10 Infuriating Movie Cliffhangers You Didn't Realise Had Answers

[@makizoid7478]

Inception was never a debate for me, even leaving the theater after first viewing. The top perfectly and continuously spins in the dream world, never faltering. In the final shot, it wobbles, therefore it has to be real.

[@dreamlandnightmare]

But it cuts abruptly enough that it leaves doubt in the audience's minds, an "inception", if you will.

[@makizoid7478]

@@dreamlandnightmare IMO the abrupt cut doesn't matter. The millisecond that top starts wobbling, the answer is given.

[@skaionex]

Exactly what my thoughts. It was so obvious, really.

[@NottherealLucifer]

​@@dreamlandnightmareIrrelevant. There shouldn't be any doubt in anyone's mind the second it wobbled. There's doubt because no one paid attention to the rest of the movie.

[@tysonchambliss1584]

​@@NottherealLucifernah, you don't get to say what should or shouldn't have happened in someone else's mind. This conversation was the entire point of that scene. Don't try to hand wave it away

[@gbrogo7139]

Cancelled sequels such as Monsters inc 2 should not be considered canon in any sense. Hence, why they were cancelled

[@alexdesuys5712]

First time I saw the Italian Job, the gold fell out. I'm glad to hear that ending was filmed because I was beginning to think I imagined it.

[@Muzza2023]

20secs in a never thought I’d see Deadpool face to face with Kingpin

[@wesleystockford2616]

You mention Tony Stark's timeline, could someone now explain how Captain Marvel has SHIELD when it won't be named that until Iron man, set quite some time after Captain Marvel

[@krishanubanerjee6955]

I didn't know the ending of Prisoners was considered a cliffhanger. I saw it some time ago, but as far as I remember, the ending clearly shows Loki turning around when he hears the whistle Keller was blowing on, from beneath the trapdoor. Given how Loki follows clues with the efficiency of a bloodhound, it was pretty obvious that he'd find Keller by following the sound.

[@loiracitr]

I agree. It also fits perfectly with the theme of the movie, it was about having faith

[@Kyller9-2]

It's really obvious. I don't know why it would be difficult to understand that at all.

[@felixbache5369]

I too saw it as a happy ending

[@rantsofedub]

Oh yeah whatculture is totally wrong here. The ending wasn’t even ambiguous, they just left the rescue part to your imagination.

[@adamdyer6515]

​@rantsofedub whatculture being wrong? Never!

[@Z_MIB]

Time moving quicker in the human world than the monster world means that when Boo was trapped in the monster world she would've been missing for a very long time in the human world, yet returned as the exact same age she was when she left.

[@ranwolf7650]

true. the only way I can think of that could work is that the monsters live a lot longer than humans so their perception of time is skewed in comparison. 80 years for the monsters isn't really that long to them

[@LeMayJoseph]

She was in the monster world, so it should have been her parents who aged, not Boo.

[@m4r1o148]

​@@LeMayJoseph That's what the comment is saying

[@simonjenkin]

probably why they abandoned that concept for a sequel

[@Creamy-1988]

​@@m4r1o148read it again

[@carter358]

I read the book American Psycho about 6 years before the movie came out. I always thought he really did it and the characters were mistaken about who they had seen and who they had lunch with. I figured it was the author's way of showing just how self-absorbed they were that they were. They weren't even certain of the person with whom they had interacted because they were so wrapped up in themselves. That's why Bateman's inner dialogue is always "I saw someone who looks like so and so" or "I had lunch with someone who looks like so and so".

[@Kalleesto]

I had a slightly different take. It bit like inception I dont think it mattered if it was real or not. The commentary seemed to be that all these people are so shallow, interchangeable and self absorbed that anyone can get away with anything. I mean, I know that's pretty much what you said but I just feel it doesn't matter. That there is no answer because we're asking the wrong question. (I'm not professing to know the question the story is asking btw x])

[@KayButtonJay]

I like that the movie is ambiguous. I don’t think the director made a mistake in my mind. I think it makes it more interesting.

[@NottherealLucifer]

Except there's zero logical reason the owner of an apartment building would clean up a fuck ton of gore, overnight no less, and just say nothing to anyone about it. I've heard the theory that because they're rich and it would hurt the property's value if there was a murder there, she's covering it up, but that's just stupid. No wealthy person would risk their wealth and freedom to cover for a serial killer they don't even know. If these characters were close it could make sense, but they're just strangers, so it doesn't.

[@milton7763]

Yes, in fact that’s the entire point of the story. People who question whether it happened or even state it didn’t just don’t understand the story at all

[@milton7763]

⁠@@NottherealLuciferyou’ve missed the entire point of the story. Check out some of Bret Easton Ellis’s other work: most of it revolves around very similar themes of elite young adults wasting away their lives in a shallow show of image rather than having any content. The difference with American Psycho is that the other works are straight forward story telling while American Psycho is an allegory: it is purposefully exaggerating to bring across a point. The real estate agent (the lady is not the owner) caring more about the property value and the effect on their reputation than about some ‘dead hookers’ fits perfectly within this allegory.

[@joshc5309]

The point to Inceptions ending wasn't that the top was spinning or not, it's that Cobb wasn't paying attention to it.

