Best drama movie questions of all time

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In the Line of Fire picture

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?

Paul Pepiton

Chosen answer: LA is short for Los Angeles, which refers to the city Leary attempts to assassinate the president in.

Jason Riley

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Shallow Hal picture

Question: In the scene where Hal, Rosemary, the cripled friend, and Nurse "Sourpuss" go out of town, Hal and his friend got to buy snacks leaving Rosemary and "Sourpuss" to talk. There is a scene where thy cut to the front of the car and Nurse "Sourpuss" is now good looking. So is that her real look and Hal only sees her as old and ugly?

SAZOO1975

Chosen answer: Yes. Just as Hal sees many unattractive and/or overweight women to be thin and beautiful due to their true personalities, he sees Nurse "Sourpuss" - who is a beautiful woman - to be old and ugly due to hers.

Jeff Swanson

Answer: At that point Hal and his friend had already turned their backs and went to the store so Hal was not even looking at her.

Answer: I thought maybe Hal's outlook was rubbing off on Rosemary and Rosemary was seeing that less than attractive woman as pretty.

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Green Card picture

Question: When Georges is being deported back to France, why didn't Brontë go with him? They realised they were in love with each other plus there was nothing stopping her from going to France with him.

Answer: It's implied she will be coming with him when George says he will write to ask 'when are you coming cherie?' and the way they laugh and exchange rings. She just has to wrap up loose ends in NY then she'll be on her way to him.

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An Affair to Remember picture

Question: When Nikki came to see Terri, he laid his hat and coat in the chair - no package. Later, he went to the chair and got the package that contained the scarf. Was the package placed there at a later time?

Answer: This sounds like a movie mistake rather than there being a reason in the plot for it to happen.

raywest

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Answer: In earlier versions of the "Annie" story, she is orphaned when her parents are killed in a car accident. In the musical, they died in a fire. In the 2014 re-imagining, Annie lives in foster care after being abandoned by her family. Early on, she hopes to one day be reunited with them. We, the audience, never learn their whereabouts, nor whether they are alive or dead.

Michael Albert

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Under Siege picture

Question: If the ship's artillery is only equipped with 5-inch starburst rounds (as stated more than once), how do they use the much larger guns to sink the submarine?

Answer: The smaller guns were only equipped with the Starburst rounds. The 16 Inch Cannons were still supplied with live ammo. None of the characters left to fight had experience with the 16 inch guns except for the Gunner's Mate, therefore none of them thought to use one of the 16 inch guns.

dablues7

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The Score picture

Question: Why does Norton lie and say that he "has company" and then make De Niro wait longer during the robbery? Sure, Norton double crosses him later, but wouldn't making his partner wait put both of them in danger of getting caught since it delays them and increases their chances of getting caught?

Answer: Norton already has an advance plan to prevent himself from getting caught. The delay is both to fluster DeNiro, and to prevent him from having enough time at the moment of the double-cross to come up with an alternate to handing over the prize without getting caught himself.

Rooster of Doom

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Girl, Interrupted picture

Question: When the girls were walking to the ice cream parlor, why did Susanna say "Look at Janet"?

Answer: She was walking on top of a snow drift without sinking, due to being so light from starvation.

MoonFaery

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Gattaca picture

Question: In the scene where Vincent is just about to launch, the doctor testing him mentions his son. My brother seems to think that the doctor knows Vincent is not who he pretends to be because he is Jerome Morrow's father. Is there any evidence for this?

Answer: None whatsoever. The doctor seems to have worked out that Vincent is not who he seems to be from simple observational evidence. It's because of his son that he feels sympathy for Vincent and hasn't revealed that he's tricking the system.

Tailkinker

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Pleasantville picture

Question: Wouldn't David & Jennifer's mom be worried about the sudden disappearance of her daughter, seeing as how Jennifer stayed behind in Pleasantville rather than returning to the "real world"?

Answer: We don't see much of the "real world" after David returns other than his conversation with his mother. I am sure in time she would have been worried but there seem to be many unanswered questions which might make it not so simple.

Lummie

Considering that a couple of days in Pleasantville turned out to be just an hour in the real world, it's possible Jennifer could spend 3-4 years in uni and cone back with it being just a weekend in the real world. David could just make up something in that period she's gone.

Actually if a couple of days is just an hour than 3-4 years is more than 2 weeks.

lionhead

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Corrina, Corrina picture

Question: Why does Manny make up excuses about his wife doing something when in reality she died?

Answer: Manny is struggling with her death and trying to care for Molly. In a moment of self denial and sadness, he just makes it up in hopes of tricking himself into thinking that everything is normal.

