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: If only three of the guys are sprinters, and Sanka Coffee is not, how can Sanka keep up with the others when they're doing their push-starts?

Matty Blast

Chosen answer: They are sprinters and so can run very fast on dry land whilst not pushing a huge metal bobsled. They can pushstart faster than most teams but nowhere near sprinter speeds. Sanka is used to pushstarts like this from his pushcart races and so is able to keep up over the short starts. Also, he is routinely shown struggling to keep up with the other three in all around training.

roboc

Question: I thought that there were only 2 raptors, and one got trapped in the freezer. How were there then two attacking the characters near the entry of the visitor center at the end of the movie?

Coconut

Chosen answer: There were three raptors. Remember Muldoon saying "When she came in she took over and killed all but two of the others," in reference to the largest one. Doctor Sattler locked one in the underground power room before making it back to the visitor center; Doctor Grant later asked her if she was sure there were only two left and she made the comment "Yes, unless they somehow learn to open doors." Which in the next scene with Lex and Tim we find out is possible since another raptor did in fact open a door. Tim and Lex locked one in the freezer, and still had one after them; the second one that appeared in the visitor center was the one Sattler faced before, that's why she was so surprised when seeing it.

David Mercier

Question: What is the meaning of bit at the end of the movie, the big guy with the sunglasses? It shows Andy's 'sidekick' and the guy on stage, who was in the suit entertaining the crowd?

Answer: We're supposed to wonder if Andy didn't really fake his own death.

Xofer

Question: I've seen this movie several times, but could someone tell me if the alien or Riddick killed Fry?

Answer: The alien did it. Riddick is just starting to change a little bit, but he is pretty upset by her death nonetheless.

Grumpy Scot

Answer: Yes. Tim Burton will direct the film and Johnny Depp will star as Wonka. The name of the film will be, 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', just like the book that the movies are based on. Filming is scheduled to begin in May 2004.

Super Grover

Show generally

Question: On one of the 'American Idol 3' episodes, there is a clip of Homer punching Simon Cowell, and Barney is dressed up as a maid, saying, "You told me no-one would get hurt." Was this actually on an episode of the Simpsons, or just a new clip?

Answer: This clip was taken from the season 15 episode "Smart and Smarter".

Dandude776 1

Question: After Eamon and the children have gone to the basement of the farmhouse, Marie makes some exclamation that sounds like Chinese. What is that?

scwilliam

Answer: It is a stronger form of "Darn it", or Damn it". The word "nochmal" here can not be translated literally but merely serves as reinforcement, and does not mean "again". In British English the term "Bloody Hell" hits it most closely.

Chosen answer: The phrase is "Verdammt noch Mal", meaning 'Condemned again.'

ChiChi

Question: As none of the evil armies knew that the Rohirrim were coming for a surprise attack on the Pelennor Fields, why did they have the Mumakil, as they wouldn't really be able to attack Minas Tirith apart from damaging a few walls, they would have just got stuck behind the hordes of orcs (who wouldn't have run away towards Osgiliath) So why have them?

Answer: Sauron's forces are attacking Gondor, their primary foe in that part of Middle-Earth - this is not a time for holding anything back; they're going to throw everything that they've got into the mix. Anyway, they may well have suspected that the Rohirrim were going to get involved - it seems highly likely that Sauron's agents would have noticed the lighting of the beacons calling the Rohirrim to battle.

Tailkinker

Question: What is JJJ that was mentioned in some mistakes?

Answer: JJJ is J. Jonah Jameson, editor and owner of the Daily Bugle and Peter Parker's boss (as played by J.K. Simmons).

Xofer

Question: At one point at the start, where you only see the gate keeper above his arms, his body slides up the wall, still parallel to the ground. How did this happen if it was just a dinosaur? And when I watched it, it looked as if his body just was sucked into the cage, not dragged, because it happened so suddenly as if a fan had been turned on. I'm not debating it's a raptor, just trying to understand what actually happens there.

Coconut

Chosen answer: He falls and is dragged abruptly into the cage - the most likely explanation is that the velociraptor has grabbed his leg to pull him in. As it's a very sudden movement, it does look rather as if he's been sucked in, however, velociraptors are pretty much pure muscle, which would give the female in the cage the strength to pull him in that suddenly. Anyway, now that he's closer to her, she can now bite his torso, which would give her enough leverage to lift him off the ground in the manner that we see. As to why she'd do that rather than just turn her slicing claws on him, well, who can predict the actions of a really annoyed raptor.

