Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

These are questions relating to specific titles. General questions for movies and TV shows are here. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.

Question: If terrorists just wanted a Jericho missile why not just buy one from Stark industries, instead of trying to force Stark to build one? We learn they have the connection to Obadiah, so they can buy Stark weapons under the table.

Answer: Buying one would cost them millions, if not billions of dollars. Forcing Stark to build one for them would certainly save them a fortune. Plus, we don't know if they intended to purchase one before kidnapping Stark. They were paid to kill Stark, but once they found out Stark was the one that Obadiah paid them to kill, they scoffed at the amount they were paid and demanded a higher fee. Once they had Stark, they might have decided then and there to take advantage of the situation and get a free missile out of it.

Phaneron

Question: Why is the plasma coolant tank breakable? Why are there clear windows? What if a crew member accidentally hit it with something that could easily break the window and cause plasma coolant to spill out?

Answer: It's likely made of transparent aluminum so the crew can easily see its condition. Transparent aluminum has greater strength than materials we use for transparency. Remember, too, that it was Data who broke it. The rest of the crew wouldn't have the physical strength to break it.

Question: Why was Kevin's family so mean to him?

Answer: I think it was a way to make leaving him "home alone" more realistic and understandable as opposed to absurd. Being perceived as a brat/pest and annoying to be around, it is (somewhat) conceivable that none of the family members would be eager to have Kevin by their side. This "frees" all of them from noticing that Kevin isn't with them. Everyone would just assume that Kevin is somewhere among them and each be glad they didn't have to sit next to him on the way to the airport or during the long flight.

KeyZOid

In addition to this, the movie is partially about Kevin learning to have more respect for others. He appreciates his family more as he spends more time without them.

Answer: The ones who were mean just saw Kevin as a brat. However, it's not uncommon in situations of being in an overcrowded house to easily lose one's patience and temper and become frustrated with small, but irritating things; which seems to happen to his mother. Buzz just has that general big brother contempt for his kid brother, but obviously still loves him, along with everyone else in the family, at the end when he finds out Kevin is safe.

Bishop73

Nuts to that. They all could've tried a little harder, that's one lame excuse for treating someone like garbage and I come from a good sized bunch who've done the same to me. You also forget his uncle didn't care about him regardless of the situation.

Rob245

Like it or not the answer is perfectly valid. Families have different dynamics. Kevin is something of a brat (he calls his mother "dummy" and openly wishes he didn't have a family), as are his brothers and sisters, especially Buzz. I for one have TWO uncles in my family who behave just like the uncle in the movie. We don't invite them over, but we've had similar situations to what's depicted in the film.

Hey I've had three uncles, father's older brothers, he hated all three of them, cared only when they started dying. Yeah the dynamics and all, my mother has stated "You ruined this family" though this bunch didn't need my help in being messed up. My sympathies to you Mr Hoffman, your uncles Dustin and Philip Seymour must be/been terrible, just kidding only on the famous names there, no offense meant.

Rob245

It's just a movie! The characters are fictional and were given contrived, exaggerated, over-the-top personalities to fit the comedic plot. It's pointless to compare them to real-life family dynamics.

raywest

Exactly. It's done for entertainment.

Ssiscool

Also, it's a movie from a child's point of view. Kevin is supposed to be the "victim." As a 35-year-old, I have more sympathy for the adults and older kids. The movie is about Kevin learning to miss his family and be more considerate of others.

Question: Did the scene where Ira Hayes rages against police after a bartender refuses to serve him really happen?

Answer: Following WWII, Ira Hayes hated the fame and sensational publicity associated the flag-raising at Iwo Jima. Deeply depressed, Hayes descended into alcoholism over the next few years, and it eventually killed him. Director Clint Eastwood actually underplayed the true extent of Hayes' sad decline, and the scene you mention was no doubt dramatized for the screen. In real life, Hayes was arrested 52 times for public intoxication and disorderly conduct at various places across the country before his death.

Would that be a yes, or no? I've got autism.

It's yes, but he/she is saying that the incident was probably exaggerated for the purpose of the movie, to make it more dramatic. It likely combined a number of similar drunken incidents into the one scene.

raywest

Answer: Definitely yes :). The poor guy was a raging alcoholic who literally drank himself to death.

stiiggy

Question: If the movie is based on the experiences of Scott O'Grady, why didn't the filmmakers use his story, instead of making a story that's almost completely fiction?

