The MovieByte Podcast #96: It’s A Metaphor

Join TJ, Joe, and Clark to discuss what turns out to be a pretty big disappointment for this summer movie season: ‘Earth to Echo’. While the film has a couple of redeeming qualities, its sins were just to great for the film to be much good for anything. This, of course, merits a good deal of discussion. Also in the news, more ‘Star Wars VII’ and Harrison Ford injury talk, ‘Trans4mers’ holding the number 1 spot at the box office, a video essay on what, exactly, constitutes "Bayhem", a gritty Henry Cavill ‘Batman v Superman’ poster, the upcoming Blu-ray release of the old Adam West ‘Batman’ series, and ‘Enchanted 2’ is on its way to production.

• ‘Star Wars VII’ Taking Two Weeks Off for Harrison Ford InjuriesIn August, the team will take a brief two-week hiatus while adjustments to the current production schedule are made as actor Harrison Ford recovers from a leg injury.
• ‘Transformers 4’ Holds No. 1 Spot At Box OfficeTransformers: Age of Extinction showed its summer might once more by holding onto the No. 1 spot in its second weekend of release, grossing an estimated $36.4 million from 4,233 locations and effectively shutting out the slate of new releases.
• What is Bayhem? Must Watch Video EssaySo what exactly is Bayhem? It’s a question worth asking. The reasons for Bay’s success may be beyond you if you do not take the time to analyze what Bay is doing in his filmmaking.
• Henry Cavill in Gritty ‘Batman “Five” Superman’ PosterI like my superheroes the way I like my chocolate milk: dark and gritty… er, well, dark… actually I guess it’s more of a light brown.
• ‘Batman’ (1960s) Blu-ray Remastered TrailerI sure loved the reruns of this show growing up but I can’t think of anything more apalling now. Funny how that works. And yet, as apalling as it is, I do get sort of nostalgic whenever I see clips from this show. It’s a cheesy and a cheesy piece of cheese, but it’s just a part of my childhood I guess.
• ‘Enchanted 2’ On The WaySeven years after Amy Adams brought fairy tales into modern New York City, Enchanted is—finally!—continuing after ever, ever after, according to Deadline.
• Earth to Echo — ReviewThis story, like E.T., involves pre-adolescents who think they are much too old for their own good, parents with little to no clue what’s going on in their children’s lives, an extraterrestrial trying to find his (or her?) way home, and a menacing U.S. government. But Earth to Echo is really more like E.T. light. It’s far less crude in its humor, and to my way of remembering E.T. at least, far more likable and easier to view.
• Earth to Echo — IMDbAfter receiving a bizarre series of encrypted messages, a group of kids embark on an adventure with an alien who needs their help.
• Earth to Echo — Rotten TomatoesEarth to Echo doesn’t do itself any favors by beggaring comparison to E.T., but for younger viewers, it should prove a reasonably entertaining diversion.
• Earth to Echo — Box Office MojoDomestic Total as of Jul. 7, 2014: $14,859,400 Distributor: RelativityRelease Date: July 2, 2014 Genre: AdventureRuntime: 1 hrs. 31 min. MPAA Rating: PGProduction Budget: $13 million