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.

Katie Holmes and Josh Lucas smile at something off camera in the movie The Secret: Dare to Dream.

The Secret: Dare to Dream

This movie’s magical logic is not just anti-Christian. It’s not just un-scientific. It’s positively insulting.

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Superstore

Walk into this Superstore, and you may walk out with something you neither wanted nor needed.

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Truth Seekers

The Truth Seekers is out there—waaay out there. And while you can certainly seek out better, cleaner shows, truth is you could do worse.

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The Good Doctor

It’s not just the doctor who’s good. The show’s pretty OK, too.

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Baby Shark Has Big Bite of YouTube

The catchy children’s ditty/diabolical earwig has do-do-do-do-doo’ed itself all the way to the top of YouTube as its No. 1 video of all time.

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Three children stand in a field surrounded by others.

Fatima

Fatima is a well-crafted, very Catholic and (in its own reverent way) quite provocative piece of filmmaking.

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Determined woman wears a civil war-era outfit as she runs.

Antebellum

Antebellum is a disordered, dispiriting and sadistic story that assaults your senses more than it pricks your conscience.

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The Iron Lady

In a much-hailed performance, Meryl Streep becomes Margaret Thatcher, giving us a nuanced look at one of Great Britain’s most loved and loathed prime ministers.

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An African husband and wife stand at the front door to their home.

His House

Tension-filled questions make His House a remarkable, and truly haunting, ghost story—one that winds up in a strangely affirming place.

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What Does City So Real Tell Us? That Reality is Complicated.

Few cities surpass the political theater of America’s so-called Second City.

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The Conners

The Conners, like Roseanne, would’ve never gotten a green light back in TV’s Golden Age.

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black-ish

There’s good and bad in this ABC sitcom, but it’s not always black and white.

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The Undoing

The Undoing sports an A-list cast, a compelling murder mystery and content that would make most R-rated movies blush.

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Social Media Plus COVID-19 Equals … Depression?

new research suggests that using social media too much—especially now, during the coronavirus outbreak—can lead to both depression and what researchers call “secondary trauma.”

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Bill Murray and Rashida Jones ride in a convertible in On the Rocks.

On the Rocks

For adults navigating their own important, sometimes prickly relationships, On the Rocks is filled with teachable moments.

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