Question: When Van Helsing is freeing Frankenstein's Monster from the roof, he can't unbuckle the restraints. He says, "This is going to hurt." and then yanks on something. What exactly does he do? It just looks like he's undone the straps.
Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more
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Question: In the part of the movie when the science teacher and Drew Barrymore are sitting in the staff room, what does their conversation mean? Science teacher says, "Donnie Darko." and Drew Barrymore says, "I know." What significant plot does this have?
Answer: According to the audio commentary, "they're being manipulated and they are aware that something is going on with this kid and are laughing about it." Director's commentary is very interesting.
Question: Does anyone know the number plate of the Mystery Machine?
Answer: In the cartoons, it's AC-712. The film was probably faithful to this.
Question: During the buffalo hunt, Smiles A Lot's horse falls over, causing him to fall off. But I can never figure out why the horse falls to begin with. He's standing still, and there are no buffalo nearby to spook him. Even if he were spooked by something unseen, how would that cause him to fall over, rather than just bolt?
Chosen answer: The buffalo that later charges Smiles A Lot comes up and butts into the side of his horse, knocking it over. It can't clearly be seen because of the way the shots change, but that's what happens.
Question: Maybe I just missed something, but what's going on with Dunbar's military superior that he meets at the fort out west? He seems to think he's a king or something, referring to the frontier as the "realm" and Dunbar's travel companion as a "peasant." At the end of the scene he salutes Dunbar very sarcastically and then shoots himself. What does any of that have to do with the story?
Chosen answer: It shows that the officer was mentally disturbed, and he was the only one in the fort who knew about Dunbar's assignment. It sets the story up so that Dunbar could live with the Indians without the Army interfering with his life (No one expected any communications to or from Dunbar).
Answer: So why was his journal so important to him? He knows lots of soldiers and many other whites are coming.
Answer: Because it documented his time at the fort and with the Indians and also what he learned from them during the period when he arrived before the Army did show up - This would have been crucial if there had been any trial which there was not as the Sioux rescued him from the situation.
Question: When they're flying on the plane, Scully starts breathing deeply and looks like she's afraid of flying. Has this ever been explained later? In all the later episodes, they never say she was afraid of flying.
Answer: She's afraid in this scene because the plane has encountered turbulace and is diving down. No fear of flying has ever been mentioned.
Question: Jack Sparrow was never cursed by the "aztec gold medallion" until near the end of the movie, he grabbed one gold medallion. At that time, he and Will started to fight the cursed pirates and it has been shown to all the watchers that he, Jack cannot be killed, after Barbossa stabbed him. Knowing that the cursed pirates were looking for William Turner's blood (he wasn't cursed, nor was Elizabeth Swan) to disenchant the curse, how come Jack Sparrow cut his hand too? If Jack is cursed, how can he bleed?
Answer: It's shown on at least one other occasion (when Elizabeth stabs Barbossa) that those under the effects of the curse do bleed when stabbed. They have to in order to lift the curse, which requires a sacrifice of blood from each person affected by it, or, in Bootstrap Bill Turner's case, a close blood relative (namely his son).
Question: During the "Burly Brawl" battle, does the chanting of the chorus actually mean anything in some language?
Answer: Lyrics can be found in the Matrix: Revolutions soundtrack. They don't have a major meaning.
Question: Admittedly the sound on my copy of this movie is lacking somewhat but when Paul is researching Arrakis and Gurney et all enter I swear I can hear the trailer for the movie playing in the background. Am I correct on this?
Answer: No. At least, not on the DVD I have. It does play the title tune in the background, though.
Answer: The beginning narration is playing softly, as if it's coming from whatever computer Paul was doing research on. Like he was watching a movie about the world he is living in, which is sort of odd.
Question: Why did Van Helsing blow that knockout dust into Anna's face? It seemed to have no connection to the plot of the movie.
Answer: To prevent her from going off to find Dracula or his brides - she was refusing to wait until the next day to go with Van Helsing as he had repeatedly asked.
Question: Why did Vermeer's wife call the painting obscene? I'm sure there's more than 1 interpretation of it.
Answer: As with most paintings, there are undoubtedly different interpretations - everyone has their own views. In the movie, Vermeer's wife felt that it was obscene - that's her interpretation. A number of art critics have commented on a 'subtle eroticism' in the painting, and this may be what is being alluded to, using Catherina to carry the message across. It's worth pointing out that a number of Vermeer experts have disagreed quite vehemently with the portrayal of Catherina in the film - surviving historical evidence would seem to indicate that Vermeer's marriage was a happy one.
