Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: In the movie there are two different types of eye-scanners. The cops and the spiders use a beam of light that has to scan a person's eye for 1-4 seconds to identify the person. Yet advertisements, stores, and the subway use eye-scanners that can identify a person in what seems like 1/16th of a second (similar to a camera). Does anyone know if both types of eye-scanners exist, and if so, why are they different?

Matty Blast

Chosen answer: Retinal scanning does exist and is actually in use, but not at the level shown in the movie. The "Ad" scanners are less accurate and not definitive, while the police scanners can provide absolute identification. It's the difference between identifying someone by their face vs. running their fingerprints.

Question: Where exactly does it say the school's family motto?

Answer: Hogwarts' motto ('Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus' - 'Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon') is never overtly stated in either the books or the films. It appears on the title page of all the books however, as part of the school crest.

STP

Question: The director makes a point to show the audience the picture of Mel Gibson (in normal Catholic priest garb) and his family at the beginning of the movie. The question is, is Mel Gibson supposed to be a Catholic priest? Or is there another Christian denomination in which preacher's wear the same outfit that Catholic priests wear?

Answer: American Episcopal priests and Anglican priests wear vestments that are similar in appearance to those worn by Catholic priests. They are able to marry if they choose.

pstmpg

Question: This may seem like a silly question, but I was wondering where I can get a black catsuit (with the matching boots) like the ones the girls were wearing during the bank heist scene?

Answer: Frederick's of Hollywood or Victoria's secret might carry them.

Grumpy Scot

Question: Am I right in thinking that the absence of Norman Bates' mother in his life left himself to replace her, by dressing as her, talking like her and so on? Because the film says that sometime he was half Norman half Normans mother and sometimes all Normans mother. If this is true then who checked Marion Crane into the motel. Later in the film when Norman is in the police cell after questioning his mothers voice says Norman blamed her, so I am confused could anybody clear this up? If possible could somebody give me a full explanation.

Answer: Norman and his mother lived together in the house on the hill above the motel. Norman's mother was such a demanding, controlling, overbearing woman that Norman was eventually driven to kill her. The enourmous guilt of this action, combined with the strain he was already under from her treatment of him, caused him to develop a sort of modified split personality: in addition to the existing Norman, he constantly heard his mother's voice in his mind and even had conversations with it. As time passed, the "Mother" voice in his brain began to have some occasional control over his body. Thus, sometimes Norman was in control, sometimes his mother was in control, and sometimes they could "speak" back and forth within his mind. Norman checked Marion into the hotel, but the sexual attraction caused by her presence made his disapproving Mother personality manifest and kill Marion. Having dealt with the situation, Mother retreated and Norman cleaned up, not remembering. At the end of the film, Mother blames Norman for the crimes because she is once again controlling his life and not wanting to take the blame herself. At the same time, this represents Mother forcing Norman down to some corner of his consciousness or even destroying it altogether, meaning that it is unlikely that Norman will ever manifest control again. This is why we hear Mother's voiceover and not Norman's at the end.

Phoenix

Answer: Max's disease is specifically tailored to work only on cells exhibiting Logan's genome. No one else would notice it.

Phoenix

Question: I'm not sure, but do the security guys, especially the one behind the desk, know about the people inside the village?

Answer: It isn't very clear, but the movie does give the impression that the guard in the shack (played by M. Night Shyamalan) probably knows, while the younger guard definitely did not. However, the young guard probably knows now... he obviously believed that Ivy lives in the sanctuary, and when he asked her name, he almost definitely noticed that she shares the same last name as the sanctuary (as seen on the guard vehicle).

Gabbo

Answer: Aha! It makes sense now...both the elders of the village and the older security guard represent the "old way" and the younger guard meeting Ivy was innocence coming together to help one another. Which is what the village wanted to preserve.

Question: What exactly is Anthony Kiedis doing on his bed when Keanu Reeves looks in the apartment before the big shoot-out? Is he listening to music, shooting up heroin or (as my pals suggested) is he jacking off whilst watching the woman in the nearby shower?

