Question: What was happening with the reaper's back when he was biting Lighthammer?
TedStixon
15th Aug 2023
Blade II (2002)
13th Aug 2023
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985)
Question: How could Roy crush Eddie's head with a leather strap? This seems so unrealistic, even for this series.
Answer: It's highly unlikely, but it's actually not impossible. It's really dependent on how tough the leather strap is. Some leather can contend with a few hundred newtons of force before breaking. And a minor fracture or crack to one of the thinner parts of the skull can occur with as little as 15-20 newtons of force. Depending on where the strap was placed, it's possible it could crush enough bone to critically, or even possibly fatally, injure someone before it would snap. Again, highly unlikely, but it's actually not a totally unbelievable death.
2nd Aug 2023
The Village (2004)
Question: Why didn't Lucius try to defend himself after getting stabbed? He just fell down and allowed himself to receive more stabbings. Sure, it was no doubt shock that set in, but human instinct would have been to try to at least push Noah off him and try to get away from him.
Answer: Everyone reacts differently to physical trauma and stress. Lucius appears to be in a physical state of shock, as both arms are shaking, he is unable to move, and seemingly does not comprehend what just happened to him, never assuming that Noah would do something like this. That is when Lucius falls to the floor. It's not unusual for someone experiencing or witnessing something traumatic to become frozen in disbelief as they attempt to process what just happened.
Answer: In real life, sure... 90% of people would fight back. But in the context of the movie, we are meant to assume that he collapsed due to being in shock/pain from being stabbed. Just to add a little extra note, I'm assuming the numerous questions that have been posted for this film and "Signs" over the past few weeks are coming from the same person. You really do have to remember that these are stylised movies from a director with a very quirky style. Shyamalan's films (both his good films and his bad films) often have a sort-of unique sense of logic to them, and almost follow fable-like rules at times. Trying to force too much real-world logic into them or wanting too many answers to kind of undermines their point. It'd be like trying to apply real-world logic to Grimm's fairy tales or a Wes Anderson film.
30th Jul 2023
The Village (2004)
30th Jul 2023
The Village (2004)
Question: Any idea as to how long the creation of the village took? Those stone cabins look like they would've taken a considerable amount of time to build. Adding to that, the guard towers and such. Was it just the elders who built everything before the events of the film? Also, where did all the families in the village come from? Aside from the younger generations who were obviously born there, did they hear of Edward Walker's plan and decide to leave everything behind to join in?
Answer: Don't disagree with the other answer, but would add that Edward Walker was extremely wealthy, having inherited his father's corporation that still financially supports the village. He had the resources to buy the land, discreetly build the village, maintain and guard the preserve, etc. After his father was murdered, Edward joined a grief support group. That is where he met the other people who became part of the village. Everyone had lost a loved one through a violent act. Edward proposed the plan to live in an isolated village, walled off from violence. Because he was a history professor, he chose to recreate the 19th century, opting for a simpler way of life.
Answer: I'd presume it probably took a few years to get everything in the village set up and built, paperwork handled, etc. It's never explained who built everything, but it wouldn't be a stretch to guess that they may have had outside help getting things set up. And the implication is that the families are all people from the outside world who moved in when the village was created and were all likely people who simply wanted to leave behind their old lives for personal reasons, like trauma.
30th Jul 2023
Signs (2002)
Question: What happened to Officer Paski, Ray Reddy, Lionel Prichard, that girl from the pharmacy, and that army recruiter guy after the events of the film? Did they survive?
Answer: It's never revealed, so any answer given would be pure speculation. In truth, the answer is that it's up to your imagination. I'd assume a few were killed, but most people likely survived, given how short the invasion was. Of all of them, Paski and Ray Reddy are the most likely to have survived, as Paski is a cop and likely could defend herself, while Ray went out towards the water – the alien's weakness.
30th Jul 2023
Signs (2002)
Question: Why didn't the Hess family have guns? Unless it was against the family's religious beliefs to own firearms, wouldn't the smart thing to do have been to bring guns and lots of ammo into the basement with you, just in case the aliens breached the basement? I mean, a pistol round or a shotgun blast would seriously ruin the aliens' day.
Answer: Less than half of American households have guns in them. They simply didn't own any guns and didn't prioritise buying any in the panic of what's happening.
Answer: He was a preacher and, like all men of God, didn't believe in guns or violence.
23rd Apr 2009
X-Men (2000)
Question: Jean and Storm combine their powers to get Wolverine to the top of The Statue of Liberty. Why is this? Wouldn't Jean's telekinesis be sufficient enough to levitate Wolverine to the top without Storm's power?
Chosen answer: Jean's powers were not that powerful at the time.
But they were powerful enough to lift cars, water, etc. when she was like 7.
It's more that she doesn't have enough control over it.
