raywest

9th Oct 2011

The Jackal (1997)

Answer: Either this is just an illusion or it is possible that parts of this scene were shot at different intervals, allowing time for her hair to grow somewhat.

raywest

11th Nov 2011

The Jackal (1997)

Question: Why does The Jackal looks sorry when he's telling Koslova that she will die in 20 minutes?

Answer: There's no way of knowing if he was sorry or not. He obviously is treating her differently than he does his other victims. It seems it has something to do with her being a woman, though just why he acts this way is never known.

raywest

27th Nov 2011

The Jackal (1997)

Question: Why didn't Koslova look behind the sofa when entering the living room? And why did she shoot like a crazy person?

Answer: Basically she was somewhat sloppy. She was caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events.

raywest

Answer: She was aiming to silence the blaring music. Guess she didn't like the song.

11th Nov 2011

The Jackal (1997)

Answer: The Jackal knows detailed information about the FBI agents that are after him and the members of the MVB from the Russian mole in the ranks that was revealed. This woman's name is Valentina, like Valentine. The fact he drew a heart on her face was a sadistic joke about her name, as well as sending a message to Declan.

Quantom X

Answer: He was "gift wrapping" his message to the hero.

Answer: It seems to be his way of noting her gender and also belittling her.

raywest

11th Nov 2011

The Jackal (1997)

Answer: For one, she refuses to show fear or any other emotion that makes her look weak in the face of death. Also, she knows Mulqueen will be more determined to kill him, and she wants the Jackal to be thinking about that.

raywest

11th Nov 2011

The Jackal (1997)

Answer: To torture her, to make her scream in pain.

Answer: To see how far the bullet penetrated.

raywest

9th Oct 2011

The Jackal (1997)

Question: Why does Major Koslova always wear a shirt and a jacket throughout the movie?

Answer: She is a Russian agent and wears clothes that are professional, gender-neutral, and also functional while she's on a dangerous assignment. She may also not have brought many clothes with her, and she is not trying to impress anyone--she is only focused on having a serious job to do.

raywest

11th Nov 2011

The Jackal (1997)

Question: After Major Koslova is shot by The Jackal, we see her clothes full of blood. How can she have lost so much blood in few seconds?

Answer: A variety of reasons: the type of bullet he used could have caused severe internal damage. He might also have hit an artery, causing more bleeding. Also, being a movie, filmmakers tend to exaggerate details like this for maximum visual effect. The audience realises she is seriously wounded.

raywest

13th Dec 2011

The Island (2005)

Question: Say that a client of Merrick Biotech, like Starkweather who used his policy and had it terminated, needs another one for whatever reason. They'd have to regrow a new Starkweather 2 Delta and reintroduce him into the colony and everyone would say "Hey, isn't that the guy who won the lottery a few days ago? What's he doing here?" How would Merrick account for that? Whitman even says to Lincoln that they were going to "regrow" his policy.

Brad

Chosen answer: It would be easy enough for the administrators to fabricate some story as to why the clone needed to return to the colony. Doctors would most likely implant fake memories into the new clone's mind to convince him and everyone else that this was the same person as before. Also, if a client should ever need a new clone many years after using their original one, it is likely that most of the other clones would no longer be there--having been harvested to meet their host's medical needs.

raywest

24th Nov 2011

Puss in Boots (2011)

Question: Does this film take place in time before or after Puss meets Shrek?

Answer: It takes place before Puss meets Shrek and Donkey.

raywest

Question: A couple of questions that I hope someone can answer. First, what was the name of the ship that was found in the Mongolian desert? And second, was it a real-life vessel or something created for the movie? I've heard about the 5 real-life planes that were uncovered in Mexico, but the ship is a mystery to me. If so, where can I find info on it?

Answer: The ship that was found in the Gobi desert is called the "Cotopaxi." It was a real tramp steamer, named after a stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains. The ship and its entire crew disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle sometime in December, 1925 while en route to Havana, Cuba. You can find more information here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Cotopaxi.

raywest

Answer: It didn't disappear in the Bermuda Triangle. It lies 40 miles from St. Augustine, Florida, which is 314 miles from Miami.

Amy Emerick Tice

18th Nov 2011

Batman (1989)

Question: Probably a dumb question, but when I first saw this film.I thought that the opening scene where a young family is mugged in an alleyway was supposed to be a flashback to when a young Bruce Wayne lost his parents. Of course we know it isn't, but is that what the filmmakers wanted us to think. Or was it just my way of thinking?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: It foreshadows what will be learned about what happened to Bruce Wayne's family and what set Batman on his path.

raywest

Answer: It's not just you. No matter how many times I watch I find it refreshing that this Batman movie doesn't start off by making us watch Bruce's parents get murdered for the dozenth time. But fans of the character definitely would have fallen for it in the theater, so it's like a clever inside joke for their benefit, I think.

CountArtha

Question: Okay, so if all the male werewolves wear nothing but shorts so they have less clothes to destroy, how come Leah still wears a shirt? It just seems that as a werewolf, she wouldn't care about nudity any more then her packmates. And, yes, I am aware they couldn't show her naked for the PG-13 rating. I'm looking for the in-universe answer.

