Movie In-Jokes: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

One of the fun games when watching movies is to spot references, secret messages and gags that filmmakers, film crews and actors can slip into movies to pay tribute to films they love, have a bit of fun with their previous work, or give the cinematic equivalent of a shout-out. Here's a spotter's guide to these inside jokes.

This time, we discover Steve Jobs had a role to play in determining the ultimate answer to life, the universe and everything as we peek at a sly bit of product placement in the film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Review - Kick-Ass 2

Review - Europa Report (2013)

Movie In-Jokes: Hellboy

One of the fun games when watching movies is to spot references, secret messages and gags that filmmakers, film crews and actors can slip into movies to pay tribute to films they love, have a bit of fun with their previous work, or give the cinematic equivalent of a shout-out. Here's a spotter's guide to these inside jokes.

This in-joke comes from the imaginative cinematic universe of Guillermo del Toro and suggests that the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense from Hellboy has been busier than we thought.

Review - Elysium (2013)

Review - Maniac (2013)

Spoilers - The Wolverine (2013)

Ok, I felt we probably had to talk a little bit about the mid-credit scene for The Wolverine, and there are a few quick observations I wanted to make about the film itself and its possible ramifications for the X-Men franchise.

Needless to say, do not read further unless you've seen the film or don't mind having some key elements of the movie (as well as X-Men: The Last Stand and some possible plot points of the next X-Men film for that matter) spoiled.

Review - The Wolverine (2013)

Movie In-Jokes: Gremlins

One of the fun games when watching movies is to spot references, secret messages and gags that filmmakers, film crews and actors can slip into movies to pay tribute to films they love, have a bit of fun with their previous work, or give the cinematic equivalent of a shout-out. Here's a spotter's guide to these inside jokes.

Frankly, this movie has enough little tributes and gags in it to fuel this column for a year. So I'll restrain myself and zero in on a few specific bits as director Joe Dante uses the setting of a movie theater to reference both his own career history and that of his illustrious executive producer Steven Spielberg in Gremlins.

Review - The Way Way Back (2013)

Movie In-Jokes: Brick

One of the fun games when watching movies is to spot references, secret messages and gags that filmmakers, film crews and actors can slip into movies to pay tribute to films they love, have a bit of fun with their previous work, or give the cinematic equivalent of a shout-out. Here's a spotter's guide to these inside jokes.

This time out, a teen detective allows a potential murder suspect to pass right on by in Rian Johnson's brilliant high school noir Brick.

Review - A Hijacking (2013)

Double Feature Review - The Conjuring / R.I.P.D. (2013)

Review - V/H/S/2 (2013)

Movie In-Jokes: 2010: The Year We Make Contact

One of the fun games when watching movies is to spot references, secret messages and gags that filmmakers, film crews and actors can slip into movies to pay tribute to films they love, have a bit of fun with their previous work, or give the cinematic equivalent of a shout-out. Here's a spotter's guide to these inside jokes.

This in-joke casts the two collaborators responsible for a science fiction classic into a more combative relationship in this clever bit of prop design for 2010: The Year We Make Contact.

Review - Pacific Rim (2013)

Movie In-Jokes: Tron

One of the fun games when watching movies is to spot references, secret messages and gags that filmmakers, film crews and actors can slip into movies to pay tribute to films they love, have a bit of fun with their previous work, or give the cinematic equivalent of a shout-out. Here's a spotter's guide to these inside jokes.

This in-joke will be a trip back in time for children of the 1980s, as one of the iconic figures of the era sneaks his way into the computerized world of Tron.

Review - Monsters University (2013)

Review - The Lone Ranger (2013)

Return of the King?

With Pacific Rim out this week, the mind turns to the giant monster movies of yesteryear that inspired it... and the greatest one of all who is scheduled to make a long overdue return to movie screens in 2014.

But then, last time the mighty Godzilla visited America in 1998, the results weren't pretty. However, with Gareth Edwards, director of 2010's amazing low-budget creature feature Monsters, there is potential.

That potential is quickly turning to excitement for me upon seeing this poster which will be offered exclusively at San Diego Comic-Con:

Spoliers - World War Z (2013)

Ok, if you haven't already checked out my main entry on World War Z, you can find it here.

There's been a lot of talk about the changes to the movie's ending, so we're going to take a look at what might have been here. This necessitates spoiling some important events from the existing film so DO NOT read on if you have not yet seen World War Z and want to keep its surprises intact.

Review - World War Z (2013)

Review - White House Down (2013)

Movie In-Jokes: Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack

One of the fun games when watching movies is to spot references, secret messages and gags that filmmakers, film crews and actors can slip into movies to pay tribute to films they love, have a bit of fun with their previous work, or give the cinematic equivalent of a shout-out. Here's a spotter's guide to these inside jokes.

This in-joke is a bit of a grim one, as a tragic incident that helped inspire one of cinema's most enduring monsters is alluded to in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, commonly known as "Godzilla: GMK."

Review - Now You See Me (2013)

Overlooked Gems - Living in Oblivion (1995)

With so many movies being released year after year, it’s generally accepted that quality will shine through over time and the truly great examples of the medium will be remembered and celebrated throughout the ages. However, sometimes something goes awry and a fine movie will fall through the cracks. Perhaps it’s released at the wrong time, the marketing fails, or it gets buried by a studio or distributor for some random reason. Sometimes it's even a success in its release but somehow gets dusty and forgotten over time. It’s time these overlooked gems get the attention they deserve...

