Weekend Roundup: Bourne Winner

The Bourne Ultimatum broke records for the franchise this weekend—and for all-time August openings! And while I didn't hit the number the way I would have liked to, at least it wasn't like my Simpsons disaster last week. Baby steps, folks. It's easy to review the films—predicting box-office results is an entirely different task.

Case in point, I’ve gotten a wide range of predictions from Lyons Den readers, which range from dead-on to the most absurd guesses this side of the 405. Let’s all try to nail it this week for round three and Rush Hour 3.

Speaking of which, Jackie Chan is one of those rare celebrities who’s earned every cent he's ever made. By doing his own stunts, he raised the bar for an entire generation of action-comedy stars, becoming the highest-paid martial-arts actor of all time. Have you seen Jackie's classics? Dig deeper than the Rush Hour flicks and those corny westerns with Owen Wilson and watch films like Drunken Master, Police Story and Armor of God. Once you see these, you'll have a newfound respect for Inspector Lee.

Watching Chris Tucker is a joy as well, but for different reasons, of course. While Chan has consistently worked throughout his career, Rush Hour 3 will only be Tucker’s 10th feature. It feels like he’s made lots of movies, but in reality, he has played only eight characters on film over the years. While his comedy is classic, I love to watch Tucker in more serious roles like his performances in The Fifth Element and Dead Presidents.  I mean, I could watch the dude read the phone book. He told me that his next film, Mr. President, begins production soon. I’ll vote for that!

With Rush Hour 3 hitting theaters this week, be sure to come back to the Lyons Den for interviews with both Chris and Jackie, as well as director Brett Ratner. In the meantime, here’s a shout-out to Bourne Ultimatum playah Julia Stiles, a Lyons Den friend. I also have to give it up to Andy Samberg. Even though nobody saw Hot Rod, homey, hold your head up. It's going to grow to be a cult classic. Holla!