Before J.J. Abrams took over the world of Star Wars with The Force Awakens and the Rise of Skywalker, he revived another classic sci-fi franchise with 2009’s Star Trek, a movie so filled with lens flares it was difficult to see. But from what people could make out, it seemed pretty good! Although the movie was a critical and financial success, it definitely raises a few questions. Like why didn’t Chris Hemsworth abandon ship if he was just setting it on a collision course? What was the point of the young Kirk scenes? How was Kirk qualified to be promoted? How did he happen to land on a remote planet and stumble upon the cave where Spock Prime was hanging out? What exactly do black holes and red matter do?!

Step inside the pitch meeting that led to Dolittle!

The Twilight Saga took theatres by storm when it premiered in 2008, with die-hard fans lining up to see Edward Cullen, Bella Swan and Jacob Black do super melodramatic vampire and werewolf stuff on the big screen. Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner will forever be associated with these roles. The movie definitely raises some questions. Like why are the Cullens even going to high school-- isn’t that a terrible way to blend in? What’s up with vampire baseball? What does everybody see in Bella? What’s so romantic about almost puking and awkwardly staring at her? Why is a 100 year old vampire so into a teenage girl? Why is she okay with him watching her sleep every night?!

In the early 1990’s, Mario and Luigi were all the rage. The Nintendo video game franchise had become a massive worldwide phenomenon, so it only made sense for Hollywood to try and cash in on it. The Super Mario Bros movie was the first movie based on a video game ever made, and it did not exactly inspire confidence in the genre. Starring Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper and Samantha Mathis, the movie is completely bonkers and raises a whole lot of questions. Like how did dinosaurs also evolve into humans? Why do none of the characters have anything to do with their video game counterparts? Why did they go all-in on the plumbing aspect? Why does President Koopa not just go through the portal? How did they think this would get a SEQUEL?!

Suicide Squad wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but most people can agree that Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn was a standout. So it’s only natural that Hollywood wanted to feature her in another movie! Rather than a straight up solo movie, Warner Bros has delivered Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) which is… pretty much a Harley Quinn movie. The film raises a lot of questions. Like why don’t any of Harley’s enemies use their guns? Where is the Joker and all the other Gotham villains? Where’s Batman for that matter? How is this Roman Sionus guy running the show? Is this the first comic book movie in which the problem is solved via laxatives? Why is there a hyena?! What is going on?!

Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most famous video game characters of all time, so it definitely makes sense that Hollywood wanted to cash in on this little blue guy by bringing him to the big screen. Voiced by Ben Schwartz, Sonic has now come to planet Earth and has to go up against the evil Doctor Robotnik, played by Jim Carrey. The movie definitely raises a lot of questions. Like why is there suddenly an owl here? Why does Sonic run into someone’s garage to use his portal ring? Why doesn’t he run to San Francisco to retrieve it, instead taking a slow-paced road trip when time is of the essence? Why does this little blue alien floss so often? Why did they want to give him so many teeth?

Indiana Jones is one of the most iconic movie characters of all time. Along with his role as Han Solo, playing Indy is one of the defining works of Harrison Ford’s long career. So, in an age of constant reboots and sequels, it was kind of inevitable that Hollywood wanted to bring Indiana Jones back to the big screen. And with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg both on board, this had the makings of something great! Unfortunately yeah no it didn’t work out that way. The movie definitely raises some questions. Like why are we focusing on aliens? Why do the good guys and the bad guys have the same goal? How did they think the nuke fridge scene was a good idea? How does Shia Laboeuf befriend monkeys so quickly and swing through the jungle faster than speeding vehicles? Why did the FBI decide to stop investigating Doctor Jones despite absolutely nothing changing from their perspective? What’s going on with Cate Blanchett’s voice?

With the massive success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s understandable that every movie studio under the sun wanted to create cinematic universes of their very own. For Universal, that attempt came in the form of the Dark Universe. It didn’t work out. Even with a superstar like Tom Cruise in the forefront, the movie raises a ton of questions. Like why did Princess Ahmanet need help from Set, the god of death, to take out a baby and a sleeping dude? How are two known artifact thieves still in the military? What exactly are the Mummy’s powers? Why is Doctor Jekyll so reckless with his Mr Hyde medicine? Why does Prodigium make it so simple for people to escape? Why hasn’t anyone destroyed the dagger or the stone? To answer all these questions and more, step inside the pitch meeting that led to The Mummy! It’ll be super easy, barely an inconvenience.

Disney and Pixar have put out a whole lot of classic animated films over the years-- but in the past decade the majority of them have been sequels, prequels or spinoffs of their most popular properties. With Onward, they’re making a return to the world of original concepts. They’re bringing us into a world of magic that’s lost its magic, featuring the vocal talents of Star-Lord himself Chris Pratt, as well Spider-Man himself Tom Holland. Onward does raise some questions though-- like how did the invention of planes lead to creatures not flying down the street, or to reach things on shelves? Why are all their technological inventions human-sized if the creatures are the ones that made them? Why doesn’t anyone consider how the mom character feels? Why does every single road trip movie need an encounter with a biker gang? Why are the Simpsons here?

