TedStixon

Question: Why doesn't anyone from the Afterlife try to stop Lydia from doing her TV series? In the first movie, Juno said that the living must not discover evidence of the Afterlife.

Answer: My guess would be that it's a combination of a few factors. The first is that she's far from the only one doing that sort of program. There are hundreds of paranormal shows, YouTube channels, etc. It would start to look very suspicious if suddenly things started happening to everyone who makes that type of content. Second, a lot of people just flat-out don't believe in things like ghosts and the afterlife. And a lot of those shows are faked, anyway. So while Lydia is earnest and honest, a lot of people won't believe it. Therefore, her show isn't exactly super risky for the afterlife. And finally, the original movie really doesn't dwell on that idea; it's basically given a few brief lines of dialogue in like one scene, and that's it. So you could also make the argument that this movie just sort of ret-conned or is ignoring that idea due to it being such a minor, unimportant element of the original.

TedStixon

Answer: I agree with Ted Stixon - many people have similar shows/online channels, and many people don't believe in the content. So, the afterlife officials are probably not concerned about all of them. There are people in real life who claim to be in contact with the deceased, as well as psychics and people with various religious beliefs.

7th Aug 2016

Ice Age (2002)

Question: The end of the movie shows Scrat and his acorn frozen in and eventually thawed from a block of ice 20,000 years later. How did he come back for the sequels?

Answer: The sequels take place before he was frozen.

MasterOfAll

That's not true. If the movies made later were prequels, how would the characters all already know each other?

Good Lord, people are overthinking this, hahaha. It's a silly animated movie series primarily aimed at children. It's OK if the Scrat character doesn't have super-concise continuity. It'd be like getting upset over the Looney Tunes not having strict continuity.

TedStixon

That one scene is set much later than the other films. The sequels aren't prequels.

11th Jan 2025

Beetlejuice (1988)

Question: Did Jane have any legal right to sell Adam and Barbara's house after they died? Both of them had no interest in selling the house at all and even told Jane as such.

Answer: Given they had no known next-of-kin, whoever was appointed the executor of their estate likely just had Jane sell the house since she was friendly with Adam and Barbara and expressed interest in selling it even before they died.

TedStixon

11th Jan 2025

Enchanted (2007)

Answer: Hallmark is a fairly common greeting card brand that is known for being extremely good-natured. He's basically saying she's acting almost unnaturally... perhaps even annoyingly... sweet and kind.

TedStixon

11th Jan 2025

Halloween Kills (2021)

Question: Why did the officer in the flashback beat Michael to the ground?

Answer: Because they were all angry and frustrated, Michael killed multiple locals and was also responsible for the death of their fellow officer, McCabe. They were taking out their rage on him. Completely unprofessional, but also arguably understandable. Additionally, this question is a duplicate entry; it was posted twice today.

TedStixon

Question: SPOILERS: When Sonic and Shadow land on the moon, they have a heart-to-heart conversation and appear to be breathing. But there's no air on the moon. Are we to assume that the Chaos Emeralds (which have given them both powers) are giving them the ability to breathe and speak in the environment?

TedStixon

Answer: They still have the Chaos Emerald power at that point because, immediately after, they turn gold and fly away.

Honestly, that's probably the best answer.

TedStixon

Question: How did Stone see Robotnik's message at the end? It appeared to be displayed on jumbotron-like devices in big city squares, but Stone was in London and there didn't appear to be any giant screens, or even small ones, anywhere near him.

Charles Fraser

Answer: Per a quick Google search, it appears there are several locations in London where there are giant screens. He likely was running around the city in a panic (there is a doomsday weapon threatening to destroy mankind, after all) and managed to stumble onto one of the locations.

TedStixon

1st Dec 2024

Creepshow 2 (1987)

Question: How much involvement did Stephen King have in the making of this film? He wrote the script for the first Creepshow movie; however, for this film, the screenwriter is credited as George A. Romero. I know the middle story "The Raft" is based on a story King had written previously, but what about the other two, "Old Chief Woodenhead" and "The Hitchhiker"? Did King have any involvement in the making of those stories as well, or were they made up entirely by Romero?

