Question: Most adults in Empire of the Sun either dislike Jim or are openly mean to him. Why?
raywest
8th Jan 2020
Empire of the Sun (1987)
23rd Mar 2013
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
Question: Is this is a mistake in the book or just a blooper in the film? In the movie Deathly Hallows Part 1 Harry doesn't ever disarm Malfoy he simply snatches the wand. Does that mean Harry is still the owner of the elder wand? Another thing I noticed is in Deathly Hallow Part 2, Hermione disarms Malfoy in the room of requirement after which Harry saves Malfoy and never disarms him again! So doesn't that mean that the Elder wand belongs to Hermione now? I haven't read the books so I'm a bit confused. This might be a stupid question for a few of you'll but I really want to understand this, as every time I see the movie I research on it and never get an answer that really explains or satisfies me, especially about when Hermione disarms Malfoy in the Room of Requirement!
Chosen answer: The Elder Wand responds to power, thus, should a wizard defeat its owner (by killing them, capturing them, disarming them or whatever other method), it will transfer its loyalty to them. During the first of the two Deathly Hallows movies, Harry takes Draco's wand away from him, thus defeating him to the satisfaction of the Elder Wand, which transfers its loyalty to him from that point on. Hermione defeating Malfoy in the second movie makes no difference to the Wand, as it has already moved on to a new master.
Answer: When Hermione disarms Malfoy in the room of requirement, Malfoy was using his mother's wand at that time. So Hermione disarming Malfoy makes no difference to the ownership of the elder wand.
To clarify, if Draco had (unknowingly) still been the Elder Wand's master when Hermione disarmed him, even though he was using his mother's wand, the Elder Wand could have transferred its loyalty to her. That is what happened with Harry. He grabbed Draco's own wand from him, even though Voldemort physically possessed the Elder Wand. Also, Draco's wand appears to have switched its allegiance to Harry, as he found it responded quite well to his commands. Draco never knew he commanded the Elder Wand, and he never physically possessed it.
2nd Oct 2013
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
Question: In the movie, the team of snatchers were able to smell Hermione's perfume through the protective spells that she put up. This may seem silly, but why did she have perfume on? It seems quite careless on her part and there was absolutely no reason for her to have it on for their mission, so why the perfume?
Answer: They aren't exactly staying in 4-star hotels and showering every day. Camping is dirty, and with that comes certain odors. And that can get unpleasant in close quarters. It's likely the perfume was her way of countering that. In that instance, sure, her perfume may have been a tip off, but it's not unreasonable to assume that that doesn't come up all that much.
Answer: Hermione may have wanted to smell as fresh as possible while living in such cramped quarters with Harry and Ron, but the only reason she is shown wearing perfume is because it is a plot device. It shows how the protective charms around the camp work and that they are not completely full-proof as loud sounds, smells, etc. can penetrate them. It was also to build suspense by having Hermione face-to-face with a snatcher who can smell her presence but not see her. One bad move on her part, and the Trio could have been exposed.
4th Jan 2020
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Question: How did Jason Bourne get his amnesia?
Answer: Bourne was supposed to assassinate a man aboard a yacht. Because the man was with his family, Bourne found he was unable to carry out his mission. An unknown shooter then shot him twice in the back, causing him to fall into the sea. The trauma triggered amnesia to where he completely lost his identity. As part of Bourne's CIA assassination training, he had been tortured and undergone extreme mental conditioning to breakdown and remake his personality. This may have had been why his dissociative amnesia was so extreme and long-term.
4th Jan 2020
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Question: How did Miranda Priestly have the authority to assign any person to work with James Holt? Is she also managing the new James Holt company?
Answer: Miranda didn't assign anyone to work with Holt. She used her considerable power and leverage to essentially blackmail Irv Ravitz, who had planned to replace Miranda with Jacqueline Follet. When Miranda found out what Irv was intending to do, she showed him the list of all the designers, photographers, writers, etc. who had promised they would follow her should she ever leave Runway for another magazine. It would have been a huge blow to Runway if Miranda took those people with her. To compensate Follet, Miranda used her influence to get Jacqueline the position with James Holt's new company that was supposed to go to Nigel, though it's not explained exactly how she did that.
2nd Jan 2020
Basic Instinct (1992)
Question: Did Stone have a motive for all that she did or was she nuts and doing it all for fun?
2nd Jan 2020
Grease (1978)
Question: The T birds were talking about "jugs and nets" what are they referring to?
Answer: The line is, "Nobody's jugs are bigger than Annette's." He is referring to actress Annette Funicello, one of the original Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeers during the 1950s. She was known for her voluptuous figure.
30th Dec 2019
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
Question: If Harry's relatives hate him, then why are they against him going to Hogwarts to study magic? Why wouldn't they be excited to be rid of him most of the time?
Answer: Because they know of his wizard heritage and they hate it. They think he and his parents were freaks.
