Chappie, Meet Ultron
Later on today, we’ll be publishing our review of Chappie, the latest sci-fi thinkpiece from Neill Blomkamp (Elysium and District 9). I’ll be interested to see what our reviewer Bob Hoose has to say about the flick, but the trailers suggest that Chappie’s a violent, R-rated version of Pinocchio—about a manmade creation who becomes a […]
Focus on the Box Office
There was a time that someone could’ve filmed Will Smith eating breakfast, put the footage in theaters and made a cool $100 mil. And while Smith’s star has dimmed a bit since, the guy can still help carry a movie to No. 1. Granted, Smith’s caper flick Focus earned just an estimated $19.1 million—not exactly […]
And They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Movies
Who watches Christian movies? You? Your pastor? That aunt who always gives you throw pillows for Christmas embroidered with Bible verses? How ’bout the atheist down the street? The answer might be all of the above, according to LifeWay Research and the National Religious Broadcasters. They say a new survey shows that about 35% of […]
Fifty Shades Gets Darker (But Still Wins)
Have you ever had a crush on somebody? Like, you see them in the school hallway and you just think she (or he) is just the cutest, and so pretty, and attractive to boot? And then one day, you wake up and realize that she (or he) is kind of a jerk? Yeah, the audience’s […]
Far More Than Fifty Shades of Comments
On Thursday I published a blog titled “We’re Reviewing Fifty Shades of Grey. Here’s Why.” The response was … interesting. First, a shout-out to all those who let me know that they were praying for me and offered encouragement (even if you disagreed with our decision to cover the film). Much appreciated. It was a […]
Fifty Shades of Green
We’ve seen quite a bit of discussion in this space over whether Plugged In should’ve reviewed Fifty Shades of Grey. But there’s no question that lots of people watched it. Fifty Shades roared to the top of the box office this weekend with an estimated $81.7 million haul. That’s the second-biggest opening ever for a […]
All of Oscar’s Top Picks Are on a (Spiritual) Journey
Late last year, Ridley Scott unveiled his ambitious, controversial epic Exodus: Gods and Kings, with Christian Bale as Moses. It was the story of a man who had it all, lost it all, found something better and dragged a whole nation to a strange land promised to them by God. It was not nominated for […]
We’re Reviewing Fifty Shades of Grey. Here’s Why.
A few days ago, Plugged In received an email from a concerned reader, asking us not to review Fifty Shades of Grey. “I’m fairly confident anyone who visits this website will not be interested in seeing the film,” the man’s note said, “and I am troubled at the thought of sending one of your employees to […]
SpongeBob Soaks Sniper
Are you ready for Movie Monday, kids? I can’t heeear you! After three weeks as the biggest movie in the land, American Sniper just couldn’t get his absorbent, yellow opponent in its crosshairs. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water indeed established a beachhead on the box office shores and charged up the cinematic mountain, […]
Brian Williams and a Matter of Trust
Brian Williams might not have been in a helicopter that was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade. But his reputation sure took a hit. Williams, anchor for the NBC Nightly News, recently apologized for lying about (or, possibly, misremembering) an incident that took place in 2003 when he was covering the war in Iraq, claiming that […]