Ireland Movie Reviews

Related Subjects: Science
Family movie reviews for "Ireland" sorted by average review score:
The Outer Limits (The New Series) - Sex & Science Fiction
Released in DVD by MGM/UA Video (03 September, 2002)
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Directors: Mario Azzopardi, Melvin Van Peebles, Jim Kaufman, Dan Ireland, Martin Cummins, Timothy Bond, Ken Girotti, James Head, Rebecca De Mornay, and Mike Rohl
MGM is grouping episodes from the new Outer Limits anthology series by theme rather than chronology for DVD, and this first collection compiles six episodes that focus on matters of the heart (and other body parts). Alyssa Milano's nude scene in "Caught in the Act" will probably garner the most attention, but the disc's strongest hour is "The Human Operators," a thoughtful, award-winning take on man vs. machine that's adapted from a story by science fiction legends Harlan Ellison and A.E. van Vogt. This reworking of the 1963-1965 science fiction series is competent but lacks the palpable suspense of the original series. Also, there's no sense of new ground being broken with its stories; the original series took risks with its parables on war ("Soldier") and technology ("O.B.I.T."). The new Limits also tackles issues, but the end results pack a lesser punch. Hardcore sci-fi fans may take to this tempered-down version; all others will find it mildly diverting. --Paul Gaita
Average review score:

Nice
I like the themed DVD series. I would have rathered by series but the themed ones are just as good. My only complaint is that MGM is really slow and need to get out the rest of these shows!!!

"The Outer Limits" - just a mystic dream
Hi there...I'm from Germany and I like the series very much, too.
I searched nearly the whole Internet to find episode guides and other information about the series. Today I have found out, that the copmplete series will NOT come out on DVD in our country.

Of course, the two Discs are not bad, but where's the rest ??

"The X-Files" is also out there, but why not "The Outer Limits" ?

However, I'll buy the Original Soundtrack - that's enough for the moment.

And let us hope that at least the two DVDs will also come out in our language.

Mike

Pushing the limits
The original OUTER LIMITS series aired in the early 1960s. It was often compared with its rival (and more popular) show, THE TWILIGHT ZONE. However, there was a distinctive difference between the two shows. TZ only sometimes had stories that belonged in the science fiction genre, while OL was STRICTLY 100% of the science fiction genre.

In the mid-1990s the show idea was renewed on SHOWTIME. Being on SHOWTIME meant that the writers did not have to worry about censors. So, what resulted was a science fiction show with a nice blend of eroticism. The current DVD is 4 of the top episodes from the seasons on cable.

3 of the 4 stories deal with the concept of artificial intelligence, which is a "biggie" at this juncture as we stand right on the threshold of making AI a reality. The fourth story is the most "pure" science fiction story as it takes place almost entirely in outer space.

From the eroticism side of the house, it is good to see that the nudity / sensuality is not contrived in the stories. Rather, it follows along naturally w/the storyline. For me that is the whole KEY to making eroticism "work."

The biggest names in the casting are Alyssa Milano, Natasha Henstridge and the voice of Malcom MacDowell. The sultry Milano does a nude scene which is likely enough to entice a great many people to purchase the DVD. Milano does a memorable job of going from the innocent girl-next-door to seductive vixen in World Record speed.

Although I have never been a huge fan of behind the scenes material on DVD, this does offer a decent package of the thoughts and perspectives of the creation of the storylines. It also gives us some insight from one of the makers of the original OL.

If you like science fiction movies and short stories, you will like this movie. If you like erotic movies, you will like this DVD. If you like science fiction movies AND erotic films, you will LOVE this one!

Alien from L.A.
Released in DVD by M G M, Inc (07 October, 2003)
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Director: Albert Pyun
Average review score:

Another time, Another place
Considering the high pitched voice of Kathy Ireland and a B-class plot line, this movie ranks amoung the top in my cheesey B-class movie collection. In another time, another place this was a great movie.

One of the Top B-Movies
If you like B-Movies, like Kathy Ireland or both then you will like this movie. Except for Wanda's (Kathy Ireland) high pitched voice, I thought it was kind of cute. It is a funny, science fiction adventure with a little romance thrown in.

Subterranean world below our feet...
I really like Alien From L.A. Maybe It's because I like Kathy Ireland's sweet little voice? They used to show this often on HBO/Cinemax & Showtime in the early 1990's. It was a fun way to waste 90 minutes on a summer afternoon.

