Contributor: Paul Asay

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

Novitiate

Novitiate, like many of its characters, walks away from this curious form of faith a bit bewildered, a bit disgusted.

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Darkest Hour

Darkest Hour shines.

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Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Roman J. Israel Esq. tells us that not only is virtue its own reward, it is, ultimately, the only one.

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Justice League

In a year filled with top-flight superhero movies, DC’s answer to Marvel’s Avengers barely gets off the ground.

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Murder on the Orient Express

Let’s not lose sight of what Murder on the Orient Express does offer—a content-light mystery that feels true to the more genteel time it was written.

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The Florida Project

This movie felt like a tragedy to me: a tiny family slowly drowning—incapable of swimming, unwilling to grab lifelines dangling by the pool.

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All I See is You

This film is like a cake made entirely of food coloring. It’s bad, plain and simple.

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Thank You For Your Service

Adam, Solo and Will are more than just statistics. Through story, we see their faces. Feel, in some small way, their pain.

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Boo 2! A Madea Halloween

Boo 2 leaves me feeling just like I do after eating too much Halloween candy: a little sick.

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The Foreigner

The Foreigner is a dark, grim actioner, filled with blood and bad words a-plenty. Rush Hour? Try crushed and dour.

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Marshall

Marshall inspires. But it disappoints, too.

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The Stray

The Stray is a personal story professionally told, a Christian film that incorporates faith without pulling out a Bible and thwacking viewers with it.

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Blade Runner 2049

Both Blade Runner films lead us into an unseemly, seedy milieu in which humanity’s worst impulses have been augmented and magnified by technology.

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Kingsman: The Golden Circle

This film has a license to ill.

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Friend Request

Friend Request is a dumb, salacious slasher flick: But it’s a tragedy, too.

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