Super Grover

Question: After Shorty frees himself from the shackles, he's climbing up the ladder with the guard following. He's got something in his mouth on the way up, which he puts back in his mouth before pushing the ladder. What's he biting down on?

Answer: During Short Round's escape he's carrying Indiana's bundled belongings with the whip wrapped around it. Short Round is holding the bundle at his back by the whip handle, and when he needs both his hands free he puts the narrow part of the whip in his mouth, so he doesn't lose Indiana's gear. After Short Round pushes the ladder, when he climbs the rope and reaches the overhead cave, the whip becomes even more visible.

Super Grover

18th Dec 2022

S.W.A.T. (2003)

Answer: The sophisticated battering ram that Street created is aptly named Key to the City.

Super Grover

13th Dec 2022

Grease (1978)

Question: Why did Vince say "Don't be a slob don't get a job"? How does that make sense for high schoolers? Isn't it a good thing for them to get a job?

Answer: On the radio we hear Vince Fontaine say, "Get out of bed. It's the first day of school. Don't be a slob. Don't get a job. Go back to class. You can pass!" Vince is advising his teen listeners to go back to class on the first day of school. That they should not be a high school drop-out and get a job (full-time), but instead to stay in school and they can pass their classes. Vince doesn't mean the teenagers who have part-time jobs while they're going to high school.

Super Grover

28th Nov 2022

Seinfeld (1990)

Show generally

Question: Was there an episode in which Jerry dated a very beautiful woman, and the subject/issue was that people would do anything for her? She could get almost anything she asked for, wherever she went? I think she had blonde hair. I might be confusing this with another series.

Answer: It's S7 "The Calzone" and the woman's name is Nicki in the episode.

Super Grover

19th Nov 2022

Modern Family (2009)

Show generally

Question: What's the episode where they're all travelling on a train, and Phil and Cam see a writer whose books they admire?

Answer: It's S7xE21 Crazy Train.

Super Grover

5th Jan 2019

Blue Bloods (2010)

Answer: This is an NYPD Meritorious Police Duty bar, specifically either the Honorable Mention (silver-star) medal, or the Commendation (bronze-star) medal. Recipients are awarded Honorable Mention for "an act of extraordinary bravery intelligently performed in the line of duty at imminent and personal danger to life." And the Commendation is for "grave personal danger in the performance of duty" or "highly creditable unusual police accomplishment."

Super Grover

7th Sep 2022

The West Wing (1999)

Tomorrow - S7-E22

Question: Whose portrait is hanging behind Santo's desk in the newly redecorated Oval Office? (to the right of the desk from the viewer's perspective).

Brian Katcher

Answer: The painting hanging on the wall to the right of Santos' desk is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln.

Super Grover

28th Aug 2022

Grease (1978)

Question: During the beginning of the dance off, Jan is crying (while Vince Fontaine is doing the announcement). Why?

Answer: While Vince is talking mere moments before going live on the air, Jan's getting nervous, keyed-up, and emotional, so she begins to stare and sob, much to the chagrin of Putzie. Then, before the 10-second countdown she excitedly tries to get Frenchie's attention.

Super Grover

28th Aug 2022

The Expendables 2 (2012)

Question: What is the thing that the five guys are saying in the plane before they make a toast to Billy?

Answer: The words of their chant are "Beware, beware, walk with care. Careful what you do. Or Mumbo Jumbo's gonna hoo-doo you. Mumbo Jumbo's gonna hoo-doo you. Boomlay, boomlay, boomlay, boom!" This comes directly from a poem titled "The Congo" by poet Nicholas Vachel Lindsay ("The Congo and Other Poems"), specifically the lines at the end of part I.

Super Grover

1st Aug 2022

House (1986)

Question: What is Cobb watching on the TV after his first war flashback, right before the kid appears in the window?

Answer: That's the horror movie Don't Look in the Basement (1973), at its own timecode 01:09:30 within that movie.

Super Grover

24th Jun 2022

Licence to Kill (1989)

Question: Why does Bond in the aquarium warehouse scene near the start, during the firefight portion, move what looks like a lobster from one tank and drop it into another? Is it one of those iconic random things heroes do in some movies?

Answer: When the warehouse guard fires on Bond at least one of those bullets hits a tank, so the crustaceans, starfish, and the rest pour out of the shattered tank. Then Bond picks up one of those crustaceans and drops it into an undamaged tank.

Super Grover

22nd Jun 2022

Evita (1996)

Question: In her death scene Evita sings a final solo and she cries out one line. What does she say? It sounds like "So soon" but I can't get the line. I've listened to the recording of both the film and the Broadway versions.

Answer: Within the movie version, when she is lying in bed singing her final song (titled "Lament"), I think you're referring to the words "how they shone, but how soon the lights were gone" near the end of this song. Also, the following may be helpful to you. This movie is available to watch free on Tubi. The full lyrics to the movie version of "Lament" are available here. For the "Lament" lyrics from the 1979 Broadway version, see here.

