raywest

15th Oct 2017

Frasier (1993)

Answer: Over multiple seasons, a long-running show's details can often change or are inadvertently forgotten, creating plot holes. This would be such an example.

raywest

6th Oct 2017

It (2017)

Question: Why does this version of Pennywise look so scary as opposed to Tim Curry's version? Tim's version looks harmless enough that children would definitely go up to him but Bill's version would certainly have scared a child even today.

Answer: It's a matter of artistic choice to create a different look and mood from its predecessor. The filmmakers of the new movie made Pennywise more overtly malevolent, whereas the Tim Curry version portrayed the character as benevolent looking to hide an evil interior, and be able to more easily gain children's trust..

raywest

Answer: Artistic choice, and (directly or indirectly) being more faithful to the original novel. Pennywise's appearance in this film is almost an exact replica of the book's descriptions, with a 19th century style added to it, and some minor changes.

Question: Why did Frodo decide to go to Mordor alone with Sam, and not bring the others with him?

Answer: Frodo did not want any more of the Fellowship to risk their lives on his behalf. He felt the ring quest was his burden alone. There was no way Sam was going to be left behind, so Frodo gave in and let him go along.

raywest

Question: When the crew are in the two cages hanging down and then start climbing up the side, Will is talking about getting to the black pearl. Someone in the other cage says something like, "actually it can be done with six", followed by "oh dear". All the men in both cages suddenly start climbing frantically. What was said exactly and what was the joke?

Answer: Will says that once they escape and get back to the Black Pearl, it will take all of them to sail the ship. Leech, the pirate in the other cage, corrects him, saying that, actually, a minimum of six men could crew it. Leech's, "Oh dear," comment is when he and everyone simultaneously realise that whoever escapes first will take control of the ship. Will, Gibbs, and the rest of Jack's crew know that Leech and the other pirates have no loyalty to Sparrow, and if they commandeer the Black Pearl, they'll strand everyone else on the island. It then becomes a race to reach the cliff top first.

raywest

Answer: Will says "we'll need all the men to launch the pearl" Leech corrects him saying they'd only need about six. Both cages realise that they only need one cage, and can leave the others to die. This is why Leech says "oh, dear." And why he tries to continue to climb up after the tribesmen appears on the bridge. Will, most likely wouldn't have left the others though.

MasterOfAll

Answer: Earlier, during the conversation between Will and Gibbs, Gibbs says "Jack's life will end when the drums stop." This is what Leech (the man who says "oh dear") is referring to, as the drums stop.

Answer: The joke is that it has now become a race to escape as either group can getaway without the other and will leave them behind.

Phixius

10th Oct 2017

The Patriot (2000)

Question: At the end of the movie, Martin stabs Tavington in the stomach, and then in the throat. How does he know Tavington is really dead this time? Earlier in the film, Tavington pretended to be dead twice after Martin's sons shot him.

Answer: Guns were less powerful during Revolutionary times and the wounds were more survivable. Deep and ripping knife stabs to areas like the abdomen and the neck area are more likely to be fatal. Tavington may not die instantly, but he would probably bleed out and/or bleed internally fairly quickly.

raywest

Would being stabbed in the stomach, and in the throat have been enough to kill a person as tough as Tavington?

Absolutely. A deep stab to the stomach/intestinal area would be very deadly even today. Being stabbed directly in the throat would kill someone very fast due to a lack of air and inhaling blood into the lungs.

LorgSkyegon

Question: Why did they change Shell cottage belonging to Bill and Fleur after they were married as it was in the book to saying in the movie that it belongs to the order? I know that they change certain things in the movies but doesn't it seem a bit pointless to change just a little thing like that?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Answer: Bill Weasley never said Shell Cottage was owned by the Order. He tells Luna Lovegood that Shell Cottage belonged to his aunt but that the Order now uses it as a safe house.

raywest

7th Oct 2017

Victoria (2016)

The Sins of the Father - S2-E4

Question: It shows the birth of Queen Victoria's 1st son, then the death of Prince Albert's father, but his father died 29th January 1844 and Prince Albert wasn't born until 6th August 1844, how is that possible?

Answer: There seems to be some confusion here. The first son born to Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, was also named Albert (later known as King Edward VII), and was born in August 1844. Prince Albert, Sr.'s father, Ernest I of Germany, died the same year his grandson was born, but the timing of his death would have no bearing on when Albert Jr. was conceived and born. Prince Albert, Sr., Victoria's husband and Albert Jr.'s father, died in 1862. (Victoria's husband was always known as Prince Albert, never as "King Albert" which may explain the confusion.)

raywest

Answer: Actually, I have read that Prince Albert Edward was born in November 1841 and that Prince Albert's father died in January 1844. The timeline is grossly off.

