Question: (Spoiler warning) I didn't really understand why the wildfire was put into the story. I know that fires happen in California often and that the scene at the end of the movie looks creepy with all of the smoke and fires in the background, but was there supposed to be any other special meaning or symbolism?
Question: How can they use the elevator to get to the surface if the Red Queen shut the power down?
Answer: She must have had trouble in keeping control of the elevator's power as the impact of the explosion blew out some of the windows and the sea came rushing in.
Answer: The force of the water moved the elevator up the shaft, hence why it did not go all the way up.
Question: Isn't it common knowledge that Nicole found Tom's mask and put it on his pillow? I always wondered why Tom freaked out so much when he finds it. Is he afraid that Nicole knows where the mask is used? Or that someone else placed it there? And unless I missed something, how come this was never discussed between the two? You'd think Nicole would be asking why he left this in his safe?
Chosen answer: I think someone from the freaky orgy broke in and put the mask on the pillow to warn Cruise's character to keep his mouth shut. That's why Cruise's character is so upset-they got into his home and his safe.
I always assumed that she was a member of the orgy party. She was letting him know that she was there.
No, she wasn't.
Question: Does this movie take place in the same universe as ALIENS?
Answer: No. The Alien franchise, which kicks off in the year 2122, depicts a human civilisation in possession of faster-than-light transport and multiple interstellar colonies. The civilisation seen in Avatar, the majority of which is set in 2154, do not appear to have FTL travel, as they take six years to travel to the Alpha Centauri system, a distance of approximately 4.5 light years.
Question: How does Mrs. Smith get to know that her husband is the shooter?
Answer: She notices that he shakes his right leg twice after peeing, just like her husband.
Answer: It comes down to a deleted scene. And I remember it as clear as day from when I saw it at the cinemas. There is a scene where Jane is brushing her teeth at the basin. John walks into the large bathroom and begins to take a leak. As John finishes up, Jane looks over her shoulder at him, just in time to see him lift one leg and give it a couple of sharp shakes. Later in the movie, after the ailed assignment/shootout in the desert, Jane is watching the footage of the other assassin doing the very same memorable action. Right as she is in the middle of replaying it back a couple of times, John turns up at her building, and one of her agents who has answered the intercom says, "Jane, it's your husband." And that is when the penny drops! For some bizarre, unknown reason, they removed that very important key bathroom scene from every TV and DVD release, leaving people who did not see the theatrical release at the box office asking the question of how Jane realized it was her husband.
Answer: From the way he stands and moves, height, weight and general mannerisms.
Answer: They worked for different agencies and were unaware that they had been given the same target (Diaz?) to kill in the desert. Mrs Smith initially thought that Mr Smith was a civilian that just happened to interfere with her assignment. She was given 48 hours to identify and eliminate (kill) the "witness." While reviewing the videotape of the scene, all Mrs Smith could see was the back side of the "civilian." While still looking at him, a secretary or similar employee yelled from outside the room that Mrs Smith's husband was on the phone and was back from his trip to Atlanta. By the secretary saying, "It's your husband" during the time Mrs Smith was looking at his back side on the tape, plus the information that he was back from Atlanta, it became obvious to her... and she wondered how she could have been so stupid to not know before this time.
Question: What did Lorraine Warren see during the footage where they participated in an exorcism of a farmer? She stared into his eyes and screamed, then they mentioned that she locked herself in her room for several days, and that it affected her badly. Has that ever been explained?
Answer: It is explained in The Conjuring 2 that Lorraine has a premonition of Ed being impaled.
Answer: Ed's death.
Question: Why is there someone (looks like a policeman) lying in the road when Jeff's girlfriend, Diane, vanishes from the service station? (00:22:00 - 00:24:00)
Answer: He is a crew member lying in the road directly behind the brown G.R.S. Dye Works semi-truck (presumably trying to remain hidden from the camera's view), and we even see his right hand waving off the traffic ahead of him (00:22:05).
Question: It was discovered that Chucky was able to transfer his soul into Andy's Good Guy in the first movie by not only saying a chant but also using a magic amulet. So why, in the other three movies, when he is starting the chant does he not need the amulet to transfer his soul out of the doll into someone else, but in this movie, he needs to use it if he wants to return to his own body?
