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.

Charlie St. Cloud

His nightly games of catch with his dead brother have turned Zac Efron into that “weird St. Cloud kid.” But Tess doesn’t seem to mind. Nor will throngs of Zac zealots.

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A Zombie World Series

So, oil’s still washing up on the gulf, the economy’s in the doldrums, the honey bees are dying and my favorite baseball team, the Colorado Rockies, have lost nine of their last 11 games. Naturally, my thoughts turn to zombies. I’m only half kidding. Z …

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When Christians Like Bad Stuff

So, between some reading of Augustine and G.K. Chesterton, I’ve been perusing a book from another Christian sage: Jonathan Acuff, best known for his blog Stuff Christians Like. Acuff’s book, also called Stuff Christians Like, is a funny, irreverent loo …

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Salt

Angelina Jolie peppers people with gunfire in this savory spy thriller. But will it raise your blood pressure?

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Those Sinful Superheroes

Superheroes were kind of a sensitive subject around my house when I was growing up. My best friend and I loved ’em, and whenever he was over, we’d stuff socks in our shirtsleeves (to make our muscles look bigger) throw some bath towels around our necks …

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JONAS L.A.

The brothers are back with a (sort of) new TV show and a (for sure) new album to support it—but they’re still making the same frothy, family-friendly music that made them stars in the first place.

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Movie Monday: Inception

It was a dream of a weekend for Leonardo DiCaprio and director Christopher Nolan. Their project Inception, in which a team of thought-thieves pilfer corporate secrets from their targets’ dreams, REM’ed its way to a $60.4 million box-office victory. No …

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“Just the Way You Are”

Bruno Mars hits No. 1 with a ballad sure to be played at homecoming dances everywhere. But what else might he have ready by prom?

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Of Faith and Facebook

Are teens rejecting faith for Facebook? The folks over at the Barna Group suggest that something like that may be happening. Barna has been studying the intersection of Christianity and culture for years now. And while the researchers say that faith is …

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Movie Monday: Despicable Me

Dastardly Gru may have struggled in his quest to become the world’s No. 1 supervillian. But he had no trouble at all propelling his film, Despicable Me, to the top of the box office this weekend. Universal’s new animated effort earned more than $60 mil …

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“Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not”

Keifer and Shawna Thompson plant a big country-sized—and altar-bound—kiss on listeners with this sweet love ballad.

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Friday the 13th

Folks are stabbed, sliced, beheaded, caught in bear traps and burned alive. And that’s before the title screen. After that, things get really bad.

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Movie Tuesday: Revenge of the Twihards

Just like their namesakes did in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, teams Edward and Jacob joined forces for a long holiday weekend to cast down their competition and posture triumphantly on the field of battle. The new Twilight film bit big at the box office …

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Snap Judgments

Some folks say that they and cameras do not get along. But few people can say, as I can, that they’ve killed one with their face. It’s remarkable it didn’t happen sooner. I was a gangly, pimply, brace-filled, bespectacled child in junior high, often ta …

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The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Bella and Edward are still an item in the third installment of Stephenie Meyer’s preternaturally complicated romantic saga. But Jacob’s not ready to give his favorite girl up without a fight. Nor, for that matter, are a whole bunch of vindictive vampire baddies who want her dead.

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