Questions tagged [dialogue]
Questions related to specific pieces of a work's spoken word.
947
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What does "if they're a pound" mean?
In the movie Sherlock Holmes (2009) I came across the following sentence:
These slabs of sandstone are half a ton each, if they’re a pound, and
they’re smashed open from the inside.
I don't ...
0
votes
1
answer
96
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A question on a quote from "Richard Deacon - In Between"
There's a German documentary movie, called Richard Deacon - In Between from 2013.
In the referenced link to the movie, you find a trailer - among others on YouTube. They all have in common that they ...
1
vote
1
answer
166
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What is the meaning of "West Helsinki fire sale"?
In Penguins of Madagascar (2014) what does Skipper ask Rico to do when they chase Dave's sub on a plane?
Kowalski: Sir, Dave is pulling ahead. We are too heavy.
Skipper: Oh, curse our heavily cheese-...
0
votes
1
answer
189
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Why did the fisherman call Forrest a fool?
When Forrest is purchasing a shrimp boat from local fisherman and the scene clearly shows that he has paid all his money (so approx. $24.5+ thousand) for it. The fisherman uses the famous movie's ...
0
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1
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What was Suzie implying on the witness stand?
Suzie: Kelly's pissed at Lombardo too. She's in love with him, I mean, he's been her whole fantasy since her old man died...
When Suzie said this, was she suggesting that Kelly had incestuous ...
34
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1
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Why do some Chinese shows avoid using real toponyms?
While watching the 2023 Chinese tv adaptation of Cixin Liu's The Three-Body Problem with English subtitles, I noticed a peculiarity:
Instead of using actual place names, the show appears to use ...
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2
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124
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What does "Shocker there" mean?
I don't understand what she (Sarah Connor) meant by 'Shocker there' in that scene (relevant part starts at 02:08), what does that mean?
Relevant dialogue:
Guardian: My files do not deal with love.
...
10
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2
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What is Lefty talking about when he says "What kind of a man has a malvole"?
In the movie Donnie Brasco,
Lefty says to Donnie after being introduced to Richie Gazzo:
What kind of a man has a malvole? He won't provide for his own wife.
Is he talking about the bar, the car, a ...
2
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1
answer
210
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What is Prosser & Ankovich in Blade Runner (1982)?
In the movie Blade Runner (1982) I came across the notion of something called Prosser & Ankovich.
Here's some context:
Eldon Tyrell: 66,000 Prosser & Ankovich. Hmm. Trade. Trade at--
Computer:...
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3
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What did Bohr mean when he asked Oppenheimer "Can you hear the music"?
When Bohr first meets Oppenheimer, he tells him algebra is more than just reading but about hearing the music. What did he mean by that?
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Foreign language scenes in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
I am currently abroad and wondering if there are foreign language scenes in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which I will not be able to understand due to subtitles being in a language I don't ...
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0
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What were the pirates saying in Mysterious Island (1961)
During the last 1/4 of the movie Mysterious Island (1961) the stranded soldiers are attacked by pirates who have several lines of dialogue in a language other than English.
Is this an actual real ...
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1
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What does "a rock saw of something" mean? [closed]
In the movie What Women Want I came across the expression "a rock saw of shooting beer commercials".
Here's some context from the movie:
While we’ve been getting a rock saw of shooting beer ...
1
vote
1
answer
206
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What is "switch car"?
In the movie Point Break I came across the notion of switch car.
Here's some context from the movie:
"Reagan usually does the driving. Stolen switch car, they leave it
runnin’ on the kerb. It ...
8
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1
answer
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What does "Welcome to SeaWorld, kid!" mean?
In the movie Point Break I came across the expression "Welcome to SeaWorld, kid!".
What is the meaning of this SeaWorld here?
Here's some context from the movie:
"Here, put on the ...
2
votes
1
answer
969
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What does “diddled-eyed Joe to a damned-if-I-know” mean?
In the scene from Reservoir Dogs (1992), where Holdaway meets Orange in the restaurant, Orange informs him
that he is now part of Joe’s team.
Holdaway: If this crook’s a Brewers fan, his ass has ...
7
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1
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Did Doc Brown send his clocks 25 minutes into the future?
