Question: Why does Joker say he doesn't have a plan, when he does?
Phaneron
6th Sep 2020
The Dark Knight (2008)
Answer: He is a highly functional and highly intelligent psychopath. In the comic book universe, there is a saying about the Joker, "Always expect the unexpected."
6th Sep 2020
Deadpool 2 (2018)
Question: How come Deadpool is aware of the fourth wall, but none of the other characters in the X-Men movies are?
Answer: That's one of his superpowers, "Comic Awareness" (sometimes called 4th Wall or Medium Awareness). This is something that Deadpool has in the comics and was incorporated into the films. Other than being a framing tool and to be funny, I don't know if the creator, Fabian Nicieza, or any writers have said why they gave Deadpool that power.
9th Aug 2020
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Question: In the last shot of the knight waving goodbye to the Joneses, is it just me or has the actor been swapped out with a dummy?
Answer: It is the real actor and not a robotic dummy. He moves a bit slowly and deliberately, apparently for effect, but it's a real person.
Just to be clear, I'm not referring to when we see the knight raise his hand to wave goodbye to them, but rather right after Indy says "Please Dad," and he and Henry begin to flee the collapsing temple, you can see the knight in the background with his arm raised and he looks rather stiff. You can see it at around 2:22 of this clip: https://youtu.be/PAfZ7V2VyD8.
I took a closer look. There is the shot where the knight raises his hand and you can see him moving. It then cuts to Indy and Henry, then a cut back to the knight where it briefly looks like it could be a mannequin, then there is another cut and back to the knight again and this time it's definitely the live actor. So yes, for that brief long shot, I think it could be a dummy. This may have been for the purpose of efficiency in the filming, it being easier to use a stationary prop for doing multiple takes, rather than the live actor just standing there. Sometimes they do what is called "pick up" shots, where, post-production, a part of a scene or close-ups are re-shot or added weeks or months later, and it would just be easier to use mannequin rather than recall the actor.
But he does move, so most likely a real person.
3rd Aug 2020
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Question: I don't understand why Lady Van Tassel had to cut her hand during her sexual encounter with the reverend?
Answer: She was using blood magic to keep him under her spell... this is why later in the film the reverend kills the magistrate just as the magistrate's about to betray their secret about Lady Van Tassel to Ichabod.
3rd Aug 2020
General questions
I saw this movie trailer in the late 1990s or early 2000s. A man has become, or can choose to be, invisible. At one point in the trailer, he asks a woman if she has ever made love to an invisible man before. I am certain that she had long brown or black hair.
Answer: There's another film, The Man Who Wasn't There, (1983), Steve Guttenberg (Police Academy) plays a man who becomes the target of American and enemy agents after stumbling upon an invisibility serum. After using it to escape, he hides out at a girlfriend's apartment. I don't remember the exact dialogue, but they do have a love scene. It's funny seeing her going through sex motions with no-one there.
Answer: I believe you are referring to Hollow Man, with Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth Shue.
Thank you.
Answer: This could also be the 1992 film, "Memoirs Of An Invisible Man," starring Chevy Chase and Darryl Hannah.
Thank you.
26th Jul 2020
Fantastic Four (2015)
Question: I read that Stan Lee greatly approved black Johnny. Is this true?
Answer: According to Entertainment Weekly, it's true. Unlike characters like Black Panther, Storm, Thunderbird or Shang-Chi, Johnny Storm's race has really nothing to do with what defines him as a character, which is why Stan Lee had no issue with it.
24th Jul 2020
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Question: How are Thanos and the Black Order able to track the infinity stone throughout the galaxy?
Answer: We aren't given a specific answer, but as Thanos himself tells Tony Stark, "You're not the only one cursed with knowledge." Thanos has probably studied the Infinity Stones for most of his life, and with the exception of the Soul Stone, every Stone presumably gives off some kind of energy signature that can be tracked.
Answer: He probably has spies everywhere and he can probably gain their location through interrogating his victims.
18th Jul 2020
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
15th Jul 2004
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Question: After the massive battle on Endor the Rebels try to make it look like the stormtroopers have won so the ones inside the shield generator will come out. What I don't understand is who's the Imperial guy that appears on the monitor telling them it's over and they need reinforcements? Aren't all the Imperials outside meant to be dead at this point?
Answer: Look close, it's Han Solo with his hand covering his mouth with the radio so as to not give away his identity. You can even recognize his voice. Apparently, he got inside the walker that Chewie highjacked, took an imperial officers uniform from somewhere, then radioed to the base to get them to come out so he could ambush them.
And a few seconds later, he had the time to go out of the AT-ST, remove his uniform and be on the ground for the ambush?
It's only a few seconds of screen time. Within the film itself, several troops gathered to meet them at the door, which could have taken a couple minutes. That's plenty of time for Han to have removed the helmet and gloves (only his head and hand are visible, so he likely didn't put the full uniform on) and the climbed back down to the ground.
You only see his head. It doesn't take long to remove a helmet.
It wasn't an entire uniform, just the jacket helmet and glove. And more than a few seconds had passed as the troops inside needed to be assembled and then exit the bunker.
If you look closely, you can see it's about a half-second of footage on a loop. Where they got it is another question.
16th Jul 2020
Watchmen (2009)
Question: If Rorschach's considered nuts then why kill him? Why kill the Comedian? Why wasn't he heavily guarded in prison once caught? Why not arrest Veidt?
