Questions about cinema and rental titles

Elf picture

Question: Has anyone noticed what looks exactly like a Buddy Elf doll standing on the kitchen counter during the breakfast scene where Buddy is pouring syrup for the mom? If you pause when the camera pulls back to show Buddy pouring syrup and the back of the moms head, you'll see the elf doll on the right side of the scene (our right, Buddy's left) facing away from the camera. It's on the counter directly below the cabinet knobs; behind the back of a chair and in front of what looks like a radio that sits against the counter wall. Ideas? Looks just like a Buddy doll to me.

Answer: It might just be a regular elf doll that, coincidentally, is dressed in real elf clothes.

Answer: This was probably deliberately added to the scene. Movies often add in-jokes like this. I believe it was "HP and the Chamber of Secrets" that while Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in Diagon Alley, the entire Harry Potter book series can be seen on a shelf in the background. In "Raiders of The Lost Ark," there are a little C-3PO and R2D2 carved into the stone hieroglyphs in the Well of Souls. "Jurassic Park" openly displayed JP merchandise, the same merchandise that was sold in stores. Filmmakers love to add little "Easter eggs" like that for audiences to find.

raywest

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Fast X picture

Question: Spoiler! Does this movie actually end with Dominic and his son Brian about to die and the bad guy Dante winning?

Answer: It does - it's a massive cliffhanger leading directly into the next (and apparently final) film. The team's plane has been shot down and crashed, seemingly killing them all (but let's be honest, that's unlikely...). Dom and Little B survive the drive off the dam and crash into the river. Dante looks down on them and arms massive bombs along the length of the dam, they apparently have nowhere to run to... End of film.

Jon Sandys

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The First Omen picture

Question: In The Omen, it is stated that Damien's father is Satan and his mother was a jackal. However, in this film, it is shown that his mother is Maragaret Daino and she was impregnated by some demon-jackal hybrid. Am I missing something, or is this an inconsistency?

Phaneron

Answer: You're not missing anything. The original film was almost 50 years ago. The modern-day filmmakers just changed plot details to suit the prequel story and create the character and backstory of Damien's birth mother. This is not unusual for a film franchise or relaunch. It's different directors, writers, and producers who have a different vision or change things to fit a different time.

raywest

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Hop picture

Question: How were the Pink Berets able to track the easter bunny's son?

Answer: Phone.

Answer: When they say James (his real name) instead of Fred.

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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes picture

Question: When Lucy Gray tells the peacekeepers to "give her a minute," why do they all back off and let her sing instead of carting her off to the train? The police basically take orders from her, and I'm pretty sure singing would have been classified as rebellious behavior. Was it because she had to have protection now that she was one of the chosen Tributes?

Answer: The Peacekeepers were likely a little subdued because a large crowd is watching and everything is being aired on live TV. They would not risk inciting a riot. The Peacekeepers are low-level Capitol servants, so they may be concerned about the repercussions to themselves if they are overly rough with a female tribute. Allowing her to sing also makes for better TV, and the Capitol is trying to increase viewership.

raywest

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John Wick: Chapter 4 picture

Question: Regarding the scene where people catch fire after John Wick shoots them with a particular gun, what exactly is causing them to catch fire? I recall an earlier scene showed men carving lines into the tips of their bullets, though I don't remember if the two things are related. If so, is there something about carving the bullet that causes it, or is it the particular gun?

Phaneron

Answer: These are dragon's breath shotgun shells. The shells are filled with magnesium pellets and ignite when fired. The film seems to exaggerate the stopping power, making it seem almost like an explosive round rather than incendiary. These are not the same rounds that we see the men carving into. Carving grooves into a bullet is done so the bullet expands upon impact and causes more damage similar to a hollow-point round, though the effectiveness of this method is debated.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: It may be incendiary ammunition (not to be confused with tracer bullets). The bullets have a hollow head containing a flammable mixture that ignites upon being fired.

raywest

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Kung Fu Panda picture

Question: At the beginning in the training scene, Shifu was disappointed, pointing out the problems in each of the Five's attack strategy. He said to Crane "height." What did he mean?

Bunch Son

Answer: He meant that Crane had to be higher in the sky so that Shifu wouldn't notice him when coming in for an attack.

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Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning picture

Question: Why did Daniel and Ethan fight on the train hand-to-hand, instead of using guns? (02:16:00 - 02:20:00)

Answer: Maybe they didn't have any guns at that point.

Answer: In an enclosed place, a bullet can ricochet around until it hits something - one of them or an innocent person: man, woman, or child. Worse, it could hit a section of the train, a brake line, a cable connecting the cars, or one of the conductors.

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Oppenheimer picture

Question: Were the scientists involved really concerned about igniting the atmosphere?

Answer: The short version is "no, not really". Much like in the film, the possibility was considered, a lot of calculations were done, and it was agreed by everyone privy to them that the chance was basically zero. Also like in the film: "what do you want from theory alone?" - it couldn't be guaranteed to be absolutely zero, but then the chance of almost anything happening is never absolutely zero. A 1946 report by three of the scientists stated: "whatever the temperature to which a section of the atmosphere may be heated, no self-propagating chain of nuclear reactions is likely to be started. The energy losses to radiation always overcompensate the gains due to the reactions."

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Shrek 2 picture

Question: If I remember correctly, in the trailer the magazine that the Wolf was reading was called "The New Porker" or something similar. Any reason why it was changed to "Pork Illustrated" in the final film?

Answer: The gag is that the wolf has developed a peculiar sexual fetish: he wears women's clothing for fun and is attracted to pigs. The magazine was changed for the trailer to be less suggestive (and thus to make the trailer G-rated).

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie picture

Question: Why is the Princess called Peach instead of Toadstool and why is the main villain called Bowser instead of King Koopa?

Answer: "Princess Toadstool" was used in the original English-language manual, but she was Peach in the original Japanese, and that name continued in later versions, being combined with Toadstool. Bowser was originally called "Kuppa", but presumably the English-language version resonated more with people, plus removed any confusion of "Kuppa, King of the Koopas", so the English version stuck.

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