Best crime movie questions of all time

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Body Heat picture

Question: Matty introduces her friend as Mary Ann, but in the year book, the friend is actually Matty Tyler, and she is actually Mary Ann. Were both girls in on the scam? (00:31:22)

Answer: I noticed the problem of the introduction, also. It seemed like a major plot hole to me. There wasn't any material in the movie to support blackmail, etc by the real Matty. I hadn't thought of her possibly being in on the scam. If not, why wouldn't the real Matty have immediately blanched when hearing herself be introduced with the wrong name? So far, I agree with the OP's suggestion.

The real Maddy was at the house when Ned arrived. Presumably, she had already discovered what "Fake Maddy" was up to. It looked like Fake Maddy (Turner) gave the real Maddy a check, presumably a payoff to keep quiet. The real Maddy may or may not have known exactly what Fake Maddy was planning, but went along with being introduced as "Mary Ann." Also, the movie deliberately leaves details vague because it is a big plot twist at the end when Ned, and the audience, learns that Fake Maddy is really Mary Ann.

raywest

Answer: It appears that the real Matty Tyler was not initially in on the plan. It's confusing, and there're many plot holes, but it seems the fake "Matty" (Kathleen Turner) intended for the real Matty to eventually discover that her identity was being used (by Turner). The real Matty was then apparently blackmailing fake Matty to keep quiet. It appears that fake Matty intended to lure and then murder the real Matty, framing Ned Racine for her murder, as well as Edmund's. The real Matty's body was identified as being Edmond's wife through her dental records. Fake Matty probably intended for Ned to be killed in the explosion.

raywest

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The Commuter picture

Question: Why does the weather and road/ground change so much (dry, rain storm, wet, snow) in the beginning of the movie from the kitchen to the train station?

Answer: The opening credit scene (waking up, in the kitchen, the drive, being on the train, and walking through the terminal) is montage where each cut represents another day in Michael's life. It's meant to show the monotony of his life through the whole year (or even years) and how he follows the same routine everyday.

Bishop73

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The Mask picture

Question: In a scene towards the end of the movie, where Tina asks Dorian to give her one last kiss before the time bomb blows up the Coco Bongo, Eddy (one of Dorian's men) wants to turn off the bomb. Why would Eddy suddenly want to change his mind and turn the bomb off if he's taking part in blowing up the Coco Bongo in the first place?

zackman

Chosen answer: Because they're lingering longer than he's comfortable with. He's not having second thoughts, he just wants to stop the timer temporarily until they're finally finished.

Phixius

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Copycat picture

Question: Who is Conrad? Harry Conick, Jr.'s character writes him a letter at the end, and there is a Conrad character listed in the credits, but I haven't been able to find him.

Answer: I thought that it was Peter Kurten (Foley) that broke in and left the book. However if it was Conrad, then he does not appear in the flesh in the film.

Alan Keddie

You are correct. I just rewatched this tonight on Tubi.

Answer: Conrad is the man that breaks into Helen's flat and leaves the book. Happens just over 1 hour into the film.

jle

Answer: I don't think Conrad appears in the film. Earlier in the movie HC Jr says he has other "disciples"; Conrad seems to be the new recruit to replace the just-killed McNamara character.

JeffOCDmovieADDict

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Heathers picture

Question: In the scene in the girl's locker room, after Heather Chandler's death, why does Veronica get into a shower with her clothes on?

Answer: I think it's one of those "This can't be happening, I must be dreaming" moments. Same as when a character pinches themselves in order to wake up, or they tell someone to pinch them. Veronica can hardly believe what she and JD did.

Answer: Most likely it's an act of contrition, symbolically attempting to "wash away" her sin.

raywest

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La Confidential picture

Question: What is Lynn's connection to the Nite Owl killings?

