Contributor: Bob Hoose

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.

Ryse: Son of Rome

First-century Rome is under attack by marauding barbarians. Only one seasoned centurion stands in their way. (That’d be you.) Let the grisly gutting and limb-lopping begin!?

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The Dictator

He may look like a terrorist dictator. He may quack like a terrorist dictator. But down deep he’s still a common comedian bombing us with dirty jokes and cheap, meanspirited laughs.

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Zombieland

The world has gone zombie once again and there’s only a few humans left to fight them off. It’s a dirty job, but Woody Harrelson seems to love it.

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Killzone: Shadow Fall

The good guys and bad guys are getting harder to make out in this continuing intergalactic war. The pools of blood, though, have never been so clear.

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Need for Speed Rivals

Illegal street racing is a bad, bad deal, this game says … and then lets you take the wheel and do your illicit best.

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Knack

This old man, he played (station) four, he played knick-knack on my floor, with the whole family gathered all around, this new game came streaming down.

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Catch and Release

On The O.C. it would make perfect sense to happily and gratefully bounce from a cheating guy to a promiscuous one. And it does here, too.

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The Book Thief

As narrator, Death points us to a young orphan girl who loves nothing more than reading books while she struggles to survive—and thrive—under the glare of book-burning Nazis.

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Bolt

Bolt

TV superdog Bolt finds himself outside in the real world … without superpowers. What’s a caped canine to do when he can’t blast things with his laser beam eyes?

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Call of Duty: Ghosts

Series game No. 10 sets up a new future battle in a new CoD universe. But it all looks so bloodily familiar.

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Ender’s Game

A Goliath-sized alien invasion force seems set to destroy all of mankind unless a David can be found to stand against it. But instead of slingshot chops this time, he’s going to need video game skills.

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Free Birds

Turkeys go back in time to make sure their forebears are left off the original Thanksgiving menu. Hmmm. Could this be yet another jolly holiday pic hungry for a little of your bank account corn?

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Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li

Another martial arts character steps out of a video game to wreak havoc on the big screen. Is this really the stuff of legend?

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Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

The fabled sneak-and-kill franchise is turning a new page in its history-trekking tale. But the dark flag it waves still bears a big M.

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Battlefield 4

So what is Battlefield 4 for? Well, you could call it a practice field. And exactly what are we practicing?

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