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.

Kidnap

Kidnap isn’t as bad as it could be, but that doesn’t make it good. This movie’s speed limit is higher than its IQ.

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A Ghost Story

A Ghost Story is not built to frighten. But it may indeed haunt you.

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Dunkirk

Dunkirk dramatizes the complexity of war—both its horrors and heroism—while admirably not straying beyond the boundaries of a PG-13 rating.

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War For the Planet of the Apes

This is indeed a war movie. But in truth, the war it depicts is not fought with spears and guns alone. It’s also about a war of the heart.

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Spider-Man: Homecoming

Oh, Spidey. Tony Stark was right: Your enthusiasm is admirable, but sometimes you could be a little more … prudent.

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Maudie

I walked into Maudie pretty sure of what it would be: sweet, quirky, problematic in places and inspiring in others. It was all that. But I wasn’t expecting to walk away with a new hero.

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The Beguiled

This movie, like its characters, can seduce to no good end.

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Baby Driver

Forget nitrous: This film is fueled by iPod. But like Baby himself, the movie runs into plenty of obstacles.

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The Book of Henry

Whatever shortfalls this movie may have, apathy is not among them.

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All Eyez on Me

Tupac was a rare talent, no question. But this movie based on his life is barely watchable and rarely edifying.

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Okja

Forget this film’s quart-size protagonist and her whimsical pet pig. Okja is a jarring, unsettling and often difficult-to-watch story.

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Wonder Woman

In an entertainment landscape obsessed with flawed heroes, unlikeable heroes and antiheroes, Diana is—unapologetically—a real hero.

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Alien: Covenant

It’s probably too much to ask of this franchise to rein in its bloody ways.

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King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is a passable, if still problematic, diversion. But it’s not Camelot. Not even close.

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Chuck

While Chuck’s unlikely moral victory against the great Mohammad Ali might’ve inspired the movie Rocky, this flick is really about how Rocky changed Chuck—and not for the better.

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