[@rome8180]

I never for a second thought Tar's ending wasn't real. The point is that she's been banished from the high society of the classical world. She's not so rich that she can afford to never work again, but this is the only work she can get. The dark humor of the ending is that she's willfully deceiving herself by pretending that it isn't a fall from grace. That's why she's taking it ultra-seriously. Her pride won't let her admit how far she's fallen.

[@Escorducarla]

Seriously, who thought Tar's ending was a hallucination? That would have killed the point of the story. She ruined herself and took what she could get. She knows exactly what a mess she's in. She pretends that she doesn't, but her reaction to going to the message parlor and realizing that she's not actually at a massage parlor is where her fascade cracks.

[@RazielBR]

Yeah, I don't get the whole "she would never step so low" My brother in Christ, she needs to eat! That's the whole point. Also is a very elitist point, implying that one's job is a punishment, but anyway.

[@d.l.parham157]

How many cliff hanger movies have Michael Caine in them? My gosh, the guy has an amazing filmography. (Yes, he's been in awful movies but Caine, for my money, is always worth watching.)

[@Comedy4cast]

I was just thinking the same thing! He made 3 appearances on this list. Impressive, Michael. And yet.... (my attempt at a cliffhanger reply)

[@RazielBR]

Adding the plot twist that he just invented the explanations for the endings for fun

[@bodhiswayze1892]

@@RazielBRMischief, rather than fun! 😂

[@milton7763]

And otherwise, the house that the money bought that he made on the movie is worth watching. It’s beautiful!

[@HarshMelon]

I genuinely thought the point of American Psycho was that he imagined the whole thing! That was genuinely my takeaway from the movie. He thought he was such a bad, bad man, and yet he was really a pathetic little office drone whose worst crime was using an uninspiring font on his business card.

[@Breexbloodlust]

right

[@free2trvl]

That should be the point of the movie.

[@blazerocker1734]

That would be the ending I'd prefer.

[@misici]

It is the ending, this video was written by someone who writes a dozen of these a day and is making it up off the top of their head.

[@DH-.]

All you guys completely missed the point... the restaurant is the main villain (doorcia)?

[@enoraskye6020]

With Inception, another piece of info I used to justify it being real at the end was, Cobb had said, in his dreams, he doesn't get to see his kid's faces. He wakes just before. Since he did get to see their faces at the end, I always argued that it was real.

[@svgn1]

There is a clear cut ending for Total Recall. Something that I had noticed years ago but I doubt Paul Verhoeven did it on purpose. Quad's adventure has to be a reality based on typical corporate mindset and marketing. After Quad goes to Recall he sees an advertisement talking about how real vacations are much better than fake memories. There's no way that Recall would allow advertising for a competitor to be part of the implanted memory. I know according to the in movie logic, if this was a dream, Quad was making his own decisions in it however essential parts of the memory would still have been implants. This has always made me look at everything that happened to him after Recall as his reality and not a dream as that is just not how corporate mindsets work. Especially not in a world created by a staunch anti-capitalist like Verhoeven where corporations are all greedy thieves.

[@JosephDawson1986]

If I remember correctly there was an interview with Paul Verhoeven where he says he filmed in such a way that both endings are correct. If you think it was all a simulation then you are correct and if you think it was all real then you are correct. This is why the remake with Colin Ferrell wasn't liked as much as it could have been

[@michmirich]

This is a good point and one I didnt consider. I always assumed it was real because there were scenes without Quaid in them. A memory would only show events in the first person.

[@unfi5hable]

Quaid not Quad...

[@ragabashmoon1551]

@@JosephDawson1986 Yes, he says it in the DVD Director's Commentary with Arnie. He says that the intent is for it to be whatever you want. His choice? It was a dream and Quaid died. Arnie's choice? It was real and Quaid lived happily ever after.

[@brianstiles1701]

Poor Blake, you know he got killed the first time he went out Batmanning. Being a cop is not anywhere close to the training Bruce subjected himself to.

[@chunkygaming8464]

I ain't even think about that. Bruce was a literal f*cking ninja😂

[@CosmicGoku529]

With Bruce's genius. He could have easily created programs to train Black the same way he was trained by the League.

[@dreamlandnightmare]

From the first time I saw the ending of The Dark Knight Rises, I thought it was pretty obvious that Blake becomes the new Batman, not Robin or Nightwing. (The whole "Robin" thing was just a nod to the character; otherwise, his real name would have been Dick Grayson.) The problem is he doesn't possess the years of intense, diverse training that Bruce acquired while traveling the world and joining the League of Shadows. Even with all the gear, I doubt he'll ever be as effective a Batman as Bruce was. Still, a beautiful and utterly satisfying way to end the movie and trilogy. I still get chills any time I see Blake standing on the platform as it rises up and wipes the screen to black.

[@JohngeeDoyle]

I always assumed the end of Inception was real since he’d mentioned not being able to remember what his kids looked like and that’s why they didn’t turn around. So when they did I assumed it was reality-but he’d also just gotten rid of Mal, who we knew was messing up a lot of his headspace, so maybe it wasn’t real? But glad Nolan let it slip lol

[@tomferguson9250]

I love how everyone was so hung up on Cobb's wedding ring & the other totems that the answer was right there the whole time. Once you realize Miles is never in any dream sequences, it's easy to figure out.

