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.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000)

Homebodies - S4-E3

Question: How did Suzanna die at the end? To shoot herself, outside of her house, after just being to the grocery store is ludicrous, but what parents who were told, "Go to the cops and we kill you" – wouldn't take Suzanna away and try to figure out some protection from this person still on the loose? Why the same people who lied to the police the day after the home invasion apparently felt that it would be safer to gallivant about in public (i.e. to the grocery store) with Suzanna, after the home invader was on the loose doesn't make sense. Can someone please explain this?

Answer: She was killed by the two perpetrators. Since she failed to identify them in the line-up (too scared), she and/or her parents must have thought that they were "safe."

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Question: In the opening scene, Frodo is dreaming about Gandalf's fall in Moria. So later on, when Gandalf is explaining to Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas, how does he suddenly get from a water-filled cave miles below the surface of the earth (seen in Frodo's dream) to the top of a tower in the mountains (where he killed the Balrog once and for all)? I won't accept the explanation that Frodo's dream was inaccurate to real events or that he doesn't know what really happened, as I'm sure Peter Jackson used the dream as a way to partially explain what really happened to Gandalf in the books.

Answer: Nope, Frodo's dream is spot-on - no need to use that excuse. Gandalf and the Balrog obviously both survive the fall, and Gandalf spends the next eight days chasing the Balrog through the deep caverns under Khazad-dum. Ultimately, the pair reach the Endless Stair, which connects the deep halls to the ruins of Durin's Tower on the peak of Zirakzigil, a mountain high above Moria. They head up the stair to the mountaintop where they fight their final battle, which lasts another two days before Gandalf finally triumphs.

Tailkinker ★

CSI: Miami (2002)

Season 1 generally

Question: In the last few episodes of series 1, Horatio tells a few people that they will be spending the next few years a jail. But sometimes he says a 6x6 cell and others a 6x9 cell. So I was wondering do the sizes of cells usually differ or was it just a slip of the tongue?

Answer: Yes, sizes of jails differ.

Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)

Question: What is the name of the piece of music that plays during the samurai sword scene with the Bride and Hattori Hanzo and over the start of the credits? Is it from another movie? It sounds really familiar to me.

Answer: It is called "The Lonely Shepherd" by Zamfir.

don_corleone

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Question: If Sauron's forces did get the Ring, how are they supposed to give it to Sauron? Do they throw it in the eye or something?

Answer: I would imagine that simple proximity would do it - when the Ring was close enough, Sauron would be able to tap into the magical power stored within, which would give him the power required to take physical form. At which point, they just give it to him.

Tailkinker ★

X-Men (2000)

Question: Is there anywhere on the internet where I can listen to the song playing over the scene towards the end when Wolverine gives his powers to Rogue after rescuing her from Magneto's machine?

Answer: The song's name is "Logan and Rogue" and it's by Michael Kamen. Dunno where you can get it on the 'net, though. Some P2P network might help you.

Stargate SG-1 (1997)

Show generally

Question: In some episodes you'll see a shot of the outside of Cheyenne Mountain Complex and there will be a truck to the right. Why does it say 'SGT MACK'? Or, who is this guy?

Answer: It's not unusual in the military to paint the name of the NCO assigned to and responsible for that particular vehicle on that vehicle. Sgt Mack is no-one in the series I've ever seen.

Grumpy Scot

Answer: I saw it one time, but there was no character with the name Mack for that episode. But MacGyver's nickname in the show was Mack. Richard Dean Anderson (who plays Jack O'Neill) starred as MacGyver. In addition, several other SG-1 cast members appeared in the show MacGyver.

Bishop73

Murder by Numbers (2002)

Question: Could someone please explain what the title means and what numbers have to do with anything? I'm not a native English speaker and I don't get it.

Answer: It's like a paint-by-numbers, where a picture is outlined on a board, and each little piece of it has a number corresponding to a different color of paint. You paint in the spaces based on what the numbers tell you. Murder by numbers refers to the boys following all the "rules" about how to create the perfect murder: choosing a victim at random, etc. They're murdering based on what they've been told is the right way to do it.

Krista

Never Die Alone (2004)

Question: How do they draw blood from a vein with a syringe, or inject a liquid into somebody's arm or neck? It doesn't appear that the needle is retractable, and you can see the liquid/blood being injected or drawn. If it's a closeup, it could be a fake arm, but many times you can see the person as this is being done. This appears in many movies. Anyone actually know?

ZipWin

Chosen answer: I used to have a "magic trick" syringe - the syringe has a double wall so that there is a tiny space around the outside that actually fills up with fluid from a reservoir in the syringe, the middle of the syringe (majority of the volume) remains empty, but it looks full.

Myridon

Children of the Corn (1984)

Question: All of Isaac's followers in this film are young people, no older than about their mid 20's. So why in the opening scene during the Cafe slaughter, is there a elderly lady helping them do their dirty work (the worker who poisons the coffees). This makes no sense at all considering it's the older people they were killing.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Who knows? Maybe they blackmailed her, because she works there, and the children wouldn't get caught poisoning the coffee, or maybe she isn't as old as you think, she could well be in her mid 20's, it's hard to tell, you only see her briefly.

Hamster ★

She is obviously in her late teens, early 20s.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Question: When Will and Jack climb aboard the Dauntless, Jack says, "everyone remain calm we are taking over the ship". What does Will say after him and what does it mean?

Answer: Will said, "Aye! Avast!" Aye means yes. Avast means stop or cease. Jack turned and gave Will the eyeball because Will sounded silly, and Will looked at Jack and gave him a look back as if he wondered in his own mind, "What? What did I do/say that's so bad?"

