raywest
6th Mar 2025
East of Eden (1955)
6th Mar 2025
Batman (1989)
Question: The answer is not given in the film, but does it explain in the early scripts why Jack shot his parents but not Bruce? If not, what was Joe Chill's reason for shooting Thomas Wayne in Batman Begins?
Answer: Actually, it is answered in the film. Jack did want to kill young Bruce because Jack had pointed his gun at him. When Jack's accomplice begged Jack to just leave the area, Jack walked away.
Answer: It's unlikely there was anything specific in the early script development addressing this. In the film, Jack Napier, not Joe Chill, was the killer. He had time to shoot young Bruce, but hesitated before his accomplice called him away. In the Batman universe and the various interpretations, there's never been one definitive explanation. In the original lore, Bruce Wayne's parents were randomly mugged by Joe Chill. For unknown reasons, he murdered the Waynes, probably spontaneously. Bruce was probably spared because he was a child or something scared Chill off. However, this should be seen through the lens of a writer. The plot requires that Bruce survive to become Batman. His parents' murders shaped and motivated everything in his life from that point on. Otherwise, there would be no story to tell.
Answer: With regards to Chill in Batman Begins, Thomas Wayne is shown reaching towards Chill when he grabs Martha to get her jewelry. Chill gets spooked and shoots Thomas. He then shoots Martha and runs off. Joe Chill is shown to be extremely nervous and on edge, and he doesn't appear to regard Bruce in any way at all; all he wants is the jewelry.
Answer: There's a fan theory that Bruce Wayne projects his parents' killer onto all his enemies, so whoever he's fighting at that particular moment killed his parents.
29th Jan 2025
Terror by Night (1946)
Question: Holmes says he realised that Inspector McDonald was an impostor because he supposedly knows the 'real' Inspector McDonald of the Edinburgh police. As shown in the other movies and Conan Doyle's original stories, there are several Inspectors working for Scotland Yard in London (another British city), which begs the question: does this resolution Holmes mentioned about two British Inspectors having the same surname make sense and, if so, why?
Answer: If you're comparing the film to Arthur Conan Doyle's original Sherlock Holmes stories, then any discrepancy does not really apply. The Basil Rathbone films were loose adaptions of Doyle's work, often incorporating plot elements from multiple stories or were original screenplays with new characters. There was little regard to details or plot consistencies. "Terror by Night" was an entirely original story. The original Sherlock Holmes stories were set in the late Victorian era while the 12 Universal Studio films mostly took place during World War II, with Holmes often fighting Nazis and enemy spies. The first two Sherlock Holmes films by 20th Cent. Fox studio were generally faithful to the original stories.
Actually, my question is related to the movies themselves and it's not a comparison. There are still several inspectors working for Scotland Yard in the Basil Rathbone saga too (I've made an entry edition to include this).
Thanks for clarifying, though you stated, "as shown in the other movies 'and' Doyle's original stories." Much of my previous answer still applies. The Basil Rathbone movies were not a definitive interpretation of Sherlock Holmes. The first two by 20th Century Fox were mostly faithful to the original stories. The 12 later Universal Studios films were lower-budget, cranked out in rapid succession for profit, and shifted the time period to the mid-20th century for cheaper production costs. The studio's mandate was the films were, "to simply be entertaining B pictures." There was little regard for historical accuracy or plot continuity from film to film. Scripts were simultaneously developed by different writing teams. The 12 films had multiple directors and screenwriters who were focused on their individual projects.
Actually, almost all the movies were directed by Roy William Neill (11 of 14).
That's true, but many different screenwriters were simultaneously working on the various movies. It's also typical in Hollywood for uncredited "script doctors" to revise scripts, further adding to small inconsistencies. Universal Studios had a seven-year contract with the Doyle estate to make the Sherlock Holmes films. They produced them quickly, releasing three movies per year. Under the contract, Universal was allowed to make plot revisions, create some original stories, and modernise the setting (making it more topical and cheaper to produce).
19th Jan 2025
Risky Business (1983)
Question: Was Joel's house also Tommy's house from the original Halloween? And has it been used in anything else, like Will's uncle's house from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?
Answer: Regarding "Risky Business" and "Halloween," they are not the same house. "Risky Business" was filmed in the Chicago area, while "Halloween" used California locations. If there's information about it being used in "Fresh Prince," I'll update this.
12th Feb 2016
Sex and the City (1998)
Twenty-something girls vs. thirty-something women - S2-E17
Question: I have a somewhat odd question for everyone that watches Sex and the city. I got into the show about 2 or 3 years after it started running but I remember watching the episode "Twenty-Something Girls vs. Thirty-Something Women" which was the episode about Carrie and the girls going to the Hamptons and renting a house. Charlotte dates a younger guy that gives her crabs. There is commentary about comparing 20 year girls to 30 year old women and when I watched this episode originally I swear there was a different ending then what is what is shown now. I want to know if anyone else has seen this or am I absolutely insane. In the episode there is a girl that pukes on the beach - her friend holds her hair back and Carrie makes a commentary about "counting on 20 year old girls to hold your hair back." Later when Carrie sees Big with Natasha she runs to the beach and Miranda runs after her. Carrie throws up because she is upset and Miranda holds her hair back, but the version I saw changes the commentary/narration and says that you can "always count on a 30 something year old friend to hold your hair back." I haven't seen that version again. Has anyone else seen it or did I just dream this, because I swear I remember watching this when it first came out?