Movie In-Jokes: Invaders from Mars

One of the fun games when watching movies is to spot references, secret messages and gags that filmmakers, film crews and actors can slip into movies to pay tribute to films they love, have a bit of fun with their previous work, or give the cinematic equivalent of a shout-out. Here's a spotter's guide to these inside jokes.

This in-jokes features not one but two cameos, as two nemeses face off again over thirty years after their original meeting. The film in question is the 1986 remake of Invaders From Mars.

Spoilers - Man of Steel (2013)

Ok, hopefully you've read my entry on Man of Steel. If not you can check it out here.

After someone expressed their displeasure at seeing a spoiler in a previous review, despite the precautions I tried to take, I thought it'd be best if I discussed spoilers in a separate entry to ensure no one sees anything they don't want to.

So here's your warning: do not read on if you don't want several important plot points from the finale of Man of Steel revealed to you.

Review - Man of Steel (2013)

Movie In-Jokes: The Fog

One of the fun games when watching movies is to spot references, secret messages and gags that filmmakers, film crews and actors can slip into movies to pay tribute to films they love, have a bit of fun with their previous work, or give the cinematic equivalent of a shout-out. Here's a spotter's guide to these inside jokes.

This time we get a revealing example of the care and detail that goes into the making of props from the opening scenes of John Carpenter's The Fog.

Trailer - Beneath (2013)

I'm a huge fan of Larry Fessenden, an under-appreciated horror director who takes standard genre tropes and bends them to serve interesting social, philosophical and psychological ideas. I'm hoping to profile more of his work on here soon.

While he produces a lot of movies for others, it seems like a rarity when Fessenden gets the opportunity to direct something himself. His last one was his ecological horror thriller The Last Winter back in 2006. Thus anytime he has something ready for release, I'm interested.

Now we have the trailer for his newest, a good old-fashioned lake monster movie that brings to mind Stephen King's intensely creepy story "The Raft." I'm eager to see what this one holds. Take a look...

Beneath is scheduled for limited release sometime in July.

Double Feature Review - Shadow Dancer / The East (2013)

Review - This Is the End (2013)

Review - The Purge (2013)

Movie In-Jokes: Cloverfield

One of the fun games when watching movies is to spot references, secret messages and gags that filmmakers, film crews and actors can slip into movies to pay tribute to films they love, have a bit of fun with their previous work, or give the cinematic equivalent of a shout-out. Here's a spotter's guide to these inside jokes.

This time out we investigate the subliminal monsters creeping between the frames of the found-footage monster flick Cloverfield.

Review - After Earth (2013)



 

Review - Fast & Furious 6 (2013)



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Movie In-Jokes: Die Hard

One of the fun games when watching movies is to spot references, secret messages and gags that filmmakers, film crews and actors can slip into movies to pay tribute to films they love, have a bit of fun with their previous work, or give the cinematic equivalent of a shout-out. Here's a spotter's guide to these inside jokes.

This time, some of the crew of the action classic Die Hard decide to give themselves a little extra credit via some set dressing.

Review - Room 237 (2013)

Movie In-Jokes: Total Recall

One of the fun games when watching movies is to spot references, secret messages and gags that filmmakers, film crews and actors can slip into movies to pay tribute to films they love, have a bit of fun with their previous work, or give the cinematic equivalent of a shout-out. Here's a spotter's guide to these inside jokes.

This time Arnold Schwarzenegger says "Kaor!" to one of Mars' original inhabitants in this fun little literary cameo from Paul Verhoeven's sci-fi action thriller Total Recall.

Review - Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Movie In-Jokes: Robocop 2

One of the fun games when watching movies is to spot references, secret messages and gags that filmmakers, film crews and actors can slip into movies to pay tribute to films they love, have a bit of fun with their previous work, or give the cinematic equivalent of a shout-out. Here's a spotter's guide to these inside jokes.

This time we have a two-for-one from the same scene in the not-quite-celebrated sequel Robocop 2. One's a little dig at the studio, the other a concealed compliment for one of the film's effects crew.

Review - The Great Gatsby (2013)

Movie In-Jokes: Star Trek

One of the fun games when watching movies is to spot references, secret messages and gags that filmmakers, film crews and actors can slip into movies to pay tribute to films they love, have a bit of fun with their previous work, or give the cinematic equivalent of a shout-out. Here's a spotter's guide to these inside jokes.

This week, in honor of the release of Star Trek Into Darkness, let's take a peek at J.J. Abrams' tribute to that other big sci-fi film franchise and an omen of his directorial future in this shot from his reboot of the Star Trek franchise.

Review - Iron Man 3 (2013)

Movie In-Jokes: The Frighteners

One of the fun games when watching movies is to spot references, secret messages and gags that filmmakers, film crews and actors can slip into movies to pay tribute to films they love, have a bit of fun with their previous work, or give the cinematic equivalent of a shout-out. Here's a weekly spotter's guide to these inside jokes.

To start, a nice little nod to the past in Peter Jackson's horror-comedy, The Frighteners. This reference is a particular favorite of mine since it involves one of my favorite movies and its one of the few I've spotted on my own.

Ray Harryhausen 1920 - 2013

Review - Pain & Gain (2013)

Review - Oblivion (2013)