TJ, Joseph, Clark, and Marcus after ‘The MovieByte Podcast’ Episode 23.

TJ and Joseph are joined by TrekMovie.com founder and editor in chief, Anthony Pascale, to discuss the nine minute prologue debut of ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’, what we know and don’t know about the film, who the villain ultimately is, how JJ Abrams’ ‘Trek’ is not just for fans, but goes for a broader appeal, which Enterprise is the best, how it’s not just a question of old ‘Trek’ or new ‘Trek’ and more. Lots of nerdery to be had here. Then TJ and Joseph are joined by Clark Douglas, who appeared on episode 14 of ‘The MovieByte Podcast’ with TJ, and new guest Marcus Pittman to discuss ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’. Much discussion is had about the merits as well as the not so good aspects of the film. While all enjoyed the film and ultimately rated it on the positive side of the scale, there were varying degrees of elation and disappointment with the film. This is a fun one, be sure to join the discussion!

It was a big week for trailers. In this episode, TJ highlights the upcoming film, ‘Parker’, a ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ Mashup trailer featuring the audio track from the official trailer, but imagery from the Original Series episode ‘Where No Man Has Gone Before’, a ‘Wreck-it Ralph’ sequel in the works, the ‘After Earth’ and ‘Oblivion’ trailers, an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ sequel, the new ‘Lone Ranger’ trailer, , the new ‘Man of Steel’ trailer, Corey’s review of the 1989 Batman film, ‘Killing them Softly’ as a terrible film, the new trailer for ‘G.I. Joe 2’, the ‘Pacific Rim’ trailer, The MovieByte Podcast #22 in which TJ and Joe have a chance to talk with Melinda Snodgrass, screen writer for ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ and the writer for ‘The Measure of a Man’, a great TNG episode, and a new feature of MovieByte.com, ‘What to See’ in which we highlight the films playing in theaters.

TJ and Joseph welcome special guest this week, Melinda Snodgrass, a successful screenwriter, and particularly as pertains to this episode, wrote one of the best ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ episodes in Season 2, ‘The Measure of a Man’. She tells us a lot about the writing process on ‘Star Trek’ and what that was like, and talks particularly about that episode, her love for the character Data, her thoughts on how to better use the cast and crew of the Enterprise, the great character moments in the episode, ‘The Next Generation in HD’ and the extended cut of ‘The Measure of a Man’. It was great fun to talk to her. Then TJ and Joseph briefly review two films they didn’t care much for, ‘Killing them Softly’, and ‘Playing for Keeps’. And finally, they welcome special guest, Michael Minkoff as they talk about gearing up for relaunching the Movieology brand as a podcast on MovieByte, some discussion on the favorite films of 2012 and more.

TJ and Joseph after ‘The MovieByte Podcast’ Episode 21

Join TJ and Joseph as they talk about whether Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be Batman or not, the upcoming remake of ‘Flight of the Navigator’, ‘Revenge of the Sith’ as a great work of art — which leave them scratching their heads, the ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ poster and how much it looks like a rip-off of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ poster, and the Man of Steel’ in hand cuffs? What gives? And then the two main topics of discussion, Rise of the Guardians, and Men in Black 3. They didn’t think very highly of Rise of the Guardians, its convoluted and complicated plot, its confusing message for children, its lack of precision with regards to story and more. And for Men in Black 3, TJ enjoyed it very much while Joseph was pretty neutral on it. They also announce the winner of the “Ratings and Reviews” contest. Be sure to tune in!

Wrapping up the week this week we have ‘The Hobbit’ Production Video #9 and ‘The Hobbit’s’ insane production schedule, TJ’s review of ‘Red Dawn’, Blockbuster getting into the digital magazine business, the official ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ synopsis and TJ’s opinion that it is poorly written, the ‘Revolution’ midseason finale, Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart returning to ‘X-Men’, Veronica Belmont exploring whether ‘Looper’ time travel is fact or fictional, Joseph’s review of ‘Life of Pi’ and it’s philosophical issues, Matthew Vaughn being sort of confirmed as director of ‘Star Wars VII’, MovieByte live recording, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Batman, whether that idea has been properly debunked or whether it still might happen, ‘How it Should Have Ended’ ‘Looper’ style, the ‘Jack Reacher’ featurette, and the opportunities MovieByte is making available for you to win a TV, a one year subscription to Netflix, and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ on Blu-ray. Be sure to enter the contests!