Question: Lana Shields became a regular cast member then she disappeared from show without any explanation, why?
raywest
28th Oct 2020
Three's Company (1977)
Answer: John Ritter also said in interviews that there was no way that Jack would continue to resist Lana's advances since she was attractive and Jack was notoriously sex-crazed, so that could have been a factor as well.
27th Oct 2020
A Quiet Place (2018)
Question: How would a deaf person know whether they're making a noise? Was the daughter constantly monitored, so she didn't inadvertently break a branch, slap her hand on a table, do anything that makes a noise?
Answer: She's deaf but is fully cognizant, educated, and old enough to be aware. Just because she cannot hear anything does not mean she doesn't understand what makes noise and the need to be quiet at all times. She also normally uses a cochlear implant that allows some hearing, but due to the invasion, it is currently unusable.
27th Oct 2020
Beetlejuice (1988)
Question: When Beetlejuice replaces the handrail as a snake, I don't understand the line, "We've come for your daughter, Chuck." I know "Chuck" is "Charles" so who is "we" and why does he say "they" are only there for Lydia? (01:00:28)
Answer: In addition, it's possible that Beetlejuice was trying to rope Adam and Barbara in on the idea, since they did request for his help to get the Deetzes out of the house. He might've thought they were working together.
Answer: It's a rather outdated usage. Queen Victoria was known for using the "Royal We," saying things like, "We are not amused." It was a way of saying something without being directly accountable for it. Others use it merely as an embellished speaking effect, meant as hyperbole. That is what Beetlejuice is doing to sound loftier.
It's not that outdated. The "royal we" is still in use. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_we.
24th Oct 2020
Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)
Question: I don't live in the US; is it normal for a gym to contact next of kin and offer condolences when someone is believed to have died? Or is it for plot convenience? Where I come from, any cancellations of memberships, etc, would all be done in writing.
Answer: The woman did not work for the YMCA. She and Laura took swimming lessons together there and were friendly. The woman therefore felt obliged to offer her condolences. It was also, as you say, a plot convenience. There had to be some way to tip off Martin that Laura might still be alive.
23rd Oct 2020
John Q (2002)
Question: When John Q and his wife were in the meeting discussing the surgery, Rebecca Payne mentions that they had a little over $1,000 in savings. At the beginning of the movie, his wife's car was repossessed because he couldn't make the payments. Why didn't they use the money in the savings to pay for the car loan to avoid repossession?
23rd Oct 2020
Twister (1996)
Question: When Jo and Bill are in the car with Melissa in the back, Melissa is confused as to why they're chasing another storm given Jo and Bill nearly got killed in the previous tornado. Yet wouldn't Melissa already know they were chasing another tornado given they were driving as part of a 'pack' and there was another Dorothy in back of the truck? (00:34:45)
Answer: She's confused, scared, and her thinking is unclear. She wrongly assumes she knows how Bill will react. She does not really know the person Bill is, as he had put his storm chasing life behind him. Once he is thrown back in his old environment with Jo, which is where he really wants to be, Bill reverts to his old self.
23rd Oct 2020
Cinderella (1950)
Question: Near the end of the movie, the grand duke calls the footman to bring him the glass slipper, so he can try it on Cinderella. But Lady Tremaine trips the footman, causing the slipper to fly and shatter. Then Cinderella reveals she has the other slipper. The grand duke tries it on her, and find that it fits. I have a problem with that because how did he know the glass slipper Cinderella had was the same size as the one that broke?
Answer: Cinderella's entire outfit was magically created by the Fairy Godmother. Not only was the spare shoe Cinderella had in her possession identical to the other one, it likely would be charmed so that she is the only one who can wear it. It's similar to young Arthur being the only person who could pull Excalibur from the stone because he was the true king. No other woman who attended the ball wore glass slippers. If they had, they'd be able to also produce the spare shoe as proof.
Answer: Add in that how many possible glass slippers could there possibly be? It would be an incredibly uncommon type of shoe that would be amazingly difficult to make.
Answer: Probably because it looked the same to him, and he had been handling it a lot for all the trying-ons, plus how many people have glass slippers in their closet? But you are right it heavily suggests she is the person, not proves it. But then again how many women's feet would it have already fit? He should have found many matches long before getting to Cinderella. Cinderella can't be the only woman in the kingdom with her size foot.
23rd Oct 2020
Alien (1979)
Question: Why wouldn't the self-destruct system have a stop button? Presumably if you wanted to abort the procedure it should be instant and not have to go through all the rigmarole of trying to shut it down.