Answer: From what I understand, "Old Chief Woodenhead" and "The Hitchhiker" were both loosely outlined by King. But he ended up stepping back and having little involvement in the film beyond writing rough outlines since the budget was being cut drastically and George A. Romero wasn't directing.

TedStixon

9th Nov 2024

Predator (1987)

Question: After the Predator gets out of the water and walks past Dutch, it sees some small animal (not sure what) and kills it. Since it kills for sport, targets experts with weapons, why kill a defenceless animal? (01:20:00)

oobs

Answer: The creature it shoots at is a Coati. It shoots at it as it’s looking for Dutch using infrared and mistakes the animal for Dutch, possibly thinking the rest of him is obscured by the log, knowing Dutch is trying to hide. It misses the animal, though.

lionhead

Answer: It simply might have seen killing a different animal as yet another "trophy." Especially if it hunts for sport and is on a different planet. I know a few people who hunt for "sport," and many of their targets are non-dangerous, defenceless animals that could not realistically fight back. It's just... a thing for some people.

TedStixon

Except that the Yautja only kill people who have weapons. The animal was defenceless, and it wouldn't have been very, what the Yautja perceive, as being honourable.

The issue is that you're going by logic established in sequels/spin-off material and trying to retroactively connect it. Nothing in the original movie explicitly states this. Even the name you're using, "Yautja," wasn't coined until a spin-off novel that came out seven years later. Sometimes sequels and spin-offs will "rewrite the rules" and retcon from the original, thus creating small inconsistencies. You just have to accept that it's something that happened in this movie, even if it contradicts future series "lore." You can't really fault it for not lining up with sequels they didn't even know would exist when they made it.

TedStixon

8th Sep 2024

Deep Rising (1998)

Question: Finnegan put only one torpedo through the hole in the side of his boat. Would only one be enough to destroy the whole cruise ship?

Answer: According to some good old Google Fu, a single torpedo hit could absolutely destroy and sink a cruise ship since they're not as fortified as a warship would be. They're meant to carry passengers, not go to war. Granted, it probably wouldn't be quite as dramatic an explosion, but you could also argue that any other explosives on Finnegan's ship, plus the cruise ship's fuel, could have been ignited in the blast. You also have to factor in that the ship was already heavily damaged from the monsters attacking and was in a more fragile state than it would otherwise be.

TedStixon

31st Aug 2024

Halloween Kills (2021)

Question: Who is Conrad Mulaney and how did Lonnie steal his candy?

Answer: I always thought that Conrad was the guy with those two girls who steal Lonnie's candy. And Lonnie could have just pickpocketed the candy from Conrad. It's never explicitly stated in detail.

ChristmasJonesfan

Answer: He's another kid, and Lonnie probably just picked on him and stole some of his candy... it happens.

TedStixon

14th Aug 2024

Hulk (2003)

Question: Would Bruce, standing in front of the Gamma Sphere, have really saved Harper's life?

Answer: It's fictional sci-fi movie technology, so it's honestly up to the writers. In the case of the movie as depicted, it seems to have worked. (While there is a real Gammasphere that was used as the very loose basis for the one seen in the movie, its function is entirely different, so it can't really be used as a valid comparison.)

TedStixon

Question: When Seymore is having the final confrontation with the plant, the plant sings, "You can keep the Thing. You can keep the It. You can keep the Creature, they don't mean shit!" I get that "the Thing" is a reference to the monster from "The Thing From Another World" and "the Creature" is a reference to Gillman from "The Creature From The Black Lagoon", but what is "the It" a reference to?

Answer: Most likely it is referring to It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958) or possibly It Came from Outer Space (1953).

Answer: I'm assuming that "it" is simply a vague reference to non-human creatures. (It most likely wouldn't be a reference to "It" by Stephen King, as "It" came out after the song was written.)

TedStixon

Answer: He was speaking in general. It being used as a subject, direct object, or indirect object of a verb, or object of a preposition, usually in reference to a lifeless thing.

Answer: Seems like "It" is the titular creature from Stephen King's novel "It." It was a shapeshifter, but mainly took the form of Pennywise the Clown. The novel was released 3 months prior to this film's release.

Bishop73

Question: Why does Alice team up with Carlos after he points a gun at her in the school?