Answer: There's two possible explanations. First, and the most likely, is that this is simply what's referred to as a "retcon." (Short for "Retroactive Continuity") A term to describe new information/rules/backstory/etc. that are introduced in order to alter the path of a story, or impose new ideas into a narrative. In this case, the series creator and writer Don Mancini needed a reason for the characters to go on a road-trip, hence he created this new idea for an amulet that Chucky need to obtain. And basically, Mancini himself has admitted that he will often change the rules for the series as needed from film to film based on the story he wants to tell, which makes this the more plausible explanation. The second possible explanation is that you could argue that the amulet will allow Chucky to transfer his soul regardless of how long he's been in the doll's body, surpassing the time limit imposed in previous films. But in all seriousness, the former is the more likely explanation. They just needed a new story-element to justify the road-trip aspect of the story.
Both answers work for me. Thank you.
Question: On the back of the PAL DVD there is a picture of Alex holding back Clear from a car during the day. It looks to be at the place where Terry was killed. Does anyone know if this is a deleted scene not on the DVD? Also, on the commentary the makers of the film said that they shot the bus hit from inside the bus, as well as from the side. Does anyone know where these scenes are now?
Answer: The scene where Terry was killed was most likely shot during the day. It is quite common for film makers to film a scene during the day to get the right lighting effects and then later CGI the night sky and the proper shadowing. This is most effective when you have an area that would otherwise be too dark or have environment that wont allow for the proper lighting for a night shoot. As for the bus, your guess is as good as mine.
Question: I have three questions regarding the end scene. 1. How come Jean can't crush Wolverine's body? I ask this because we can see her easily kill all people who walk too close to her. 2. Why didn't Wolverine inject Jean with the cure instead of killing her? 3. What would happen if Jean got injected with the cure?
Chosen answer: 1) Apparently the combination of Logan's unbreakable skeleton and healing factor was enough to keep Jean from shredding him - it's possible to see his body getting damaged and repairing itself in a few shots. 2) Because, while he's capable of getting close to her mostly intact, the same isn't really true of anything he might be wearing or holding, so any cure syringe he carried with him would be destroyed. 3) Who knows? Given her extreme power level, the cure might or might not have worked, and, considering the final shot of the movie, which suggests that the cure isn't permanent anyway, her powers would likely return before long.
Question: Several times in the movie one character is able to ascertain in which hotel room another character is staying simply by asking the front desk for the room number. Was this realistic at the time the movie was made? Today, a hotel would never divulge a guest's room number to a stranger, since such information could potentially be used by burglars and/or predators to gain access to hotel rooms. Was security really that lax in the 1950s?
Answer: Not really. You could (and at some hotels are still able to) keep your room number private or you could not - i.e. you could ask the hotel staff to keep your number secret from strangers, or you could ask them to tell anyone who might ask. Not having seen this movie, I don't know how likely it would be in the situations you speak of that the hotel guest would choose the latter option- it might be a mistake.
Answer: Yes, security was that lax in the 1950s and beyond. People could acquire all kinds of information about individuals from various types of businesses. Not all were so careless, but many were or they naively didn't see a concern. In the late 1980s, I was a student at a university where a non-university person obtained his ex-girlfriend's class schedule simply by requesting it in-person from the registrar's office. Using that information, he was able to locate and fatally shoot her on campus.
Question: Could someone please explain the ending of this movie? Am I right when I conclude that Rusty Nail planted the Ice Truck guy's body in the driver's seat and then got away leaving cops to think the Ice Truck guy was the killer? I think I'm missing something here because that ending would be ridiculously unrealistic. Thank you.
Chosen answer: That's exactly what happened leaving room for the sequel, if they make one.
But the kidnapped girl-Charlotte-would have told the police what Rusty Nail did and what he looked like. And, since Rusty Nail would have fled on foot, he would have been easy to find. Also, in order to pull off this stunt, Rusty Nail would have needed to find a way to floor the gas pedal. Finally, it would be easy for the police to identify who owned the truck Rusty Nail crashed into the motel. He either owned it or the owner of the truck knew who was driving it.
Question: Through most of the film Malcolm is dead. All the other ghosts still have scars from how they died but why doesn't Malcolm have his mark which should be a bullet wound?
Answer: Because as Cole tells us in the middle of the movie, "They only see what they want to see." The movie shows us Malcolm as he perceives himself. He can't actually put on an overcoat, or change clothes. He sees what he expects to see. He goes outside in the cold to visit Cole, so he sees himself wearing an overcoat. He doesn't know he is dead - he doesn't see his wound. To preserve this misdirection throughout the movie, we are shown Malcolm as he sees himself.
