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.

Funny People

Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen team up with Judd Apatow for a comedians-gone-wild R-rated romp through the world of stand-up. Does something smell funny?

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The Smurfs 2

What exactly might the phrase “turning the air blue” mean when it comes to The Smurfs? Is it the sound of “s(murf)-words” surrounded by self-conscious giggles? Or a blissful blessing to finally find the right family color?

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Blue Jasmine

Truthfully, then, Blue Jasmine is moving and illuminating and beautifully acted. It is also bitterly profane and tragically bleak.

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The Wolverine

Marvel’s infamously ill-tempered, adamantium-clawed mutant slices through another section of his story—and through his enemies.

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The Social Network

You’d think the inventor of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, would have more friends than anyone. Not so much, if this particular cinematic biography comes anywhere near the truth.

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R.I.P.D.

Men in Black meets The Sixth Sense as a mumbling Jeff Bridges shows us what the Dude might have looked like if he were dead.

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The Conjuring

This James Wan scarefest is frighteningly effective and surprisingly spiritual. But the images it offers will haunt you long after you turn the lights back on.

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Soul Men

With a song in their hearts and a curse on their lips, Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson struggle to reunite The Real Deal. The result is A Real Mess.

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Fruitvale Station

It’s a movie that centers on violence and swirls with obscenities. It’s also a powerful movie. It’s a movie with an important story to tell.

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Grown Ups 2

Surely a sequel will let this franchise begin to live up to its title. Right. More like life lessons as told in belches.

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The Hunting Party

Can a couple of journalists on a whim find one of the world’s most wanted war criminals in two days? Sure they can!

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The Way, Way Back

“It’s like spring break for adults,” we’re told in The Way, Way Back. But what does that make it for the kids? A prison sentence? A water slide down into despair?

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Kung Fu Panda 2

A panda’s work is never done. Just three years ago, Po saved all of China. Now he’s gotta do it again—this time from a peacock with some serious firepower.

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The Lone Ranger

He wears the mask. He rides the horse. But there’s something about this Lone Ranger that’s not quite right.

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The Love Guru

Mike Myers is back as a self-help author intent upon enlightening his audience—one crude joke at a time.

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