Answer: She doesn't really have one - not directly, anyway. The only link is that Susan Lefferts died at the Night Owl, and Bud saw Lynn with Lefferts when he was buying the alcohol for the party. Lefferts had the bandage on her nose at the time, which sparked Bud's curiosity and prompted him to seek out Lynn after Lefferts was murdered.

Tailkinker

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The Outsiders picture

Question: In the scene where Johnny and Ponyboy are talking in the lot, Ponyboy goes over to sort out the fire. The camera zooms up on Johnny and you can hear voices echoing. Does anyone know what they're saying? I can't make them out.

Answer: Johnny is recalling the argument he heard his parents having; the voices were meant to sound angry but not to be understood. Its to help us understand his horrid home life.

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Answer: Only in the sense that the writer wanted them to have very masculine names.

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The Punisher picture

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.

Phaneron

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Fast Five picture

Question: When Hobbs realises that Dom and Brian left him with an empty vault, Hobbs has a flashback of Leo and Santos loading the real vault onto a truck. My question: was that really a flashback (did he really see it take place and forget?) or was it like Dom's image of Letty's death when he and Mia are at the crash site in Fast Four and not 100% accurate, since he didn't know what Letty's killer looked like yet?

Answer: Hobbs doesn't see that scene, though he probably does guess part of what happened - ie. that they swapped the vaults. The scene is played as a reveal for us, the audience, to show us how the vault that is supposed to be full of money is now suddenly empty.

roboc

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Menace II Society picture

Question: What is the name of the Black and White movie that Caine and his Grandparents are watching in the house after Caine has been shot?

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Answer: To add slightly to the other answer, evidently some of the blood in the scene had to be digitally removed for the film to secure a PG-13 rating, which explains why we don't see any actual spray/gush. But we are to assume that a drop managed to splash onto her shoe when he slit his throat.

TedStixon

Answer: The rationale is that blood can travel quite far from an artery and her shoe therefore got the droplet on it even from the doorway - however it does seem to me that the filmic portrayal is lacking, since you don't actually see any instance of spray. Rian Johnson' script says "Blood gushes." What we see in the scene is that it is trickling down his cut - a bit.

Sammo

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Red Dragon picture

Question: Was there any specific reason that Dolarhyde chose his victims other than through home movies? Was there anything about the families that made him want to kill them?

Answer: His choices had to do with the layout of peoples' property. At his job, he studied customers' family video tapes that contained scenes of their homes and yards. He looked for seclusion around the properties, easy-access back entrances, whether there was a family dog that would bark, and so on.

raywest

But what was his reason for killing them? Was it because he saw a happy family and he was angry because he never had one or because he saw a life that he would never have?

He chose the houses that had big backyards. During the Edward Norton/Lecter interaction, Lector says something about how blood looks in the moonlight.

Answer: "Because it made him a god" as it was put early in the film.

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Batman Forever picture

Question: At the beginning, when Batman breaks through the helicopter's window with his head, he tells Two-Face, 'Give it up, Harvey. You need help' or something like that. But this voice is totally not what Val Kilmer sounds like. The best I can come up with is that it's a stunt double or something like that. If anybody out there knows the real reason, I'd be happy to hear it.

DenizenZERO

Chosen answer: Batman talks like that because if he talks like Bruce Wayne (Val Kilmer's voice) his voice might be recognized, leading to Batman's identity being revealed.

Answer: I have noticed that as well. It doesn't seem like his voice is wrong, it just sounds like he says "give it up" twice at once or something. Maybe an issue in post-production.

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Bad Boys II picture

Question: Can anyone give me the title of the song in the Captain's house when Mike and Marcus enter (Marcus drugged, etc.)? It's a song like Bossa Nova Lounge or something like that.

Answer: Buick Blackhawk concept car.

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The Exorcism of Emily Rose picture

Question: At the end of the movie, Emily is greeted by the Virgin Mary who gives Emily a choice. She can either ascend to heaven or remain on earth and become a martyr to prove that God and demons are real. Emily chooses to become a martyr and shortly after dies. How is her death supposed to prove that God and demons exist when Ethan came up with so many logical explanations for her demonic attacks? For that matter, how would she be able to tell people that God and demons are real if she isn't even alive?

