Question: In the first appearance of Laurence Fishburne where he starts by saying, "Over here," that sounds so much like when Mac wants to remove the scorpion from Dillon in the original Predator 1. I haven't found anything though, if it should be some trivia. Can anyone tell me if it is a trivia or just me thinking that it should be?
Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more
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Question: Was Beetlejuice attracted to Lydia?
Answer: Beetlejuice wanted to marry Lydia because that would allow him freedom from the ghost world. Any physical attraction would be secondary to that.
Question: When Harry and Hermione are rescuing Sirius, Hermione blasts open the door using a different spell than the one she used in The Philosopher's Stone to open the door to where Fluffy was. I can understand that the reason the spell would be stronger on Sirius's cell is so he can't escape and it's more secure. But the Philosopher's Stone had to be secured well, so why was the lock so easy to unlock?
Answer: It's never stated that one spell is stronger than the other. There may be different spells that achieve similar results, and Hermione simply chose one over the other. Therefore, it should not be assumed that one lock was easier to open than the other. Also, the "bombarda" spell was never mentioned in the books. It was invented by the filmmakers for the movie, probably because it sounded stronger and was more descriptive (as in to bombard).
Question: Why did death try to kill Wendy and Kevin during Frankie's death scene, when it wasn't their turn to die?
Chosen answer: It didn't exactly try to kill them. They were more like a part of Frankie's death. It was Kevin's car engine fan that killed Frankie. It was fate. In my opinion Death wanted Wendy and Kevin to witness Frankie's death.
Question: It's been stated that Elsa and Donovan knew how to get through the path to the Grail because Henry was talking about the way as he lay dying. But I'm still confused about when they get across the cliff. Indy threw some sand and stones across the path he 'believed' was there, but would they still be sitting there, basically in mid air for the bad guys to get across? Did they truly believe in the Grail as much as Indy and Henry did and so could walk across the non-existant path?
Answer: The bridge was actually camouflaged into rock looking as if it was invisible (you can see this in movie).
Of course, any "camouflage" would only work from one perspective (from the doorway at one end of the bridge). As soon as Indy took a step out onto the bridge, the "camouflage" would be revealed, as it would no longer be aligned to the background from his new perspective. Viewed from the opposite end of the bridge, the "camouflage" wouldn't work at all and the bridge would be perfectly visible.
Not necessarily. They could have fashioned the stonework so it rendered the bridge invisible from both directions.
Chosen answer: The way I see it, the bridge is there, but is invisible. The true test is to step out into mid-air when you don't know there's a bridge there, trusting in God to rescue you. Indy passed this test, then threw the stones to see whether it really was a bridge there all along, or if it was a matter of faith in the moment you step out (or just to mark his way back). The pebbles stayed, proving the bridge was physical and real, only invisible. When Ilsa and Donovan came along, they could see the pebbles in mid-air, and figured out this as well. Originally, you would have to believe and trust in God to step on to the bridge, but Indy effectively "disarms" this trap by proving that there is a way to cross safely for anyone.
As stated previously, the bridge is not invisible. It is simply camouflaged so that it's not visible from the position Indy had to stand. This is demonstrated in the film when the camera angle changes and shows that the reason Indy can't see it is the marbling of the stone lines up perfectly from one angle. He throws the pebbles onto it once he's across to make it easier for him to see when he returns.
But the camouflage is only going to work from one direction (the approach). Going in the opposite direction (the retreat), the bridge would stand out like a sore thumb, pebbles or not.
However, in the film, Indy turns around and throws the pebbles on the bridge, which is not visible until the pebbles are there.
Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps the original builders altered the vertical stone walls in the "coming back" direction so that the bridge blended from this reverse perspective as well.
Okay, he didn't actually mean invisible, more like "invisible from a certain perspective"
Question: Once Salt escapes from the police car (approx 1/2 way through the film), she grabs a fur hat. In the next few scenes she is wearing a matching wrap, including the same fur. Where did she get that?
Answer: She stole it as well.
Question: Why are Justin Hammer's hands dirty when he is sitting with Vanko in the hangar, after he busted him out of prison?
Chosen answer: It is stated in the commentary that Sam Rockwell wanted his character to have a spray tan, making his hands an orange color.
Question: Why does Violet's hair change color? Is it a mood indicator or something?
Chosen answer: Her clothes also changes color, and so does the color of the clothes of the real XPD154. It's never fully explained, but it's probably a technological advancement from the future to change colors at will, whether it's bottled hair color or clothes.
Question: Is there any technology featured in Star Trek Voyager, or other Star Trek series for that part, that seemed futuristic in the late 20th century, but are now reality?
