# Movies with WTF?!? moments you still can't figure out **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [October 15, 2026, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861 "2026-10-15T17:39:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/61 "2026-10-17T15:39:10Z")
> [@robby](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > “Captain January needs all his people.” It’s not in the same category as some of the other answers but it made me go WTF every time I watch _Full Metal Jacket._ > > Totally agree with this one. That line was always a complete non sequitur for me. I never noticed the line. And upon noticing it, my first thought it is just the name of their commanding officer. > [@Loach](#): > > To a lesser extent it’s a WTF that everyone has a nickname. Everyone is assigned a nickname. Everyone is referred to by their nickname. Everyone introduces themselves by their nickname. Although it is inevitable that some people will get nicknames it is not universal in any branch of the military outside of the small fighter pilot community. That’s less of a WTF for me because it feels like a stylistic choice by the director to show the dehumanizing and institutional nature of the military. > [@sweepkick](#): > > 1. The Lobster: the dog killing scene. I dropped out at that scene. I get that it was supposed to be a “test” and shit, but I was done after that. I’m not sure what happened after that, and I’m not sure I care. That whole movie was a bit of a WTF for me. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/62 "2026-10-17T17:35:40Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Although it is inevitable that some people will get nicknames it is not universal in any branch of the military outside of the small fighter pilot community. IME from about the same era as the making of _FMJ_, USN (and hence USMC) was very serious about nicknames (AKA “callsigns”) for their pilots and especially the fighter & attack guys. USAF of the same era it was a LOT more selective. Maybe half the guys had nicknames = callsigns, the rest did not. IIRC USN often used those nicknames on the radio. Not for ATC purposes but between airplanes in a group and also between carrier and airplane. USAF never did anything like that. Nowadays? I have no clue. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/63 "2026-10-17T20:54:16Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > This is an ultra-bizarre moment at the very end of _Dead or Alive_ (1999). Nothing in the film prepares the viewer for it. At least it appears to answer the title question. (“Dead.”) ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/64 "2026-10-17T21:11:43Z")
For anyone still wondering about watermelons, search Buckaroo. Many low-budget movies have WTF moments due to slap-dash screenplays and limitations on re-takes. But one big-budget film from 1969 has (for me) an inexplicable reliance on the same cheap sound effect—“thunderous hooves”—for EVERY shot of horses galloping. It doesn’t matter if they’re on rock or sand, it’s the same sound effect. So it’s not really a ‘_what is going on here_’ WTF, more of a ‘_how did they fail to notice how stupid this is_’ WTF: _ **Mackenna’s Gold** _. Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif, Telly Savalas, etc. (one of the late-60’s ensemble adventure pics.) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064615/?\_ssoLoop=1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064615/?_ssoLoop=1) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/65 "2026-10-17T21:21:30Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Captain January was edited out of the final cut. There was a long scene filmed that Kubrick cut because he realized it didn’t work. All references except that one were scrubbed from the film. _L.A. Story_ has a handful of lines where characters mention someone named Harry Zell, always in an offhand familiar tone as if we should already know who he is. Same deal - he was originally in the film (played by John Lithgow), but all his scenes were cut. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/66 "2026-10-18T00:32:48Z")
> [@sweepkick](#): > > 1. The Lobster: the dog killing scene. I dropped out at that scene. I get that it was supposed to be a “test” and shit, but I was done after that. I’m not sure what happened after that, and I’m not sure I care. She was very stoic? sociopathic? when it came to that kind of thing and he pretended to be the same in order to get her to like him. She ‘tested’ him by killing his dog (brother) to see if he’d react. When he started crying, she knew he wasn’t for her and ended things between them. As far as what happens after that, he escapes and spends the rest of the movie in the woods with a group of people that also escaped. But it doesn’t get any less WTF. If you didn’t like it before the dog scene, you’re not likely to enjoy the rest of it either. It’s also worth noting that The Lobster is a Yorgos Lanthimos movie, so at least some amount of WTF is to be expected. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/67 "2026-10-18T00:37:46Z")
The ending of [Hope](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27369017). It starts off as a pretty good “monster attacks town” movie, I can say that. Where it ends up…well, I’d say wait until you can see it for free on a streaming channel. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/68 "2026-10-18T01:11:34Z")
> [@sweepkick](#): > > 1. Ice Pirates. There is a scene in the bar that shows a parrot that is devoid of all feathers. I have never thought anything but the fact that the filmmakers plucked that parrot for that scene. It would be one thing, but if you look at that parrot’s eyes in that scene, you can tell that in it’s eyes it is not a happy bird. This scene really broke my heart and the terrible thing is that it is a real parrot. I cannot see any positive explanation for this and it doesn’t do anything whatsoever for the film. There are incurable diseases that cause parrots to lose all their feathers. In the wild they would just die, but in captivity their owners help them with little knitted sweaters etc. There is no prospect at all of the filmmakers of a 1980’s mainstream Hollywood movie plucking a live bird. The parrot would have been a (probably well loved) pet that had lost its feathers to disease. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/69 "2026-10-18T01:17:42Z")