[@Jermbot15]

Did Nolan let it slip or did he decide, since Michael Caine needed to act like he was real in every scene he was in, to simply tell Michael Caine a simple and straightforward lie to get the performance he wanted?

[@Wraithfighter]

The real problem is that the question of “is it real or is it a dream” is kinda the wrong question. The point of the ending is that Cobb doesn’t care. Dream or reality, he’s not going to be obsessing over it anymore. If Cobb doesn’t care, why should you?

[@tomferguson9250]

@@Jermbot15 Personally I think it was intentional - use the totems as a distraction so you won't notice smaller details like Miles. You're so focused on all the cool dream shenanigans & Mal/Cobb's relationship that you completely gloss over Miles not being in the dreams.

[@bobbarker9556]

Did the kids age?

[@RicPendragon]

FFS It's 2023 and people are still debating the Inception ending? THE SPINNING TOP WASN'T EVEN COBB'S TOTEM!!

[@coolguyhino92]

*spinning top wasn't his totem *Couldn't see his kids faces cuz he would be forced to look away. Sees them at end *Michael Cain was told by the director that _every_ scene he was in, was 100% *real * , thus obliterating any uncertainty of the last scene (director was _REALLY_ not happy that Cain told people that info) *in the dream world,(even when used by Mal), the top always spun perfectly true, as if gravity has no effect on it(other than keeping it from floating away) The top damn near falls over I truly don't know how or why people are still debating, "wHat reALly hAPpenEd aT THe ENd" , or why they fervently deny that the answers have been available for over almost 15 years

[@WhatTheFirstAidSpray]

Um... No. That's what an AMBIGUOUS ending is. A cliffhanger ending leaves the fates of the characters or the development of the story unknown, but with the explicit intention of carrying on the story in the next film / episode. A film can be ambiguous without being a cliffhanger, but ambiguous endings are the ones where there isn't intended to be a clear answer, and it is up to the audience to decide for themselves how to interpret the ending. A cliffhanger (regardless of whether it is followed up) has a definite answer (or at the very least a general idea of "what actually happens next"). It's a subtle distinction.

[@SuperDragonstriker]

Not that subtle, but "what culture" aren't that smart.

[@coolguyhino92]

2:06 They're aware. They just want to interchange them, as 'cliffhanger' is more of a buzz word

[@steven-i6j]

Micheal Caine said Christopher Nolan said to him all the scenes with his character are real. So il take the word of Mr Cain over any fan fiction bull crap any day of the week.

[@legofan370]

But the ending to Monster Inc clearly shows Sully walking in and she says "Kitty!" still as a little girl. So the plotline for Monster Inc 2 wouldn't have made sense unless they retconned that ending.

[@_GeneralMechanics_]

The "Total Recall" ending's ambiguity is like the short story it's based on, in which the memories the character is implanted with are what actually happens. Quaid has both the memory implated at Recall and having brought blue skies to Mars. However what I think debunks the whole "it was always an implanted memory" is when the movie cuts from Quaid to scenes exclusively about Richter and Cohaagen. Hearing the "Recall" jingle at the end of the credits was for the audience's benefit of now having memories of watching the movie for themselves.

[@hm-staingaming]

False the technician said “we haven’t implanted it yet” therefore he never got the implant and everything was actually happening.

[@NemoConsequentae]

I like the ending of _We Can Remember it for You Wholesale,_ Where they try to bury the memory of the Mars mission again, using an older fantasy, only to find that the alien invasion is being held off until he dies. While he's sedated for implantation they hear him say: _"They gave me a magic destroying rod but it only worked once. It's in the drawer at home. Why do you think they never found the body of the guy I was sent to Mars to take out?"_

[@MijinLaw]

I think it would have limited the film too much to see everything from Quaid's POV. I don't think we're meant to interpret those scenes as proving that it's real.

[@MijinLaw]

Surprised to see no-one in the comments claim that Ticotin's picture being used at Rekall proves it's real. It's a popular position, but forgets that Ticotin also plays the woman in the dream sequence at the start of the film, so you have to accept an extreme coincidence one way or another. In the script, the women of the three scenes -- dream, Rekall setup, meeting on Mars -- are merely meant to seem _familiar_ to Quaid, in an inconclusive way, but of course for a film it's simpler to just use Ticotin 3 times without even bothering to blur her image or whatever.

[@joen0411]

For me the problem with American Psycho was his rampage towards the end. The ATM scene and blowing up cop car with one bullet. That is what made me think he was imagining things, but no way of knowing what was imaginary and what wasn’t.

[@tomnope540]

I think they're just saying the murders are real, not necessarily some of the weird things Bateman sees while on the run.

