the golem it becomes "met," which translates to "death."

Phixius

Question: How long did this film actually take to make? because regular films go for around an hour and a half and they usually take 5 months to make. but this movie is double the length with a lot more stunts and more expensive things in it?

adammaskell

Chosen answer: Principal shooting began in September 1996 and was scheduled for 138 days, though various delays extended this to 160 days. Prior to the filming, crews spent 100 days constructing the sets. Following filming, there were additional months for editing. Although the movie is twice as long as most films, it does not necessarily mean the shooting schedule was doubled. More second unit directors could have been used, filming scenes simultaneously.

raywest

Question: Is the German way of showing three fingers (thumb,index and middle fingers) created/made up for the movie or do Germans really do that?

Answer: They really do that. It's also the American Sign Language sign for "3" while three upraised fingers (index, middle, ring) is "W".

Phixius

Question: In both Iron Man movies it is made clear that the power source that Tony has in his chest is the same one that powers his Iron Man suits. How exactly can Col. Rhodes simply go downstairs and start using one? Why would Tony have a set of armor that didn't use the power source in his chest?

Answer: He always intended it to go to Rhodes. Natasha says there are security protocols in place to prevent someone just taking his suits. Tony knows that he isn't the best person to protect the people, Rhody is. Tony can't handle the consequences/unintended casualties of war. We see this in his ptsd in Iron Man 3.

Answer: As the suits get more advanced and elaborate they require more power, logically this means that the cores would need to produce more energy and would need to get bigger. Tony's heart on the other hand is perfectly fine, if not better, with less power circulating next to it. In the comics you see the armor using bigger and more arc reactors, some using several cores at once.

Answer: Tony most likely upgraded the mark 2 (War Machine) armor in between both films. We see in Iron Man 3 that each armor he build later is remotely controlled so they would need their own power source.

Answer: Plot hole. The silver suit that Rhody steals in Iron Man 2 was actually the prototype suit that Tony built in the first Iron Man film (which certainly was dependent on Tony's upgraded arc-reactor).

Chosen answer: That song is the 1933 song "Young and Healthy" by Harry Warren. It was sung originally by Bing Crosby. Goto: www.harrywarren.org/songs/0632.htm.

CCARNI

Question: One of the things I've never been able to figure out. When Roy's hand is clenching why does he shove the nail through it? Beyond the obvious reference to Christ, does the pain shock his nerves into working briefly again or what?

Grumpy Scot

Chosen answer: Exactly. His body is shutting down and he's trying to hold that off long enough to finish his battle with Deckard. His hand starts to freeze up, so he uses the pain from the spike to get it working again temporarily.

Question: I'm looking for a movie from the late 80's or early 90's. It's a hilarious comedy, a family movie, about two guys who are on some kind of island and there is a dead dude named Barney with an arrow through his head and sunglasses on it. They discover that when they play music, he walks like a zombie. When the dead guy is walking with the music, he actually is walking to the sea to find a chest with money in it. In the movie there is also a voodoo magic; I remember them sacrificing a goat.

tomica.jovevski

Chosen answer: You're thinking of "Weekend at Bernie's 2".

Question: Why didn't Tracy's parents free her from school when they knew that she was going on audition? And why isn't Penny in detention? I don't think that her mother would free her from school.

Answer: Tracy's parents told Tracy not to audition. They were worried that she would be rejected, and not be able to cope with the heartbreak, as evidenced by her mothers' line, "They're gonna hurt her out there". Penny could have left school during her lunch period.

Answer: Yes, Tracy's parents should have signed her out for the audition. Penny has been getting away from her mother for awhile so her cutting school without trouble isn't new to her.

Question: What's the name of the song playing in the background when Holmes and Watson fight with Dredger and the other two men in Reordan's flat? I looked everywhere, but I can't find it: it's not on the official soundtrack, either. Also, in the same scene, Watson starts off battling two men while Holmes takes Dredger, but later there is only one fighting with Watson. Where is he?

benjyrabbit

Chosen answer: Apparently the song is sort of a Hans Zimmer take on 'Johnnie Cope.' And Watson dispatches the first 'potato' by throwing his coat around the man's neck and beating him over the head with a large metal bowl.

rhettsmum

Question: Outside Madison and Haig, a gypsy corners our dynamic duo and tells Watson his future. I figured out that Holmes was setting Watson up when I saw her in the crowd at the start of the 'crowded alley' scene, moving quickly to get into position outside Madison and Haig. But how does Watson realise that Holmes has set him up? He never saw the gypsy at the start, and all Holmes says at the time is 'Doilies'. Am I just being really slow?

benjyrabbit

Chosen answer: Because she just happens to share Holmes' opinions, and also because of Holmes' extremely sarcastic reactions to her predictions.

Phixius

Question: At the end of the first Iron Man, Nick Fury appears and tells Stark about the Avengers Initiative. Then, in The Incredible Hulk, Stark makes a cameo and his conversation with Ross makes it seem like Stark's fully on board with Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. But, during this movie, Stark says he refused Fury's offer and at the end is not even a full member, certainly not someone Fury would send as a representative. Is the Hulk movie supposed to take place after Iron Man III? Did something happen between Stark and Fury between I and II, or did the production crew simply forget/neglect Stark's cameo in the Hulk film?

