Best mystery movie questions of all time

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The Bourne Supremacy picture

Question: When Bourne interrogates Nikki (under duress) in the underground station, Nikki insists that Bourne had never worked in Berlin, much less completed his first mission there. But it is established that Bourne had killed the Neskis in Berlin on what is described by Conklin as his first mission. Assuming Nikki has no reason to lie and that she would have accurate information about Bourne's activities, what might explain that issue?

Dusibello

Chosen answer: Conklin ordered Bourne to kill the Neskis, telling him it was a training mission, when in fact it was an unofficial, off-the-books assignment to cover up his and Abbott's corrupt dealings with Gretkov, which Neski was about to expose. Nicky did not know about this Berlin mission as it was not an official Treadstone operation.

Sierra1

Conklin did not tell Bourne that it was a training mission. Conklin told Bourne "this is not a drill soldier...this is a live project, you're a go."

Partially correct. After Bourne eliminates the Neskis, Conklin says "Congratulations soldier, training is over." This implies that while the mission was real, Bourne was still an asset in training, and off the books.

By "not a drill" and "live project", Conklin is telling Bourne to actually kill the Neskis - like killing the hooded man for Hirsch, it's training him to do anything for Treadstone. It could be that the edit is out of chronological order, but the order of the scenes implies that after Bourne has done the job and returned to the car, Conklin says "Congratulations, soldier. Training is over."

Sierra1

Answer: Conklin was using Bourne for an off-book hit on the Neskis because Neski knew about the stolen money and the oil leases. Bourne was told it was a genuine "hit" for patriotic purposes, but it was not.

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The Usual Suspects picture

Question: How did Soze end up in the police station after he escaped the boat in the first place? If he had vanished after the bombing, he wouldn't have to make up the stories and he wouldn't have been identified by Kujan.

Answer: Kint/Soze ended up in the police station because he simply didn't get away in time.

Answer: Soze ended up back under arrest and for some questioning as 'Verbal Kint'. He never really vanished, he's just playing two parts/people. He really vanishes off the scene by the end of the movie after he tricks Kujan.

With the exception of what's known to have happened on the dock, the entire story is a lie told by Verbal Kint to Agent Kujon. Kujon realises this after Kint leaves the office but not in time to catch up. The entire movie is about a habitual liar making up a story about what happened on the dock. He may be Keyser Soze or an alter-ego variant but even Keysers rep is subject to question as it was told by the same liar. Verbal himself said about Keaton, "He was a grounded guy, a cop. If you think the husband did it then you're right." He was telling on himself as sociopaths will do when they think they're smarter than everyone around them.

Answer: All he had to do was kill them on the ship, blow it up, and leave. The whole BS story with the cops didn't even have to happen.

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets picture

Question: Does any one know the Japanese golfer joke Uncle Vernon was telling at the beginning of the movie?

Answer: The joke goes like this, "A California business man, while in Japan for some business meetings and a few rounds of golf, arrived in Tokyo a day earlier than expected. Feeling lonely that evening, he employed the services of a beautiful young Japanese girl to be his companion for the evening. Although the Japanese girl spoke very little English and the businessman spoke no Japanese, their passion roared and in the heat of the moment she began yelling "Machigatta ana. Machigatta ana" Hearing this, the Californian believed he had pleased his female Japanese friend and soon afterwards went to sleep. The next day while playing golf with his Japanese business colleague, his Japanese partner holed his shot from 170 yards away. Wanting to impress his friend, the Californian began yelling, "Machigatta ana!" The Japanese business man turned to the Californian and with a confused look on his face asked, "What do you mean wrong hole?"

Answer: The punchline is actually quite vulgar, but you can read a copy of the joke at http://www.sugarquill.net/forum/index.php?s=1a43217a81cc245555ad6ac82d3bcc5b&showtopic=6214&view=findpost&p=225388.

Cubs Fan

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Identity picture

Question: At the end we discover the kid survived unscathed in the explosion, which makes one believe Ginny survived too. So what happened to her? Did the kid murder her?

Rory O'Flaherty

Chosen answer: If we say Ginny did not survive, we assume two scenarios: 1.) Each key represents the personality that was killed off in Malcolm's psyche. So, all in all 10 personalities have died. 2.) Ginny was the sixth one to be killed. This means that she has key #5 with her - remember that we are counting the killings in descending order. However, it was not shown anywhere in the movie how Ginny was killed by Timmy. So, it can also be said that aside from Timmy (who was seen walking away from the car explosion), Ginny (whose body was never found after the explosion) also remained alive. Ginny's state is inconclusive.