[@jeanamparan893]

On the book, at the ending, a taxi driver recognizes Bateman as the one who murdered his friend and threatens to kill him

[@Breexbloodlust]

@@Skeletontiger yeh rich & privelaged people

[@kirstyfairly4371]

​​​​​@@Skeletontiger-Exactly. Both the director of the movie, & the author of the book, have stated multiple times that the whole point of the ending is that while some of the things that happen are exaggerations in Bateman's head, the murders for the most part are in fact real, & everyone around him is basically willing to turn a blind eye & pretend not to see it because of their greed & selfishness, & so he gets away with it all. It's why Bateman's final line in the movie is "This confession has meant nothing", because he realises that no one will care, or even pay any attention to the fact that he's just confessed to being a serial killer.

[@xandercrews4729]

That’s bc they’re wrong, it was all in his head. Bateman didnt have a reputation and that was the point, he wasn’t as important as he thought

[@SailorLavender]

I AM SO HAPPY THAT MONSTER INC SEQUEL DIDN'T HAPPEN!!! WTF?! 😭😭😭

[@Dmu_girl-2008]

This is the first time ever I’m thankful they went the prequel route (I don’t hate monsters u it was fine but I honestly I preferred leaving how Mike and sully met to the imagination). But yeah it’s 1000 times better than seeing that.

[@Busto]

How do you confuse the word "ambiguous" with "cliffhanger"? And how the hell did nobody notice?

[@coolguyhino92]

2:06 They're aware. They just want to interchange them, as 'cliffhanger' is more of a buzz word

[@Kyller9-2]

I thought in American Psycho that Bateman was a dissociative personality of Paul Allen. He said he was like him but better and his friends always called him Paul. I also figured his psychotic escapades were primarily delusional. I don't care how rich someone is, there is no way he could have gotten away with filling an apartment with bloody hookers, shot an old woman and blown up two cops.

[@TheNativeEngine]

Interesting. I always thought it was delusions but I never figured another personality was added to the list.

[@ill-eagle0155]

Paul Allen called him Marcus, because he confused him with a coworker and he didn't give a crap about Bateman. The others always called him Patrick. If i remember correctly, it is less ambiguous in the novel, where his lawyer says something about cleaning up Patrick's mess once again.

[@killbotprime]

You obviously have never been in possession of information that implicated the Clintons.

[@Breexbloodlust]

Hmm that adds a twist to the mix. I always thought those were him wishing what he could do, like intrusive thoughts

[@Kyller9-2]

@@Breexbloodlust exactly. Like Bateman was a second personality that was just out of control of Paul's body. But the lawyer said he spoke to Paul on the phone over seas. Maybe "Bateman" as Paul called him? I think my theory is more interesting than him just covering everything up. I mean, if someone was cleaning up Bateman's actions wouldn't it be easier to just make him "disappear?"

[@TheyCallMeJeffrey]

Can’t wait to see where Jake Glynninhaal’s career goes.

[@doomismo97]

Thought i was the only one who noticed

[@mimcduffee86]

@@doomismo97 It's no worse than the way everyone usually pronounces it wrong: Jill-in-hall.

[@AutumnK]

​@@mimcduffee86Then how is it pronounced?

[@jezeusbryce5332]

Conan says it properly in an interview.

[@DarkestAB1]

Didn’t the director come out and say that every time we see Cobb wearing the ring it means he is dreaming, and when he isn’t he is awake? The character makes a real effort throughout the film to not show you his hands, but in the final scene we see he’s not wearing it.

[@CosmicGoku529]

Wasn't it also stated that the top was his wife's totem and the ring was his.

[@coolguyhino92]

Michael Cain also came out and said, "I was told any scene I was in, was real(by the director)." Basically proving that the last scene is real. *also, the director got mad at Cain for telling that to everyone

[@ZiggyHernandez]

Those pronunciations of “Jake Gyllenhall” and “Denis Villanueva” are astounding

[@aaronpendleton2335]

Thats a terrible close to Sully and Boo's journey... yea its sad that time moves quicker in the human world so she's an old lady by the time they see her. What about Boo? She lived in the monster world for like a week. By the time she got back home her parents would be long gone, and she would be a 2 year old in her old house now owned by another family. I don't think they really planned that plot hole fix very well.

[@Crudecoronet]

Probably one of the reasons why the movie never came out

[@rome8180]

In the case of Prisoners, I'm not sure that a less ambiguous ending having been filmed proves that Keller was found. It proves that Keller was found in an alternate version of the movie. Villeneuve deliberately went away from that ending for a reason.

[@uuiam]

Isn't Michael Caine's character is supposed to be Mal's father, not Dom's in Inception.

[@BrianHartman]

I always believed the end of Inception was real because before the movie ends you can see the top start to wobble. It wouldn't wobble and then go back upright.

[@expert_fretwork]

it was also never shown to wobble during any sequence where it was confirmed to be a dream, so it stands to reason that the fact that it wobbled at all would point to evidence of it being reality.

[@AqueleRod]

Can we be sure that Nolan said the truth to Michael Cane or he was just trying to make things simpler to the actor?

[@louqueordoyne8417]

That was always my understanding. Caine wanted to know how to play the role and Nolan directed him.

