Question: So sawing through the thick chain would take too long. What about the padlock which is much thinner? Does flesh plus bone take less time than a thin padlock?
TedStixon
24th May 2022
Saw (2004)
16th May 2022
Shrek Forever After (2010)
Question: How does erasing the day Shrek was born change anything that erasing any other day of his lifetime wouldn't change? After all, it's not like he just suddenly came into existence that very day. He already existed in his mama ogre's belly. The only true day to erase that would have the intended consequences would be the day he was conceived. Without that day, the exact "tadpole" that would become Shrek would have a low chance of winning the same "race to the finish line" that allowed Shrek to be.
Answer: First of all, it's nebulous magical rules in a fairy-tale setting. It's easy enough in the context of a magical spell to make the leap that "Getting rid of the day Shrek was born" = "Shrek doesn't exist." (For all we know, he simply vanished from his mother's body that day.) Second... do you SERIOUSLY expect them to make a kids movie where they discuss a baby ogre being conceived sexually, hahaha? Like... really? You know this is a movie that small children watch, right?
16th May 2022
The Addams Family (1964)
Question: How was effect of the light bulb that lit up whenever Fester put it in his mouth achieved?
Answer: Basically from what I understand, they stuck the innards of a small flashlight into the base of the bulb and put a little switch on it. When he put it in his mouth and bit down, his teeth would hit the switch, which would turn on the flashlight and made the bulb light up.
15th May 2022
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)
Question: If Bill is behind the death O-Ren's parents, did she know? If so why didn't she go after Bill?
Answer: There is nothing in the film that states or even particularly indicates that Bill is somehow behind the deaths of O-Ren's parents. The only explanation we get is that their death was ordered by Yakuza boss Matsumoto, who brought in the thugs that killed her father. There is a semi-popular fan-theory that the man in white (Pretty Riki) is actually a young Bill, but to my knowledge, this was never confirmed by Quentin Tarantino. (In fact, according to the Kill Bill wiki, Tarantino actually denied they were the same person, but I can't find the source for that.) So there's literally no reason for her to go after Bill. As far as she (and the audience) knows, he was uninvolved in their deaths.
7th May 2022
General questions
I remember watching a movie when I was younger around 1996 and a boy has a learning disability, and he becomes friends with a blind lady who is black. He tries to read but can't because the words look funny to him, so she teaches him Braille. I remember the old lady later dies and the boy becomes so upset that he runs away and finds his grandmother and stays with her until he feels ready to return home to his single mom. I think actress Della Reese was in it. What was this movie called?
Answer: Did a quick Google search, and the television film "Anya's Bell" from 1999 seems to fit the bill perfectly plot-wise, plus it stars Della Reese. Only discrepancy is the date (it came out in 1999). But I'm 99% sure that's it. Check out the Wikipedia and IMDb pages for it.
Answer: Thank you that is the move. I don't know why I thought it was 1996 must have been because of the tape we had it on. It was full of movies that were taped off TV, and they were all from different years, so I just estimated with the year.
5th May 2022
The House (2017)
Question: Is there any indication how much of this film was unscripted or how much Amy and Will improvised their lines. I can't tell if it's just the acting style the actors chose, or if it was the way the director wanted it, but a lot (especially the opening scenes) comes across as bad improv. Or am I the only one that gets that vibe?
Answer: A lot of the time with modern comedies, they'll usually do a scene as written, then do a number of improv takes where the actors and director come up with jokes on the fly. Then in editing, they'll pick the (presumably) best bits from both the scripted and improv takes to put into the finished film. And Will Ferrell confirmed that there was indeed a lot of improvising on-set of "The House." Unfortunately, without a copy of the shooting script, it's basically impossible to tell exactly how much of the finished film is made up of the unscripted improv. But it's fair to say that at least a decent chunk of the movie was made up of improv comedy. So chances are it's not just you.
1st May 2022
Home Alone (1990)
Question: I know it's just a movie, but how were Gus Polinski and his wife unable to even realise they left their own son behind at a funeral home, let alone leaving him there all day, as Gus was explaining to Kate near the end of the movie (especially under the assumption that it began the night before during a typical service or even during calling hours)? Surely, any parent with common sense would know not to leave their children unsupervised in an event like that.
