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A ministry of the ChildCare Action Project: Christian Analysis of American Culture (CAP Ministry) A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Christian Ministry. www.capalert.com/ Entertainment Media Analysis Report A service to His little ones through you in His name by His Word MAR29018  (2009), PG-13 [HARD R-13*] (2hr 26min) The #1 Christian entertainment media analysis service on the Internet. We give you OBJECTIVE tools NO ONE ELSE CAN to help YOU make an informed decision for yourself whether a film is fit for your family. Over 1200 analyses for parents, grandparents, pastors, youth leaders and more. |
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(While the Scriptural references are certainly not subjective, my commentary may be and sometimes is somewhat subjective.)
 Cast/Crew Details Courtesy Internet Movie Database Production (US): Summit Entertainment, Icon Productions, Infinity Features Entertainment Distribution (US): Summit Entertainment Director(s): Paul McGuigan Producer(s): David Bourla, William Cheng, Bruce Davey, Gordon Freeman, Amy Gilliam, Kyle Mann, Michael Ohoven, David M. Richardson, Kerry Rock, Gretchen Somerfeld, Kevin Turen, David Valleau, Christa Vausbinder, William Vince, Glenn Williamson, Stan Wlodkowski Written by: David Bourla Cinematography/Camera: Peter Sova Music: Neil Davidge Film Editing: Nicolas Trembasiewicz Casting: Deborah Aquila, Mary Tricia Wood Production Design: François Séguin Art Direction: Second Chan, Michael N. Wong Viewed on Summit Entertainment DVD  This analysis is sponsored by the generosity of E&HP and C&EZ. This film is about as "R-13" as a film can get. R-equivalent in Wanton Violence/Crime (W), Drugs/Alcohol (D), Offense to God (O) and Murder/Suicide (M). The only CAP investigation areas that found content to be "in line" with the PG-13 rating are Impudence/Hate (I) and Sexual Immorality (S). This is a bad film, mom/dad. Not because of bad talents or bad script but because of bad content, bad influence. This film would clearly have garnered a R rating just a few years ago. It is about as dark and foreboding as it can get without being like 8MM and other such films. Certainly this film is a fantasy but a bad influence does not have to be real to influence badly. The story claims the Nazis in 1945 were conducting experiments in psychic warfare using people who had psychic abilities to make weapons of them. This is a fantasy continuation of those experiments by modern government organizations called Divisions ... including the United States. How about that Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)? The rating box on the DVD tells us "Intense sequence of violence and action, brief strong language, smoking and a scene of teen drinking." Not long ago the MPAA did not put things like "smoking and a scene of teen drinking" in their ratings box. Maybe the CAP Ministry, which has been revealing such content for years, has influenced the MPAA? Probably not but it's a nice thought anyway. The last I had heard was the MPAA was going to slap an R on any film presenting smoking. Like that will ever happen. By the way "a scene of teen drinking" includes teen drunkenness and inherent exhibitionism but the MPAA left that off. "Smoking and a scene of teen drinking?" Let me share with you some facts about such content in and as entertainment. I'm sure you've heard it by now since we have been telling you the following for years but I'll share it with you again anyway. This film is a danger to the target audience. The drinking and drunkenness (and smoking) are of significant danger in this film suggested by the MPAA as being fit for the middle school age stratum. A 2002 study by the American College of Physicians (ACP) revealed that adolescent exposure to drinking in and as entertainment undeniably leads to abuse of alcohol among underage viewers. The researchers selected R-rated movies because they assumed R-rated movies typically present more drinking than movies of other classifications. This assumption is no longer true. The researchers were not aware of the matter of R-13 proven by this ministry in 2000 with which Harvard University researchers agreed four years later. The bottom line? The focus is that the influence of adolescent exposure to drinking in and as entertainment, in this case by an adolescent, is undeniable regardless of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) classification. [Eph. 5:18, 1Cor. 8:9] The finding entitled Relation Between Parental Restrictions on Movies and Adolescent Use of Tobacco and Alcohol reports that