Question: It becomes clear that V gives his victims Scarlet Carson roses in memory of Valerie, but how does Delia work out that the murderer is V from the roses? Surely she didn't know that Valerie had written to V mentioning them. Also, are we ever told what V was originally imprisoned for?
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Question: The disagreement between Hunter and Ramsey centers on the interpretation of the message that got cut off - Hunter says it might be a recall order so it has to be verified before they launch missiles; Ramsey says it is meaningless because it got cut off, so they should proceed with their original orders. I do understand that the captain was working within a scary time limit (one hour till the Russians could fire their missiles), but I don't understand how anyone could justify not spending part of that hour trying to confirm the cut-off message. Naval command would hardly have radioed them again to say "Yes, we really want you to fire your missiles, we're just telling you again for emphasis," so that means it was not just possible but extremely likely that the cut-off message was a recall order. Given that, how could anyone in their right mind want to cause a nuclear holocaust without first trying to find out what the cut-off message really said?
Answer: In a war situation, the Captain is absolutely NOT allowed to try and contact anyone, lest it gives their position away, which is why he was unable to question or confirm the order.
Question: Was this the first PG-13 film to use the F word? If not, what movie was the first?
Answer: Hardly. The word "fuck" has been allowed, subject to certain conditions, in PG-13-rated films ever since the rating was introduced in July 1984. Prior to that (and even occasionally afterwards), it was not unheard of for a film rated as low as PG to get away with using the word, with the first use in a PG-rated film being in All The President's Men in 1976.
Question: When the gang is discussing how to steal the gold in transit, when Charlie says, "We'll do it like The Italian Job", was he referring to the their Italian heist in Venice or to the original Italian Job movie, where the gang creates a chaotic traffic jam in Turin?
Answer: He's referring to their Italian heist where they have the item they're stealing drop through the ground. There's no indication that the original film is supposed to exist in the universe of the remake.
What were your sources? I agree with you.
The original film is on a TV in the background.
Question: Can anyone give some insight as to what was used to contaminate the hotel reviewer's room?
Answer: I don't think there's any way of providing an exact answer to this question, but I think it's safe to say that whatever materials they used were highly bacterial but not lethal (otherwise the 5 Diamond Award critic would be dead or in serious condition).
Question: In the Kathy Reich novels, is Bones ever actually referred to as "Bones"?
Chosen answer: I have read each Kathy Reichs novel and nowhere in them is Temperance Brennan called "Bones". The atmosphere of the novels is much darker, grimmer and more down-to-earth than that of the series and the relationships among the characters is more lifelike; the heroine is called "Dr. Brennan" or "Tempe" by everybody, including her on/off lover Det. Andrew Ryan, except for her boss in Montréal who insists on calling her by her full name, Temperance.
Question: I kinda understood the scramble suits that they would wear in the movie to keep their identity secret but I do not understand exactly how they would help. If you had to walk into the office every morning (it would have to be a high security area they worked in) where you would have guards/security and id cards and such to get in, people would know that you worked there simply by watching you entering and leaving the building. The only thing the suits would help with is at public speakings but all they really seem to do is keep your coworkers guessing who you are. You see "Code name guy" walk into room then "regular guy" walk out. Not very hard to figure out. Anybody with a little insight please explain.
Chosen answer: You are working on the assumption that it would be a standard 9-to-5 job and that the same people would be walking in at the same time. Bob Arctor is seen to go in irregularly and "Hank" would also keep irregular hours, much like officers in real-life. James was also seen to enter and exit the building and he was a witness; other witnesses, lawyers, public officials, the medical staff and janitors would also irregularly enter and exit the building. There are simply too many people entering and exiting the building randomly for anyone to definitively figure out who is who, particularly as their real and "suit" identities would be kept as separate as possible, "Hank" only figured out it was Bob because she was Donna. The identities of real-life police officers (particularly officers working undercover, especially on drug-deals) are routinely kept secret and the design of the building that Bob and "Hank" work in would be designed to protect their identities and the scramble-suits would be another layer of protection on top.
Question: What was the real purpose of that short last scene of the movie? Our guess was that it was to advertise Rock Band. Anyone agree?
Answer: I think it was to show that Jerry and Rachel maintained a friendship after it all. Also to maybe, maybe hint about some kind of romantic future in the way that Rachel says, "you remembered", when her ex-husband was said to never have remembered Sam's birthday.That's my thoughts - I think it's just to let us know how the characters turned out.
