Question: What happened to Dr. Jackson? I know that he "ascended," but what does that mean/do? Do the actor plan to permanently return to the show, or is he no longer a part of the regular ensemble?
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Question: Where were the other Wizards during the fight for Middle-Earth?
Answer: There are only five wizards. Saruman and Gandalf are heavily involved, as we see. Radagast, while not mentioned in the film, has a particular affinity with the birds and animals - it is he who sends the Eagles to the last battle, and to rescue Gandalf from Isengard. The final two, Alatar and Pallando, known as the Blue Wizards, went into the far eastern regions of Middle-Earth and never returned. Tolkien felt that they would ultimately have fallen from grace, much as Saruman did.
Question: When firing a missile, why do the pilots always precede it with the word Fox (e.g 'Fox 1.')? Also, what significance does the phrase 'pile the road' mean?
Answer: "Fox One" represents the launch of a semi-active, radar-guided air-to-air missile, "Fox Two" stands for the launch of an heat-seeking air-to-air missile, "Fox Three" is the launch of an active, radar-guided air-to-air missile and "Fox Four" is the firing of air-to-air guns. Source http://www.jimclonts.com/gloss.htm. The President says "Plough the road", meaning he wants a path cleared for Randy Quaid's plane.
Question: What actually happens at the end of this film? I know that JT escapes down a staircase and therefore is not killed, but why is there a body? You see Halle Berry get shot, but at the end of the film she is on the boat with Travolta. If he is a good guy, why did he kill all those people? Does Halle Berry actually work for DEA? If not then what is the wire for?
Answer: JT is exactly who he says he is. He leaves a body behind to fool the FBI/CIA into thinking he is dead. Jackman would have believed it too had he not seen him heading down the stairs and the surgically altered corpse. Berry was not hurt, the wire, the DEA story and her getting shot were all parts of a ploy for Jackman to trust and confide in her, making it easier for Travolta to make Jackman do what he wanted. Travolta didn't actually kill any hostages directly himself, (though he did put them in that situation, he is by no means Mr. Innocent) - had the police done what he asked, no one would have been hurt at all. So basically, he IS a good guy, but his methods are somewhat morally lacking.
Question: As I watched the end scene I wondered: how do James and Domino intend to return to terra firma? They were whisked out of the boat by the plane and are hanging on the end of a long cord so the plane can't land without them being dragged at high speed along the concrete.
Answer: Look up Skyhook online and you'll find out how it was done. The person hanging from the cable wold be pulled aboard by the plane's crew.
Answer: A helicopter could lower a line to them to attach themselves to. They could then cut the rope and be lowered to safety. A bit outlandish, but this is Bond we are talking about after all.
Question: In the song "Jesus Christ Superstar" Judas sings "Israel in 4 B.C. had no mass communication". Why is he singing about that specific year? Even with the miscalculation in the Gregorian calendar, Christ still died around 30 A.D. So why that year in the song?
Answer: First, the lyricist is taking a little artistic license to make the line fit the cadence of the song. Second, there has for some time been a debate over the exact year Jesus Christ was born. Traditionally, it is accounted as the year 1 AD. However, the Bible says that Jesus was born in the time of Herod the Great, who died in 4 BC, so he must have been born in that year or before it, assuming that date is correct. Furthermore, the Magi supposedly noted an astronomical event that drove them to visit the newborn Christ; there was an alignment of planets in 6 BC that would qualify nicely. In any case, the line in the song is meant to refer to whenever Jesus arrived in Israel: his birth.
Question: What is the black strap Mike's wearing around his neck with his uniform for? It looks kinda cool, but I don't see the purpose.
Answer: I'm not entirely sure when you mean, but at the start of the film he wears a black band round his neck that is actually his radio system. It is pressed against the skin and allows subvocal radio communication.
Question: Do Russian sailors not use port and starboard? A few times Sean Connery used left and right.
Answer: Russians say "pravy bort" and "levy bort" (right board, left board), and "pravo rulya"/"levo rulya" (steer right, steer left). There are no special naval terms for right and left.
Answer: The term starboard derives from the Old English steorbord, meaning the side on which the ship is steered. Since the steering oar was on the right side of the boat, it would tie up at the wharf on the other side. Hence the left side was called port (an English term for wharf). Makes sense that Russia doesn't use Old English terms.
Question: Sirius' beard looks very full. Did Gary Oldman have to grow it all out, or were parts of it real and others added as a part of his costume?
Answer: Sirius' beard had to be grown out and then they added some artificial parts to it to make it look like it does in the movie.
Question: Could someone please tell me the name of the song that starts playing in the news room, when that wild party starts?
Answer: It's a parody of the "Coors twins" song that plays during the Superbowl.
Question: What is the name of the catchy techno music that plays over the freeway chase, and where can I obtain it?
Answer: I believe the song is called "Mona Lisa Overdrive" by Juno Reactor. You could find this on the Matrix Reloaded soundtrack, I don't know where else.
Question: When Gabriel killed Dracula 400 years ago, what turned him into a vampire? Because if he was already a vampire, obviously Gabriel didn't kill him.
