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)