Question: In the end, after Bill and Jo survived the F5 tornado, why does Bill point out the house that was standing, which the tornado did not destroy? Was that a reference to anything?
wizard_of_gore
3rd Sep 2024
Twister (1996)
Answer: That a category 5 tornado destroyed everything but the house. It's a million to one shot, but it has happened in real life.
8th Nov 2007
The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
Question: At the meeting, what did Mother Nature mean when she said "Don't mess with me Santa. I'm pre-el niño." or something like that. What does pre-el niño mean and why did she think Santa was messing with her?
Answer: By "pre-El Niño", she meant what to a mortal woman would be pre-menstrual. El Niño is "an oscillation of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific having important consequences for weather around the globe. Among these consequences are increased rainfall across the southern tier of the US and in Peru, which has caused destructive flooding, and drought in the West Pacific, sometimes associated with devastating brush fires in Australia."
So she was saying she's PMSing?
Yep, that's exactly what she's saying.
I'm not sure she means that because she holds up and shows her wedding ring when she says that.
1st Aug 2022
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Question: Why did Diana destroy the mall's security cameras, and why did she want the little girl to stay quiet?
Answer: At this point in time, her gig as a superhero is not public knowledge, and she wants it to stay that way.
How would that accomplish anything considering there were many people in the mall who saw what happened?
As the other answer indicated, Diana/Wonder Woman wasn't yet known publicly as a super-hero. A video recording is different from eye-witness accounts of what people actually saw or believe they saw. Memories are faulty, they fade, and everyone sees and remembers things differently. Regarding the child, I interpreted it as Diana just motioning in a friendly way for the rather precocious girl to stay put, behave, and quietly wait for her mother.
In my opinion, it wouldn't, and it's just another example of the shoddy writing in this film.
Answer: This was long before the age of superheroes, when everything was normal and meta-humans were just theories in a lab. It was her appearances which stated it all. Remember the tagline, "The Dawn of Justice Begins with Her."
10th Jul 2022
Jurassic Park (1993)
Question: When John and Nedry are arguing in the control room, John tells Nedry "I don't blame people for their mistakes" - What was the mistake that Nedry made?
Answer: Hammond's comment is a reference to what Nedry said about the amount he bid for the project. It's implied that Nedry has financial problems, and Hammond is basically saying that those problems are not his concern.
Answer: There wasn't one specific thing. Hammond was complaining about the number of computer glitches that were occurring while Grant, Ellie, and the others were on the car tour and also about Nedry's generally sloppy work. Nedry tries to blow off Hammond's concerns and makes excuses, falsely claiming the poor work quality is because he was the lowest bidder for the job.
27th Dec 2021
The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
Question: One of the plot points is that Charlie is acting out due to his dad not being around and him not being able to tell people who his dad really is. If Scott doesn't have to be up at the north pole all year round, why can't he live at home with Charlie most of the year and then go up to the pole closer to the fall/winter? In the first movie he didn't have to report back until Thanksgiving. Can't he do the same the other years as well?
Answer: Bernard said, Scott has a year to get his affairs in order and be back by next Thankisgiving, to forgo his old life and adjust to his new one. By Thanksgiving, the Naughty or Nice list would have been compiled, the toys ready for packing and the reindeer prepared for flight.
Answer: Being Santa Claus is a full time job, keeping updates on the children who are naughty or nice year round. Plus, kids change their mind constantly about what they want for Christmas. One minute it's Star Wars, the next it's Marvel. Technology is also changing, the latest computer game becomes obsolete in 6 months.
This answer doesn't address the fact that in the first film, it's made clear that Santa doesn't report to the North Pole until Thanksgiving. Plus, the naughty/nice list is sent to his house, by FedEx of all things.
13th Dec 2021
A Christmas Story (1983)
Question: When Miss Shields is discussing the incident with Flick with the whole class, she looks accusingly at Ralphie as it's clear she's blaming him. Why would Miss Shields blame Ralphie considering he never made Flick stick his tongue to the pole, none of the other students said anything and even Flick refused to talk about who really made him do it?
Answer: Miss Shields is not blaming Ralphie. She has probably seen him and Flick together around the school grounds, so she knows that they are friends. Therefore, she suspects that he knows what happened.
When Miss Shields looks at Ralphie, she says, "Those who did it know they're blame." She then says" Now don't you feel terrible? Don't you feel remorse for what you have done?"
I agree. From the way she looks at Ralphie and what she says when looking at him, she's blaming him.
