Question: I heard that the marble ashtray that Bedelia uses to kill her father Nathan in the "Father's Day" segment appears in all the stories. Does anyone know the specific scenes it shows up in in the other ones?
Question: How come Harry and Peter stopped living together?
Answer: While it's never mentioned in the film, the most likely explanation is that Harry, as a rich kid, grew tired of "slumming it" and decided to move back into his mansion.
Question: Why were the enforcers called sandmen?
Answer: In popular American lore, the Sandman is responsible for putting sand over your eyes to make you go to sleep. In this context the "sleep" is a euphemism for death, and the enforcers are responsible for making sure that everyone dies on time.
Question: Does the movie give any indication with any evidence in the movie that Douglas is dreaming for the ending?
Answer: Verhoeven points out that if a viewer believes the whole film is a dream, then Edgemar's prediction that Quaid will end up being lobotomized is fulfilled in the fade to white which ends the movie.
Answer: When Dr. Edgemar is in the hotel room with Quaid and Lori, Quaid puts a gun to Edgemar's head and says that if it's all a dream, that Quaid could just pull the trigger and it wouldn't really matter. Edgemar goes into details about consequences of what would happen if Quaid killed him. As seen, when Quaid kills Edgemar the walls of the hotel room crash down, Quaid believes he's the rebel savior, had visions of alien civilization and is best friends with Cohaagen and the white light that is at the end of the movie indicates that Quaid was lobotomized.
Answer: There are many signs that the adventure was reality. When Quaid watched the news (before going to Rekall), the newscasters asked Cohaagen about Kuato and alien artifacts (the alien reactor) in the Mars Pyramid Mine. Lori didn't want Quaid going to Mars or thinking about Mars. Harry didn't want Quaid to go to Rekall, as he sounded very intense when he said this to Quaid. The Rekall technicians popped Quaid's memory cap before they could implant his ego trip. Richter and Helm were watching Quaid the whole time and his trip to Rekall made them attempt to kill him before he could remember the alien reactor and his previous identity. Edgemar lied when he said Quaid's "dream" started in the middle of the implant procedure when Dr. Lull had told McClane they hadn't implanted the ego trip yet. Edgemar shouldn't have been sweating if it was a dream. Richter, Helm, Lori, Edgemar, and Benny were all trying to help Cohaagen keep his evil power and prevent Mars from having free air.
This isn't true. The DVD commentary states that if the viewer is believing that the story is a dream, then it begins right where the camera cuts to McClane and his female client watching the TV monitor. The bit where Quaid resists and Renata says she hasn't implanted the ego trip yet are part of the dream. The clue is that McClane's statement is "the trip is as real as any memory in your head." So for it to come across as real, it has to begin right there and then.
If Lori is really Quaid's wife, it seems strange that he would dream of her trying to kill him. When Richter and Helm are trying to kill Quaid, several people get killed in the crossfire. When Edgemar and Lori visit Quaid, Lori gives Edgemar a look right before he takes out the red pill, almost as if Lori is signaling Edgemar to do that. They are awfully eager for Quaid to take that pill, and the film's novelization states that the pill could possibly be a knockout dose or lethal. If Edgemar is a projection, he should not be sweating, which makes Quaid realise Edgemar is real. Those four agents who blast through the wall were back there listening to the conversation and waiting to see if Edgemar's plan with the pill would work. Richter and Helm were downstairs in the bar waiting to hear from Lori and Edgemar that they captured Quaid. If Edgemar was telling the truth, why would Richter and Helm be down in the bar waiting? Also, the novel points more toward reality.
You are forgetting to assume the dream shows him stuff that didn't actually happen, like innocents being killed in crossfire. If it is all a dream it all doesn't matter, he is being fed lies by the implants, about his wife, about Cohaagen, about everything, the fact it connects to real events before he went to Recall (which don't show the truth at all) just shows the ingenuity of the implants, who use his memories to create the story. Edgemar sweating could be another illusion caused by the implants. If it really is all a dream the moment he killed Edgemar the implants screwed his brain up enough there was no way of knowing what was real anymore, and his wife is sitting besides him at Recall crying that he isn't going to wake up anymore, whilst Quaid is experiencing killing her in his dream. This then goes on for him until the end it lobotomizes him. That is, if you believe it was a dream.
There is a villains site called Villains Wiki. Edgemar is listed on this site along with Cohaagen, Richter, Helm, Lori, Harry, and Benny. The article about Edgemar states that Quaid realises Edgemar is working for Cohaagen when he sees him sweating. It also states that Edgemar's goal is to aid Cohaagen in his plans. Also mentioned is the fact that Richter is Lori's real husband and is angered when Quaid kills her the same way he kills Edgemar.