Answer: The Nostromo is powered by a nuclear reactor. The self-destruct system simply shuts down the cooling towers, causing the reactor to gradually rise in temperature until it reaches critical mass. The cooling system can be turned back on within the first 5 minutes but after that, the reactor is so hot the cooling liquid will evaporate once it comes into contact with the system. Ripley tries turning the cooling towers back on, and she does so right before the 5 minute failsafe timer is up, but the system was still too hot to cool the reactor. This is why Ripley curses at MUTHUR, she made it back in time but a meltdown is still inevitable. Apparently the 5 minute failsafe timer is not exact to the second and Ripley actually had slightly less than 5 minutes.
I believe she just barely misses the cutoff, rather than making it but still having it be ineffective. She curses Mother out of frustration, and perhaps fury at the computer's cold indifference to her fate.
Answer: It's pretty typical in movies that in a self-destruct situation, once it's started, it is impossible to stop, for whatever reason. It's about plotting and maintaining the tension to keep the audience on the edge of their seats to see if the hero can survive. Considering how corrupt the company was, they'd expend little effort into proper safety procedures.
23rd Oct 2020
Back to the Future Part III (1990)
Question: When Doc comes back at the end, it's to say goodbye to Marty, but what's stopping him from just staying in 1985 with Clara and their two sons? I mean, before Clara turned up at the train in 1885, Doc was all set to go to 1985 with Marty, and then when Clara showed up, Doc said that they'd have to bring her too because there wasn't much time left before the train ran out of track, and he couldn't just let her perish. So why doesn't he just stay in 1985 - that's where he was going to go before Clara turned up, and now that he has her, and a family, why not just settle down in 1985?
Answer: Because like Doc Brown, Clara has a thirst for adventure. An Old West lady being offered the chance to go back and forth in time. Also, to go to the final frontier, outer space. Besides traveling for them is like a vacation. They could settle in 1985 anytime they wanted.
Answer: Doc actually explains in Back to the Future: The Game. I recommend playing that as it continues where part 3 left off. Doc actually tells Marty that he wanted him to live his life without the complications of time travel. So he left and moved to another time period. I don't want to spoil the rest of the game if you haven't played it but it gets into most of your question in the game definitely should give it a playthrough.
23rd Oct 2020
Gosford Park (2001)
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.
21st Oct 2020
Quantum Leap (1989)
Star-Crossed - June 15, 1972 - S1-E3
Question: Al tells Sam that he's there to prevent the professor and his undergraduate student from having a shotgun wedding and ruining both their lives. That implies she got pregnant. Sam succeeds in keeping them apart. Um, does that mean he prevented someone from being born?
Answer: He means he's there to prevent there ever being the need for a shotgun wedding-that is, to stop the affair before there is a possibility of the girl getting pregnant.
Which would erase the child from history. That's my point.
Answer: Not necessarily; it could also mean that someone such as Jamie Lee's (the student) father discovered that the professor was having a sexual relationship with her and coerced the two into getting married.
This doesn't answer the question. You just described what a shotgun wedding is.
I think their point is that the "shotgun" aspect might not be due to a pregnancy, simply a forced attempt to legitimise an otherwise scandalous relationship.
My point was that a "shotgun wedding" doesn't always happen because an unmarried girl becomes pregnant; it can also happen because someone "stole her virtue", i.e had sex with her without being married or at least engaged to her. There's no reason to believe that Jamie Lee was, or would become, pregnant as a result of the affair or subsequent marriage.
The term "shotgun wedding" means a forced marriage due to unexpected pregnancy. It's sometimes even used when the woman is pregnant but it's planned or the wedding isn't "forced." In common colloquialism (especially in the 80's when the script was written), it doesn't refer to a force marriage just because of premarital sex (which the term "make an honest woman" is used for).
No, in the 1926 Sinclair Lewis novel 'Elmer Gantry', they talk about shotgun weddings, when a groom is forced to marry a woman because he took her virginity. Obviously, the term usually refers to a pregnant bride, but I see zendaddys point.
21st Oct 2020
The Firm (1993)
Question: What happened at the end of the movie to the man who had been shot in the leg by the private detective?
Answer: When Mitch McDeere gets off the elevated train, when he's leaving Mud Island, a guy with a limp, wearing an overcoat (with faux fur), follows him. That's the guy. Mitch had never seen him before, so he gives him a weird look when he accidentally bumps into him. The guy with the limp was likely in the hospital while the security staff were doing their shakedown of Mitch.
21st Oct 2020
Invasion of the Neptune Men (1961)
Question: As usual, Tokyo being destroyed - this time by the Neptune Men in their flying saucers. Buildings exploding...but one particular building has a large picture of Adolf Hitler giving the Nazi salute and with the wrong wording of Mine Kampf (instead of the correct Mein Kampf)...why was this particular building model constructed? (01:03:27)
Answer: Your question was intriguing, so I did a little Internet research. While there's plenty of conjecture, nobody seems to know what this is about. There is some reference to Hitler's "Mein Kampf" being published in Japan for the first time in the early 1960s, around the time the film was made. Some speculate it was some type of advertising for the book (early product placement?) while others believe it could be a symbolic act of blowing up Hitler's ideals and could explain why it was misspelled.
