Questions tagged [analysis]
Understanding the underlying concepts and themes behind the film/TV-show and its different interpretations. Not to be used for direct plot discussions.
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What kind of company is Initech?
What kind of company is Initech in the movie Office Space?
There are a few important things we know about Initech that the movie plot hinged on. Are there any real-life companies that actually fit ...
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What's with the "one-sided" dialogue scenes in Midnight in Paris?
I re-watched Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris last night. I noticed that during a lot of dialogue scenes with only two or three people, there will often only be one of the characters in the shot. It ...
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Is John Keating to blame for Neil's suicide?
At the end of the movie John Keating is accused of making Neil come up against his father and outing his own dreams ("Carpe diem!") which ultimately leads to him committing suicide.
Was Keating ...
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In, "There Will Be Blood", what was the motivation to kill
In the 2007 movie There Will Be Blood, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, the main character -- Daniel Plainview -- puts a bullet into his "brother's" head when he discovers that the man isn't really his ...
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Why does 2001: A Space Odyssey not provide an explanation of its ending? Are we supposed to read the book?
It's a movie geek's film to watch and to enjoy. But when I reached the end, I had no idea what to take from it.
Some of the ideas are amazing, the visuals, and the lines (I'm sorry, Dave. I'm ...
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What does the girl cutting her hand in Animatrix: Beyond symbolize?
In the film, The Animatrix, specifically the Beyond section after the girl and the kids are quarantined, they return to the spot that had the glitch. I understand why she dropped the can (to see ...
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What's the purpose of Solomon's son Dia in Blood Diamond?
Apart from the regular plot, that in order to save his son he must overcome battles and so forth, what other purpose does his son have?
This is based on the fact that his son's name is Dia.
And in ...
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What happens to Alex at the end of Shallow Grave?
At the end of the movie it was not obvious to me what Alex's ultimate fate was. In particular, I wasn't clear whether he lived or died from his injury. It seemed like he might live, as he was still ...
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Is Ethan's and Lindsey's relationship seen as platonic?
Based on the long scene for the rescue of Lindsey and the fact that the movie continues even after the mission was a failure, Ethan could have just gone back home. The first plot that we are aware of ...
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Why does the Driver not have a name?
Something just occurred to me, for the life of me, I cannot remember the Driver's name. I am sure this guy does not have a name for the whole movie. Someone had to call out to him.
I have heard him ...
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How to describe Elsa Schneider in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?
Elsa is a very detailed character for the role she plays.
She is secretly a Nazi
Is constantly around Indiana
Gets violent with Indiana but kisses him
When Indiana finds her with book again Elsa ...
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In 'Synecdoche, New York' , what is the significance of choosing the play 'Death of a Salesman'?
The protagonist, Philip Hoffman, is directing the play 'Death of a Salesman' with a twist. He is casting young actors as the characters of Willy and his wife. From my understanding, he is doing this ...
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Explanation of the ending of "Oldboy"
I have a couple of questions about the ending of the horribly disturbing Oldboy (2003).
Why does the antagonist "Puppet Master" kill himself in the elevator?
Was he so consumed by revenge that he ...
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What is the significance of the hat in Miller's crossing?
Miller's crossing pays a lot of attention to Gabriel Byrne's hat.
Does it symbolize anything in the movie or have any significance to the plot or is this a bit of a red herring?
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Is there an explanation for which emotions and senses are connected?
In the movie Perfect Sense a strange disease robs the people of their senses, one after the other. Just before a sense is going away the people have a strong emotion. They are coupled as follows:
...
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Why did Terry Gilliam include Jeffrey as a character in Twelve Monkeys?
The movie La jetée has already the story of 12 Monkeys, including also key-settings like the airport and the mall. But there is one big difference in 12 Monkeys to the older movie: Terry Gilliams ...
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Why doesn't Aman's wife come back the last time?
In the movie Survive Style 5+ (2004), Aman's wife comes back as a revengeful ghost every time he kills her. But when she is killed the second time by the hitman, she doesn't come back. What is the ...
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How can the ending of "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" be explained?
In the end of the movie Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Park Dong-jin get's killed by the group of communists, that Yeong-mi is member of. But earlier in the movie it is explained, that Yeong-mi is the ...
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Was the Wheel of Pain actual or allegorical?
My contention (once I got past my teenage years) was that the Wheel of Pain, in the original Conan the Barbarian movie, was supposed to be alegorical...a symbol of Conan's difficult upbringing as a ...
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Why is Donnie Darko set in the 80s?
The movie Donnie Darko is timed in the 80s (to be precise 1988), but the movie was released 2001. I can see no significance, to put it in the past. Yes, there was the presidential election, but that ...
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What is the message behind Where the Wild Things Are?
