Culture Clips: When Theaters Reopen …
Someday we will publish an issue of Culture Clips that doesn’t contain the words coronavirus or COVID-19. Alas, not today. Today, it’s hard to find an entertainment, technology or teen-oriented story out there in the vast reaches of the internet that doesn’t have something to do with this virus. Still, talk of beginning to reopen […]
So How’d Trolls World Tour Do?
Each Monday for a long time now, Plugged In has dutifully reported on the weekend box office. Then that dreaded C-thing showed up. Coronavirus shuttered businesses everywhere—including, obviously, theaters. And that meant our weekly Movie Monday report has gone into mothballs temporarily as well. Movie studios are still very much in the process of trying […]
Culture Clips: And Now for Some Good News
The coronavirus continues to dominate each and every news cycle, touching as it does nearly every aspect of our lives. And the vast majority of the time, that news has not been very good. Most of it has been downright grim as news anchors dutifully report each day’s statistics regarding COVID-19’s spread in America and […]
Focus@Home Streams Your Favorite Focus on the Family Content
If you’ve ever thought, I wish there was one place where I could watch and listen to Focus on the Family’s great entertainment and educational content, well wish no more. I’m excited to introduce you to Focus@Home, which you can access for free for the duration of the coronavirus outbreak at www.focusonthefamily.com/streaming/. Focus@Home will offer […]
Why Is Plugged In Reviewing a Movie from 79 Years Ago?
“In a world where everything has changed, Plugged In is making changes too.” OK. I’ve always wanted to start a blog with that deep-voiced movie-narrator guy saying, “In a world … “ So thanks for indulging me. But the fact is, lots has changed since the arrival of the coronavirus a month or so ago. […]
More Coronavirus Resources for Your Family
Many of us have spent several days now cooped up at home, trying to keep our children busy, due to the coronavirus. And with most movie theaters closed, Plugged In has shifted in some new directions in the last seven days—namely, reviewing more family-friendly streaming fare—to give you the information you need to make the […]
Onward & LGBTQ Representation Trends Onscreen
“My girlfriend’s daughter got me pulling my hair out.” If you’re not paying very close attention while watching Disney/Pixar’s new animated movie Onward, you’ll very likely miss that line. And, out of context, you might think, “Why would anyone care about this innocuous sentence?” Answer: Because it’s delivered by a female character, a policewoman to […]
What Parents Need to Know About Hoop
You might think that with social media options such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and others, teens would have enough online friends. But apparently you’d be wrong. In fact, an entirely new class of apps is emerging euphemistically called “social discovery” apps. These apps, such as Hoop, Wink, Yubo and Monkey, piggyback on Snapchat to […]
Introducing Plugged In 4.0
Way, way back in the dark ages of the last millennium, Plugged In launched the first iteration of our website. The year was 1999, and The Matrix, Shakespeare in Love, American Beauty and Magnolia were among the films making headlines that year. Oh, and some of us were buying 5-gallon water jugs in preparation for […]
Hollywood’s Sex Scene Disconnect
Actress and director Olivia Wilde wants to make filming sex scenes safer for the actors and actresses involved. Specifically, she’s spearheading an effort to “make a better environment” for such scenes—i.e., enforcing a closed set that ensures only those who really need to be there are present. Sitting down with Katie Couric at the 2020 […]