Question: Does anyone by any chance recognize the make and model of that cool black wristwatch the main villain, Johnson, is wearing?
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Question: Okay, so I can't figure out why Paul and Matteo had the whole elaborate ruse set up. Why not just come out by themselves? Why did they set up a stranded boat and take the crew hostage with all of the events in the movie?
Answer: They didn't set it up. They were chasing after the anaconda anyway and were stranded. They still wanted to go after the anaconda after they were picked up, so they lied to the crew. They knew the crew wouldn't go after the anaconda on their own.
Question: When Asajj and Obi-wan are fighting and Asajj says "It will when the truth dies with you", why does she drag her lightsabers on the floor for a moment? I didn't understand the point of doing that.
Answer: It was likely just a scare tactic. General Grievous did basically the same thing in Episode III (although much slower).
Question: All realistic indication by the end of the movie points to the fantasy actually being real, based on strong evidence. (Such as the magical door and chalk, etc.) Is there any strong theories that the fantasy is not real? I know is is ultimately up to the viewer to decide, I am just curious as to whether or not there is any concrete proof the fantasy might not be real.
Answer: Evidence from the film:1) The image of a ram appears frequently in the house, including over the mother's bed and the twisted growth of the tree. An image such as this suggests that the fawn was created from common images.2) The first image is of the magical realm. The the following show Ofelia reading a fantasy book. This inidicates that the movie will be mostly from the point of view of a child who spends time developing her imagination. 3) The images of fascist, war-torn Spain are bleak aand desaturated while the images of the magical realm are bright. Even the monochromatic images of el Fauno are supersaturated. This filming technique suggests that Ofelia creates the fantasy.4) At the end of the movie, the General cannot see Ofelia talking to el Fauno. Therefore, at least for him, the kingdom is fantasy.The proof exists for both. The flower at the end of the film has been cited as evidence that the magical world certainly exists but only for those who choose to see it. This means that the kingdom is both real and not real - a paradox.
Question: In the Kathy Reich novels, is Bones ever actually referred to as "Bones"?
Chosen answer: I have read each Kathy Reichs novel and nowhere in them is Temperance Brennan called "Bones". The atmosphere of the novels is much darker, grimmer and more down-to-earth than that of the series and the relationships among the characters is more lifelike; the heroine is called "Dr. Brennan" or "Tempe" by everybody, including her on/off lover Det. Andrew Ryan, except for her boss in Montréal who insists on calling her by her full name, Temperance.
Question: In the scene in which Cecelia and Robbie meet in the cafe, when Cecelia says she has to be back at the hospital in thirty minutes, Robbie makes an anguished comment that is extremely difficult to understand. What is the comment that he makes?
Answer: He says "Oh god, that's..." He's upset at the little time they have together.
Question: When Silas is on the phone (00:06:29) confirming that the "Senechaux" and the "Grand Master" are dead, he says that they all confirm the location. Then, when he says, "Independently" (about 00:06:40), on the DVD there are some subtitles that quickly flash on and off, too quick to even catch via frame by frame on DVD player. What do they say?
Answer: "Teacher, all four are dead. The sénéchaux and the Grand Master himself." "Then I assume you have the location." "Confirmed by all. Independently." "I had feared the Priory's penchant for secrecy might prevail." "The prospect of death is strong motivation. It is here. In Paris, Teacher. It hides beneath the Rose in Saint-Sulpice." "You will go forth, Silas."
Question: Is "Uncle" Max the children's real uncle? If he is, on whose side?
Chosen answer: Max is not the children's uncle but a close family friend. He helps the Von Trapps to escape by stalling the announcement the winners of a music concert held at the end. Being the first-place winners, the Von Trapps are announced last, but they have already slipped away into the mountains.
Question: Is the Paris apartment used in Taken the same one as Jason Bourne's apartment in the Bourne Identity?
Chosen answer: No.
