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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 MAR2011.072  (2011), PG-13 [Ultra-lite R-13*] (1hr 47.5min) 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 1300 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): Warner Brothers, Dark Castle Entertainment, Panda Distribution (US): Warner Home Video Director(s): Jaume Collet-Serra Producer(s): Richard Mirisch, Adam Kuhn, Charlie Woebcken, Christopher Fisser, Susan Downey, Steve Richards, Sarah meyer, Peter McAleese, Henning Molfenter, Joel Silver, Leonardo Goldberg, Andrew Rona Novel by: Didier Can Cauwelaert Screenplay by: Oliver Butcher, Stephen Cornbwell Cinematography/Camera: Flavio Labiano Music: Joh Ottman, Alexander Rudd Film Editing: Tim Alverson Casting: Lucinda Syson Production Design: Richard Bridgland Viewed on Warner Home Video DVD  After about half an hour or so of the film I said to myself "Self, this is going to have to get a lot worse for it to reach PG-13." It did. With a final score of 53 it j-u-s-t made it into R-13. Two more points in the final score, maybe better put, loss of two fewer points due to assault on morality and decency, and this film would have earned its MPAA-stamp of PG-13 by earning a final score of 55 which is the bottom of the scoring range earned by PG-13 movies in the comparative baseline database. This film built its story and characters smoothly and progressively. It presents one of the most uniform build ups I've have ever seen in film. The writers spent an effective amount of time building the story and the characters enough to enable the viewer to care about them. But only enough to make the story keep you guessing. Is Dr. Martin John Harris (Liam Neeson) really Dr. Martin John Harris? Yes. And no. The story starts out with him being Martin Harris with Elizabeth 'Liz' Harris (January Jones) as his loving wife and partner in life. At least Marin thought so. Or did he get so absorbed in to a fictitious character built by financial spy masters that he only thought he was Martin Harris? On his way to the Hotel Adlon Kempinski in Berlin with Liz, Martin looses track of his briefcase with all his identification in it. As Liz went into the hotel lobby to register, Martin was helping the cabbie unload the luggage when Martin realized his briefcase was gone. The urgency of the matter required that Martin immediately head back to the airport to fetch his briefcase while Liz stayed at the hotel. Without letting Liz know what he was doing, Martin hailed a cab to go back to get his briefcase. On the way to the airport the cabbie, Gina (Diane Kruger) reacted to a large metal cabinet falling off a truck and ended up crashing through a bridge railing and into a river. Gina rescued the unconscious Dr. Harris but darted off into the background when the EMTs arrived. After cardiac arrest, Dr. Martin was in a coma for four days. All of Martin's identification was in that briefcase. He had no way of proving who he was. Not to the hospital doctors, the police or even the hotel staff. Dr. Harris was to give a presentation at the Biotechnology Global Summit at the Adlon hotel but could not get in without identification. Thinking he saw Liz in the crowd at the Summit, Dr. Harris convinced the head of hotel security to take him in so his wife could vouch for him ... but Liz had never met this man. And "the real" Dr. Martin Harris, the one with identification, appeared at her side. So begins a rather complex and intricate story. Wanton Violence/Crime (W) - Zero out of 100 The violence content of this film is indeed strong. This investigation area found the content to be R-equivalent. Rather graphic pursuits to kill freckle the content. Detailed assaults and fights invade the story occasionally. Of the most invasive of the violence content included the graphic explosion which visibly tossed bodies about like shrapnel and another that enveloped a woman. Some of the fights end up in death. This is a good example to again share with you God's admonition against violence. [Prov. 16:29] And 2000 years later man decided to plagiarize God's Word and warn us that "viewing violence may lead to real life violence." Impudence/Hate (I) - 44 out of 100 Someone speaks a phrase of profanity 14 times through the 107.5 minutes of the program. If you feel you must utter an expletive of profanity to be able to adequately communicate your feelings or attitude, God disagrees with you. [Eph. 4:29, Eph. 5:4, Prov 4:24] Sexual Immorality (S) - 75 out of 100 The extent of sexually immoral demonstrations of behavior in this film are largely flash images of sexual intimacy between Martin and Liz. Though the images are flash images it is clear what they are doing. And since it is clear what they are doing in flash images, flash images are just as influential as longer exposure images. One might say to that "Then go ahead and show us the longer exposure images." To that I say since the flash images are just as influential as longer exposure images in communicating what is being done then the flash images deserve to lose film content points as well as longer exposure images. Under the CAP analysis mode, they do. "Flash" does not "sanitize" sexually immoral behavioral demonstrations onscreen. And though the sexual acts were between Harris and his wife, Neeson and Jones are not married. Even if they were, such display is not for 200,000,000 viewers. [1 Thess. 4:1 - 7] Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 72 out of 100 More than the drinking and smoking typically found in PG-13 films, this film presents two instances of forced drugging to kill. At least there are no episodes of teen drinking parties which seem typical of many teen (PG-13) films. Offense to God (O) - 53 out of 100 God's name is abused nine times, once with the four letter expletive. With or without the four letter expletive, the use of God's name in any way other than respect, reverence or responsible discussion is in vain. That includes the popular three syllable sentence with His name trailing it AND the misuse of Jesus' name or title. So, trying to excuse such expressions with "I was talking TO God/Jesus when I said that" or "It's just words" or "I was acting" will not work with Him. Nor will "Everybody says that" excuse the sin of using His name in vain. If everyone on the planet who has ever drawn a breath used His name in vain, it would still be a sin to do so. If no one ever did, it would still be a sin to do so. [Deut. 5:11] Murder/Suicide (M) - 72 out of 100 Murder is done in several ways. Once by breaking the neck of a nurse to silence her. A murder is done off-screen. A graphic murder victim is seen. And an ex-Nazi spy committed suicide with cyanide to prevent being assassinated. 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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(The objective heart of the CAP Analysis Model, independent of and insulated from the Summary / Commentary section.)  Wanton Violence/Crime (W) - Zero out of 100 Impudence/Hate (I) - 44 out of 100 Sexual Immorality (S) - 75 out of 100 Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 72 out of 100 Offense to God (O) - 53 out of 100 Murder/Suicide (M) - 72 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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| For G rated Films with G equivalence: G PG equivalence: PG-G PG-13 equivalence: 13-G R equivalence: R-G< | For PG rated Films with G equivalence: G-PG PG equivalence: PG PG-13 equivalence: 13-PG R equivalence: R-PG | For PG-13 rated Films with G equivalence: G-13 PG equivalence: PG(13) PG-13 equivalence: PG-13 R equivalence: R-13 | For R rated Films with G equivalence: G-R PG equivalence: PG-R PG-13 equivalence: 13-R R equivalence: R | For NR rated Films with G equivalence: G-NR PG equivalence: PG-NR PG-13 equivalence: 13-NR R equivalence: R-NR |