Answer: Pregnancy takes 9 months. Late January to early August is only a little over 6. Albert was conceived before his father died.

8th Oct 2017

Passengers (2016)

Question: Would it be possible for Jim and Aurora to make it to Homestead II if one after another took for example five years of hibernation again and again? If the auto doc would allow such thing. One of them would always become older, then they would change and so on. If I imagine this right, after four periods, that would all take five years, they would became "only" ten years older.

ncaf

Answer: Jim almost went insane after only one year alone aboard the ship, at the beginning of the film. Asking Jim and Aurora to each take turns spending 5 years alone (REPEATEDLY, for the remaining 90 years) would be a psychological hell that they might not survive.

Charles Austin Miller

Chosen answer: Assuming this is something they would want to do, there's no way of knowing if it was medically possible. Continually putting someone into extended hibernation, waking them, then repeating the process may be more than the human body could physically withstand. The autodoc was not designed for long-term hibernation, only short-term for medical purposes. Also, the ship still had 90 years to go before reaching Homestead II, so they would have aged more than ten years.

raywest

Answer: A third person could have been woken up, and if they alternate; two people could stay out of stasis at a time in order to ensure all three have a chance to make it to the colony (each would age 60 years... so they would be old!). The issue with using the pod to suspend someone is that the pod can't be used to medically treat anyone (I would assume).

6th Oct 2017

Jurassic Park (1993)

Question: When the raptors were in the kitchen and one of them chased Tim into the freezer, how did its feet slip on the ground?

wolfpackalpha

Answer: Because there was ice on the ground.

Greg Dwyer

Answer: The island's power had been knocked out by the tropical storm causing the walk-in freezer's contents to melt and cover the floor with slushy water and ice chunks. Earlier, Ellie and Hammond were seen eating the melting ice cream.

raywest

Answer: The ground was visibly covered in ice. One possible scenario is that the people in the kitchens were in a hurry to get to the boat, so they dropped the ice by accident and just left it there.

25th Sep 2017

Twilight (2008)

Question: If Alice can see the future and Edward can read/see thoughts, does that mean when Edward reads Alice's thoughts he can see the future too?

Answer: That is basically true, but Edward knows that Alice's visions are subjective. If someone changes their mind or takes a new course of action, then the vision changes. If Edward is not around Alice when she sees a different vision, he would not know it has changed.

raywest

Question: Is it ever explained how Dobby found out about the Chambers of Secrets and how he believed Harry might be involved? I doubt Lucius or any of his peers would have discussed anything about this in front of Dobby.

Answer: The Malfoys would have had no concerns about discussing anything within earshot of their house elves. Dobby may very well have overheard the Malfoys' conversations. House elves are magically bound to guard everything about their masters' secrets. Breaking that would result in severe punishment or death. Dobby circumvented this restriction as much as he possibly could to warn and protect Harry.

raywest

Question: Why didn't they just tell Cochrane about the Borg? Why didn't Cochrane want to be famous?

Answer: Telling him about the Borg would violate the Prime Directive by giving too much information about the future. The Borg were not supposed to be in that timeline, unlike the Vulcans who, historically, made First Contact with humans at that time. Cochrane does not say why he doesn't want to be famous. There are many reasons people shun celebrity-some are shy and prefer privacy, others don't want to deal with the pressure of having to live up to a reputation that may be inaccurate, it interferes with the work they are trying to achieve, and so on.

raywest

Actually, they did tell him about the Borg. You can tell they told him about the Borg because he said a group of cybernetic creatures from the future have traveled back through time to enslave the human race.

They told him a general story about what's going on. They don't reveal their name, where they are from or their nature.

lionhead

What harm could telling Cochrane about the Borg possibly do?

That could potentially change the timeline too much. They want to preserve the timeline they came from.

lionhead

I'd care more about saving humans from being killed, or enslaved, than about preserving timelines.

It might set humanity on the wrong path, that will lead to more deaths. For example, it could prevent the federation alliance. One can only imagine how the Alpha quadrant will survive Romulan, Klingon and Dominion attacks without the alliance.

lionhead

"Telling him about the Borg would violate the prime directive by giving information about the future." Which is more important, obeying the prime directive, or stopping the Borg from enslaving the human race?

They are first attempting to give as little information as possible to anyone in the past in an attempt to follow the Temporal Prime Directive. Any small change could have larger changes in the future via the butterfly effect.

