MPAA Rating: R

Based on a serialized novel by Stephen King, with Tom Hanks as a death-row prison guard who realizes one of the convicted murderers on his cell-block has supernatural powers. Also with David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Duncan, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Graham Greene, Doug Hutchison, Sam Rockwell, Barry Pepper, Jeffrey DeMunn, Patricia Clarkson, Harry Dean Stanton, Dabbs Greer and Eve Brent. [3:08]

SEX/NUDITY 4 - Several instances of sexual innuendo (including references to homosexuality and cunnilingus) and a little kissing. We hear moaning and a squeaking bed emanating from a bedroom window; in the next scene, we see a man lying on top of a woman, obviously post-coitus (they're both nude, but we only see his bare back). We briefly see some drawings of a couple having intercourse and other sexual "cartoons" in a comic book. We see a man's bare buttocks as he's changing clothes.

VIOLENCE/GORE 7 - We see three executions: in an extended scene a man is burned alive while being electrocuted (he jerks and screams, then catches fire; we later see his extremely charred corpse); in the two other executions, both men jerk and we later see one with a bruised, swollen face and the other with a charred temple. A man is shot many times (we see his body jerking and blood on his chest; later we see his corpse lying in a puddle of blood). A man cradles two girls' corpses; their hair is matted with blood and all three have blood on their clothing. A mouse is purposely smashed by a shoe and we see its broken, bloody body on the floor. We see a bloody smear on a door and floor. A few times a man is forced into a straitjacket by a group of men while being pummeled and slapped. A man breaks another's hand with a billy club and a man is sprayed at close range with a fire hose. A man grabs another and holds him against a jail cell's bars while he grabs his crotch; in another scene, a man grabs another by his throat and holds him against the jail cell bars. A man with chains around his hands tries to escape from a group of men holding him; they punch and kick each other, one is hit in the head with a billy club, a man is choked with a chain and another is thrown across a room (one man has a bloody nose and another has a bloody mouth). Many scuffles, some punches and slaps, a man is kneed in the groin, and a man is grabbed by the throat and lifted off the floor. A woman dying of cancer has a bruised, nearly disfigured face. Some threatening with guns. We see a man drooling a few times and also see or hear a man urinating a few times.

PROFANITY 7 - About 12 F-words, many anatomical references and slang terms, many scatological references, lots of mild obscenities and several insults. [profanity glossary]

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Prison, execution, miracles, resurrection, murder, supernatural phenomena, urinary infections, tumors, cruelty.

MESSAGE - Sometimes love can kill us, but we can also save ourselves and others with love.

Special Keywords: S4 - V7 - P7 - MPAAR