November 25th, 2009 | 1:00 pm | Cammila Alberston

Ninja Assassin isn't the kind of movie that you compare to other movies. You compare it to a 2-lb. bacon sandwich with a bomb inside. You compare it to a magical gas-powered modified AK-47 that shoots live bears that are also on fire. And, okay, if you really want, you can compare it to B-level kung fu fare, or to other stuff that's been inspired by those movies, like Kill Bill. No, this movie isn't exactly a Tarantino-level masterpiece, but it's still a rollicking good time for anybody interested in gratuitous fight sequences, the gratuitous severing of limbs, and the resulting gratuitous geysers of blood. And, honestly, who goes into a movie called Ninja Assassin expecting anything else?
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August 6th, 2009 | 6:50 pm | Cammila Alberston

Filmmaker John Hughes, the director of such teen-centric classics as The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Ferris Beuler’s Day Off, died today at the age of 59. Hughes passes just as a series of celebrity deaths have reminded us how nothing inspires geyserous outpourings of nostalgia like the mortality of our former heroes. But I think it’s fair to say that Hughes’ work has continued to inspire the same steady stream of deeply personal affection from its viewers since day one.
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