Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

These are questions relating to specific titles. General questions for movies and TV shows are here. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.

Question: In J. Jonah Jameson's office there are several front pages framed on his wall, including one that says "Doc Ock still at large". I know it was from Spider-Man 2, but is its inclusion here a clue to his return in a possible fourth of fifth movie?

Answer: Not really. As far as the authorities are concerned, Doc Ock IS still at large. Only Spider-man and Mary Jane know he died.

Question: Why can Harry only see the thestrals in his fifth year? He saw his parents die when he was a baby - I know there is an explanation I just can't remember it.

Answer: Harry never saw his father die. James Potter was in another part of the house when Voldemort murdered him. It's also unknown if Harry actually witnessed his mother's death. He was in his crib, and his view may have been obstructed. He only remembers seeing a green flash and hearing Lily scream. Also, because he was an infant, he could not interpret what he actually was viewing. One has to be consciously aware when seeing death. However, Harry should have been able to see the thestrals by his second year, after he witnessed Professor Quirrell's death in Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, although he only witnessed his death in the film. In the book, he passed out before Quirrell died.

raywest

Answer: In reality, he should have been able to see them at the end of the fourth movie but off screen when they were catching the train home.

Question: Can someone please explain the prophecy?

Answer: Sure. The whole prophecy, taken from the books, reads as follows: "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...". Thus stating that the person who will be able to defeat Voldemort will be born at the end of July, to parents who have escaped Voldemort on three occasions - this applies to Harry, born on July 31st, and also to Neville Longbottom, born the previous day. It states that Voldemort will mark his enemy, which occurs when Harry was a year old, when Voldemort failed to kill him, leaving him with his scar - the deciding event that determined that Harry was the subject of the prophecy. The power "that the Dark Lord has not" is believed to refer to Harry's capacity for love, which Voldemort lacks entirely. Finally, the "neither can live while the other survives" section is fairly straight-forward; only one of the pair will live, the other must die - the interpretation being that one must kill the other.

Tailkinker

Question: In Paris right before Jonathon meets Sasha, he orders a drink called Penot or something like that. What kind of drink is this and what difference did it make when he had the waiter add water to it?

SAZOO1975

Chosen answer: The drink is called "Pernod". It's an aniseed aperitiv, and when you add water to this kind of liquor it turns from clear to cloudy white.

Ioreth

Question: What does Dr. Evil's son really say instead of "Why don't we just call it Operation Buttcrack"?

Answer: In the uncensored version, he says, "Why don't you just call it Operation Ass Cream, ya ass?"

Question: I was watching this movie last night, and it got to the part where Nightcrawler/Storm are looking down at the kids in the cell. On the back wall there looks to be an image of Nightcrawler in the place where he teleports later on. What is this doing there?

Answer: This is mentioned in a mistake for the film. It is in fact Nightcrawler himself just before he steps forward, appearing to have just teleported into the cell. For some unknown reason, the editors used this shot before he was to have teleported.

Question: When Ursula is posing as a human, does her 'unsinging' voice change to Ariel's as well, or just when she is singing?

Answer: Well from what I remember Jodi Benson, who is the voice of Ariel, disguised her voice for Vanessa so in a way she has the same speaking voice as Ariel but a little bit of Ursula's real voice seems to come through.

Disney-Freak

Question: I live in Southern California and I can hear the snakes 50 yards away. Knowing that there were rattlesnakes on the plane, wouldn't people on the plane have heard them?

Answer: Rattlesnakes only make a noise when they are disturbed and some rattlesnakes will even strike without starting to rattle first.

Myridon

Question: When Homer opens the curtains from the Red Rash Inn Motel room, there are several Advertising sign posters in foreign languages. The one in the middle-right is in Korean and it advertises classes to learn English with a Texan accent. Can someone explain what this joke is about?

Answer: I believe the joke is supposed to be that the way Texans speak is a language all its own.

Damian Torres

Question: So did Frau convert to lesbianism through the time after being straight with Dr. Evil?

Answer: It appears so since she was with Dr. Evil in 1969 and was with Unibrow (the female golfer) in the present time. She does say (after the time with Dr. Evil), that she would never love another man again - to which he replies - "That's right", referring, of course, to her future sexual preferences.

Zwn Annwn

Question: On the 2nd Disc, there is an interview with director Alfonso Cuaron and J.K. Rowling. In the interview, Rowling states that Cuaron unknowingly put some clues in the movie that foreshadow events that happen in books 6 an 7. I have read books 6 and 7 and I re-watched the movie, but I still have no idea what clues Rowling was referring to. Could someone please fill me in?

