RushHour3 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

When it comes down to it, Brett Ratner might not be the most hated man in the movie business -- but he's definitely in the top five. In a profile for Ad Age, the director sat down to talk about Brett Ratner Brands, his new consultancy business. But things get interesting right at the end of the article when the journalist dropped the bomb that Ratner might be working on a big-screen version of the best-selling video game, God of War.

For those of you who haven't played it (and I really recommend you do), here is a quick primer: God of War centers on Kratos, a celebrated soldier who is haunted by his past transgressions and his debt to the Gods of Olympus. It could have just been your typical hack and slash game, but the cinematic approach and highly entertaining story line earned it a reputation as one of the best around.

Talk of a feature film surfaced back in 2005, and Universal was the studio named to produce. According to recent reports, the script has already been finished and casting has begun to heat up (some recent buzz has Djimon Hounsou in consideration for the lead). But then fans the world over had to deal with the unpleasant news that Uwe Boll was being considered to direct -- luckily, this never came to be. So I guess Ratner could be considered a step in the right direction. Then again, if you had the misfortune of seeing Rush Hour 3, you would probably disagree.

[via Film Junk]

Aging martial artist Jackie Chan apparently keeps a blog, and has written the following on it, according to the AP: he's fully aware that Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour 3 all sucked. He knew they were crap when he made them, and he knows it now. (I think Richard Corliss of Time Magazine is now the last remaining person on Earth who doesn't know it -- he gave Rush Hour 3 a glowing review.) Of the first Rush Hour, Chan says "When we finished filming, I felt very disappointed because it was a movie I didn't appreciate and I did not like the action scenes involved. I felt the style of action was too Americanized and I didn't understand the American humor." Okay ... thanks for sharing. So why did he return for more of the same, after such a negative experience? Because, he says, he was offered an "irresistible" sum of money. He doesn't even bother giving a reason for the third one, apparently.

The interesting thing about all of this is that Chan seems to equate the bad humor of the Rush Hour movies with American taste, in general, as if we're a nation of people who think Rush Hour is the bar by which good taste is measured. He uses the word 'American' over and over again, when pinpointing the flaws of his various projects. Of his upcoming movie, The Forbidden Kingdom, with Jet Li, he tells us -- at least it's in advance, this time -- that the movie is no good. Why? It's "a movie made for Americans." I can't wait for the press junket for that one ...

Halloween came a little early this year, although for Rob Zombie and the folks at Dimension Films it's more like Christmas. Their reimagining of John Carpenter's classic horror flick set a record for a film opening on Labor Day weekend. After two weeks at the top, Superbad finally slipped into the number 2 spot, just above newcomer Balls of Fury. Here are the final numbers:

1. Halloween: $26.3 million
2. Superbad: $12.4 million
3. Balls of Fury: $11.3 million
4. The Bourne Ultimatum: $10.4 million
5. Rush Hour 3: $8.5 million

What's coming out this week? Glad you asked. It's a subtle melding of idiocy and firearms, the same combination that made Elmer Fudd a star. Here's what we've got:

3:10 to Yuma
What's It All About: In this remake of a 1957 film of the same name, a rancher and Civil War veteran played by Christian Bale takes on the responsibility of delivering a vicious felon (Russell Crowe) to the 3:10 train to Yuma so he can face trial.
Why It Might Do Well: The film has two strong, charismatic leads and the director of Walk the Line at the helm.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Needless to say, westerns are a tough sell.
Number of Theaters: 2,500
Prediction: $18 million

The Brothers Solomon
What's It All About: A pair of socially challenged brothers who were home schooled in the arctic race to find a woman so they can provide their dying father with a grandchild. SNL's Will Forte and Arrested Development's Will Arnett star.
Why It Might Do Well: Humor and conception mixed well for the highly successful Knocked Up, so it may work here as well.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The relatively small number of theaters is going to keep this one out of the top five (probably even the top 10). The trailer looks promising, but this is also the type of film that walks the fine line between funny and dopey.
Number of Theaters: 650
Prediction: $2.5 million

Shoot 'Em Up
What's It All About: Clive Owen stars as a gun-toting badass fighting to protect a newborn infant from an evil crime lord played by Paul Giamatti. Monica Belluci also stars as a hooker with a heart of gold who specializes in clients with a mommy fixation. Freaky.
Why It Might Do Well: Owen's character sounds like a combination of the ones he played in Sin City and Children of Men, so we know he can pull it off. Paul Giamatti as a thug? I'm dying to see this.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Don't see that happening.
Number of Theaters: Number not available, though it is a wide release.
Prediction: $14 million

