Question: Is there any indication as to where the aliens come from and what exactly they want?
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Answer: Maybe they were waiting for us to get up to a very high number in population. Before, we didn't have over 7 billion people in the world. More people, more food.
Answer: All versions of "War of the Worlds" are based on the novel of the same name written by H.G. Wells and published in 1897. Wells explained that the aliens are from the planet Mars, and they came to Earth for the natural resources.
But that still doesn't answer why did they wait till then to attack when they could have done it years ago with less resistance. The natural resources were still here.
Perhaps the Martians considered the technological advances of Mankind as "resources," also. The prologue states that the Martians had been observing humanity on Earth for a long time before they chose to attack. Why? Possibly observing our advances in engineering (dam building, for one example, mining for another). It could be viewed that the Martians allowed us to perform the hard work of making natural resources more accessible and consolidating those resources. Personally, I always thought the Martians intended to come exploit the fruits of our labor, allowing us to advance as far as we could without becoming a physical threat to them. If the Martians had waited a few decades more, they could be dealing with a technologically-dangerous human species.
Maybe they were still building the tripods, and when they finished, they would bury them in the ground. Then wait for the Earth's population to grow.
Answer: The alien homeland is never described in the film, but is described in the script as a lifeless, barren place, unfit for life.
Question: I don't get the whole "you look just like him" conversation that John has with that woman in the corridor. Could someone please tell me what it's all about?
Chosen answer: John is just messing with her. She recognizes him as being one of the famous Beatles, but he tells her that he's "not" John Lennon, to which she responds that "you look just like him." He finally convinces her that he is not John Lennon, and she tells him, "Actually, you don't look like him at all," to which the now-insulted John puts on his hat and leaves.
Question: Even with Diplomatic Immunity surely the cops aren't just going to stand back and let their colleagues die? is Diplomatic Immunity REALLY that infallible?
Chosen answer: Not in this case. This movie is notable for taking extreme liberties with the concept of diplomatic immunity. For one thing, the character was the head of a consulate, and would have had the much more limited 'consular immunity'. Generally, diplomatic immunity covers things like parking tickets, but even in cases of car injury and death, diplomats are not prosecuted in the host country, but can be expelled. In any case, diplomats cannot simply commit brazen crimes and get away with it.
Answer: It all depends on the level of immunity and who the person is. If the Diplomat commits a serious crime, there are a few courses of actions. They can ask the Diplomat to leave the country, they can ask the foreign country's government to recall the Diplomat, they can expel the Diplomat, or they can request the government of the Diplomat's country to waive Diplomatic Immunity. https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2018-DipConImm_v5_Web.pdf.
Question: What exactly did John Kreese mean when he says to Terry Silver, "You're telegraphing that wheel kick?", what did he mean?
Chosen answer: He is saying that when Silver thinks about using the wheel kick, it is revealed by something in his stance or technique beforehand, so his opponent will have plenty of time to block, evade or counter-attack the kick. It is a fairly common expression in sports, but particularly in martial arts.
Question: What exactly happens to Gozer after they've crossed the streams?
The Slicer - S9-E7
Question: In this episode Elaine gets trapped in her apartment and while in there she turns up the radio. What music is playing on the radio? What is the name of the band? This same music is played during 'The Little Kicks' episode, when she dances at the party.
Chosen answer: Slow Ride by a band called Foghat.
Question: I've just finished reading the Graphic Novel and I was just wondering, since Synder did such a faithful adaption why did he include super-powers to the heroes in the film, since the heroes in the comic don't have any.
Answer: What makes you think he did? None of them display any more powers or special abilities than what is shown in the graphic novel. Some of these might be exaggerated (Rorschach walking in the Arctic wearing only his trenchcoat, for instance), but as this is shown in the novel as well, you can not say that Snyder changed this in his adaptation.
Question: Since the probability of having three children is greater than the probability of having two children, shouldn't Marty (as the youngest) disappear from the photograph first rather than last?
Chosen answer: Probability has nothing to do with it. The changes in the timeline are rippling out from the initial point of disruption. As Marty's brother and sister were born before him, their respective births are closer to the point where the alteration happened. As such, they're erased from the timeline first, so they fade out before he does.