Answer: It can be any number of things. High stress. Forgetfulness. Just being tired. Maybe they got hyper focused and it simply slipped their mind. Etc. (And since it's a funeral home in his case, it could be all of those things, plus more.) And it's really not all that uncommon. One survey I found online showed that over 10% of parents admitted to accidentally forgetting their child was in their car with them and leaving them in the back seat. And in another survey, 9% of parents have admitted to accidentally either losing track of or leaving a child behind somwhere while they were out. It just... happens.
Answer: While Gus doesn't state many of the particulars of the event, I've attended numerous funerals where kids are constantly on the move. Going in and out of family rooms, going outside, etc. It's possible to lose track or think they're with another relative. Gus is used to being on the road and isn't always in "Dad mode." My own parents forgot me at school numerous times.
11th Apr 2022
Spaceballs (1987)
Question: Planet Spaceballs intends to steal all the air on Planet Druidia. Spaceball city and Planet Druidia are neighbors. When Megamaid explodes, her head lands on a beach on a planet that presumably has air. Why not steal the air on the planet inhabitated by apes? There's apparently no air shield. Additionally, the desert planet where Yogurt lives also has air and no air shield. Two other planets, in addition to Planet Druidia, that have breathable air.
Answer: It also might stand to reason that the very fact that Druidia has a shield is what makes it viable. It almost creates a docking port for Mega Maid who was presumably designed for that very purpose. After all, what other purpose could a space maid with a vacuum possibly have?
Answer: The Spaceballs are a race of bullies, they only pick on planets they know have no defense, like Druidia. Yogart, like Yoda, was a very powerful being with mystic powers, While the planet of the Apes were highly intelligent and were most likely able to out smart a race of idiots.
Answer: In the context of the movie, the Spaceballs seem to hate Planet Druidia. So why not steal air from the planet they hate? In a more meta behind-the-scenes context... it's just better for the plot for them to target Druidia since it makes more sense dramatically and creates stakes for the story.
8th Apr 2022
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Question: What did Anakin's torpedoes hit that caused the droid control ship to explode?
Answer: It was the main reactor of the ship, according to wookieepedia.
I have a problem with that because realistically would destroying a reactor be enough to cause whatever it powers to explode?
Not sure why you have a problem with that notion. It's a common sci-fi convention/trope that destroying the main reactor of a ship usually causes a chain-reaction that destroys the entire vessel. That's also what destroyed both Death Stars in the original trilogy. (Luke fires a missile into the reactor through an exhaust port/Lando and the others fly into the core and destroy the main reactor.) This is not a documentary... it can operate by nebulous sci-fi rules. Not to mention, none of these things actually exist, so who's to say destroying the main reactor WOULDN'T destroy the ship?
It destroyed the main reactor of the droid control ship itself, not what it powers. Anakin was inside the ship and blew it up from the inside.
If you go by official books put out you see lots of ships in Star Wars are powered by a gas type fuel source. Taking out a reactor could cause that fuel to explode as well. As you see in the movie it not one big boom but a lot of little ones at 1st. But once that fire gets to the main tanks it's all over.
19th Apr 2004
Fight Club (1999)
Question: What is the significance of the penguin as Ed Norton's "power animal"?
Answer: If you listen to the commentary the producer explains that the whole ice cave scene is himself reminiscing about some childrens' book series.
This is simply wrong. What the answer may be referring to is the director's instructions to make the penguin move like the ones in Mary Poppins.
Answer: Author Chuck Palanuik (who wrote the book) stated that he did a similar meditation practice where he was supposed to picture a "power animal," and a penguin popped into his head and told him to "slide." People have theorized that a cute, innocent animal telling him to "slide" in a childlike voice was meant to symbolize the narrator's (and presumably Palanuik's if his story is true) need to let go and relax and not let things get him down so much. (Represented by the penguin gleefully sliding away giggling like a child with not a care in the world).
Answer: Very good question. I was wondering that myself. Here is how I see it, and maybe I am not really right. But the one word used by his power animal was 'Slide'. It was repeated again when Marla Singer 'invaded' his conscious and unconscious manifestations as we find her in the cave. The movie is all about ripping him from ideological assumptions of the things Tyler wants his to see doesn't really matter in life. So here is the line of the movie: The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide."Here the word slide again.
21st Mar 2022
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Question: I know that Sam Elliott, who played General Ross in 2003 Hulk, wanted to play him again in this movie. Why was he rejected and replaced with William Hurt?
