ENTERTAINMENT
C3
THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014
Echo has heart, humour EARTH TO ECHO HAS SHADES OF SPIELBERG Earth to Echo 2.5 stars (out of four) Rated: PG BY LINDA BARNARD SPECIAL TO THE ADVOCATE On one eventful summer night, a group of kids outsmart interfering adults to help an adorable marooned alien get back home. If the space-fantasy plot of Earth to Echo, opening this week seems to be orbiting a bit too close to planet E.T., it is. And it also packs a lot in from Close Encounters of the Third Kind and maybe just a non-scary touch of Poltergeist along with The Goonies and a smidge of Super 8. For those who see imitation as flattery, Earth to Echo is a cinematic Eddie Haskell. But before dismissing this kid-focused adventure as just another Spielberg ripoff, here’s a twist. Thanks to an engaging young cast of newcomers and a modern update putting cellphones and found footage at the heart of the action, Earth to Echo manages to be its own movie, one infused with heart and humour. And the kids in the audience who have no idea what phoning home has to do with anything will love it. Tuck (The X Factor’s Brian “Astro” Bradley), Munch (Reese Hartwig) and Alex (Teo Halm) are preteen best pals living in a Nevada suburb that’s slated for demolition to make room for a new freeway. They’re heartbroken that their families are being forced to move, breaking up their close friendships. And they don’t hesitate to show their annoyance with the work crews tearing up their world. Tuck, the videographer and brains of the operation seems (and sounds) like a world-weary 25-year-old as he makes a final video of the pals’ last few days together. Nerdy Munch, who explains he’s “an acquired taste” when it comes to making friends, frets about going to a new school. Cool cat Alex comes across as tough but has his own issues to deal with. When their cellphones start to go haywire, all showing the same strange patterns — Tuck describes it as look-
Photo by ADVOCATE news services
Kids in the audience who have no idea what phoning home has to do with anything will love Earth to Echo.
At the ing like their tech “barfed” — there’s a mystery to be solved. Munch, who has a bedroom jammed with computer parts, figures out the weird images are maps. The kids bluff their parents with talk of sleepovers so they can ride their bikes into the desert to follow the trail and figure out what’s going on, all chronicled by Tuck’s cameras. The phone signals lead then to a half-buried capsule containing a tiny owl-like alien with glowing blue eyes, who communicates by imitating their ring tones amid a few other nifty nois-
Essence Festival marks 20 years with return of Prince NEW ORLEANS — It’s been 20 years since Essence magazine first brought its “party with a purpose” to New Orleans and organizers say this year’s goal is more, more, more. Michelle Ebanks, president of Essence Communications Inc., said the team began planning the 2014 celebration of black culture and R&B music 14 months ago. “It was our ambition to make it bigger and better than ever,” she told The Associated Press. “This weekend, we’re launching with nearly twice the programming, 20 stages of content starting early with our day events and ending early with the night ones.” Prince, who headlined the festival’s 10th anniversary, returns 10 years later. Ebanks said they’ve turned over the Superdome’s main stage to him and his friends — including Nile Rodgers and Janelle Monae — for a July Fourth experience. The festival kicks off Thursday with Family Day in Woldenberg Park along the Mississippi River and its new Now Playing concert, featuring rapper Nas and R&B heartthrob Trey Songz later in the Superdome. Other performances throughout the weekend include Lionel Richie, Charlie Wilson, Jill Scott, Mary J. Blige, Tamar Braxton, Ledisi, Erykah Badu, Tevin Campbell, Doug E Fresh, Sevyn Streeter, Elle Varner and New Orleans’ own August Alsina. A shooting early Sunday on Bourbon Street that injured 10 people, half of them visitors to New Orleans, has unsettled the city but law enforcement and festival organizers rushed to quell the anxiety. Police Chief Ronal Serpas said a contingent of 500 police officers will patrol the French Quarter and other tourist-heavy areas throughout the
weekend in addition to Louisiana State Police troopers who will help in whatever capacity they’re needed. Essence Festival launched in 1995 as a one-time special event to mark a quarter-century of the magazine. Now, it’s an annual, sought-after affair. The festival has an annual $241 million economic impact and last year drew more than 540,000 people to New Orleans. National Urban League president Marc H. Morial, who was mayor of New Orleans when Essence began discussions about how they wanted to commemorate the magazine’s milestone anniversary, said no one saw this coming. “It’s bigger than they ever could have imagined,” he said of then-Essence executives Ed Lewis and Clarence Smith and then-Editor-In-Chief Susan Taylor, who pitched the festival concept. “They were intent on making the event purposeful and not just entertainment. And with George Wein and Quint Davis on board as producers, who had experience with multiple-stage music events, it took off like a rocket ship.” Wein is the founder of the Newport Jazz Festival and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which Davis produces. Morial said the festival has given the city another signature event in the vein of Mardi Gras, the Bayou Classic and Sugar Bowl. “They’ve opened the eyes of the hospitality and tourism community of the value of the African-American consumer and that consumer’s buying power,” he said. “In that first year, those industries were a bit reluctant to embrace the festival. There were several businesses in the Quarter that closed down. Now, that’s far from the case.” Morial said the festival can maintain its relevance by continuing to evolve.