Tailkinker

Question: Through most of the film Malcolm is dead. All the other ghosts still have scars from how they died but why doesn't Malcolm have his mark which should be a bullet wound?

Answer: Because as Cole tells us in the middle of the movie, "They only see what they want to see." The movie shows us Malcolm as he perceives himself. He can't actually put on an overcoat, or change clothes. He sees what he expects to see. He goes outside in the cold to visit Cole, so he sees himself wearing an overcoat. He doesn't know he is dead - he doesn't see his wound. To preserve this misdirection throughout the movie, we are shown Malcolm as he sees himself.

Actually, we do see Malcolm and Cole sees him. The entry wound in his abdomen is tiny, and the large, obvious exit wound is on Malcolm's back, which we never see.

C Classic

Question: Did Ethan actually know it was a mole hunt to trap Jim, or was he oblivious until he worked it out at the train station?

Answer: Ethan never thought it was a mole hunt to trap Jim. He found out from Kittridge at the restaurant that it was a mole hunt, but Kittridge believes that Ethan is the mole (the money his parents mysteriously receive). At the station Ethan realises that Jim must be the mole since it is too convenient both he and his wife survived. However, the hunt to catch the mole was never directed at Jim - Kittridge never suspected him until at the end when he sees Jim alive.

swordfish

Actually had suspicions before Jim showed up. Ethan found the Bible that was stamped from the Drake Hotel. Where Jim had literally just come back from before the mission. It made no sense otherwise why that would be in Jim's possession.

Answer: He says that it means 'it's as hot as hell'.

Question: While Robin Williams is packing his things in his small room, he waves down out the window at whom I believe is the Latin teacher, walking along a snowy sidewalk. What is the teacher doing, exactly? It appears that he's giving a guided tour of the campus, but he's also muttering Latin words. It can't be a classroom exercise because there are only 4 or 5 people with him. Does anyone know what he's doing?

Matty Blast

Chosen answer: It is a classroom exercise. He is being followed by pupils and is reinforcing their latin vocabulary by taking them on a tour of the garden and showing them the things that the words actually relate to (edificium = building, flora = flower etc.) This contrasts with his earlier behaviour when he simply had them mindlessly recite conjugations (amamo, amamas, amabat). The point is that this illustrates how the Latin Master has been affected by his contact with Keating and has become a better teacher as a result.

Oscar Bravo

Answer: I thought it was a punishment for the pupils involved in the scandal.

Chosen answer: I've rewatched the scene and as far as I can tell, the character is never named.

Question: What exactly is a Ghost, and in the last line of the movie, what has occurred? Have the two merged into one and become a new entity?

Kirill Ostapenko

Chosen answer: The Ghost is your spirit. In the end yes, they both merge,making a new entity, not just a human/cyborg and an AI, but a complete new entity - the whole is more than the sum of the parts.

Question: Does anyone know where I can get a transcript of this movie? Also, does anyone know if the song we hear in the movie is the original?

Answer: I don't know about the script, but the song was definitely an original - and nominated for best original song that year.

K.C. Sierra

Question: When Danny plays Poker with the Teen-beats, he plays his hand as four queens and then says 'I think the Ace is pretty high), the ace is high, but how would that make a difference to the four queens? Also, when Topher Grace (used real name in film) plays his hand as all reds, does 'all reds' mean anything in poker, it's certainly not a flush, as he has hearts and diamonds in there, is that why Rusty looks depressed as Topher Grace collects the money?

Answer: To answer your first question: Two people can't have four queens on the same hand, so when Danny said that he was being sarcastic. In poker the fifth card is sometimes played as "The Kicker", it's a tiebreaker card. I believe it was four nines though and not queens. To answer your second question: All reds means nothing unless they are the same suit. They were just adding a little humor into the movie when they did that; that was a horrible hand, and likely didn't actually win. Rusty looks depressed because he hasn't been able to teach the teenbeats anything.

JamesP

Question: After the T-800's infamous invasion of the police station, Reese and Sarah escape and the T-800 is unable to catch them. Reese and Sarah then hide in a tunnel overnight. The next time we see the T-800 is the following day, in his hideout scanning Sarah's address book. What has the T-800 been doing this whole time?

Deidra Goins

Chosen answer: He lost track of Sarah, so he went to look for her mother in order to find out the location of Sarah.

Kirill Ostapenko

Chosen answer: Treo 600.

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