Answer: After being killed - "murdered" as Dracula stated several times - by Van Helsing, Dracula made a deal with the Devil to regain his life. Carl tells his story when telling Van Helsing and Anna everything that he has learnt.
Question: Why did the big freeze-over happen during the eye of the storm, and why was it then safe for Dr. Hall to continue his journey north?
Answer: Earlier in the film, Hall's team analyzes the Scotland helicopter incident and determines that it was caused by a new meteorological phenomenon like a reverse hurricane. Air from the upper atmosphere was pulled down to ground level, but remained at the temperature of the troposphere (-150 F). The eye of the storm is where the vortex from the troposphere to the surface terminates, with the air then moving outward with the storm and warming to ground temperature. This is why the freezing happens during the eye of the storm. Dr. Hall is safe continuing after the eye passes as conditions will get steadily better because he is passing out of the storm, until it abruptly ends overnight.
Question: At the beginning of the film, Jack Hall quickly explains how global warming could cause an ice age by altering the global ocean currents. The explanation is short and I didn't catch all of it. Could someone explain in more detail, preferably as simply as possible?
Chosen answer: Global warming melts the icecaps, releasing millions of tons of fresh water into the oceans. This upsets the delicate environmental balance of the oceans, leading to the ocean currents stopping. It's these currents that carry warm water up into the Northern Hemisphere, causing our temperate climate. The currents stop, everything cools down, fast.
Question: I was chatting with my friends when I saw this film, and I think I missed an important bit. The Americans open something that brings a curse on them, yet O'Connell and company are the ones to open the actual sarcophagus. What are the Americans opening; and why does that bring on a curse, but not the revealing of the actual mummy?
Answer: According to ancient Egyptian tradition, four major organs (liver, intestines, stomach, lungs) were removed from the body during the mummification process and preserved in canopic jars that were buried with the deceased. The Americans found Anck Su Namun's jars whilst O'Connell and company found the sarcophagus in which Imhotep was buried alive. After Evie recites the curse that brings Imhotep to life, he needs these organs to bring Anck Su Namun back, leading him to hunt down those who are in possession of them. The opening of the sarcophagus doesn't actually invoke any curse and neither does the Americans opening the chest, contrary to what Beni says. The "curse" is only a warning that they shall become part of Imhotep's curse by taking the jars he needs.
Answer: When the Mahji catch up with Imhotep everything is all right there. They curse him with the Hum Dai, then in an effort to keep things from going bad they place the Book of the Dead and the jars containing the organs of Anak-sun-Amun into a cursed chest hoping it will stop anyone from doing what those stupid yanks did.
Answer: It's just silly screenwriting. The greedy Americans have to die but the heroes can't die, so how about a cursed chest that only the Americans open? Really though there is no logical reason the Egyptians would have put a curse on this particular chest. There's also no reason that Ankhsuamun's organs would be buried with the book of the dead again it's just silly screenwriting. Saves the trouble of having to write another scene or sequence where the organs are discovered separately. Also, lazily explains why Imhotep only targets the Americans for bodily juicy goodness and not the rest of them.
Question: Right before Trinity leaves Neo on the subway station, she tells Neo: "Everything the Oracle told me has come true, except this." She then picks up the phone and vanishes before noticing in horror the agent. What did the Oracle tell her that wasn't true? Was Trinity not (yet) in love with Neo? Had the Oracle told her that Neo should leave the platform first? Or was she referring to Morpheus's rescue, which wasn't supposed to happen?
Answer: You're misinterpreting her statement - when she said "except this", she wasn't saying that something the Oracle had told her was a lie, just that it hadn't come true at that point. The Oracle presumably told her that she and the One would fall in love - by this point, it's clear that she loves him, but, what she doesn't know yet, is whether he loves her. She wants to tell him but, in typically human fashion, is afraid to, for fear of rejection.
Question: Is the Statue of Liberty strong enough to survive that amount of water pressure, or should it have buckled/bent/been destroyed completely?
Chosen answer: The Statue of Liberty *should* have been knocked over by the tidal wave, but the director wanted to create a symbol of American values of "standing up" and persevering.
Question: Why do they place a curse on Imhotep which makes his mummy evil? What would the Egyptians benefit from this?
Answer: It's ultimately a bit stupid, but a side-effect of the horrible punishment they've inflicted on him, making him suffer for so long, is that if ever he's resurrected he'll have powers and be immortal, which is why people are set to make sure he's never awakened. Just killing him would make more sense, but since when does anyone major die easily in films?
Answer: Imhotep was already evil. As for the curse, like Judas it was a living death, even though his body died, his spirit wouldn't enter Heaven or Hell, but remain in limbo. Like a vampire, he was resurrected with supernatural powers.Unbound and all powerful.
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Answer: Daniel "ascended" meaning he became a being of pure energy on a higher plane of existence. This happened because Michael Shanks was unhappy with his parts and wanted to leave the show. After one season with Jonas Quinn (Corin Nemec) as his replacement, Mr. Shanks returned for (presumably) the rest of the series. In the series this was shown as Daniel violating some major rules of the "ascended" and getting "kicked out" and made human again as punishment.
Grumpy Scot