raywest

Question: Why is Barbossa reluctant to hand over Elizabeth while making a deal with Sao Feng while Jack is talking with Beckett on his ship? And why is Beckett interested in Elizabeth (asking Jack about her when he fails to mention her)?

Answer: Barbossa does feel some loyalty to Elizabeth and considers her a comrade, and he would not hand her over to an enemy. Beckett would be interested in Elizabeth for a variety of reasons. She would possess valuable information. Having her as a captive would make it easier to ensure Norrington's obedience. She would also make for a good bargaining chip in his dealings with Jack. He may also fancy her.

raywest

Question: Ginny says that the last thing she remembered is Tom coming out of the diary, but we don't know where that actually occurred. Where is he coming out of his diary?

Jenny Smith

Chosen answer: In the Chamber of Secrets. That was when he revealed himself for the first time. Before that, he was merely a "presence" controlling Ginny through the diary.

raywest

Question: Why did Michael Douglas expect David to spend 2 hours in the back stairwell between entering the building at 8 p.m. and attacking Gweneth at 10 p.m. after the phone rings? He'd be sitting in the stairwell where anyone could see him, with or without his black ski mask.

Answer: It is unknown what Douglas' entire thinking was behind the plan, but if someone had spotted David in the stairwell, it would only help to support Douglas' alibi and point the finger at a stranger breaking into the apartment and killing his wife.

raywest

Answer: Good point. If a resident in an upscale apartment building like that were to see a suspicious-looking man loitering in the stairwell, he would tell the doorman, who would either investigate or call the police, or both.

3rd Jun 2016

Collateral (2004)

Question: When Max is pulled over by the cops because of the broken windshield and blood on his taxi, they immediately demand for him to open the trunk, which has the dead victim inside, and then to impound the taxi. When they receive a distress call on the radio, they let Max and Vincent go, feeling that it is more serious. Would this happen in reality?

Answer: It's quite possible it could happen. Max had told them that he had hit a deer, which explained the blood and broken windshield. The police did not suspect a taxi driver with a passenger in the car of any wrongdoing. Their concern was regarding the safety of the vehicle. When they got the emergency call on their police radio that became a more urgent priority than a damaged car, and Max was then instructed to get his cab off the road as quickly as possible. It's unclear why the cops wanted the trunk opened, but it really seems this was only to add to the scene's overall suspense before it is quickly diffused. It's a rather cliched plot device.

raywest

Answer: The cop says they need to do an itinerary, no doubt for legal reasons in case the cab driver claimed that they had stolen something after it had been impounded.

Question: After the witch is crushed by the house and confirmed by the coroner, a munchkin says, "This is a day of independence for all the munchkins and their descendants." After this, a different munchkin adds "If any." I have always wanted to know what is meant by "if any."

Answer: The one munchkin thinks they have been liberated by the wicked witch's death. The second munchkin, who says, "If any," apparently realises that the dead witch's more evil sister will probably seek revenge and kill everyone, which would mean there would be no descendants.

raywest

1st Jun 2016

Man of Steel (2013)

Question: Why didn't Zod just terraform a different planet, like Jupiter? Why did he have to choose Earth?

Answer: For one, Jupiter is a gaseous planet with no rocky surface, and cannot be terraformed into a terrestrial world. To sustain life, a rocky planet must be in the habitable zone of its host star and have liquid water, an atmosphere, and so on. Zod chose Earth because he trailed Superman there, and also, because it is already habitable. He only needs to adapt it to his specific conditions.

raywest

Answer: The codex and scout ship with the genesis chamber were already on Earth as well as Zod wanted revenge on Jor-El and he doesn't care about humans so he had no interest in going off to another planet.

30th May 2016

The Godfather (1972)

Question: In Godfather Part 2 Michael was convinced Fredo was the traitor in his family. Who opened the drapes in his bedroom, certainly not the nimble handed Fredo who couldn't hold a gun when his father was being gunned down. Who killed the 2 assassins after Michael told Rocco he wants them alive? If Fredo was the only traitor, as Michael said, can we really accept the premise that Fredo was capable of killing those two men? Fredo says to Michael "I got involved because Johnny Ola said you were being hard on the negotiations," letting in assassins to the compound doesn't fit with "being hard on the negotiations." It all doesn't make sense, can someone explain?