Answer: The Incredible Hulk takes place at about the same time as Iron Man 2 - during Stark's conversation with Fury at the end of the film, a live TV news report can be seen in the background from Culver University, the same location where the Hulk battled the troops under General Ross. Stark's a good choice to send to talk to the General; he's clearly personally acquainted with Ross, from their conversation in The Incredible Hulk, and is part of the Initiative, just in a consultant role, not necessarily as Iron Man.

Tailkinker

Question: Not including the animation sequences, why did this film only have 3 live stories (unlike the original which had 5).

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Beacause the ones from the first ones are short, but the ones from this one are long. So they probly cut it to three to save the budget.

tetracore99

Question: In the sonar room on the Dallas, there is a roll of what looks like toilet paper next to the monitor. Is there some special purpose for that?

Kgprophet

Chosen answer: They use it to wipe the grease pencil markings off the screens.

We called it "the Duty Roll."

Question: I noticed the number twenty thousand was mentioned twice (Anakin's midi-chlorian count and the amount of money that Qui-gon has while on Tattooine). Is there any trivia/meaning behind it?

Answer: Nope, it's just a coincidence, and not even a particularly good one as Anakin's midi-chlorian count is stated as being "over twenty thousand" rather than the exact number.

Tailkinker

Show generally

Question: Could someone please explain the red and purple poster in Rachel's bedroom that says 'Excelsior'? I just don't understand it, what's it supposed to be or say? Thanks.

Eclipse

Chosen answer: It's a reproduction of an early 20th-century advertising poster for a French sewing machine brand called, "Excelsior." The poster shows a close-up of the sewing machine's needle and foot.

raywest

Question: Why is the word "Lorraine" scratched into the handle of Shaw's gun? The words are easily seen after Boog levels Shaw with a golf club near his gun.

trulyrandom

Chosen answer: Shaw named his shotgun "Lorraine". He refers to the gun by the name throughout the movie. It's not an uncommon practice among hunters.

MovieFan612

Question: On the Interceptor, when Jack swings back from the Black Pearl, he asks Elizabeth where the medallion is, and in reply she tries to slap him, saying 'Wretch!' Why? What has he ever done to her? Okay, Jack used her to escape from Norrington and his men, but he saved her life before that, so it's only fair.

benjyrabbit

Answer: She calls him a wretch because after his escape all he asks about is the medallion, which she overheard the pirates talking about. It is fairly logical to presume she thought he was trying to use the medallion to his advantage. Which is right.

Chosen answer: She says "fetch" not "wretch" and pretends to throw the coin, not slap him. He catches her hand, sees no coin and then asks where William is, because Will is the one that should be in possession of the coin since it was originally his can remove the curse.

No. If you turn on the subtitles, she says "wretch." It may have sounded like "fetch" due to her British accent.

Chosen answer: Very early on, as Stark's leaving the Expo, Lee appears ahead of Stark, dressed as television interviewer Larry King - Stark even greets him as "Larry" as he passes by.

Tailkinker

Question: When Elizabeth tries to board the Black Pearl at Tortuga, Jack is extremely unwilling to let her on. I know there's the element of what he has done to Will, but why doesn't he just let her on, and trade her as one of the 99 souls he needs? I mean, if he can leave Will on the Flying Dutchman to serve for a hundred years in his place, why can't he do it to Elizabeth?

benjyrabbit

Chosen answer: Jack is reluctant to have her on board because he knows she has her own agenda (to save Will) that could upset his plans. He is aware that Elizabeth is intelligent, strong-willed, and determined. She knows better than anyone how Jack operates, and would use any advantage to achieve her goal. It is only when Jack realizes that Elizabeth can lead him to the Dead ManÂ’s Chest, that he allows her to join his crew. Also, having any woman on board a ship creates its own set of problems, and Jack, in particular, could be distracted by her. It's also questionable as to whether or not Davy Jones accepts female souls aboard his ship, as none have been seen. Jack may also feel enough loyalty to Elizabeth to want to spare her from that fate. He did try to retrieve Will as part of his bargain with Jones. Of course, Jack knows it is unlikely that he can collect enough souls by the deadline, and his intent is to find the Dead ManÂ’s Chest so he can control Davy Jones, thus relieving him of his debt and controlling all the seas.

raywest

Question: In At World's End, Jack and Beckett are hammering out a deal on the Endeavour, and Jack says Beckett can have Barbossa, Will, Pintel, Ragetti etc. but fails to mention Elizabeth, at which point Beckett asks, 'And what about Miss Swann?' and Jack answers, 'Of what interest is she to you?' Does this mean he still likes Elizabeth (even though she left him to die in Dead Man's Chest, and their relationship in this film is obviously frosty)? Did I miss something? Is Jack pulling some trick?

benjyrabbit

Chosen answer: Well, Jack has no intention of allowing Beckett to have Will or any of the others, except maybe Barbossa. Elizabeth, he is simply more hesitant to risk the way he is risking the others. He does not "like" her nor have "feelings" for her. However, in Dead Man's Chest, at some point, it was just implied that Jack did have an interest in her at the same time Elizabeth was in denial of her interest in him. That was when they were coming at each other talking about "curiosity." There was one point they were interested in each other.

Phixius

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