Question: Are the people present at the digging site when they're discussing new approaches to analyzing skeletons supposed to be paleontologists in dr. Grant's group? If so, why would they laugh at his musings of "how dinos learned how to fly"? And why would he have to explain it to them? Seemed to me like he is explaining very basic stuff to the people that would already know this (and of course, to the movie audience).
raywest
12th Aug 2008
Jurassic Park (1993)
3rd Aug 2008
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)
Question: Near the beginning of the film, in 1946, Rick and Evie are asked to take the Eye of Shangri-La to China as a peace offering from Britain, and a subsequent shot is them arriving in China in 1947. Since the task seems to be of extreme importance, why do they wait an entire year to deliver it?
Chosen answer: For one thing, just because two different years are shown does not mean that a full twelve months passed before they arrived in China. Also, travel to an undeveloped third-world country in the mid 20th century was not like it is today. There were no jet planes, much pre-planning and preparation would have to be done before departure, different modes of transportation would have to be arranged, and there would be many stops, delays, and transfers along the way. This could cumulatively take many months.
30th Jul 2008
The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
3rd Mar 2008
General questions
I can't remember the title of this movie. Maybe someone can help me out. All I remember is a guy on a camel, I believe on the desert, when this other guy appears who looks like he's from a silent film. He says, in subtitles, "You should come to Hollywood. Too bad you don't know how to speak in subtitles."
Answer: This sounds like the Mel Brooks' 1976 comedy, "Silent Movie." There's no dialogue, only subtitles, except for one word spoken at the very end.
10th Jul 2008
Roseanne (1988)
Question: In the episode where Jackie goes to Roseanne's house and complains that she is overdue, she says something along the lines of she will be 80 years old with a 35 year old kid inside her. Well she lifts up her shirt and that pregnant belly looks real. Here's the question, was Jackie pregnant in real life?
Answer: Yes she was. When Laurie Metcalf, who played Jackie, became pregnant during the series, her pregnancy was written into the storyline; her pregnant belly is real. At the end of the episode where Jackie gives birth, there is a photo of Laurie Metcalf in the hospital just after she had her baby.
26th Jun 2008
I Love Lucy (1951)
Question: I know this show is from the time period when a lot of couples had two beds in their room. Just out of curiosity, when did it become acceptable to show a couple's bedroom with a single bed on TV?
Answer: According to Snopes.com, there is no definitive answer, but the mid-1960s is the most verifiable date with "The Munsters" being cited as the first, although others claim "The Brady Bunch" showed the first couple seen in a double bed. An early TV show from the late 1940s titled, "Mary Kay and Johnny" is also thought to have shown the married couple's bedroom as having a double bed, although probably not with them in it. However, this was when TV was aired live, and there are no surviving episodes, only anecdotal accounts.
Something that is funny is that in the movie "A Christmas Story," they show the parents having two twin beds in their bedroom. In a real situation, they should have shown them having a double bed. Lucy and Ricky had twin beds pushed together in an early episode, which would have been pushing television boundaries in that time.
23rd Jun 2008
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Question: In "Last Crusade," there is meant to be this guy called Gestapo. I was wondering, who is Gestapo? I am interested as he is played by Pat Roach who played henchmen in the other films.
2nd Jun 2008
Addams Family Values (1993)
Question: Why does the boy scream like a maniac when he spots the Michael Jackson poster on the wall?
Answer: Michael Jackson was slated to record a song and music video for the film. The music video had him living in the Addams family mansion with angry townsfolk trying to drive him out of town for being scary and weird. The scene in the film was suppose to reflect that he scared "normal" kids, it had nothing to do with a scandal. When Evan Chandler started talking about his son being molested by Jackson, the song and music video were pulled and not included with the film. But the poster scene was left in. Later, when the scandal fully broke and more accusation were made, the joke of the scene took on another meaning.
Good thing the accusations were all false! :).
Answer: If memory serves, it's a poster for Heal the World? I think he probably screams because this song was WAY over-played on radio stations at the time! It certainly was in the UK where I am from so I imagine in America it was over-played so much more.
Chosen answer: Not only is it a reference to Jackson's general scary weirdness, but also his alleged pedophilia (child molestation), causing the boy to react in fear.