Come monday morning, I'm betting the box office top five will look something like this.
1. 3:10 to Yuma
2. Shoot 'em Up
3. Halloween
4. Superbad
5. The Bourne Ultimatum

After I mentioned last week how hard it was becoming to get a perfect score on our weekly predictions, four of last week's entrants proved equal to the challenge. Way to go, gang. Here's the rundown of how everyone did:

1. Gregory Rubinstein: 16
1. Bubba8193: 16
1. Skyler: 16
1. Chris: 16
2. Lee: 13
3. Matt: 12
3. Mario: 12
3. Porcalina: 12
3. Opp-Neg: 12
4. Jasonsmusicpage: 11
5. Jaimovich: 9
5. Amano Jyaku: 9
6. JBob: 8
6. Anna07: 8
7. Ray: 7
7. Josh: 7
7. Rich Diamond: 7
7. Tek: 7

Here's how the competition works:
Please post your prediction in the comments section below before 5:00PM on Saturday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie.

Prior to watching Rush Hour 3, I sat real low in my seat and took a look around the theater. This particular screening had a section roped off for critics, and everyone around us were, for lack of a better description, your average urban moviegoer. Essentially, the target audience for a film like this. My row, the one in front and one in back, consisted of white, middle-aged (or older) film critics; some of whom spoke about their tickets to an upcoming opera. And that's when it dawned on me -- these people are going to hate Rush Hour 3. Say what you want about film critics, but a 60 year-old guy in a sports jacket with tickets to the opera is not going to dig Chris Tucker making bootie jokes while trying not to direct traffic. The rest of the audience, however, devoured the Tucker/Chan shtick as if it were the best all-you-can-eat buffet in town. Sadly, I wasn't as hungry.

It took six years and millions of dollars to convince Chris Tucker to return to his most lucrative role, and fans of the actor will be happy to see him back doing what he does best: shouting ... loudly. The story is exactly the kind you'd expect from a third installment; Jeff Nathanson (Rush Hour 2) returns with a script that felt as if it were ripped out of a Food Network recipe book: 1) Take the African-American male and the Asian male, then combine using a mixture of ethnic jokes, wild stunts and predictable villains. 2) Microwave on high for 90 minutes. 3) Plate your dish, and garnish with something pretty so that the audience is convinced what they're watching is something fresh and original, instead of old, stale and repetitive. 4) Serve your meal with a smile, and cross those fingers -- $25 million is a lot of money for a piece of meat that's been sitting in the freezer for six years. Enjoy!

The Bourne Ultimatum pulled in some righteous bucks this past weekend, setting a record for an August release, and contributing to this being the highest grossing August weekend ever. I'll pass on using any lame jokes like "Bourne again" or "Bourne to be wild," not because I'm above that, mind you, but because I've already used them all. The Simpsons Movie dropped to number two, pulling in $25 million (mmmmm, box office). Incidentally, Hairspray missed being in the top five by, well, a hair, with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix taking in just a few hundred thousand more than the musical. The numbers look like this:

1. The Bourne Ultimatum: $69,283,690
2. The Simpsons Movie: $25,110,873
3. Underdog: $11,585,121
4. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry: $10,626,345
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: $9,522,220

As we work our way into August, the flow of potential mega-blockbusters has ebbed. I wouldn't say any of this week's new releases have been hotly anticipated, though Rush Hour 3 seems to be the obvious big boy, and I'm personally looking forward to Stardust. Here's what's coming out this week:

Daddy Day Camp
What's It All About: In this sequel to Daddy Day Care, Cuba Gooding, Jr. takes over the roll originally played by Eddie Murphy, and now he's launching a day camp. Zany, huh?
Why It Might Do Well: I guess there's always a market for a good puke gag.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Who's Your Caddy didn't do so well with a plot reminiscent of Caddyshack, and this one has visions of Meatballs dancing in my head.
Number of Theaters: 2,200
Prediction: $6 million

Rush Hour 3
What's It All About: Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan mix it up for a third time, officially making this buddy cop franchise a trilogy, taking the action and (hopefully) laughs to the mean streets of Paris.
Why It Might Do Well: The original Rush Hour had a $33 million dollar opening weekend, with its first sequel opening with $67.4 million. Also, Jackie Chan can be pretty amazing to watch.
Why It Might Not Do Well: It's been six years since Rush Hour 2; does the public still care?
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $51 million

