Jack Vasen I doubt anyone expects this to be in a league with Star Wars. Instead it is a nice romantic story that keeps you in suspense. Is Joe going to choose his heroic delusion, or a normal life with his true love? The movie did a good job of taking you back and forth over which it was.Although the story about a superhero struggling with thinking he was delusional has been done a few times, this is still a cute story. A lot of that is thanks to Jenn Murray who plays the absolutely perfect love interest for a dreamer. She is no Marylin Monroe, but she is as sweet as pure sugar and just as lovable. Whatever Maria did, she was always in love with Joe.Rafe Spall does a good job in Joe's totally naive acceptance of his dad's alien story and still manages to make fun of it just as the movie makes fun of itself and the space hero genre.Humor is spread throughout the movie. The producers turn their low budget into a strength by using ray guns that look like toys and using other props in the same way. It's all part of the satire. Not to say there aren't a couple of decent special effects.

malcolm-mcewen As one or two other reviewers note this is a very Anglo-Irish movie. So whilst there are parallels with K-Pax, Earthbound has three things K-pax doesn't have.. Comedy, Romance and Ray Guns! Joe, like so many today, is delusional.. he escapes the pointless boring reality of modern life by living in a fantasy; one in which he believes himself to be the hero son of the planet Zalaxon. Sent here to Earth whilst a battle between Good and Evil is raging on his home world. The delusion having been planted some 15 years earlier into Joe's 11 year old head by his dying father. Joe has then hung onto the fantasy and in doing so isolated himself from the World.When Maria comes into his life Joe realises a 'contingency' plan: he must 'mate' with a human. However when he then decides to share with Maria the truth about his identity she turns to a former boyfriend, the psychiatrist Richard Webb for Help.The delusion is then attacked and shattered forcing Joe to confront the truth (as perceived by others) and to accept that perhaps his father lied to him. The ray guns and memory wipes don't work and the hologram of his father that has been guiding him stops appearing..Joe falls onto the only thing left that is real in his life: his job but when his promotion turns out to be nothing more than two jobs for the wage of one he resigns (inferred).Then events begin to take over... the ray guns begin to work, the hologram it seems was jammed and Maria, who is now pregnant is Kidnapped by Bounty hunters who intend to use Joe's unborn child as a sacrifice.With the help of Maria's sister and a tracking device (sat nav) Joe locates the bounty hunters space ship and begins a rescue... one he is able to complete on entering the atmosphere of Zaxalon where the lower gravity gives him super human strength.After defeating Webb, Joe rescues Maria and the pair drop down to the planet in the escape pod.... to live happily ever after...If only my delusion was as good as Joe's reality.... then my life would be an 8 out of 10 rather than Earthbound which is a great Comedy, Romance Sci-Fi that doesn't need OTT James Cameron style special effects to make it enjoyable...

Doctor_Mongoose I decided to watch this film on a bit of a whim, partly because I like Rafe Spall. He is the sort of actor that is always the best thing about an otherwise unremarkable production, but this time, despite putting in another good performance, he is held back by a script that seems to have been written by a priest trying to surreptitiously infiltrate a secular drama group in order to brainwash them, before giving up and blackmailing a producer or two that spoke a bit too freely during confession.The main character called Joe wants to get with a girl called Maria either because he is the last remaining Alien of his species or he is an incredibly delusional human, and keeps looking up to the sky to try and see a bright flashing star. There were no donkeys actually on screen, but the overbearing symbolism treats the audience as if they were the ass.After a slightly contrived yet sort of charmingly amusing set-up, the film then proceeds to pontificate on whether it is right to break someone's belief system if that system gives them strength to live, regardless of if the system is flawed or not. The answer it tries to sell is a resounding yes, but it fails to approach the issue with any actual balance.If you want to see a good sci-fi film about an Alien who may or may not be crazy, then watch K-Pax. If this film knocks on your door make sure you slam it shut and put on the chain. Double lock it for good measure.A waste of your time.

OJT This little Irish film is a film of which you never really quite are sure what to get out of, and that's a planned thing from the makers. It uses the ambiguous of using words to such an extent that it makes you think. Because it's a clever film! Is this film about loss, about dealing with fear of life of is it a story about a guy in denial. I could go on, because there's a lot more to get out of it.We meet Joe, and alien on Earth, living and working in Dublin. If he is a real alien, or just feels like it, I won't reveal, but we start off the story by getting to know why he is an alien, and that his father died when he was 11, presumably trying to make it easier for his son, telling an amazing story. But is the story true, or a life lie? He keeps away from women, because his father told him he needs more than 90 percent compatibility to start having a relationship to a human. Well, thing might be possible, won't it, even for nerds?Well, does that sound lame? It is, and starts off a funny ride. The film is charming, and interesting, as it gives a certain perspective on human life. It's almost like a family film, and it's a or a romantic comedy. Not a laugh out loud one, but a charmingly funny story which easily will charm you.The film is well acted, and I like the way it uses conversation and misunderstandings as a driving force. It's like you've heard, that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. It keeps you in the black, and is supposed to. Good film making which gives life to a great idea. The only thing I'm not too fond of is the over use of music. The spacey music is appropriate, but ruins the pleasure a bit for me.But all in all this is a great watch, and something completely different. Maybe something if a mind bender!? It can be seen as a romantic comedy, it can be seen as a sweet family entertainment, or a smart word bender about communication. It deserves a big audience. Enjoy!