In the opening scene of Back to the Future, Marty arrives at Doc's place to play guitar. After blowing himself across the room 🤣, Doc calls Marty on the phone. In the middle of the conversation, ...
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2
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What is Floor (the rabbit) shouting?
In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, when Rocket uses his homemade key
Although I could tell that Floor was repeating the same thing over and over, I couldn't understand a single word of it. What was ...
20
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2
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Why did Reign of Fire end with the line "Well, here's to evolution."?
The 2002 film Reign of Fire ends oddly with the line "Well, here's to evolution."
It seems out-of-place and unrelated to what I'd watched during the previous two hours. Was it just weak ...
17
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2
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What does 'They're at four. It's not them.', referring to the nuclear power plant in Ignalina, mean?
I absolutely love Chernobyl (2019) and have watched it many times. But there is still one scene that I don't fully understand.
In Episode 2, "Please Remain Calm", while trying to figure out ...
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1
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Is Maverick's rank in the competition tied to his father's classified information?
At Charlie's residence in Top Gun (1986), Charlie is lying on the couch and Maverick speaks about his father:
Maverick: My old man was a great fighter pilot. But who the hell
knows? It's all ...
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1
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What does the police officer say?
In the movie RRR, when Sir Edward announces that there is a threat to the governor and asks the policemen to catch the one who is planning to attack, one of the police officers says, "All right ...
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What was the first movie or show to use a conlang?
What was the first movie or show to use a conlang?
Def: Conlangs: an invented language intended for human communication that has planned and cohesive phonological, grammatical, and syntactical ...
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1
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What did Genevieve mean when she said "A person can’t sneeze in this town without somebody offering them a handkerchief”?
The Last Picture Show was a very good movie but I can't quite make sense of this line, and it felt important. I can think of a few interpretations — the most basic being that everybody knows everybody ...
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0
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What does Ng Lieu Cho really say at the end of S04E11?
At the end of Mad About You season 4 episode 10 ("Get Back"), Paul Buchman (Paul Reiser) "translates" for the dissident poet Ng Lieu Cho (Jim Lau), because he fails to pick up ...
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1
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What did Jake Lo mean?
One scene from Rapid Fire (1992) contains the following exchange:
Agent Frank Stuart: I want you to know, Jake, that I'm the only one who did this to myself, and to you. I want you to know that I ...
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2
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What does this Field Hospital joke mean in Blackadder Goes Forth?
In Blackadder Goes Forth, there's a scene where Blackadder is discussing security with Melchett and Darling. Part of the dialogue goes thus:
Darling: So you see, Blackadder, Field Marshal Haig is ...
4
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2
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149
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Donnie Brasco book reference
More than once, New York Mob member "Lefty" (Al Pacino), brags to Johnny Depp (playing an undercover FBI agent) all he has done (hits) for the Mob:
"So when they open the books, they ...
3
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1
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What was the first American-made movie/TV show in which Mandarin or Cantonese was accurately spoken?
It is not too surprising that in a period when Asian characters were portrayed by non-Asians that the producers did not worry too much about authenticity of the Chinese (or Japanese) dialog spoken by ...
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Avatar TWoW subtitles
Maybe I had a unique experience of the film, e.g. an errant projectionist left the closed-captioning on. I am simply at a loss to otherwise understand why the music cues were spelled out along with ...
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1
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What does "favorite New York moment" mean?
In the movie Serendipity (2001), in the following dialogue between Jonathan and Sara, I don't understand what Sara means when she says "Um, favorite New York moment.":
Sara : Okay. Favorite ...
5
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1
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550
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What is the deal with the "universal greeting" in Transformers: The Movie?
When Hot Rod & Kup crash-land on the garbage planet, whose inhabitants promptly surround our heroes, Kup resorts to the "universal greeting," which goes something like this:
Bah-weep-...
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1
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What is the significance of the "I've got a black lake in my eye!" line in The Stranger?
In the crime-thriller movie, The Stranger (2022), in a dream scene, the undercover police officer drives his car with Henry (the suspected child kidnapper/murderer). All of a sudden and seemingly ...