Answer: The novel also reveals another detail that indicates reality. Before it is revealed that Richter is Lori's real husband, Quaid doesn't seem to love Lori. He dreams of Melina every night and actually loves Melina despite being with Lori. Quaid wonders why Lori married him, and she doesn't seem to have aged since their wedding. Once Lori reveals that their eight years together is actually a six-week memory implant, Quaid realises that is why his eight year memory of Lori hasn't changed. When Lori tries to detain Quaid for Richter and Helm at the Hilton Hotel, she tries to kill Melina because she knows Melina is Quaid's dream girl.
Answer: The novel by Piers Anthony has other signs that indicate Quaid's adventure was reality. When Richter and Helm are looking for Quaid on Earth, it says the bug in Quaid's head alerted them about his trip to Rekall. Richter and Helm went to Rekall to question the Rekall staff and dispatch them. When Richter and Helm are chasing Quaid and Melina on Mars, Quaid asks Melina if she has ever heard of Rekall, and she tells him she used to model for Rekall, which explains why Quaid saw Melina's face on the screen during his implant procedure at Rekall. Furthermore, Edgemar tells Quaid he is still at Rekall strapped in the implant chair, but McClane told the other Rekall staff members to dump Quaid in the Johnnycab and send him home. So it doesn't make sense that Quaid is still at Rekall after they sent him home.
Question: When Wall-E and Eve are in the repair ward, and Wall-E is misinterpreting Eve's cleaning as torture, what is the second "scene" supposed to be? I understand that the first one looks like Eve is having her arm ripped off and the third looks like Eve is having her head chopped off, but I can't figure out what the second one with the malfunctioning umbrella is supposed to be.
Answer: It's a combination of what WALL-E sees happening to EVE, with her circuitry lighting up and her head bobbing up and down as she laughs, with the noise of the umbrella as the diagnostic arms try to force it down. All WALL-E can hear is something that resembles a mechanical screech, along with EVE reacting - he thinks that she's being electrocuted and is in pain.
Question: What is the actual reason given why the police couldn't find Billy's mom? Just the fact his mom didn't want to find him and left doesn't mean the cops would stop looking. It's hard to imagine a 5 year old isn't able to tell the cops his address, where he goes to school or where he lives in general. Teachers, neighbours, his physician or dentist, classmates, all can tell where the mom is. Next to that isn't his dad in prison and thus easy to find?
Answer: He was a baby when he was abandoned - all he knew about his mother was her name, not her birth date or social security number. He didn't know anything about his father and his mother went back to her maiden name. In case you're wondering not everybody has their DNA taken.
He knew his full name. He's a legitimate son born in wedlock. They would have easily tracked down the father who is an inmate: that is on top of what the original poster mentioned, such as his home address or other minimal information. Lionhead, I believe this belongs in the Plot Holes section rather than simply the Questions section: I am not informed about Pennsylvania's laws for child abandonment, but I think it's rather unlikely that someone could just drop their kid in the middle of a crowd and get away with it entirely, especially when the kid knows his own full name.
I'm not too eager to put it in the plot holes section, because it is plausible I suppose that she disappeared willingly and they couldn't find her specifically. But you address the right point I was trying to make that the cops won't simply stop looking for his mother. It's a crime to abandon your child and they will look up and question a lot of people. And I mean a lot of people to find her. Even if there is literally no family besides mom and dad, the dad will be found since he is in prison. He won't be able to help much but contact will be maintained, even if he doesn't want it.
The thing is, they don't even have to question a lot of people since the kid is not a newborn left on the steps of a church or something: he was able to provide his own full name to the authorities. So it's absolutely straightforward for the police to see who his parents are - although it should be noted that he was born in a different state, I don't think it should be a particularly complicated research for the authorities.
Question: SPOILER If, by the end of the movie, the facility was reprogrammed to have all doors unlocked on a power failure - and there was a sudden power failure when Domhnall inserted the card into the computer terminal... Why did he remain locked within? Shouldn't he be set free by the programming change he freed Ava with?
Chosen answer: He inserted his own card in Nathans computer. Also, there was no mention of a power failure, only a red glow. This would be a different event than he's programmed the system for.
Answer: The "Red glow" was the emergency lights that had come on every other time the power went out. And the final power outage was orchestrated by previous arrangement by the robot and Caleb.
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.
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.
Question: I don't get what happens at the end. Does Sean Connery come back to life? Someone please explain.
Answer: After Quartermain is buried, we see a witch doctor performing magic above his grave and the clouds darken indicating something is about to take place. The witch doctor is chanting "Return" and the grave begins to shake. Although we do not see Quartermain come back to life it is most definitely hinted that he did and left room for a sequel which never came to pass.
Question: If all this happens on the 21-12-2012 why do we not see one Christmas decoration throughout whole film?
Answer: Because it's the 21st December in the MAYAN calendar. In the calendar most people use, it was actually July.