his car, which will help them move faster. Tuck gamely jumps behind the wheel but has no idea what he’s doing. Echo fills in for driving lessons, showing he has a few tricks up his robotic sleeve. As for the kids, they realize they can actually have a hand in deciding their own fates, and gamely go for it. Screen newcomers, director Dave Green and writer Henry Gayden, who previously teamed on web series Zombie Roadkill, are aiming for a Goonies vibe with the film and occasionally manage to come close. As for kids in the audience, the jiggling camera work may be unsettling — that goes for parents as well — and they may find it upsetting when Echo is in peril. With so few kid-friendly movies on the summer slate, Earth to Echo offers a heartfelt and often comic adventure. For that, some copycatting can be forgiven. Linda Barnard is a syndicated Toronto Star movie critic. nounced.
IN
BRIEF FXX orders Baruchel comedy series TORONTO — Jay Baruchel is headed back to the small screen in a comedy about a hopeless romantic navigating the modern dating world. FXX has reportedly ordered 10 episodes of Man Seeking Woman which will begin airing in 2015. According to Variety, the series is based on The Last Girlfriend on Earth, a book of short stories by Saturday Night Live writer Simon Rich. Rich wrote the pilot with Jonathan Krisel and will executive-produce alongside heavyweight Lorne Michaels and Andrew Singer. Montreal-based Baruchel stars as Josh Greenberg, a “naive romantic on a desperate quest for love.” Man Seeking Woman marks a return to television for Baruchel, who starred in Judd Apatow’s 2001 cult hit series Undeclared. The How To Train Your Dragon star tweeted “WOOHOO!” with a link to the Variety story about the series being picked up by FXX. A spokesperson for Rogers Media, which runs FX Canada, said Canadian broadcast details are yet to be an-
Jewel, husband Ty Murray divorcing NEW YORK — Singer Jewel and her husband are divorcing after a 16-year relationship. The 40-year-old writes in a letter posted on her website that she and Ty Murray want their separation “to be nothing less loving than the way we came together.” A representative for the singer confirmed the news Wednesday. Jewel and Murray were married in 2008. They have a son named Kase.
Lohan sues over Grand Theft Auto V NEW YORK — Lindsay Lohan is suing the makers of the Grand Theft Auto video games. The actress says the latest installment used her image and created a character based on her without her permission. Lohan’s lawsuit was filed Wednesday in a Manhattan court. Grand Theft Auto V game maker Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. and subsidiary Rockstar Games declined to comment. Grand Theft Auto V was released in September. Sales topped $800 million on its first day. Lohan’s suit says a character named Lacey Jonas is an “unequivocal” reference to the Mean Girls star.
Presents
PRISM
Monday, July 28th Olds Regional Exhibition Grandstand Gates open at 6:00 p.m.
See you on the patio
2111 Gaetz Ave.
403.342.4055
53441G29
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
es. He’s been dinged up on his trip to Earth and bonds with Alex, who is shy about showing compassion at first but eventually relents. The boys find ways to interact with their new friend, who they decide to call Echo, and vow to help the little robo-critter reunite with his spaceship for a flight home. Echo helpfully sends maps to their phones. Along the way, smarty-pants schoolmate Emma (Ella Wahlestedt) joins the hunt, inserted amid the guys for no apparent reason other than to make up the numbers and fulfil a demographic requirement. The four play hide-and-seek from a nosy construction foreman (Jason Gray-Stanford), who seems to know more than he’s letting on about strange goings-on in the desert. They keep their parents off their scent in creative ways while Echo takes them on a wild scavenger hunt for spare parts that will help him get back into space. A stop at a house party to look for Tuck’s older brother nets the keys to
with The Rock 104.5 Star Seach winner; Young Fellas @ 7:30
PRISM at 8:30 p.m. Tickets available at: Stevens Jewellers, Uptowne Olds Pharmachoice in Sundre Gil’s Truck and Auto in Didsbury, Tom Lindt Guitar & Entertainment in Innisfail, and Black Knight Ticket Centre.