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.

Transformers

The Autobots and Decepticons are back from the ’80s dead in crash-boom CGI-perfected action. Is it time for a new generation of morphing robots already?

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Just Forget It

Whether you were a fan or not, 2004’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was something of a mind-blower (pun intended). A logline description of the Jim Carrey indy pic might read: A couple, both devastated by their failed relationship, have memorie …

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The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Resurrect an ancient Chinese emperor, rule the world. Right? When will we realize that disturbing dead demon-people never turns out well?

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Love?

“Love is a many-splendored thing,” the old song goes. But here it’s mostly just bumping and grinding on the dance floor.

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The Stranger On the Other End

Think about this for a second: When you plug into the Internet and chat with people from potentially anywhere around the world, do you really know who you’re connected with? Can you be sure of who’s using who’s phone or signed in on who’s email account …

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Darkspore

The DNA creature-builder Spore franchise is back for a fiercer-looking go-round. Is this the natural evolution of a fun franchise? Or a mangled mutation?

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Water for Elephants

Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson runs away with the circus and promptly falls in love with the ringmaster’s wife … and her elephant.

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No Time Travel For You!

Let’s face it, here in the U.S. we’ve got some folks who want to regulate nearly everything about our lives—from how many minutes of sunshine exposure we should have to the number of doughnuts we should legally be able to consume. But that’s nothing co …

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“Run the World (Girls)”

Women can and do run large parts of our world. But they didn’t rise to positions of power by marinating in Beyoncé’s snarling sensuality.

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Portal 2

A popular puzzler sends gamers in for another set of physics-bending challenges—and rewards them with a few chuckles along the way.

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Bits and Bytes Made New

For all you old-school video gaming geeks like me—or you kids who just think old tech is kind of hipster cool—I’ve got some big news. Twenty-some years after its heyday in the home-computer sun, the Commodore 64 is being re-released. I kid you not. Bac …

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Lemonade Mouth

Is it possible for a Disney Channel movie not to feature fledgling rock ‘n’ rollers reaching up for fame’s fair kiss? Lemonade Mouth would seem to say no. Its soundtrack wholeheartedly agrees.

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Cuddly or Creepy?

I recently ran across an article by USA Today’s Craig Wilson about a new kiddie toy called a Parent Doll. If this idea is as new to you as it was to me, let me offer a few details. This is essentially a squeezably soft dolly that can be made to “look,” …

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LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars

Another round of lightsaber waving, starship flying and droid fighting. But this one’s available in 3-D. So should R2D2 start answering to the name R3D2?

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Dancing Around a Problem

I recently heard a radio report from Fox News of a Christian women’s fitness class they’re starting up in Houston called Pole Dancing for Jesus. I couldn’t help but groan—and not the silent type that you think but keep inside, either. This was an out-l …

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