Ray's answer on the subject is already exhaustive. I'll add for further clarification that the advertising apparently was for "Den blodiga tiden", or, well, Mein Kampf, Erwin Leiser's documentary about the infamous book. I can't find the primary source for it, but it appears credible since the release date of the documentary in Japan was in January of the same year. Also, I do think that given the egregious misspelling, someone should post it also in the mistakes section, even if it was not made by the moviemakers, technically.
21st Oct 2020
The Nanny (1993)
Question: What does she even do? The kids are too old for a nanny.
Answer: Mr. Sheffield needed someone to manage the kids, not necessarily babysit them. Brighton was a Bart Simpson type, Maggie was shy and awkward and Gracie had personality issues.
17th Oct 2020
Baywatch (1989)
Question: Does anyone know why Pamela Anderson quit?
Answer: I read that Pamela departed the show because she had become pregnant with her second child.
14th Oct 2020
Nine to Five (1980)
Question: If they hate their jobs then why not quit and sue their boss?
Answer: It's not easy to just quit and find a new job and they would not have good references. Lawsuits are difficult, being long, involved, and expensive processes with no guarantees of winning. (If one loses, they can be responsible for the other party's legal costs.) The three women were at a distinct disadvantage as they'd be up against an entire company that most likely would protect the boss, as they'd also be liable for allowing his abuse and be forced to implement new policies. The ladies also wanted to take a stand and fight back, not just for themselves, but for the other women who worked there, making positive company-wide changes while keeping the boss locked up.
14th Oct 2020
Lakeview Terrace (2008)
Question: Even before Abel saw the interracial couple making out in the pool, why would he be so suspicious that they are a bad influence? How exactly does his wife's death and unfaithfulness play a role in this mistrust?
Answer: Abel was mentally unstable and that drove his overall behavior. His initial antagonism about Chris and Lisa started with a variety of factors including them being an inter-racial couple, Chris' smoking, and the couple listening to hip hop music. This was all exaggerated in Abel's mind, and continued festering. Abel's late wife had an affair with a white man, which seems to be a factor in his objection to any inter-racial relationship and distrust of white men. It's implied that Abel's extreme, controlling behavior is what led to his wife's infidelity.
14th Oct 2020
Secret Window (2004)
Question: What's the back story of Mort and his wife mentioning the previous stalker and how he paid him off? They also mentioned the people who only knew.
13th Oct 2020
The Phantom (1996)
Question: If Diana was able to recognize Kit even after years of not seeing him then how come she didn't notice he has the same voice as the Phantom, whom she had just been with the day before? He doesn't try to disguise his voice in any way.
Answer: She was preoccupied trying to escape from the bad guys and annoyed that a guy in a purple suit, was trying to save her, when she said, "I can do it myself." It was most likely later, in New York, when the met face to face. Kit and Diana, when she put two and two together. Again was too preoccupied trying to save the world to pause and confront him.
13th Oct 2020
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Question: In order not to spoil the plot twist it seems as though Malcolm and Anna's marriage is strained, i.e. him standing Anna up on their anniversary saying he went to a different restaurant, etc. Was their marriage potentially/actually strained anyway because of him trying to help Vincent and seemingly repeating history with Cole? Malcolm notes the comparison out loud, thinking Anna can hear him and is ignoring him.
Answer: It appears their marriage was happy, though any married couple experiences ups and downs, and doctors particularly have demanding professions that can affect their family life. However, Anna's reaction, as we see it in the movie, is the direct result of her extreme grief over Malcolm's death. It is only from Malcolm's altered perception that it appears there is a marital rift.
Answer: There certainly couldn't be any strain due to Malcolm's repeating history by helping Cole, because he's doing that post-mortem, so to speak. Anna knows Malcolm is dead, so no, no strain due to his helping Cole.
I'm starting to think this is actually an element that Mr. Shyamalan (sp?) added as a way of explaining Malcolm's reaction to Anna's behavior toward him at the restaurant. Malcolm has to believe that something he's done wrong is bothering Anna, because the alternative is that she doesn't hear him and doesn't see him. And if Malcolm thought that, then we'd have a whole different movie, with Malcolm waving his arms and shouting, doing whatever, to get her attention, etc etc. So it works as a way to keep Malcolm in ignorance or denial, and it also shows the two of them together to the audience, hopefully keeping us from catching on to the twist. Brilliant.
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Answer: No official explanation was given for why the Lana Shields character was abruptly written out after a handful of episodes. Ann Wedgeworth, the actress who played Lana, said she was never given a reason, but according to Wedgeworth's daughter, her late mother was unhappy playing a one-dimensional character that had little development potential. The daughter said Wedgeworth and the Three's Company producers came to a mutual agreement for her to leave the show.
raywest ★