Subject: REVIEW: THE ARRIVAL (1996)

From: [email-masked] (The Flying Inkpot)
Date: 14 May 1997 00:13:52 GMT

THE ARRIVAL
                        A film review by Mr. Twiffle
                        Copyright 1997 Flying Inkpot

Directed by: David N. Twohy
Written by: David N. Twohy
Cast: Charlie Sheen (Zane Ziminski), Ron Silver (Phil Gordian), Lindsay
Crouse (Ilana Green), Teri Polo (Char), Tony T. Johnson (Kiki), Richard
Schiff (Calvin Leon Rippy)
Produced by : Orion Films
Rating : ***1/2
Run Time: Approx. 115 Minutes

Despite having Charlie Sheen as its lead (with a goatee, no less, and as
a radio astronomer. eww!) and a tacky environmental message, THE ARRIVAL
is a nicely paced movie with good special effects that don't yell "Big
Budget" in your face the whole time you're watching it.

Sheen plays Zane Ziminski, an obsessive paranoic scientist who
along with his partner (Richard Schiff) records a clear radio
transmission from space one night. Despite initial rejoicing, things don't
develop the way you'd expect when the authorities receive evidence of this
transmission. Ziminski gets fired, his partner gets killed and suddenly the
whole world's just a heck of a lot more complicated for Ziminski than he
likes.

It's hard to say what else happens without giving everything away. Trying to
track and reconfirm the same signal he received, Ziminski builds a makeshift
satellite while masquerading as a cable man (I guess there are more than
just movie stars on Cable Vision!), and his discoveries soon lead him to an
ominous-looking plant in Mexico. There he meets an environmentalist whose
work is increasingly troubling in its extraordinary reports on the earth's
atmostphere.

The story probably sounds a little cliched, but THE ARRIVAL is a better
movie than usual, and recent, alien fare like INDEPENDENCE DAY, or SPECIES.
This is because it develops, and keeps to, an almost believable storyline,
one that engages the viewer continually as it reveals information in various
steps throughout the movie. Director Twohy, who was a screenwriter for ALIEN
3 and THE FUGITIVE, also does a good job of building and maintaining
suspense, preferring wisely not to just rely on the special effects team for
impressing its audience.

All in all, I'd say this movie's worth its S$7 ticket. Hey, anything that
makes me want to watch it through despite having Charlie Sheen in its lead
role is worth seven bucks.

The Flying Inkpot Rating System:
* Wait for the TV2 broadcast.
** A little creaky, but still better than staying at home with Gotcha!
*** Pretty good, bring a friend.
**** Amazing, potent stuff.
***** Perfection. See it twice.

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This movie review was written for THE FLYING INKPOT: 
an arts and entertainment magazine from Singapore. Current
film reviews can be found at: http://www.inkpot.com/film/
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