Bishop73

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Watchmen picture

Question: I don't quite understand why Dr. Manhattan had to kill Rorschach. That is, I don't quite get why that was the only solution. Rorschach was a valuable member of the Watchmen, and in the type of world they were in (chaos, corruption, murder, etc) one would think that they would want to keep as many of themselves banded together as possible. Couldn't some sort of negotiation or compromise have been reached/agreed to by Rorschach instead of him being killed?

Answer: He has spent years as a costumed vigilante despite the fact that it was illegal. He has a very strict idea of what is right ("never compromise") and has proven himself incapable of doing otherwise. So no, there was no real chance of negotiating with him - Rorschach himself made it clear he'd have to die if they wanted his silence.

Garlonuss

Death was not the only choice. Doc M could easily have teleported/banished Rorschach to Mars/anywhere secluded in an oxygen bubble. He could have spared his life and just made him mute or manipulate his brain chemistry/atoms to remove the memory of what happened. The point is Doc M is all powerful and could manipulate matter at his whim; death was just a plot device creating a chance of an emotive martyrdom/sacrificial ending.

Ethically speaking, exiling him to Mars or erasing his memory of the event can be considered just as cruel as killing him, because then his agency is being taken away from him. Rorshach's malcontent with the situation poses a problem for the other heroes, and since Dr. Manhattan isn't willing to let him tell the truth of what happened, he obliges Rorschach's demand that he kill him instead.

Phaneron

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Logan's Run picture

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.

Phoenix

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Donnie Darko picture

Question: What is the music track that plays during the scene where Donnie is talking to Frank in the bathroom inter-cut with the teacher complaining about the book being read to the students?

Dra9onBorn117

Chosen answer: Song: Manipulated Living. Composer: Michael Andrews.

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The Great Gatsby picture

Question: In the scene where Gatsby is telling Nick his origin story, Nick narrates that Cody (a man he saved and sailed the ocean with) died and he was cheated out of his inheritance by Cody's family and he was once again dirt poor. After this part has been narrated, a clip of spinning newspapers is shown of what happens to Gatsby after this. As this happens, if you listen in the background, you'll notice that there is a song beginning to play. What is this song that is playing? (01:09:40)

Chosen answer: The song is "Back to Black" by Beyoncé (Feat. Andre 3000).

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The Commuter picture

Question: Why does the weather and road/ground change so much (dry, rain storm, wet, snow) in the beginning of the movie from the kitchen to the train station?

Answer: The opening credit scene (waking up, in the kitchen, the drive, being on the train, and walking through the terminal) is montage where each cut represents another day in Michael's life. It's meant to show the monotony of his life through the whole year (or even years) and how he follows the same routine everyday.

Bishop73

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Answer: He tells her that he is a virgin. His friends think that he is a "stud" and has had sex when he hasn't.

wolfchild

Answer: He hasn't "bagged a babe."

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Flowers in the Attic picture

Question: Who laced the cookies that were given to the children with arsenic? It's never shown who applies it, only who takes the cookies to them.

Answer: When the children discover the cookies had been poisoned (revealed by the death of their pet mouse which ate part of one of the cookies), they suspect their grandmother. After all, she was the one who had been cruel to them all along. But eventually, they realise that it was in fact, their mother, Corinne, who was lacing the cookies with poison. She was doing so with the hope that the children would eventually die, seemingly from disease. In doing so, she would secure the family inheritance which was contingent upon her never having had children from her first marriage. They eventually confront their mother on the day of her second wedding, and a struggle ensues which ultimately leads to Corinne falling to her death from a balcony.

Michael Albert

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Red Dragon picture

Question: Was there any specific reason that Dolarhyde chose his victims other than through home movies? Was there anything about the families that made him want to kill them?

Answer: His choices had to do with the layout of peoples' property. At his job, he studied customers' family video tapes that contained scenes of their homes and yards. He looked for seclusion around the properties, easy-access back entrances, whether there was a family dog that would bark, and so on.

raywest

But what was his reason for killing them? Was it because he saw a happy family and he was angry because he never had one or because he saw a life that he would never have?

He chose the houses that had big backyards. During the Edward Norton/Lecter interaction, Lector says something about how blood looks in the moonlight.

Answer: "Because it made him a god" as it was put early in the film.

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Jeepers Creepers picture

Question: What did Jezelle mean at the police station about the creeper saying "I think it's eaten too many hearts for its own to ever stop."

Answer: Since the Creeper needs various body parts i.e. eyes to see, lungs to breathe, it would also need to eat the hearts of its victims for its own heart to keep beating. Or she could mean that the Creeper is essentially devoid of all emotions as it keeps attacking anybody that has the body parts that it needs to extend its own life.

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