of 4544 youths from grades Five through Eight of 15 Vermont and New Hampshire middle schools (90% of the youths were under 14 years old) only 16% were completely restricted from viewing R-rated movies. Within the ACP study population, the prevalence of having tried alcohol without parental knowledge was Rather revealing of the influences of the entertainment industry wouldn't you say? And emboldening children to sin with drink in and as entertainment screams of violating Luke 17:2. Young Nick Grant (Colin Ford) is rushed by his father (Joel Gretsch) into their apartment so his father can explain to Nick as seriously as if they "were the last two people on the planet" that a girl will one day give him a flower and that Nick is to help her. Nick's father is a Mover, one with telekinetic powers that can massively move objects, including people. A group of Division soldiers, headed by Henry Carver (Djimon Hounsou) breaks in and guns down Nick's father. The soul purpose of Division is to capture those with psychic and other unusual powers to nurture them into super soldiers ... or kill them if they do not cooperate. There are Movers like Nick's dad; Watchers can see the future; Pushers can put their thoughts in people's heads; Sniffs smell objects and can see recent events and locations of the object's owner; Shifters can change any object into something it is not; Shadows can block psychic powers, Bleeders use yelling to cause a victim's insides to rupture; Stitches heal wounds; there and more. Now it is ten years later and Cassie Holmes (Dakota Fanning) leads us through an oratory to introduce the story and plot, that she is a Watcher and that Division took her mom from her. Cassie's mom was a Watcher, too. Just like Nick's dad was also a Mover. First generation psychics. Cassie is a second generation psychic. A Watcher. Nick is a second generation Pusher. Next we are taken to Division's hospital-based laboratories where they experiment with a drug that promises to boost the powers of the psychics. Kira Hudson (Camilla Belle), a Pusher, is the first one to survive the injection. Though she goes flatline on the table she survives and bolts off with a syringe of the billion-dollar drug. Enter a ten year older Nick Grant (Chris Evans - Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer: Torch, the one who holds a puffy coat wrapped around the lower half of his nude body in such a way as to appear that he is holding his ... er ... himself). At least in this film he is always seen with his clothes on. But his character demonstrates his Mover skill with a set of dice. Thinking he has mastered his skill Nick joins a dice game for money ... and loses. He owed $5,000. Now he owes $6,000. Running from the strongman trying to beat Nick up, Nick runs into Division Agents Mack (Corey Stoll) and Holden (Scott Michael Campbell) who are Sniffs as he enters his apartment. Mack and Holden are looking for Kira and strongly suspect Nick knows her well. Now enters the picture Cassie Holmes (Dakota fanning) as a early teen Watcher. Fifteen year old Dakota, playing a 13 year old, shows faltering modesty wearing a very short (what appears to be) skirt. Repeatedly. Even if her outfit is one of those "skorts" or similar, Fanning's postures and poses expose the viewer to parts that ought not to be viewed. As one example, when Cassie is portrayed as being drunk while wearing the very short outfit Fanning flops, throwing both feet into the air and spread apart, onto a chair, ending up half lying down with her legs still apart, one leg raised. When the upward curvature at the frontal hip joint is exposed by such posing it is excessive. I am not going to describe the scene any further. Such display in and as entertainment suggests Fanning may be toying with the same direction as Lindsay Lohan. Irish/German home-schooled Fanning is a top notch child actress, as was Lohan as a child, and has been since her first appearance at five years old in a Tide(tm) commercial. The reason I bring up Fanning's immodesty in the film is because such display serves as another barometer of modern morality. One day not that long ago girls, even in film, wouldn't think of such gamming and would keep their legs down and knees together while wearing a dress or even slacks, shorts or a bathing suit. Even when an actress was required to lie down or play dead she would typically draw one knee over the other if only slightly as if to say "stay out!" or "don't look!" Not 'ny more. I call this digression of modesty a barometer of morality, one of many which are slowly but surely showing loss in pressure: loss in moral pressure