 Click on CAPCon Alert image for explanation |
A service to His little ones (which includes at-home teens) through you, their parents and grandparents, in His name by His Word MAR23032  (2003), RAnalysis Date: March 28, 2003 CAP Score: 2 out of 100 CAP Influence Density: 4.34 MinMax: -14 |
 Give your visitors clear access to ALL CAP movie analyses. Put the link above on your web page. FREE! Click it to test it and to see what you will get! |
 NO service charges. All donations are tax deductible. |
To subscribe to (or unsubscribe from) our FREE text-only versions of our Entertainment Media Analysis Reports as they are calculated, visit our Mailman. If you experience difficulty with Mailman, send us your request. Your email address will NOT be given or sold to other parties. |
(2003), R -- is another John T(R)avolta picture. Cast/Crew Details Courtesy Internet Movie Database Production (US): Phoenix Pictures Distribution (US): Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment Director(s): John McTiernan Producer(s): Moritz Borman, Bradley J. Fischer, Andrew D. Given, Basil Iwanyk, Jonathan D. Krane, Mike Medavoy, Arnie Messer, Arnold Messer, Lee Nelson, Louis Phillips, Nigel Sinclair, Dror Soref, Michael Tadross, James Vanderbilt Written by/Screenplay: James Vanderbilt Cinematography/Camera: Steve Mason Music: Klaus Badelt, Ramin Djawadi Film Editing: George Folsey Jr. Casting: Pat McCorkle Production Design: Dennis Bradford Art Direction: Gary Kosko Viewed At: Driftwood Theater 6, Granbury, Texas Basic is a film of military justice battling drug corruption with John Travolta as a take-chances, devious ex-Ranger Tom Hardy, now a supposedly disgraced DEA super-sleuth, and Connie Nielsen as by-the-book Army Lt. Julia Osborne investigating murder among the ranks. Samuel L. Jackson as Sgt. Nathan West is a victim in this twist of logic. Apparently. For Hardy, rules are only signals to an honest man. For Osborne, the regulations and codes define existence ... until she gets a belly full of Hardy anyway. *Basic* is another John T(R)avolta picture. Hardy and Osborne build a case based on the testimonies of two surviving witnesses of a drug battle with law and righteousness. They find pieces and parts to the puzzle from both gay soldier Levi Kendall (Giovanni Ribisi) and staunch G-man soldier Raymond Dunbar (Brian Van Holt). Each has his own version of what happened. Kendall is particularly abrasive and arrogant, saying much but telling nothing, while Dunbar is closed-mouthed about it and would talk only to a fellow Ranger. That is the reason for Hardy. Hardy and Osborne investigate the inexplicable disappearance of several US Army Rangers in the Panama Canal Zone. As a case builds, another piece to the puzzle if discovered that simply will not fit. But as more pieces are found, the ill-fitting pieces find buffers in the new pieces and the picture becomes more and more clear: that the fingers of crime and corruption do not stop with the Sargent. They reach as far as the base commander, Col. Bill Styles (Tim Daly) and head doctor of the base hospital, Pete Vilmer (Harry Connick Jr.). On a particularly nasty "routine" training maneuver during a hurricane in a triple canopy jungle, several Army Rangers are not to be found. Kendall and Dunbar have quite different versions of how Sgt. West vanished with fellow Ranger trainees, Nunez (Roselyn Sanchez), Castro (Christian de la Fuente), Mueller (Dash Mihok), and Pike (Taye Diggs). This movie has so many twists in logic, it would be fruitless to try to describe them herein. I leave it to you to discover the dry and aggravating flow of this R-rated episode in the life of John Travolta should you decide the listing of findings in the Findings/Scoring section does not warrant staying away. Of the exactly 100 uses of foul language, 49% are the most foul of the foul words [ Col. 3:8]. God's name in vain is used 22 times, nine with the four letter word vocabulary [Deut. 5:11]. Illegal drug operations and dealing, drinking and drunkenness with smoking and bars give justification to American College of Physician's (ACPs) report [**, 1Cor. 6:9-10, Eph. 5:18]. And, yes, there were kids there of the age group used in the APC study. That* is one of the main reasons I conduct analysis of R-rated movies. If only one parent were to stop their underage child from seeing an R film because of knowing what is in it through this ministry, it will have been worth it. And by the reports I get from many parents, it has "been worth it" many times over. *Basic* earned a final score of two out of 100. Do you really need to read the listing in the Findings/Scoring section? SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION(S) If needed to focus or fortify, applicable text is underlined or bracketed [ ]. If you wish to have full context available, the Blue Letter Bible is a convenient source. If you use the Blue Letter Bible, a new window will open. Close it to return here or use "Window" in your browser's menu bar to alternate between the CAP page and the Blue Letter Bible page. ***Selected Scriptures of Armour against the influence of the entertainment industry*** As always, it is best to refer to the Findings/Scoring section -- the heart of the CAP analysis model -- for the most complete assessment possible of this movie. |
 Wanton Violence/Crime (W) Impudence/Hate (I) Sex/Homosexuality (S) Drugs/Alcohol (D): Offense to God (O) Murder/Suicide (M) |
 NO service charges!!! Donations to the CAP Ministry are Tax Deductible!!! |
 |
 |
 |
 Christian Media News |
 |
 A Singles Christian Network |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| NOTE: While the Summary/Commentary section of these reports is precisely that -- a summary in commentary format which can be and sometimes is subjective, the actual CAP Analysis Model (the Findings/Scoring section) makes no scoring allowances for trumped-up "messages" to excuse, for manufacture of justification for, or camouflaging of ignominious content or aberrant behavior or imagery with "redeeming" programming. Disguising sinful behavior in a theme/plot does not excuse the sinful behavior of either the one who is drawing pleasure or example of behavior or thought from the sinful display or of the practitioners demonstrating the sinful behavior. We make no attempt to quantify the "artistic" or "entertainment" value of a movie -- whether a movie has any positive value or "entertainment" value is up to mom/dad. The CAP analysis model is the only known set of tools available to parents and grandparents which give *them* the control they need, bypassing the opinion-based assessment of movies by others and defeating the deceit of those who would say anything to convince their parents otherwise. The model is completely objective to His Word. Our investigation standards are founded in the teachings and expectations of Jesus Christ. If a sinful behavior is portrayed, it is called sinful whether Hollywood tries to make it otherwise. That the sinful behavior is "justified" by some manufactured conditions does not soften nor erase the price of sin. Whether there is application of fantasy "justification" or "redemption" is up to mom/dad. |
| "There are some in the entertainment industry who maintain that 1) violent programming is harmless because no studies exist that prove a connection between violent entertainment and aggressive behavior in children, and 2) young people know that television, movies, and video games are simply fantasy. Unfortunately, they are wrong on both accounts." And "Viewing violence may lead to real life violence." I applaud these associations for fortifying 1 Cor. 15:33. Read the rest of the story. From our more than eight years of study, I contend that other aberrant behaviors, attitudes, and expressions can be inserted in place of "violence" in that statement. Our Director - Child Psychology Support, a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist concurs. For example, "Viewing arrogance against fair authority may lead to your kids defying you in real life." Or "Viewing sex may lead to sex in real life." Likewise and especially with impudence, hate and foul language. I further contend that any positive behavior can be inserted in place of "violence" with the same chance or likelihood of being a behavior template for the observer; of being incorporated into the behavior mechanics and/or coping skills of the observer. In choosing your entertainment, please consider carefully the "rest of the story" and our findings. |