Answer: Filmmakers have greater artistic licence doing a fictional story inspired by a real-life person's experience rather than portraying actual facts. This allows them to embellish details and/or create whatever story they wish to tell that is grounded in reality. There would also be legal issues of depicting real people (other than O'Grady) in the film.

raywest

Question: If the bear died in the fall, assuming the fall did kill it, then how did Tod survive?

Answer: Since we don't really know how he died, he could have drowned and not died on impact. Bear may not have been a strong swimmer or sustained too much injury from the gunshot to swim to the surface. However, in physics, force = mass * acceleration and thus larger creatures will hit the water with greater force than small creatures (as the old cliche goes; the bigger they are, the harder they fall). So it's possible for Bear to die on impact and not Tod because of his larger size.

Bishop73

Question: Was it the fall alone that killed Mufasa? Or was he trampled to death?

Answer: It's not explained what exactly killed him, but probably a combination of both of those.

raywest

Question: When they bust Nicky why would the police offer him a deal to turn in a fall guy like Crunch who they can only put away for 7 years, and not just take him for the 20 years?

Question: When Beck tries to dodge the huge diamonds, the ship gets a breach. Wouldn't that cause the outside material to spray into the ship's interior, given the intense temperature and pressure?

Answer: The inner-earth ship known as VIRGIL is comprised of multiple double-hull detachable sections. The outer hull can be breached, while the inner hull can maintain structural integrity just long enough to jettison the damaged compartment. When VIRGIL encounters the giant diamond field, the very last section (the weapons control compartment) suffers a hull breach, and it immediately begins automatic detachment. Dr. Serge Leveque, the nuclear weapons expert, sacrifices himself by saving vital weapons deployment information from that compartment just before it detaches and is destroyed.

Charles Austin Miller

Question: I know this has nothing to do with movie's plot, but I'm going to ask it anyway. How did the hijackers know that destroying the twin towers would affect the US economy?

Answer: The World Trade Center, otherwise known as the "twin towers, " housed many corporate headquarters, media outlets, and financial institutions, both domestic and international. A comprehensive list of the World Trade Center tenants can be found at: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/trade.center/tenants1.html. The hijackers knew that the attack, if successful, would strike at the heart of national and international commerce, thus affecting the US economy.

Michael Albert

Question: Where were they fighting? Towards the end where they were fighting between the silos you can see Chicago's Willis (Sears) Tower between them. After that, Optimus grabs everyone, blasts off to get them out of there, and almost immediately lands in what looks like Japan.

Answer: I think they are in Hong Kong.

Question: Why does Pennywise kill Georgie and Patrick almost immediately, but then spend time tormenting the other kids instead of outright killing them?

Phaneron

Chosen answer: In order to install the fear of death in someone, to put them in your grasp, you must kill those closest to you. In doing so the fear is always inside them. Pennywise will always be in their thoughts and dreams. Which will constantly torture the kids, which what he wants.

Answer: Pennywise murders and eats children because to him frightened children taste the best. By killing George and Patrick then torturing the others, he's building up enough fear in them so when he does decide to eat them, to him they'll be delicious.

Question: Even though this game is for the Microsoft's Xbox One, why does it have some Nintendo 64 games in the compilation, even using the Nintendo Rare logo for those games?

Answer: The game is a compilation of original Rare games and characters they developed in which licensing was available. They did not include games based on licensed intellectual property or games with licensing issues (such as Donkey Kong Country and Goldeneye). So for non-Microsoft games, Microsoft was able to obtain licenses from the publishers. Rare Replay includes games from various platforms they developed games for (including ZX Spectrum) and was part of Microsoft's emulator reveal. As such, the games are as original as possible, with minimum edits, including the use of former Rare logos.

Bishop73

Question: How does the FBI get The List? It's unlikely that Tommy and Rosie gave it to them, so where did they get it?

throcko

Chosen answer: The main cause of her death is not specifically stated in the show, but Howard does mention that she passed away in her sleep. The cause of her death may have been something relating to her weight problems.

Casual Person

Answer: She had cancer.

