Best movie questions of 1988

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Child's Play picture

Question: When Chucky confronts John, he say he "prepared" for it, meaning he made the voodoo doll himself, but then he says John shouldn't tell people where he hides them. Was this a mistake during production?

JohnShel91

Chosen answer: This isn't a mistake. John made the voodoo doll himself. When Chucky said he was "prepared" for it, he meant that he was prepared to do whatever it takes to get information from John about his being wounded. Even killing him as we see.

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Beetlejuice picture

Question: Was there any physical indication of what killed the Maitlinds? The football players died in a bus crash and looked mangled. The girl who committed suicide had slashed wrists. I never noticed anything suggesting how the two of them died by their appearance.

Answer: They died by drowning. Jane's daughter even tells Lydia when she asks what happened. Although Adam and Barbara should have been completely wet for the whole movie, Tim Burton decided to keep Alec and Geena dry as he felt that keeping them wet the entire time would be an uncomfortable experience for both of them.

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Who Framed Roger Rabbit picture

Question: Does "pattycake" also mean something sexual? We were obviously at first supposed to think Jessica and Acme had sex, but if they were, why would she say "pattycake" and why does Maroon say "You're not the first guy whose wife went pattycake on him"? Am I missing out on something?

MikeH

Chosen answer: According to the director, Pattycake is the toon equivalent to sex.

Greg Dwyer

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Young Guns picture

Question: Chavez calls Billy "Chivato". What does this mean?

Answer: Chivato in northern Mexico chihuahua area a Chivato is a male kid goat but also can be used as a young person full of energy, also an endearing term for a young boy. Lincoln Country is 2.5 hours from El paso TX and Chihuahua Juarez to be exact where many a cowboy spent their pay so the term would have the same meaning in Lincoln Ruidoso, Capitán where I grew up.

Answer: According to Lou Dimond Phillips himself in a tweet in response to the word, he said "'Chivato.' I'm told it means little kid, as in goats and as in Billy the Kid."

Bishop73

Answer: Chavez means Chivato as a young man not a traitor as some speculate.

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Rain Man picture

Question: Why does Ray freak out when Charlie turns on the hot water in the bathtub?

Answer: When they were children, Ray witnessed Charlie being burned by hot bath water. I think Ray says something about how he was left to look after Charlie while Charlie was in the bath, and Charlie got burned by the hot water. That memory must be very strong for Ray, and not comprehending the passing of time, Ray did not want to see Charlie hurt again.

Mark English

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Mississippi Burning picture

Question: Who was the man who hung himself in the end?

Answer: The Mayor (played by R Lee Ermey) who had been told the story of Homer Wilkes and threatened with castration earlier on.

Chimera

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Answer: Unknown since we can't see the denomination. But at least a couple thousand dollars.

MasterOfAll

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Willow picture

Question: Why did Queen Bavmorda need a ritual to get rid of the child? Why didn't she simply kill the baby on the spot?

Answer: Bavmorda's ritual was the Ritual of Obliteration - a spell that is used to destroy a living spirit's essence or soul. Presuambly if she'd just killed Elora, the soul would have been later reborn into another baby.

Sierra1

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The Blob picture

Question: For the original, the sequel and the remake, what materials did the crew use to create the blob and how did they get it to move?

Answer: In both the the 50's original and 70s sequel, the majority of the Blob effects were created using a thick silicone gel colored with red vegetable dye; its movement was essentially controlled by gravity, just letting the goop run downhill and angling the camera to provide the illusion that it was moving horizontally, vertically, or straight at the audience. The original film also employed a large barrage balloon (or weather balloon) covered in the colored silicone goop for shots where people are actually consumed by the Blob. The 1972 sequel additionally used a preposterous rotating spit covered in red plastic, mounted in front of the camera, to provide the Blob's point-of-view as it steamrolled toward its victims. The 1988 remake used much more sophisticated practical effects such as robotics, latex prosthetics, pneumatic tentacles, et cetera, which were directly inspired by John Carpenter's 1982 special-effects-heavy horror flick, "The Thing." For the last couple of decades, there has also been talk of a major CGI reboot of "The Blob," but it has yet to materialize.

Charles Austin Miller

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Die Hard picture

Question: If the guy at the reception desk knew that the only ones left in the building were on the 30th floor, why did he tell John to use the screen?

