kayelbe

13th Jun 2005

Black Hawk Down (2001)

Question: What is the name of the soldier that's sketching while in the barracks (and which one is he during the raid?)? I never could catch the name, and it's not in the subtitles.

Answer: Master Sgt. Tim 'Griz' Martin, played by Canadian actor Kim Coates. He's also the Delta taping his blood type to his boot. During the raid, he's thrown from a Humvee by a RPG. He loses both his legs and bleeds to Death. His name in the movie is Chris Wex.

Why is his name Wex, tho? He plays Griz Martin.

Likely (though I have no proof) that his family chose not to participate by allowing his name/likeness?

kayelbe

Question: Why did Elliot let all the frogs out? And why was he asking one if it could talk? I realise he was drunk (or ET was), but this doesn't explain such behaviour.

Gavin Jackson

Answer: Those are interesting takes, but I always viewed it as ET was physically (Elliot gets drunk when ET drinks) and telepathically linked. I felt ET was seeing and acting through Elliot, almost like he was possessed.

kayelbe

Chosen answer: Elliot, through a psychic connection to ET, is experiencing the effects of the beer that ET is drinking. It has impaired Elliott's judgment and unleashes his inhibitions. He frees the frogs because he doesn't want them to be killed and dissected in class. Talking to one is just a side-effect of being intoxicated and he may be identifying it as a sentient being like E.T.

raywest

Answer: I always interpreted freeing the frogs as Elliot seeing a similarity with them and ET. ET (who in a weird way kind of looks like a frog), also is captive, and would risk being dissected if captured by the government. This is reflected at the end of the film as he helps ET escape from the government.

Question: Anakin's mom says the Republic doesn't exist on Tatooine. Why not?

Answer: It's in the Outer Rim territories. It's far enough away from the central government that they can't really have an effective government. In addition, it's in Hutt-controlled space.

Greg Dwyer

Why not send people to take control of Tatooine, and the outer rim territories away from the hutts?

The Republic has the task of running an entire galaxy, which is billions and billions of planets and solar systems. Sending troops into the Outer Rim, against heavily armed gangsters and with little to no communication, enough resources or backup, would be a terrible plan. At least the Hutts keep things running smoothly and don't let the planets go into anarchy.

Answer: In addition to the other answers: It's simply not worth it. There is nothing strategic about the system other than maybe as a waypoint. It is resource-poor, which added together means very little presence by any side.

kayelbe

Answer: There are places like Tatooine on Earth, like Afghanistan. Superpowers have attempted and failed to take over the indigenous population many times. Here, the Hutt organisation is too powerful and entrenched to defeat, and the Republic probably doesn't have unlimited resources to fight such a war.

27th Feb 2024

General questions

I know there may not be a standard answer for this, but, in general, are actors supposed to say lines exactly as written in the script? Or is there a lot of ad-libbing/improvising? I once read that Natalie Portman blamed her performance in the "Star Wars" movies partially on herself because she was not good at ad-libbing then.

Answer: It really boils down to the director whether the actors are allowed to improvise or must perform to the script verbatim (or anywhere in between).

kayelbe

15th Feb 2024

Star Wars Rebels (2014)

Answer: Not every military vehicle looks or is built exactly the same, even if they perform similar functions. Different defense contractors would have their own particular designs. Newer vehicles often have improvements or additional capabilities added.

raywest

Answer: Are you referring to the AT-DP? Those are similar to the AT-ST, but have an entirely different mission use.

kayelbe

18th Sep 2023

Jarhead (2005)

Question: What was the reason why that one soldier's wife made a tape of her cheating on him with someone else and sending it to him? Did she suspect him of cheating on her, so she wanted to get revenge?

Answer: Nope. Some people are just evil like that. Most of the time, the service member marries young; immaturity on the part of the spouse, coupled with the resentment of the deployed person being away and "not taking care of their needs," results in the Jody scenario. Funny thing is, this is so common. Everybody in the military has heard of or knows someone this has happened to, almost exactly like the movie.

kayelbe

That makes sense. Another question was, do we ever learn of what happened? Did he divorce her upon returning back to the States after she left him for her neighbor?

Question: When Chewbacca tells Han that Luke is a Jedi Knight (or almost one), why does Han consider this a "delusion of grandeur"? He has known Luke for about four years now. Luke did some training with Obi-Wan in the Millennium Falcon, so Han knew what his goal was.

Answer: Han still believes the Force and Jedi are just fairy tales, magic. He doesn't really believe in them still.

lionhead

Answer: And to add to that answer, Han also knows that the Jedi are all but extinct (he didn't know of Yoda). How is Luke a Jedi when he had no living Master to teach him?

kayelbe

Answer: The last time Han Solo had seen Luke was just after rescuing him from freezing to death after nearly getting eaten by an abominable snow creature. Having missed out on all the developments since then, Han still thinks of Luke as a plucky, immature kid. It'd be sort of like discovering someone you know of as an altar boy is now going around calling himself a bishop.