[@coolguyhino92]

Pretty sure Nolan was pissed at Cain for telling people the ending was in fact real, cuz, "every scene i'm in was real" He's only ever said that he was unhappy that Cain had told people. Nolan could have EASILY stated that it was meant to be philosophical, or an internal motivation for the character. But even IF we take Cain's admission off the table, there is still _more_ than enough evidence to prove the ending was reality

[@crasher88]

With inception there is one area I always noticed but no one bring up. In the scean where Cobb is testing out the tranquilizer is being tested for the first time. Cobb wakes up and goes to a sink to test whether he is dreaming or awak with bis Totten he is in such a freaked out stake he never let's the Totten stop thus verifying if he is awake or asleep. From that point on you have to ask for the rest of the movie is he awake or asleep at the den where the chemist monitors every one who uses his drugs.

[@jasonbarkley4586]

Moviegoers don't get that comics don't end it's the entire point... Superheroes fight is literally called the never ending battle for a reason Blake becoming Batman proves that...comics just keep the Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, or Peter Parker name because it's just good business

[@WhatTheFirstAidSpray]

Yeah..... The implications of that scrapped sequel to MI are horrifying. Boo wasn't just gone from her bedroom for a few hours, a day or so tops. She would have been missing for potentially months or years.

[@kimnotkimberly1]

I had heard that in the ending up Inception the wifes totem is the spinning top. So doesn't really matter what happens with that. It would only continue to spin if she (not him) was spinning it. And that if he was not wearing his wedding ring (as mentioned), that means the ending was real. And apparently you don't see his ring at the end (Don't remember, it's been awhile). But interesting the Michael Caine angle. Did not think of that.

[@MJG206]

In the short story that Total Recall was based on, the main character actually WAS a spy but had his memories suppressed, then goes to recall to get a "vacation" and it unlocks his suppressed memories.

[@arthursummers7899]

I never thought Inception was ambiguous, the totem was slowing and he saw the children's faces. Tar wasn't ambiguous, I didn't even think it was meant to be, it wasn't the type of movie why would they suddenly put in realistic dream sequences at the end? And that explanation for Total Recall is worse than the actual ambiguous ending, I would rather it be up to the audience interpretation than that.

[@guybeleeve]

In my honest opinion, I think the only person that was killed in American psycho was the homeless guy in the alley. The reason why I think this is because of his reaction, which was far different from the other murders. He freaked out and seemed scared that he actually killed someone and then quickly fled the scene. Unlike the other times where he was very animated and cartoonish.

[@northerner3861]

Besides. Bateman as Walter Mitty is honestly a stronger final result.

[@milton7763]

In the book he laughs and breaks the dog’s front legs. More importantly, you’re missing the point of the story: it’s an allegory

[@IllegalPriest]

3:14 that pronunciation of “jake gyllenhaal” 😂

[@PlatinumRoseLady]

I hope for a happy ending. It's just a me thing.

[@dontwannaname]

Will someone at this organisation please research how to pronounce "Denis Villeneuve" and tell the presenters???? Wrong. Every. Single. Time. Infuriating

[@CashelOConnolly]

If this is the only thing that infuriates you then you’re very lucky!🙄

[@vladtepes97]

Maybe they'll read this comment. Anyway, here's the pronunciation: DenEE VEELnerv.

[@mileshill7196]

British people don't believe in pronouncing things correctly.

[@alexdawson868]

I thought from the first viewing that Gylenhall finds Hugh Jackman in Prisoners

[@FelipeRodrigues-vj1zb]

What the hell? Michael Caine is Cobb's father-in-law, not his father.

[@williamnovak9524]

I remember listening to the commentary of Total Recall and, if I remember correctly, when they put Arnold in the chair right before they zap him to start his adventure, both Arnold and Verhoven discuss on the commentary that this was the only movie where the entire movie is explained in every detail (by the guy explaining Arnold's fantasy) and then it actually happens. I remember thinking at the time that that meant the entire movie after the zap was a dream but I may have misinterpreted.

[@michaelrue1400]

His real memories start to surface before the false ones are implanted, so they stop the process. Everything he selected for his fantasy was based upon those suppressed memories. That's how it went down in the book too, except he didn't get out to Mars afterwards.

[@brookatkins8111]

Blue sky on mars ? That’s new … off to dream land …

[@MijinLaw]

Yes, he'd been dreaming of mars and chose options for the package based on these desires. So it doesn't prove anything either way (of course, in the film the predictions are *too* perfect, but that's necessary to make it a movie...if the Rekall guy says even one thing which doesn't happen, there's no ambiguity in the ending...this way it's a stretch, but still possible to interpret both ways)

[@chrismanuel9768]

​@@michaelrue1400That's what he's told. After he goes under to get implanted with false memories of being a spy. Convenient that no no, he totally is a spy! He was implanted successfully. Another happy customer

[@subman23]

I wonder if Up would have hit as hard if the original Monster sequel had come out. I'm not saying it wouldn't have been good all of a sudden or anything, it just would no longer have been the first time that the soulmate died, as opposed to the typical parent or other family member

[@Rage867]

So sick of explaining this. If a movie is happening in someones head, like people think that Total Recall is, then the audience can only see scenes that have the main character because if it is all in his head then then there can't be scenes he is not aware of. But in Total Recall there are several exposition scenes that fills in the audience on key bits of the movie that the main character is completely unaware of. So that means the movie is not just a memory in his head because if it was then he would be aware of the scenes he wasn't in.

