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.

Diablo III

Fallen angels, hell-spawned horrors and a brutal battle between good and evil lurk in this M-rated fantasy role-playing game, which returns from the netherworld after more than a decade’s absence.

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Max Payne 3

Max absolutely pegs the Payne meter on Rockstar’s latest grimy ode to sex, drugs, violence and death.

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The ‘Shut Up’ Label

“Don’t listen to him, he’s just a [fill in blank here]” You may not have noticed as the world has subtly changed, but labels have taken on a new role—especially when we stick them on people. We used to think an identifier simply helped clarify who a pe …

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Starhawk

Crazy-eyed outlaws. Fortune-hunting prospectors. Gunslinging good guys. Even Star Wars-like planet battles. It’s the Wild West in space.

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Shoot ‘Em Up

It’s violence for violence’s sake—just as the title implies—when a carrot-crunching bystander saves the day … and then fills it with dead bodies.

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Have Movie, Will Text?

My wife and I both like going to a good movie. She may not ramble on afterwards about a pic’s artistic nuances and production values like I do, but we both dig that immersive moviegoing experience. When it comes to obnoxious seatmates at the cinema, ho …

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The Fine Print’ll Cost Ya

Max Schrems is telling you to watch out. Earlier this year The New York Times reported Max’s ongoing battle with Facebook. It seems that after two or three years of using the social networking page, the Austrian law student suddenly sat up and said, “H …

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Prototype 2

Same quarantined city. Same ravaging virus. Same malevolent government types. Maybe a new shape-shifting killer will make a difference. Or not.

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The Lucky One

A soldier finds a picture of a pretty girl on the battlefield. Is it destiny that they meet and fall in love? Should it be your destiny to see this movie?

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Do We Really Need Another Total Recall?

If you’ve been looking ahead to this year’s movie offerings, well, you’ve got to admit that the pickins appear to be pretty slim. We’ve got Men In Black (they’re up to what, number 14 now?), a new Spider-Man reboot, oh, and let’s not forget the latest …

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The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

“The offspring of foul sorcery and witchcraft.” That’s what a witcher is. As for this game, well …

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The Three Stooges

Did they really decide to remake The Three Stooges? That’s what you thought the first time you saw the poster, right? Well, watching the movie doesn’t change the question one little bit. You may want to cover your eyes—for a number of reasons.

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A Changing (Miss) Universe

If you’ve had any questions about whether or not our society is going through some cultural twistings and turnings, here’s another news story that lands solidly in the “yep” column. It seems that even the old bikini-and-evening-gown beauty pageants are …

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American Reunion

The American Pie gang is back for a fourth helping. Are they older and wiser now? Or just looking for another pastry to embarrass? (And why are we even asking the question as if it’s not rhetorical?)

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Today’s Movie Zoo

OK, so you love a good film. But you’re also a discerning sort that just can’t abide exposing yourself or your family to all the unnecessary garbage that sometimes comes along with today’s pics. So what do you do? Sure, you can stick to the rated-PG-an …

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