Jumanji: The Film That Wouldn’t Die
Last week, I suggested that Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was the Tom Brady of movies. But even as Brady’s New England Patriots fell just a Hail Mary short of a sixth championship—a mere hiccup in the team’s interminable 18-year dynasty—Jumanji did Brady one better and won its own title this weekend, its fourth in […]
Plugged In Movie Awards: Best Christian Movie
We’ve come to the end of our Plugged In Movie Awards nominations, and by now you know the drill. As I’ve said before, pick your favorite among our nominees or, if you think we whiffed on one, choose your own. Let us know your own favorites down below, on our Facebook page or on Twitter, […]
Plugged In Movie Awards: Best Movie for Adults
We’ve come to one of our most prickly categories now, picking through the best films Hollywood offered this year and deciding what’s truly praise-worthy in terms of both its messages and content. These aren’t films that the whole family will necessarily want to sit down and watch. But these films resonated with us. Again, we’d […]
Plugged In Movie Awards: Best Movie for Teens
We’re in our second day of unveiling the nominees for the Plugged In Movie Awards, and we’ve hit one of my favorite categories: Best Movie for Teens. The name’s a bit misleading, because lots of other folks can enjoy these movies besides teens, of course. But by default, these tend to be where the big, […]
Plugged In Movie Awards: Best Movie for Kids
For the last several weeks, Hollywood has been handing itself a bevy of awards, with the biggest honors—the Oscars—just around the corner. Alas, the movies that the entertainment industry chooses to honor may be strong in craft but weak in conviction, high in aesthetics but low in ethics. But while we at Plugged In sometimes […]
Maze Runner Sprints Past Jumanji
There’s a little spring in the teen dystopian movie yet. Maze Runner: The Death Cure, the third chapter in the Maze Runner series, galloped to an estimated $23.5 million and a box-office victory, foiling a potential four-peat by the Hollywood thoroughbred Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Granted, The Death Cure looked a little sickish en […]
Culture Clips: Who Needs an Oscar, Anyway?
As I mentioned already, the Academy announced its Oscar nominations yesterday, and I offered a bit of a sad headshake as to how comparatively un-family friendly this year’s batch of nominees are. But I wasn’t the only one a tad disappointed in the nominations this year. Just as soon as it saw the list, our […]
Oscar’s Would-Be Winners Lose Out on Family Friendliness
Believe it or not, Oscar and Plugged In can sometimes agree on what makes a great movie. Sure, the Academy Awards will always have its share of grim dramas and salacious stories amongst its nominees, but some years it goes out of its way to praise inspirational fare that even we curmudgeons can gave a […]
12 Strong Can’t Outmuscle Jumanji
The juggernaut that is Jumanji just keeps chugging along. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle—a movie predicated on a magical board game—continues to claim a monopoly on the box office’s numero uno slot, earning an estimated $20 million payday. Does Jumanji feel sorry for its success? Not one little bit. While making a movie is always […]
Culture Clips: The Holy Throwers Edition
Anyone who watched the Minnesota Vikings pull off a near-miraculous win against the New Orleans Saints last weekend probably saw Case Keenum—a one-time backup quarterback was thrust into the starting lineup due to injury and who’s having a career year—literally jump for joy. But if fans turned off the telly before the postgame interviews, they […]