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.

The Secret World of Arrietty

This globetrotting tale is about tiny creatures who couldn’t travel around the world if their lives depended on it. Not that they’d want to. They’re too busy trying to hide.

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Dead Silence

From the director of ‘Saw’ comes a chiller flick that’s old-school in all the wrong ways. Demon dolls, anyone?

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Mama

Message to everyone who has ever thought their mother was controlling or overprotective: At least she’s human. At least she doesn’t want you dead.

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DmC: Devil May Cry

This hack ‘n’ slasher is a monster to play, difficult beyond almost all others in the genre. But that’s not why DmC is a truly monstrous game.

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Quartet

A cinematic retirement home full of aging musicians isn’t always a pretty sight. But it still has a beautiful song to sing.

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Gangster Squad

It’s got the glitz, the retro glamour and the cinematic sheen. It’s ’40s cool, to say the least. So why all the tommy gun splatter?

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The Happening

When people mysteriously begin to commit suicide en masse, there’s no obvious explanation. Is it a terrorist attack? Or could it be something growing much closer to home?

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Promised Land

This heartland tale of fracking, farming and fibbing drills down on its message … but does it strike oil?

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Django Unchained

“Is [Quentin Tarantino’s] Django attacking the cruelty [of slavery] or reveling in it?” asks Entertainment Weekly. We’ve figured out the answer.

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Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away

The massively and globally popular Circus of the Sun swings from the big top to the big screen and doesn’t miss a single bombastic/contortionist/high-flying step.

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Amour

Austrian director Michael Haneke is known for injecting jarring subject matter into his films. Amour will do nothing to amend his legacy.

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Far Cry 3

Far Cry 3 has packed its vacation suitcase full of foul food. But if you don’t go along for the ride, you won’t have to eat any of it.

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The Collection

Shocking torture porn just for the sake of shock. And with a get-your-own-pound-of-flesh resolution.

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Hitchcock

Hitchcock is on the brink of making the biggest film of his career. But this isn’t so much a movie about the heights and horrors of Psycho as it is a twisty-turny love story about Alfred and his wife.

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Rise of the Guardians

So, Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and Jack Frost all walk onto a movie set and …

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