Answer: He is listening to music and just getting getting really into it.

Toolio

54-40 and Fight - S1-E15

Question: Would someone please explain to me why Marcia did not just simply remove her dangly bracelet that endangered the girls standing in the house of cards competition after Carol said "Oh Marcia, Marcia, your bracelet"? It would have made it less stressful on her not to mention her team, and she wouldn't have had to restrain it with her other hand.

Answer: The dangling bracelet was used for dramatic purposes - to keep the audience on edge.

Answer: There were several episodes throughout the run of the show where Marcia was infatuated with a guy she went to school with. This bracelet could have been a gift from her then-boyfriend; as such, she would not want to take it off, as a sign of loyalty. A stupid thing to do, of course, but it's not a mistake for a character simply to be dumb.

Matty Blast

Question: On the site, there's a mistake submitted about when they all say 'no' in unison. Can anyone tell me what part this is?

Answer: Just after Harry has his experience with Tom Riddle 50 years in the past, Hermione, Ron and Harry are walking outside on the grounds discussing it, when Hermione suggests speaking with Hagrid about it, and Ron remarks, "That'd be a cheerful visit. Tell us, have you been setting anything mad and hairy loose in the castle lately?" Hagrid suddenly shows up behind the trio and asks, "You wouldn't be talking about me, now would you?" To which all three promptly reply, "No!"

Super Grover

Question: Did or didn't Sonny kill Lanning? If he did, how did he do it? What was the promise he had to give?

Answer: Sonny killed Lanning. Lanning had designed Sonny with the ability to opt out of the Three Laws when he deemed it absolutely necessary. Lanning forced Sonny to promise to do Lanning a favor, then told him the favor was to throw Lanning out the window. Forced to keep his word by Lanning's own programming, Sonny overrode the Three Laws and tossed Lanning out the window.

Phoenix

Question: When Mushu is using the panda for a horse, he says something along the lines of "Have you never seen a black and white before?" What does that mean?

Answer: In the US a lot of the police vehicles have traditionally been black and white. That is what Mushu is referring to.

Nikki

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

Question: Is the braille text that appears at the start of the film (then transforms into the opening credits) correct?

Moose

Chosen answer: In short, yes, it is.

SexyIrishLeprechaun

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

Question: Maybe I missed a major plot point, but why exactly does Tom kill his lover at the very end?

Krista

Chosen answer: Tom & his lover are travelling on a boat. The rich girl, who knows Tom as Dickie is also on the boat. If they were to meet, Tom's false identity would have been revealed, and the lover would have been able to figure out that Tom actually murdered Dickie.

marfbody

Answer: He had to kill him. Tom couldn't kill Meredith because she wasn't alone and Peter was.

ChristmasJonesfan

Question: At the end, when the credits are rolling, what is the name of the song being played?

Emily

Chosen answer: "Clocks" by Coldplay.

Dean McDermott 1

Question: What was the title of the score that was played after Theoden says "And Rohan will answer" in response to the Beacons of Minas Tirith until the part where the Rohirrim leave Edoras for Gondor? It's a Rohan theme and it seems that it is not in the soundtrack.

Answer: The movie is 201 minutes long, the soundtrack album is at most 74 minutes long. Other than what's on the soundtrack we are not privy to the score to even know if the individual bits have titles.

Myridon

Question: On the "Fellowship of the Ring" trivia page it says that Sean Bean always makes a reference to his old character Richard Sharpe in his films (in FotR he says about the blade he cuts himself on "Still sharp"). Is there any such reference in this film?

Answer: The trivia about him making references to the TB series 'Sharp' is incorrect. Yes Sean Does like to make references to the TV series, but he does not do it in all films. He does not make any such references in Goldeneye.

Scrappy

Question: God tells Bruce that he gave the Dalai Lama 7 fingers before and he didn't eat for 7 days - is there a real life story behind that?

Answer: He says that about Gandhi. It is a joke about Gandhi's ritual fasts.

wolfchild

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