No she does die. At the end of the movie they show her being suffocated by Timmy.

Nope, that's Timmy's mother that's being suffocated.

No. Timmy suffocated his mother in the bed.

That was his mother, not Ginny.

Answer: Since Timmy is the killer here, it would be correct to assume that he blew up the car and took Ginny away during the commotion and killed her in some way that isn't shown in film. Or else blowing up of the car becomes completely pointless and a classic like this won't show a scene that doesn't have a significance. So blowing up the car was actually a part of the plot to kill Ginny.

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The Forgotten picture

Question: What exactly is the experiment all about?

Answer: To test the bond between children and their parents.

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Chosen answer: Snape wants to know how Harry knew Sectum Sempra. As shown by him using Occumelancy to see where his copy of Advanced Potion making is. But at the same time, if Snape punished Harry for a spell in a book, Harry could show it to Dumbledore, who would recognise Snape's handwriting. Additionally, Harry was certainly punished in the book - he got detention with Snape every Saturday for the rest of the term. The movie most likely had to cut this for time issues, and also perhaps because the scene is more dramatic if Snape only silently glares at him.

Ssiscool

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Scream 4 picture

Question: In the final shot, we see Jill's head move a little. Was that suppose to let the viewers know that she's alive or was it just a mistake?

Answer: I personally submitted this as a revealing mistake. There is no official statement from Wes Craven or anyone else involved in the making of the movie about it being deliberate. So in my eyes, it's a mistake.

THGhost

Answer: I actually read that they noticed this before the movie came out and left it in to keep the ending ambiguous and since they were planning to make Scream 5, they felt that would possibly be the way to go.

That's very interesting, especially now that Scream 5 is finally getting made. Although it doesn't appear that Emma Roberts is returning.

THGhost

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Atonement picture

Question: Robbie's soldier friend (I think his name was Nettle) was so calm and compassionate with him. He said that the hiding place was in reality the beach cottage and he protects Robbie from the angry soldiers. Did he do that because he saw how sick he is and probably knew, deep inside, that Robbie will not survive the night until the evacuation, and wanted to give him a peaceful end? Why does he take Robbie's letters and pictures with him?

Answer: I think he realizes that Robbie most likely won't make it. He takes the letters so that he can get them back to his loved ones. He probably knows that there is a last goodbye to someone (his girl/his mother) in them. And, if nothing else, even if his body doesn't make it back to them, they have a piece of him to cherish.

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One Hour Photo picture

Question: Does the photo at the end with Sy and the family actually happen or is this just Sy imagining what life could have been like with them?

Tallicame

Chosen answer: This is mentioned on the DVD commentary - it's deilberately open ended so one can interpret it as either it's Sy imagining what he wants to happen OR it's what really happened.

Neil Jones

As Neil Jones said, the ending is open for interpretation. However, I think there is reason to believe that Sy imagined the photo. It shows him and the family outside of their house, all looking happy together. Would they want to take such a photo with Sy after the incident at the hotel? And before the incident, they were probably not close enough with Sy that he would be in a photo taken at their home. Him and no other guests/visitors.

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Chosen answer: When looking for clues to the identity of the killer, he comes across a code with the numbers, 903 472 568. He quickly realizes that Noone is the killer because in the code there is "No one".

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Chosen answer: "It doesn't have to be a snowman."

Phixius

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The Langoliers picture

Question: Is there a reason why when they're in the past they can't catch up with the present, but when they land a little into the future, the present can catch up with them? Are they not moving along on their own timeline? And if not, why are they not left in that moment and stand there to see the present come and go without taking them?

Answer: Think of time as a gear with only one tooth, and think of them as a gear with only one notch. In the past, the one tooth has forever passed their notch and they'll never be carried along in the flow of time again. In the future, the tooth comes along, snags their notch, and they're back in the flow of time.

Phixius

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The Goonies picture

Question: Can someone please translate into English what Data says after he says "Wow!"?

Answer: He says, "He is a big strong man."

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Chosen answer: I think her head was in the hat box after he dug it up from the garden where the dog was digging under the marigolds.

You are correct that it was her head.

raywest

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Orphan picture

Question: Maybe I missed something, but how was Esther able to fool everyone practically all her life and hide the fact that she's a 33-year old sociopath? When Kate finally learns the truth by getting the phone call, they show a photo of the "real" Esther, so at least those records of her exist somewhere. How could the boarding school not have known her true identity?