6th Oct 2020
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Question: Why does the probe even wish to talk to humpback whales?
Answer: It's stated by Spock in the movie, even if he is just speculating. He mentions that humans are not the only intelligent special on Earth, and that it's human arrogance to assume that the probe's signal, "Must be meant for man." The point is, the aliens were communicating with the whales, and when that communication stopped, they sent the probe to find out why.
Answer: There is a hypothesis by Spock that the probe was perhaps sent to find out why they didn't hear the whale song any more.
Answer: Wouldn't you if you could?
15th Sep 2021
Batman (1989)
Question: At Bruce Wayne's party, why does Knox (the reporter for the Gotham newspaper) seem to not know who Bruce Wayne is? Knox flat out asks him in the room with the life-size figures "Who are you?" Seems like Knox would know who such a prominent citizen of Gotham is. I understand Vicki Vale not knowing as she is a freelancer in from out-of-town, but Knox not knowing?
Answer: He considers himself a tough hard edge reporter, like Woodard and Bernstein, walking the gritty streets, going down dark alleys and coming face to face with the underworld's rogue's gallery. He regards the entertainment, gossip and high society pages as puff pieces worthy of Catherine "Cat" Grant of the Daily Planet. So he wouldn't recognize the wealthy blue blood types.
Respectfully, that's pure speculation. Bruce Wayne is the most well-known person in Gotham City and surely his name and photo would have been in the newspaper, on magazine covers and on the news many, many times. It makes no sense that Knox wouldn't know who he was. You might not care about Kim Kardashian, but most people would recognize a picture of her.
Answer: In the original comic book lore, young Bruce Wayne travelled the world for years seeking the expertise of the greatest cops, criminals, athletes and martial artists to become Batman. In the movie, "Batman'" had been active for a few months and was considered a urban legend, which means he may well have only recently returned from those travels. Also, at the party celebrating newly appointed Harvey Dent, Bruce Wayne's seat was empty, was means he missed several other ceremonies. He was avoiding the spotlight. Forget "Batman Begins."
29th Dec 2020
Stargate SG-1 (1997)
Question: On every planet SG-1 travels to, plants are the same color as those on earth. Shouldn't plants have different colors on different planets?
Answer: The Aliens choose planets that were similar to Earth. They possessed human beings, so they needed worlds with vegetation and atmosphere. In the original movie, their race was dying and humans were the only ones who could give them eternal life - they took many inhabitants as slave labor.
Answer: There have been times where plants are different color, but generally speaking, green is evolutionarily better at capturing the best amount of sunlight energy for photosynthesis. Thus, plants evolved to have green chlorophyll on other planets as well.
Answer: Planets with Stargates were chosen because of the similarities to Earth.
That's ridiculous. Stargate command would never choose a planet based on similarities to earth unless it would to make sure it was safe to travel to.
Stargate command had nothing to do with where the Stargates were. The answer is saying those that placed the Stargates throughout the galaxy chose Earth-like planets. More accurately though, inhabitable planets, which tend to be similar to Earth.
The Ancients put the Stargates on planets, and since their physiology was very similar to modern Earth humans, it stands to reason that they only chose to put planets which could support a similar lifeform. Hence, why most planets or moons resembled Earth at some point in their history.
Huh? First of all, you're trying to surmise what a fictional agency would do. Second, SG-1 and other SG teams frequently visited both Earth-like planets and planets with toxic conditions.
Stargates were placed at worlds that were similar to Earth, this mostly due to the ancients establishing themselves on Earth over 50 million years ago and finding planets to colonize from there. Some worlds may have become inhospitable over the millions of years after the stargate was built though. It is quite possible all these planets were seeded with life from Earth and planets close to Earth's appearance, hence the same vegetation and animal life.
8th Jul 2020
Ford v Ferrari (2019)
Question: At various points in the film the car brakes are glowing red hot, would this happen in real life or is it for show?
Answer: Watch any NASCAR short track night race where heavy braking is required, the brake rotors glow at every turn.
Answer: I watched this movie with my father, who actually participated in Autocross races in the past. He says from first hand experience that this is indeed real. The breaks get so heated from use in the race during the rapid slowing and going that they glow hot. This is why there are racing grade breaks and it's unwise to try and race without them.
Agreed. My dad is a former race car mechanic and he said that this absolutely happens all the time.
29th Jun 2020
Jurassic Park (1993)
Question: Why does Alan Grant struggle with his seatbelt in the helicopter ride to Isla Nublar? It looks like a fairly standard airline seatbelt to me.