Impossible, the first pedophilia accusations were made just a few months before the movie came out.
Those accusations had been an open secret for a long time, though.
18th May 2008
Friends (1994)
The One Where Ross And Rachel Take A Break - S3-E15
Question: What exactly is a Shemp? I think that is what Rachel said in this episode when she hung up the phone at work. "There is a Shemp in my office"?
Answer: Rachel is referring to one of the The Three Stooges, which consisted of Moe, Larry, Curly, and also Shemp. Curly Howard, the third Stooge, was later replaced by his real-life brother, who played Shemp. Curly and Shemp played the most unintelligent and bungling member of the trio.
I think she meant "chef" but made a mistake.
Answer: She meant Shemp. He was being a clumsy doofus like one of the Three Stooges and that was the one that came to mind.
21st Apr 2008
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Question: Was there any reason why Vader had Han "tortured" with a machine? Han later tells Leia and Chewbacca that he wasn't even asked any questions. I know that Vader is scary, but would he want to waste time by just toying with Han and not even questioning him?
Answer: Vader is not interested in extracting information from Han Solo, nor is he wasting time; he is using Han as bait to lure Luke Skywalker into his trap. Vader knows that Luke will sense Han's agony through the Force and will try to rescue Han and the others.
7th Jan 2008
General questions
I am looking for a film I saw about 20 years ago. I do not know the name of this film or any of the actors' names. There is a blond haired woman and a dark haired woman in this fim. The blond haired one seems to be a nice person who tries to reason all the time with the dark haired one who is not so nice. I remember the last scene where their house goes up in fire. The dark haired woman is trapped in it. The blond gets outside and with people around her looks up at the burning house. I think this film was made in the 60's. It is not "Rebecca."
23rd Jan 2008
General questions
In American movies, I sometimes notice little flag shaped things on people's letterboxes, that can be moved up and down. In Australia, where I live, I've never noticed these, nor have I noticed them in countries I've visited (I haven't visited America). What is the purpose of these flag shaped things, and are they solely American?
Chosen answer: It's actually a very practical device, and they are mostly used in rural areas that have roadside letterboxes. The homeowner raises it when there is outgoing mail to be picked up. The postal carrier can put the flag in the "up" position when there's a delivery.
I've never heard of any mailman doing that. The signal flag is only for outgoing mail.
I think the question is about the "little flag" (usually yellow), not the standard red flag that the owner raises when s/he puts outgoing mail in the box and doesn't want the postal carrier to bypass the mailbox if there is no mail to be delivered to that address that day. Regarding the small yellow flag that is near the bottom of the door (whereas the red flag extends above the box to be more visible), the yellow flag pops up when the mail box's door is opened. The carrier doesn't have to "put the flag up" to indicate a delivery - it is automatic - again, the flag goes up when the door goes down (is opened). The yellow part usually faces toward the house so that the homeowner (or renter) can see from the window if any mail has been delivered. With mailboxes that do not have the little flag, people have to walk to the mailbox to see if there is any mail. The mailboxes with the little flags can be bought on-line but are becoming obsolete with "informed delivery" emails.
Answer: Outgoing mail to be picked up? The US doesn't have post boxes? How strange.
The US does have post boxes, but if someone decides to install a full service mailbox, it's more convenient. Generally using the post box can be a bit faster since the mail carrier who picks up the mail might not return in time for the mail to be processed that day.
11th Jan 2008
General questions
This is a western type movie from the 70s: a group of guys take apart a boat and drag it across deserts and mountains to get to a river or lake. When they do get there, they find that there is no water.
Answer: This sounds like the 1982 film, "Fitzcarraldo," directed by Werner Herzog and starring Klaus Kinski.
5th Sep 2007
Mary Poppins (1964)
Question: Why does Dick Van Dyke play Bert and Mr. Dawes Sr?
Chosen answer: Because he's a talented actor who can play a broad range of characters. It's not that unusual for an actor to play more than one part in a movie: Edie Murphy played practically his entire family in the two "Nutty Professor" films. There's also a tradition in versions of Peter Pan that the same actor plays the children's father and also Captain Hook.
14th Jun 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Question: At the end of the movie where Jack is looking at the map for the Fountain of Youth, I'm pretty sure I saw in faint red writing "To Jerry." And then there is some other writing. Possibly a signature? Jerry is the producer's first name. Did anyone else see this? It is on the left side of the map.
