Question: How did Soze end up in the police station after he escaped the boat in the first place? If he had vanished after the bombing, he wouldn't have to make up the stories and he wouldn't have been identified by Kujan.
Answer: Soze ended up back under arrest and for some questioning as 'Verbal Kint'. He never really vanished, he's just playing two parts/people. He really vanishes off the scene by the end of the movie after he tricks Kujan.
With the exception of what's known to have happened on the dock, the entire story is a lie told by Verbal Kint to Agent Kujon. Kujon realises this after Kint leaves the office but not in time to catch up. The entire movie is about a habitual liar making up a story about what happened on the dock. He may be Keyser Soze or an alter-ego variant but even Keysers rep is subject to question as it was told by the same liar. Verbal himself said about Keaton, "He was a grounded guy, a cop. If you think the husband did it then you're right." He was telling on himself as sociopaths will do when they think they're smarter than everyone around them.
Question: Why does Wallace spit out the pain killer that the princess gives him?
Chosen answer: Just like he said, it would dull his wits and not leave him fully lucid the next day when he had to face the torture.
He wanted his full awareness so he didn't accidentally yell for mercy.
Answer: Because it's a reference to what his Father's last words to him were at the beginning of the film before he was killed, 'I know you can fight but it's our wits that makes us men'. That's why Wallace says to the Princess, 'It will dull my wits and I must have them always'.
Question: Is there a reason why when they're in the past they can't catch up with the present, but when they land a little into the future, the present can catch up with them? Are they not moving along on their own timeline? And if not, why are they not left in that moment and stand there to see the present come and go without taking them?
Answer: Think of time as a gear with only one tooth, and think of them as a gear with only one notch. In the past, the one tooth has forever passed their notch and they'll never be carried along in the flow of time again. In the future, the tooth comes along, snags their notch, and they're back in the flow of time.
Question: Sam and Nicky both refer to "back home" but they do not explain where it is . I thought it was Kansas City because that is where the bosses are, but it's revealed that they are only there because "its as close as they could get to Vegas without being arrested". Does anyone know where in America Sam and Nicky are originally from?
Answer: Frank Rosenthal (the basis for Sam Rothstein) and Tony Spilotro (the basis for Nicky Santoro) were both from Chicago, so that is likely "back home".
Question: In the scene right before the big bank heist, a detective comes into the situation room informing the team that a CI Hugh Benny had a tip about Neil McCauley looking at Far East National Bank. How the heck did Waingro (working for Benny and VanZandt) even know about this score? McCauley hadn't even discussed it with Kelso when Waingro took down the armored car.
Answer: Waingro helped Van Zandt track down Trejo. Waingro then tortured Trejo and threatened his family if he didn't give up McCauley. With his back to the wall, Trejo gave Waingro and Hugh Benny the details of the bank heist, but Waingro killed Trejo's family anyway and beat Trejo almost to death. Benny then gives the tip to the police on Van Zandt's order.
I wonder how Trejo was tracked, I don't remember his name being revealed during Waingro's time with the crew, or any other information.
Well, we never see the crew prior to their first heist. Trejo could have given Waingro his name during the planning of that heist.
Waingro met this crew only once. How would he know who Trejo is or where he lives? Right before the heist, Trejo is asked to mislead police away from the heist.
Question: When Aquarius is descending during re-entry, why is the Navy preparing Search & Rescue instead of the Coast Guard?
Chosen answer: Aquarius was most likely going to splashdown in international waters; since the U.S. Coast Guard only has jurisdiction within American waters, the Navy would have to rescue them.
Answer: Because the Navy was assigned the Search, Rescue and Recovery task for all of NASA's space program. Imagine how long it would take the Coast Guard to get to the other side of the world.
Question: What is A.J. doing when he burns Mark's CD? Why would he ruin his CD, if that's what he's doing?
Chosen answer: He is making sure the CD can't be played anymore because nobody really likes Mark's music.
I never understood that part because they were singing along to the song Mark chose to play.
Question: Who is Conrad? Harry Conick, Jr.'s character writes him a letter at the end, and there is a Conrad character listed in the credits, but I haven't been able to find him.
Answer: I thought that it was Peter Kurten (Foley) that broke in and left the book. However if it was Conrad, then he does not appear in the flesh in the film.
You are correct. I just rewatched this tonight on Tubi.
Answer: Conrad is the man that breaks into Helen's flat and leaves the book. Happens just over 1 hour into the film.
Answer: I don't think Conrad appears in the film. Earlier in the movie HC Jr says he has other "disciples"; Conrad seems to be the new recruit to replace the just-killed McNamara character.
Question: Where did the bad guys get the cigarettes, paper, beer, gasoline, and water. All of the guys said they've never seen land, so how did they get this stuff?
Answer: Sealed stuff floats. They gather stuff just like the mariner.