Answer: Because her mouth was slightly open.
Answer: Because it was a picture of a servant.
Question: In the middle of the movie, one of the doctors tells the others of John Merrick, aka The Elephant Man. They show him for a few seconds Disrobed.. What is the point of showing Merrick in the movie? This scene seems totally isolated from the rest of the plot. It almost feels like they had an extra minute to kill and decided to add it in.
Answer: In the original book, Merrick's appearance is used to show William Gull's education, expertise as an anatomist and that he recognises and respects cultural diversity - Gull assures Merrick that, had he been born in India, he would be worshipped as a descendant of the elephant-headed god, Ganesa. In this spirit, Gull even offers the victim of his first Ripper slaying to Ganesa as a sacrifice, as Indians make a sacrifice to Ganesa at the beginning of an important enterprise. Merrick is present as a vehicle to establish the rich nature of Gull's character. When it comes to the film, however, this subtlety is completely lost - it seems very much that the scriptwriter noted Merrick's appearance in the book and felt that it would be cool to include the character in his script. As such, as you point out, it does feel that Merrick's presence, stripped of the subtleties of the book, is almost entirely pointless.
Question: Counting his role on Cheers, Kesley Grammar has played Fraiser for twenty years. Is this the record for the longest portrayal of a character by a TV actor?
Answer: It equals the record of James Arness of "Gunsmoke" for the actor who's played the same part on TV NOT in a soap opera. If you include soaps there are two main contenders - William Roache, who's been playing Ken Barlow in "Coronation Street" in the UK since 1960. Don Hastings has been playing Robert Hughes in US soap "As the World Turns" since 1960 as well.
The One With The Jellyfish - S4-E1
Question: When Ross and Rachel are fighting, Chandler hides behind the door and bursts out saying, "I knew it!" When Rachel says, "It's not that common, it doesn't happen to every guy, and it is a big deal!" is this just a Chandler moment or is there another joke I have missed?
Answer: The statements that she's contradicting (that it is common, it happens to every guy, and it's not a big deal), are the things that a woman commonly says to a man who is suffering from erectile difficulty, typically to assuage his bruised ego. However, most men do not believe that these statements are true, as evidenced by Chandler's outburst. He's so caught up in the proof that women are lying about it that he gives himself away.
Question: Are the pizza delivery guy and The Caller two different characters? I was always under the impression that they were one and the same.
Answer: The pizza man is intended by the Caller to be a decoy so he can get away. The Caller sends the pizza man to the phone booth so that Stu will identify him later in the apartment, giving the police a convenient answer to the mystery while the real Caller escapes. In fact, at the end of the movie, the Caller comes to visit Stu - obviously he's not the dead pizza delivery man.
Question: What was the name of the episode (I think it was in season 9) where Abby, Susan, Carter, Kovac, and Gallant open a bag that a hooker brought in and start playing around with the toys inside? They got sent to a seminar on sexual harrassment, but the lecturer never showed up, so they spent the whole day sitting around and talking.
Answer: It was in season 8, it was called Secrets and Lies. It first aired on 3/07/02.
Question: When is Gordon Gekko's birthday?
Answer: The 6th of May.
Question: In the resurrection scene, the stone rolls away and Christ walks out of the tomb. According to the gospels, didn't Christ arise and leave the tomb, then an angel rolled away the stone? The gospels later say that he appeared in a room where the apostles were, even though the doors were locked. This is one basis of the constant Christian teaching that the resurrected, glorified bodies of Christ and the saved in heaven are no longer subject to the laws of physics.
Question: During Rex Harrison's entire performance as Julius Caesar his arms and legs are covered by garments underneath his military garb and robes, even while in Egypt. The other Romans as would be expected have bare legs and arms. Was Harrison suffering from some skin condition or was he too shy or embarrassed of his limbs to show them in the film?
Answer: The people of higher rank would usually have more or better armor so in his case that would probably be extra armor for his legs and arms.
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Answer: VH says 'I can't loosen the bolts' - the straps have been bolted into the monster's flesh. You can see a small blood spurt if you look carefully off to the left of the screen as he pulls the strap.
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