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"THE ARRIVAL"
(1996) (Charlie Sheen, Ron Silver) (PG-13)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Mild Mild Mild Moderate Mild
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Minor Minor Moderate None Moderate
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Mild Minor None Minor Moderate


QUICK TAKE:
A radio astronomer receives an outer space signal that leads him on an adventure of intrigue and paranoia.
PLOT:
Zane Ziminski (CHARLIE SHEEN) is a radio astronomer who's been searching for signs of life in outer space. When he finally gets a distinct signal, he turns over the tape to his boss, Gordian (RON SILVER) who promptly destroys it. Suddenly his job has been eliminated and his girlfriend, Char (TERI POLE) wants nothing to do with him. Feeling paranoia overcome him, he begins investigating and finds more and more cover ups occurring. On his way, he meets up with Illana Greene (LINDSAY CROUSE), an environmentalist who has been investigating strange and rapid global warming. What they find out is that aliens are planning on melting the polar ice caps and then inhabiting the flooded Earth. Zane, Greene and Char, who returns to help Zane, must contend with government bad guys who want to keep this under wraps, and the aliens, both of which want to stop Zane.
WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
You bet. A sci-fi story about aliens will have them coming in droves.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13
For some sci-fi violence and terror, and for brief language.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • CHARLIE SHEEN plays a man who's determined to expose the cover up that may answer questions about alien life. He's a marginally good role model.
  • RON SILVER plays the lowlife government boss who's covering up the real story. He's a bad role model.
  • LINDSAY CROUSE plays the environmentalist who's bent on figuring out what's really going on. She's a good role model.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • Zane and Greene have beers in two scenes.
  • BLOOD/ GORE
  • A man pees on his foot when he hears the signal from outer space.
  • TV footage of dead African villagers is seen -- no blood, just limp bodies.
  • A dead woman, stiff from rigor mortis and with a bloody face, is seen after a scorpion attack.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • The people who conspire against Zane, but hey, they're aliens, so we'll cut them a little slack.
  • FRIGHTENING/TENSE SCENES
  • There is a bathtub scene where Zane is in one, and the one on the floor above him is preparing to fall through the floor. There are many prolonged dripping scenes before the tub crashes through Zane's ceiling and he barely gets out in time to miss being hit by it.
  • Zane then chases a man he believes is responsible for the bathtub mishap.
  • Some bad guys place scorpions in Greene's room and there is a prolonged sequence where she comes ever so close to contact with them, and then walks away into another room, where once again, they're very close. She eventually gets into bed with several of them.
  • The strange looking aliens may be frightening to some kids.
  • Zane's trip through the alien labyrinth is a bit tense.
  • A bad guy drops through the ceiling and attacks Zane with a sickle.
  • Zane tries to retrieve a tape from Gordian's jacket as a weird alien device begins sucking up everything in the room.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Handgun: Used by a Mexican police officer and pointed at Zane as he's being arrested.
  • Zane acts like he's got a gun in his pocket when he confronts Gordian. (but he's just faking it).
  • Ax: Used by Zane to cut of Gordian's thawing arm as it grabs him.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "Shut up," and "Fart."
  • JUMP SCENES
  • A boy Zane has befriended scares him in a Halloween mask.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • Several of the scenes (including the bathtub and scorpion sequences) are accompanied by moderately tense music.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • 1 "f" word, 10 "s" words, 5 "ass" words, 4 hells, 3 damns, and 2 uses of "Jesus" and 1 of "Great God" as exclamations.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • Zane and his girlfriend stand nude on a balcony, but due to the way the scene's shot, nothing is seen.
  • Zane hops out of the way just as a bathtub crashes down on his and he's nude, as is the shrieking woman on the floor below him. But again, nothing is seen.
  • SMOKING
  • A Mexican cop who's interrogating Zane smokes a cigarette.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • None.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • The existence or not of aliens.
  • VIOLENCE
  • Zane destroys a utility telephone when he hears that his partner gave up their backup tape.
  • Two government men do something bad to Zane's partner. We don't see it, but do see the partner taken away in an ambulance.
  • A Mexican radio station has been burned to the ground by someone who wants to keep info from Zane.
  • Some Mexican police rough up Greene and then Zane. One of them pulls his gun and holds it on Zane while they arrest him.
  • A weird, alien device sucks up everything in rooms that its set off in (this happens twice).
  • The bad guys plant some scorpions in Greene's room which eventually get her.
  • Zane accidentally hits an alien with his truck, and then realizing who/what he hit, runs over the alien.
  • A bad guy drops through the ceiling and tries to slice up Zane with a sickle.
  • Some bad guys drive a van through some barricaded doors to get at Zane and Char.
  • Zane cuts off Gordian's thawing arm after it has grabbed him.



  • Reviewed May 31, 1996

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