James Bond is one of the most popular franchises of all time. In recent years with Daniel Craig in the titular role, it’s been kind of a mixed bag. Casino Royale was critically acclaimed for its gritty perspective on 007, but then Quantum of Solace seemingly dropped the ball. Then Skyfall picked the ball back up again, and Spectre… well it raises a lot of questions. Like what’s up with all the wardrobe changes? Where are they getting all these clothes? Why didn’t M tell James about the rogue mission while she was alive? Why is Q so nice to Bond? Why don’t any of the bad guys take the shot when they have it? How and when exactly did Madeleine fall deeply in love with James? When did Blofeld do so many arts and crafts?

The Matrix was one of the most popular and revolutionary movies of the 1990’s -- so it’s only natural that the early 2000’s gave us some sequels. The only problem is, it clearly wasn’t really designed to be a trilogy. The Matrix: Reloaded definitely raises some questions. Like how exactly is Agent Smith now free and able to copy paste himself? Why are we spending so much time in Zion talking about philosophy and politics? How is anything actually a problem, now that Neo is straight up Superman? How can Agent Smith travel through phone lines into the real world? How can Neo control machines in the real world? Why does the Architect use so many big words?!

John Krasinski, who made a name for himself as Jim Halpert on the hit comedy The Office, stepped into the director’s chair to bring us A Quiet Place in 2018. The movie, starring Krasinski and his real-life wife Emily Blunt, was a massive success and was one of the standout movies of the year. The movie does raise some questions though. Like why was the Abbott family so irresponsible in the opening scene? Why are the alien/monsters so inconsistent in what they can hear and how they attack? What’s up with that waterfall scene, and that nail scene on the stairs? Did Lee really have to sacrifice himself at the end? And what’s up with the happy quirky ending?

In these strange and uncertain times, the world has gathered their TV’s and smart devices to collectively watch the weird antics of eccentric zoo owner Joe Exotic in Netflix’s massive hit true crime series Tiger King. The series definitely raises a ton of questions. Like does Joe Exotic actually sing his songs? What made him think he could become President of the United States? How does he keep meeting new husbands? How does a tiger attack barely register as something of note in this show? How is literal Scarface one of the most relatable characters? Why does Jeff Lowe dress like that, and why does everyone call him Jeff Lowe? Did Carol Baskin feed her husband to some tigers? Why can’t we stop watching this show?!

Step inside the pitch meeting that led to Ghost Rider! Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe became a global phenomenon, certain Marvel characters were still getting one-off movies that were… not great. In 2007 Columbia Pictures decided that having Nicolas Cage star as Johnny Blaze AKA Ghost Rider would be a good idea. It… was not? The movie definitely raises some interesting questions. Like why does Johnny sometimes take damage from his Ghost Rider fights and other times doesn’t? Why can’t the devil deal with his son on Earth, why are his powers so weak? Why is Roxanne so obsessed with Johnny when he keeps ignoring her? What’s up with the Caretaker turning into a Ghost Rider and then not helping at all? Who does Blackheart scream at when he first appears? How did this get a sequel?

Jurassic Park from director Steven Spielberg is one of the most critically acclaimed movies of all time, so it’s only natural that Universal wanted to make a sequel. Making the beloved side character Ian Malcolm, played by Jeff Goldblum in the main character seemed like a no-brainer. But The Lost World: Jurassic Park definitely raises some questions, other than the strangely structured title. Like why have we never heard of this secondary island before? What kind of a person secretly goes to a dinosaur island knowing the her boyfriend has lived through very significant dinosaur-related trauma? Why is there a little girl in this movie? What’s up with all the characters making insane decisions leading to death-by-dinosaur? Why are we in San Diego?

The Matrix was one of the most revolutionary movies of all time and influenced a whole generation of action movies with its awesome visual effects and storytelling. Naturally its massive success led to some sequels: The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions… Which are also movies! The third film in the “trilogy” definitely raises some questions. Like did anyone actually want to see Neo, The Chosen One, stuck in a train station for 25 minutes? What’s up with all the real-world superpowers that Neo and Agent Smith have? How exactly do program make babies? Why are the machines using humans as batteries when the sun is accessible? Who are we supposed to care about in the Zion battle and why do both the machines and humans choose such impractical fighting styles?

Batman and Batman Returns, directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton, were big box office hits that brought the Dark Knight to a whole new level of popularity. Naturally Warner Bros wanted another film to follow them up, but had to do so with a new director, Joel Schumacher AND a new Batman, Val Kilmer. Batman Forever definitely raises a lot of questions. Like what’s up with the completely new visual style? Why does Batman adopt a fully grown man? What’s up with those… things on the batsuit? Why is Chase Meridian so obsessed with Batman? Why is the circus being broadcast on live TV? Why does Two Face want to kill Batman, exactly? Why the The Riddler pick the worst spot in the world for his showdown with Batman?

