Another Great Movie to Review! Earth To Echo

Most people are saying this is a modern day E.T. and while that is a tremendous complement and not too far off the mark, I would say it's more like Stand By Me meets Close Encounters with a little E.T. and Blair Witch Project thrown in.  It has the coming of age and kids on the road aspect of SBM, with the Richard Dreyfuss aspect of CE, the bad guys of ET and the camera angles of BWP LOL. 

This movie was fast-paced and so well-written and well-acted by these young actors that most of the time it did feel like a reality show, the way it is filmed by one of the main characters.  Real life is happening all around these youngsters, with all the angst and awkwardness, even amidst an otherworldly encounter and numerous dangerous situations.  I smiled constantly at them and laughed out loud frequently at their unintended one-liners and pubescent naiveté.

Yes, the little alien is cute, but he doesn't take up very much screen time - it's all about the kids.  The special effects and music were top notch as well.  I would say the adult characters were one-dimensional and almost cartoony, which detracted just a bit, but they were also such minor parts of the film that I quickly forgot about them.  The song played immediately after the movie ended, over the credits, was a strange choice and a bit jarring in contrast to the mood music so effectively used throughout the film itself, but it's one of my favorite current pop tunes (One Republic's Counting Stars), so I can see why they added it.  Other than that,  there was no aspect of this movie that my daughter and I didn't like and we immediately wanted to see it again, like we just got off a ride at Disneyland, or better yet, Universal Studios.

P.S.  There is an extra scene after all the credits that hints of a sequel - I hope it's true!

4.25 out of 5 stars