Good answer, but I'd add they also knew it was something Harry would very much want, and they would always deny him simply to be as mean-spirited as possible.
Not to mention one of Vernon and Petunia's overriding motivations is to appear normal to their neighbors, and the more magic Harry knows, the less likely they are to achieve that. It could presumably also be dangerous for them, as future books/movies confirm.
1. They were constantly being barraged with letters from Hogwarts in an increasingly disruptive manner. Eventually, this would be noticed as something weird by their neighbors, which is something they REALLY don't want: anyone to know about Petunia's magical relations. 2. They were flat out threatened by Hagrid and terrified on both him and Dumbledore Better to let him go there then have to spend their entire lives on the run without it even working.
They were against it long before the barrage of letters or Hagrid showing up. They knew about the school, Petunia's sister went there and she told Vernon. They don't want to seem weird to the neighbors in general, they aren't afraid people around them will think they have a wizard in their family because nobody believes in wizards.
30th Dec 2019
Scorpion (2014)
30th Dec 2019
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
Question: In the automated car garage, why did Hendricks jump to his death holding the briefcase rather than just dropping it down?
Answer: As a way to prevent Ethan from quickly stopping the countdown. It's a big distance Ethan would have to drop in quick amount of time in order to stop the detonation. He was most likely going to die, so he takes his own life in order to (unsuccessfully) prevent Ethan from stopping the detonation.
30th Dec 2019
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Question: How does Rey get Luke's original (Anakin's) lightsaber? Twice, no less. The first time when Maz Kanada says "a story for another time", a time which never came, apparently. Then it's destroyed in TLJ in the fight with Kylo Ren, then she gets it back again...somehow, in this movie.
Answer: In TLJ you see her pick up both halves. It was then repaired between movies, with the prop showing modifications where it was fixed.
Chosen answer: According to StarWars.com: Rey took the broken pieces with her to Crait. The lightsaber's shattered pieces reunited themselves as she continued down the Jedi path.
If you look closely, the lightsaber has been repaired after being broken in Last Jedi. There is a new middle piece joining the two broken pieces together.
At the end of "The Last Jedi", when the remaining Resistance fighters leave Crait, there is a close-up of Rey's hands holding the broken pieces of the saber, meaning that she took them with her.
30th Dec 2019
The Village (2004)
Question: Why do the elders of the village want the villagers to stay in the village and not leave? If the monsters are fake, then why do the elders not want anyone to leave their village?
Answer: The elders made a pact to leave the modern world and never to return to it. They adopted a 19th century way of life, rejecting all modernity. If the younger members started leaving, they would be faced with a modern, technical world they had no idea existed or know how to function in. The elders also did not want any of their descendants to be subjected to the violent society they had escaped. The elders created the fake monsters to frighten the younger members from ever wanting to leave the safety of the village.
30th Dec 2019
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Question: When Pettigrew begs Ron to save him outside the Whomping Willow, Ron looks freaked out. Why didn't Hermione, though?
Answer: If you mean why didn't Hermione freak out its been proven time and time again that Hermione is a lot more calm and in control of herself than Ron is. She was able to keep cool around him. Plus Ron was pretty hurt and probably in shock. If you mean why she didn't save Pettigrew its because she knows who he is and what he did, she finds him quite repulsive.
What I meant was she didn't seem weirded out when Pettigrew was all "sweet girl, clever girl" and I wondered why.
Answer: Ron's still in a bit of physical and emotional shock. He was dragged into the Shrieking Shack by what he thought was a vicious animal (Sirius Black) that was going to kill him. His leg was injured when he was being pulled through the tunnel and he's in pain. The biggest issue is his learning that his "beloved" pet rat, Scabbers, was actually Pettigrew, who, for the past few years, was constantly with Ron, being held by him, sleeping in his bed... Ron was totally disgusted by finding out of the truth. That's why Hermione's reaction is different.
29th Dec 2019
Carrie (2013)
Question: Why did her mother spare Carrie after giving birth? When they made eye contact was she suddenly sane and filled with love for her new daughter?
Answer: It's doubtful she became momentarily "sane" but the mother/child bond is incredibly strong, and apparently was stronger than Margaret's initial desire to kill her infant.
Thank you, happy new year. I found this to be a touching scene, they just love having Julianne Moore hold babies as she's done this in four or five movies now, latest being Still Alice, took them forever to give her an Academy Award, should've won at least for The Hours prior to this win.
Answer: At the end of the movie, Margaret tells Carrie that she wanted to keep her, and asked God to let her. There's also a small implication that Carrie's powers may have stopped the scissors blades right as they were about to stab her (remember that Carrie doesn't always have control of her powers, and the deleted scenes reveal that she's had the powers since she was very little. They aren't new). This may have led her mother to believe that God himself was stopping the scissors and allowing her to keep the child.