[@_XR40_]

Excellent point.

[@adamdyer6515]

14 years later to Jurassic Park? Once again, you can't proof read this stuff? Makes me wonder at the accuracy of anything you guys posit. Sort it out

[@ltrtg13]

After watch the original Italian Job god know how many times. I have never noticed until this video. At 13:43 there id a "rock" rolling uphill.

[@walterengler5709]

I have to say that explaination for Inception is brillant and simple at the same time. Any scene with Caine is real, period. Only question the scenes without him. Apply that to the movie and everything easily falls into reality vs inception scenes and it all makes perfect logical sense. Of course in a way the bad guys do win as they manipulate someone into breaking up a company for the benefit of another. But hey, he gets his kids so win!

[@petraw9792]

Or Nolan just wanted Caine to play every scene as real.

[@timothyivey5497]

Don't like this narration, I gotta say. It's lazy; she sounds like she just doesn't care. Is this a Whatculture intern who was asked to narrate to see what she's got? Sounds like it.

[@AdamJDawkins]

Ive just realised the last shot from The Italian Job was shot backwards. Just at the end look tonthe right and you can see a rock fall upwards. Never noticed it before.

[@sleepinggorilla]

This is a problem with audiences being unable to accept any ambiguity. It’s storytelling! These days it has to all be spelled out or you are in danger of being cancelled. By the way. Total Recall does give away the truth. Every scene is from Arnold’s perspective. Except one.

[@branbroken]

Was that the scene where richter and lori were talking? Though i dont recall them discussing his mental state though i guess that shows events quaid wouldn't be privy too and couldnt have halucinated. For me its the scene where the recall techs explicitly state they haven't actually given him the implant yet. I always found that scene in addition to him dreaming of melina prior to visiting recall where they didnt do the implant(meaning his dreams of melina had to be from latent memories of his hauser life) , indicated the reality is as the film unfolds rather than any sort of mental episode.

[@sleepinggorilla]

@@branbroken Yep that's the scene. It's the only time in the whole movie the camera pulls away, and there is a conversation Quaid is not involved in.

[@KingBasieSims4]

True. Gone are the days where you'd sit excitedly waiting for Studios to not be aholes and greenlight a sequel to a great cliffhanger, or just accept that a cliffhanger is what it is and the movie is still good regardless. The need to know has taken over, and what's sad is it often the ending is a disappointing and lack luster conclusion, instead of just letting us come up with multiple ending that better suit the story without feeling cheated out of something good.

[@sadie9728]

I don't think the end of Tar could have been more clear

[@madhatyr]

I love that Michael cane is in like three of these lol

[@AlexReynard]

6:40 OH FUCK OFF, PIXAR! Actually, wait, no. Good for them cancelling that. That's going way over the line of cruel emotional manipulation.

[@rubioblack]

Michael Caine is in so many movies with vexing endings.

[@ItsFreakinHarding.]

I probably got one that you've never seen before, it's called Death Trap (1982), and it stars Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve. It's an amazing movie with a truly bizarre twisted effing ending you would never see coming unless you read or someone told youabout it. You might even be able to watch the whole movie on KZbin.

[@rubioblack]

@@ItsFreakinHarding. oh I loved that one. I was raised on their movies. We would always follow that up with Somewhere In Time.

[@williambryant7686]

Jake Who?

[@AutumnK]

Right?!? 😂

[@andreasmeelie1889]

I don’t get it with the Monsters’ Inc category. Didn’t Boo actually sound like a bigger kid when she saw Sulley so why would she be old? Not to mention but didn’t Sulley actually see her before his eyes so why would she be missing? I don’t get it.

[@joshallen448]

The thing that I'm curious about as well is that if time moves faster in the human world to where Boo has aged several decades in only a small amount of time, then wouldn't she have been missing for several years while she is in the monster universe for a few days? I think they may have cancelled that idea because it didn't line up with what they already established. As if it was an idea that came too late into the production to properly set it up. Messing with time in movies is always very tricky to do well.

[@thebatman2837]

According to legend Charlie and his crew are still hanging off that cliff...

[@TheDaviesCR]

I really think the situation would have resolved itself one way or the other long before fifty years had come and gone.

[@RobVespa]

A number of these aren't cliffhangers... and some of those that are don't have answers.

[@welltechnically8524]

I think that everyone misunderstood the thing with Michael Caine in Inception. I don't think that it meant that it was real, but for any actor whatever they are doing is real at that moment for that character. That's why Leonardo Dicaprio's character left before he saw it fall or not- he realized that what was important was what he experienced then.

[@KingBasieSims4]

But Christopher Caine said the director told him where the dad is present it's real, not where he is the scene is real, or am have I misunderstood what you're saying?

[@elfappo9330]

why do you keep mispronouncing jake gyllenhaal's name? There's not even an N where you're pronouncing one.

[@SiriusMined]

She didn't add an N, but pronounced the G wrong

[@ajsantiago78]

I don't understand how people can think Total Recall was just implanted memories. There are entire scenes without Quade in them. How can these be Quade's memories? Pretty sure Recall can't implant things from a 3rd person perspective. That would defeat the purpose of making the memories 'yours'.

