Question: Why did Hermione and Ron seem so surprised when they saw Harry? Or were they just embarrassed that he heard and saw them arguing?
raywest
26th Oct 2018
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
25th Oct 2018
The Mountain Between Us (2017)
Question: Did the dog die, if not what happens to him?
24th Oct 2018
Casablanca (1942)
Question: Why does everyone stop and stare at the plane?
Answer: It's a bit complicated and subject to interpretation. They all look as soon as they hear the engines starting. For each one it signifies something different. Ilsa knows she must part with Rick, the man she loves, and stay with her husband, Victor, to support him and help with his work. For Rick, he knows he is losing Ilsa, by his own choice because he has chosen to stay behind to aid the war resistance and may not survive. Victor knows his wife Ilsa really loves Rick and he will be out of their lives, but she is staying with him out of duty.
Answer: Because the plane taking off meant that the people on board were on their way to Lisbon, and from there, America. Everyone is envious.
24th Oct 2018
Dracula (1992)
Question: Why do the guards in the mental asylum wear cages over their heads?
15th Oct 2018
Grease (1978)
Question: What does Rizzo mean at the Frosty Palace when she asks Danny if someone is snaking him?
Answer: Actually, according to Cassell's Dictionary of Slang, snake means "to whip or punish, " originating from a teamsters whip which was commonly called a "snake" in the 1930's. I rewatched the scene with this definition in mind and it fits perfectly. Rizzo walks in and immediately notices Sandy sitting at a table with Tom. She walks straight over to where Danny is sitting with the rest of the gang and says, while glancing back over her shoulder at Sandy, "somebody snakin' ya Danny?" It seems clear Rizzo is referencing Sandy's behavior, which is designed to punish Danny for treating her poorly in front of his friends.
Answer: It's 50s slang and she's asking if Tom is moving in and stealing his girl.
15th Oct 2018
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Question: Why did the trio watch Buckbeak being executed?
Answer: Because they had some small hope that something would happen that prevented it, they stayed to see if a miracle would happen basically. They didn't want to see it of course, but they felt it too terrible to just not know if there was any hope it wouldn't happen and then miss it.
Answer: They didn't actually see Buckbeak being executed because he never was. They were far enough away that they only partially saw the executioner wield the axe, but he was actually chopping a pumpkin out of frustration because Buckbeak had disappeared. If they had been closer, they most likely would not have looked at all, not wanting to witness such a gruesome scene.
Thank you but I was meaning to ask why they stayed on that hill to watch instead of returning to the common room?
It's pointless to speculate what their reasoning for watching was because it really comes down to it being a plot device. The audience has to think that Buckbeak has been killed in order to propel the story forward. That is achieved by having HR&H stop atop the hill and watch what they think is the execution. It also is to convey their sense of grief and hopelessness.
15th Oct 2018
Secret Window (2004)
Question: What's the point of the braces?
Answer: What I find ironic is the fact he tries to fix his teeth with braces hoping to minimize double-personality jaw mimique, while he grows and eats corn in the garden. Corn and braces are one of the worst possible combination in terms of comfort of eating. That was nice spice of absurdity to the story.
Answer: Mort had some problem with his jaw and eventually got braces to help correct it. I also read that it was Johnny Depp's idea for Mort to get braces, believing it added an interesting facet to his character.
Answer: As read in previous answers the jaw aches came about because of his imagination of Shooter. Shooter is taking over Mort's personality, throughout the movie it progressively gets worse and worse until the end where Shooter finally gets through to Mort and takes over. The braces are now a sign that Mort can no longer hold back Shooter, and it's shown because the braces stop the mannerism. (Shooter is the sole personality and no longer needs to push his way out, thus the need for braces and no more pain). He finally got his way. The true ending.
Answer: If you recall, Mort was kicked in the mouth after he had stabbed his wife in the leg. I'm thinking braces were the result.
15th Oct 2018
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Question: What is up with the auction scene? Knowing that dinosaurs are unpredictable, why would they want to sell them off anyway? What were people planning on doing with them; keep them as pets? Build their own park? Use them against their enemies? This scene makes no sense and plus, even with them able to make more and more dinosaurs, why keep selling them at all? I'm sorry for all the questions but this scene is just weird for me.
