Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I admit that I had a "Wait, what just happened?" moment after seeing Arrival.
Me too. But the explanation was there just a bit hard to understand. Beautiful film that was snubbed by the Oscars sadly. Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner were great together.
Waking Life, an animated film was another one I forgot to mention. It was a philosophical film on the nature of existence in different vignettes. I highly recommend though as a many things said in the film were thought provoking. Ethan Hawk and Juile Delpy in rotoscope animation has a scene. Its based on thier Before/After Sunset characters.
I remember being at a Bond movie - I don't remember which one... But in the the middle of the movie - with all the action going on, I suddenly realized I had absolutely no idea what that movie was about.
Total Recall, I still don't know what it's supposed to be about.
I really don't remember much, and probably have as many questions as you; but what I do remember is...
Spoiler
Arnold, an "ordinary man" lives with his wife. He has a boring life and dreams of excitement on a place like Mars. His wife tells him to stick to his simple life.
But he is insistent, and decides to go to "Recall" - without telling his wife - where even if he can't have the adventure, he can at least have the memory of an adventure implanted. Partway through the implant, he goes nuts - thinking that he is a real spy and people are out to kill him. Problem is, they never got around to implanting the memories.
When he gets home (after being dumped into a taxi by the Recall folks) he finds that his co-workers are at this apartment complex and they and his wife ARE trying to kill him. Turns out he really is a spy. After killing a bunch of his former friends, he is contacted by someone who gives him a little information about who he really is and advises that he go to mars where he can find out more about himself.
Once on Mars, he is captured by the big bad guy who informs him that he (Arnold) really works for the bad guy and had voluntarily undergone a mind wipe so he could join up with the "good guys" and ferret out who was in the opposition team... the bad guy it seems is controlling the people of Mars buy limiting their access to fresh air - why, I don't know.
This is where I forget how he got back to earth, and why the bad guys want to kill him but ...
Spoiler
after the good and bad guys battle it out for Arnold's allegiance he decides he would rather be a good guy - that's probably because of the babe... they learn that there is a subterranean machine on mars - left there by ancient aliens - that creates fresh air. After a number of fights where of course Arnold beats up a bunch of bad guys, they find and turn on the air machine. Somehow that causes the bad guys to lose all power and control and concludes the movie.
I really don't remember much, but from what I remember...
Arnold, an "ordinary man" lives with his wife. He has a boring life and dreams of excitement on a place like Mars. His wife tells him to stick to his simple like.
But he is insistent, and decides to go to "Recall" - without telling his wife - where even if he can't have the adventure, he can at least have the memory of an adventure implanted. Partway through the implant, he goes nuts - thinking that he is a real spy and people are out to kill him. Problem is, they never got around to implanting the memories.
Maybe someone else can fill in other details.
Spoiler
Or DID they implant the memories? As I recall, the movie hints pretty strongly that the very thing that "happens" to Arnold after he visits the center isn't real. He wanted an exciting life, and he got the memories of one; how would he be able to tell those memories were false?
Or DID they implant the memories? As I recall, the movie hints pretty strongly that the very thing that "happens" to Arnold after he visits the center isn't real. He wanted an exciting life, and he got the memories of one; how would he be able to tell those memories were false?
After the doctor comes in to talk him down, I think it could go either way. There is no way to tell.
At the end, did Max jump into the garbage truck's hopper/grinder?
Jump inside the truck as pre-planned to fake his death once again to Noodles?
The garbage truck scene was not actually James Woods, but an actor to look like him, to add to the mystery.
Was it just an opium dream that starts when young Noodles goes into the opium den at the beginning of the movie right after the gang was murdered.
From wiki:
As the film begins and ends in 1933, with Noodles hiding in an opium den from syndicate hitmen, and the last shot of the film is of Noodles in a smiling, opium-soaked high, the film can be interpreted as having been a drug-induced dream, with Noodles remembering his past and envisioning the future. In an interview by Noël Simsolo published in 1987, Leone confirms the validity of this interpretation, saying that the scenes set in the 1960s could be seen as an opium dream of Noodles.
I admit that I had a "Wait, what just happened?" moment after seeing Arrival.
Interesting. I just watched this for the first time last night, and found myself knowing what was going on before they actually revealed it. Usually I'm one of the last to catch on when a movie has a hidden explanation or a plot twist, but not with this one. Maybe it has to do with one's mindset just prior to watching?
Regardless, I did like this movie, very much.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
