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 Aunt May says to Peter in the hospital, "Everyone else knows", why does Peter suddenly look scared/concerned?

Answer: Remember that Green Goblin (Norman Osborne) just found out that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Aunt May's comment about everyone knows he loves Mary-Jane concerns him because he now realizes that Green Goblin might find/kidnap Mary-Jane just to lure Spider-Man into a fight. This is the basis for the whole reason he can't be with her, as he would be potentially putting her in harm's way all the time if they got together.

Jazetopher

Question: Was there any significance besides comedy to the very last scene of the movie where Dr. Strangelove stands and proclaims "Mein Fuhrer. I Can Walk." It was pretty funny as is, but I wondered if there was some sort of allusion or other intention to that line.

Answer: Peter Sellers improvised it. During that scene if you watch the actor playing the Russian character you can see him trying not to laugh at Seller's performance.

Question: Actually a further answer to the person who inquired after Jack's picture being on the wall at the end of the movie, a picture dated during the 1920s. Some interpret the hotel itself as both a real place and a symbolic representation as the working's of Jack's mind. Hence, as he gets crazier, it gets crazier. Grady's comment in the restroom to the effect that "you've always been the caretaker" ("you've always been responsible for what goes on here") could be taken as an allusion to this idea. Remember that Jack sees far more supernatural events than the rest of the family, and most of what Danny sees is in visions. So how much of it "really" occurs?

Answer: The hotel is both real and metaphorical, while half the story being told is a complex supernatural horror story, the other half is a overlying metaphor for mental insanity. There are allusions to this though out the movie as you said, the line "you've always been the caretaker" hold a double meaning. First it is a reference to the fact that he is the reincarnation of a malicious spirit, Second it is a reference to how Jack's insanity was foremost caused by his weak will. There are multiple clues to this metaphorical context in the sense that the movie depicts many of the stages and symptoms of a severe mental break (e.g. Substance abuse, Insomnia, Night terrors, Loss of inhibitions, Loss of logic, Loss of compassion, Delirium, and Incoherent or illogical speech.) Most of these symptoms were brought on by Jack's weak mental will. He was the one who kept himself awake, he asked for liquor before it appears, and he made the choice to engage the seductress.

Answer: It all really happens. He goes crazy because the hotel is working its supernatural powers on him, so by the end it is easy to persuade him to do its dirty work. The point of the picture at the end is that Jack keeps returning to the hotel in different reincarnations and getting the job as the caretaker. If it were all just visions, who unlocked the pantry door?

Jack unlocked the pantry door, because it was his mind. Ergo, he has the key.

That's not possible. The pantry wasn't his mind. It was real and after putting Jack in the pantry, Wendy uses both locks in hopes of keeping him trapped there, but he's released by Grady.

Question: What is the name of the audio editor program John uses on his PC for playback of his static recordings?

Answer: Evp.

Question: Does anyone know where I can listen to the song "Ride Wit Me" performed by "Nelly"? It's heard on the main menu of the DVD, and at the beginning of the credits.

Answer: On Napster.com you can now listen to every song they have up to 5 times each. Alternatively get it from iTunes.

Myridon

Question: In the scene where they are discussing the amount of interest owed, at the end Rusty says to Frank, "Don't tell Danny." Explain please.

shortdanzr

Chosen answer: They were just discussing going to Amsterdam. In the flashback you see Rusty living with Zeta-Jones, and running away when she was getting close to arresting him. Frank knows about Rusty's history with Zeta-Jones (indeed, Frank was Rusty's partner on the Rome Bulgari's robbery). Zeta-Jones told Rusty she would like to go live in Amsterdam where she has relatives. Frank knows it is dangerous for the pair of them to go back to Amsterdam where probably Zeta-Jones is (Zeta-Jones wastes little time arresting Frank at a nail-salon).

Soylent Purple

Answer: Also, in the scene where Rusty and Isabel first see each other, it is Frank sitting at the table with Rusty. So it's safe to say he was well aware of the relationship from the beginning.

Chosen answer: Simple, he kept the photo in the box but not in the secret compartment. We never see the photo and we never know when it was in the secret compartment so it's possible he was looking at it and moved it when he was about to show Spongebob. Even if he wasn't looking at it, Patrick might have just been looking at the string and laughing or even just thinking about the picture. Patrick and Spongebob do in many instances laugh at the simplest things.

Lummie

The List/Haunted Train - S1-E8

Question: Why did that boy steal Arnold's ball? Was that the whole reason he came to the park? He seemed awfully obnoxious and destined to ruin Arnold's day, just wanting more clarity. Thank you.

Answer: The episode doesn't really elaborate on who the kid was and what his motives were, so its pure speculation as to why he took it. Perhaps the kid could simply want a ball all for himself and decided to just take it, or was simply a rotten kid. The truth is the kid's motives are not important to the story other than it highlights Arnold was having a lot of trouble getting through the list.

Lummie

Question: LATIN GEEK QUESTION: When Silas kills the nun at the Church of San Sulpice, the subtitles say something like, "Your body is sleeping with the angels.", which is close to the book's dialogue. What I heard when Silas is speaking is "corpus MEUM" versus the term "corpus TEUM". Did anyone else hear that too?

