Questions about cinema and rental titles

Answer: It might just be a regular elf doll that, coincidentally, is dressed in real elf clothes.

Answer: This was probably deliberately added to the scene. Movies often add in-jokes like this. I believe it was "HP and the Chamber of Secrets" that while Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in Diagon Alley, the entire Harry Potter book series can be seen on a shelf in the background. In "Raiders of The Lost Ark," there are a little C-3PO and R2D2 carved into the stone hieroglyphs in the Well of Souls. "Jurassic Park" openly displayed JP merchandise, the same merchandise that was sold in stores. Filmmakers love to add little "Easter eggs" like that for audiences to find.

raywest ★

Answer: It does - it's a massive cliffhanger leading directly into the next (and apparently final) film. The team's plane has been shot down and crashed, seemingly killing them all (but let's be honest, that's unlikely...). Dom and Little B survive the drive off the dam and crash into the river. Dante looks down on them and arms massive bombs along the length of the dam, they apparently have nowhere to run to... End of film.

Jon Sandys ★

Answer: Doing something unexpected and even more violent during the Games sends a warning but also adds a "shock value" that "thrills" Capitol viewers, keeping them engaged and increasing TV ratings. Launching a missile strike would be an extreme and counterproductive move that only causes extensive and expensive damage, disrupts the districts' productivity and adversely affecting Panem's commerce, directly hurting the Capitol and its citizens.

raywest ★

Answer: These are dragon's breath shotgun shells. The shells are filled with magnesium pellets and ignite when fired. The film seems to exaggerate the stopping power, making it seem almost like an explosive round rather than incendiary. These are not the same rounds that we see the men carving into. Carving grooves into a bullet is done so the bullet expands upon impact and causes more damage similar to a hollow-point round, though the effectiveness of this method is debated.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: It may be incendiary ammunition (not to be confused with tracer bullets). The bullets have a hollow head containing a flammable mixture that ignites upon being fired.

raywest ★

Answer: Maybe they didn't have any guns at that point.

Answer: In an enclosed place, a bullet can ricochet around until it hits something - one of them or an innocent person: man, woman, or child. Worse, it could hit a section of the train, a brake line, a cable connecting the cars, or one of the conductors.

Answer: The short version is "no, not really". Much like in the film, the possibility was considered, a lot of calculations were done, and it was agreed by everyone privy to them that the chance was basically zero. Also like in the film: "what do you want from theory alone?" - it couldn't be guaranteed to be absolutely zero, but then the chance of almost anything happening is never absolutely zero. A 1946 report by three of the scientists stated: "whatever the temperature to which a section of the atmosphere may be heated, no self-propagating chain of nuclear reactions is likely to be started. The energy losses to radiation always overcompensate the gains due to the reactions."

Chosen answer: According to "Inside the Worlds of Star Wars: Episode I" by Kristin Lund, they are "laser doors which lock into position in response to potentially lethal power outputs that occur intermittently during plasma activation process" (the fight takes place in a plasma energy processing plant). There are six laser doors in deference to an ancient Naboo legend in which Chaos is held back by six inpentrable gates. As you say though, they're really just a plot device to add dramatic tension to the duel!

Sierra1 ★