Super Grover ★

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Question: I don't know where I can find the music track that was played right after Theoden said "And Rohan will answer", until the moment the Rohirrim left Edoras. It's a Rohan theme and it seems that it is not in the soundtrack.

Answer: Well, the movie is roughly three hours long and the soundtrack is around 80 minutes. Almost half of the music is not on the soundtrack. You'll have to wait until they release the complete soundtrack which runs almost as long as the film itself.

For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Question: Is this the only Bond film that features any references to Tracy Bond (other than the given "On Her Majesty's...")?

Answer: It's mentioned he was married in The Spy Who Loved Me and Licence to Kill.

Grumpy Scot

Answer: It is also vaguely alluded to in The World is Not Enough. When Electra asks Bond, "tell me, Mr. Bond, ha- have you ever lost a loved one." And it's written all over his face, so to speak.

Alan Keddie

Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)

Question: This question is for the Australian release of the DVD. On the cover, it says in the Special Features menu that there is an easter egg. Since there are no easter eggs listed for this movie, does anyone know what it is?

Answer: To access the Cheaper by the Dozen easter egg, go to the special features menu, highlight the bottom option on the list, not the back option, and press right. The easter egg is a Tommymax commercial.

hannisen

Lolita (1997)

Question: When Lolita enters Humbert's room for the very first time, she asks him if she's getting a zit. According to Google, zit was used to define a pimple circa 1966. The movie takes place in 1947. Was the slang used back then?

Answer: It could have been. Lolita might have used a relatively new term, and also how can one really pinpoint the first time a term was used? Maybe it was more mainstream in 1966, but kids could have been using the expression for several years.

Daredevil (2003)

Question: According to the IMDB, Colin Farrell's sister, Claudine, appears in the bar scene when we first meet Bullseye. Having never seen her before, I was just curious: which one is she?

Answer: She's at the bar, standing next to the guy who Bullseye's playing against (and ultimately kills), wearing a blue and yellow sleeveless top.

Tailkinker ★

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Question: There's a few things I didn't understand in this film: 1) What's the deal with Jill? Did she really love Mr. McBain or did she just marry for money etc? 2) After she sees the McBain's bodies, why does Jill search the house? Is she checking to see whether anything was stolen? 3) When Jill meets Harmonica in the barn, why does he rip her dress? 4) What's whole thing with Jill and Frank near the end? What exactly happens?

Answer: 1) Jill is a prostitute from New Orleans. She seeks out a new life out West. Love is irrelevant here. 2) She was promised a country living, a family, and wealth. That's why she is looking not only for money or gold but also for the reason her family was killed. 3) So Leone can show her beautiful body. 4) She's saving her life. She's a prostitute and I guess she knows how to fake it. Remember: "There's nothing that can't washed off by a hot bath".

Answer: "Leone fools us into thinking that Harmonica is a criminal and sexual predator in the scene in Jill's barn in which Harmonica rips off the white lace beneath the bodice of Jill's dress. This act, that seems to betoken sexual aggression and to anticipate rape, is actually one of protection. Harmonica represents no more of a sexual threat than Cheyenne does. What Harmonica realises, and Jill does not, is that Frank's sharpshooters wait for her in the hills above her house and that the white of her dress makes her an easy target. He might have explained this situation more carefully to her, of course, but Leone's characters seem to almost thrive on, or to court, ill opinion. Moreover, when Harmonica's shots ring out at the well and Jill realises he is actually intent on protecting rather than brutalizing her, the effect is all the more dramatic for his having given her no hint of his intentions. Leone's heroes do not like to wear their morality on their sleeves." (John Fawell).

La Confidential (1997)

Question: About 3/4 of the way through the film, Vincennes finds the body of the actor he arrested early in the movie, with his throat slit. Who killed him and why?

Answer: Reynolds has been sent by Sid Hudgens to sleep with Loew, the District Attorney. Dudley Smith and Pearce Patchett, who are trying to take over everything, have been threatening Loew, who initially refused to play along. They set Loew up, probably in much the same way that Hudgens tried to, with the intention of blackmailing him with photos so that he couldn't prosecute them. According to Loew, who spills the details while Bud's dangling him out of the window, Reynolds overheard all this - presumably Smith and/or Patchett followed Loew to the motel room to do the blackmailing - so they killed him.

Tailkinker ★

The Shining (1980)

Question: What does "Here's Johnny" mean? Torrance says this as he chops down the bathroom door.

Answer: "Here's Johnny" is a classic line used on the Tonight Show when Johnny Carson hosted. Anytime Johnny would enter the stage at the beginning of the show, Ed McMahon would shout "Here's Johnny" as his introduction. Jack Nicholson ad-libbed the line.

T Poston

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Question: In the Warg battle, Aragorn accidentally falls over a cliff and doesn't return to Helm's Deep until much later, when everyone believes he is dead. This doesn't occur in the book (in fact, neither does the Warg battle, but I can see why the battle was added, to spruce up an otherwise boring scene). Can anyone explain what benefit Aragorn's accident had to the storyline?

Answer: This was done to add to the tension; in part for the audience, but in larger part for the characters. As Peter Jackson said, when asked about this issue, those who have read the books know what happens to Aragorn throughout the story, and will not think for a second that he truly has perished in the river, but for some viewers coming new to the whole thing, this adds some tension for them... more importantly, though, we see the reactions of the characters; they grieve for Aragorn as if they will not see him again, and even though we know otherwise - perhaps, in part, beCAUSE we know otherwise - we are sympathetic to that. It also serves to highlight the friendship, the true fellowship, that existed amongst them. Finally, PJ also said that he didn't want the whole journey to seem too easy; the heroes just wading through every battle felling enemies and not getting a scratch themselves; he wanted to show that they were vulnerable.

STP ★

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