Question: How was Pamela Isley aka Poison Ivy able to fight Batgirl with martial arts-like skills towards the end of the movie? Pamela was a doctor and I highly doubt given her obsession with her research she had the time to take martial arts lessons in her spare time, if she had any during her stay in South America. Even after she transformed into Poison Ivy, her transformation could not have given her martial arts skills since her powers are based on plant abilities.
Answer: That and they had to have the women fight in here. I mean they couldn't have the guys hit her now could they? So it was necessary for her to fight competently at least.
Question: How accurate is the portrayal of the Untouchables, when it comes to names and numbers? Were there actually only four of them? Do Garcia, Connery and Smith play actual people or fictive ones?
Answer: It's about 50% truth and 50% fiction. Ness, Al Capone, and Frank Nitty are real, of course, but the characters played by Connery, Garcia, and Smith are fictional. Ness started out with 50 candidates for his 'Untouchables' force. This was whittled down to 15 finalists and from that he selected 9 agents (none of which has the same name as the characters played by Connery, Garcia, and Smith). It's true that Capone was convicted for tax evasion. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison, but received an early release because he was in the last stages of syphilis. He died shortly after being released from prison.
Capone lived for 8 years upon his release from prison. The 8 years being slightly longer than the actual prison time he served, which was just over 7 years. He died, having the mental capabilities of a 12-year-old.
Question: Why is it a "known fact" that Mary Kelley was killed by Jack the Ripper? Her murder differs in many ways from the others. She was killed indoors, she wasn't wearing any clothes, her body was so savaged that she was unrecognisable. The other murders took place outdoors with victims fully dressed and only partly savaged. Considering the number of violent deaths that took place in London at this time (most of them by slashing the throat) she could have been murdered by anybody. I know Abberline was called to the scene of the crime but that doesn't prove the Ripper actually did it and Abberline was called to more murder scenes than just the five official Ripper ones. What makes people so sure that Jack the Ripper killed Mary Kelley?
Answer: As the Ripper was never caught and interrogated, it can never be said with absolute certainty that Kelly was one of his victims. Her death does, however, fit the pattern of Ripper murders quite well with regard to time, general location, methodology and class of victim. There was also a noted trend of increasing levels of mutilation as the murders went on, so, while the damage was considerably more extensive that the previous killings, that also fits with a noted trend of the Ripper murder - it's also worth considering that, as Kelly was apparently his final kill, he may well have wanted to sign off with a particularly grand statement, hence the extreme level of mutilation to the body. This would also explain why the attack uncharacteristically took place indoors - what Jack had in mind for Kelly would take a considerable period of undisturbed time, more than could be guaranteed in an on-street attack. It's also believed that Jack had been interrupted during the murder of Elizabeth Stride on his previous night of violence some weeks earlier - this could also have led him to alter his modus operandi to ensure that this would not be repeated. So, no, it cannot be stated categorically that Kelly was a victim of Jack the Ripper, however the evidence suggests a high probability that this was the case, enough so that many people consider this to be a fact.
It wasn't Mary Jane Kelly.
The question pertained to the real-life Ripper murders, not what we see in this film. It was indeed Mary Kelly in real life.
Question: The whole point of the trick is to persuade the police that Liz was murdered after having sex with a random stranger. The police decide to accept this suggestion. Why do they accept this, when they know that a woman pretending to be Liz's mother called the school to say Liz wouldn't come in - ie. the police know that a woman must have been involved, yet they decide it was just a man who did it?
Answer: They have no reason to follow up the call or never did all they know is that she was at home.
Question: When Ethan Hawk takes a new life, does he have to shave his fingerprints/get plastic surgery/new teeth etc. because when he started he looked way different than the present day Ethan.
Answer: Yes, he must do this to truly feel like the different person he is trying to be. Also, so the police won't suspect anything if his traits don't match his identity.
Question: What was the whole thing of not wanting to turn in the $987,000 they found in the car because it would make them appear untrustworthy? Why would all cops distrust them for handing it in? I get that dirty cops would be annoyed but when they were counting it in the precinct, every cop was drawing them daggers.
Answer: The idea is if cops wouldn't take a million dollars for themselves, free and clear without risk, they are impeccably honest. Therefore, they wouldn't accept bribes and probably not hold still for shakedowns or payoffs. They wouldn't cover up drug or weapon planting and would testify against crooked cops.
Question: Am I mistaken, or did Sylvia say she was born in the US before moving to Africa? I'm just puzzled as to why she was deported in the end even if she has dual citizenship.
Chosen answer: Dual citizenship is complicated, and it does not guarantee a person equal rights, privileges, and obligations in both countries. Nor does one country or the other always recognize dual citizenship. Since Sylvia's main residency has been in Africa, the US would consider that her primary homeland and could legally deport her there. Basically, the government is giving Sylvia a way to avoid prosecution in the US by allowing her to leave the country.
Question: What horse actually won the race that Lonigan bets on Lucky Dan to win?
Chosen answer: I watched this the other night and specifically listened for what horse won the race that Lucky Dan was running in. It is never revealed who the winner is, because while the fake announcer in the back room is calling the race, the F.B.I. agents raid the building. During the ensuing chaos, shouting, and gunfire, it is impossible to hear the broadcast over the noise.
Question: Why is Marvin wearing a plastic sheet over his suit in the scene where he, Frank and Joe are interrogating Alexander Dunning? (01:04:15)
Chosen answer: Intimidation. The implication is that he's going to be spilling Dunning's blood during the interrogation and doesn't want to get his suit dirty.
Question: Why was this movie so controversial?