Skinwalkers
What's It All About: Warring werewolf clans fight over a half human half werewolf boy who holds the key to their species' fate.
Why It Might Do Well: It's definitely a good thing when a film helps demonstrate that torture porn isn't the only kind of horror out there.
Why It Might Not Do Well: While I have a soft spot for the sub-genre, good werewolf films are hard to come by, and the trailer didn't wow me.
Number of Theaters: 650
Prediction: $4 million

Stardust
What's It All About: Based on a book by renowned fantasy writer Neil Gaiman, Stardust is the tale of a young man who sets out into a fantasy realm to retrieve a fallen star for his beloved, only to find that the star is in fact a beautiful young woman.
Why It Might Do Well: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is beginning to run out of box office steam, so this looks like a good choice for fantasy buffs, and a cast that includes Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Claire Danes can't hurt.
Why It Might Not Do Well: I honestly can't think of a reason for this movie flopping.
Number of Theaters: 2,300
Prediction: $22 million

The writing is on the wall for this coming weekend's box office returns, and that's where I'm getting this week's prediction. It was spray-painted on the back wall of a Denny's and I took it as a sign:
1. Rush Hour 3
2. The Bourne Ultimatum
3. Stardust
4. The Simpsons Movie
5. Underdog

Last Week's Prediction Rankings:
1. Tangoeco: 16
2. Bubba8193: 13
3. Josh: 11
3. Opp-Neg: 11
3. El Borracho: 11
3. Curt: 11
3. Ness 265: 11
3. Anna07: 11
3. Dustin: 11
4. SupDugs: 10
4. Gordy: 10
5. Joe: 9
5. Marc: 9
5. Evan: 9
5. Greg: 9
5. Ray: 9
6. jasonsmusicpage: 6

Please post your prediction for the top five films in the comments section below before 5:00 PM on Saturday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie. Come on, it'll be fun.

It took six years for Brett Ratner to convince Chris Tucker to return to the big screen for another go-round with Jackie Chan, and as Rush Hour 3 heads to theaters this weekend, I decided to take a look back at some of my favorite 'Buddy Cop" films, as well as ask you for yours. While a lot of people normally associate "Buddy Cop" films with lots of humor, that's not always the case. One of my favorite "Buddy Cop" films of all time -- believe it or not -- is Se7en. There you have your classic "One guy's about to retire, but has to work with the new, unpredictable recruit on one last case" set-up, but it heads in a very dark and disturbing direction. And talk about an ending -- probably one of the most memorable of any "Buddy Cop" movie in history.

But seeing as most "Buddy Cop" films are action-comedies, the majority of our favorites fall into that category. Edgar Wright's Hot Fuzz (which was, essentially, a genre parody) ranks right up with there with my favorite "Buddy Cop" flicks of all time. Not only does it poke fun at a genre we've grown to love over the years, but it's so freaking clever in the way it merges two genres (the classic British murder mystery and the high-octane action flick) into one hilarious, non-stop good time. Of course, I can't mention the "Buddy Cop" genre without giving props to Lethal Weapon, 48 Hrs. and Beverly Hills Cop (which some claim is not a "Buddy Cop" film and more of an Eddie Murphy vehicle, but I beg to differ). How does the Rush Hour franchise stack up against these gems? Not very well, in my opinion (partly because Tucker's idea of comedy is simply to talk REAL loud), but the box office was very kind to the first two installments -- so what do I know? I'll be seeing the third one later this afternoon, but until then ...

... I ask you: What are your favorite "Buddy Cop" films, and why?

When's the last time a Jackie Chan film was barred from playing in China? Probably never, although I'm hardly an expert on such things. But get this: Seems that the all-powerful Chinese Film Bureau has refused to let Brett Ratner's Rush Hour 3 open in their country. Variety indicates that "commercial reasons" are to blame -- a claim that makes little sense since both Rush Hour and Rush Hour 2 did very solid business in China.

The "Bureau" is notoriously strict when it comes to certain on-screen activities, and one theory is that the censors were displeased with the plot -- which apparently involves Chinese mafia figures. More likely the members of the Film Bureau felt the same way I did about the lame, lame, lame racial humor. ("Yu! Me! No, you!" Ugh. And the French-bashing. Apparently that just never gets old.) One needs only to view the trailer to see how base and casually racist the humor is -- and now it looks like New Line (and Edko, the Chinese rights holder for the film) are about to pay for the flick's weaknesses ... through the wallet.

