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.

Madea’s Big Happy Family

Never mind that it’s not her own family! Madea’s trying to set an entire clan straight—without straightening out any of her own ways, of course.

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Mortal Kombat

Those that don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it. So what happens when you already know everything there is to know about Mortal Kombat—and you play it anyway?

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Movie Monday: Rio

For the first time in a while, the box office soared this weekend—thanks largely to a lucrative performance by the animated birds of Rio. 20th Century Fox feathered its nest with an estimated $40 million this weekend from the CGI film—the highest openi …

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Atlas Shrugged

Gas prices are up. The Dow is down. It’s too expensive to fly anywhere and too depressing to walk. The United States, circa 2011? No. But it’s only five years away in this cinematic take on Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel.

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The Conspirator

In the summer of 1865, Mary Surratt was tried, convicted, sentenced and hanged for playing a part in President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. But was she innocent? Robert Redford wants you to wonder.

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Bobby, Take That iPad Out of Your Mouth!

I just ordered an iPad. I made the move after much hemming and hawing and debating and waffling. I knew all the reasons why I shouldn’t buy one—the cost, the unnecessary expense, the unreasonable outlay of cash—but the image of me reading Dickens or fl …

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Disaster Movie

The name on the marquee says it all for once. This is a movie. And it is a disaster.

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Movie Monday: Hopping Over Arthur

Just call E.B. the little bunny that could. With theaters hosting drunken millionaires, teen assassins, world-class surfers and seriously impaired knights this weekend, the animated lark Hop won the box office derby for the second straight week. The ra …

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“Motivation”

Kelly Rowland has just one thing on her mind when she’s singing her new hit single … and it ain’t drugs or rock ‘n’ roll.

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Hanna

What do 16-year-old girls do for fun these days? Hang with their friends? Go to movies with guys? Text? Not Hanna. She knows nothing but killing.

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Marketing: Now Part of a Healthy Lunch!

If you are what you eat, I am the most boring person alive. At least at lunchtime. My typical noonday meal consists of a sandwich, a banana and a handful of baby carrots—simple, nutritious fare that I eat, in part, to make me feel better about the chee …

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Movie Monday: Hop

The animated Easter movie Hop bounded to first place at the box office this weekend, stuffing $38.1 million into its multi-hued basket. The opening had its makers over at Universal Pictures jumping for joy: The holiday flick may not have delved into th …

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“Honey Bee”

The latest honeyed hit from this Oklahoma country crooner is making a big buzz on the mainstream music charts. So we’re asking, Is it sticky or sweet?

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YouTube Sensations Are People Too

It’s Friday, Friday, had to write a blog on Friday. So what better person to write about today than Rebecca Black? For those who haven’t heard of the 13-year-old singer, let me fill you in. On a whim last year, Rebecca and her family ponied up $2,000 a …

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Source Code

Jake Gyllenhaal’s unusual, time-bending task of sleuthing out a mass-murder mystery keeps blowing up in his face … literally.

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