Question: In the beginning, Thomas wakes up in the Box which is moving up. He discovers an animal in the cage. It looks like a black pig. The pig apparently isn't shown anymore in the rest of the movie. Why the hell is the black pig in the Box?
Chosen answer: It is just part of the supplies that is sent up each month, along with a new boy. Everything the maze residents have has been supplied to them. That includes rudimentary tools, vegetable seeds, food, and various other supplies and equipment. The pig is just livestock that will likely be butchered for meat.
Question: Why did Castor shoot Dietrich? They were on the same side.
Chosen answer: Although they were on the same side, Troy is currently posing as Archer, which means he would have to do everything that the FBI would expect Archer to be doing. The whole point of the raid was to take out Archer, as well as Troy's gang. He would have rather risked killing part of his own gang than risk exposing his identity to anyone else.
That doesn't really make sense. In the scene, he goes out of his way to shoot him and smiles while doing so, carefully and slowly. Was not a collateral damage situation. The question is why he deliberately goes out of his way to kill him.
Answer: If you watch closely, he saw Archer, went out of his way not to shoot him, instead was aiming for his own son that he didn't know was his, to further traumatize Archer.
Question: When did Martian Manhunter get to Earth, why did he assume Martha Kent's identity, and where is she during Justice League?
Answer: Martian Manhunter is played by Harry Lennix, who also plays General Swanwick, a character who appears in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman (and we can see he transforms back into Swanwick he leaves), revealing that Swanwick was Martian Manhunter the whole time, so the indication is he got to Earth before Man of Steel. He assumed Martha's identity to speak with Lois, specifically to have a heart to heart with her as she is depressed due to Clark's death. Martha is present every other time we see her, when she leaves the Kent home at the beginning and when she reunites with Clark later on. This scene was the only time Martian Manhunter used her identity.
Question: In the original film, the Discovery's onboard computer states: "I am a HAL 9000 Computer, Production Number 3. I became operational at the HAL plant in Urbana, Illinois, on the 12th of January, 1992." So, "HAL" was a manufacturer identification prefix (standing for Heuristically-programmed ALgorithmic Computers), "9000" was its model number, and "No.3" was its production lineage. In this sequel, however, Dr. Chandra is chatting with one of HAL's earth-based twin computers which has a feminine voice and is called "SAL"; but how can they arbitrarily change its manufacturer identification prefix? Being produced by the HAL plant in Urbana, Illinois, and being identical to the computer aboard the Discovery, the twin's name should have a different production number, but it should still be called "HAL," should it not?
Answer: The most likely reason the name was changed was probably a literary one. It makes it easier for the audience to differentiate SAL from HAL, showing how they are two distinct computers playing different roles in the film. It may also just be a feminine nickname being that SAL has a female voice.
I thought perhaps "SAL" was a nickname, also, until I saw that the computer's maker nameplate reads "SAL 9000" (visible in close-ups of SAL's glowing eye).
Question: For such and advanced species, wouldn't Klatu's people know that "reducing Earth to a burnt out cinder" (for its warlike ways) would also punish those billions of innocents who have no say in the policies of their governments or military? Wouldn't it be more effective to police the earth and neutralize any weaponry that we shot into space?
Answer: They said, how they handle their earth problems is no concern to them, it's only if they bring it to outer space and other worlds, they would take drastic measures to ensure that did not happen.
Question: I don't get the joke Chris told Liz in the cabin motel about the Zen master that ordered a hotdog with everything. What was funny?
Chosen answer: The Zen master tells the hotdog vendor to "Make me one with everything," a pun, of sorts, on the Zen philosophy of becoming one with the universe.
Question: When the Debutante examines herself in the mirror, why does she center on and support her breast just before doubling over in pain?
Answer: She was most likely giving herself a breast-self examination. Doing this would enable her to feel for lumps, distortion or swelling which if felt early would mean that she might have early stages of breast cancer and could get it checked immediately.
Her breast was sensitive and painful because she could sense that something wasn't right with her.
So the alien embryo inside of her body was giving her cancer?
No. It wasn't giving her cancer. She probably does a breast-self examination periodically to insure that there's nothing wrong with her breasts.
Plus, it wouldn't make any sense for an alien embryo to give her cancer since after giving birth to an alien hybrid she would immediately die.
Answer: She could feel discomfort in her breast as she moved her hands down to her stomach.
Answer: Besides being in "Father's Day", it showed up in "The Lonesome Death Of Jordy Verrill" right next to the cash box at the Department of Meteors. In "Something To Tide You Over" on the nightstand next to Richard's bed. In "The Crate", it was on the writing desk when Henry writes the letter to Wilma. In "They're Creeping Up On You", Upson Pratt uses it as a soap dish. And in the epilogue, it appears on Billy's desk when he starts stabbing the voodoo doll.