Answer: I'm a long-time fan of the show, having re-watched it many times, and I definitely remember slightly different dialogue at the end of that episode than what's on my DVD. I'm afraid I have no idea why this change might have been made or any other info, but you're not insane.
11th Jan 2025
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Question: How was the scene in which the Nazi mechanic, played by Pat Roach, is killed by the propeller of the Flying Wing filmed? As seen in the film, the spinning propeller is practically right in his face when Pat turns around.
Answer: Probably a combination of practical special effects, including camera angles with forced perspective that can make an object or person appear closer, further away, larger, smaller, etc. Often, rear-screen projection is used where the actor stands in front of an image projected onto a screen. The real propellers could have been replaced with something that would create a blurred spinning effect without endangering the actors.
11th Jan 2025
The Sound of Music (1965)
Question: How did Captain Von Trapp know that Maria sat on a pine cone?
11th Jan 2025
The Lost Boys (1987)
11th Jan 2025
Blow (2001)
11th Jan 2025
Total Recall (1990)
Question: Why did Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone dislike each other when making this movie?
11th Jan 2025
Duel (1971)
Question: Why does the fuel tanker truck not explode or burst into flames after it crashes down the mountainside?
Answer: Vehicles do not typically explode in collisions, even a fuel tanker, which may have been empty. Car and truck impact explosions are mostly an overused movie trope. The Mythbusters covered this in a movie myths episode. Spielberg avoided a clichéd fiery ending by instead showing the truck's destruction with close-up interior shots and focusing on Mann's quiet reflection in the aftermath. Also, this was a low-budget, made-for-TV movie. Explosive special effects are expensive, dangerous, and do not always go as planned, requiring multiple takes.
11th Jan 2025
Annie (1982)
20th Jan 2006
Sister Act (1992)
Question: Why does the young red-headed nun, that doesn't sing very loud (can't remember her name), wear a different habit?
Answer: It is because she is not, technically, a nun yet. She is a novice, one who is in the "trial period" of becoming a nun, but who has not made the final vows to join the order.
She doesn't wear a white cap in the second movie either, and she did her vows.
It takes 9-12 years to become a nun, with many stages: discernment, aspirancy, postulancy, novitiate, temporary vows, and finally, solemn vows. The young nun may have moved up a step but would not yet have taken her solemn vows. The various stages would have differences in apparel, headdress, insignia, etc. that showed their rank. In addition, different nun orders wear different styles of habits.
17th Nov 2024
Watchmen (2019)
She Was Killed by Space Junk - S1-E3
Question: Agent Angela Blake had to surrender her weapon to enter the funeral of Crawford. When a suicide bomber threatens the group, Blake shoots the bomber with a gun. Where did she get the gun?
27th Nov 2024
Predator 2 (1990)
Question: Is the guy watching the TV on the subway train Christopher Lloyd?
1st Dec 2024
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)
Question: At the beginning of Lover's Vow, Preston's art is not selling. Why is it that after Carola helps him, his art suddenly becomes a success? Is she controlling the people in charge of the art business?
1st Dec 2024
Waterworld (1995)
1st Dec 2024
Scarface (1983)
Question: At the fancy restaurant, when Tony is yelling that the other patrons "don't have the guts to be who they want to be." What does he think they "want to be"?
1st Dec 2024
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Question: When Eddie is trying to pull the trailer up and the T-Rexes reappear, why didn't he turn the wipers off and stay still? The T-Rexes wouldn't have seen him, meaning he might've lived.
17th Nov 2024
Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Question: According to the counsellor at Susanna's school, she is the only student who isn't going to college. In the 1960s, wasn't it still common for female students not to attend college? And also young men who came from low-income families? Surely Susanna would not be the only one.
Answer: In that era, college was less common for middle-class females and also males. However, the movie is based on author Susanna Kaysen's memoir. She was raised in an affluent, well-educated New England family and attended private schools. Girls from upper-class society generally attended college. Many attended a women's Ivy League school like Smith, Radcliffe, Wellesley, etc. A prevailing joke was that girls attended college for the "MRS" degree, meaning to find a husband. It was also typical that prominent professional men had educated, refined wives.
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Answer: It's not shown, but presumably the same way everyone else does, by the carnival operator rotating the wheel, stopping it, and letting people get on and off. There may have been a scene showing this, but it got cut in the final editing, shifting the story forward more quickly.
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