LorgSkyegon

Answer: When Riker and Cochrane are doing the pre-flight check in the ship, Riker is talking about the historical significance of this launch. Cochrance tells him to shut up, he is tired of everyone he meets telling him what a hero he is, and what this launch means to mankind. He says, "You want why I want I'm doing this. Money and women. I want to buy an island and be served drinks by native girls. I hate space travel. I take trains." However, once the Vulcans land, he truly realises what he's done.

Answer: Cochrane wanted to be famous but in order to get money and women. Cochrane didn't want the hero title and was sick of hearing about all the good he had done.

22nd Sep 2017

Friends (1994)

The One With Monica and Chandler's Wedding, Part 1 - S7-E23

Question: Chandler disappears and leaves a note. Monica doesn't know about this. In the same episode, it turns to morning. Phoebe and Rachel are sitting in their morning-robes, after Rachel tells Phoebe that Ross hasn't seen or heard from Chandler. Monica comes out of her bedroom and she says "I'm getting married today!", still not aware of the fact that Chandler hasn't come home. Ross also says later (in the next episode, I think) that he has been looking for him almost all night. So why hasn't Monica noticed that Chandler never came home?

Answer: It's traditional for the bride and groom not to see each other before their wedding day. Chandler and Monica did not intend to spend the night together.

raywest

22nd Sep 2017

Jurassic Park III (2001)

Question: How did the principal characters end up on opposite sides of the metal fence after they initially escaped from the raptors?

Answer: Alan Grant became separated from the others after escaping the raptors. He was later rescued by Eric, who then took him to his hideout. When they went looking for the Kirbys and Billy, they took a route that put them on the opposite side of the fence.

raywest

Answer: Most likely because of possible broken fences that have either been taken down from being eroded by the elements for a long time, or just straight up an opening, since we don't necessarily know if they did or did not land in a pen when they crashed, but it's safe to assume that there was most likely an opening around them, and they must have gone through that way.

Question: Why did the warden hate the fact that Doc painted a picture of him? Did he think he was mocking him?

Answer: The portrait was deliberately done as an unflattering caricature to mock the warden, thus offending him.

raywest

Answer: There is no specific reason, the warden took away Doc's paintings. When he was in Doc's cell, retrieving his nail clippers, he saw the portrait of himself and had an amused smile, meaning he though it was pretty good.

Obviously, this is not the case as he would not have felt the need to take the painting, despite being an A-hole. The first answer is more likely correct, as he definitely felt mocked or ridiculed based on his actions.

19th Sep 2017

Mr. Brooks (2007)

Question: Does the ending mean that the policewoman gives up on her hunch?

Answer: No, she didn't give up. When "Smith" called Detective Atwood, she realised that it was a different voice (Brooks) and that the police may have fingered the wrong person. She was not the type who would let this go.

raywest

19th Sep 2017

Hogan's Heroes (1965)

The Gold Rush - S1-E18

Question: In this episode, Hogan and company used gold bars disguised as bricks to replace the destroyed wooden steps. However, the next episode, "Hello Zolle", the steps are back to wood. Is this considered a Continuity mistake or was it cost a cost cutting measure?

Movie Nut

Chosen answer: It was neither of those. In earlier TV shows, it was typical that each episode was a self-contained story, and the plots and non-regular characters were rarely carried over from previous shows to the next. Any problems or situations were resolved at the end, even if some plot threads were illogically left unexplained. This allowed episodes to be aired in any random order. Today's TV series usually have ongoing linear timelines and continuous plots that are played out over multiple seasons.

raywest

Question: Is Lokar based on a real person?

Answer: No, he's a fictional character, but could be a composite of multiple people.

raywest

I don't what you mean by a composite of multiple people.

Taking plot-relevant characteristics, behaviour, roles, etc. of a few different real life people and putting them all into one new character. While technically fictional, he might share traits with real people.

Question: Who organized and ordered the killing of all the dons at the meeting where only a few come out unharmed. And why?

Answer: Don Altobello was behind the plot to assassinate the other Dons. The motive had to do with the Immobiliare deal that Michael had attempted to keep free of any Mafia involvement.

raywest

7th Sep 2017

Thunderball (1965)

Question: When Angelo Palazzi is gassing the jet crew, there is a voice mixed into the crew's gasps saying "Answer the question." Has anyone else ever heard this?

Answer: I just watched this movie, and in this scene, while I didn't hear that particular phrase, there is constant talking by the air traffic controller over the radio requesting routine information from the crew about their flight status. The conversation became more urgent when the stricken crew were no longer responding. In that event, a logical comment from the controller would be, "Answer the question."

raywest

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