Answer: Well the Black Death cigarettes and the smeat cans were both sealed items so they theoretically were waterproof. The gasoline was refined from oil which was leftover in the Exxon Valdez and the water was purified from sources? Just like how the mariner purifies his pee. I mean if you can believe he can purify his pee on the trimaran then I'm sure the crew of the Valdez is capable of purification.
Answer: These points have been brought up ever since this movie came out. I guess you have to suspend a lot of disbelief!
Question: When Sarah and Becky wake up in the morning and the table is covered in food and they have new slippers etc, how did those items get in their room?
Question: How did Nicolas Cage manage to keep his job for so long? You'd think he'd get fired for coming to work drunk the first time.
Chosen answer: On the contrary, the social contacts at work typically tolerate, sympathize with, and even enable alcoholics and other substance abusers, because many of the other employees are also similarly (and secretly) engaged in addictive behavior of their own to varying degrees. Usually, no action is taken until the addictive behavior starts affecting company income, insurance and morale. So, some substance abusers can lead lengthy careers within a company before the hammer falls.
Question: In the end credits, there are seven stuntmen listed, b ut I can only think of four. Can you please tell me what all of the stunts are?.
Answer: Reshooting certain scenes would most likely necessitate new stunt people, as the first one(s) would most likely be hard to get back.
Question: Why did General Donald McClintock want to keep the virus a secret and not let anyone know of its existence?
Question: Why can't Glenn understand anything Cole signs, leaving Iris to translate? Glenn knows and uses sign language when talking to Cole so it seems strange that he doesn't know anything that Cole tells him when Cole uses sign language.
Answer: Iris knows and understands sign language much better than her husband. Glen can communicate on a basic level, but when Cole is ready to tell off his father, he wants to make sure Glen understands exactly what he's saying. Remember how Glen didn't know the sign for 'a***hole'.
Answer: Glenn was passionate about music and wanted to be a great composer, something relatively few people are able to attain. At least initially, taking a part-time music teacher position was not what he wanted to do or be - but it provided the resources to support himself/his family while giving him enough time to pursue his dream (music composition/opus). Glenn had an on-again/off-again (mostly "off") relationship with his son Cole, perhaps sometimes due to his lack of commitment, time constraints, frustration, sense of failure, and emotional pain over his belief that he could not successfully nurture the love of music in his near-deaf son. (Glenn was aware of the difficulties Beethoven had.) In some ways, Glenn (selfishly) was saying, "I don't have time for this" (communicating in sign language or providing the fatherly devotion and sacrifice necessary to understand and develop a good rapport with his "special needs" son).
Question: There is a scene partway through the movie when Marianne is playing and singing, the first time Colonel Brandon sees her. What song is she singing, and where can I find music for it?
Answer: The lyrics come from a poem called "Weep You No More, Sad Fountains" - it was set to music specifically for the film by Patrick Doyle. There is sheet music available for this piece here: http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/selections-from-sense-and-sensibility-sheet-music/2923004. As far as I know, you have to buy both 'The Dreame' and 'Weep You No More Sad Fountains', but they are both here.
Question: What happened to the one Native American that Governor Ratcliffe shot? I know he went back to the village for treatment but what happened to him afterwards? Did he die?
Answer: This is a question the movie chose not to answer. It could be assumed he died as the Powhatans did not have the knowledge to treat gunshot wounds. However, there were cases even as far back as this time of individuals being able to survive gunshot wounds as long as the bleeding could be stopped and infection didn't spread. As the Powhatans did know herbs in the land to treat infections and did know how to mend bleeding; it is also possible he lived though he would have walked with a limp for the rest of his life.
Question: I know that this film was set in the 1990s but even then, was smoking permitted on US submarines? It would seem a bit odd given that the crew are relying on recycled oxygen.
Answer: In the most technical sense ("by the book") it is against policy. But then, the Marines do not allow tattoos and look how well that's enforced. It is up to the ship's Captain to enforce such regulations, and at sea, there's no one to penalize him if he chooses to let the crew smoke at certain times, given certain conditions.
Question: Were Travis Dane and Marcus Penn planning on killing all the mercenaries at the the end as well as the hostages? I kind of got that impression during Dane's speech towards the end.
Answer: I would say yes they where planning on killing some of the mercs. There is one fact that shows that. if they had plan on putting all the mercs into the copter, then the guys in the engine car should have know at x time get out and move back to get into the copter, giving the fact that they are still in the engine car when it hits the other train tells me they didn't know.
Chosen answer: Dane's speech was for the benefit of the hostages, not mercs. (It could be assumed that they knew he was lying.) Near the end of the film, a helicopter appears the train and prompts the mercs to board. The pilot's announcement of the first pickup (who was actually the porter) as well as the pilot's reaction to the fight between the porter and the female merc indicates that he expected to pick all of them up.
Question: Why did at the end of the movie did Rocco Klein let Strike leave town?
Answer: Because he found out Strike was innocent.
Answer: Kint/Soze ended up in the police station because he simply didn't get away in time.