Best mystery movie questions of 2004

Please vote as you browse around to help the best rise to the top.

The Village picture

Question: Does anyone know if Noah knew all along that the elders were dressing up as the "monsters?" I think he did, and that he thought it was just a game. Is that why he laughed and clapped every time the bell went off and they had to hide? Perhaps the elders didn't hide this from him because he was simple-minded and couldn't talk. So, when he went after Ivy in the woods, he thought it was all for fun. Does anyone else agree with this?

Answer: When the Elders found Noah missing, they referred to a costume that had been hidden under the floorboards. My guess is that at some stage Noah found that costume and may have figured out that it was a game then. I doubt if the Elders realized this until he went missing. Also, given that Noah had already stabbed Lucius, I don't really think that he was joking when he went for Ivy in the woods.

kendra jackson

Answer: Noah had figured out shortly before the movie begins that the monsters were a hoax made by the Elders, having found a creature suit in the "punishment room." This can be seen early when everyone is eating. They hear howling from the woods (it's actually sound devices in a big tree deep in the forest that create sounds from the wind), and Noah simply laughs at it. He probably thought it was all a game, never understanding the true purpose of why the Elders created the hoax. During the Covington Woods quest, he most likely went to kill Ivy. Recall the "daring game" played by the children. We learn that creatures imitate their victim before they attack. Noah does the same to Ivy. She snaps her cane, and the creature also snaps something. She throws a rock, he does the same. Noah was actually smarter than we think. He was THE creature, the usurper of the Elders' hoax. So, he tortures Ivy mentally first before trying to kill her. He was kinda sadistic (he also massacred the livestock).

More The Village questions

Answer: Yes! There was a real Heather Jasper Howe! Like the fake Heather Jasper Howe's True Identity is Jonathan Jacobo! He was arrested with Ned.

Answer: Yes.

More Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed questions
I, Robot picture

Question: If Lanning really had leaped from that distance, wouldn't he be unrecognizable upon impact and not with only a little bit of blood coming from his mouth?

Answer: He'd certainly have a lot of internal injuries that aren't visible, would probably have more injuries showing than that trickle of blood, but wouldn't necessarily be "unrecognizable."

Phixius

More I, Robot questions

Saw (2004)

Saw picture

Question: This question applies to the whole series. Why do some of the people who actually manage to survive Jigsaw's traps end up working with him instead of either helping capture him or killing him and insuring that no more innocent people get killed?

Answer: Jigsaw's traps would more than likely leave a person mentally unstable, which could result in Stockholm Syndrome, a condition which involves a victim sympathising with their captor. In fact, after Lawrence Gordon escapes the bathroom after severing his own foot, Jigsaw nursed him back to full health, thus gaining his trust (this is shown in Saw VII). He also plays mind games on people, which is shown in a flashback in Saw III in which he convinced Amanda to side with him. In her unstable state of mind, she realised that he was the first person in her life she could actually relate to, and thus became an accomplice.

EK8829

More Saw questions
Secret Window picture

Question: At the end of the credits, we hear Johnny Depp sing "mama's little baby loves shortnin' bread." Is there any reason for this, or a tie-in to the movie I missed?

Bishop73

Chosen answer: An additional reference to the full dominant personality takeover of Shooter, everything gravitates South Mississippi.

More Secret Window questions
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

More The Bourne Supremacy questions
The Forgotten picture

Question: What exactly is the experiment all about?

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

More The Forgotten questions
The Grudge picture

Question: How exactly does the father kill the wife? I noticed when she comes down the stairs she comes out of a bloody bag. So how is she killed?

Answer: Well, in the Japanese original (Ju-On: The Grudge), it shows that Takeo, the father, killed his wife by shoving a knife down her throat or something similar to that. When he was killing her, she tried to scream, except her scream came out all messed up (because the knife hit the vocal chords), which explains the horrible croaking noise. There's no doubt about it that it's the way she was killed in this version.