Actually, we do see Malcolm and Cole sees him. The entry wound in his abdomen is tiny, and the large, obvious exit wound is on Malcolm's back, which we never see.
Question: What did the term, "tying your shoe" mean?
Chosen answer: It means you need to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. Originally, terms like "tying your shoe" or "pulling your socks up" meant ducking to avoid flying bullets. In a more generic sense though, it needn't be about gun violence per se. Just that you don't want to be on the receiving end of violence meant for someone else. In the movie, this was a way of telling Edward that if he could not defuse the situation, then others would be forced to harm the professor. Here, they weren't actually going to put Edward in harm's way. But if he failed to change the professor, then violence against the professor was forthcoming.
Question: After the robbery and once the dust settled (business was back-to-normal at the bank, etc.) why did the bank president not immediately go to open the safety deposit box and see what happened to its contents? He knew it was the target of the robbery. Reason would dictate that one of the first things he would have done would be to open the box and see what was there... Not leave it to the NYPD to open it and discover a mostly empty box except for the big ring, chewing gum and note.
Answer: The aforementioned answer fails to keep in mind he is the owner of the bank and could've have done this hours before the bank was opened and or hours after the bank was opened. Dalton spent 3 days behind the wall. Mr Case had a special fixer, and she had the mayor in her pocket. It is a reasonable assumption that a billionaire like Aruthur Case would be able to have the contents of his safety deposit box removed with little to no problem. One way is "yes Mr. Mayor I will be giving you a blank check for your reelection campaign." The issue is this was a major plot hole that almost ruined a otherwise great and well thought out movie.
Answer: Arthur Case did not want anyone to know about the safe deposit box or what was in it. In fact, the box's number had been left off the bank records. The police did not immediately know if anything had been stolen during the robbery. Case going to the bank to check on the box, would only have drawn attention to it. The contents, the diamonds, were a link to Case's criminal Nazi past that he wanted kept hidden. It was only by chance that Detective Frazier discovered the box and the clues that had been left inside it by Dalton Russell.
Question: Why did Argyle want to kill Michael? I can understand wanting to kill those who harmed him but Michael was an innocent boy.
Answer: She said in the movie, "He must see himself as a child in Michael. He wants to get rid of him to erase his past."
Answer: While Argyle shows a strange affinity for Michael, his primary goal is still revenge on the entire town. Innocent or not, Michael is connected to those who tortured him.
How could Michael have anything to do with those men that he killed? He's just a kid.
How is he connected?
Question: After they search Leary's hotel room, they find a piece of paper that says "SW SKELLUM LA." We learn that the SW stands for Southwest (a bank he was using) and SKELLUM is a phone number. What does the LA mean?
Chosen answer: LA is short for Los Angeles, which refers to the city Leary attempts to assassinate the president in.
Question: Was the ghostwriter murdered? Why? The book had already been published, and he only discovered the truth about Ruth minutes before, so who would have wanted him dead?
Answer: Who would want him dead? Ruth, for one, as well as Professor Emmett (her CIA recruiter) and others involved in the conspiracy. Yes, the book had been published, but the secret message only comes across if one is in possession of all the knowledge that the writer had acquired, which the casual reader would not have. And minutes is plenty of time for Ruth, Emmett, or anyone else to make a phone call and arrange the hit.
The published book was a rewrite and would not have the secret message in the chapter beginnings.
The published book was a rewrite of the original manuscript. He gives her the original manuscript that he was working off, not a final draft.
We know the beginning of the book was rewritten as he didn't like it. Almost certainly, the clue is not in the published version of the book. Ruth was shocked to read the note and is delivering her speech so is unlikely to be complicit in the murder of the Ghostwriter. The ending suggests that Ruth, too, is little more than a pawn in the whole conspiracy.
Makes no sense, he was run down 2 minutes after she read it.
Answer: As far as symbolism, from a film student's perspective (mine), it's like destruction or division, two common themes in the film. The two characters are split in values and the fire is raging between them. As the fire gets closer to the houses, it increases in intensity, as does the fighting between neighbors. I think in this film, fire was used not only as a plot device, but a metaphor for the story as well.
manthabeat ★