Brad

Chosen answer: How do you know that she or anyone else "wouldn't care." Leah is the lone female shape-shifter among the males, and most women would feel extremely uncomfortable baring their breasts in that situation. Her male counter-parts would likely feel just as exposed and uncomfortable if they went without shorts in front of a group of women. It's a matter of decorum. Also, is a PG-rated movie. Nudity in movies usually results in an "R" rating, which limits the audience and revenue.

raywest

11th Nov 2011

Alien (1979)

Question: Why were there so few crew members on this very very large ship? If even one of them had a heart attack, they'd have to maintain the ship with only 80%.

Answer: There are several possible reasons. For one, the ship is fully automated, and the computers perform many technical functions, basically running everything. The crew is barely essential, and is kept in stasis during much of the voyage, awakened only at specific periods to perform specialized tasks or attend to unexpected problems. And though the ship overall is large, its function is simple: hauling a huge payload. Also, the ship is owned by a ruthless corporation wanting to maximize their profits. One way to achieve that is by using minimal personnel. They no doubt assume that if one crew member was lost or incapacitated, the others would manage somehow. On this particular voyage, however, the company intended to find and utilize the alien, and having a small crew, which they consider "disposable" makes it easier to achieve that. It was probably intended that Ash, the robot, would murder the crew or see to it that the alien "impregnated" them with embryos before returning them to stasis, only to die later.

raywest

Answer: The question may not be referring to this, but just in case: the ore refinery towers are often mistaken to be part of the ship, but this is actually a load that the ship is towing. What we see detach and land on the planet is in fact the entirety of the ship.

11th Nov 2011

Tarzan (1999)

Question: What could Tarzan's loin cloth possibly be made from? It doesn't look like anything that could be found in the jungle that isn't human made.

Eyexpress333

Chosen answer: It could be any number of things, including some man-made material that was left by hunters or explorers. It could also be animal skin, either from some beast that was hunted or a found carcass.

raywest

11th Nov 2011

Twilight (2008)

Question: At the end of the movie, when Bella and Edward walk into the prom building, the camera shows a shot of Victoria. She has her back turned, but the camera is on her long enough that there is no doubt it's her. Edward would know she is there because he can smell other vampires. Did they do that on purpose or is it a mistake? I can't find any online information about it.

Answer: The viewer is most certainly meant to see that it is Victoria. What the viewer is not meant to do is question her presence. In all honesty it was most likely a movie error by the writer. Although it is possible that Victoria knew this and somehow hid her smell because her ability pertains to hiding.

Yep. The viewers were supposed to see Victoria standing there and she can mask her scent to blend with others. But the thing is, Edward has a powerful mind reading ability, he should've heard or known that Victoria is nearby, especially given the strong feeling of revenge that Victoria was feeling at the moment.

Answer: There's never any answer given about this, but Victoria, knowing that Edward can smell other vampires, would have taken measures to cover her scent or positioned herself so he was unlikely to detect it. Also, if any of Edward's "siblings" also attended the prom, then their scent would be intermingled with Victoria's, helping to mask it. This is a large gathering and Edward is mostly focused on Bella. Other's individual thoughts and scents may simply go unnoticed.

raywest

Question: I haven't read the novel - is their servant British in the book (if his character appears in the book at all)? It seemed like an odd choice given that they are warring with England, but perhaps it was just a good accent for the comic relief?

Answer: The servant is definitely French in Alexander Dumas' novel.

raywest

Question: When Padme goes to see Anakin, and he has his little fit, he says "It's all Obi Wan's fault! He's jealous" and then he goes on to say "He's holding me back". Why does Anakin think Obi Wan is jealous and that he's holding him back?

Answer: Anakin, much like a typical youth, is acting immature here and rebelling against Obi Wan's tight control over him. Obi Wan knows Anakin is still too impulsive and rash to become a full Jedi Knight, and prevents him from taking the final Jedi trial. Anakin just wants more independence.

raywest

Question: On the corrections page for this movie, someone stated that Henry was the father of both of Mary's children. How? Didn't he stop seeing her while she was still on bed rest during the pregnancy of their first child?

Answer: The information on the corrections page is inaccurate. Mary Boleyn married William Carey in 1520. Because her exact birth date is unknown, no one knows how old she was when she married. It was shortly after her wedding that she began her affair with Henry VIII. It is also unknown if either of the two children she bore during this time were fathered by Henry, though there was certainly a high probability that he sired one or both. However, Henry never publicly acknowledged either child, unlike the illegitimate son he had with another mistress. The events in the film and book are fictional, and they vary from the historical facts. It is never mentioned in the film that Mary had a second child, either by Henry or William Carey.

raywest

24th Sep 2011

Darkness (2002)

Question: Where exactly are the girl and her brother at the end of the movie?

bpospech

Chosen answer: After escaping from the house, the fake Carlos drives Regina and Paul into a dark tunnel. It is not explained what happens next, but it's implied they will be killed.

raywest

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