The Arrival

A shy radio telescope operator named Zane Ziminski (Charlie Sheen) picks up a series of regular signals coming from space -- and deliberately pointed toward Earth. Convinced that he has discovered alien transmissions, Ziminski is first chastised and then fired by his boss (Ron Silver). Obsessed, he ...more

In his sophomore directorial effort, screenwriter David Twohy creates yet another underrated, inventive science fiction adventure, one of the very few solid films for star Charlie Sheen in the 1990s. Twohy has a lot of fun with the conventions of his genre, spinning old saws such as alien invasion, terraforming, and the obligatory protagonist paranoia into new and intelligent directions. Okay, global warming isn't all that fresh but it's more contemporary than, say, the aliens need to deplete ...more