Question: It is something like 3000 years between Isildur's death and Aragorn's coronation. Why didn't someone else of Isildur's heirs (ex. his son) return to Minas Tirith to reclaim the throne?
jle
16th Feb 2004
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
13th Feb 2004
About a Boy (2002)
9th Feb 2004
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Question: Private Joker asks the gunner on the chopper about how he is able to shoot women and children, and the gunner replies by saying 'it's easy, you just don't lead them so much'. Does anyone know what that means?
Answer: To lead means to aim ahead of a moving target. His statement means that women and children don't run as fast as men, so you don't need to aim as far in front of them to hit them.
9th Feb 2004
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Question: It's established that the Elves are leaving Middle Earth to go across the sea, into the West. What/where exactly are they going? Is it to another continent that's just across the sea that maybe only Elves know how to get to, or to some otherworldly place?
Answer: They're going to a place called Valinor (which means "home of the vala". The Vala are sort of manifestations of some of the gods) - it is a real continent that is across the sea. There is, however, magic at work because only the elven boats can get there.
Question: When Gandalf falls at the bridge of Khazad-dum, it seems like he lets go on purpose. Why doesn't he try to pull himself up, or why doesn't the Fellowship try to help him? It seems that he 'died' unnecessarily.
Answer: This scene differs slightly from the book. Tolkien didn't give Gandalf a choice - the Balrog's whip gets him and he falls immediately. However, even in the filmed version, it is clear that there is no chance of Gandalf being rescued. He has the weight of the Balrog hanging on him so cannot be pulled up; since he is the only one with a chance of defeating such a powerful creature he decides to fight it well away from the rest of the fellowship who have a much more important mission to complete.
4th Feb 2004
Educating Rita (1983)
27th Jan 2004
Amelie (2001)
Question: How does Raymond Dufayel aka Glass Man know Amélie is looking for Bretodeau/Bredoteau aka The Box Man. He says "I've lived here for five years. This is the first time we've met." Then adding that he never goes out on the landing, they're all creeps. So my question is who told him Amélie was looking for The Box Man? Lucien the grocer boy maybe? As he delivers to his flat. Or maybe Madeleine Wallace the Concierge. (00:26:20)
Chosen answer: The Glass Man isn't as reclusive as he tells Amelie; he obviously talks to many people and spies on them with his binoculars (he knows all about Amelie's revenge on the grocer and the letter she wrote to Mrs. Wells). It isn't revealed where he got the specific information about Amelie's search for Dominique Bredoteau.
4th Feb 2004
Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
Question: What does it mean to "bend it"? I'm assuming this is a soccer term...?
Chosen answer: It means that the ball curves when in flight - typically after a free kick is taken. During a free-kick, the defenders will form a wall between the kicker and the goal. So instead of kicking the ball in a straight line, spin is added so that, hopefully, it curves around the side of the wall.
28th Jan 2004
Minority Report (2002)
Question: What exactly is Leo saying to Anderton when he "confesses" to kidnapping his son? I can't make out most of what he's whispering in this scene - I caught something about pretzels when he first started speaking, then when Anderton asks if he's still alive, he said something about a barrel.
Answer: Leo: "I told him I was a policeman. I told him I needed his help. It wasn't so bad. I sang him a song, I bought him a pretzel. I bought him a pretzel! He was happy. He was happy." Anderton: "Is he alive? He's alive? Where have you got him? Is he all right? Tell me, you f**k! Where is he?" Leo : "I put him in a barrel. I sunk him in the bay. It floated back up. I took him out. I was gentle (3 times). I'm sorry (4 times). I'm so very sorry." Anderton: "How could you do that to my boy?" They fight. Anderton points his gun at Leo. Leo: "I'm sorry" Agatha: "You can choose. You can choose." Anderton: "You have the right to remain silent...", etc.
28th Jan 2004
South Park (1997)
Question: I am aware that Canada and Mormons appear frequently in South Park. Is there a reason for them to appear?
Chosen answer: Trey Parker and Matt Stone have said that they're making fun of the media; Canadians are very similar to Americans, yet the US media often portrays them has being very different. Trey Parker apparently grew up around a lot of Mormons and, we can infer, organised religion didn't make a good impression on him.
Answer: For the Mormon thing, there's the fact that it's set in Colorado, which is next door to Utah, the center of Mormonism.
22nd Jan 2004
Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969)
Question: Does anyone know what the killer joke (German version anyway) translates to in English? I tried running it through BabelFish, but it still made no sense.
Chosen answer: Fortunately for the entire English speaking world, there is no translation. It is not real German.
22nd Jan 2004
Mulholland Drive (2001)
22nd Jan 2004
M*A*S*H (1972)
Question: Can anyone tell me the name of the episode in which Henry Blake is killed? Also, which series does this episode appear in?
Answer: He dies in the last episode of Season 3, entitled "Abyssinia, Henry".
7th Jan 2004
Minority Report (2002)
5th Jan 2004
X-Men 2 (2003)
Question: After Nightcrawler saves Rogue, there is a scene in the forest where she comes up and says "Thank you." He responds in German - according to AltaVista's BabelFish he says: "Ask Beautiful" but that doesn't make sense. Does anyone know what he really says?
Chosen answer: "Bitte Schon". When someone says "Danke", it is polite to reply "Bitte" (ie. 'you're welcome'). Similarly "Danke Schon" ('thank you very much') is replied to with "Bitte Schon". Translated literally the words mean 'please beautifully' but the phrase means 'you're welcome'.
3rd Jan 2004
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
26th Dec 2003
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Question: The scene when the Ku Klux Klan are assembling is very similar to the scene in "The Wizard of Oz", when the scarecrow, the tin man and the cowardly lion sneak into the witch's castle. The marching music, the disguises and the way they enter the procession are almost identical. Was this intentional?
Chosen answer: Yes, it was.
26th Dec 2003
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Question: Does anyone know if the film has ever been released in colour and if it has was it ever as successful as the black and white version?
Answer: There is a DVD with colour and black and white.
Answer: There have been three colorized versions of the film. Determining whether the colorized version or the original black and white film is more successful is difficult. The original B&W film, released in theaters in 1946, flopped at the box office and the studio lost money. It was only after it started being shown on TV (in B&W) decades later that it became popular. The first colorized version came out in the early 1980s and was released on VHS. Most sales would have been the colorized version, so in that respect, it could be considered more successful. The B&W version is available on DVD.
Answer: There are two colourised versions. See
26th Dec 2003
Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
26th Dec 2003
Aliens (1986)
Question: What specific job in the Visual Effects Department did Suzanne Benson have? It must have been important because she won an Oscar for her work, yet she isn't credited on either version of the film.
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Answer: After the war of the Ring, Isildur and his family went back to Arnor in the far North where they originated. Arnor was later conquered by the Nazgul and so that was the end of that line. Gondor had been left to be ruled by Anarion - Isildur's brother - but that line of the family simply died out leaving Gondor in the care of the Stewards.
jle