Phixius

27th Jul 2015

The Matrix (1999)

Question: If the pay phones are the only entrance/exit points in the matrix, why did the robots add it in?

Answer: Pay phones are not the only way in or out of the matrix. In fact, pay phones are only used twice in the film. The other times people are shown entering or leaving the matrix, they do so via a plain black rotary phone sitting on a table. Any hard-line (that is, physically connected to the system by wires) phone can be hacked to provide an entrance or exit. Several have been hacked already and, as the process takes time to complete, rather than begin a hack of the hard-line phone nearest to the operative, operatives are directed to the nearest previously hacked phone when a quick escape is required. The robots did not add this feature to the matrix, it is merely a manipulation of the code on the humans' part.

28th Jul 2015

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012)

Question: Can someone explain what it means that Jacob imprinted on Renesmee? I thought imprinting meant you want to be with that person (like love and marry them). But now that Jacob has imprinted on Renesmee, I think I'm wrong.

Answer: Werewolf imprinting means you love that person in exactly the way they need you to love them. In Jacob's case, this means he feels a fatherly/brotherly love for Renesmee now. When she gets older those feelings may change to a romantic love, but that depends on whether Renesmee is ever able to see Jacob as anything other than a big brother. If she thinks it's too weird to feel romantically toward Jacob due to the nature of their relationship during her childhood, he will forever be her platonic protector and be absolutely elated by it. Fast as she grows though, it's unlikely they'll have spent so long in those familial roles that she won't be able to see him as anything else.

28th Jul 2015

Tangled (2010)

Question: How does a tear from Rapunzel revive Flynn? I though she could only cure with her hair.

Chosen answer: So did she, but apparently tears work too. The magic is in HER, after all. It just manifested most obviously in her hair, the parallel to the petals on the flower.

So then why did Mother Gothel die?

Answer: Because she used her hair to stay young and now her hair is gone.

Answer: Because she used the power from her hair and now her hair is gone. So she is as well.

16th Jul 2015

Tangled (2010)

Question: During the number "I've Got A Dream," the thugs ask Flynn to share his dream, but Flynn refuses to tell them with the excuse "I don't sing." Is that line a reference to Flynn's voice actor or is that just an excuse Flynn is making?

Chosen answer: It's just Flynn.

15th Jul 2015

Frozen (2013)

Question: What does Anna say in the lock of the door at the end of the song "Do You Want to Build A Snowman"?

Chosen answer: "It doesn't have to be a snowman."

8th Dec 2014

Frozen (2013)

Question: This is a potential plot hole but I have not seen any submissions about it yet. They said that only an act of true love can thaw the ice in the princess' heart, Olaf even says this as he is building a fire to keep her warm and says that it would he putting someone else's needs before their own. Well as he is saying this he is building a fire for her and begins to melt. He's made of snow and does just what he said, puts his own needs to stay away from heat behind the need of Anna being kept warm. Would this not also be an act of true love? He sacrificing himself almost for her? Why didn't that fix her heart?

Chosen answer: The act of true love had to be committed not FOR Anna, but BY Anna. It was HER heart that was frozen, after all. Sacrificing herself to save her sister was the act of true love that thawed her heart (and the rest of her).

10th Jun 2015

Back to the Future Part II (1989)

Question: Given how dumb Biff is, how in the alternate 1985 when confronted by Marty did he remember his old self in 1955 warning him about Marty and Doc. Especially considering when he got the warning, he seemed to be paying very little attention and just walking off.

Chosen answer: After young Biff won bet after bet after bet, he realized that the old Biff was obviously the real deal. As such, he undoubtedly racked his brain in an attempt to recall every detail he could about his encounter with his older self.

16th Feb 2015

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Question: Tolkien has made it clear in his letters that sailing to the Undying Lands does not make a mortal immortal. But this is what I'm curious about: is it possible to give up immortality in the Undying Lands? For instance, if Arwen had remained immortal and sailed there, would she still be able to choose a mortal life? (Not that she would do that, I'm just using her as an example).

Answer: Arwen could have, yes, but only because she specifically has the race of Men in her ancestral lineage.

2nd Feb 2015

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

Question: What is the style of Tia Dalma's speech called?

Chosen answer: According to Wikipedia, "she speaks in Jamaican Patois ('Him carve out 'im heart', etc.) with a typical West Indian accent, pronouncing her 'th's as 'd's."

2nd Feb 2015

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Question: In the book, it's revealed that Katie spent 6 months in hospital after the cursed opal necklace attacked her. How was it so harmful? It does seem fairly sharp, but there's no blood or cuts in her neck.

Chosen answer: She wasn't injured by the necklace. Simply touching it cursed her. It was the curse itself that hospitalized her, not physical damage done by the necklace.

1st Jan 2015

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Question: If Nizam and Dastan were both holding onto the knife at the end when they got sucked up by the sand, why is it that only Dastan remembers what happened?

Chosen answer: The knife can only carry one person, and Dastan had the better grip.

