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.

Unsteady

A rock song about how divorce damages children? Leave it to those “Renegades” X Ambassadors to poignantly unpack that subject.

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Alive

Fierce determination and melancholy isolation clash in the musical mind of Australian singer Sia.

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“Infinity”

One Direction ponders the seemingly infinite emotional pain of losing somebody we love. So is it a girlfriend … or Zayn?

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What a Time to Be Alive

Drake and Future just keep on feeding their insatiable appetite for self-destruction, unconcerned that it’s a bottomless spiritual pit.

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Black Mass

Such a detailed and explicit portrait of one man’s violent life arguably glorifies the brutality as much as (or even more than) it critiques it.

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Captive

Families may feel the film depicts more of Ashley’s and Brian’s sinfulness than they want to see. But this difficult and dark tale is clearly shown to be a radically redemptive one.

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Honeymoon

Leave it to noir diva Lana Del Rey to take one of life’s most joyous moments—a honeymoon—and drain the brightness right out of it.

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Die a Happy Man

This romantic acoustic ballad from country crooner Thomas Rhett mostly avoids suggestive pitfalls as it sings the praises of his wife.

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On My Mind

British electropop chanteuse Ellie Goulding tries to ride herd on her own heart—and doesn’t quite learn the right lesson in the process.

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cinderella 2015 movie

Cinderella (2015)

Disney reboots one of its greatest classics, this time as a thoroughly delightful live-action romance that majors not only on love, but on kindness and courage as well.

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The Perfect Guy

An utterly predictable, content-crazed PG-13 suspense story that mingles creepy and explicit sexual content with sharp moments of vicious violence.

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Same Old Love

Selena Gomez unloads a dump truck full of frustration and hardheartedness. But precious little in the way of genuine hope or a path forward.

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Wildest Dreams

Once upon a time, Taylor Swift was in love with being in love. These days, it feels more like she’s in love with lust, no matter what the consequences.

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Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz

What does a 22-year-old former Disney star do for an encore after swinging naked on a wrecking ball? Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz answers that question.

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Cool for the Summer

Seven years after Katy Perry confessed that she kissed a girl and liked it, Demi Lovato explores what might happen next.

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