Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: What exactly was the purpose of the cigarettes? It seems like in order to kill Adam, Lawrence would have to give Adam a "blood soaked" cigarette. If this was how Lawrence was going to kill Adam, then what was the point of the saws and bullets? Also, wouldn't Lawrence be skeptical as a Doctor that something like a blood soaked cigarette would kill Adam while a normal unsoaked one wouldn't kill him? The whole part with the cigarette's leaves many unanswered questions.

Kelsey H.

Chosen answer: The killer knows that, in this early stage, Lawrence is unlikely to really try to kill Adam, and also that he is likely to try and pretend to do so to get out (hence the electrical shock administered to Adam). Thus, the saws and gun are for use later in the game, when things really heat up; the cigarette is there specifically for the ruse Lawrence attempts. Also, the deadly effect of the cigarette is not just the blood, but the fact that the blood is poisoned (or so they are led to believe); hence, if Adam put the poisoned blood in his system, it could very well have killed him if it really were poisoned. Smoking an unsoaked one might kill him with cancer, but that would have taken far too long to do Lawrence any good.

Chosen answer: Two hotels were using during filming, The Roosevelt Hotel and The Waldorf-Astoria, both located in New York City.

Ral0618

Answer: The language Ken Watanabe speaks is absolutely not Urdu. For some insane, unknown reason, the subtitles show the mysterious language to be Urdu, but this couldn't be further from the truth. When questioned about the language used in the film, Ken Watanabe said that he used a self-invented gibberish. It sounded like someone pretending to speak Japanese, but it wasn't any real language.

Question: What are some of the plot points that are covered between Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions within the "Enter the Matrix" video game?

Steph_Jared

Chosen answer: The game covers the retrieval from a post office of the information about the sentinels digging (information we see dropped at a post box in the Animatrix), the escape from the ambush at the start (ie. what's happening inside while Neo fights the agents), Ghost and Niobe getting into the matrix and ending up in a car behind Morpheus, further exploration of the mansion the Keymaker's held in (including more details on the type of program Persephone kills, ie. vampire-like), the destruction of the power plant, and Niobe's arrival at the end in her ship. In terms of specific plot, from memory there's nothing particularly significant - the game fleshes out minor events not seen in the film, but there's no particularly new information.

Jon Sandys

Question: This may sound like an odd question, but why do Trinity and Neo seem so desperate to see each other alone once they get back to Zion. They seem to have enough time for private moments while they are on the ship. Is sex on the Nebuchadnezzar forbidden?

Steph_Jared

Chosen answer: I doubt it is but from what we gather from the reaction of Link's girlfriend/wife, the Neb seems to see far more action than any other hovercraft in the fleet. It's likely that they spend most of their time jacked in rescuing people, or fleeing from sentinels. The neb's crew is also small, compared to its usual size (only four people compared to its original eight) so they'd all be involved in the piloting and gunning of the craft.

Gary O'Reilly

Question: Why does Andy go to Norton (warden) about the information that Tommy provides him rather than see his lawyer? While he may not think Norton would go to the lengths he did to keep him there, what advantage would seeing the warden before a lawyer do?

Lummie

Chosen answer: You're right--it's a character mistake, but an explainable one. Andy probably figured that because he was doing so much work for the Warden (accounting for dirty money, kickbacks, tax compliance, etc.), that the Warden would use his power to get Andy a new trial. Sounds like a fair trade--Andy makes sure there's no way for anyone to disover the illegality of the laundering, and the Warden gets Andy pardoned. What Andy didn't realize, however, was that the Warden didn't want to risk having Andy, after his pardon & release, reveal the details of the illegal schemes that were going on. So to make sure Andy got the message that he was going nowhere and would reveal nothing, he was give the two months in solitary confinement (as you know from the movie, of course).

Matty Blast

Answer: It was the 1940's to 1960's. Prisoners did not have the same rights and access to the legal system as they do today. Look what happened when a new prisoner cried...In those days all they had to say was "he got out of line and we had to beat him and he died." Prisons were not scrutinized - they were there to hold "bad" people and no one really cared what went on in them.

Question: At the end of the film, how does the ship carrying the adult and the juvenile T-rexes get from San Diego back to the island off Costa Rica without a pilot and crew? It seems to just sail away on its own. Did I miss something?

raywest

Chosen answer: Once Sarah and Ian trap the T-rex back into the "cargo hold", we never see the ship sail away on its own. It couldn't do so. The ship crashed into the dock, it would have taken days for them to free the ship - plenty of time to get a new crew. Notice how when they are watching the TV at the end, how clean everyone is?

XIII

Chosen answer: The episode is called "Sweets and Sour Marge" from Season 13, Episode 8.