Blibbetyblip

Chosen answer: Semi-spoilers, but just a few things that I noticed: Lupin speaking about Lily, saying that she saw the good in anyone, Hermione and Ron's little "moments" which were much more plentiful than in the 3rd book, and Snape protecting Harry from the werewolf when he could have run. I'm sure there might be more, but also keep in mind that between the making of this movie and the release of the final books, JKR did change/edit several things so some "clues" might foreshadow things that never made it into the books.

Question: This applies to the movie and the book. Is there any reason why somebody can't go back in time using a Time Turner and save all those people that Voldemort killed or perhaps kill the child Voldemort? It seems like such a big plot hole so I had to check before I submitted it as a mistake.

Blibbetyblip

Answer: According to the Harry Potter Wikia, someone using a Time Turner can only stay in the past for five hours at a time, to avoid doing irreparable damage to the timeline or the time traveler themselves.

Chosen answer: To change time, even with good intentions, would be to break one of the most important wizarding laws. Hermione was only allowed access to a Time Turner under very carefully controlled conditions; Professor McGonagall had to write many letters to the Ministry on her behalf and, according to Hermione, told her a number of stories about occasions when wizards had attempted to alter time with horrific consequences. Going back to kill the infant Voldemort would simply not be an option.

Tailkinker

Answer: The Ghost Rider possesses superhuman strength sufficient to lift up to 25 tons. http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Johnathon_Blaze_ (Earth-616).

Question: What type of boat is depicted in the Niger river scene?

Answer: The one used by Dirk was a Hunton 43 - designed by Jeff Hunton and costing about $300,000 US.

Zwn Annwn

Question: Why did the Japanese girl lie about her mother jumping off the balcony? She'd probably have gained the same amount of sympathy from the officer if she had told him about finding her mother after she had shot herself. And why doesn't the father look more surprised that she's naked? He just blinks and hugs her?

Answer: Chieko was traumatized by her mother's death (and feels a great need for physical contact and affection) (though she (mistakenly) manifests this in a sexual way...not too unusual in young disabled people). Her father seems to suffer from this same horrific loss, which means that they're both stuck in a kind of "loss-limbo" (unable to satisfy either's needs). On the balcony, the two holding hands suggests the beginning of the "breaking of the ice" between them. BTW, her nudity-in that scene-has no significance. This is just a father and his child. I wish the movie-makers had given us a clue about that damned note. Though the secrecy of it does kind've suggest that it reflects her intent to end her life...even as her mother did. Her appearance in the nude to the cop (which, on the face of it, seems very erotic) challenges us to remember that people exist on "different levels" or expressions (or "ego-states"). The main thing is that she's calling out for affection and being comforted.

Answer: It's obvious that this girl has quite serious psychological problems. Thus her erratic behavior, of which her father must also have some experience already.

Answer: There was a kid's tv show called The Electric Company and that is how new words were taught.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Electric_Company.

Rlvlk

Question: At the very end of the movie, Michael Caine states that the audience wants to be fooled as a dead Angier is shown in a water tank. What does this mean?

Answer: It means exactly what he says - the reason that illusion shows are successful is that the audience, whether they admit it or not, want to be fooled by the illusions that they see. They don't want to see what lies behind it.

Tailkinker

Question: On the movie timeline website it says that on November 6 2012 America elected a female President, and that this fact comes from Back To The Future Part III. Where in the film is this mentioned?

Answer: It's actually mentioned in Part II, when Marty and Doc are reading the newspaper. If you look at the headlines on the left side of the page, one of them reads, "President says she's tired of..." As this is in 2015, pending changes to US election dates, she must have been elected on November 6th 2012.

Question: In a conversation between Senator Kelly and Colonel Stryker - regarding whether Stryker wants a war - Stryker says he was leading military operations when Kelly was still a baby. Kelly isn't young. How old are each character supposed to be? (Granted, that's technically Mystique as Kelly, but Stryker does not know that).

Answer: Given his history with Logan, Stryker could easily be in in 70s. Assuming Senator Kelly is in his 50s, that could put Stryker as a young operative when Kelly was born. In any case, he may be exaggerating.

Answer: He has always been in favour of using much stricter discipline at Hogwarts, even talking warmly about medieval punishing methods. Umbridge introduces and enforces the sort of rigid regime he wants, one where the school will be free of pranks and rule-breaking, something he hates with a passion (since, as caretaker, he often has to clean up the mess afterwards). Hence, he is very much in support of Umbridge.

Twotall

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.