[@bbwibb02]

I thought maybe the American Psycho entry was going to mention that the sequel straight up just tells you that Bateman was in fact a serial killer. Since the video didn't, I thought someone in the comments would mention it, but it looks like no one did. I guess no one saw American Psycho 2: All-American Girl

[@quitcallinmebill1699]

That movie had zero to do with AP. They had to have that intro and change the name to even get released straight to video. Not Canon in any way

[@_XR40_]

Sequels are irrelevant. Most films never get sequels and aren't devised with sequels in mind, and even those that do are seldom what the creator envisioned. For example, the original sequel for the original _Star Wars_ that George Lucas had in mind was never filmed (Though it was turned into a novel called _Splinter of the Mind's Eye_ ). Not everything is, or should be, a "franchise"...

[@marvelsProtege]

The last one, didn't they also show away the got the money too

[@davidking4838]

I contend that the ending of Inception wasn't even meant to be a cliffhanger. Fans fabricated this idea later. I will always believe that Nolan simply chose the spinning top - faltering as it was clearly about to drop - as the end. Pure and simple. Not trying to fool you or have you think THE ENTIRE MOVIE was a dream. Because then you venture into sillyland........ As an example - how do you like this for an ending - Just as the top spins we cut to a guy in New Jersey (with a thick Jersey accent) waking up at 3 AM. He notices his wife is not in bed but in the bathroom. He yells out "Hey, honey, I had that dream again. You know, the one where I look like Leonardo Decaprio and go into other people's dreams." You then hear his wife call out "Okay, honey, that's nice. Go back to sleep now" Then the camera pans from the man in the bed to the bottom of the bathroom door where we see the light is on. Then we see inside the bathroom and it's Ellen.....with her totem.......What do you think?

[@alphaomega2117]

What I always find funny about Inception is people dont seem to consider that Cobb was the mark all along. Watch it again and watch the Airport scene at the end. They are all seemingly looking at Cobb hoping their plan worked - including the mark. My guess is that everyone including the supposed mark in the film were in fact working together to help Cobb move past his block over his wifes death so he could have a happy life. It totally changes the whole narrative if Cobb is the mark but suddenly a few of the loose threads make total sense.

[@emperorg9910]

The monsters inc. Cancelled sequel was sad.

[@Chiller11]

Great! We already have grizzly bears, mountain lions and gangs of urban coyotes. Now we have pterosaurs snatching us from the sky?

[@milton7763]

10. Inception: it’s just annoying that you spoil the best part of the movie. Leaving the ending ambiguous was what made it interesting 9. American Psycho: anyone familiar with Easton Ellis’s work would know it’s ridiculous to speculate it was all in Bateman’s head. The whole story is an _allegory_ ! It makes non sense if it’s all in his head - the over-the-topness of people not caring, seemingly not noticing etc is the very _core_ of the story and its message 8. Prisoners: the version I saw actually had that scene in there 2. Total Recall: Verhoeven wasn’t saying both happened, he was saying he purposefully left it open. Unfortunately, when I first saw this movie I was too young to realize the duplicity in the story and ending. I just took it on face value.

[@PanteraRossa]

Tar is the ultimate satire of modern Hollywood and art scene in general. It should be up there with Exit Through the Gift Shop as one of the most biting indictments of vapid, commoditized commercial art and the industry behind it. Not to mention the despicable humans that seem to promote this self-aggrandizing nonsense.

[@garysturgess6757]

As far as I'm concerned, if it isn't in the movie, it isn't canonical. That doesn't mean (e.g.) that the Inception ending wasn't real, or that Bateman didn't kill anyone - but it's not resolved because of something an actor or director said after the fact. The art must stand on its own, IMO. If you want to make sure everyone's on the same page, don't put ambiguity in your endings (or make a sequel, if you must).

[@Freeden]

This is a weird list. Most of these aren't really cliffhangers, even when they end ambiguously. We already know that Tar's ending is real. I've never heard it called into question. Prisoners wasn't really ambiguous because we knew that Loki hears the whistle. American Psycho wouldn't mean much if everything was imagined. The whole point of the movie is that Bateman is actually a psycho doing these horrible things and everyone is essentially ignoring it. The only ones that I feel truly fits is Inception and The Italian Job.

[@michaeldehart3253]

Inception was an overly complicated mess. After 30 minutes into the movie I couldn’t understand why Michael Cain couldn’t just bring the kids to their father.

[@c0ded56]

First whatculture video I’ve had in my feed in easily 2 years

[@KingBasieSims4]

Theory of Inception ending: "was it real or a dream?" Everyone: " the Totem was Mal's" 😑 yeah y'all really answered that question. Beating around the bush about a simple yes or no question doesn't answer it, just makes people sound obnoxious about what the real story was while probably not even knowing the clear answer to it is either. The director said where Caine was it was reality, I'd rather believe the guy that actually made the movie than the person who took a short left at Pluto to tell me yes, yes it was reality not a dream!

[@brucenatelee]

Why make ambiguos endings? Prisoners' ending was just annoying for no damn reason, only to now know THEY ACTUALLY FILMED IT!!! It is like asking a question, only to be told "I have an answer, but won't tell you."