27th Dec 2014

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)

Question: Something that I can't figure out: Was there a reason why the Philosopher's Stone needed to be removed from the bank vault in the same week that Harry came to Hogwarts?

Answer: The timing was more a matter of convenience than absolute necessity. Dumbledore learned that one of Voldemort's servants might soon attempt to steal it. So, since Hagrid had to collect Harry from his Aunt and Uncle then take him to Gringott's among other places anyway, Dumbledore instructed Hagrid to get the stone for him while he was there.

23rd Dec 2014

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987)

Hot-Rodding Teenagers from Dimension X - S1-E4

Question: Back in the day when I was a little kid, I used to own a handful of VHS copies of some episodes of this series, and something that always stuck out with me was that on the covers of some, the turtle's weapons were changed in color. I don't remember for sure which ones, but I remember one example that I believe was on the cover for Hot Rodding Teenagers, Leonardo's swords were solid red. Bright red. Like they were made of plastic or something and looked like toys. Why did they do that for the cover? Was it really such an issue to show metal weapons on a kid's cartoon that was full of them anyways?

Chosen answer: No, that's just the kind of mistake that gets made when you contract a foreign company completely unfamiliar with the product in question to produce your marketing materials as cheaply as possibly.

18th Dec 2014

Oculus (2013)

Question: Why did Tim have to go to treatment, but his sister didn't?

Savannahlovescats

Chosen answer: Tim was the one accused of murdering his father. His sister was deemed a victim of Tim's neurosis. He tried to defend his actions by blaming it all on the mirror which made him appear to be crazy. His sister was not accused of any actions she'd need to defend herself against and so was able to avoid the scrutiny of medical professionals.

5th Dec 2014

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Question: Spoiler alert. When Dastan and Nizam are fighting over the knife stuck in the container holding the Sands of Time, it breaks free and they are both swept up, the scene then changing to Dastan back after he first discovers the dagger after the invasion of Alamut. He is aware of what happened in the previous time line obviously and acts to prevent the events from happening again. But what I am not clear on is how Nizam is acting at that point. Is he still aware of the previous time line? It's hard to tell by how he acts when Dastan confronts him. He was with Dastan when they went back in time to that point, but it was Dastan holding the dagger. So does that mean only Dastan knew what happened, or does Nizam remember it too?

Chosen answer: Only Dastan remembers. Nizam is acting strangely because Dastan is acting strangely. He suspects that Dastan is onto his secret plot somehow but can't figure out how Dastan could possibly know.

2nd Dec 2014

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Question: Is Kitty aware of what is happening in the past? Like when she is holding Wolverine's mind in the past, does she see and hear everything he does?

Chosen answer: No, she has no idea what's going on.

4th Nov 2014

Downton Abbey (2010)

Episode #1.4 - S1-E4

Question: Why does Daisy "take a turn" in Lady Mary's room? She never saw them take Pamook's body from Mary's room. She only saw them putting him back in his room, which is said to be "miles" away.

Answer: Word gets around. The staff are gossips amongst themselves, but those loyal to the family know who to keep secrets from and who they can trust to share in the knowledge.

Answer: Lady Mary was one of the three women Daisy saw carrying Pamuk's body. Daisy realised he could not have died in Cora's (Lady Grantham) room, as she sleeps with husband Robert, nor would Cora and Mary ever help carry Pamuk from Anna's bedroom in the upstairs servants' quarters. Lady Sylvia and Lady Edith were completely unaware of what happened and Edith later quizzed Daisy for information. That left Mary, who everyone noticed was particularly distraught. Daisy could have overheard Thomas later telling O'Brien that he had shown Pamuk where Mary's bedroom was located (though he never saw Pamuk go inside).

4th Nov 2014

Aladdin (1992)

Question: Jafar apparently knows that genies can grant only three wishes, since he refers to his wish for Jasmine to fall in love with him as his "final wish." He appears to be tricked into thinking that this wish has been granted because of how Jasmine acts seconds later. Later on, Jafar makes a wish to become a genie. I've never understood it, if Jafar thinks his original final wish has been granted, why would he make a second final wish?

Answer: Because he realizes a very short time later that Jasmine was faking, therefore that wish was not actually granted. Jafar isn't an idiot, he figures things out pretty quickly.

1st Nov 2014

Rango (2011)

Question: Why was Rattlesnake Jake scared of the Hawk? He would have no trouble shooting it down (like he did with the bats).

Chosen answer: Because Hawks are predators and rattlesnakes are not uncommonly their prey. It's more of a reference to real-life than based in any in-movie logic.

Answer: It also was the fact that Jake had a fear of hawks. When he spotted one fake or real he would just hide without thinking. Metal beak also didn't think like the other animals. She had a primal mindset which would scare all the other animals.

28th Oct 2014

Dogma (1999)

Question: Why is the thought that God is dead the sign of a true Catholic?

Chosen answer: I took it as a joke referencing the stereotype that many Catholics focus more on the doom-and-gloom aspects of their faith such as sin, eternal torment in Hell, Christ's suffering, etc., rather than on the more pleasant components like salvation, Heaven, Christ's resurrection, etc.

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