Answer: Fredo was not directly involved in the assassination attempt on Michael, nor did he know about it. He was duped by Ola and Roth into believing that they only wanted his help because Michael was being difficult during negotiations. Fredo was offered a large sum of money in exchange for some inside information that was then used to set up the assassination attempt. It's unknown who opened the drapes, how the assassins got in or who killed them, but it was not Fredo.

raywest

1st Jun 2016

Outbreak (1995)

Question: I never understood how, like in this movie, after they leave the lab of infectious viruses, does being sprayed down with hot water prevent them from being infected once they take the suit off. Can someone explain that to me?

lartaker1975

Chosen answer: They would be sprayed with an antibacterial solution, and it is to prevent any contagion clinging to the outside of the suit from being transferred from one source to another while the protective gear is being handled.

raywest

1st Jun 2016

Now You See Me (2013)

Question: What evidence is there for the plausibility of hypnosis as it's portrayed in the film?

Answer: Hypnosis as seen in movies where people are put into a mindless trance and can then be controlled is impossible in real life.

raywest

1st Jun 2016

La Confidential (1997)

Question: Smith asks Exley if he'd be wiling to shoot a criminal in the back to prevent a lawyer getting him off. Were the police really allowed to play judge, jury and executioner in the 50s?

MikeH

Chosen answer: No they were not legally allowed to, but corrupt, rogue cops who brandished their own form of justice would do that type of thing.

raywest

Question: What made Sao Feng assume that Elizabeth was Calypso? Nobody told him who she was or at least what her human form was/looked like. Did I miss something?

Answer: Sao Feng simply made a mistake. While Barbossa is bargaining with Sao Fen, he tells him that Calypso is bound in human female form and that she is aboard the ship with them. Sao Feng, who appeared to be attracted to Elizabeth's beauty, quickly jumped to a wrong conclusion by assuming that she was the female he was referring to.

raywest

Chosen answer: Dastan was tricked into presenting a poisoned gown to King Sharaman during the celebration. The gown fatally burns him.

raywest

12th May 2016

Roseanne (1988)

Chosen answer: Her name was likely changed in the credits when the series was syndicated as reruns.

raywest

11th May 2016

The Godfather (1972)

Question: Why did Don Corleone send Luca Brasi to gather intel on Sollozzo? Wouldn't it have been obvious to the Don that sending his bodyguard, who was widely known to be unquestionably loyal, wouldn't fool his adversaries, which would eventually, with Brasi dead, lead to his own death?

Answer: Luca wasn't Vito's bodyguard, Paulie Gatto was. In Mafioso circles the bodyguard is also usually the chauffeur which was the other part Paulie played. Luca was an independent who had loyalty to Vito. Unlike other members of the family, Luca had his own operation and his own scams. He was usually only called into service by the Don when some particularly nasty piece of business needed to be taken care of for which Luca was paid handsomely. Few people knew why Luca was loyal to Vito, it had to do with a bit of trouble Luca got into with a young girl, Luca was looking at some hard time and Vito was able to get him out of it. As explained in the books, Luca didn't care if he lived or died, he didn't even care if he was killed, but he cared very deeply that he wouldn't be killed by Vito. That was the hold Vito had on Luca which made his loyalty so deep. So far as the rest of the underworld was concerned Luca was just an independent contractor who worked for the Corleone's from time to time. If you'll recall when Kay sees Luca Michael tells her "he helps out my father sometimes." Barzini was probably the only other one who truly understood how deep Luca's loyalty went. So, why did Vito send Luca: Vito thought he was dealing with the Tataglias. Ten years prior to the Sollozo meeting there had been a Mafia war. Vito planned the strategy of the war while Sonny handled the tactics. The war was bloody and costly but the Corleone's were able to out maneuver the other families and come out on top. After that war Vito was top dog of all the 5 families. Had Vito been correct that Philip Tataglia was behind Sollozo, sending Luca would have been a smart move. As Vito mentions after the meeting of the commission "Tataglia is a pimp, he never could have out fought Santino." Tataglia would have seen getting Luca as a huge win, not only would he have Vito's special muscle, but he'd probably also believe he'd be able to get information from Luca. Where Vito made the mistake was not seeing Barzini pulling the strings, had he believed Barzini was involved he'd have handled it differently.

The line in Goodfellas seems illuminating here where Henry Hill explains that the Mafia is essentially an organisation that offers protection for those who can't turn to the legitimate law of regular society. This suggests that these "family" ties are not as strong as we imagine. These criminals are not a definite part of an orderly corporation, like head of HR at IBM, but a loose confederation of connections and loyalties that are rather more fluid. This is a theme also explored very well in the book and film, Donnie Brasco. Therefore, it wouldn't be totally unthinkable that someone in Luca Brasis position could turn to another "family" if he felt it expedient. However, these kind of guys have a tendency towards mistrust.

