Contributor: Adam R. Holz

After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.

When Grandma Gets Inked

Once upon a time, back in the stone age, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, everyone knew tattoos were bad. Tattoos were what bikers and other on-the-fringe, not-mainstream folks got. Getting inked wasn’t, simply put, something nice, “normal” …

Read more

The Greatest Game Ever Played

A talented young Yank tees off against an aging British pro in a golf drama based on a true story that lives up to its lofty title.

Read more

“Feel So Close”

Calvin Harris is better known for the collaborations he’s had with artists such as Rihanna. His first big solo hit in the U.S. majors in earnest, restrained romanticism.

Read more

Do You Trust This Woman?

Listen up, corporate America: 89-year-old Betty White is your best bet if you’re trolling for a celebrity endorser. That’s according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll that asked 2,012 Americans about whether they would trust a company more or less if its pro …

Read more

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World

The fourth entry in the Spy Kids franchise won’t stink up your living room quite as much as it did theaters. And along the way it reminds us how important it is to make the most of the time we’re given—especially when it comes to our families.

Read more

“She Will”

Drake joins Lil Wayne on this dirty ditty about the crude, carnal and caustic joys of being an upper-echelon rapper.

Read more

Flicka

A headstrong teen girl adopts a headstrong mustang—against the wishes of her headstrong father in this latest adaptation of Mary O’Hara’s beloved children’s story.

Read more

Oh Be Careful Little Eyes What You See

Here’s a paragraph I didn’t write, but I certainly could have: I see a lot of movies for my job, and at almost every R-rated offering, I see someone trot in holding the hand of a toddler, or I hear that child’s telltale wail after the violence begins. …

Read more

The Help

A best-selling novel-turned-movie about the deeply compelling lives of black maids in the early days of the Civil Rights Movement makes us think about what it was like then … and about the right way to live in the midst of such a daily struggle.

Read more

“Headlines”

Is Canadian rapper Drake really the G.O.A.T., like he says he is? Or should we pull all the periods out of that acronym?

Read more

Tailgates & Tanlines

Country singer Luke Bryan’s third album tips its hat to the virtues of faithfulness, small towns and going to church. More often, though, it raises a glass to beer and moonshine, not to mention consequence-free trysts.

Read more

In Waves

The fifth effort from this influential Florida metalcore quartet writhes and seethes in the face of pain, suffering, brokenness, loss and death.

Read more

Media Habits of a Grown-up

Here’s a question I’ve been pondering this week: How do our media habits change as we get older? It’s a question that was spurred by a conversation I had with a friend a couple nights ago. My friend Brent is in his mid-30s and is a video game aficionad …

Read more

“Dark Horses”

Switchfoot makes sure we all know that a dark horse is not a dismal horse. Quite the opposite in fact.

Read more

“Dark Horses”

Switchfoot makes sure we all know that a dark horse is not a dismal horse. Quite the opposite in fact.

Read more