Answer: Another website states that after pushing her down, Kayako sprained her ankle and crawled down the stairs, only to realise Takeo was slowly following her from behind watching her suffer. He then snapped her neck, but she was still alive and could only make the croaking noise. It is also implied that he stabbed her multiple times afterwards, which could explain the bloody corpse.

More The Grudge questions
The Manchurian Candidate picture

Question: Isn't the whole premise for this movie dead wrong? There is no precedent for an assassination of a president ELECT. He is not president so therefore anyone could become president. The Constitution does not apply to "elects" What does happen?

Answer: According to the Constitution, the Vice-President elect is actually elected separately by the Electoral College, i.e. they are really not a package deal, the death of one doesn't negate the election of the other. The Vice-President elect would indeed become the President.

Myridon

More The Manchurian Candidate questions
Taking Lives picture

Question: When Ethan Hawk takes a new life, does he have to shave his fingerprints/get plastic surgery/new teeth etc. because when he started he looked way different than the present day Ethan.

Answer: Yes, he must do this to truly feel like the different person he is trying to be. Also, so the police won't suspect anything if his traits don't match his identity.

More Taking Lives questions
Mindhunters picture

Question: What was the deal with all the agents' jackets having letters written on the back in luminous paint? Why did the killer do this?

swordfish

Chosen answer: Vince explains this. The letters spell out CROATOAN. There was an English colony on Roanoake Island, of which the entire population mysteriously disappeared, giving no trace of what had happened, barring the letters CROATOAN carved on to a tree.

More Mindhunters questions
Twisted picture

Question: What really happened to Ashley Judd's parents and why did Samuel L Jackson do what he did? Also, why did he start killing again? Was he planning on killing Ashley Judd as well?

Answer: He killed the parents because the mother was sleeping around and it was driving the father insane. He began killing Ashley Judd's lovers because he could see she was becoming like her mother.

More Twisted questions
Birth picture

Question: What does Joseph whisper in Anna's ear in the final scene at the beach? Her face reacts to something he's saying to her.

Answer: It's not revealed what he whispered to her.

raywest

Answer: I think that 'what sets Anna off' at the ending was Sean's letter to her...where in the very last line, he says, "I guess we'll meet in another life." This shows that Sean really was reincarnated, but he so didn't want Anna to learn about the the affair with Clifford's wife, that he (Sean) decided to let go of Anna, possibly for the time being until he grows up, leaving room for a future sequel.

Answer: Probably "snap out of it, and let's go home" lol I think she's gone nuts or always was and Joseph knows she is bipolar?

Answer: I think he says. "Just leave those bad memories Anna!, I'm for you and you for me! and we will live happily without any interpretation from 3rd party peoples."

Jcmedia776

More Birth questions
Fahrenheit 9/11 picture

Question: I would like to know why Michael Moore named this film Fahrenheit 9/11. I know that the 9/11 is about the twin towers terrorist attack, but I can't get the Fahrenheit part. Could someone please explain?

Answer: It's a reference to the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, which deals with a totalitarian society where people are not encouraged to think for themselves, question the government and so forth. One of the features of this society is that all books are burnt (hence the title - apparently the temperature at which paper will ignite).

Tailkinker

More Fahrenheit 9/11 questions
Cube Zero picture

Question: When Dodd takes the central cup link out and he takes it back, it wouldn't fix everything would it? I mean, he did take all the wires and everything else out.

link8265

Chosen answer: It was one of the few things that could be fixed right then and there, and, although it wouldn't solve all problems, it's better than nothing.

Knever

More Cube Zero questions
Without a Paddle picture

Question: At the start of the film, when Tom is with that girl, whats so important about Toni showing up? Is she the girls room mate or something?

Answer: Toni is the other girl's girlfriend.

MoonFaery

More Without a Paddle questions

Chosen answer: The rocket has been rigged to burn the athmosphere if the rocket reachs 100km - the boosters will fire and destroy life.

Dr Wilson

More Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow questions

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.