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1
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What do "PKE valences" and "bury the needle" mean?
I've been watching Ghostbusters and came across the following:
Spengler went down there.
He took PKE valences, went right off the top of the scale.
Buried the needle.
We're close on this one. I can ...
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3
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What did The Elder mean by "A plum does not resent the hungry man, but the farmer who planted the tree"?
In Bullet Train (2022), The Elder tells the other assassins a metaphor regarding plums to get them to stop fighting each other and cooperate:
The Elder: A plum does not resent the hungry man, but the ...
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4
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Weird French in Prey?
Loved the movie Prey and I have a question about it.
French is not my first language and I'm not fluent in it, but the French that the poachers spoke seemed a little off to me.
Was it my imagination? ...
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4
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Why does Robin make a comment about Nancy having a Tom Cruise poster?
In S04E04, roughly 10 minutes in, Robin enters Nancy's room, and immediately comments about her having a Tom Cruise poster, and Nancy says that the poster is "old".
What's the joke/reference ...
4
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1
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891
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Is the "life is like a box of chocolates" line in Forrest Gump meant to be a joke? [duplicate]
Full quote for context:
My mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.
I understand the surface meaning of this line. Boxes of chocolates contain a ...
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0
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Dubbed line in The Parallax View
In a scene from The Parallax View, William Daniels’ character is berating Warren Beatty’s. He tells him:
You’re just a third-rate journalist from Oregon, or wherever the hell you’re from.
The second ...
2
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0
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How many languages are there in 'Young Royals'?
I know that Young Royals is based in Sweden, but it also contains certain phrases/characters in other languages. The ones I know of are:
Swedish
English
Spanish
Are there any other languages, and if ...
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Why would giving birth to a boy child make the Boleyns "untouchable"?
In The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), the King married Anne Boleyn, Mary Boleyn's sister. The king is expecting the second birth to be a boy. Mary's uncle says this to Jane Parker:
This pregnancy is ...
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1
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How many different languages are spoken?
Everything Everywhere All At Once is a fairly insane experience in many ways.
There is an enormous and sometimes very rapid flow of images, for example. But, less remarked, there is also a wide ...
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2
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What's the meaning behind "blue paper"?
What is the significance of "blue paper"? In the movie "Gangs of New York", when Bill the Butcher in his "Fear" monologue speaks about Priest Vallon, he states that he, &...
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2
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Why doesn't Sardo Numspa pronounce the letter J?
In The Golden Child, the demon Sardo Numspa (Charles Dance) visits the hero Chandler Jarrell (Eddie Murphy) in a dream, in order to propose a bargain involving a magical item called the "Adjante ...
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1
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How much Cantonese and Mandarin is in Everything Everywhere all at Once?
Can someone that doesn't speak Cantonese nor Mandarin get away with watching the movie without subtitles?
I ask because I am in a foreign country where the movie is shown in English but the subs are ...
5
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2
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Does Louise have a choice to change things, or why did she say this?
I'm intrigued with the following sentence Louise says in Arrival:
If you could see your whole life start to finish, would you change things?
To me (with a limited English language knowledge), what ...
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1
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What does "missed the wedge" mean?
In Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy, Smiley silently barged into the house and meets
Ricki, who gave him information about Irina:
Smiley: Hello, Ricki. You've missed the wedge. Where have you been,
Ricki?
...
10
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1
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What does the Hungarian burn victim shout at Jack Baer?
There is an early scene in The Usual Suspects (@ 20m40s) where FBI agent Jack Baer visits a burn victim in the hospital. The victim starts talking in "not English" (we later learn it is ...
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1
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What does Joshi/Robin Wright mean when she asks "what happens if I finish [your booze]?"
Luv has just stolen the bones from the morgue, while K was re-investigating the scene at Sapper's farm. His superior, Lt Joshi, comes to his apartment to tell him about the theft (and murder), and to ...
3
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0
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Is Sam Malone referencing another piece of popular culture when Diane refuses his marriage proposal?
In Cheers season 5 episode 1, Diane refuses Sam's marriage proposal. She explains why, and Sam immediately takes on a different speech pattern and has a small monologue about 15 minutes in:
Sam: Did ...