Answer: The movie quite literally explains it. They've both been contacted by the same person with the same offer, so even though their initial meeting is tense, they quickly team up. As the phrase goes... strength in numbers. It's easier to complete a difficult task with more allies.

TedStixon

18th Jul 2024

Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)

Question: Mel Gibson used what looked like an AK-47 to shoot Jet Li. Is a rifle like that watertight and able to fire underwater?

Answer: It can be fired underwater, yes, although its effective range is tiny since the water instantly slows the bullet down. It'd definitely be able to kill Jet Li as demonstrated though, since it's pushed right up against him, thus the bullets would have very little resistance from the water. Although I don't know if it'd get quite as many shots off before jamming up. There are plenty of videos of people firing them underwater, but they always only fire a single round, presumably for safety reasons. Either way, the scene is more or less realistic.

TedStixon

Answer: The AK47 is known for its simplicity and durability, with a design that is easy to use, maintain, and repair, even in harsh conditions. It can function in extreme temperatures, dusty and sandy environments, and even when it is dirty or partially submerged in water. "How far can an AK-47 shoot underwater? - Not very far. Besides having to push water out of the barrel, bullets don't go very far through water even when the bullet exits the barrel at full muzzle velocity. Bullets hitting the water travel about 3-feet before stopping."

18th Jul 2024

The Incredibles (2004)

Question: Why did Mrs. Incredible look at herself in the mirror? I never did understand that.

Answer: She sees her reflection and notices her thighs and rear-end look a little big, before letting out a slightly disappointed sigh. It's there to indicate that she has minor body-insecurity issues, much as Bob did earlier in the film. She hasn't been a super in a while and has had kids in the meantime, so she's put on a little weight... it's a nice moment to remind us that despite being a superhero on the surface, she's also a normal person with normal worries deep down inside.

TedStixon

Answer: She was noticing her larger hips/butt thanks to the skin-tight super suit. As with a lot of people, she gained weight as she got older, and she was no longer a superhero, so she didn't get the exercise she had in her youth.

BaconIsMyBFF

23rd Jun 2024

Ghostbusters 2 (1989)

Question: What is the device that Ray uses to scan Vigo's painting?

Answer: In the context of the movie, it's simply a piece of Ghostbusting tech that's nature is never really revealed. In real life, it's a modified version of a camera called a "Globuscope." It was invented in the early 1980s and was used to take panoramic-style photographs. So far as I can tell, only a handful were ever produced, and somehow one of them ended up in the movie.

TedStixon

Answer: Serafinowicz apparently hated working on "Phantom Menace" because it paid poorly, he was given limited direction, and he felt Jar Jar Binks was a racist caricature upon watching the film on release.

TedStixon

Also, Serafinowicz was annoyed that he wasn't invited to the film's premiere and had to pay for his own tickets and travel expenses.

9th Jun 2024

Twister (1996)

Question: During the hilltop tornado scene, Preacher mentions "the cone of silence." What exactly is that?

Answer: In the context of the movie, I believe they're referring to a moment where it appears everything is over, but is about to start up again. In real life, the term is evidently a term for a specific area that weather radars can't necessarily pick... usually very close to the radar since being overhead would mean they're outside of the radar's angle.

TedStixon

Answer: In the TV series "Get Smart", there was a device called the "cone of silence." It's used so that no one could hear private conversations, but it never worked properly. It was most likely a cultural reference.

26th May 2024

Fantastic Four (2005)

Question: In the finale, when the team is spraying Doom with water, when Ben closes the fire hydrant, the same noise made when Sue gained powers is heard. Was this on purpose?

sunfox35

Answer: I've just watched the scenes back-to-back and the similarities are pretty vague, so I can only assume you're referring to some subtle background noise I didn't notice. Regardless, chances are if they reused the same sound, it was just because it was some sort of licensed music-library sound they thought worked well in both scenes. This actually happens all the time. I've seen movies where, if you listen very closely, you can hear the same sound clip 2, 3, 4 or more times mixed into the background noise. (Ex. "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" reuses the same "pottery breaking" sound about a half-dozen times if you pay attention during the earthquake scenes.)

TedStixon

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