I knew “The Hurt Locker” wasn’t a documentary before I watched it, but there’s a scene early on that gives it away, which actually may have been the idea. An American soldier points out an Iraqi on a rooftop with a video camera, and says, “I bet he’s going to put that on YouTube.” The movie is set in the fall of 2004, and YouTube was launched in the spring of 2005. Also, “127 Hours” is one movie-long blooper; the main actor’s facial hair never changes throughout the film. ---
**Author:** ![sweepkick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@sweepkick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweepkick)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/70 "2026-10-18T01:21:30Z")
> It’s also worth noting that The Lobster is a Yorgos Lanthimos movie, so at least some amount of WTF is to be expected. Completely fair and I have very much enjoyed his other work (particularly The Killing of a Sacred Deer - Keoghan was brilliant). Perhaps one day I will revisit it. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/71 "2026-10-18T01:32:54Z")
It’s also not uncommon for parrots to experience a behavioral disorder that causes them to pluck their own feathers. It’s usually a psychological disorder but sometimes can be associated with allergies, parasites or other physical causes. However in such cases the bird doesn’t pluck literally all its feathers, since it can’t reach some areas with its beak, such as its head. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/72 "2026-10-18T01:33:08Z")
Wotta coincidence, I was rereading some old threads and > [@Movies that still hold up but only God knows why](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/79): > > ETA: has any movie ever had the chutzpah to conclude, with no presaging whatever, by having nuclear war break out? ---
**Author:** ![LavenderMagnolia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/2bfe46/32.png) [@LavenderMagnolia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderMagnolia)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2026, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/73 "2026-10-19T18:03:23Z")
I’ve seen _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_ three times, I think, and I’ve never understood why the movie does not show Cameron standing up to his father about the damage to his father’s car. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2026, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/74 "2026-10-19T19:34:10Z")
The ending of _Enemy_, although there’s a lot of WTF throughout the movie. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2026, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/75 "2026-10-19T19:46:48Z")
> [@LavenderMagnolia](#): > > I’ve seen _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_ three times, I think, and I’ve never understood why the movie does not show Cameron standing up to his father about the damage to his father’s car. Maybe they thought that would be anticlimatic? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2026, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/76 "2026-10-19T20:58:45Z")
> [@LavenderMagnolia](#): > > I’ve seen _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_ three times, I think, and I’ve never understood why the movie does not show Cameron standing up to his father about the damage to his father’s car. If YouTube film guru **Cinemastix** is to be believed, they didn’t realize that the movie was about Cameron until after they filmed it. They had to do some radical edits. That’s what I recall. I’ll see if I can dig up the video. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2026, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/77 "2026-10-19T21:24:09Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@LavenderMagnolia](#): > > > > I’ve seen _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_ three times, I think, and I’ve never understood why the movie does not show Cameron standing up to his father about the damage to his father’s car. > > Maybe they thought that would be anticlimatic? Maybe they didn’t want you to see he was the same age as his father? (Warning: age of the actor has been exaggerated for purposes of humor) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/78 "2026-10-19T21:56:08Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Maybe they thought that would be anticlimatic? It would have been too ugly. Even if Cameron was successful in standing up to his dad, it would have been a nasty, unpleasant confrontation, an that’s not the tone they wanted to end the movie on. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/79 "2026-10-19T22:47:20Z")
I conflated two different videos. There’s the one about all the edits and then there’s this one. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DaMimdNNnAw/hqdefault.jpg "The moment you realize the main character is not actually the main character") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaMimdNNnAw) I was just thinking though, from a storytelling perspective, the central question isn’t whether he’s going to stand up to his father. It’s whether he’s going to live in constant dread of his father. And by the end of film he seems at peace with not only the fact that he’s going to get in trouble, but that his father is never going to really accept him. So there’s no need for a confrontation scene. It would kind of undermine the nature of his personal growth. Barring that, apparently the film was written in a week. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861/80 "2026-10-20T01:37:34Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > If YouTube film guru **Cinemastix** is to be believed, they didn’t realize that the movie was about Cameron until after they filmed it. But it was not. That is just a fun fan concept. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-wtf-moments-you-still-cant-figure-out/1033861.md?page=5)