Question: Besides giving an excuse for the copycat killer to show up, was there any real point for the death of Joey, who was an innocent (and slow) young man? This part of the movie always struck me as being simply pointless and exploitative, with no reason.
Answer: His death is what motivated the guy to do the killings, so it wasn't pointless, it was very necessary to move the plot forward.
Question: Why when they showed them being video taped was the date always 1-26-09? Was it supposed to be the future?
Answer: Yes, the movie is supposed to be set in Jan. 2009.
Question: (Spoiler warning) I didn't really understand why the wildfire was put into the story. I know that fires happen in California often and that the scene at the end of the movie looks creepy with all of the smoke and fires in the background, but was there supposed to be any other special meaning or symbolism?
Answer: As far as symbolism, from a film student's perspective (mine), it's like destruction or division, two common themes in the film. The two characters are split in values and the fire is raging between them. As the fire gets closer to the houses, it increases in intensity, as does the fighting between neighbors. I think in this film, fire was used not only as a plot device, but a metaphor for the story as well.
Question: What did Preston do with the dog? We see that he put it back in the car, but he obviously wasn't going to just walk into his apartment with "contraband". He couldn't just let it go, because the dog wouldn't leave when he tried to before.
Answer: At the end of the film, after Preston kills 'Father' and the explosives are detonated, we see Preston's kids. His son is at school and his daughter is playing with the puppy (she's letting it lick her hand). I assumed that he'd wrapped it up in his coat he used as a bed for it and simply hurried up the stairs.
Question: In the scene in which Cecelia and Robbie meet in the cafe, when Cecelia says she has to be back at the hospital in thirty minutes, Robbie makes an anguished comment that is extremely difficult to understand. What is the comment that he makes?
Answer: He says "Oh god, that's..." He's upset at the little time they have together.
Question: One thing that keeps bugging me every time I see this movie is why Sophie and Sky don't get married. Sophie says to Sky in the chapel that "You never wanted this." What he didn't want was a huge expensive wedding, not no wedding at all. But all of the money is spent, everyone is there, including the priest. So why not just go through with it?
Question: I'm submitting this as a question because it's not an obvious mistake, if it is even one. When Harry and Tanya are in the paddle boat, Harry asks Tanya what the father of the bride would normally do. Tanya responds by saying "Pay." Harry then jumps into the water and swims ashore. After "Does Your Mother Know" is performed, Harry presents Donna with a check to help with the wedding costs. Where did Harry get the check? All of his luggage is on Bill's boat. Did a reasonable enough time pass that allowed Harry to go to the boat, write the check and come back ashore by the time this scene begins?
Answer: Either that, or he had brought some stuff, like a wallet with a checkbook, with him off the boat.
Question: What was the purpose of the man driving up to Jerry and Rachel and run off angrily, only to get roasted to a crisp by the telephone poles? This never made any sense to me.
Chosen answer: I'm pretty sure it's to prove to the people watching the movie and to both Jerry and Rachel what can happen if they disobey, as after this event they followed the orders from ARIA closely.
Question: There may not be any reason for this, but why did Buck want to ride to the quarry in Hank's truck?
Answer: At that point in the investigation Buck was trying to frame Hank for the murder of Debbie. Buck tried incriminating him on tape and planting a shotgun shell in his truck. Using Hank's truck to go to the quarry gave him an opportunity to plant the shotgun shell. Why he picked the quarry specifically is left unknown, but it was likely one place that would be deserted and easy to speak freely.
Question: I noticed the librarian, Judith, never appears after the retrieval of penicillin, I say this because I missed a tid-bit of the film after they acquired it. Is she there just camera shy or did she freeze?
Answer: She is indeed alive. Take a close look at the scene when Jack Hall arrives. Judith appears in that scene.
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Answer: Nothing is ever revealed about V's history before Larkhill so we don't know why he was there. As for the roses, in the original comic book, in order to keep him compliant during his time in captivity, V was allowed to tend a small garden while his health was monitored. It was during that time that he first grew the Scarlet Carson roses and also surreptitiously obtained the chemicals that he would use to destroy Larkhill and make his escape. Whether this can be considered consistent with the film storyline is an open question - certainly nothing in the film actively appears to contradict it.
Tailkinker ★