Question: If the infected can sense the uninfected due to the uninfected smelling clean and scented (deodorant/perfume), wouldn't the closest approximation be to just stop bathing or showering, and not wearing deodorants/perfumes? Wouldn't one rather be dirty than dead? Am I over-simplifying the situation? Do the infected sense the uninfected using some other method in conjunction with the above, thereby nullifying my hypothesis above?
Answer: I suspect that it's really not that simple. Remember that in the first film, Jim was lying alone in a hospital bed for some considerable time before waking to the deserted London. He would certainly not have smelt clean and fresh, yet he was still clearly detectable as prey by the infected. While being nice and clean makes it easy for them, it seems clear that it's not the sole indicator that triggers an attack.
Question: Madame Giry has history with the Phantom but she still seems to be frightened by him and wont let Meg go to his lair. Would the Phantom actually harm either of them?
Chosen answer: Mme Giry is afraid of him because while she is his friend and his willing means of communication with the outside world, she knows full well of what he's capable. But unless she betrayed him, it's unlikely he'd harm her as she's the only friend he's ever known. And he would have no more reason to hurt Meg than he would anyone else: if she doesn't get in the way of his plans, she's safe. If her mother prevents her from going to the lair, it only because of the violence that will take place there momentarily.
Answer: I have always thought it was because he has set many automatic traps along the passageway, which only he knows fully how to avoid. The "hand at the level of your eyes" warning was to prevent automated nooses from capturing you.
Question: Was Arcee killed during the final battle? Or did any/all of her survive?
Answer: Only two of the three Arcee units were hit during the final battle, Arcee and Flareup. Whether or not they survived is unable to decide from this movie alone. The only way we'll know for sure is to wait untill the next movie. However, I think the chances they survived are pretty high. Transformers have been known to survive much worse injuries. For example, Bumblebee getting his legs blown off in the first movie, or Jetfire getting his chest ripped out in this one.
Question: When and how does Voldemort become aware of the prophecy and how does he know it is about Harry? Does he know that he caused it to become true by giving Harry is scar?
Chosen answer: Spoiler Alert! Voldemort learned about the prophecy from Severus Snape when he was still a Death Eater. Dumbledore reveals to Harry that shortly before Harry's birth, he interviewed Sybill Trelawney for the Divination teaching position at an inn in Hogsmeade village. Dumbledore felt that Trelawney lacked significant talent and had decided not to offer her the position when she suddenly fell into a trance and related the prophecy to him, although she had no memory of it. Snape was spying on them and overheard the prophecy's first half, although he was discovered and thrown out before hearing its entirety. According to Dumbledore, Voldemort deduced that Harry was "the chosen one" based on clues in the prophecy. It could also have been Neville Longbottom who fit the prophecy, but Harry being a half-blood like himself is probably why Voldemort chose to kill him, thus marking Harry (both literally and figuratively) as his equal when his killing curse failed. Dumbledore believed the prophecy was ultimately unimportant, but because Voldemort thought it was, he determined his and Harry's fate the night he murdered the Potters and gave Harry his scar.
Question: Is it true that near the end of the movie, Skeet Ulrich really cries out in pain (not acting), because Neve Campbell accidentally hit him in an area where he was once injured in real life?
Answer: This is according to IMDb: When Sidney comes out of the closet and stabs Billy with an umbrella, the stunt man was supposed to hit a pad on Skeet Ulrich's chest. The first hit got the pad but the second one slipped and hit him in the chest (you can see it in his reaction). Wes Craven kept it in because of its authenticity.
Answer: Yes, confirmed by Wes Craven in the DVD commentary as well. Skeet Ulrich had open-heart surgery when he was 10 and there's a stainless steel wire in his chest that causes excruciating pain when touched. The stuntwoman was wearing the mask, which impairs vision quite a bit, and the second time around she really hit that sweet spot that caused the reaction you see in the movie.
Question: How much time does this movie cover? I ask because when Sykes is being interrogated, he says he was questioned about Helen Kimble's murder a year ago. And Nichols says that Lentz died last summer, but Richard saw him at the fundraiser the same night his wife died. Is this a mistake or is there something I'm missing?