Super Grover

Answer: YouTube captions are often autogenerated and have no relation to what's actually being said.

I realise they are autogenerated, which is why I said that it "may" help to work out what the line was. While imperfect, they certainly are relevant to what is said. I've used it myself to figure out parts of movie dialogue. Also, streaming sites showing this movie might have closed captioned dialogue that is not auto-generated and is more accurate.

raywest

Answer: This scene is on YouTube and has the closed-captions option. This may help you determine what the line was.

raywest

30th May 2022

Cliffhanger (1993)

Question: How much money was in the cases the bad guys lost?

Answer: It totalled more than $100 million.

Super Grover

Uh, wouldn't a stack of $100 million in cash be too big to fit in a case?

The money was in 3 cases.

Super Grover

This, plus it's also worth noting that they were $1,000 bills, which would greatly cut down on the size.

jshy7979

30th May 2022

Braveheart (1995)

Question: What illness does Robert's father have?

Answer: Within this movie's storyline he has leprosy.

Super Grover

Question: This question is for all the novels. How are all the schools in the wizarding world kept hidden from the muggle world? Surely if a plane were to fly over Hogwarts, people would be shocked at seeing people flying around on broomsticks and using magic.

Answer: International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy is in charge of hiding the general wizarding community from the Muggle world. As for many of the wizarding schools such as Hogwarts, their use of multiple Concealment Charms provide the necessary protection to creatively conceal them from Muggle view.

Super Grover

Also, Muggles usually don't "want" to see magic. Most of them are too convinced that magic is not real. A Muggle might see the occasional wizard/witch fly high above them on a broom, and assume they imagined it.

Answer: There are special spells at work to hide the schools and other places from muggles. In Deathly Hallows for example you can see Hermione cast a few when they are in the woods. An example is "Repello Muggletum", which is a barrier that causes Muggles who hit it to forget they were there and turn around.

lionhead

Question: Has it ever been explained what would have happened if the Sorting Hat couldn't decide what students should be placed into what house?

Answer: If the Sorting Hat experienced a "Hatstall" where, after a certain amount of time passes, it was unable to decide where to place a student based on their being suited to more than one House, then the student's personal preference would be considered. There were a handful of "hatstalls" over the centuries, but the Sorting Hat eventually placed the students.

raywest

Where are you getting this?

Brian Katcher

From the Harry Potter "Wizarding World" web site. The supplemental material was written by J.K. Rowling and originally published on "Pottermore." According to Rowling, Minerva McGonagall was a Hatstall student. The Sorting Hat had difficulty placing her between either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, finally settling on Gryffindor.

raywest

The term Hatstall was created by JK Rowling. It can be found here: https://www.wizardingworld.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/hatstall.

Super Grover

28th Mar 2022

Blue Bloods (2010)

Mercy - S2-E1

Question: What pier are Frank and Jamie fishing off? They've done several fishing scenes there I believe.

Answer: In this specific episode "Mercy" S2xE1, the final scene was filmed at Brooklyn's Valentino Pier (also known as Coffey Street Pier), in Red Hook. This area's full name is Louis Valentino Jr Park and Pier. The unusual structure and layout of Valentino Pier make it quite unique (and it's a lovely place to just hang out). Different local piers have been used to film fishing scenes in other episodes, note their distinctive structures and skyline views.

Super Grover

Answer: They usually fish on the 65th Street pier in Brooklyn.

raywest

28th Oct 2020

American Wedding (2003)

Question: Is this filmed at the Grand Traverse Resort?

Answer: The Grand Traverse Resort and Spa is located near Traverse City, Michigan. The exterior shots of the wedding site were filmed at the oceanfront Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, California. The wedding and reception interior shots were filmed at Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory in San Marino, California.

Super Grover

10th Jul 2020

All in the Family (1971)

Show generally

Question: Since they had friends why couldn't the Stivics move in with them so they wouldn't have to put up with Archie?

Rob245

Answer: Yes, Gloria and Michael have friends, but when they got married they decided it was best to live *rent free* with Edith and Archie, while Mike was going to college. Living with friends rent free, for quite a few years, is not an easy thing no matter how close the friends are with them. Since the Stivics needed their money to pay for the tuition and its other costs, their living arrangement made it all easier to deal with. Hence the Archie and Mike scenarios.

Super Grover

7th May 2020

Speed (1994)

Question: How did Howard Payne get Jack Traven's cell number that he contacted him on when they were trying to unload the bus driver? Doubly so given that Jack got it from the guy in the convertible, so it's not even his phone.

Answer: First, Jack uses the guy's cell phone to call Harry and tell him the bomber is still alive. So now Harry has the cell number. Later, right after Jack tells McMahon that Payne is "crazy not stupid" then McMahon tells Jack that Harry thinks Payne is a cop, Payne is on the police line wanting to talk to Jack, so Jack tells McMahon to give Payne his number.

Super Grover

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