In addition to what Lionhead said, Xavier also says he altered her mind in "X-Men: The Last Stand" by creating psychic barriers to lock out the Phoenix personality, which also seemed to have altered her memory. So it's entirely possible (and likely) her overall power reduced when that happened, and didn't start to fully come back until the events of "X2."
24th Jul 2023
The Village (2004)
Question: What did those ominous red slashes on everyone's doors mean, the morning after the creatures had entered the village?
Answer: They are simply meant to be a warning from the "creatures" to not venture into the woods again. (Of course, in actuality, it wasn't the creatures, but rather the elders who left the marks... but it's the same thing.)
24th Jul 2023
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
Question: How was Sherlock and his home team able to just take Moriarty's fortune at the end? What exactly were the grounds established justifying taking all of his stuff?
Answer: They have direct evidence that Moriarty is trying to start an international conflict and trigger a war to profiteer from. It makes perfect sense for the police to seize Moriarty's assets and fortune since they're being used for and were attained from major criminal activity.
20th Jul 2023
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Question: Towards the end, Eddie resorts to assorted cartoon antics in order to make the Weasels "die laughing." But Eddie is not in Toontown, he's performing with real objects inside the Acme factory, and subject to normal physics again. So, how is it he managed to survive multiple bowling-bowl blows to the head, being electrocuted, etc?
Answer: The movie establishes, pretty quickly, that it doesn't necessarily follow real-world logic and physics, and plays fast and loose with them. After all, it's a world where humans and cartoons co-exist side-by-side. Lots of things happen by pure dumb luck, etc. It would stand to reason that Eddie could survive silly things like being hit in the head with a bowling ball, etc. You could also make the argument that the Acme factory could follow cartoon logic, especially as it seems to be literally right next to Toon Town (they even cut a hole in the wall directly to Toon Town) and was run by a man who loved the Toons.
20th Jul 2023
Mask (1985)
Question: I read that the real Rocky Dennis had his body donated to the UCLA Medical Centre. Why was his body donated?
Answer: His body was donated to the UCLA Centre for Genetics Research, presumably so doctors and geneticists could study him and learn more about his condition. Hopefully, this would help them to better treat other patients like him in the future.
11th Jul 2023
General questions
I remember seeing a film in theatres in the 90s when I was a kid. I think it was a children's sports film. I seem to recall there being a scene where a boy spots another boy through a gap in a shelf at the store and remarks something like, "What a hunk!" At least I think it was two boys... one may have been a tomboyish girl, though. And I think it had something to do with football. Ring anyone's bell? Trying to rewatch childhood movies and it just popped into my head.
Answer: Sounds like the movie Little Giants.
Looked it up and that is 100% it. Thanks.
14th Jul 2023
The Incredible Hulk (1978)
Question: How does David get one job after another without having a résumé or any references?
Answer: Even today, it's totally possible to get hired for random temporary jobs without a résumé or references, especially if you're getting paid under the table. Most of my early jobs were like that. Local businesses I'm familiar with needed a hand for a few weeks, and I needed a little extra money. Boom! I got a temporary under-the-table job where I got a couple hundred bucks a week in cash to just come in and help out. Technically not legal, but lots of places do it. And from what I've read, back in the 70s a lot of these types of gigs were more widespread, hence it was easy to find them.
14th Jul 2023
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Question: At the start, she was to drive the truck to get gas. She never got there, and yet was able to drive all over. How?
Answer: Furiosa was not getting gas for the war rig; it is presumably fully fuelled. Furiosa was to fill the tank with gas to bring it back to be used for other vehicles.
If you're going to get gas, why have a full tank in the war rig? Put enough in it to be able to get to Gas town, pulling the attached round tank. Fill the round tank and fill up the war rig. Return with lots of gas in a full round tank and a full war rig.
I believe there is some confusion here with how the gas tank system works on the war rig. The truck itself has its own gas tank; the tank that is being towed is completely separate. It's exactly the same as real-life gas trucks.
Why does that question even need to be answered? You're going to use gas going there and coming back. It doesn't matter if the war rig was full or not when it left. Assuming they're going to be gassing the war rig up once they get there to collect the gas, it's going to come back with the exact same amount of gas no matter what. So it really makes no difference whatsoever. Also, what happens if they get delayed along the way? If they only have enough gas to get to Gas Town, but something happens, they'll just get stuck.
I agree, it's not very smart to fill the war rig with just enough gas to get to town. But it sounds like they're saying take whatever you can out of the war rig, and you'd have that much extra gas when they get back. For example, if the rig held 25 gallons and only needed 5 gallons to get to town, you can take out 20 gallons. The rig then arrives in town empty, fills up, and comes back with 20 gallons in the tank. So now you have 40 gallons instead of just 20 (plus whatever the tank holds).