Answer: If you include the original Star Trek series (1966) then there are several. The communicators used in the original series were before (and said to inspire) mobile phones. We currently do have teleportation technology but it currently only works on things the size of a few molecules. A "Cloaking device" also exists; it's a fabric that bends light through it, though it currently only works in infra-red. The Hypospray is real and was patented in 1960 - six years before the original series aired - it's actually called the Jet Injector. Faster Than Light travel is still a few decades off, but there are several real-world theories that look promising, including one that is remarkably similar to the method used in the Star Trek Universe called the Alcubeierre Drive that involves manipulating spacetime ahead and behind the ship and the ship "riding" it. Medical techniques and technologies have also advanced considerably; prosthetics particularity and we routinely have robots performing surgeries where absolute precision is needed. The "Shield" used in the series have a few primitive versions around. The Phasers used in the series are used but are not very powerful (nor will they ever be as powerful as the Star Trek version the laws of physics gets in the way) but rail-guns (using magnets to spin then propel a projectile) and particle accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider have been around for a while. The Replicator would require a nuclear fusion reactor and a nuclear fission reactor in something the size of a large oven and the Holo-deck wouldn't work at all based on our current understanding of physics so those are both still science fiction at the moment, but who knows!
Answer: 3D printers can be seen as sort of a Replicator.
Question: Why was it so hard for Justin Hammer to get Vanko's bird to him from Russia? Was it because he just didn't care or because he was running a highly inefficient company that simply couldn't find the bird?
Chosen answer: Hammer is impatient. he did not want to waste time and money to go find Vanko's bird. he just wanted Vanko to get the work done.
Answer: Couldn't get the bird from Russia as he couldn't be seen as being linked to him.
Question: When Fabrizio finds Jack, Rose and Tommy and the bottom of the main stairwell after they have been told they cannot get up that way, why when Jack is informed that "the boats are all gone" and then told by Fabrizio that there is an exit, why does Jack not go that way?
Chosen answer: Fabrizio says "There is niente this way." Meaning, there is nothing. He doesn't say there's an exit.
Question: When Arnold is on the shore face down in the mud, the predator then hits the water. Shortly afterward it looks like his cloaking protection is short-circuiting when he is walking to shore. If it did, how could it use the cloaking device again later to cloak itself?
Chosen answer: Well, we don't know exactly what's going on. It may simply be that the cloaking device, for whatever reason, can't cope with water, so it cuts out. When it dries off again, normal function may simply return. Or, if it does actually short out, as opposed to simply shutting down, then some sort of auto-repair mechanism may come into play to restore the cloaking device back to a functional state. Either way it's a reasonable explanation as to why it still works.
Question: When Doc and Ringo meet at the location by the trees, and have a showdown, Doc shoots Ringo then says to him, "Come on, come on!" What was that all about?
Chosen answer: It's a sadistic challenge to Ringo, because Holliday's shot was so precise and the fight was over too soon.
Answer: Doc already viewed himself as a dead man, with nothing left to lose and believed that he was destined to 'die with his boots on'. I believe this was a challenge to Ringo to come ahead and kill him.
Answer: Doc was encouraging Ringo to breathe in order to prolong the glory of his victory.
Answer: Ringo wanted the Earp's and Doc spitting blood...Doc was urging Ringo to do the same.
Answer: There was much speculation at the time that Ringo died from a self inflicted wound. That scene was staged to show how he could have been shot by Doc but still end up in a position that it might look like suicide to those to found him. The urging him to walk forward was part of that.
Question: Where did Superman get the spaceship to go looking for remnants of his planet? And couldn't he have just flown there instead?
Chosen answer: The ship was likely created for him by the Fortress. As to flying there, yes, he probably could have done, but there are advantages to using the spacecraft. He can relax on the long flight, rather than having to focus on flying. He doesn't risk running low on energy light years from the recharging effects of an appropriate star. It's also possible that the ship is simply faster than he is - no comparative statistics are given for their relative speeds. Certainly it's not unreasonable that he would choose to use a ship rather than travel under his own power.
Question: Is the garbage man near the start Sid from Toy Story 1?
Answer: Yes, he is. He can be seen wearing the same black t-shirt with a skull motif that his younger self wore in the first movie and Pixar have confirmed that the character's intended to be Sid.
In addition, they are voiced by the same person.
Question: Does anyone know what the NASA employee says to Lev the cosmonaut the first time we see him? It sounds like "stasveecha"
Chosen answer: It's close to "zdrasveetsya" phonetically, which is a colloquial greeting like: "how are you doing".
Question: Does anyone know why Marty takes a book of matches off of Biff's desk when Biff isn't looking? I know that the matches come in handy at the end of the film when he burns the sports almanac, but what was his original reason for swiping the matches? Unless he knew beforehand that he was going to have to burn the almanac.
Answer: It seemed more like a reflex action than a deliberate decision. Marty saw Biff's name on the matchbook cover, causing him to pick it up for a closer look, then just stuffed it into his pocket. As you pointed out, they came in handy later. That and when they changed the timeline in 1955 after burning the alamanac, it would also change back to "Biffs Auto Detailing." Gotta make sure you cover your bases when dealing with the future, make sure that everything changes back to normal.
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Chosen answer: Yes it is trivia. There are many homages to the original movie in this movie. Some are subtle some are cleverly hidden. From the big mini-gun used by a certain character, the stand-and-fight challenge by another character and even covering themselves in mud will camouflage them from the Predators. So many more obvious homages.
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