Author: Craig Zablo

Rudie Obias and Mental_Floss present 11 Clever Moments of Movie Foreshadowing You May Have Missed.  Here are three of my favorites… [Beware of Spoilers!]

1. PSYCHO (1960)
After Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) checks into the Bates Motel, she overhears the motel’s owner, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), get into an argument with his mother, who is emotionally abusive toward him. Nevertheless, Norman defends her when Marion suggests that their relationship might be toxic. Norman explains that his mother is “as harmless as one of those stuffed birds.” The line foreshadows the film’s twist when it is revealed that Norman killed and taxidermied his mother.

4. TOTAL RECALL (1990)
Paul Verhoeven’s 1990 science fiction film Total Recall is full of clever clues that keep audiences guessing as to whether Doug Quaid’s (Arnold Schwarzenegger) adventure as a secret agent on Mars was real or merely a memory implanted into his brain. One of the biggest hints comes at the beginning of the film, when Quaid visits Rekall and one of the engineers tells him that he will experience “blue skies on Mars.” At the end of Total Recall, the Red Planet is terraformed and there is now a blue sky on Mars.

5. RESERVOIR DOGS (1992)
Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs follows a small group of criminals brought together to pull off a diamond heist. But when the police show up in the midst of the job, it’s clear that one of the men is an informant. The criminals are unknown to each other and are only referred to by colorful aliases (i.e. Mr. White). However, if you pay close attention to the opening scene, you can figure out that Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) is the police informant who set up the rest of the gang.

During the breakfast scene, when Joe (Lawrence Tierney) leaves the table to pay the bill, everyone contributes a dollar for the waitress’ tip—everyone except for Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), who refuses to tip based on principle. When Joe comes back to the table, he notices that the tip is short and asks who didn’t contribute. Without hesitation, Mr. Orange rats out Mr. Pink.

Additionally, when Nice Guy Eddie (Chris Penn) rushes to the hideout after the heist-gone-wrong, there’s an orange balloon following his car, which is a nod to the fact that Mr. Orange is after him.

Hollywood.com presents 17 Things You Never Knew About The Shawshank Redemption.   Here are three of my favorites…

3. Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Paul Newman, and even Robert Redford were considered for the part of Red, who is a middle-aged Irishman in the original story… Darabont had Freeman in mind all along because of his presence, demeanor, and, of course, that voice.

16. When the cut-out hiding space for his digging tool was discovered in Andy’s Bible, it’s clear the book is open to Exodus.

The word literally means “to escape or depart.”

5. The mugshot of Red attached to his parole papers looks just like a young Morgan Freeman for a reason: it’s Freeman’s son, Alfonso in the photos.

Alfonso Freeman also appears in the film as a convict yelling, “Free fish! Free fish today!”

Sean Hutchinson and Mental_Floss present 15 Fascinating Facts About  The Departed.  Here are three of my favorites…

2. IT’S BASED ON A REAL-LIFE GANGSTER.
Jack Nicholson’s character is based on infamous Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger. Before he was captured in 2011, he was second only to Osama bin Laden on the FBI’s Most Wanted List and had a reward of $1 million for his capture.

6. MARK WAHLBERG WASN’T THE FIRST CHOICE TO PLAY DIGNAM.
Ray Liotta (who was also in Scorsese’s Goodfellas) and Denis Leary were initially considered for the role, which eventually went to Wahlberg. Wahlberg was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.

8. THE FILM TAKES A WHILE TO GET GOING.
The title card doesn’t appear until 18 minutes after the movie starts.