Best thriller movie questions of 1990

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The Hunt for Red October picture

Question: In the sonar room on the Dallas, there is a roll of what looks like toilet paper next to the monitor. Is there some special purpose for that?

Kgprophet

Chosen answer: They use it to wipe the grease pencil markings off the screens.

We called it "the Duty Roll."

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Answer: As a reward for besting the Predator in combat, he proved himself a fierce warrior worthy of praise and the gun was a token of their respect for his strength.

Answer: It's a reference to the comic where a pirate and a predator became somewhat friendly. The gun was given to the elder predator by the pirate as a thank you gesture. The elder predator then some few hundred years later gave it to Glover as a congratulations.

The comic came out years later to give a back story to the pistol. The only significance of the pistol is to show how long the predators have been coming to Earth.

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Ghost picture

Question: Why was Carl laundering $4 million into the account? Was he in debt when he says to Willie "I'm dead if the account closes", which it does?

Joey221995

Answer: Carl is laundering money for drug dealers. If the account is closed and he can't get the money back then it would be lost. The drug dealers would then most assuredly murder him in retribution.

BaconIsMyBFF

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Total Recall picture

Question: Does the movie give any indication with any evidence in the movie that Douglas is dreaming for the ending?

Athletic Jason

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.

Also, consider the end when Quaid and Melina are on the surface of Mars, suffocating. Their eyes are bulging, the Mars atmosphere is burning their lungs, and their faces are bloated. Yet a few minutes later they're perfectly normal and having a romantic kiss.

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.

lionhead

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.

Answer: The "dream" is when Quaid thinks Lori is his wife. Lori is really Richter's wife. The dreams Quaid had of Melina were visions reminding him of his past life.

Answer: Edgemar's red pill may have been a knockout dose so Richter, Helm, and Lori could take Quaid to Cohaagen. The red pill could also have possibly been poison, like cyanide. The pill wouldn't have returned Quaid to reality because he was still in reality.

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The Godfather: Part III picture

Question: At the meeting in Atlantic City, what's with the dons passing around and taking from the platter of jewelry?

Answer: It shows you how greedy they are even as they've made it to the zenith of their criminal careers. That's why you see Michael pass it on disgustedly and stare blankly into the ether. Michael's goal was never to be the boss or capo di tutti capi, he only did it to protect his father and then his family, his main goal. And at that moment he realises he's never getting out. He's a business man in a world of criminals (which he is himself).

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Die Hard 2 picture

Question: Why was McClane introduced in the first Die Hard movie as a New York badge, and in the second Die Hard movie as a L.A. badge? Then in the third Die Hard movie, he's again a New York cop.

Answer: In the first movie he's a New York cop visiting his wife. In the second Die Hard, he tells the airport officer that he's LAPD and moved there because of his wife's job. In the third Die Hard film, he most likely went back to New York because of marital problems and became a New York cop again.

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Answer: Stephen King doesn't have a cameo in this movie.

I have been told it's a common misconception that Stephen King regularly does cameos.

lionhead

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Robocop 2 picture

Question: I know that Nuke is a drug but what kind of drug and why dose everyone want the drug so bad.

Answer: We're never given specifics about it, but we do know it's the most addictive drug in history.

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It (1990)

It picture

Question: What is the deal with everyone saying "beep beep" to Ritchie every time he tells a joke?

lartaker1975

Chosen answer: It's their way of telling Richie to be quiet. To get him to stop talking.

Answer: In the book it is explained that they are telling Richie to shut up.

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Answer: His full name was Richard Tracy, but it was used seldomly.

Chosen answer: It's a bit ambiguous. Tracy's creator, Chester Gould, originally named his character, "Plainclothes Tracy," until an editor suggested changing it to Dick Tracy. A "dick" is a dated slang term for a cop or a private detective. Dick appears to be Tracy's first name, but it is also descriptive of his profession. This is called a "double entendre." It's typical for authors to contrive a name that reflects their characters.

raywest

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Flatliners picture

Question: Can someone please explain the ending in regards to Billy Mahoney? Does Billy smile and wave at Nelson, knowing that Nelson is now dead and has paid his price? Won't he realize that Nelson was brought back to life and haunt him again?

Answer: Billy forgave Nelson. he saw that Nelson was willing to die to be forgiven. That's why Billy smiled.

MasterOfAll

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Pacific Heights picture

Question: Why was Carter deliberately causing enough commotion to drive the other tenants out?

Answer: If there are no other tenants, it means a loss of income for the owners. Carter, meanwhile was destroying the other apartment, making it useless to rent out. Patty and Drake need the income from both apartments that they are renting out in order to pay the monthly mortgage on their Victorian house.

raywest

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Arachnophobia picture

Question: Are the small spiders in the movie an actual type of spider? If so, what are they called?

Answer: The small spiders are Avondale spiders from New Zealand. They are totally harmless to humans.

Hamster

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Kindergarten Cop picture

Question: In the scene where the kids are talking about their Dads, does anyone know what the non-English speaking child said?

Answer: She says, 'My father works in the house and plays with me a lot.'

ChiChi

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Darkman picture

Question: When Peyton wakes up in the hospital, images suddenly appear. What exactly is the significance of the light bulb shattering and the little marionette with the huge head supposed to represent?

Answer: It's just psychedelic imagery to try and show his fragile state of mind and how he's losing it. The shattering light-bulb is likely to show that his mind is "shattering" (as light-bulbs appearing above someone's head are often used to signify brains/ideas in fictional, particularly cartoons), and the marionette "dancing" is the first part of the recurring motif in which he sees himself as a "freak." (Which is paid off later when he starts singing a demented song about "Paying five bucks to see the dancing freak!").

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Bad Influence picture

Question: After Alex has stolen his furniture and killed Claire, he says to Michael "OK, now we are even." So why did he continue to stalk him and plant evidence? What was his motivation there?

Gavin Jackson

Answer: Because that's what psychopaths do.

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The Comfort of Strangers picture

Question: I have two questions about Robert and Caroline. First, why are there two separate beds in their bedroom? I know that Colin and Mary's hotel room might have had two single beds by default, but was it common practice for Italian homes to still contain separate beds in the 1990s? Also, why did Robert and Caroline murder Colin?

Answer: While it's possible that they slept in separate beds because of Caroline's chronic back pain, and Robert could accidentally hurt her in the night by moving, it's more likely that it's a sexual kink of sorts, a way to 'deprive' them both of each other. They murdered Colin because Robert was highly unstable (Caroline was utterly dependent on him and was also unstable as a result) and since they enjoyed pain during sex, it's implied that they thought it would be a great sexual thrill to seriously hurt someone else, which would explain why they appeared amorous with each other as soon as Robert cut Colin's throat.

Purple_Girl

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Hard to Kill picture

Question: Why did Jack and Max try to kill Mason's son Sonny? They have their masks on and there's no way that Sonny would have identified them.

adamtrainman@aol.com

Answer: He survived the first attempt of his family's murder. There's no telling what he saw or heard. As for the masks, the bad guys were taking no chances, security cameras, cell phones and the unexpected eyewitness.

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