Question: When Mrs. Collins opens the fridge, is there a sandwich in a plastic bag in there?
Answer: There is a sandwich in a bag in there as well as a full jug of milk. It's one of the ways that she knows that her son isn't there.
Question: I have a question regarding the looks of Mulder and Scully. In the movie they looked very old. Was this purposely done to age the characters in the movie because it's suppose to take place in the future or did the actors just age horribly in real life?
Chosen answer: They have hardly aged "horribly" in real life. Both Scully and Mulder are now middle-aged, and a significant amount of time has passed since we first met them. The movie picks up some years later, and therefore there was no attempt to make them look like their younger selves. Mulder, who is now nearly 50 years old, has undergone the most significant change since leaving the FBI under less than amicable circumstances, and his appearance (unkempt beard, casual clothing) reflects his more solitary life. Scully is focused on her demanding career as a doctor, not her looks.
Question: I don't know if this is a urban myth or what, but didn't the real Rocky Dennis like Bruce Springsteen, but "The Boss" or his manager/lawyer, etc refused to allow the music to be used in the movie and that is why Bob Seger's tunes were used instead?
Answer: According to the IMDb, so take with a degree of scepticism, Rocky's favourite music was indeed Springsteen and the Boss himself was happy for it to be used, but, at the time of the original release, an agreement regarding royalty rates could not be reached with the rights owner. A director's cut was released a while later with seven minute of additional footage and the Springsteen songs used instead, after Springsteen pushed for an agreement to be made.
Question: Okay, so this is sort of a book question, but I guess you could apply it to the movie. What do the covers of the books have to do with the stories within the books? Is there any real importance to them? And, why wasn't the book cover used for the cover of the DVD?
Chosen answer: The publishers had the ultimate control over the books' cover designs, but according to Stephanie Meyer, the author, the apple on the first book represents the "forbidden fruit" which Bella and Edward's love would certainly be. Meyer is unsure just what the ruffled tulip on Book Two represents (it was the publisher's choice), but it could be about Bella's blossoming from a girl into woman. The red on white color may symbolize the blood vampires need to survive and how that is tied to Bella. The broken ribbon on Book Three represents the choices Bella must make between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob, and her ties to both the mortal and immortal worlds. Book Four's cover is a metaphor for Bella's progression throughout the entire saga. She began as the weakest (at least physically, when compared to vampires and werewolves) player on the board: the pawn. She eventually becomes the strongest: the queen. In the end, it's Bella who leads the Cullens to victory.
Question: How does the public know they are called "Watchmen"? Was information slipped from the 1966 meeting when Ozymandias calls the group "Watchmen"? I wonder this because I don't know why the public would spray paint, "Who Watches the Watchmen?"
Answer: The phrase "Who Watches the Watchmen" comes from "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?", a Latin phrase from the Roman poet Juvenal, and refers to any group of people who polices the public (especially vigilantes). Basically, it means "they are watching us, but who is watching them?"
Question: Two questions about the scene where Dan is talking to Larry online and pretending to be Anna. First, why did he want to set her up with someone if he wanted her? Also, how could he be sure that she would be at the aquarium at a certain time? I know that he knew she liked to go there, but how could he be certain that whatever guy he played the trick on would meet her there?
Answer: Dan did not know Anna would be there. This is revealed at the art exhibit when Anna tells Dan that she met Larry at the aquarium as well as their nickname for him - Cupid. He unwittingly created an obstacle for himself.
I think he had played the Internet prank/joke a few times before. He knew that Anna liked the aquarium, so if he chatted with multiple men on different days, there was a chance that Anna would actually be at the aquarium when a man arrived to meet her.
Answer: I think he set her up because he wanted to prank her for rejecting him. Just an unlucky fluke for the second part with them meeting up at the same time, I think. Or maybe 1pm is when she takes a break or gets off work at that time? Who knows. It happened, though.
Question: Is Rick Dicker (from The Incredibles) supposed to be a parody of Rick Deckard? Thanks.
