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.

Family watching TV

The Plugged In Show, Episode 76: What Hollywood Says About Family and Parenting

Ever since the first motion-picture camera started rolling, the entertainment industry has been fascinated by the family.

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This picture of a Korean-American family includes mom, dad, two kids and grandma.

Minari

Minari is deeply rooted in the earth, a wellspring of both hope and pain, of boundless promise and terrifying disaster.

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An elderly man sits in a chair and talks to his middle-aged daughter.

The Father

The Father, of course, is a very sad movie, one that mercilessly marches through the realities of fading by inches.

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We see four men of Middle Eastern descent standing in front of a house.

Limbo

Limbo is both silly and serious, delightful and, at times, despairing. That’s not an easy mix to get right.

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In this scene from 'Tom Clancy's Without Remorse,' a man with a gun lurks behind a wall full of bullet holes.

Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse

This film hooks into themes of a dangerous man grievously wronged and looking for some terminal retribution.

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The Plugged In Show, Episode 75: A Journey into ‘Nomadland’

When people learn what I do, they think it must be great watching movies for a living. But the perk isn’t seeing movies. It’s being able to talk about them.

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Archibald’s Next Big Thing is Here!

Archibald’s Next Big Thing Is Here migrates to Peacock as it mixes laughs and mild groans.

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Was That the Weirdest Oscars Ever?

Last night, from the opening monologue to the closing credits, the Oscars felt … different.

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Plugged In Pick, TV: The Chosen

I’ve found The Chosen to be one of the most compelling biblical adaptations I’ve seen—offering new depth and dimension to age-old truths.

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Four astronauts talk on their ship in the movie "Stowaway."

Stowaway

If the screenwriters had throttled back, if they’d kept what you hear as clean as what you see, this Netflix film could’ve been PG.

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Them: Covenant

It’s one thing to tell a difficult story. It’s another to tell a sadistic one.

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Two paramedics walk into a difficult situation.

Synchronic

What starts out as a grotesque horror movie morphs into something more akin to sci-fi about halfway through.

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A woman points a pistol at someone in a dark room.

Vanquish

It’s violent and crass and profane, of course. And it still manages to be very dull and tedious anyway.

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Younger

Younger styles itself as a show for young Millennials. But its mature content inadvertently makes it seem a lot older.

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What a Quirky Documentary About Truffles Can Teach Us About Purpose

I’d call this a bit of a hidden gem—which seems only appropriate, given that searching for buried treasure is what the movie is built on.

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