In real life, Carol Ann Susi died of cancer. But where do you get your information that Mrs. Wolowitz died of cancer?

Bishop73

Chosen answer: Out of everyone's apartments, the gang likely eats and hangs out at Leonard and Sheldon's apartment because it has the largest living room space and they would be given the most amount of room to interact in. Raj's apartment and Penny's apartment do not appear to have as much living room space as Leonard and Sheldon's apartment, so they may not want to hang out there, nor would they want to hang out at Howard's place since his mother would be there.

Casual Person

In addition to this, I'm sure that Sheldon has some sort of rule that if they aren't eating at a restaurant, they eat at Sheldon and Leonard's place because it's where Sheldon is most comfortable.

immortal eskimo

In addition, I think a big part of the reason would be that 3 of the 5 (at first) friends lived in the same building so eating there meant fewer people had to travel. Plus, it was very quickly traditional for Penny to come over to Leonard and Sheldon's apartment to eat so it was natural it stayed that way. And lastly, it's not at Penny's apartment since Penny usually doesn't have money to pay for the food so since Leonard usually brings the food, it's logical everyone goes to his apartment.

lionhead

This isn't true. In one episode, I can't remember which, the group eats at Raj's place with Priya. Sheldon expresses his displeasure to Amy who explains that Leonard is the nucleus and that where Leonard goes, everyone goes. Sheldon has no such rule about eating there.

Ssiscool

Since he states his displeasure it proves he is more comfortable eating at home. He even doesn't like eating at a dinner table in his own apartment, let alone somewhere else entirely. He only compromises if he has no choice.

lionhead

Question: Why is Annie's picture different from when she was using a black crayon in a circular motion, obviously for the big stone to go through the neighbor's window it's not there anymore when her dad picks up the picture and shows her sister.

Question: As Matt Hooper is analyzing the dead body, he yells at Martin not to smoke. Why does he follow that up with "this is what happens" while holding up her severed arm? What does that line refer to?

Answer: I watched a clip of this scene, and it appears that part of the original dialogue was edited out. Hooper is referring to what happens when a shark goes into a feeding frenzy.

raywest

Question: In the movie they state the colonel cannot be charged because the crime was committed outside of the United States. All active members of the US military like the colonel are subject to the uniformed military code of justice no matter where the crime was committed, so how did the colonel prevent the military justice system from being able to charge him?

Answer: You are completely correct. This is a clear mistake, the colonel could (and would) most certainly be charged for his crimes.

BaconIsMyBFF

Though unlike the movie, it's not up the attorney to decide if a military member gets charged, it's up to the judge advocate general.

Actually it's not a mistake. The colonel is not a member on active duty in the service. He's ex military. He's the one running the contractor group that carries out the senator's dirty deeds.

Answer: Receiving retirement pay and being in the IRR confers jurisdiction, even over retired military personnel.

Answer: "The colonel" was not active duty military, BUT as a retiree he is still subject to the UCMJ.

How are retirees subject to the UCMJ?

They're not, generally. Some service members who've served for more than 20 years but less than 30 are or were subject to the UCMJ. There was a recent legal opinion overruling this though. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/08/09/new-bombshell-legal-opinion-says-military-retirees-cant-be-court-martialed.html.

Question: The movie says that the senator who helped the colonel cannot be charged because the crime was committed outside the United States. Is that realistic? If not then why?

Answer: This is not realistic. The Senator would be charged with conspiracy regardless of where the actual crime took place. Simply being overseas does not give an American citizen immunity.

BaconIsMyBFF

Not even being in a nation without an extradition treaty gives an American citizen immunity?

No, they'd still be charged, but the logistics become harder. Regardless, that's a legal question best suited for another site, not one about movies.

Jon Sandys

I'm sorry. I was just asking if the idea that senator cannot be charged for his crimes because the crime was committed outside the United States is realistic. I'm not trying to be rude or offensive. If I am I apologize.

Not rude or offensive, it's just that this is a topic with endless articles available elsewhere on the internet, and I try not to let things get *too* off topic around here, otherwise some entries would have pages and pages of unrelated back and forth debates, cluttering up the site somewhat.

Jon Sandys

Thank you for understanding. I really appreciate it.

I wouldn't know where to look for that says committing in a nation without an extradition treaty doesn't an American citizen immunity.

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