I think the big point is what Furiosa was planning. She filled the gas tank of the truck up to be able to go further with it; she wasn't planning on getting the gas anyway.
Ok, I can understand that... but I still don't see why it's a question that needs to be answered, hahaha. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see why every tiny detail needs an explanation or answer, especially when it doesn't really matter for the story.
Answer: What she did most likely took months of planning. Who she could trust to help her. How exactly she could smuggle the girls out, and most importantly, gaining the trust of the boss to the point where he believed she was his obedient slave who could never betray him.
Answer: Nobody knew the war rig was full of gas. They thought she was going to fill the tanker and come back, not smuggle out the girls.
Sorry, can't believe that. The boss guy controlled everything. He would know where and how much gas there was. Also, lowering the truck empty would be a lot different than lowering it fully loaded.
The truck was supposed to be empty when it left. She was taking an empty tank to be filled, but smuggled the wives inside. It weighed probably 300 pounds more than it was supposed to, but that would be imperceptible to the people operating the elevator. The war rig likely weighs several tons.
It's not empty, it is filled with water. The wives were hiding in the tractor.
11th Jul 2023
General questions
It seems to me that older shows, for the most part, had more "stand-alone" episodes: you could easily watch them if you missed the previous episode or two. If I am correct, this is why characters often had new love interests for just one episode. Nowadays, a show is often called a "series" and all episodes must be watched, even a "Previously on..." recap doesn't cover everything. Any thoughts on why this is?
Answer: Well, in the old days, people couldn't really watch whenever they wanted or even record what they wanted to see. So trying to follow a continuing show was a lot harder. That's why there were way more shows where every episode was standalone, as you didn't have to bother watching every single one to be able to follow it. You could skip a few without a problem. These days, watching all episodes is a lot easier because of recording and digital releases. You can watch whenever you want, in the right order.
Answer: There's a lot of factors that go into this. I think the biggest one is that seasons in general have gotten shorter, meaning there is less room for stand-alone episodes. It used to be the norm for shows to have 20+ episodes per season, whereas now, seasons with 13 or fewer episodes are more common. (This is for many reasons, including higher production costs, viewership fluctuations, streaming making shorter seasons more in vogue, etc.) And as a result, many shows now just basically feel like one big movie that's split up into chapters/episodes since there's less time for side-stories or stand-alone episodes. There's good and bad to this. On one hand, it means shows need to be more efficient and concise, and there's likely to be fewer dull moments. But on the other hand, it also means that there's slightly less time for side-characters, sub-plots, world-building, etc. So it's a double-edged sword. Also, "show" and "series" have always been used interchangeably. That's nothing new.
I don't remember what year it was, but if I understand correctly, one of the results of one of the writers' strikes a while back was reduced episodes to make a complete season or a half season (with some exceptions, like daily shows).
Yeah, from what I recall, during the 2007 writers' strike, a lot of seasons had to be produced with fewer episodes due to lost time from the several months the strike lasted. And that did help set a certain precedent that many shows could be successful with fewer episodes per season. Although, I think it wasn't really until about five years later that you started to see shorter seasons becoming more widespread.
Answer: I also think another point is, there's just so many more shows being produced today, so we see more examples of these types of series shows. And, if more shows are being produced, there's more competition to get viewers to watch live (as opposed to recording to a DVR or streaming). Companies that buy ad time during a show know if viewers are recording, they can skip their ads (which is why we see more countermeasures to this).
Answer: Adding to the other answers: In TV's earliest days (from the 1950s), shows had more episodes per season, over 30. During the summer hiatus, fewer reruns were shown until the new Fall season. That resulted in self-contained episodes and one-time characters or situations that were rarely mentioned again. Episodes could be shown in any order, without losing continuity. The half-hour sitcoms were like extended skits. Many early TV shows were written by radio-era writers when maintaining a consistent, non-visual storyline was more challenging. It was just a different way of doing things. As TV evolved, plots became extended throughout a season with fewer episodes. Keeping viewers involved and guessing what happens in the next episode helps ratings.
4th Jan 2019
The Terminator (1984)
Question: How exactly do both the Terminator and Kyle find addresses? We are led to believe that is the reason for the phone books, but none of the addresses in the phone books match up to the addresses where either the first Sarah is killed, nor the apartment of our Sarah.
Answer: Gonna be totally honest... that might just be nothing more than a simple continuity error. They accidentally made a phonebook prop that didn't match up with the locations where they shot, and assumed most people wouldn't notice or care. (And to be even more honest, I never noticed it until I saw this question today.)
Answer: My two cents: The T-800 Terminator does indeed, rip out the page of a phonebook for the address, but remember, he was looking for any and all Sarah Connors, not a specific address. He did not know which Sarah would give birth to John Connor, so by process of elimination he began terminating any woman with the name Sarah Connor. He did plug the first Sarah Connor (a housewife), then went to kill the other Sarah Connors in the phone book.