Answer: The boarding school was going by the falsified records that Esther had with her. They did not suspect anything, so they had no reason to dig any further at the time.

wizard_of_gore

Answer: High quality makeup was an important part of her disguise as the alternative ending make apparent. Her fake freckles were the master's touch.

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Heat picture

Question: In the scene right before the big bank heist, a detective comes into the situation room informing the team that a CI Hugh Benny had a tip about Neil McCauley looking at Far East National Bank. How the heck did Waingro (working for Benny and VanZandt) even know about this score? McCauley hadn't even discussed it with Kelso when Waingro took down the armored car.

Answer: Waingro helped Van Zandt track down Trejo. Waingro then tortured Trejo and threatened his family if he didn't give up McCauley. With his back to the wall, Trejo gave Waingro and Hugh Benny the details of the bank heist, but Waingro killed Trejo's family anyway and beat Trejo almost to death. Benny then gives the tip to the police on Van Zandt's order.

BaconIsMyBFF

I wonder how Trejo was tracked, I don't remember his name being revealed during Waingro's time with the crew, or any other information.

Well, we never see the crew prior to their first heist. Trejo could have given Waingro his name during the planning of that heist.

BaconIsMyBFF

Waingro met this crew only once. How would he know who Trejo is or where he lives? Right before the heist, Trejo is asked to mislead police away from the heist.

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Cloverfield picture

Question: I was wondering, and I've seen the movie, do Rob and Beth live? And will there be a number 2?

Answer: Whilst they have made a second film, 10 Cloverfield Lane, it does not have much, if anything at all, to do with the first film. So we aren't told what happened to Rob and Beth.

Alan Keddie

Answer: We will not know unless they make a sequel. Right now they are still deciding if they want to make a sequel or not.

SAZOO1975

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The Thing picture

Question: In the last part of the movie, how are they supposed to drive the snow vehicles? There is a scene before where they cut the wires of all the vehicles to disable them for the quarantine. Am I missing something?

Michele SoIntense Anghileri

Chosen answer: By disabling the snow vehicles, they are making sure that the creature can't use them to escape from the quarantine zone. Since the creature can assimilate anybody, it would probably know how to use one.

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Memento picture

Question: I still don't understand why Leonard switches clothes with Jimmy and steals his car after he kills him. "I'd rather be mistaken for a dead guy than a killer." That makes absolutely no sense. Driving around in Jimmy's car and wearing his suit would make him the prime suspect in the investigation. He was much safer when he was just an anonymous guy driving around in a pickup truck.

Answer: It is never explicitly given. The most Leonard says on the subject is: "I'd rather be mistaken for a dead guy than a killer." Speculations include (you can make up your own motives as well) : (1) The clothes and car are so much nicer than his. If you are willing to kill someone: stealing is not really a "crime." Why not take the nicer objects? (2) It could be part of his "routine": Kill a man, take his clothes and car. The clothes he had on and the truck may be from the man he killed a year ago. (3) It could be that he wants to make the killer of his wife suffer even more, and takes his clothes as a way of humiliating him. Leonard takes the man's life-his clothes and car, which are wrapped up in his identity-just as the man took his. This idea seems to work with a theme in Memento about "Identity" (especially mistaken identity). Natalie thinks Leonard is Jimmy, then thinks he is Teddy, then learns he is Leonard. Teddy is "mistaken" for the second killer, Jimmy is "mistaken" for the 2nd killer. Sammy's story as a part of Leonard's story, etc. (4) It could "simply" be explained as a "plot device": Leonard has to do it, otherwise he won't find the note in "his pocket" and meet Natalie. (5) Leonard doesn't want to admit he's a murderer. He's lying to himself. If he's the victim, then he cannot be the murderer. (6) Leonard takes Jimmy's clothing as part of his routine of killing J.G.'s he becomes another person, he's the victim not the killer, thus "I'd rather be mistaken for a dead guy than a killer." and that's why he also takes his car, so he has to, once again, find his wife's killer and kill him.

Answer: Leonard's only goal in life was to find his wife's killer, and he thought he had just achieved that. With nothing more to live for, the clothes would attract the attention of Jimmy's associates - a method of suicide as indirect as his eventual approach to killing Teddy.

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Old (2021)

Old picture

Question: Why didn't the lady who was originally with Mid-Size Sedan decay quicker, and we were able to see her body intact when she hit young Trent in the water?

Answer: Because she was 'freshly' dead when she hit Trent.

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