Question: What is the name of the object the NASA scientist uses to knock out Homer and Barney?
Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more
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Question: In one scene, there's a newspaper that says "Wednesday, August 26, 2015" at the top. Why would it say that when this film was released on June 26 of that year?
Answer: Films are basically never set exactly when they're released. Most likely they just picked a random date around the likely time of release, but scheduling changed. Alternatively they just picked an arbitrary date in the future for the newspaper, but a date in the recent past would have worked just as well.
Question: I'm not an English native speaker. This can be more of an English-related question. There's a line of Han Solo that I don't understand. He said this line twice, during the conversations with Greedo and Jabba: "Even I get boarded sometimes." What exactly does he mean? What is "get boarded" here?
Answer: To "board" means to step foot on a craft. Han is referring to random inspections, where stormtroopers will come onto the Millennium Falcon to search for contraband. He is saying it isn't his fault he had to dump Jabba's shipment. Even being as good a pilot as he is, he still can't stop the Empire from searching his ship from time to time.
Chosen answer: Getting onto a ship or plane is called "boarding." Han is saying the authorities have come onto his spaceship (boarded his ship), which is why he had to get rid of whatever he was smuggling (bringing in secret and illegally) for Jabba. By saying "even I get boarded", he means even though he's the best smuggler, there's still times he gets his ship searched.
The Pirates Are Coming - S1-E4
Question: Luffy says to the crew, "From now on, it's all gonna be smooth sailing," and then an explosion is heard outside. Nami says to Luffy, "You had to open your mouth." What does she mean by this? I'm a non-native English speaker who studies English by watching shows. Shouldn't she have said, "You shouldn't have opened your mouth"? (00:57:00)
Chosen answer: "You had to" or "you just had to" is a sarcastic way of saying "you shouldn't have".
Question: If Alex was being honest about being pregnant with his child and wanting Dan to take responsibility for it, then why didn't she just make an appointment with the authorities? If the child was proven to come from him, then surely he would be required to support it by law, at the very least financially.
Answer: Alex is completely mentally unstable. She doesn't just want child support or a legal acknowledgement of paternity. She wants Dan, and she wants him all to herself.
Is it possible that she was not even pregnant? (I have not re-watched the movie recently, so apologies if I forgot something.) There are a couple of online discussions about this.
There's a scene where Daniel is talking to his friend and he's explaining what the situation is and asks him about family law. He mentions speaking to Alex's gynecologist, and the doctor congratulates him (regarding the pregnancy). Alex gave Daniel the doctor's number and says he can call to confirm if he wants to - she likely gave the doc permission to discuss it with Daniel.
Of course, that was possible. I'd wondered about it too. She was either lying to trap him or allowed herself to get pregnant. The chances of her being pregnant were slim, however, since they basically had a one-night stand. She could also have gotten pregnant by somebody else. My own opinion is she was not pregnant, at least not with Dan's child.
That's true. However, they do say in behind the scenes though the her becoming pregnant was to be a motive to not move on from Dan. Though they probably decided to make it ambiguous. Though I'd say she's at least pregnant given the way she vomits unexpectedly when watching Dan and his family.
Question: The second Nedry notices the Dilophosaurus in the jeep with him, why didn't he quickly get out and shut the door, trapping it inside? He had a second or two before the Dilophosaurus started growling and attacking him, plenty of time to get out.
Answer: There are some additional factors that would interfere with his ability to move quickly: He was obese (so not very agile) and his vision was impaired (he dropped his glasses and was sprayed with gunk in his eyes).
Answer: In addition to what RayWest and LionHead wrote, I would like to point out that it's easy to say what a person should have done. You're watching the situation as an outsider. Granted, this is a fantasy situation in a movie about dinosaurs, but the mentality is realistic: people who are actually in a situation don't always think of something that seems obvious.
Answer: The fact that Nedry was in a car could've been giving him a false sense of security. Yes, he could've gotten out of the car, but then he'd be out in the open, making it easier for him to get attacked by any other dinos that were lurking about. In the car, he probably (incorrectly) assumed that the Dilophosaurus would have restricted movement due to how small cars are, making it harder for it to attack.