Answer: They were sold for the sole purpose of making hundreds of millions of dollars from the auction and future sales. The buyers had different reasons for wanting them: weaponizing them, for trophy hunting, private zoos, etc. The buyers' zeal in wanting such exotic animals overruled their sensibilities regarding how dangerous the dinosaurs were and the extreme conditions needed to manage them.
7th Oct 2018
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
Question: How did Hagrid know where The Dursleys, and Harry Potter had moved?
Answer: The Trace only detects when underage wizards use magic. Still, it wouldn't be difficult for Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard in the world, to find or track them.
Answer: All underage wizards and witches have a Ministry "trace" on them until they are 17 years old that monitors their activities. Dumbledore would be able to use that to locate Harry and then send Hagrid there.
Also, Harry was no ordinary wizard child because of his connection to Voldemort. As he did not live in the wizard world while growing up, he was vulnerable to harm from the Dark Lord's follower. Extra protections were put on Harry, and he was watched around the clock. His location would always be known.
4th Oct 2018
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Question: While at the high school, after the witches arrive, Max says "This is your host, Boris Karloff Jr." Is that a real person or a name made up for the movie? With the witches thought to be burned alive, why did Binx snap at Allison and Max for opening the book. With the witches gone, he wouldn't have anything to worry about, right?
Answer: Boris Karloff was a real actor who is mostly famous for playing Frankenstein and The Mummy in the 1930's. He had many other roles in classic horror films of that era.The young host is naming himself after the actor. Binx may have been concerned that the witches were not truly gone, and therefore wanted to exert some caution. His concern was warranted.
The answer is true, but the question asked about Boris Karloff Jr, who didn't exist. Boris Karloff had only one child, a daughter named Sarah. As for Binx, he was angry about them opening the book and even states that nothing good could ever come from it. He was not only cautious about the sisters (and any concern he had there was valid), but he also knew that everything in the book was evil and didn't want to risk other issues it causes whether the sisters were involved or not.
30th Sep 2018
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Question: How did Han and Chewie get off the desert planet at the end?
Answer: Or they could've hitched a ride with the Cloud Riders.
Answer: By the end of the movie, Han and Chewie have been left with some items of worth, plus their smarts and charm. We don't see how exactly but we can assume that's enough to get them into their next adventure.
Answer: I would classify this as the traditional movie serial "cliff hanger" ending where the audience is purposely left pondering what happens to the protagonists and must wait until the next installment to learn the outcome. Considering Solo underperformed at the box office, there is the possibility there may not be another independent Han Solo film. However, the characters would likely reappear in another stand-alone Star Wars film, thus answering how they escaped their situation.
29th Sep 2018
Ever After (1998)
Question: In the opening of the movie, the Grimm brothers meet the elderly queen in her castle. Several people in the castle are crying and dressed in black. She herself is wearing a black veil, as though she is in mourning. Why? Who was supposed to have died? These things are never addressed in the script.
Answer: She's listed as Grande Dame in the credits and is addressed as "Your Majesty" by her servant and by Jacob Grimm. Many believe that the Grande Dame may be the fictionalized version of the real Marie Therese of France, a descendant of Henry II. It's in the last scene, when the carriage is leaving with the Grimm brothers, that we see in the overhead shot the Grande Dame's chateau is the very same royal palace where Prince Henry had resided. During the first scene, as Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm enter the Grande Dame's chamber, when the camera pans slowly from right to left we see a man (behind the candles) who has been leaning over the Grande Dame at her right side, then a servant leans over at her left side announcing, "The Brothers Grimm," and just as she greets the brothers the two women dressed in black are seen standing nearby, one of whom is weepy. At the start of the next shot we see a man exiting in the background, and he may be the same man who had been leaning over the Grande Dame in the previous shot, so perhaps he is her doctor. After they've had tea, offscreen, we see the Grande Dame is sitting up in bed, and there are apothecary bottles on the bedside table. She herself is not dressed in black, she's wearing white/grey ruffled lace, with only one piece of black lace over her white lace cap. I don't get the impression that she's in mourning. It seems reasonable to infer that the Grande Dame is ill. This is strong motivation for her to have written to the Brothers Grimm. Her desire to tell the truth of her great-great grandparents' romance and life, so she could set the record straight about her great-great grandmother, before she herself is gone.