29th Dec 2019
Logan (2017)
Question: When Laura's foot claws come out why aren't there any holes in her shoes? Only the skin can heal from wounds, not objects.
Answer: It's just a continuity mistake. The blade rips a hole in the shoe, but the hole disappears later on... that's a continuity mistake. It's definitely not a plot hole. A plot hole is more a gap or contradiction in a film's internal logic, or when a film leaves out vital information. (Ex. If a character is established as having a deadly nut allergy, but is eating nuts later on with no ill effect... that would be a plot-hole).
It would only be a plot hole if somehow the lack of holes in the shoes was written into the plot that some effect on the plot. Of course, someone would probably correct the entry by saying she could have had a 2nd pair or they bought a new pair if it was integral to the plot.
29th Dec 2019
The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
Question: Under the waterfall men say their gunpowder is wet. Do they still have dry powder in their horns? Later they have dry powder to shoot their guns.
Answer: If the powder horns were tightly capped, then the powder could remain dry. Also, from what I've read, traditional black powder (gun powder) made from natural ingredients of charcoal, potassium nitrate, and sulfur, is actually made wet, then was formed into cakes and dried. If it got wet again, it could be dried out and be usable.
29th Dec 2019
I Love Lucy (1951)
Question: Why would Ethel think Fred's enlisted? He wouldn't be allowed in due to his age right? I know the plot yet this thinking makes no sense.
29th Dec 2019
Lost in Space (2018)
Question: The eels eat the fuel in all the Jupiters, other than the one in the desert. Somehow, the eels get in all the fuel tanks. We know that the Robinson's ship got them when their ship sank and flooded, so how did they get into all the other ships' tanks, and why wouldn't more eels suck down the fuel later added from the desert ship?
28th Dec 2019
Three Musketeers (1993)
Question: If Countess de Winter's fleur-de-lis brand is on her left shoulder, how did she manage to keep it hidden from Athos during their entire marriage? Were they never intimate?
Chosen answer: They were most likely intimate, but until modern times, it was typical for men and woman to always maintain their modesty by never being completely nude in front of someone, even their spouse. The Countess was probably always partially clothed whenever they were intimate. Marital relations were usually confined to the bedroom, in the dark, and after retiring for the night. Aristocratic women also dressed privately, assisted by a lady's maid. At one time, people even bathed while partially clothed. The Countess may also have used some cosmetic treatment to help cover the brand.
14th Sep 2017
Home Alone (1990)
Question: Why was Kevin's family so mean to him?
Answer: I think it was a way to make leaving him "home alone" more realistic and understandable as opposed to absurd. Being perceived as a brat/pest and annoying to be around, it is (somewhat) conceivable that none of the family members would be eager to have Kevin by their side. This "frees" all of them from noticing that Kevin isn't with them. Everyone would just assume that Kevin is somewhere among them and each be glad they didn't have to sit next to him on the way to the airport or during the long flight.
In addition to this, the movie is partially about Kevin learning to have more respect for others. He appreciates his family more as he spends more time without them.
Answer: The ones who were mean just saw Kevin as a brat. However, it's not uncommon in situations of being in an overcrowded house to easily lose one's patience and temper and become frustrated with small, but irritating things; which seems to happen to his mother. Buzz just has that general big brother contempt for his kid brother, but obviously still loves him, along with everyone else in the family, at the end when he finds out Kevin is safe.
Nuts to that. They all could've tried a little harder, that's one lame excuse for treating someone like garbage and I come from a good sized bunch who've done the same to me. You also forget his uncle didn't care about him regardless of the situation.
Like it or not the answer is perfectly valid. Families have different dynamics. Kevin is something of a brat (he calls his mother "dummy" and openly wishes he didn't have a family), as are his brothers and sisters, especially Buzz. I for one have TWO uncles in my family who behave just like the uncle in the movie. We don't invite them over, but we've had similar situations to what's depicted in the film.
Hey I've had three uncles, father's older brothers, he hated all three of them, cared only when they started dying. Yeah the dynamics and all, my mother has stated "You ruined this family" though this bunch didn't need my help in being messed up. My sympathies to you Mr Hoffman, your uncles Dustin and Philip Seymour must be/been terrible, just kidding only on the famous names there, no offense meant.
It's just a movie! The characters are fictional and were given contrived, exaggerated, over-the-top personalities to fit the comedic plot. It's pointless to compare them to real-life family dynamics.
Also, it's a movie from a child's point of view. Kevin is supposed to be the "victim." As a 35-year-old, I have more sympathy for the adults and older kids. The movie is about Kevin learning to miss his family and be more considerate of others.
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Answer: I don't think anyone disliked Jim or was mean to him. Basically, he's a somewhat annoying, overly-active kid that the adults, who are in a very dire situation, simply didn't have much patience or the inclination to deal with. Also, the adults are mostly upper-class British, and in that era and before, they tended to be stricter with and more dismissive of children.
raywest ★