5.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Wanda is a shy plain girl with a very boring life. When her father, an archaeologist, disappears on an expedition, she flies out to look for him. She ends up in an underground world, where no one believes in a surface world. Except for the secret police, who think she and her fathers are spies.
Starring: Kathy Ireland, William R. Moses, Don Michael Paul, Thom Mathews, Linda KerridgeSci-Fi | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (192 kbps)
BDInfo verified. 2nd track is just the hidden "lossy" track.
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
She was a major force in the modeling world of the late 1980s, wowing fans with her clear beauty, which gave her industry authority and newsstand omnipresence. But someone, somewhere wanted Kathy Ireland to be an actress, trying to transfer a person who made a living off her looks into a dramatic force for the big screen. 1988’s “Alien from L.A.” is her debut feature, with director Albert Pyun trying to do something with Ireland’s lack of thespian training, keeping her front and center for this loose riff on “Journey to the Center of the Earth” and “The Wizard of Oz.” “Alien from L.A.” has all the usual low-budget Pyun hustle, with the helmer trying to turn a few sets and a truckload of costumes into fantasy world where everything looks the same, and it has Ireland, who understandably isn’t trying that hard to come up with a performance, whining and squeaking her way through a movie that isn’t terribly exciting, even when it tries to be.
The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "Alien from L.A." is listed as "Newly scanned & restored in 2K from its 35mm interpositive." Detail is compelling throughout the viewing experience with some degree of softness, but facial surfaces are textured, extending to Atlantean makeup efforts and general filth on faces. Costuming is fibrous, dealing with swimwear and heavier inner-world outfits. Sets are reasonably dimensional, often caked in smoke, with L.A. exteriors looking clear and dimensional. Colors are nicely refreshed, finding lighting schemes in the Atlantean realm pushing primaries to add style. Clothing also handles with period hues. Extreme looks, including Mambino's red lashes, retain distinction. Skintones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is fine and film-like. Source is in good condition.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix offers sharp dialogue exchanges, preserving performance choices and Ireland's consistent whining. Scoring cues offer synth support with clarity and width, supporting the adventure with decent emphasis. Atlantean industrial bustle is appreciable, along with "surface world" bustle.
"Alien from L.A." offers a climatic chase to get something going, and there's the writing's interest in transforming Wanda's journey into a "Wizard of Oz" riff, with Pyun attempting to transform the static endeavor into a fairy tale. There's simply not enough spirit in this picture to reach that level of fantasy, and a better lead actress could easily find a way to make Wanda compelling as an emotional wreck and Atlantean fugitive, giving the feature more to work with.
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