Answer: There doesn't appear to be any evidence for that. The names are vaguely similar, but, other than that, there's nothing to link the two.
Question: When Bob Morton is giving his speech just before Robocop is introduced, he touts one of Robocop's advantages as "A lifetime of law enforcement experience." But Murphy's memory was wiped before he was completed. Wouldn't this effectively remove all of his law enforcement experience?
Chosen answer: This can depend on two things: the nature of the memory wipe and what is meant by the term "experience". It is possible that they were able to wipe only those memories pertaining to personal identification and specific case memories. In which case the basic understanding of law and law enforcement could have been left intact. And the "experience" referred to could be referring to instinct. His mind has been working the streets for a long time. That can cause the brain to wire itself more specifically to think in certain ways that help that kind of activity. Even if the memory wipe were complete, it is possible that those rewirings in his brain were left intact, thus giving him a brain already designed for law enforcement. I admit, though, that the statement can appear, on the surface, to be at odds with the methods used to create him.
Question: I never understood why Peter wanted to avoid a relationship with Mary Jane in order to keep her safe from his enemies. Doc Octopus and the Green Goblin already found out about her and captured her before she was his girlfriend, so why avoid being with her if his enemies were finding out about her anyway?
Answer: The Goblin grabbed her only after he figured out that Spider-Man was Peter Parker. Doc Oc grabbed her because she was with Peter and he needed to send Peter to get Spider-Man, since he knew that Peter had some kind of working relationship with Spider-Man. In other words, her relationship with Peter puts her in danger because Peter already has a direct connection to Spider-Man through his pictures. If he were able to distance himself from her as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man, it would reduce the chances of her being specifically targeted, especially if the villain figures out that Spider-Man is Peter Parker to begin with, which seems to happen at an alarming rate. When Eddie figures it out in the third movie, he grabs her again because he knows Peter cares about her. And Harry used her as a pawn to get his revenge on Peter. Clearly, her relationship with Peter puts her in danger.
Question: Why did the king think that Yoda didn't get a fair fight? He agreed to see if Yoda could fight the droids, so why did he think Ventress broke her word after she sent out a bunch of droids?
Answer: I guess that 1) the King assumed that Ventress' droids were meant to capture the Jedi, not kill him outright. When she yells at OOM-224 to shoot Yoda, she evidently failed that expectation. 2) Sending out a bunch of Droidekas after it is plain that Master Yoda has clearly won is not a sign of good sportsmanship, either.
Question: In the trivia, it states that Heath Ledger based his performance on Sid Vicious and Alex from 'A Clockwork Orange'. Can someone tell me in what way his performance was influenced by these people? Did he use their mannerisms, and if so, which ones?
Answer: To get a proper answer we would have to ask Heath Ledger, who is unfortunately dead. Both Sid and Alex were Anarchists as is The Joker so I would say that their attitudes and views were integrated into Heath Ledger's performance, rather than any specific mannerisms or attributes. He did say in an interview that his performance was in part based on Tom Waits, and that seems spot on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsRbhBXPgKk.
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Chosen answer: In the original George Pal version they were Martians and the reasoning for what they were doing was never explained. In this version, it's never explained where they come from, but their mission is simple, to eradicate human life from Earth, and use our bodies to fertilise the planet, probably so that they can colonise the planet for themselves.
GalahadFairlight
If it was to eradicate us they could have done that millions of years back, why now, so that doesn't add up.
You want to grow the substance (people) that grows your food source before using it. If they waited too much longer, they'd have a harder time because we'd have the technology to fight them back.
The reason which was apparently provided by Wells was that Mars was dying by lack of natural resources and that Martians needed a new home and food source.
They were waiting until the population grew large enough to sustain terraforming efforts. As they used our bodily fluids seemingly as a primary material for their terraforming.
It's an assumption that they could have eradicated us millions of years ago (which by the way would be long before we even existed). Maybe they didn't have the ability to transport themselves, only the machines. Maybe the original aliens all died. Lots of other options why they couldn't have done it.
They probably needed to wait for us to produce enough humans to use as fertilizer. Doesn't make sense to try to use several million bodies as fertilizer back then vs now with billions of people.