Chosen answer: Murder investigations are not, as a rule, speedy processes; it's quite plausible that a year could have passed between Helen Kimble's murder and her husband's conviction for the crime. The police have to gather evidence, question witnesses, put their case together and so forth. The main body of the film, from Kimble's escape onwards, probably only covers at most a few weeks, but Helen Kimble would undoubtedly have died some considerable time prior to that. The time periods stated in the film are quite reasonable.
Answer: The timeline of events is Fundraiser, Emergency surgery, Helen killed, Richard arrested/held in jail for trial, Sykes questioned, Lentz dies in car crash, Richard convicted, Richard escapes. Lentz was alive when Helen was killed, he was killed while Richard was in prison which is why Richard doesn't realise until closer to the end that Lentz is dead. With Sykes saying he was interviewed about Helen's death over a year ago it leads us to believe the timeline of the movie is 12-18 months.
Answer: Sam Gerard and his team question the one armed man in his residence, they show him a picture of Richard Kimble and suspect him of murdering his wife. He replies, he went over this a year ago with the police.
Question: Why can't Henry save his mother from being in the car crash? Couldn't he have warned her when they met on the subway?
Answer: He could have had Claire distract her long enough to delay her car ride and miss the accident.
Answer: Of course not. Why would she listen to him? He's a total stranger. And if he tells her he's her time-travelling son, she'll think he's a nutjob to boot. It's well-established in the book that he tried everything to save her but could never do so, which made him recognise a well-accepted convention of time-travelling lore: big past events can never be changed. Diana Gabaldon wrote an excellent and extensive essay on time-travelling laws, which is probably still available somewhere on the Internet.
Question: Is it ever implied what happened to the other Basterds? Obviously, Hugo and Wilhelm die in the Mexican standoff. Donnie and Omar die in the explosion. Aldo and Utivitch are seen at the end. But what of the missing Basterds?
Answer: The implication is only Aldo and Utivitch survived.
Answer: Hirschberg and one of the other unnamed Basterds were visible in the vet clinic when Bridget von Hammersmark was getting her leg attended to. Since the Basterds' next mission involved infiltrating the Nazi film premiere, some members may have been instructed to remain elsewhere so as not to risk arousing suspicion.
Question: Why was the platoon making such a big deal about wearing shirts during their exercises? I would think they would be better off wearing shirts so they would not get a sunburn. So what was the big deal?
Chosen answer: Gunny Highway insisted that they all wear the same shirts as he himself was wearing. If they showed up in a different one, he made them go shirtless. The reasons for this were 1) to break through their rebellious attitudes and teach them to follow his orders, 2) to make them look and feel unified, and 3) to develop resourcefulness and adaptability in them.
To also display esprit de corp to other units gaining them respect from those units as well as command leadership.
Question: In the scene where Tommy believes he is being made, right after he walks into the room you hear him say "Oh no!" right before he is shot. Tommy obviously realizes that he was set up. However, what is it that he sees in the room that tips him off?
Answer: He was expecting a crowded room full of friends congratulating him. Also it was common knowledge among the mafia that being walked into an empty room when you were due to be made meant you were about to be executed, so Tommy likely knew he'd met his end just moments before the shot.
Answer: A man being 'made' is an event shrouded in ceremony. The top people in the family are there, among others to congratulate the new soldier. Tommy walked into an empty room.
Just as others have pointed out, the film implies Tommy realised something was wrong the moment he walked in and saw the place was empty...no other "made men" there for the ceremony. However, I always wondered why he hadn't caught on to what was happening when he saw there were only a couple vehicles parked out in the driveway.
Answer: Either the fact that the room was empty (being made is a big ceremonial event with many people) or he felt the gun pressed against the back of his head right before they shot him.
Answer: There should have been more people waiting for him.
Answer: Wasn't the floor covered with a plastic sheet? That would have given it away.
Or it was a floor with no carpet (tiled, I believe)...easier to mop up.
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Chosen answer: The film credits Hamilton Watches. Since Jason Statham uses a Officine Panerai Watch, I think, the villain uses a Hamilton. It's a nice watch, but I can't find that model on Hamilton's web site.