I already gave that answer, but apparently that's not what the question is asking.
Answer: Both the T-800 and Kyle look up Sarah's address in the phonebook and it's Kyle who rips out a page. Neither uses a police computer; that's the T-1000 in Terminator 2.
But that doesn't answer the question (and it's already been mentioned) since the information in the phonebook appears wrong.
Answer: Kyle, as we are shown, uses a police computer to find the addresses. The T800 just uses the phonebook as you mentioned. He rips the page out and takes it with him.
Except 2 of the addresses in the phone book don't match. So how does the Terminator find them using the phonebook?
The Terminator is just blindly killing everyone in the phone book whose name is Sarah Connor (apparently a common name). Process of elimination. So, the day he arrives, unrelated women named Sarah Connor start dropping like flies, and the police believe it's the work of a serial killer. Our heroine Sarah Connor barely escapes this sweeping extermination by sheer luck and Kyle's intervention.
You just described the plot. Were you trying to answer the question? Because the question still stands. (As it is, it's either a mistake or plot hole in the film).
Perhaps I'm not getting the question. What is meant by "none of the addresses in the phone books match up"? Match up to what, the murder scene addresses? I wasn't aware that the murder scene addresses were prominently displayed.
Exactly. The addresses seen don't match. Specifically the first Sarah Connor's house number is "14239", but in the phonebook it is listed as "1823." And the real Sarah Connor lives in an apartment but the phonebook doesn't list an apartment number.
Perhaps though this all doesn't matter because phone books can quickly become outdated, the phone book he found could be over a year old. Someone moves but can still be listed in the phone book with their old address. He could have gone to the addresses but found someone else living there and then asked where the previous owner might be, and he was told (or he forced them). This might be how he found all the Sarah Connors.
Are any of the Sarah's listed as living at 1823? I've not got access to the film right now to check.
The first is listed as "1823." The second is "2816." The 3rd is "309." Although after reviewing the scene and thinking about it, for "309" (which is supposedly our Sarah J Connor), the full address isn't actually seen and the apartment number could have been listed.
Reese never uses a police computer; that's the T-1000 in Terminator 2. He rips out the page from the phonebook. The T800 also uses the phonebook but is never shown ripping out a page.
3rd Jul 2023
The Ring (2002)
Question: In the end of the movie, when Aiden's dad was picking him up and taking him to the car, who was the black figure in the room staring out the window at 1 hour and 36 minutes into the movie? (01:36:44)
Answer: It's presumably one of the officers we saw in the previous scene since they've been through a relatively traumatic event. It's likely they were given a ride to pick up their son. (Alternately, it's also entirely possible that it's a crew member who got caught in the shot since they're out of focus in the background.)
14th Jun 2023
General questions
Why do people in some movies/TV put a blob of sunscreen on their nose? In real life, I typically see people rub sunscreen into their skin, all over themselves.
Answer: The sunscreen you are asking about is likely zinc oxide. It sits on the surface of the skin and scatters the sun's rays. The sunscreen rubbed into the skin, as you describe, doesn't contain zinc oxide, but rather contains chemicals that absorb the solar radiation and converts that energy to heat, which is then released from the body.
Answer: From what I recall, older sunscreens were much weaker than what we have now. And it was common to apply extra to certain areas of the body, like the nose since it sticks out from your face and is more likely to get sun damage. And the extra sunscreen created the white "blob" around the nose. So it just sort-of became a visual shorthand in films and TV for showing that someone is wearing sunscreen. And since people became used to it, it stuck around. It's currently also a good way to show that a character is rigid, set in their ways or old-fashioned, since it's not something you see too much anymore.
18th May 2023
The Avengers (2012)
Question: Why was Edward Norton replaced by Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner?
Answer: In addition to lionhead's answer, there are also rumors that Norton wanted more creative control over the character and franchise, as evidenced by the fact he did frequent uncredited rewrites on the set of "The Incredible Hulk" and also even ghost-directed a few scenes while director Louis Letterier was tied up with other obligations. Given the complexity of the MCU, the producers and studio didn't necessarily want cast-members to exercise more creative control over the films early on because it could undermine their long-term plans.
Answer: There were disagreements between him and Marvel about the contract. It's said Norton didn't want to be clung to a single character.
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Answer: From what I understand, this is simply somehow part of the reaper's digestive process. As the "sacks" inflate on its back, oozy liquid is also being expelled. If I recall correctly, in one of the commentary tracks, it's explained that this is basically how the reapers "defecate." Once they've filtered out the nutrients from the blood, it is expelled as the oozy liquid. Presumably the sacks have something to do with this.
TedStixon