Answer: Presumably because this movie was retooled into a reboot that wasn't meant to connect with the 2003 film. So bringing back main cast members might have been seen as being potentially too confusing at the time. (This was nearly 10 years prior to JK Simmons being cast again as J. Jonah Jameson, which proved audiences can go with the same actors being in reboots. But in 2008, it probably would have been viewed as being too risky).
I do think you're right, although it's worth pointing out that Judi Dench was recast as M in the rebooted 2006 Casino Royale after playing her in the Brosnan Bond films. Not sure if that was the first time that's happened.
That is true, although I'd consider it a slightly different circumstance because the Bond films are basically a singular linear film series following one main character, and it was made clear that "Casino Royale" was essentially a full-on reboot. Comparatively, the MCU is multiple different stand-alone "series" (Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, etc.) that all tie together via crossovers, cameos and team-up films. They were probably worried that people would assume the 2003 movie was retroactively part of the MCU. (Which you could probably argue is now true given the establishment of the multiverse, and the implication that previous non-MCU Marvel movies are all canonical as part of the multiverse... but that wasn't part of the plan at the time this movie was made).
21st Mar 2022
General questions
I remember catching part of a movie or TV show in the early-to-mid 90's, and some younger kid was singing a song about diarrhoea, along the lines of "When you're sliding into first, and you feel your pants burst, diarrhea, diarrhea." Anyone know what this was from?
Chosen answer: You're probably thinking of the 1989 Steve Martin comedy "Parenthood." In the movie, a kid sings that song. Google it and you can find a clip of the scene.
Answer: There's also an episode of "Two and a Half Men," Season 5 Episode 8, titled "Is There a Mrs. Waffles?" Charlie becomes a children's singing star. He sings about everything kids do playing, eating and sleeping. One song is about doing "potty." I don't remember the lyrics, but he uses words like "poo poo" and "doody."
15th Mar 2022
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Question: Why doesn't Peter take the symbiote suit off normally instead of ripping it off?
Answer: If you'll notice, he seems very stressed out and immediately struggles taking off the suit. Before he starts to rip it off, he holds up his hands, and they're sort of constricted, and you can hear a sort-of plasticy "tightening" sound. And then he starts to moan like he's in pain. Then he starts to rip at it. It seems like the suit senses that he wants to remove it and is trying to hold on by squeezing him. So trying to pull if off normally wouldn't work.
15th Mar 2022
Die Hard 2 (1990)
Question: Cochrane, the first terrorist that McClane killed, went through a machine that crushed his head. What was this machine, and what's its conventional function?
Answer: While it doesn't crush his head, if you look closely the chest doesn't go through, so it's also probable that the rolling press crushed the chest / upper abdomen.
Answer: I don't think it actually crushes his head (especially since you see his uncrushed head screaming), so much as he just gets electrocuted by the equipment, as you see flashing and sparks. I've seen it referred to in articles as a "baggage press," but I can't find anything about such a machine online. If I had to guess, it seems like it's being used to lightly compress baggage/luggage that are in thin or flexible containers, like duffle bags. (Probably to create more space for storage and transportation). Otherwise, it just seems to be some sort-of general part of the storage/sorting machinery.
12th Mar 2022
General questions
I just remembered this brief moment from a movie. An Asian man with shoulder-length hair growls - he has the growl of a tiger or other big cat. In the moment that I remember, he might have been bare-chested/shirtless when he growled at someone. I saw this sometime in the '90s - am quite sure it was not the 2000s or later. Thank you.
Answer: That sounds very similar to a scene in the 1995 "Mortal Kombat" movie. A shirtless man with shoulder-length hair is in the first major fight scene of the tournament, and a few times, they loop in a sort-of tiger growling sound while he's shouting/yelling. (I believe it happens twice.) The only difference is that he's a black man and not an Asian man.
Thank you. I just watched the scene on YouTube, and it seems to be the one I remembered. I must have been mistaken about who did the growling.
5th Mar 2022
Monk (2002)
Question: Is there a reason they chose the last names Monk and/or Teeger?
Answer: I couldn't find any info on the name "Teeger," but Monk got his name because they wanted to come up with a simple, single-syllable name for the protagonist that could easily stick in your head. They eventually settled on "Monk," which seemed to fit the character.
Just learned Bitty Schram's middle name is Natalie. Of course I'm overthinking it, but it's interesting.
Obviously without confirmation from a writer that's where they got the name, you can't be sure. But it is an interesting fact that makes it seem plausible that the writers used her middle name as a tribute when she was let go from the show.
