Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: I know that this film was set in the 1990s but even then, was smoking permitted on US submarines? It would seem a bit odd given that the crew are relying on recycled oxygen.

Answer: In the most technical sense ("by the book") it is against policy. But then, the Marines do not allow tattoos and look how well that's enforced. It is up to the ship's Captain to enforce such regulations, and at sea, there's no one to penalize him if he chooses to let the crew smoke at certain times, given certain conditions.

johnrosa

Question: When both Rohan and Gondor are at the Black Gate, there is a deleted scene where Aragorn fights with Sauron. How would this be possible seeing that Sauron can only come into physical form once Mordor have taken the ring?

Answer: He fights an emissary of Sauron's who's called "The Mouth of Sauron," not Sauron himself.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: Something that I was confused about: in the later movies, Vader supposedly can't breathe for long without the respirator in his suit. However, in this movie, there has to have been several minutes from the time Obi-wan leaves him lying on the ground, to the time Palpatine arrives, and the time that the medical ship arrives. Later, when his armor is being put on, he lies on the table before his mask is put on, and has to be breathing on his own. If he could breathe on his own right after his accident, shouldn't he have been able to twenty years later (after his injuries have probably healed somewhat)?

Answer: After the battle on Mustafar, Anakin's basically keeping himself alive through sheer force of will more than anything else; once rescued, he's being helped by the Imperial medics and the Emperor's own power. His lungs have been badly seared - he's still capable of breathing, but much less efficiently than when he was healthy - the respirator built into his suit compensates for those injuries. Twenty years on, when Luke removes the helmet to see his father's face, Anakin's body has been nearly fried by the Emperor's Force lightning - he's already dying. Taking the helmet off might accelerate that, but he's happy to sacrifice what would only be a few more minutes of life to see his son with his own eyes.

Tailkinker

Answer: Not that I recall. He was usually seen in his squad car.

Cubs Fan

Show generally

Question: I've noticed this in other Anime, but I see it a lot in Naruto; quite frequently the characters run with their arms straight behind their backs. Is there any reason for this? I spent a little time in Japan but I never saw anyone run this way.

Answer: That is just a style used by some animators. It is easier to keep the arms in one position than to draw them in motion. And it makes it look funnier.

papajim

Question: In the scene where Reese is asking Lucius Fox for 10 million dollars to keep Batmans ID secret, why did Reese change his mind? What part of Lucius Fox's dialogue made Reese hesitate and change his mind?

Answer: Fox subtly pointed out that Batman/Bruce Wayne is an individual who would not respond well to blackmail. Wayne is extremely rich and powerful, and could crush Reese financially and socially without ever leaving his office, and his Batman side is a violent vigilante who would not hesitate to beat the tar out of criminals, such as blackmailers. Fox simply made Reese realize what a bad idea it would be to anger either of the two personas, and a terrible idea to attack both of them.

Twotall

Question: In the bank robbery at the beginning of the movie, the Joker and his henchman are being shot at by the Bank Manager. They decide to return fire and the henchman says something to the Joker. He jumps up and starts shooting but the Joker delays a few seconds before jumping up and shooting the Bank Manager. The Henchman then says to the Joker, "Where did you learn to count?" My question is, what was said before they decide to return fire?

Answer: He says "He's out, right?", basically asking if the bank manager has any ammunition left, based on how many shells a gun of that type should carry. The Joker thinks for a moment, then nods, so the henchman stands up to fire, thinking that he's safe, that the manager is out of bullets. Unfortunately, the Joker having lied, he's wrong and ends up getting shot. The Joker then stands up and shoots the manager, having maneuvered his henchman into taking the last bullet.

Tailkinker

Question: When the old Biff gives the Sports Almanac to his younger self, he cautions him that in the future, a teenage kid and an old man claiming to be a scientist will ask him about that book. The old Biff surely knew who they were; why didn't he give his younger self their names, Marty McFly and Doctor Emmet Brown?

Allister Cooper, 2011

Chosen answer: Old Biff did not count on his young version to be able to remember names. He knew what he was like at that age, and knows that young Biff with his short attention span and hotheaded nature would not be prone to remember much details, so he leaves them out.

Twotall

Chosen answer: Demi wrote a song for her castmates and the crew of Camp Rock, which she performs for them on the last day of the shoot, when principal photography wrapped on 10-6-07. The line, "We'll never be too cool for Camp Rock 3" got laughs, just before she was overcome with emotion by the last verse.

Super Grover

Question: How could Auto act against his directive? He's playing the top-secret order he got (never to come back to Earth) in front of the captain, yet isn't able to act against it again because things might have changed in the 700 years since the order was received. And in the face of the new evidence (the plant), doesn't that contradict the order?

Answer: One of the key points of the movie is that programming can evolve - WALL-E being the most obvious case in point. After all this time, Auto's entitled to be somewhat erratic in how he deals with things. Besides, he's still very firm on his primary directive, to prevent the return to humanity to Earth - keeping the existence of that directive a secret is rather less critical. As for the plant, that does very little to invalidate the directive. It may show that the principles underlying that directive are flawed, but Auto's not got the leeway to deal with that. The directive still stands.