Answer: Luca was instructed by Don Corleone to act as if he was unhappy with his current situation within the Corleone family. In the book, this mission was planned more thoroughly and was spread out over a longer period of time with Luca frequenting the Tattaglia family's bars and bordellos, where he (falsely) bitterly complained to the prostitutes and anyone who'd listen about how he was underpaid and undervalued by the Godfather. Either this ploy did not fool Sollozzo or, if he did believe it, he didn't care and used it to send a message to the Corleones by killing Luca.

raywest

Question: Why did Draco want to gate-crash Slughorn's party? It seems to have something to do with his mission to kill Dumbledore, but Dumbledore was not there.

Answer: He wasn't gate-crashing. Draco was caught in the halls, where he should not have been. He was en route to the Room of Requirement where he was secretly working on repairing the vanishing cabinet. The "gate-crashing" was an excuse he came up with when Filch happened to catch him outside where Slughorn's party was being held.

raywest

Answer: Draco poisoned Slughorn's present for Dumbledore.

Question: Four questions; One, why the hell would Angelica be dressed and acting like Jack, and how could she think she could pull him off? Second, wouldn't Angelica and Blackbeard find it suspicious that Jack keeps asking questions about the Fountain of Youth? He claims that he's been there, and yet they don't find it weird that he's asking about something he's supposedly seen? Third, how was Syrena gonna save Phillip when she drags him underwater? Is there an undersea hospital or something? Fourth, why did Jack leave Angelica on an island by herself? I never understood that.

Answer: Angelica merely wanted to create the "illusion" that it was Jack Sparrow in order to shanghai a crew for her father's ship to search for the Fountain of Youth. They would be more willing to follow Jack Sparrow than Blackbeard. Most had never seen the famous Jack Sparrow in person and were half-drunk most of the time, and likely wouldn't notice the deception. Angelica and Blackbeard may have been suspicious about Jack, but he was their only means to finding the Fountain. The mermaids appear to have magical powers that would allow Syrena to save Phillip, possibly by transforming him into a merman, though this is never explained. Although Angelica claimed to love Jack, he did not trust her motives, and that was why he left her on the island. Jack knew Angelica had the ability to escape. He would not leave her to die.

raywest

3rd May 2016

Broken English (2007)

Question: Nora goes out with Julian. She asks him where he wants to eat. He doesn't speak. Nora stares at him over sunglasses and says, "Food. Manja." What does manja mean?

Bunch

Chosen answer: This might actually be the French verb "manger." When spoken it sounds like "manja." It means "eat."

raywest

11th Apr 2016

Obsessed (2009)

Question: It seems whenever this movie is played on TV, the start of the scene where Sharon is yelling at Derek in the house edits out the part at the start where Sharon yells "What? WHAT!?" and throws and breaks a dish. Why is this edited out? It always starts at the line she says right after that.

Answer: There is no set format for a feature-length film's running time in theaters (some bodies state a minimum of 40 minutes, some 80). They are edited to fit TV scheduling. Scenes are often cut short or deleted entirely to eliminate objectionable content, but also so the film can begin and end on the hour or half hour (i.e. It starts precisely at 8:00 p.m. And ends at 10:00 pm) so that the next program can run. It also has to allow time for commercials and station breaks during the airing. This often leaves the original movie rather chopped-up. That is probably what happened with this particular film.

raywest

Question: If it really is so important for Scott to find a wife, then why didn't Curtis and Bernard tell him about it earlier? Why put that pressure on him, when they could've just told him after his first year or two? They seriously waited that long just to tell him "you need to get married"?

Answer: There could be any number of possible reasons that could be speculated on. However, the most likely answer is that after the first movie became a big hit and sequel was to be made, this was the plot line that was developed "after the fact."

raywest

He says in the movie that it was his "first mistake in 900 years" meaning he didn't realise about Mrs. Claus.

Question: If the lightsaber that Rey touches was Luke's and his father's before him, how did it get there? Luke's saber, given to him by Obi Wan, was lost in the fight between Luke and Vader on Cloud City when Vader cut Luke's sword hand off. It fell down with Luke's hand into the disposal tube, then out and down to Bespin's swampy surface.

Movie Nut

Chosen answer: When she is asked about the light saber being in her possession, Maz Kanata explains that it is a question to be answered at another time. Presumably this will be explained in a future episode.

raywest

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