Answer: This is a foreshadowing of the events to come. He has 2 female parts of the belt. He then over comes this problem by simply tying the two bits together in the same way all the dinosaurs on Isla Nubar are female to stop them breeding and over running the island. However, they over come this as shown when Dr. Grant finds the eggs after spending the night in the tree.
Answer: In addition to the foreshadowing of the female dinosaurs on the island learning how to breed, I think also works to establish Grant as an unconventional but creative problem-solver, someone who can make the best of an unideal situation. This leads credence to him being able to survive with the children in the park with all the dinos running around. So in that belt buckle scene you have three things going on at once: humor, foreshadowing, and character development. Great writing.
Answer: Alan is not a modern man. Being a paleontologist, he mostly relates to the past and shuns modern technology, as evidenced by his resistance to using the ground-penetrating radar to find buried fossils. He is uncomfortable and out-of-place in today's world and has difficulty using things as simple as a seatbelt.
So Grant has never been in a car? My dad can barely figure out this iPhone, but knows how to use a seatbelt. It could be as simply as he grabbed two female ends, which has happened to me on an airplane.
4th Jul 2020
The Hangover (2009)
Question: How did they have enough time to do everything they did on the first night? I believe everyone is ready by 7pm, then they go to the rooftop, then dinner, then they play blackjack and other games, they also find the time to kidnap Chow, go to the strippers, get married, steal a cop car, go to Mike Tyson and steal a tiger, come back to the hotel, fill a hot tub, playing bowling with champagne bottles, drink at least 40-50 beers, energy drinks and champagne, use all the inflatables, wait for Doug to fall asleep and get him on the roof, come back and pass out, then wake up by about 9am It seems like the casino games and strippers would take you until about 2am anyway, but they managed to fit everything else in with about 5 hours.
Answer: They didn't have time. This is a movie. Time is deliberately compressed to an unrealistic level in order to make the plot work, to make it funny, and fit it all within a 100-minute running time. Audiences are expected to employ a "suspension of disbelief" in order for the movie to be made.
True, but the movie still takes place in the real world, and physics should still prevail. It also doesn't help that they mention the time at several points throughout the film.
23rd Jan 2020
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Question: Did Harry ever find out of the truth about how his father died? If so, then how?
Answer: Yes, it's shown in the film. The butler tells him, and it's why Harry decides to help Spider Man at the end of the film. In fact, this is one of the plot points that caused such derision of the film because it was so ridiculous that the butler would have waiting so long to tell Harry what really happened to his father.
7th Aug 2014
Jaws (1975)
Question: The other night me and some friends were arguing whether or not the shot that Brody makes to blow the tank up to kill Bruce was possible, or would it be too hard to make?
Chosen answer: It would certainly be very difficult, with the shark moving and hitting the tank while slightly underwater. But it wouldn't be impossible.
Answer: This theory was tested on "Mythbusters" and the myth was "busted", twice. https://mythresults.com/mythbusters-vs-jaws.
24th Jul 2019
Midsommar (2019)
Question: Spoilers: When Simon's corpse is discovered flayed apart and hanging, it looked like some of the organs suspended above him (possibly his lungs?) were still moving a bit. Was he still alive at that moment?
Answer: Yes, that is the impression that is given. He is still alive.
11th May 2019
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Question: Spoiler! At the end why would Steve Rogers pass his Captain America mantle to Sam Wilson? He doesn't possess any kind of super strength, and his only talents are flying and being a decent fighter.
Answer: This is right out of the comics. When Steve Rogers retires as Captain America in All-New Captain America #1, he passes the mantle to Sam Wilson.
Answer: Steve Rogers didn't have super strength when he was chosen to be Cap. His demeanor, personality, and selflessness earned him the mantle. The abilities came with it.
His character earned him the slot in the super soldier program - his abilities are a direct result of the now-unavailable super soldier serum. Falcon is highly skilled and trained, doesn't mean he can't do a good job as a "new" Captain America with a different skillset, but he won't have the same strength and speed.
Answer: As shown throughout the events of the "Captain America" and "Avengers" sequels, Cap and Sam are very much kindred spirits with a great deal in common. Cap thus saw him as the perfect person to pass the mantle onto.
18th Dec 2018
Krampus (2015)
Question: Why was CGI used when Omi told her family about her first seeing Krampus when she was young. Why not use real actors and actresses?
Answer: It's just a filmmaking style decision and also likely a financial decision. They wanted to show the backstory without having to find locations, build sets, hire actors, and all the other expenses that would have come with it.