Answer: You seem to have missed the point. It boils down to what Emily believed, not anything Ethan manages to explain away. In her written letter the priest reads in court she explains that she believes people would have to believe in God if she showed them the Devil. The logic goes like this: if someone sees or experiences something so horrible that they have to believe the Devil exists, then there has to be a God as well. It's about getting people to embrace faith, which was her ultimate goal. She wasn't concerned with anyone potentially finding evidence to the contrary. She believed that she had to suffer greatly and die in order to achieve the goal, which is the essence of martyrdom. Whether she suffered from mental illness or demonic possession is irrelevant in the end. Emily believed that she did her part to prove God exists when she died and that was all that mattered to her. As for her telling anyone despite her being dead, well, there were witnesses to the attacks and her story was national news. Her story would live on after her death, so in a way she'd be telling anyone that looks into her story.

dewinela

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Minority Report picture

Question: There's a quote that I don't understand: "The fact that you prevented it from happening doesn't change the fact that it was going to happen." I immediately thought, "Yes, it does change the fact that it was going to happen." If Witwer hadn't put his hand there, it would have happened. However, he did, thus "changing the fact that it was going to happen," right? Isn't this the point of the whole movie: determinism is foolish and that different actions produce different consequences?

Answer: No, he didn't change the fact that it was going to happen. He prevented it from happening. But until he stopped it, it was going to happen. And no matter how many times you look back at that sequence, it was going to happen. Up until a point, it was going to happen. It was just prevented.

Garlonuss

Answer: The statement involves the idea of arresting people who did not commit the crime yet but are going to. Until the precogs tell someone to change things, the idea is that it will happen. If Anderton had rolled the ball and the other guy was not watching, it was going to fall. The only way to change it would have been for Anderton to say something. Things will happen unless the future is changed. Ultimately the idea is proven sketchy at the end at best.

oldbaldyone

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Life picture

Question: Why does Biscuit try to run right before he's let out? Why does he say he can't go home to his mama?

Answer: Because he is gay. In the time this movie is set, being homosexual was not only an extreme moral and religious taboo, but it was illegal in most parts of the US. Biscuit is too ashamed of letting his mother find out about his relationship with Jangle Leg, so he runs, knowing the guards will shoot him dead.

roboc

Answer: It wasn't in the script for him the die - the actor who played Biscuit went into a interview and said that he improv that scene the letter he opened up was initially was an call log not an release paper and he stated if his character was going to die he wanted him to die by crossing the gun line.

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So I Married an Axe Murderer picture

Question: What does Harriet say to the Russian sailors as they walk past?

Answer: Real Russian, here. Sailor #1 says "she's a little thin." Sailor #2 says* "she looks really good to me." Harriet says "Yes. Very good." Sailor #1 says "Damn, she understands Russian." Harriet says "See you later, boys." (*Очень даже ничего is an idiom.) Мальчики or "malchiki" is "boys."

Answer: They are saying she is too tall and too skinny, but one says she's still pretty good looking. She sarcastically says "Thanks a lot," or something to that effect. One of the guys says "Oh, she understands Russian." And Harriet replies, "Yes, I do. You fellas have a nice evening."

Answer: I don't know the entire conversation, but it definitely wasn't just "have a good night fellas" she said "malchik gei", which means gay boy in Russian so she was probably insulting them right back.

Malchiki is boys. She says "See you later, boys." Ну пока, мальчики.

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The Town picture

Question: The hair is spread around the crime scene to provide contradictory DNA evidence. I think there was a shot of the bag being emptied. Anyone else remember this?

Answer: Yes, that is indeed in the movie.

Brad

Answer: Yes, when they get out of the car and switch to the other.

Answer: When they ditch the jeep Cherokee and take the station wagon, they empty the bag of hair.

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