Lummie

Question: How was it possible for Vader to survive when his ship was dashed out into space from the Death Star before it was destroyed? When the TIE fighter crosses Millennium Falcon Obi-Van says "A fighter that size couldn't get this deep into space on its own" and "It would be as well to let it go, it's too far out of range" and Vader's ship is about the same size. Could we assume his ship was some sort of special long-range fighter, or that he was lucky enough to reach an imperial base or catch up with a convoy?

killin_kellit

Chosen answer: Vader's ship was a prototype of the TIE-Advanced, an enhanced model that ultimately proved too expensive to be mass-produced. Part of the reason for that expense was that the fighter was equipped with a hyperdrive, allowing Vader to reach safety with little trouble.

Tailkinker

Question: Is that stimulator thing that Jack Nicholson uses on his head when he comes out of the shower a real gadget that you can buy somewhere or was it just made for the movie? If you it is real does anyone know where I could buy one?

Rollin Garcia Jr

Chosen answer: It's called a Violet Wand, and MANY years ago they were claimed to be an electrical cure-all for any ailment (along with Coca Cola extending your life-span etc). These days they're used for other purposes, I am sure any decent Adult retailer can supply you with one. Probably get one on ebay.

Soylent Purple

Question: When a Jedi accepts their death, their body disappears. Darth Vader accepted that he was going to die, so why didn't he disappear? Did he not accept his death, or is disappearing more complex than just accepting death?

Answer: As noted by Yoda in the novelization of Episode III, the disapearance of certain Jedi at death is NOT just about 'accepting' that death. It is a technique, learned through study, that enables the Jedi to bond his conscious soul to the Force instead of simply merging with it. His reference to Qui-Gon at the end of the movie implies that the technique can be learned after death too.

Question: In the opening credits, Vanessa Ferlito is listed as a cast member. In the end credits, she is listed as Louise. I looked up Vanessa on IMDB, and didn't recognize her from anywhere in the movie. So, just who is Louise?

Answer: She is one of Mary-Jane's co-stars in the Play she stars in.

XIII

Question: What is the weakness of the Jedi that Mace and Yoda talk about? I'm thinking that it has something to do with the fact that they cannot sense Palpatine as the Sith Lord, despite him being in the same room as them, and in episode III when Palpatine tells Yoda, "Your arrogance has blinded you."

Answer: They make frequent references to the dark side clouding their vision - without knowing any specifics, it seems that there may be a general buildup of dark-side energy throughout the galaxy, which is hampering their abilities, and is almost certainly why they can't detect a Sith Lord standing right in front of them. Palpatine's statement seems to refer more to the fact that they didn't pick up on him than any specific weakness of the Jedi. Presumably the Jedi had a certain faith that their abilities would detect a Sith Lord in the vicinity - they were obviously wrong on that one, and Palpatine chooses to refer to their faith in their abilities as arrogance.

Tailkinker

Question: If there still are dinosaurs on this island, and they are a known threat, why does the government allow them to still live there? With the incident at San Diego, that should have been a harsh wake-up call to the government about the threats of the dinosaurs.

Answer: The dinos have no way of leaving the island, so why would any government go and kill them all? A live tiger or lion would be dangerous if released in a city, but governments do not kill them all just in case.

Soylent Purple

Question: Do the "participants" need to be in certain room upon 6:06:59? Am I right in saying if all the rooms converge, then as long as you survive until 6:06:59 you can make an escape?

Answer: Yes, as long as you are alive when the rooms converge, you can get out.

Phixius

Question: When Jordan and Lincoln are on the streets of future LA, and Jordan sees herself on the TV screen, is that Scarlett Johanson's Calvin Klein commercial?

Answer: Yes - both the print ad in the background and the television commercial were done and published before the movie.

Steph_Jared

Question: At the end when the team are standing in front of the huge fountain and leave on at the time, what is the music in the background?

Answer: "Clair de Lune" by Claude Debussy.

Tailkinker

Question: This is more of a book question really. According to the Tale of Years Pippin and Merry left their offices in the Shire to their sons when they left for Gondor and Rohan for good. Pippin's son Faramir is in his family tree, but looking at the Brandybuck family tree Merry does not even have a wife. Is there some other text by Tolkien which gives more details on this, was the child perhaps left out of the family tree because it was a "bastard" child? Is his son, or the mother, mentioned by name anywhere?

Answer: The discrepancy lies with Tolkien's late addition of information on Meriadoc's wife. She was Estella Bolger, sister to "Fatty" Bolger. Tolkien did not add her into the family tree until after the first edition, so it has taken years for the name to get into all versions.

scwilliam

Question: In the scene where Dwight and the ghost face off in the wheel-chairs, a couple of doves flies between them.What movie is this a spoof of?

Answer: It's a spoof of a director trademark. John Woo often marks big action scenes with doves flying by. You can see this in "Face/Off" and "Mission Impossible 2" to name a few examples.

Question: In the final scene with Bourne and Landy, we find out Bourne's real name is David Webb. As this scene was only added after previews, was the audience originally going to find this out?

Answer: The original final scene, Jason walking through the snow, was described as "dismal". Something slightly more upbeat had to be added, paralleling the happy ending of "The Bourne Identity".

scwilliam

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