There are some who might say a movie’s entire message is sent by how it begins, and how it ends. But rarely do directors actually treat their first and final shots with so much importance. Unforgettable views, moments of triumph, or witty dialogue can all make a cut-to-black and end credits seem perfectly timed, but some directors go the extra mile, crafting a start and finish that add an extra level of storytelling for viewers paying close attent

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Somewhere out there in the universe, a force is growing under a veil of secrecy and shadow – and not just any force, but THE force. We’re now two years away from the 2015 release of J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars Episode VII and we still know little-to-nothing solid about what Disney has planned for its big re-launch of Star Wars – other than the fact that some familiar faces will be returning to the franch

No other actor embodies the age of American Westerns like John Wayne, with his role as Ethan Edwards in The Searchers considered one of his finest roles. The film opens inside a West Texas homestead, revealing a stunning landscape as Ethan first returns home after leaving years earlier to fight in the Civil War. When his brother’s family is killed not long after, and their two daughters kidnapped, Ethan sets off to find them no matter how long it may take. The youngest daughter Debbie is finally tracked down years later, and Ethan personally delivers brings her back home. Although it’s technically a different home, she is welcomed with open arms, and the future, for once, looks bright. With no place for an aging soldier inside, Ethan is left to walk into the wild all by himself. The shot is a perfect mirror of the one which started the film, and director John Ford’s iconic closing image is just one of the reasons The Searchers would go on to be seen by many as a masterpiece, and one of the greatest films ever m

Backstory: While on their mission to the Sun, the Icarus II crew receives a distress signal from the long-missing Icarus I and decides to rendezvous with the ship. When Capa (Cillian Murphy), Searle (Cliff Curtis), Harvey (Troy Garity), and Mace (Chris Evans) board the Icarus I, their flashlights periodically shine directly into the camera (and out at the audience). At each instance, roughly 49 minutes into the film, director Danny Boyle spliced in hidden frames of (now deceased) Icarus I crew memb

While some directors might shy away from fan criticism, J.J. Abrams seems to embrace and accept it. He is fully aware of the fan reaction to Star Trek Into Darkness and his movies overall. He even tries to make up for his misgivings with his next film, but he’s not above admitting that he miscalculated what he thinks fans w

There are still far too many unknown variables to say with any certainty that this rumored storyline for Edwards’ Star Wars spinoff is or is not accurate, though. We still don’t know who the majority of the Force Awakens cast are playing in this film universe (the Star Wars OT cast members aside) and even if one of the spinoffs does indeed revolve around a mission to steal the Death Star plans, there’s no guarantee it’ll be the first one released in theat

From the moment Avatar hit theaters, it was clear that James Cameron had filled the movie with tons of political messages. From deforestation, over-aggressive military, to the destruction of Native peoples and the discovery of the New World – you name it. It didn’t take long for people to notice that there was one country in particular that the director was singling out. When the movie’s villain, Col. Quaritch, is explaining the risks of the planet to his new recruits, it’s hard to miss the stripes of the American flag shining behind him – once you see it, it’s not even that sub

Backstory: During the Times Square hunting sequence in I Am Legend , Robert Neville (Will Smith) passes a billboard advertising a Superman and Batman team-up film set to open on May 15, 2010. Given the 2007 I Am Legend release, had the tongue-in-cheek easter egg come true, the film would have likely featured Brandon Routh (whose Superman Returns released in 2006) and Christian Bale (who debuted as Batman in 2005). Of course, Warner Bros. has since announced an actual Batman V Superman crossover in their Man of Steel sequel, which will star Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck in the iconic roles. So, maybe I Am Legend really did include a hidden message from Warner Bros. after all – i.e. they’ve wanted to cash-in with a World’s Finest team-up for more than half a dec

James Cameron’s 3D blockbuster smash may have taken audiences to an alien world, but it begins at home, in a futuristic Earth. Actually, Avatar begins in a dream sequence, with the movie’s hero Jake Sully explaining that his sleep has become filled with visions of flying ever since he was wounded in combat, opening his eyes every morning to find he’s still confined to a wheelchair. His adventure on the planet Pandora piloting an artificially-grown human/Na-vi hybrid allows him to do more than fly, successfully defending the planet from his own side’s forces. The final shots of the movie bloopers|https://movietriviafocus.com/ mirror the beginning directly, showing Jake once again opening his eyes – this time, to a new body, a new people, and a new purpose. To take things further, the end credits are run over the exact same shots of flying as Jake’s first dr