Answer: Most large companies, particularly hi-tech or multinational ones, require visitors to check-in, especially afterhours. By having John search for Holly's name, it can be verified that he actually knows someone who works there, that there is an actual employee with that name, and otherwise assess whether John is a legitimate visitor. This scene's real purpose, however, is for plot exposition. John learns from the monitor that Holly now goes by her maiden name (Gennero) rather than her married surname. We see John's annoyed reaction to learning this, which sets up a later confrontation between him and Holly over their troubled marriage.

raywest

Answer: Any answer is speculation; but a simple explanation is he may have forgotten the only people left were there for the Xmas party until John mentioned the 30th floor. The guard also seems fairly proud of their new high-tech touchscreen system so he might have just had John use it to show off how nice the building is.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: Most likely he just wanted to showcase a nifty (by 80s standards) piece of technology to a visitor.

Jukka Nurmi

Answer: The party was on the 30th floor and John was asking for a specific employee, his wife. He had no idea where she was exactly.

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A Fish Called Wanda picture

Question: Is George's Oscar Wilde quotation, "We won't have to look for work, and it won't have to look for us," genuine? (Never trust a criminal, I know).

Louisa Radice

Answer: I did an Internet search for this quote, including checking best-quotations.com, and the only reference of it I can find is tied to the movie. I do not think this is an Oscar Wilde quote. If I find something, I'll update this, as it's possibly a line from one of his plays or novels that just doesn't happen to be online. Someone else might know.

raywest

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Hellbound: Hellraiser II picture

Question: When Elliot Spenser is being transformed into Pinhead, who was cutting lines into his face and head and driving nails into him?

Answer: All we can see (in abstract closeup) is serpent-like tendrils cutting him and driving the pins into his head. As someone else said, it's likely another cenobite, although alternately it could also be the same "contraption" that turns Channard into a cenobite late in the film, given the tendrils are similar to the ones he sprouts.

Answer: Presumably another cenobite/cenobites. The choice not to show them makes for a better scene, as that moment is all about him, becoming the iconic Pinhead; the cenobites who made him that way are of no consequence to the story, and their own grotesque appearance would have distracted from his transformation.

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Answer: She was referring to his habit of excessively passing gas (farting) He can be heard doing this early in the film, even though he is a ghost.

raywest

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Big (1988)

Big picture

Question: What is the video game young Josh plays at the beginning of the movie?

Answer: According to imdb: Though some believe it to be Colossal (Cave) Adventure or an early Sierra Game, no known game up to 1988 accepts the commands "melt ice wizard" or "throw thermal pod" (as used in the movie), therefore one can assume the game screen was simply created for the movie.

Carl Missouri

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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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Answer: Likely because keeping Michael in a maximum security facility was seen as a waste of time/resources given he had been in a coma for years.

TedStixon

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Elvira, Mistress of the Dark picture

Question: Some group remade the song "Under the Boardwalk," giving it a catchy beat and a faster pace. The music video for this remake was on the original VHS release of Elvira Mistress of the Dark. Who sang that song?

Sarah Van Winkle

Chosen answer: Tom tom club.

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Shooter picture

Question: Why, when Cornell walks out on the attorney General, did they not arrest him for assassination of the archbishop?

Answer: They had a 'first person' witness to conspiracy to kidnap.

Answer: Maybe the crime was committed outside the United States, and they simply didn't have the jurisdiction to charge him.

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Dangerous Liaisons picture

Question: The singer that we see at the party looks to be male - facial features, dress - but has a very high voice. Is this a eunuch or just a person with a very high voice? Is it even possible for men to sing that high if they are not eunuchs?

Answer: He is probably a "castrato," a male soprano. Exceptionally talented choir boys were castrated before puberty to preserve their high voices. This pracitce lasted from the 16th century until the late 19th. The last castrato, Alessandro Moreschi, died in 1913. There are also some men who can naturally sing in this range, called countertenors.

raywest

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Killer Klowns From Outer Space picture

Question: Who played the teenager that got killed at the gazebo? It looks like Michael J. Fox but, when I checked IMDB, there's no name listed for who played him.

Answer: I checked the Internet and read up on the Killer Klowns production and there is no mention of Michael J. Fox being in the movie. I do not know who the actor in the scene is, and while it's possible that it was Fox, it does not really resemble him, in my opinion.

raywest

Answer: The actor is Randy Doke. He's uncredited for the role, but IMDB lists him as "Puppet Show Dude."

Bishop73

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