What really is the message behind the movie, Where The Wild Things Are?
I've seen the movie year ago, and still couldn't figure it out.
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What is the relationship between the three intertwined stories of The Fountain?
In The Fountain (2006) there are three separate but related stories told in parallel--Imperial Spain, present day, and .. um, space bubble. Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz play the leading lad and lady ...
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What significance does Mike Yanagita have in Fargo?
In the Coen brothers' movie Fargo (1996), the detective Marge Gunderson gets called by and meets an old schoolmate, Mike Yanagita. He tells her that he is widowed and tries to make a move on her.
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Kid's pictures in Clint Eastwood's True Crime (1999)
Around 0.02.24 (hh.mm.ss) into this movie there's a close-up of the picture just drawn by Gail Beechum (daughter visiting her father Frank on death row. It's just your bog-standard green field, fence ...
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What happened to the last of the sins in Se7en?
I have watched Se7en and followed Gluttony, Greed, Sloth and Lust. But I couldn't place the events of the other sins: Envy, Wrath and Pride.
Please provide some light on these. I am really confused.
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What does the scene during the ending represent?
In the ending of The Shining, the camera slowly zooms into a photo and closes into a person who resembles Jack Nicholson (or is it him?).
What does this scene depict? How does it relate to the movie?
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Ending of Social Network
At the start Erica tells Mark
"But you’re going to go through life thinking that girls don’t like you because you’re a nerd. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won’t be ...
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What fills the void left by the lack of character development in Inception?
Most of the characters excluding Cobb and his wife, do not have very developed roles. The roles are actually shallow and it is at times hard to see the motivation behind characters to do what they do.
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Is the opening break-up scene in The Social Network intended to be humorous?
In the opening scene we have Mark and Erica talking about knowledge of people in China, SAT and Mark's infatuation with getting into the Finals Club. How is this scene humorous? Someone told me they ...
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What is Harvey's purpose?
In the movie Harvey from 1950 in the ending it is made clear that Harvey actually exists and is a Pooka, some sort of fairy from the celtic mythology.
Apparently he has chosen Elwood P. Dowd as some ...
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Which circles of Hell are shown in What Dreams May Come?
In What Dreams May Come, Robin Williams' character Chris Nielsen travels through Hell. They show some of the nine circles of Hell as depicted in Dante's Inferno (Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, ...
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How do the differences between the replicants and Deckard evolve in Blade Runner?
In Blade Runner, replicant detection occurs via the subject's ability/inability to show advanced emotion. But early in the movie Deckard starts off as emotionless as the replicants.
How do the ...
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Why is the bride's name bleeped in Kill Bill Vol 1?
In the movie Kill Bill Vol.1, whenever someone mentions the bride by her name
Beatrix Kiddo
Her name is censored with a beep. Is this explained somewhere in the movie? Or is it just a signature ...
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Why don't Marty's parents ever mention how similar he looks to the Marty of 1955?
Although Marty is only in 1955 for one week, he plays a pivotal role in getting his parents together. He even briefly dates his mother. So, considering he plays such a pivotal role, does it make sense ...
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What is the main theme of The Dark Knight?
According to Wikipedia, the main theme of The Dark Knight is escalation, such that each event lead to an escalation that results from the choices Batman and James Gordon make. A separate source said ...
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What was the alternative world in Sucker Punch?
In the movie Sucker Punch, while Baby Doll dances, the movie cuts over to scenes of her and the other girls in a different world. Is this world supposed to be Baby Doll's imagination? If not, what ...
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Why does the dinosaur let the wounded dinosaur live?
Yes, we are all fascinated (or abhorred) by the inclusion of a few CGI dinosaurs in Terrence Malick's 'Tree of Life'. Personally, I enjoyed the dinosaurs thoroughly, but...
Why did the predatory ...
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Is there any definitive evidence that Teddy was or was not crazy?
The ending of the film Shutter Island is purposely ambiguous, with two different interpretations:
Teddy was crazy, and the whole movie was part of a role-play therapy.
There is a conspiracy to ...
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Why the stoic acting style in 2001 Space Odyssey?
One of the things that I have always found striking about 2001 A Space Odyssey is the almost mechanical acting of the human characters, especially the radio operator. I'm pretty sure it's a conscious ...
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What does the ending of The Tree of Life mean?
At the end of the movie, adult Jack (Sean Penn) wanders through a wasteland, goes through a doorway and ends up on a beach. There he shares the screen with his father (Brad Pitt) and Mrs. O’Brien (...
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Evaluating characters by means of description
In his Star Wars Episode 1 review/analysis, Mike Stoklasa used a certain challenge as a device to illustrate how poorly thought out the characters were:
Describe the following characters without ...
