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)