to honor God-planted inhibitions against such posture which some would call "invitation" and "advertising." [Col 3:5, Rev. 2:20, Prov. 30:20] Question: What happens when the barometric pressure falls? Answer: Storms, some severe and destructive like Hurricane Katrina and the "Pedophile Protection Act" of 2009 (the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, H.R. 1913, attached to a Defense spending bill at that). Drop the pressure to be modest and all manner of immodesty will be pulled in by the partial vacuum. I may sound rather angered in the above two paragraphs. That is because I am. I get truly riled at filmmakers who exploit the typically inherent lowering of sexual inhibitions of young teen girls that sometimes makes them willing to show more and do more. God told us of the foolishness bound in the heart of a child in Proverbs 22:15. There is sin upon they who capitalize on inherent adolescent weaknesses. Lohan did not get where she is by herself. Nor will Fanning if she goes the same route. There is much more I could tell you about the somewhat complicated and intricate story and plot but I've probably said too much already. Let the individual investigation area discussions below and the detailed listing in the Findings/Scoring section tell you the "rest of the story." Wanton Violence/Crime (W) - Zero out of 100 Violence is rampant. Firearms for offense. Gunfire to kill. Breaking and entering to commit assault. Kidnapping. Brutal fighting. Gun battles and more. I am not going to try to do justice to the extent of violence in this film. I will rather refer you to the Findings/Scoring section for as complete accounting. God warns us in Proverbs 16:29 (and a multitude of other verses) of the dangers of the influence of violence. For just one more admonition against violence look to 1 Cor. 15:33. This is a "bad company" film. God knows what He is talking about ... whether we think He does or not. Whether we care or not. Whether we believe it or not. Impudence/Hate (I) - 40 out of 100 Profanity is used 12 times, three times by an adolescent (there's that "bad company" influence again). One of those 12 times is one use of the most foul of the foul words by Hounsou. [Col. 3:8] "Bad company" is bad company whether in real life or on screen. A bad influence does not have to be real to influence badly. [Eccl. 8:11] Sexual Immorality (S) - 56 out of 100 Above I have already belabored the sexually-oriented content. Little else can be said other than the film presents a night club with women as toys and/or ornaments and one instance of inappropriate touch. [Prov. 30:20, 1Tim. 4:12, 1 Ths. 4:7, 1Tim. 2:9] Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 31 out of 100 Forced injections. Drinking. Drunkenness. Smoking. It is all there. Indeed, there is also teen drinking and drunkenness by Cassie. Cassie's drunkenness, of course, is excused by her mother's drinking to sharpen her Watcher skills. Our kids watch us, mom/dad. Closely. Offense to God (O) - Zero out of 100 This investigation area found enough content to lose all its 100 starting points. Levitation. Foretelling the future. Seeing the past. A plethora of unholy powers were portrayed. There are so many verses from the Bible that indicate these matters are unholy it would take pages to list and display them. I will offer just one: Eccl. 8:7. Murder/Suicide (M) - Zero out of 100 There were at least 15 murders and forced suicides in the 146 minutes of film. Mostly by unholy control of the mind of the shooter and of the one being shot. Suicide was accomplished in the same way: by mind control. In the Bible God tells us we shall not kill. [Ex. 20:13] Accurately translated "kill" as used in that verse is ratsach meaning murder, slay, assassinate. Specifically, we shall not murder, slay, assassinate people. And "people" includes the self. Suicide is murder of the self. SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION(S) If needed to focus or fortify, applicable text is underlined or bracketed [ ] or bold. 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. CHAPTER/VERSE ***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. |
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 Wanton Violence/Crime (W) - Zero out of 100 Impudence/Hate (I) - 57 out of 100 Sexual Immorality (S) - 68 out of 100 Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 50 out of 100 Offense to God (O) - Zero out of 100 Murder/Suicide (M) - 11 out of 100 |
| 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 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. |
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