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.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms

Is any season as magical as Christmas? Most years, the immediate answer to that question from the Stahlbaum family would be a loud and unanimous “No!” Alas, this is not most years. Marie Stahlbaum, the family’s beloved wife and mother, recently passed …

Read more

Boy Erased

Same-sex attraction is a complex issue, requiring a response full of grace and truth. But both biblical virtues get badly blurred here.

Read more

Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer

This is a film you can’t unsee, one that may very well change the way some viewers understand the tragedy of abortion.

Read more

Trench

The latest from Twenty One Pilots once again explores the in-between spaces between determination and despair.

Read more

Hell Fest

This ridiculous, derivative and predictable carnival of crass carnage might more accurately have been dubbed Dumb Fest.

Read more

Head Above Water

Avril Lavigne nearly lost her battle with Lyme disease. Now she’s singing about crying out to God to save her.

Read more

8 Letters

The debut album from this boy band is like a lovable puppy in some ways—except when it starts acting more like a dog.

Read more

Love Wins

Carrie Underwood’s latest offers a stirring call to love, though it only partially reflects a biblical understanding of that virtue.

Read more

Beautifully Broken

No horror—even the horror of genocide—is beyond God’s ability to redeem.

Read more

Crazy Rich Asians

A woman of modest means attracts the interest of a crown prince. Haven’t we seen this story before?

Read more

Dog Days

This is a really tame romcom with lots of dogs. It’s not a dog movie for kids, in my estimation.

Read more

Unfriended: Dark Web

Dark Web delivers a deeply creepy cautionary warning—albeit in the trappings of a relatively restrained R-rated horror movie.

Read more

Natural

Imagine Dragons’ latest reflects on the glory of winning … and the price people pay to achieve it.

Read more

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation isn’t a perfect family film. But it’s still a pretty sweet one on many levels.

Read more

Uncle Drew

Is Uncle Drew’s water bottle half full or half empty? I think the best answer is yes.

Read more