TonyPH

14th Jun 2023

General questions

Why do people in some movies/TV put a blob of sunscreen on their nose? In real life, I typically see people rub sunscreen into their skin, all over themselves.

Answer: The sunscreen you are asking about is likely zinc oxide. It sits on the surface of the skin and scatters the sun's rays. The sunscreen rubbed into the skin, as you describe, doesn't contain zinc oxide, but rather contains chemicals that absorb the solar radiation and converts that energy to heat, which is then released from the body.

kayelbe

Answer: From what I recall, older sunscreens were much weaker than what we have now. And it was common to apply extra to certain areas of the body, like the nose since it sticks out from your face and is more likely to get sun damage. And the extra sunscreen created the white "blob" around the nose. So it just sort-of became a visual shorthand in films and TV for showing that someone is wearing sunscreen. And since people became used to it, it stuck around. It's currently also a good way to show that a character is rigid, set in their ways or old-fashioned, since it's not something you see too much anymore.

TedStixon

22nd Jan 2021

Apollo 13 (1995)

Question: Since it was so cold on the return journey to Earth, why didn't the astronauts wear their full space suits they wore on lift-off to keep warm? The just seem to be wearing their lightweight flight overalls.

stiiggy

Answer: Because they need to be able to move quickly through the confined space of the module, and the full suits would be far too bulky in an emergency.

The older Apollo missions all splashed down with full suits and helmet on. Just the launch suits, not the much bulkier EVA (moon walk) suits.

stiiggy

Answer: According to Jim Lovell in a later interview about the mission, the crew considered putting on their space suits but in addition to them being too bulky, there was concern the suits would make them perspire too much, thus making them wet and even colder. It wasn't quite as cold as depicted in the movie, it was always above freezing, and there were no icy windows or frozen hot dogs.

raywest

According to Lovell in his book, there actually were frozen hot dogs.

Answer: In addition, since they have to leave the ship after landing, the suit filling with water would be very dangerous.

LorgSkyegon

The launch abort mode was for an ocean landing, so they would have been just as vulnerable at the start of the mission. I get your line of thinking though.

stiiggy

Answer: Don't remember the source (the actual movie or one of many books) but I do remember there were only two moon suits on board (the CMP, Swigert, doesn't land on the moon). I believe they decided to suffer together. I misread the question, but the option for wearing the Lunar EVA suits was considered. IIRC, they did actually wear the boots at one point.

kayelbe

9th Nov 2022

The Truman Show (1998)

Question: What kind of logic is behind Christoph's urge to keep Truman in the show now that he's realised what it's all about? Did Christoph suggest Truman (and all the viewers too) would start faking a happy life as all the other cast? Wouldn't it nullify all the idea of the show?

Answer: I think he wanted to explore the angle of "Now that he knows, what happens next?"

kayelbe

Well, he already witnessed what happens when Truman finds out.

Mart Känd

Question: Chewbacca says something to Han about Lando, and Han says, "That was a long time ago. I'm sure he's forgotten about that." Has it ever been revealed what Chewbacca mentioned?

Answer: At the time of the film, it was suggested that Lando was upset because he lost the Falcon to Han in a game of Sabaac. Later (now) non-canon materials offer up other reasons Lando would hold a grudge (Such as the time Han set Lando up with the Tonnika Sisters, twin siblings that conned Lando into thinking they were a single person).

kayelbe

Question: How were the ones who crashed/ejected rescued if they were in dangerous enemy territory?

Answer: Are you referring to Phoenix and Bob? They ejected over California, during training. The only members of Dagger Flight to eject/crash during the actual mission in enemy territory were Maverick and Rooster.

kayelbe

Question: When Joker informs Hartman that Pyle loaded his rifle with live ammo, Hartman finally realises that Pyle has gone crazy and then tries to talk him down gently. When that failed, why did he start shouting at Pyle again? Couldn't he see that yelling at Pyle constantly is what pushed him over the edge?

Answer: I'm pretty sure Hartman realised he was a dead man, no matter what. Only thing left to do is be the drill instructor until the very end.

Answer: He spoke to Pyle in a (relatively) calm tone. Yes, he believed Pyle to be mentally challenged, but when the Private failed to respond to the nicer tone he went full-on Marine at him. He didn't necessarily believe he was God to the recruits, but to effectively train and adapt their motivation he must ingrain in them that he alone is in charge of them.

kayelbe

Answer: He didn't start talking to him calmly, he started talking to him slowly, emphasizing his commands to him, hoping he would understand, because he thinks Pyle is mentally deficient. Hartman is not a sensitive or patient man, not really in touch with reality either, thinking he is God within that compound. His mistake of course, was not realising where the danger was, for himself mostly.

lionhead

28th Aug 2022

General questions

Trying to remember what product or service this 1990's infomercial was for. It started (in narration form) with a man about to board a plane in Chicago who then stops, changes his mind and walks away from getting on the plane - then the plane goes down in flames. Next was about a prediction from a woman that had to do with crying children in another part of the world. I forgot the rest of the commercial but does anyone remember it or remember what this was advertising for?