Answer: In a nutshell, it's because the film's protagonist is a mentally disturbed killer, and certain groups in America thought the film's violence would lead to copycat behavior.
I never got this aspect of the controversy, if anything, it goes to show what can happen when mental illness goes untreated.
I agree with you on that, but unfortunately, there's so many people, at least in the United States, that have no sense of nuance and are prone to knee-jerk reactions. They would rather condemn and blame different kinds of media for society's ills, rather than stop and look at the message something is trying to tell.
I read about the concern over possible copycat behavior in an on-line article; Phaneron's answer is correct.
Answer: Because the left thought it would encourage violence and mocked liberal run cities.The right thought the same on violence, it seemingly justified a mentally ill guy's actions, that it made white businessmen bad guys. Both sides in general only complained about Joker for attention.
Question: When Carl Lee Hailey visited Jake to tell him that he was thinking about killing those 2 men, wouldn't he have been required to report that to law enforcement? It's not considered attorney/client privilege when you tell your lawyer that you are planning to kill someone. And then he went home and told his wife about it, so wouldn't that also make her an accessory?
Answer: I'm not from America but couldn't you just say the conversation didn't take place? Maybe they didn't want to say anything due to being parents themselves and thinking they would do the same?
Question: After John releases the hostages, we see the woman Rosa go to a police car. When she is asked to comment on John, she calls him a good man and then starts talking in Spanish. I can catch that she calls someone crazy, but I can't understand any of the rest. What is it that she's saying?
Answer: She says, "John Q is a good man. He is unlike the other jerk that hits his wife in the face."
Question: How is Libby able to be out in the prison yard without wearing her prison uniform shirt and instead wearing a dark green tank top? This allowed in prison or what?
Answer: At that point she has been imprisoned for a few years. She had likely set up a good rapport with the guards over the years. She was likely on her best behavior, knowing that would be considered when her parole hearing came. Prisoners on good behavior are often afforded certain instances where some rules can be bended, which would be up to the discretion of the guards. Exercising was a routine for her that went on for years. If she wanted to run in a tank top, I'm sure that was of very little concern to the guards after a while.
Question: What did Raphael mean with the Josè Canseco joke? I've been wondering for over 20 years.
Answer: Canseco was a star in the 80s, so a bat with his name on it would have been very expensive. Raphael is basically calling him a thief, probably because he doesn't look like he can afford it.
Answer: Jose Canseco had one of the best baseball careers, so anything with his name became priceless but it all came to an end when it was revealed he used steroids.
Answer: The Oakland A's with Canseco on the team won the World Series the year before this movie came out, while the New York Yankees and Mets both posted abysmal seasons. As a proud New Yorker, Raph was surely disgusted that Casey Jones would carry merch bearing the name of another team's star player, especially right after they won a ring! That's the behavior of a band-wagon fan, after all. It seems Casey would agree with him as well, as his response to the insult is not to defend Canseco or the A's, but to shrug and say he got the bats on a 2-for-1 Sale.
Question: It was mentioned that Austin's chest hair resembled a shape. Can anyone tell me what the shape is? I don't have the movie.
Chosen answer: It's supposed to resemble an upside-down version of, ahem, wedding tackle.
Question: Why is Jennings drunk and worried about the situation? Is he just upset? I can't understand why the other maid said she would do anything he asked.
Answer: Jennings' drinking problem stems from his having been a World War I conscientious objector, for which he was imprisoned. He has kept this secret and is worried the police investigation will uncover his past and jeopardize his job. The maid, Dorothy, is secretly in love with Jennings and wants to protect him.
Question: I'm guessing that Jude Law's character's face at the end of the film had something to do with the fight they had in the hotel, where Tom Hanks's character shot him in the face. But why did he have all those little marks, if Tom Hank's character only shot him once?
Answer: Tom Hanks shot at a glass lamp, which shattered right before Jude's face, causing lots of shards of glass to cut his face.
Were they scarred or stitched because it bothers me.
Scarred. He was injured by a bunch of tiny shards of glass, something that could pretty much heal on its own and wouldn't need stitches.
I think that's why McGuire shoots Sullivan out of revenge... He wasn't ordered to but after his disfigurement he wants revenge and kills Sullivan That's my take... After all Al says it's over after Connor Rooney goes down but it's now personal for McGuire.
Answer: I think that McGuire's last kill was personal. I think that after Sullivan deforms his face McGuire is out for blood. After all Al said after he kills Connor it's over. So it probably was but McGuire's kill was personal because of his deformity. It was not because he was instructed to kill Sullivan.
Yeah, when Maguire fatally shot Mike Sr. at Aunt Sarah's residence, it was no longer business and was definitely personal/a revenge killing.
Chosen answer: I believe he may think that Combo is just joking with him in a way that he was earlier in the film when he talks about him being black.
In my opinion, I think that it is because Milky has started to understand the reason's for Combo's anger - that he is jealous of Milky's perfect family set - up. Milky laughs because he finds it absurd that jealousy is the reason behind Combo's increasing anger towards him in this scene and may have been behind his aggressive behaviours all along.It is almost child-like and perhaps Milky is aware that he looks like the better person in the situation. He knows Combo knows this too.
Answer: There's no way of knowing whether or not she "had the time" to study martial arts. Regardless of her studies, she could have made time to pursue this as an extra-curricular activity. Universities can have classes, clubs, competitions, and student groups for martial arts on campus that anyone can participate in. She may also have been studying it since childhood. She was also a botanist, so even with a rigorous academic schedule, she would likely have more free time than a medical student.
raywest ★