Edko chief Bill Kong explains the snub thusly: "The problem is not the Film Bureau, it is (state-run distributor) China Film. The schedule is very congested, and American films are doing very well around the world this year." Strange but true: China only imports 20 foreign films a year, which may help to (partially) explain why RH3 was left out in the cold. But I'm betting that's not even remotely the only reason.

I know you have just been itching to see more Rush Hour 3 footage after Erik led us to a leaked teaser on YouTube that has Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan sitting in the back of the French taxicab singing Lady Marmalade. Now we've got a whole scene to direct your attention to -- and by George, it actually has a little action. And by little, I mean that both figuratively and literally. It's not a big action scene, although there are a few mini stunts, but a goofy scene that has Tucker and Chan facing the monstrously tall Chinese basketball player Sun Ming Ming.

And Sun is about all that the clip has going for it. I mean Jackie Chan is teeny already, but pit him against a man who is 7'9", and he seems like an ant. Beyond that, we've got Tucker skillfully emoting surprise and spastically trying to smack the giant while Sun holds his head away, like a kid. Oh yes, and there's a bunch of giggling young tykes around them. As for action, there's Chan doing an interesting escape from his jacket, and that's pretty much it. I know that Chan said Brett Ratner couldn't direct action, but I hope there's still more to it then a little coat fumbling and the two getting lightly flung through the air. Tucker asks his buddy: "How do you say surrender in Chinese?" and I wonder if someone should have thought of surrendering the idea before this was made.

It may be true, according to Jackie Chan, that Brett Ratner can't direct action scenes, but maybe Chan can't fight in them, either. Stuntman Bruce Law claims on his blog that he has doubled for the martial arts action star in his Chinese-language films. Although some of Chan's appeal is that he performs stunts himself, it is widely known that for insurance purposes he is required to be replaced by stuntmen in dangerous scenes shot for Hollywood-financed films. But as for his films made back home in Hong Kong, Chan is supposedly doing all his own stunts in those. Chan's spokesman, Solon So, denies the claim, though, and insists that his client only uses substitutes when working for Hollywood.

I don't completely disbelieve Law's claim. On Chan's Twin Dragons, Law is credited with car stunts, so it could very well be true that the stuntman was driving a car that one of Chan's characters is supposed to be driving. After all, Chan is a brilliant martial artist, but maybe he isn't so brilliant behind the wheel. Law's other credits for Chan films (according to the IMDb) include coordinating action scenes for Supercop 2, special effects for The Legend of Drunken Master and acting in Thunderbolt. Each of these could have required similarly simple bits in which Law had to double for Chan. It doesn't mean that Law ever performed any of Chan's really impressive stunts. Either way, though, we can all accept and appreciate that Chan is one of the greatest stunt performers ever to grace the movie screen, and as he's not getting any younger (he turns 53 on Saturday), we can tolerate him taking a break (as in rest, not bones) now and again.

Still wondering why X-Men: The Last Stand sucked so much? It could be because Brett Ratner can't direct action scenes. You may already have come to that conclusion on your own, but now it has been confirmed by Jackie Chan, who is currently working with Ratner on Rush Hour 3. He was quoted by The Canadian Press as saying, "Even though Brett doesn't know much about directing action, he does notice details that help us improve the scene. I appreciate his attentiveness when we shoot action scenes and his feedback."

Of course, Chan's statement could be lost in translation, and I don't mean that the quote was translated from the Chinese. What the martial arts-trained actor probably meant is that Ratner doesn't know about choreographing action, especially the kind of playful fight sequences Chan is famous for. I figure most of the directors Chan has worked with have had difficulty directing Chan in these types of scenes and probably just let him do his thing, just as most directors couldn't direct Chaplin, Keaton or many of the other great silent comedians or great martial arts action stars -- at least, not when their main talents were being filmed.

I don't mean to defend Ratner, who I think is in fact awful at directing action scenes, as well as all other types of scenes for that matter. But Chan could not have meant to put down the talents of a filmmaker he's working with for a third time. Still, in the same article Chan is quoted as praising the directing talents of Ang Lee and Zhang Yimou, two directors he didn't expect would be so great at shooting action scenes but who, in his opinion, are. Since Chan has never worked with either of these filmmakers and since both employed choreographers for their fight scenes, it could be that Chan did literally mean what he said.