Answer: He does indeed say "corpus MEUM", the first person genetive, because he is reciting the prayer from memory - it is said on behalf of the deceased. The subtitler probably chose to translate it "your" to avoid misunderstandings for the audience.

Answer: He grew it at the beginning of Season 6.

moviemogul

Question: Ballroom scene: time stop [01:09:15] Right before Sara breaks the glass with the chair. there is a blonde woman in a dress not wearing a mask visible. who is she? Also what is the significance of the Pirate character at timestop [01:08:36.] Outside of Jareth and Sara. this character gets a lot of camera time. including a focal point as the the camera does the 360 degree shot towards the end. Thanks.

Answer: I don't think either of the characters are significant. If they have more screen time than any other extra, it is just emphasising Sarah's confusion and the way she is trying to focus on individuals to try and make sense of what is happening. Or possibly, the director liked the look of the costume/make-up and gave them a prominent place in the scene.

Answer: The pirate is Brian Froud, himself appearing as a cameo.

Shipper

Question: When Phil Connors is playing the piano with the jazz group, his piano teacher excitedly tells Rita that he is her pupil. Why has he has a piano lesson that day, when he obviously learnt to play brilliantly in previous days?

Answer: He has been doing the same routine for who knows how many "days", that is would not be unusual that he would have a lesson that day - no matter how well he played.

Zwn Annwn

Answer: After he finishes playing, you'll notice she takes his place at the piano. So, he took the lesson to get to know her, so she would allow him to sit in for her.

Question: In many flight and pre flight scenes, Ice is shown wearing a blue collared shirt under his flight suit. Is it normal for pilots to wear street clothes under their flight suits as opposed to just an undershirt? What about pants?

Answer: After being stationed onboard an Aircraft Carrier for several years I can say your observations are correct. They should have a regulation white T under there. None of the pilots I know would wear a civilian T under their flight suit because it could mark them as an American, and it could contain chemicals that in a pure oxygen environment of the flight suit could have produced fumes.

James Rowell

Answer: During the timeframe the movie was shot, polo shirts were authorized under flight suits. They no longer are for two reasons - 1) the buttons are a FOD (foreign object damage) hazard and 2) the v-neckish does not provide enough flame protection. However, regarding color, every navy squadron or command is authorized to choose a color for their crew/turtle neck undershirt. If a color has not been specified, the color shall be navy blue or black.

Thanks! That makes sense in the movie: You can see several other pilot / RIO pairs with the same color Polo or undershirts on (red and yellow). Also, Goose and Mav are wearing white and other pairs are wearing black.

Question: In the end of the movie, why did Reaper grab the BFG? I could see the stock of the gun sticking out from behind him. It had no more ammo left, so what's the point?

Answer: From what I know, that gun is now basically a working prototype, it would a nice thing to have. Also, it could be adapted to the RRTS (Rapid Response Tactical Squad) needs. Or just as likely, the UAC wanted it back.

Todd Loewen

Answer: Christine recognises him as soon as he opens his mouth - you see her being slightly shocked. Raoul takes a bit more time, and it's not as obvious. I'd say when you see him getting half up, that's when it dawns on him, but that's open to interpretation.

Sereenie

Question: What's the song playing when Dewey escorts the band to the auditions?

Answer: "The Wait" by Metallica.

ChiChi

Question: What's the song playing at the dance when Kenyon and his girlfriend are arguing?

Answer: Alicia Keys "You Don't Know My Name."

Question: In the scene where Xavier goes to meet Jean Grey for the first time, it shows him walking. Yet it is never explained in the movie how he became crippled. I read that in the comics, he became crippled BEFORE meeting Jean Grey. So I'm confused how did he become crippled in the movies?

Answer: In the movie X-Men First Class, it shows Charles Xavier and Erik younger and allies. At the end of the movie it shows MacTaggert shooting at Magneto, he deflects the bullet and it hits Charles in the spine, which makes him paralyzed. The two allies realizes they have different interest between humans and mutants. Charles became paralyzed before opening the school and meeting Jean. How he is able to walk in X-Men 3 has not yet been explained, although he's lost and regained the ability at least a couple of times in the comics.

Question: Tom Hanks told Sophie that she was the heir of Christ and she was not the little girl in the accident which killed all four family members. Why did Sophie have memory of the accident which was shown when she was trying to help Tom Hanks relieve himself from his phobia inside the armored truck?

Answer: Tom Hanks NEVER said that Sophie wasn't in the car crash. What he said was that her last name was really "St Clair" (The same name as the family that died), and the press reported her dead as well. The man she called her grandfather wasn't really related to her, he just took care of her and gave her his name. That is why she could find no records of her family's death, she was looking for the wrong name.

Soylent Purple

Question: Apparently Jubilee is in the scene when the army attacks the mansion. Can anyone tell me where she is? Thanks.

Answer: Jubilee appears several times throughout the movie, although not seen using her powers, apart from in deleted scenes on the DVD. She is the Asian girl running around the mansion, she is in the holding cell in Alkali Lake (Storm shouts "Jubilee" to her), she is seen with a blanket wrapped around her when they find the helicopter is gone and she is seen in Xavier's office at the end.

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