24th Sep 2018
Alien (1979)
Question: In the last scene when Ripley is escaping in the shuttle, why is the Alien wedged awkwardly in the wall? And why is it so mellow about getting out and killing Ripley?
Answer: The xenomorphs are quite intelligent, despite their savage nature. In this scene, for example, the alien understands that the Nostromo is about to self-destruct, and it correctly anticipates Ripley using a shuttle to escape the blast. The alien carefully hides in the shuttle and goes into a dormant state (so as not to alert Ripley to its presence until they are well underway). When Ripley realises the alien is aboard, she dons her pressure suit and sprays the alien with fire-extinguishing gas to prompt a response. After a startled jump, the alien languidly reveals itself because it is emerging from its dormant state, but also because it knows there is no escape for Ripley in the tiny spacecraft. The implication is that it is in no hurry to kill her, which heightens the tension and horror of the scene.
23rd Sep 2018
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
Question: At the end, how were they supposed to rescue Katniss inside the dome? Because her shooting the wire at the dome just as the lightning struck couldn't have been their plan all along? It just seems like a lot of risk for them getting into the flying machine and waiting outside waiting for her to figure out how to incapacitate the dome and to actually manage it.
23rd Sep 2018
The Village (2004)
Question: What game do the young men play to demonstrate their courage to one another?
Answer: There isn't a particular name for the game they're playing. It was more game of courage of who could stand on the stump with their arms spread out wide the longest without running away scared.
24th Sep 2018
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Question: Would any company in their right mind build a theme park (or any business for that matter) on a private island with a volcano? I know populated areas like Hawaii just assume the risk, but wouldn't a company that has the money to purchase their own island do their due diligence and make sure they won't be prone to a major catastrophe like that?
Answer: As it was stated in the film, the volcano had been dormant for many many years. Presumably even since well before the events of the first Jurassic Park movie in the early 90's. It was only recently, between the events of this film and the prior Jurassic World that the volcano had its surprise re-awakening.
For sure, but dormant simply means that the volcano could one day erupt again, so wouldn't it be pretty foolish to gamble on building a multi-billion dollar theme park with the hope that the volcano will never again erupt?
One would think. But just look at our world's history. Like Pompeii, an entire civilization wiped out cause they lived at the base of a dormant volcano. And then even in more recent history. Mount Saint Helens, which I've actually been to and seen the exhibits and footage of it's destruction. Foolish, yeah. But that doesn't stop us from still doing it repeatedly.
I think it's been made pretty clear over the course of all the films that the people building these parks did not exactly think everything through properly. They took a gamble on the volcano, and they lost.
20th Sep 2018
Sister Act (1992)
Question: Why did Delores not wear the head cover of the habit in the end when they sing for the pope? Her hair is fully visible and she is wearing loop earrings.
17th Sep 2018
Sleepover (2004)
4th Sep 2018
Friends (1994)
Question: How come the gang never knew about Gunther having feelings for Rachel?
Answer: He never openly expressed his feelings, but the friends also never paid much attention to him or thought of him as anything more than Rachel's one-time boss and the person who serves them coffee. Just before Rachel is to leave for Paris in the last season, she acknowledges Gunther's feelings when he says goodbye and that he loves her. She says she loves him, too, though probably not in the same way, indicating she knows what his feelings are.
3rd Sep 2018
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Question: Just as the bad guy fell into the water two sharks came for him at once, but not for James and Melina (even though he had a wound from earlier). Is there a logical explanation of why the sharks weren't interested in them as well?
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Answer: I wouldn't say they were surprised, exactly. They hadn't seen Harry all summer and their reunion was a bit awkward because Ron and Hermione were squabbling with each other. They didn't expect to see Harry at that moment.
raywest ★