Sure, Alien From L.A. is a complete fantasy and way over the top but it has a certain charm to it that I really love. It often has that Roger Corman B-Movie "cult atmosphere" going for it. Personally I wouldn't change a thing about this movie. It is so much better than similar types of films released in the last few years.

Most people probably don't like this film because it seems so unrealistic and cheesy. I think that it was really meant to be satirical comedy, and only a limited percentage of viewers will actually "get" it. You don't have to really believe the things happening in the story could really happen...after all, it is only a fantasy movie!

As for the new DVD from MGM...They've done yet another admirable job on this release. It is in full-screen format, but that may possibly be it's original format. This is actually the way many movies are shot, some are later "matted" for theaters. The Picture quality and Dolby 2.0 Surround track are just about as good as could be hoped for on the DVD format. It is vastly superior to the old VHS video I used to have of Alien From L.A. THANK YOU MGM!!!!!!

Wham Bam Thank You Spaceman
Released in DVD by Image Entertainment (01 May, 2001)
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Director: William A. Levey
Average review score:

The worst I have seen!!
Do not bother to buy or even rent this one. The girls are not good looking and there is no story. It was a total waste of money!

Wham-Bam-No Thanks!
"Wham-Bam-Thank You, Spaceman" was a major disappointment in every respect, except that most of the women in it are really good looking. It must have come out near the end of the nudie-cutie movie craze, because the language and actions are much more graphic than earlier Harry Novak productions. Virtually every other word uttered by the aliens is an expletive. After a while the effect of that is neither funny or shocking but boring. The absolute low point of the movie comes when the aliens watch a woman being attacked. Their idea of helping her is waiting until AFTER she's raped, beaming her on board their spaceship and having sex with her. Then they return her to her attacker and she turns the tables on him by raping him. And this is supposed to be a comedy! In addition to the film, the DVD includes a couple of theatrical shorts. "The Peeper" is fairly tame, but "Daughters Of Darkness" involves a satanic cult of devil worshippers. Unbelievable!

So-so film, GREAT DVD!
I am not sure exactly what is expected from people that gave this film a poor review. It is 70's standard sexploitation schlock. No story, no acting, no dialogue. I would tend to think it rare to find ANY soft core 70's film to be much different. Still, the DVD is LOADED with great bonuses. If nothing else, consider it archival footage of the "late night after 11pm on a Friday night at Cinemax" film clip festival. There are some 6 trailers, all replete with nudity, as well as dozens of posters/ephemera of these and many other Harry Novak films that play on the screen while accompanied with audio tracks. The tracks are radio spots for these films, and I would dare anyone to find this stuff anywhere else. Best of all, there are two short films, one of which is VERY racy.

The goofy film gets 3 stars of 5 for the type of film it is. Let's not confuse it with Casablanca or Star Wars or something it should not be stacked against. The DVD itself gets 5 stars+ out of 5. A wonderful surprise to see a DVD so loaded with great stuff since the title itself is so poor.

Spaceways
Released in DVD by Image Entertainment (13 November, 2001)
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Director: Terence Fisher
A strange mix of space-age rocketry and old-fashioned murder mystery, the 1953 Spaceways is notable as the first British science fiction film since the legendary Things to Come. Howard Duff stars as the strapping American physicist working on a top-secret British base; Eva Bartok is the European mathematician who pines for the married Duff. She gets to prove her love when he's accused of murdering his philandering wife and her lover, a fellow scientist, after they suddenly disappear from the high-security compound. Where did they go? A coldly logical detective (Alan Wheatley) suggests their bodies have been stuffed on an experimental satellite and shot into space, so Duff suits up for a space flight to prove his innocence. This early Hammer thriller is a cut-rate production with functional special effects and a talky, often ludicrous script. Duff is an amiable hunk who would look more at home on a football field than a laboratory and Bartok is all goo-goo eyes, but Wheatley is excellent as the cunning investigator driven by pure reason and deduction, a role Peter Cushing would make his specialty in the coming decade. It's pure B-movie hokum, but director Terence Fisher does it up in smart style, creating a thick atmosphere of tension on the tiny sets and keeping the story moving with interesting camera work. The Image DVD is beautifully mastered from a gorgeous, sharp print. --Sean Axmaker
Average review score:

Mainly for "Hammer" completists
Inspired by the success of the American science fiction movie "Rocketship X-R", Hammer Films decided to produce the first British science fiction film since "Things to Come" (1936). "Spaceways" is in no way comparable to those two films. After a heavy-handed exposition the film unravels to be only a modest little crime story with a space sequence as special twist. It seems that the budget was very small. The film-makers opted to combine real footage with F/X-shots, which is quite problematic. During the climactic spaceflight the camera stays within the interior of the capsule all the time. Fisher did not even attempt to solve the problem of showing zero gravity. You even get to see more in "Nude on the Moon" (Hey, I mean special effects!). The script is quite slow and far too talkative. It was based on a radio play and it clearly shows. Director Fisher displays a fairly good craftsmanship, but this film is not in the least as effective as his later gothic horror movies that became the trademark of Hammer. Nevertheless, I think he made the film as effective as the screenplay and the budget allowed. Moreover, the supporting cast is quite well. Combined with Fishers skills they prevent this film from being campy.

It`s a triller, not a sci fi movie.
In general it`s a little bit bouring, it`s not a scifi movie like others in his time. It`s more like a police suspence and triller.

Just if you do`n`t have any more to do......

Hammer's first venture into sci-fi!
This tidy little murder mystery with a sci-fi setting features tough,
gruff Howard Duff and beautiful, exotic Eva Bartok as star crossed
lovers working together on the first attempt to put a satellite into
orbit above the Earth. Duff and Bartok becomes the first man and
woman into space when they have to rocket off to the satellite to
prove his innocence in the murder of his wife and her lover, whose
bodies are thought to be hidden on the satellite.

The story is from a radio play by novelist Charles Eric Maine, who
had two of his other works turned into movies--The Isotope Man
became The Atomic Man and Escapement became The
Electronic Monster. He had a penchant for writing Alfred
Hitchcock-like murder mysteries with a science fiction flavor.
And like Hitchcock's movies, Spaceways is rather slow paced and
tedious at times, before the payoff comes, such as it is.

Director Terence Fisher, in his pre-Frankenstein and Dracula
efforts for Hammer Films, does a good job with what little he has--
a low budget and stock footage of German V-2 rocket launches,
plastic spacesuits, and sparsely designed control room sets. It all
works pretty well, though, because of the fine cast.

This DVD features excellent image quality and sound, a chapter
index, and the theatrical trailer, and that's it. Recommended
mostly for fans of Eva Bartok and early British sci-fi.

H.G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come
Released in DVD by Image Entertainment (11 February, 2003)
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Director: George McCowan
H.G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come is so deliriously bad that it begs inclusion in any collection of 1970s kitsch. It's a disco-flavored variant of TV's Buck Rogers in the 25th Century--just another no-budget rider on the coattails of Star Wars. Only a fool would perceive even a slight connection to Wells's classic novel, to which this misleadingly titled cheese-fest is ostensibly a sequel. Their careers in sorry decline, Jack Palance, Carol Lynley, Barry Morse (late of TV's Space: 1999), and John Ireland look embarrassed as they wrestle with a wearisome post-apocalyptic plot that pitches Morse, a pair of Ken-and-Barbie heroes, and their quirky robot (of course) against megalomaniac emperor Palance, who controls a drug needed for survival of moon-based colonists. Prior to directing this laughable mess, George McCowan had helmed episodes of several prominent TV action series of the '70s, but here he devolves into moribund hackwork. This is a ham sandwich sans bread, from a time when stale sci-fi was spreading like mold on George Lucas's leftovers. --Jeff Shannon
Average review score:
No reviews found.
Shape of Things to Come
Released in DVD by Blue Underground (24 February, 2004)
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Director: George McCowan
H.G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come is so deliriously bad that it begs inclusion in any collection of 1970s kitsch. It's a disco-flavored variant of TV's Buck Rogers in the 25th Century--just another no-budget rider on the coattails of Star Wars. Only a fool would perceive even a slight connection to Wells's classic novel, to which this misleadingly titled cheese-fest is ostensibly a sequel. Their careers in sorry decline, Jack Palance, Carol Lynley, Barry Morse (late of TV's Space: 1999), and John Ireland look embarrassed as they wrestle with a wearisome post-apocalyptic plot that pitches Morse, a pair of Ken-and-Barbie heroes, and their quirky robot (of course) against megalomaniac emperor Palance, who controls a drug needed for survival of moon-based colonists. Prior to directing this laughable mess, George McCowan had helmed episodes of several prominent TV action series of the '70s, but here he devolves into moribund hackwork. This is a ham sandwich sans bread, from a time when stale sci-fi was spreading like mold on George Lucas's leftovers. --Jeff Shannon
Average review score:
No reviews found.

Related Subjects: Science