Answer: Time Life Books "Mysteries of the Unknown." I remember the commercial and just checked and found a video of it on YouTube.

kayelbe

Answer: Thank you for that.

19th Aug 2007

Glory (1989)

Question: When the men finally get their shoes, they are just tossed a pair from the wagon and they automatically fit. Were military shoes back then one size fits all? How could they have shoes that automatically fit them?

SAZOO1975

Answer: To add to the answer, it's shown in the film in this scene as a soldier approaches a pile of shoes and places a pair on the pile and grabs another.

kayelbe

Chosen answer: The shoes would have been a mix of the most common sizes, and the men would have gone through them to find the right size...swapping when necessary. Keep in mind many of them were barefoot, so even shoes of the wrong size would have been a blessing.

Question: It's stated by Vader in the previous film how much he wanted to capture Luke for the Emperor by using the carbonite freezer. Boba Fett knew this. So why didn't Boba Fett take Luke into his custody to take him back to Vader instead of letting Jabba kill him with the sarlac pit?

jbrbbt

Answer: Boba did attempt to grapple Luke with his whipcord.

kayelbe

Answer: Luke was a Jedi Master. He knew taking him wouldn't easy. Bobo Fett went after thugs, aliens he knew would be easy to catch. Besides, the bounty he received would have made him wealthy, plus he stayed with Jabba, which means he was on his payroll.

Answer: If you want to count new canon, the Mandalorian remnants have always harboured a grudge against the Jedi for wiping them out, save for a paltry few like Jango Fett. By the time of ROTJ, Boba (Jango's clone son, who also had to watch his father be killed by another Jedi in Ep II) has no obligation to capture Luke for monetary gain. All Luke is, in that moment, is a symbol of the very thing Boba was raised to hate, and is very keen to thus see dead.

Answer: Doing this would require Boba Fett to either convince Jabba to give Luke to him (not likely) or he'd have to steal Luke from him and ruin their business relationship. Also Boba Fett and Darth Vader never appeared particularly chummy with each other and Fett has personally witnessed Vader totally screw Lando over in their own deal, so from multiple angles any operation to take Luke in for himself and claim a reward from the Empire is likely more trouble than it's worth.

TonyPH

Question: As Claire asks Bender "Are all these your girlfriends?" she thumbs through a small collection of ID-Cards. While it'd suit Bender to have nicked or even extorted someone's ID-Card to use it for himself, it wouldn't suggest a personal or even intimate relationship. So what are those cards and why would Bender have them? (01:00:00)

Answer: They're not ID cards. They're just wallet photos, apparently of the girls Bender has been with.

kayelbe

Question: Han says, "Crazy thing is, it's all true. The Force, the Jedi, all of it." Why does he consider this a "crazy" thing? He met Luke and Leia only nineteen years after the Jedi were killed, and he is about ten years older than them. The Jedi were still around during his childhood. And anyone older than him could still be talking about the Jedi, also. Why would he ever doubt that they were real?

Answer: I took his response to be more introspective. In A New Hope, Han heavily doubted the Force. This was likely just his own personal life experiences to that point. When he says that line to Rey/Finn, it's more of a "wouldn't ya know it?" kind of statement.

kayelbe

10th May 2022

Black Hawk Down (2001)

Question: When the rangers are being deployed, Nelson puts something in his mouth saying the last rope he almost bit his tongue off.

Tony

Chosen answer: I'm assuming the question is, what was it? It was a mouth guard to keep him from biting his tongue when he hits the ground at the bottom of the rope.

kayelbe

Question: Before Old Arthur leaves the room, why did he get the feeling that him and Richard met before?

Answer: Because they had met before. When Richard went back in time to 1912, Arthur was a five-year-old boy. Old Arthur remembers, or at least recognizes, Richard from that time.

raywest

Except that Richard hadn't travelled into the past yet.

Like all time-travel fiction, if he will, then he already did. The portrait he saw in the gallery of Jane Seymour is another example: He brought the smile to her face and IIRC, she changed her pose upon seeing him.

kayelbe

Exactly right. Time-travel films rarely make sense plot-wise. They employ a "suspension of disbelief" where the audience just accepts the premise so the story can be told, regardless of whether or not everything makes sense. As I recall, Jane Seymour's "old character" told Richard to "come back to her," meaning she wanted him to go back in time to when she was young.

raywest

Time Travel movies and shows do this sort of thing often. This movie actually keeps to the premise of time travel pretty well.

Answer: He already did, when the elder Elise approached him and said, "Come back to me." When he visited her home and listened to the music box and replied. "That's my favorite song." He found his name in the old hotel register in the storage room. At the end of the movie, when he returned to the future, Elise was holding his pocket watch, which she returned to him when she was old. All that concludes he did time travel, he just hadn't done it yet.

Thanks. Time travel movies sure are confusing.

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