[@vayne75]

I always think that Total Recall is reality because a. It's more fun b. There is one (1) scene where the bad guys chasing Quaid confab with their boss and Quaid is not in it at all. They implanted a dream of a conversation between people that didn't involve him? Dubious.

[@AndyBarkerBee]

Jurassic Park never needed a sequel, although The Lost World did a real good attempt. Everything #3 onwards is total, idiotic, trash!

[@ranwolf7650]

wait.... I thought JP2 and 3 were no longer part of the series overall continuity

[@MCenna]

I'm very satisfied with the explanation of Total Recall, has always been one of my favorite movies and the scientific aspects of the answer absolutely is what I wanted to hear.

[@FallenHellscape]

Cliffhanger usually suggests a sequel.

[@alexandruraresdatcu]

You forgot Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels...

[@thecustomizer2008]

In American Psycho, everyone calls each other different names because they all act the same and have very similar looks, and each person in the office that Patrick worked in were all rich pricks who don't truly care about anybody. Only Patricks close coworkers that he drinks with and his assistant and obviously Willem DaFoe's Detective, know who Patrick Batemen really is. So if everyone thinks this person is actually this person and so on and so fourth, I like to think that Batemen did kill those people, and the reason his apartment was so clean and there were no bodies, was because, it wasn't Batemens apartment, everything is the same, its just a different room in the samd building, Patrick did call his lawyer but his Lawyer thought Patrick was a different guy, but maybe he thought the person he believed was the "spineless batemen" was actually a different person entirely. Batemen probably did kill the real Paul Allen, but the Lawyer didnt have lunch with Allen but another person he believed was Allen. Hell, maybe Patricks girlfriend who was sleeping with I think Bryce just thought Bryce was Patrick. The only people I don't think Patrick killed was the people in the whole "Feed me the cat" police chace sequence

[@kurtbrisch5776]

I want the joke Bender is telling in the ceiling in The Breakfast Club to get finished!!!!!!!!

[@tracisr]

Thank God they didn't do that monsters Inc sequel like that! 😭😭😭

[@Contevent]

About Inception, we know it is rral because the hero's totem is not the spinner. It was his wife's totem. His actual totem is his wedding ring, which appears when he is in a dream and dissapear in réal life.

[@abbyn5414]

How is it you still can’t pronounce Jake Gyllenhaal’s name correctly? Also, the phrase is “dressed to the nines,” not “distressed.”

[@jamesking9807]

"American Psycho", no, it was all in his head. He watches violent movies (hence always talking about needing to return movies) and imagines himself committing acts he sees in them. Thus he imagines being chased by a police car, firing a couple shots at it, and it blows up...something pretty much impossible in real life but commonplace in action movies. He imagines running naked through his condo building, buck-a$$ naked with a chainsaw revved to the redline...and not a single neighbor notices. Etc, etc...

[@79madmac]

Wrong. Both the author and the director state that Bateman actually murdered those people. The whole theme is that everyone is self-absorbed and doesn't care. Patrick is practically begging to get caught.

[@jamesking9807]

@@79madmac Ellis left it open-ended on purpose. There are certain points in the novel where things are obviously Bateman's imagination...just like in the film. Beyond doing a dissection of the novel...I'll agree to disagree.

[@jamalvargas6146]

My Least Favorite Cliffhanger Ending Was In Undergrads the MTV cartoon and we still haven't gotten that movie to give us closure come on Pete Williams I know animation takes time and money still a long wait

[@RedNinja115]

Tbh I thought the point the ending of inception is actually trying to make is that it doesn’t matter whether it’s a dream or not, cuz he’s with his kids and he’s happy and that’s all that really matters 😅

[@isaiahach]

she needs to enunciate. i could barely understand anything that was said in this video. subtitles were of no help because they couldn't understand what she was saying either

[@sombreromalo8686]

As far as inception, once you see the token start to wobble you realize it's real. In the alternate reality it spins non stop because the same rules don't apply 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@jessehohm5835]

I love the “Dark Knight Rises” and I’ve always loved the ending because I thought it was so perfect that Levetts character became Robin..and Im still sticking with that ending in mind..I reject the fact that he was supposed to become the “next” Batman! He’s a scrawny young kid, he’s no Batman!! He is Robin!

[@host_theghost507]

Ultimately the film is all you have. An unanswered question (which is not the same as a cliffhanger, btw) isn't resolved just because an actor recalls the director saying something or because there was a line in the script that was cut, or a sequel that never got made. They're not part of the movie that audiences wound up seeing. Nolan has gone on record saying that it doesn't matter whether DiCaprio is in the real world or a simulation-the point is that he's with his family, which is all he ever wanted. I'm not a huge fan of the movie's ambiguous ending, but it is the ending the filmmaker wanted.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Always hate a cliffhanger when theres no coming sequel..

[@I9X8I]

why is there a need to resolve cliffhangers? well done they are a powerful ending leading the audience to think about the movie, to use their imagination, to discuss it. there is no need to end every

[@KingBasieSims4]

Exactly. And usually when they do end up resolving it turns out it sucks! Better to leave it as is.