Answer: The Comedian discovered what Veidt was planning to do, so Veidt killed him to silence him. Rorschach isn't causing problems for the prison once he's in there. Every violent thing he does is in self-defense. There's no reason for him to be heavily guarded. He's killed because they can't risk anyone exposing what Veidt did and ruining the world peace that was achieved. Veidt is not arrested for the same reason.
11th Jul 2020
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
Question: Why do they keep changing Mystique's appearance in this branch of the franchise? Compare First Class to Dark Phoenix, notice the difference.
Answer: Jennifer Lawrence was actually allergic to the makeup that was used on her in First Class. For the next two films, she wore a body suit instead. For Dark Phoenix, since they were just going to kill her character off anyway, I think they just decided to be lazy and went with a more minimal approach with her appearance, and didn't care that it looked different. I mean, the scene of Jean Grey being taken over by the Phoenix Force at the beginning of Dark Phoenix directly contradicts her having the Phoenix power at the end of Apocalypse, so it's not like the filmmakers cared too much about overall continuity in the series.
10th Jul 2020
The Punisher (2004)
Question: In the extended version, when Frank confronts Jimmy about his betrayal, why did he make Jimmy commit suicide instead of killing Jimmy himself?
Answer: Jimmy is drowning in massive gambling debt and has had to resort to selling everything of value he owns as well as steal money from evidence lockers to help pay his debt down. He has nothing to live for and is merely going through the motions of life, and coupled with his guilt over selling out Frank and getting his family killed, Frank concludes Jimmy needs to take his fate in his own hands.
8th Jul 2020
Wonder Woman (2017)
Question: Why not tell her the truth? She wouldn't have been worse off. If he'd wanted to find them he could've done so sooner.
30th Jun 2020
The X-Files (1993)
Je Souhaite - S7-E21
Question: When Mulder is writing down his last wish after using the first two, what was he writing and why did he stop?
Answer: He was intending to once again wish for world peace. This time he is writing down his wish in a specific and deliberate manner in order to avoid any technicalities, loopholes or misinterpretations the genie might cause, since his first attempt at wishing for world peace resulted in her removing everyone else besides Mulder from the face of the Earth. He stops because Scully convinces him that world peace is something that should be attained through effort and not magic, so he instead uses his final wish to set the genie free.
29th Jun 2020
The Wedding Singer (1998)
Question: Why did Norrington let Jack escape?
Answer: At no point did he actually "let" him escape on purpose. Jack was always just too witty for Norrington (who is kinda slow). That's counting 3 occasions where Norrington failed to capture Jack, but perhaps you can be more specific as to which escape you are referring to.
8th Mar 2017
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Question: Could Anna see ghosts? Why was she shivering in the closet and then ran out of it in fear? Also in the end why was she shivering and answering Malcolm? Was she ignoring him all the time?
Chosen answer: No, she can't see ghosts...no one but Cole can. But it is established that everyone can feel the "chilling" effect of the ghosts, and feel an inexplicable coldness in their presence. Naturally, this freaks them out, so it's natural Anna (and everyone else) would run from it. At the end, she wasn't answering Malcolm, just as throughout the film what appears to be her ignoring him is simply her not being aware of his presence. She's merely talking in her sleep, and Malcolm, as he does every other time, mistakes this for a direct interaction...until he realises the truth.
Actually I do believe she was answering him. Cole told him to go talk to her while she slept. After finding out ghosts come to him for help, this is Cole helping Malcolm. It's possible Cole knew it is possible for ghosts to communicate with other people this way.
Actually I believe the cellar is just cold in the first scene. Instead, I think she is spooked and thinks something is odd since Vincent was actually in the cellar hiding when she was down there. At some point afterwards he snuck up to the bathroom before being confronted by Malcolm. Any other interaction between Anna and the cold is likely the sensation of being near a ghost though.
Animals could sense them too, or at least the ones in paranormal activity can.
Paranormal Activity has nothing to do with this movie.
21st Jun 2020
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Question: How did the inmates on rooftops manage to get their hands on beer?
Answer: It was given to them by the guards.
But isn't beer banned in prisons?
Andy gives Hadley (the head guard) financial advice on how to keep a large sum of money, which he (Hadley) received as an inheritance. Andy, being an accountant, offers to do all the necessary tax work, in exchange for three beers apiece for his fellow inmates. Hadley agrees, and arranges for the beer to be delivered and given to them. (All of this is shown in the scene immediately prior to that in which the inmates are drinking beer).
Answer: Under all but rare circumstances, alcoholic beverages are not allowed in US prisons, which was also the case in 1949, when this scene takes place; the significance of this scene is to establish that Andy began to enjoy special privileges while incarcerated, which is also how he eventually got the warden to allow him to establish the prison library.
12th Jun 2020
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Question: What did Phillips mean when he said 5 bodies in 4 graves?
8th Jun 2020
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Question: Why did the zeppelin turn around, and how did the approaching airplane fighters know it was them in the zeppelin's airplane?
Answer: The zeppelin is turning around because Indy sabotaged the radio. They are presumably going back to get it repaired, lest they end up getting into danger on a long journey with no way to reach out for help. The approaching planes likely deduced it was the Joneses absconding with the plane, as it would be unlikely for anyone else to be taking it when the zeppelin was simply returning to its point of origin.
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Answer: The Joker repeatedly lies throughout the film to keep his enemies confused. In this instance, it would be risky for him to tell Harvey that it was his goal all along to corrupt him, so he instead tells him he has had no plan.
Phaneron ★