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.

Let Him in Anyway

Blake Shelton’s latest hit pleads for the salvation of a friend who’s passed away, and it’s a song that could generate surprisingly deep theological conversation.

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Surfing Alone: The Unintended Isolation of Our Tech-Obsessed Era

The irony of the technological revolution that’s taken place in the last 30 years is how its promise to more easily connect people has yielded an unintended consequence: increasing social isolation.

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Mayhem

Lady Gaga’s latest harkens back to her early hits with this collection of synth-saturated club bangers that blur the lines between love, sex, faith, pain and death.

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I’ve Got a Story

NEEDTOBREATHE teams up with Tori Kelly in this song about faith and fortitude from the soundtrack to Prime Video’s new show ‘House of David.’

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The Unbreakable Boy Premiere: Thoughts From the Stars and Filmmakers

Last week, I had the privilege of heading to New York City for the premiere of Lionsgate and Kingdom Story’s new movie The Unbreakable Boy. At the most literal level, it’s about a boy who’s anything but unbreakable. Thirteen-year-old Austin suffers fro …

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hurry up tomorrow the weeknd

Hurry Up Tomorrow

Abel Tesfaye’s likely final album as his dark alter ego The Weeknd spans a vast thematic distance from the brink of suicide to the hope of forgiveness.

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I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2)

Genre-busting singer Teddy Swims is back with 13 songs about love and heartbreak. Some of are pretty nice, but one gets really nasty.

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The Recruit

Netflix’s ‘The Recruit’ is a little like ‘Jack Ryan’ meets ‘The Office.’ But they never pulled fingernails like this at Dunder Mifflin.

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the breakfast club

The Breakfast Club

Teenage alienation? Check. Angst? Check. Ennui? (Even though we didn’t even really know what that was in 1985?) Check.

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top gun

Top Gun

Top Gun is an adrenaline-pumping ode to outsized masculinity. But you might not remember what else it is …

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APT.

Rosé’s collaboration with Bruno Mars has yielded a madly catchy earworm with lyrics inspired by a Korean drinking game.

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A Different Kind of Existential Fear About AI

What happens when our capacity and ability to do complex intellectual synthesis atrophies? I think it’s a question worth pondering.

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on the radar

On the Radar: Digital Camera Renaissance, Contraceptive Use Declines and an Embrace of Weight-Loss Drugs

Digital cameras enjoy Gen Z renaissance. Is OnlyFans influencing a decline in contraceptive use? Younger generations embrace new weight-loss drugs.

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a bar song (tipsy) shaboozey

A Bar Song (Tipsy)

Shaboozey’s smash hit once again pays homage to the time-honored country tradition of seeking solace for life’s stresses by tipping a bottle at the bar.

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x-men origins wolverine

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Marvel’s infamously ill-tempered, adamantium-clawed mutant gets his own story and fills it with a razor-sharp dose of violent action.

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