Answer: I could see it, but it's simply too faint to read what it actually says, although it bears a slight resemblance to those words. It's not inconceivable that it says that, however, as movie makers sometimes include hidden messages and/or graphics into their films, such as George Lucas inserting icons of C3PO and R2D2 into "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark".
14th Dec 2007
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Question: In the scene just before Sirius Black is killed he says "Good job, James." Is there someone else named James or is he mistakenly calling Harry by his father's name?
13th Dec 2007
General questions
The details I have on this are sketchy and may not be entirely accurate, but would appreciate any ideas anyone can offer about this movie. It is about a womanizing man who drowns and is sent back to live as a woman as a punishment for his past behavior (not a simple switch with some other woman) The woman could possibly be portrayed by Doris Day, but is someone of her era. Any ideas? Thanks.
Answer: It's the 1964 film, "Goodbye, Charlie," starring Debbie Reynolds and Tony Curtis. When womanizer Charlie is shot at by a jealous husband, he falls out a ship porthole and drowns. He somehow returns to the living world as a woman (Reynolds). Curtis plays his friend who, after being convinced that it really is Charlie in a woman's body, helps his old buddy.
10th Nov 2007
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Question: When Scarlett visits Rhett in jail to get the $300 for taxes, can anyone speculate as to her plan? Why does she pretend to be rich when she's actually dirt poor? Why would that make her request for money more convincing? Did she plan to ask for a loan, and needed to make it appear as if she would be able to repay it in a reasonable amount of time? I read the book, but this wasn't made clear there either. Can anyone help me?
Answer: If she looked rich she could trick him into thinking she wasn't marrying him for his money.
Answer: Scarlett tries fooling Rhett that she is in love him, somehow thinking that will persuade him to give her the money. She believes if Rhett is in love with her, she can manipulate him, which is what she did with her previous two husbands and various suitors. If she appears desperate and powerless, then Rhett will have the upper hand. He sees through her scheme, however.
Answer: In the book Scarlett's motivation for dressing up to see Rhett is so that she can go to him 'looking like a queen granting favors." She believes that her way of getting the money is by acting carefree and not desperate as if she looks desperate Rhett will guess it's money she's after (only) and any warmness towards him will look like a ruse to get his money. She is playing on his attraction towards her. Remember the last time she saw him she slapped him and said she hoped a canon ball would land "slap on him." So now she has to appear to be over her venom and her pride will not let her look desperate, also. She's not after marriage to him. If she looks sweet and helpless and gorgeous she figures she'll get the money out of him! (He does say he's tired of looking at women in mourning so she is partly right with her instincts).
12th Oct 2007
Friends (1994)
Question: On the start around series 3 Chandler jumps into Joey's arms. It's about a stalker Joey has got. What is the name of the episode?
Chosen answer: This was, "The One After the Superbowl," a two-part episode. Brooke Shields guest starred as Erika Ford, a crazed fan of Joey's character on "Days of our Lives." She stalked him, believing Joey really was the doctor he played on the show.
12th Sep 2007
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Question: This might be subjective, but why does the Enterprise take so much damage, especially interior damage, long before the shields actually collapse?
Chosen answer: There's a limit as to how much the shields can protect the ship. Depending on the force of the explosions, the ship still suffers some damage from any weapon blasts. Also, the shield only holds for so long and gradually loses it protectiveness with successive attacks, causing increasing damage to the ship.
Answer: The depiction of the shields in this movie is actually interesting because it seems they deliberately tried to show how the ship could plausibly take damage while the shields are up. Here the shields seem to be "on" the hull (or perhaps emanate from the hull itself) and their function seems specific to preventing hull breaches. In TNG and onwards the shields appear as a kind of energy bubble wrapped around the ship, and accordingly they seem to absorb much more impact.
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Answer: They are not paleontologists, just people interested in dinosaurs. It is common for museums and other scientific organizations to offer the general public an opportunity to participate in a real paleontology dig. For a fee, they become an exhibition team member for a period of time, learn about dinosaurs, help excavate fossils, and so on. This is likely how Dr. Grant (or his institution) supplements his research funding.
raywest ★