Keanu Reeves had a global hit with his action-packed movie The Matrix, and none of his movies since then really lived up to how amazing it was. That is, until John Wick rolled around in 2014. This action-packed shooter with a simple plot became a surprise hit and introduced the world to some awesome gun-fu action. The movie does raise a few questions though! Like how did they manage to get the producers to get off their back about worldbuilding details and love interests? How does anyone feel safe at the Continental Hotel? Why didn’t Viggo stick around to make sure his men took care of John Wick, and why did John make a deal with Viggo just moments later? Also, why didn’t anyone Google Baba Yaga?

Jurassic Park was one of the most critically acclaimed successful films of all time, so naturally the sequel wanted a couple of sequels. Jeff Goldblum returned as Ian Malcolm for The Lost World Jurassic Park as the second movie, which was followed by the return of Sam Neill as Alan Grant for Jurassic Park III (that’s roman numerals, by the way.) The movie definitely raises a lot of questions. Like why didn’t anyone check that Paul Kirby had any money before accepting his job offer? Why does anyone think that yelling into a megaphone on Dinosaur Island is a good idea? How are we supposed to be rooting for the Kirby couple? Why does this movie have a talking raptor dream sequence? How did Eric get a jar of T-Rex urine? Why did this movie introduce the Spinosaurus, and why is it a ninja? Why is everybody happy that the pteranodons have escaped?

From humble beginnings as a movie about underground street racing, The Fast and Furious franchise has evolved into what’s essentially a new series of superhero movies. With each passing film, the stakes get higher and the stunts get crazier. Many people think the turning point for that evolution was the fifth installment of the franchise - the bizarrely named Fast Five. The movie definitely raises a lot of questions. Like how did the good guys know they weren’t going to kill anyone when they got Dom off the prison bus? Why did they even care that some of the people on the train heist wanted a particular car? How did any of their associates get into Brazil? How did they buy a vault, steal police cars, participate in a street race and joyride cop cars around town without raising any flags? Why did we spend so much time watching them do stuff that ended up being meaningless to the plot? Why is this called Fast Five?

Back in 2010, with a couple of massive Batman movies under his belt, Christopher Nolan decided to take a break from superheroes before The Dark Knight Rises to blow everyone’s mind with the super popular movie Inception starring Leonardo DiCaprio. With dreams within dreams within dreams within dreams, Inception definitely raises a lot of questions. Like why aren’t these dreams dream-like? Why doesn’t Michael Caine bring Cobb’s kids to visit sometimes? How did Mal frame Cobb for her death from a totally different building? What does that spinning top totem ending mean? Is it all a dream? Is THIS a dream?! What is going on?!!

2005’s Fantastic Four wasn’t loved by critics, but it made enough money that they kind of had no choice but to make a sequel. Marvel’s first family Sue Storm, Reed Richards, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm made their way back to the big screen for Rise of the Silver Surfer. The movie does raise a couple of questions. Like why are we spending so much time on a wedding? What are the Silver Surfer’s powers exactly? Is Sue Storm focusing on her forehead pimple for the entire duration of the movie? How do Johnny’s new power-switching powers work? What’s Victor Von Doom’s plan exactly? Why would the military trust him on a mission like this? Why is Galactus a cloud?

The trend of YA novels being adapted into popular movie franchises hasn’t been popular in about a decade, but that doesn’t mean that studios are going to stop trying-- especially when they own the rights to a popular book franchise. The latest attempt at this is Artemis Fowl, based on the hugely successful book series of the same name. The movie adaptation definitely raises a lot of questions. Like did the writers actually read the books or just glance through a wikipedia page? Why is there so much exposition in this thing? Why does the whole thing take place in a house? Why isn’t Artemis an evil genius like he was in the books? What exactly is going on with all this magic stuff? Did we really need to see Josh Gad in Hagrid cosplay shoot a bunch of dirt out of his butt? Who is this movie for?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has taken over the global box office in the past decade, but Marvel wasn’t always the cinematic gold mine it is today. In fact the very first Marvel movie that got a theatrical release was so poorly received that they waited more than a decade to make another one. That first movie was Howard the Duck. The movie definitely raises a ton of questions… Like who is this movie for? Why are we seeing all these duck parts? Why is Beverly attracted to a duck? Why does Howard get a job in an adult spa? Why are there so many duck puns? What was George Lucas thinking? And once again, who is this movie for?! To answer all these questions and more, step inside the pitch meeting that led to Howard the Duck! It’ll be super easy, barely an inconvenience.

For a brief moment in the early 2000’s, people were referring to M Night Shyamalan as “The Next Spielberg.” With popular hits like The Sixth Sense and Signs, it seemed like the director was going to churn out classic after classic. But then came The Village… Lady in the Water… The Happening… Opinions started to change. Then came “The Last Airbender” in 2010, which not only solidified the new, negative public opinion of Shyamalan, but also enraged fans of the animated series around the world. The Last Airbender definitely raises a lot of questions. Like why rush through twenty episodes in ninety minutes? Why is there so much narration and exposition? Why are everybody’s names being pronounced weird? Why doesn’t anyone have any personality? Why does bending look so weird? What was up with that Earth Tribe scene? Who thought this was a good idea?!