3rd Mar 2022
Friday the 13th Part 3: 3D (1982)
Question: Who is the woman that pops out of the lake and grabs Chris near the end? This is the first and last time that we see her, but who was she? And, was Chris dreaming/hallucinating or did it really happen?
Answer: It was the decomposing body of Jason's mother, Pamela Voorhees. (Who, as I'm sure you know, was the killer in the original movie.) And it was just a nightmare. It didn't actually happen.
28th Nov 2019
Forrest Gump (1994)
Question: Three questions here: Why does Jenny insist Forrest touch her chest, why does she go all the way with him then leave, and wouldn't this be considered a crime on her part as he's only got an IQ of 75?
Answer: Jenny loves Forrest and cares about him deeply. She knows he's in love with her, so she gives him that "gift" before leaving. They were both consenting adults, so unless there was a third party who insisted Forrest couldn't give consent there wouldn't be a legal issue.
Answer: As for the last part of your question, it's usually viewed that a person with a mental handicap can still legally give consent for sex so long as they display knowledge and voluntariness when it comes to the encounter. (Aka, they have a basic understanding what is happening, know the positives and negatives, and want to proceed.) Given that Forrest has been shown to be pretty high functioning (he's quirky and slow, but can do a lot of the things other people can, and has shown a lot of fields of talent), and would obviously consent because he loves her, Jenny shouldn't be in any legal trouble. If Forrest was more severely handicapped or showed a bigger lack of awareness, then that might be an issue. I actually read up about this years ago because I'm in the autism spectrum, and a previous (non-disabled) sexual partner I had expressed their concern about this very topic.
18th Dec 2021
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Question: Are the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield Spider-Man movies now part of the MCU?
Answer: No, they are part of the multiverse. The MCU is just one of those universes within the multiverse.
Answer: I almost think the best way to refer to them would be to call them "MCU-Adjacent." Both answers nail it - they're not part of the MCU universe itself, but are canonical to it and co-exist alongside it thanks to the establishment of the multiverse. And considering the "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness" trailer teases Patrick Stewart as (presumably) Professor X, I think we could probably also apply this to pretty much any other Marvel adaptation ever made that was not made by Marvel Studios itself. It all co-exists and is all canonical to each other through the use of multiverses/alternate timelines/alternate dimensions.
Answer: No. It's explained that they are from another universe, and were sent back to their universes at the end of the film.
27th Dec 2017
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
Question: What happened to the two French-speaking girls on the beach in the ending of the first movie?
Answer: While we know that the two girls are French-speaking, we don't actually know that the game landed in France. The two girls might have been on holiday, which would mean that the scene could potentially take place anywhere in the world. Given the ability of the game to distort space and time, it is highly likely they had their own game and similarly tried to throw it away.
Answer: Honestly... it's pretty common for sequels to ignore the final scene/stinger of the previous film. It happens because the filmmakers decide to take the sequel in a different direction. For example, "Species" ends with rats being infected by the alien DNA, and this was going to be the set-up for the sequel... but then "Species II" ignores this and goes with a different story. Another example is that in "X-Men: Apocalypse," the Essex corporation was established and was supposed to be a big threat in the film "Logan " but then they took "Logan" in a different direction. You also see this happen a lot in horror movies that end with a final jump or surprise kill. I personally use the rule of thumb that if a movie ends with some sort-of final jump, or a "the adventure continues" set-up, I don't necessarily view it as canonical until a sequel confirms it, because sequels so often ignore the final moments of the previous film. I'd chalk this up to this movie just sort-of ignoring the final scene of the original.
Answer: Maybe they became NPCs.
Answer: Presumably they had their own adventure with the game then got rid of it or nothing happened.
Answer: This was my biggest gripe with the film - turns up on a French beach at the end of the first film and then one year later turns back up in Brantford? It's like they just wanted to make money so badly.
The girls could be French speaking Canadians.
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Answer: Nope. Wouldn't work. Per a quick Google search: Padlocks are typically made with hardened steel specifically to make them impenetrable by basic tools like hacksaws. That's why power-tools, bolt cutters or torches are often used to break padlocks... you can't just saw through them with a regular hacksaw.
TedStixon
Plus, the blades are old and appear to be rusty so most likely dull which will make it even harder to cut the metals and more painful to Adam and Dr. Gordon.
Ssiscool ★