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.

Atomic Blonde

Savagely realistic and bloody fights to the death are this graphic film’s bread and, uh, batter.

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Aven Colony

This engaging building simulation game transports some of the genre’s familiar facets into a tense-but-satisfying sci-fi setting.

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Fortnite

This buzz-generating hybrid is one part Minecraft, one part shooter. That last aspect is the one parents will need to ponder.

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Girls Trip

This sleazy, gal pals gone wild flick is anything but empowering to female audience members—or anyone else, for that matter.

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Splatoon 2

Splatoon 2 gets a high-def makeover, reloading its paint guns for remarkably colorful—but mess-free—results.

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Wish Upon

The wishes here aren’t creative in the least. The same can’t be said, however, of Wish Upon’s macabre fixation with creative death-dealing.

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The House

Ferell and Poehler will generate at least a laugh or two even in even the most worthless, crude and ridiculously stupid film. The House is such a film.

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Despicable Me 3

There’s actually a lot more here than meets the whoopee cushion.

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Ever Oasis

This may seem like a simple building game at first blush. But there’s a whole lot more in the mix in this Nintendo 3DS title.

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Get Even

Get Even is an ambitious, genre-blurring title that tries to offer a moral, but stains its intended message with M-rated muck along the way.

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Transformers: The Last Knight

Michael Bay’s latest Transformer movie never transforms itself into anything worth watching.

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The Journey

For fans of historical drama who want to be educated while being entertained, The Journey offers fodder for some serious pie-and-coffee discussion.

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Cars 3

Cars 3 hotfoots it back to the raceway to deliver a story similar to Lightning McQueen’s first one—this time from a different track position.

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Arms

Lots of creative and colorful beat-’em-up battles with nothing below the belt. Sounds like a Nintendo night at the fights.

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Rough Night

Our comedic culture is so full of these low-brow gags that the gross jokes in Rough Night barely shock, let alone provoke a laugh.

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