12th Jul 2008
Elf (2003)
Question: I am confused. Buddy has blood drawn in order to do a DNA sample and they get the results almost right away. Doesn't it take weeks for DNA samples to come back? If so, how can they get the results so quickly in the movie?
Chosen answer: More than likely, it was done for storyline reasons. Since the results of DNA tests *do* take a while to come back, it slows the plot down to show them waiting. I guess, in a way, this situation calls for a suspension of disbelief; it may seem like it took no time at all, but in order to enjoy the film, you have to just accept that the necessary waiting period has passed.
There's an old story where someone asked a major sci-fi producer how fast one of his space vehicles could go. He answered, "At the speed of the plot."
Answer: It was most likely a blood typing test (it can take minutes and its done through a finger-stick test). If the doctor's office had the test cards. If both parents have type A blood, their child can't have type B and vice versa with type B and A. Type O is rare enough that its more likely that Walter and Buddy's mother were either type A, B, or AB. -college student who has rewatched the movie and had to go through several allele genotype/phenotype lectures.
Actually, type O is the most common type. O - is more rare than O+, which is true for every blood type, but O is still the most common for most ethnic groups.
Answer: Most private labs can return DNA testing results in 1-2 days because the test isn't that complicated, even in the early 2000's. It's usually court ordered testing that take weeks to process because of all the bureaucratic red tape, paper work, and signatures required. Some labs do get extremely busy and therefore it might take up to 2-4 weeks to get results back, but that also usually includes more extensive DNA testing.
Answer: Even so the test came back almost immediatly.
24th Sep 2018
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Question: Would any company in their right mind build a theme park (or any business for that matter) on a private island with a volcano? I know populated areas like Hawaii just assume the risk, but wouldn't a company that has the money to purchase their own island do their due diligence and make sure they won't be prone to a major catastrophe like that?
Answer: As it was stated in the film, the volcano had been dormant for many many years. Presumably even since well before the events of the first Jurassic Park movie in the early 90's. It was only recently, between the events of this film and the prior Jurassic World that the volcano had its surprise re-awakening.
For sure, but dormant simply means that the volcano could one day erupt again, so wouldn't it be pretty foolish to gamble on building a multi-billion dollar theme park with the hope that the volcano will never again erupt?
One would think. But just look at our world's history. Like Pompeii, an entire civilization wiped out cause they lived at the base of a dormant volcano. And then even in more recent history. Mount Saint Helens, which I've actually been to and seen the exhibits and footage of it's destruction. Foolish, yeah. But that doesn't stop us from still doing it repeatedly.
I think it's been made pretty clear over the course of all the films that the people building these parks did not exactly think everything through properly. They took a gamble on the volcano, and they lost.
23rd Aug 2018
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)
Question: Why did the writers decide to have Snoke killed just like that? Fans have spent the last two years wondering about so many theories about who he is, so was it really wise to kill him that early on without even the slightest hint as to who he really is?
Answer: According to reports, JJ Abrams had different ideas for each characters' story arcs while he was directing "The Force Awakens"; when Rian Johnson signed on as director for "Last Jedi", he basically decided to ignore Abrams' ideas and create his own direction for every major character, including Snoke. Since there is still one more film left in the current trilogy, though, we may learn more about Snoke's true nature in Episode IX; the possibility also exists that he may return as a Force ghost or in a cloned body, at least according to fan theories.
Answer: I know this caused quite the uproar with a lot of the fans, but looking back at the original trilogy, how much information was known about Emperor Palpatine when he was killed off? None of this was addressed until the prequel trilogy many years later.
Exactly. I have made this same argument so many times. Back when the original trilogy came out, none of us were running around complaining that we never found out the Emperor's backstory.
I was merely asking why they decided to kill off Snoke this early.
To be more to the point of your question, it seems that Rian Johnson believed (in my opinion, correctly) that the Snoke character added very little to the story and his death would be shocking to the audience. As a virtual copy of Palpatine in almost every way, the audience expected Snoke to fill a similar role in this story and last well into the third film. By killing Snoke so early, you get rid of a pretty useless character and also shock your audience, leaving them with no idea what direction the story will take going forward.
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Answer: Earlier in the film, Jo says to Bill that he doesn't understand what it's like to have a tornado destroy your house and family, but not another, as if the tornado did that by choice. He even says to her, "Is that what you think it did?" Seeing the lone house at the end made him finally understand why she thought that.
wizard_of_gore ★