Question: What exactly was the issue with the telescope? Clara states that if you turn the dial one way, the image turns fuzzy, but if you turn it the other way, it becomes clear. I thought that was how telescopes (and binoculars, for that matter) worked, as you have to adjust the focal point. Is she just using it as an excuse to see Doc, or does she just not have a clue how telescopes work?
Answer: It was an excuse to see Doc. When Clara says, "if you turn the dial this way, everything is fuzzy," she's slyly putting her arm around Doc's shoulders. Doc is the one who says everything becomes clear when he realizes what's happening.
The Alien Costume: Part 3 - S1-E10
Question: Why did this design of Venom have light blue and pink on the outside? Something to do with the animated style?
Answer: I believe it was just a way to try and show the suit is "oily" or reflective. It also helps define the character's features since otherwise, he'd just be a flat black color. It's similar to how the black suit Spidey had blue outlines. (I don't know why they chose a pink/red color... maybe because red is associated with power/fire/war, so it's a more "evil" color?)
Question: Why don't Riggs and Murtaugh pick up one of the dead criminals' guns upon running out of ammunition?
Answer: There's no reason given, but I have often seen this same scenario in movies where the good-guy characters thwart or ambush the villain, then run off, leaving the weapon behind. The villain comes to and resumes the chase with the gun. I can understand a non-law enforcement person doing this, but not two experienced cops. It's a dumb, silly plot trope to maintain suspense.
Question: As a non-native English speaker, I ask: At the dinner, Jim says to his boss, "I was thinking, with the numbers so high, maybe it's time I get off the road and take an office position." What occupation did he have? And what does he mean "get off the road" here?
Chosen answer: I don't know what his specific occupation was, but the term to "get off the road" would refer to someone who constantly travels, either domestically or internationally, for their job, but they now want to work in their company office every day. The most common trope would be the "traveling salesperson" who was constantly "on the road," going town to town, selling their product.
Question: I have heard something about Cube having an alternate or extended ending. Are there any videos of this by chance?
Answer: Not to my knowledge. The director said on Twitter/X that there was an extra scene during the ending that had been shot but that it was immediately removed from the film after the first assembly cut. He also said it will never be seen and joked that he "burned it and stomped on it." (Chances are the footage is just lost.) So I'd assume whatever it is REALLY didn't work or was too silly.
Answer: From Lost Media Wiki: According to several eyewitnesses, in certain theatrical screenings of the film, the scene in question was shown. It allegedly depicts Kazan walking out onto a beach (or a cliff's edge, depending on who you ask) on a purple alien planet, overlooking an endless ocean, as mechanical grinding noises are heard. As he turns around, both his footprints and the cube's exit itself vanish. Some have also reported that the sky is then shown, full of exoplanets. A pinch of salt is needed; however, this statement does have 4 sources.
Question: When Seamus is telling Marty that he'll take him to the train station the next day and give him a new hat, it shows Maggie doing the 'Sign of the Cross'. Was she unhappy with Seamus helping out a "stranger"?
Answer: She was blessing Marty because, by wearing one of those hats, it was basically a giant "kill me" sign for Mad Dog. When Mad Dog first enters the saloon, he mistakes Marty for Seamus based on Marty's "dog-ugly hat".
Answer: It's not about Marty. Maggie is angry because Seamus constantly buys hats, which she considers wasteful and frivolous when they have so little money. Religious people will make the sign of the cross when they feel they need "forgiveness" for thinking angry or unkind thoughts or asking God to help them control their temper.
Question: Why did Snow laugh at Katniss when she directed her arrow at Coin and not him? Was it because he knew he was seconds from death (from the crowd) and so he literally wanted the last laugh?
Question: I have heard that certain levels within Sonic Adventure 2 have rings that are impossible for the player to normally reach. Whether it's out of bounds, within an instant death area, etc. I know Shadow's White Jungle level is infamous for this. What levels have these unobtainable rings, and where can I find more information about them?
Question: Why did Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt dislike each other when working on this movie?
Answer: Reportedly, their personalities just didn't mesh, and it was also a very hectic shoot due to all the effects. So, the atmosphere was high-stress, which isn't typically conducive to people getting along. Though Hunt has stressed that they were always cordial after filming was complete and had even talked about potentially working on a sequel together a few times, so it seems that they didn't overtly dislike each other.
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Chosen answer: It's called a blackjack: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baton_ (law_enforcement) #Blackjacks_and_saps.
Brian Katcher