Tailkinker

Question: When Cypher is in the restaurant with Smith, is this before he was set free from the Matrix? I'm not too sure if it was the same for him, but I know they try and get them when they are young rather than older, so if it was during him being free, would he have been caught?

Answer: Cypher was out of the matrix when he met Smith at the restaurant. Like those on the ship, he had to plug into the system anytime he wanted to go into the Matrix. Cypher was being used as a mole by Smith to get to Morpheus. There would be no reason to take him out as he was working with them.

Lummie

Question: Is the beer that HB and Abe drink a real brand name or fictitious?

Answer: Tecate is a real brand of Mexican beer.

Question: What does Riddler sing just before the final fight on the sub?

Answer: The Riddler doesn't sing at all. He yells to the henchmen on board, "Prepare to repell boarders!" He does it in a almost musical way, true, but there's no song.

CCARNI

Show generally

Question: One of the jokes I've never really gotten - on Quahog's news show, why do Tom and Diane point out that other reporters are Asian, Hispanic, etc?

Answer: Most likely it is a joke on the reporters being a example of racial tokenism. For example Tricia Takanawa name, face, accent are of a stereotype Asian. The fact they refer to them by a race or ethnicity is more of a joke about that.

Lummie

Chosen answer: Seeing as this is *scripted* television, they of course knew.

JC Fernandez

Question: Still can't quite get this to make sense: why would the citizens of Gotham buy the story that Batman killed the five people, as planned by Gordon and Batman in the effort to maintain Dent's status as a hero, so as to keep hope alive? Last word from Harvey was to the reporter: "Batman saved my ass." Other reasons the fake story might not be believed are that Batman has never killed anybody before. As well, what would his motivation be? Are they planning to cover up the kidnapping of the Gordons, saying that Batman was there alone with Harvey Dent and killed Harvey? Why would any of that happen? And asking the Gordon family who underwent trauma to lie about how it happened is taking a big chance, especially since there are kids involved, who might slip. Thematically, the ruse makes sense, and it makes sense that Batman would be willing to be hunted. But I don't see why the citizens wouldn't question why he killed the people.

Answer: Harvey's never killed anybody before either, and what would his motivation be? In the absence of direct evidence, people will generally believe what they find it most comforting. The citizens of Gotham will not want to believe that the decent, trust-worthy, law-abiding man that they elected as their protector could have been torn down and turned into a monster, dispensing life or death at the flip of a coin. Batman, on the other hand, is entirely self-appointed, hides his identity and uses tactics that are often very similar to those of the criminals themselves - people would find it far easier to believe that he could somehow snap and descend to killing. Yes, there will always be questions, rumours about what really happened, but the vast majority of people will accept the fake story that they're presented with, simply because it's easier for them to do so than to consider the alternatives.

Tailkinker

Question: Why doesn't Wayne Enterprises conduct business in the same building as in Batman Begins? The building is seen in the background during the scene with the Joker firing the machine gun at Batman whilst he's on the Batpod. It was damaged at the end of Batman Begins, but the next day Fox is holding a meeting there when Earle walks in, and after 6/8 months when this film takes place I would have thought it would have been repaired.

Answer: A company the size of Wayne Enterprises would have multiple buildings. As much of Bruce's interest revolves around the applied sciences and research and development divisions, he presumably decided to use the building that contained those areas as the company's main base of operations.

Tailkinker

Question: What exactly happened to the FBI agent who got locked inside Jigsaw's room? And how can Hoffman know that Rigg won't escape and give away his true identity? He didn't look that badly wounded to me.

Answer: Recent previews for "Saw V" have revealed that Strahm (the FBI agent locked inside Jigsaw's room) is still alive and will play a role in the upcoming sequel, though we don't know to what extent. Hoffman can be sure Rigg won't escape, because he was shot in the abdomen and was losing a great deal of blood, and by the time help arrives, he will most likely be dead from the wound. Remember, Hoffman is a forensic agent and is probably good at judging the lethality of wounds such as Rigg's.

Question: If Otto can't get his feet out of the wet cement, how on earth does he manage to extract his entire body?

Answer: It was comic license...how did he survive being run over with a five ton piece of heavy machinery or falling off an airplane? Don't read too much into it.

Answer: And how was Archie, covered in whatever was in that waste barrel, allowed on the plane? I forgive it anything. Comic performances never get Oscarsâ„¢. Kevin Kline pulled one out of the Academy by force.

Question: Was Kristina Wayborn's descent from the balcony (in which she tips herself backwards and slides down using her sari as a rope) really carried out as shown? I would have thought that she should plummet to the ground much faster - too fast to be sure of landing feet first - and risk a broken bone or more. Are we to assume that Bond girls have magical powers or that the sequence was slowed down for dramatic effect?

Answer: It didn't happen as shown; that would be impossible and highly dangerous. Tricky camera angles, safety equipment, and carefully choreogrphed stunt work helped make this appear like one, continuous fluid motion.

raywest

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